March 6th
2006
…or a fully year. Cool. But it would have been only half the fun without you! So first off, I’d like to Thank You for being part of delicious:days, for all of your comments, suggestions and corrections! What an exciting ride it has been, turning around, looking back at the last 12 months, a couple of things I’d like to get of my chest…just before we’re entering our second year – a touch-and-go landing if you will :)
I blog for fun, but moreover I blog because I feel I can share a bit of my culinary life with people who have similar perceptions & take on what’s important in life and appreciate the little things just as much; so many positive things have developed out of this blog, reaching beyond “bits & bytes” (pun intended) including dear friendships in the offline world: How about a blind date for starters? On the day after New Year’s Eve, non-blogging readers of delicious:days invited us over for a late afternoon brunch. We had such a good time and what else can I say, other than “Foodies connect easily“… we enjoyed wonderful finger food in equally wonderful company, with a funny highlight: asking for a specific recipe, the response I received was “Got it from Johanna’s blog!“. That’s when you realize, that food-blogs indeed have become an increasingly attractive counterpart to much longer established food media like magazines or even books… Cheese-sandwich, anyone?
I love to read other blogs and the abundance of well done food blogs is breathtaking, making it a full time job to keep up with all the newer kids on the blog block. There is so much energy and inspiration out there, keeping me almost on a constant high – who said you can’t be high without sugar? Pure eye candy. Along these lines, I guess the only constant is change. Naturally, from a design perspective, delicious:days will continue to grow and evolve like it did over the last months. Sometimes in less obvious places, other times in form of a complete revision. Not trying to be presumptuous, but not without a teeny chuckle, I realized the adoption of round corners, popping up here and there…
I love all animals, except copycats. In a creative world it’s hard to draw a clear line between an intellectual copyright infringement and inspired work products. Whether its copying from cookbooks or from fellow food bloggers, reusing exact wording of published material without permission and/or credits, or design/photography-wise; e.g. check out foodwhore’s post (&comments). Hotlinking (without reference) we also see on a daily basis, so if you steal photos, do it right and copy them at least to your own server. Duh. Hope that trend line doesn’t continue to move up… Besides, what’s the fun in having your own blog, if you just copy the work of others, show it off and don’t even give credit?
So last year definitely has been an overdose on culinary information and inspiration and I should have made notes of my personal highlights out there. Consequently, I’m quite often drawing a blank when trying to think of a certain article from a fellow food-blogger (annoying it’s-on-the-tip-of- my-tongue-type situations), a few favorites however I see clearly in front of me:
David’s excellent write-up on Vanilla. Mrs. D’s and Chopper’s fabulous looking checkered ravioli. All of Clement’s posts on desserts – ‘glad he’s back on board, his dessert creations are simply jaw-dropping and amazing. Sam’s Chevre Cheesecake Pots with a finger-licking-delicious photograph, Eddie’s strange yet courageous food experiences, as well as Santos’ candy stripe cookie experience and Louisa meeting the “knife doctor“…
The “per capita” food blogger ratio in Germany is still way, waaaaaayyyy behind the Bay Area, where the concentration of food writers seem to beat the density of lead ;) On the other hand and perhaps unique in itself, a sweet example of an apple not falling far from the tree – mother and daughter not only sharing their passion for the culinary world, but also for the blogosphere :) On a different note, I was -very positively- surprised to find out that one of our favorite local cookbook authors has his office merely a stone through away from where we live. Sebastian did the complete, outstandingly successful Basic series for GU, which is also available in various other countries. Meanwhile we not only connected food-wise, but also seem to share a similar taste in bars (Negroni)…
It has just got to be one of the proudest moments of a blog owner finding out about what Google search queries spit out your site. Sometimes funny haha, a lot of times funny weird. Phrases that make you scratch your head, questions you hope to not have the answer for anywhere on your blog. Here are a few PG13 samples of Google searches leading to delicious:days:
- pizza express dough balls recipe
- hot mom next door
- st elmo squirrels and chipmunks pictures
- space drink germany
- ikea kitchen photos
- love for 18 yield
- today october 19 is what kind of chocolate day
- at the vikualienmarkt you can buy
- what does vanilla bean taste like?
