I will forever be grateful that a naive, ignorant, bored Indiana girl decided to give this whole blogging thing a try eight years ago. I will never forget wandering to our desktop computer sitting atop an old desk in our guest bedroom turned office turned guest bedroom and curiously typing www.blogspot.com into my web browser to see what would happen. My knowledge of blogging? Zero. My intentions to share it with the world? None. But there I sat, deciding to go for it anyways. I didn’t have the first clue on how to write [I still don’t, thank you beloved followers for always catching my countless typos and grammar faux pas], an even lesser clue on photography, marketing, and leading a team [I’ll always be figuring that one out].

This past week the LIY team gathered to celebrate 8 years of Living in Yellow’s existence. February 1st is this little bloggy blog’s birthday so every February 1st I like to raise a glass and celebrate the birth of what will forever have changed my life [and people say I don’t have kids….;)] It’s always fun for me to reflect and look back on where this all started and then look around and take in where its at now. While it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses, believe me – I’ve shed my fair share of tears on countless occasions, but like all good things – it’s been worth every challenge, point of contention and moments of doubt.

It’s funny looking back,  I never had the goal or desire to make Living in Yellow my full-time career and as I sit here today typing all of this, I can’t ever imagine doing anything different. Things change [including my pant size over the years, something about sitting on my couch all day, but that’s a topic for another day…] and while change can be challenging, I’m at a place where I genuinely feel good, excited, confident and happy about things here at LIY. Our tribe is incredible [truly], our team is built of powerhouse women and the job at hand is f-u-n.

When celebrating we obviously had to pay tribute to all things yellow because hi, we’re a branded bunch. We turned to the same place we always turn to for all of our office snacks and supplies, Brandless, to bring our party to life. It turns out they have a plethora of either yellow or lemon focused items which has me wondering if they first tried to have the name of their business be Living in Yellow but realized it was already taken. Sorry Brandless 😉 I think they should have actually called their brand “The most amazing products at an incredible price that I promise you’ll become addicted to” but can understand that could make for a long IG handle so whatever, Brandless it is. You’ve heard me talk about Brandless countless times before as I am a self-proclaimed addict [see this post for my favorites!] and place a new order almost as often as I wash my hair. From snacks, to beauty [currently using and loving the grapefruit facial cleanser], paper goods and cleaning products, I am S-O-L-D. Have I mentioned that a majority of products are under $10, and a TON are only $3?!?! SURPRISE. Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. Here’s a glimpse into our all things yellow party..

First up, the gift bags. It’s never a party without a gift, right? I had to treat the girls to my favorite yellow / lemon items as an easy thank you for making LIY all that it is. In each gift bag I put my favorite Lemon Verbena Hand Cream, Lemon Verbena Body Scrub, Gummy Lemonade Rings and of course, my favorite of all favorites – Organic Shells & Yellow Cheddar [aka mac and cheese, the only thing my body runs on].

Once the gifts were handed out, it was time to do what we do best – celebrate with food! If you know anything about team LIY, you should know that we love to eat. The menu? Anything yellow or lemon of course [we’re BIG on themes around this joint]. From Organic Yellow Tortilla Chips and Organic Black Bean Corn Salsa to Coconut Lemon Creme Cookies [YUM], Lemon Basil Scones and Organic Lemon Bars,  we had quite the fair share of mouthfuls of joy. I love that their mixes are SO easy to make and that their snacks are so stinkin’ delicious.

Coasters // Biodegradable & Compostable Hot Beverage Cups [we LOVE these]

Long story short, I am SO grateful for this little spot on the internet, the women by my side who make it all happen and most of all – YOU for showing up and allowing all of this to happen. It’s been a wild 8 years and I can’t wait to see what the next 8 will bring. Happy Birthday Blog, you’re my favorite.

Disclosure: Thank you to Brandless for partnering with us to celebrate. Another joy of blogging? Supporting brands and businesses I believe in.

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