- what makes germany so famous
- don’t try this at home recipes
- green day weck me up when september ends tab
- humidex any comments
- oasis pics from july 9th 2005
- how to melt a spoon with your fingers
- how to get rid of a burned tongue
- how do i get my rainboots white again
- how old is daniel cook on this show
- how much was delicious bought for?
- wmf happy spoon
- what does 2 oz of cooked pasta look like?
- can we use a coat of powder mustard and water treat a cough?
- how many days are there in the christmas brownies
- sweet recipes for flu
- how much money to drive a 1000 miles
Finally, to round up the post, below some useless-trivia-logfile-stat-info that we’ve collected over the past year. Not so long ago I ran across a post on FoodBlogS’cool about Blog-Owner-Stats and sure enough we check ours once in while, too – for what it’s worth *):
Number of page request:
in March ‘05: 20,875
versus last month, a.k.a. crazy February ‘06: 75,017
There are currently:
99 posts and 1,504 comments, contained within 8 categories
According to Feedburner:
~1030 RSS Reader
Most visitors a day:
February 1st (6,812) (it’s all “2006-bloggies” fault!)
Most visited/referred to post (5702 times): cubed coffee
*) With all the different reporting and statistics options and tools out there, what’s amazing is that they all produce different output. So don’t take these numbers as absolute numbers, chances are that they’re off. That’s something all web statistics seem to have in common and thus should generally be marked with a huge disclaimer. Counting IP addresses seems easy enough, but apparently it’s tough differentiating visitors from returning visitors from bots/search engines and what you have, going through proxies -cached or uncached. Oh well.
What else? A painful upgrade to Wordpress 2.0 earlier this year, fortunately entailing only a brief downtime. Why painful? Because, based on the earlier version of WP we incorporated so much additional functionality in form of plugins and also via direct source code changes, that a clean upgrade path wasn’t necessarily given, to say the least. ‘Went through a few hoops cleaning up the code, making it XHTML (1.0 Transitional) and CSS compliant and turning all hacks into regular plugins. Good point in time to thank my sweetheart for all the late night hours he spent on straightening out the mess, **smooch**.
Is that it? Not quite. One of the most hilarious moments we had, when we received an offer from a Wisconsin based Sauerkraut producer asking if we were interested in a partnership and learning more about Sauerkraut. Fact is, we live in Sauerkraut-City. Munich is and has been surrounded for centuries by farmers producing Sauerkraut, reaching back into the 16th century. It’s like selling the idea of fugu to a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo ;)
A semi-final note: we very much appreciate each and every email we get and your interest in delicious:days, however, please accept our apologies for possible delays in our responses. Our inbox seems to be hooked up to an email IV line, receiving a constant inflow. Perhaps also check here for more info.
Now entering the second year what will change? I’m not the tiniest bit tired of engaging in new culinary experiences, quite the contrary: expect more food craziness than ever – of course always with a stylish note. And then there are still those uncountable cookbooks I can hear shouting my name and waiting to be discovered…so much good food, so little time.
Looking forward to a fun next 365 days with you!
Nicky (and Oliver)
Congratulations on your first year! Looking forward to your creations (and photos!) for the next year and the years to come!
what a fun post! those key phrases to get to your blog really cracked me up! congratulations on being such a successful blog and thank YOU for doing it so faithfully - you're one of my faves. p.s. i love the #1 carved out of growing sprouts - great photo and dang clever!
happy bloggy birthday/anniversary to delicious:days, may there be many more ahead! perhaps maybe this year you can accommodate some of the googlers by actually providing "what kind of chocolate day" on october 19th, or show us photos of 2 oz of pasta and st. elmo's squirrels :) i'm sure whatever you choose to blog about, you'll do a beautiful job of it, and provide gorgeous photos to boot.
May the ride continue! It is a fun one!
As I read, I kept thinking, OH NO, they're going to quit! Whew, what a squeaker right til the end!
... lovely retrospective BTW ... especially since it came with a happy ending.
well, as a foodie, i enjoyed reading ur post and still does....great stuff u posted here and thank yuo very much for all the tips, recipe, etc.....
u deserves all the incoming link...
Delicious Days feiert Geburtstag...
Delicious Days, wohl eines der stilvollsten Blogs Münchens, feiert heute seinen ersten Geburtstag. Wir gratulieren! In einem langen Artikel lassen die kulinarischen Blogger Nicky und Oliver ein Jahr überaus erfolgreichen food-bloggings Revue passiere.....
Nicky and Oliver,
congrats!!! Just in case you don't know it yet, your blog was mentioned in Elle Eten (NL) March issue! So happy for you! Lisa
Dear Nicky & Oliver,
Such great job indeed! ne year later I'l still admiring stylish pictures and an oh so beautifull lay out (and believe me not that much foodblogs managed to capture my attention for such a long time ;-)) So: happy birthday!!
ps: that makes we're almost twins!: cavoletto turns one next week! ;-)))
Love your site...was there a special anniversary dinner?
I just started mine, and yea I'm in the Bay Area (sorry but the foodie multiply like rabbits here). LOL
If you continue to have trouble with folks hotlinking to pics you should be able to block that via your web hosting control panel. If you're not sure just ask your tech support for help on setting it up.
Dear Nicky & Oliver, a very happy blog birthday! You truly have one of the most visually pleasing foodblogs around - keep up a brilliant and inspiring work!
PS Fantastic birthday "cake":)
Happy Blog Birthday!
I hope delicious:days will be around for many many more years, with all the yummy recipes, great pictures & design, loyal readers and most important of all the two great people behind it whose personalities shimmer through in each and every post.
Will there be a (virtual/real) party?
PS: And we are so delighted to get a mention in the anniversary post!
Note to self: Must invite N & O more often. Have to get own recipe published on d:d as next step.
thank you so much for the kind words in your blog. delicious days has been one of my favorite blogs since i started doing this - before, even! i appreciate the great feedback. also, thanks for putting me in the same company as MattBites! His blog is the bees knees.
Congrats on one year of incredible writing and photography. :)
Congratulations are definitely in order. I absolutely love this site. Here's to many more years!
Liebe Nicky, lieber Oliver,
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum ersten Jahrestag - mögen noch viele weitere folgen! delicious:days hat wirklich Maßstäbe in der Foodblog Szene gesetzt, vor allem was Fotos und Optik des Blogs betrifft.
Vielen Dank natürlich auch für die freundliche Erwähnung der Holzapfel'schen Blogs :-)
Dear Nicky and Oliver, Congratulations! Can't wait for more of your inspiring posts and recipes! I've been a regular reader for almost 6 months now and I am in constant awe of your sense for style and design. To many more years!!
congrats!! love your site.. i wish mine could be as good as yours :-p
Since everybody already said congratulations, I'd like to send over three hip hip hoorays for Delicious Days:
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Can't wait to see what's in store for the next year.
I loved your post, and especially loved seeing the links to the posts about vanilla and raviolli. I tried to comment on their blogs about how much I enjoyed reading them, but had no luck so I shall send the compliments via here. Thank you!
I've become hooked on your blog !! :) There is so much to read and to see ! An inspiration to so many of us you've been - even so that I created my own blog late last night ;) even if it's a given that it'll never be as superb as yours is I'm afraid - but that's fine by me. You're by far one the best in your field. Congratulations on everything and I must say - your photos are pure B E A U T Y :)
Congratulations on turning one, my dear "Delicious Days".
Nicky and Oliver, you are the best and inspiration to me. Keep it up and looking forward to many more years of pure joy.
I absolutely LOVE your food blog, it is the most readable blog I've come across in the many. And this post is a keeper. You have a great sense of humor, your writing style is clear and concise and very very entertaining. May you continue into your second year with as many rewards, both personal and otherwise as possible .... go for it. You have a huge fan base out here in blogworld.
Maureen
Happy blog's B-Day. I've been reading your blog qince a few months now and find it great. Your photos are always so beautiful, recipes nice... Well, your blog is one of my favourites.
Nicky and Oliver, congratulations on an amazing year! I was in awe the first time I visited your blog, and now a year later, I still think that Delicious Days is the best food blog (in the world!). Best wishes for another successful and delicious year!
Delicious days, you are my inspiration in blog writting and cooking. It's hard for someone like me who have never serious cooked before, to do the gorgeous cuisine like posting on this website. But I will try.... :)
Hey, thanks for coming into the world, Delicious: Days. Nicky and Oliver -- congratulations! Keep it coming.
Tanti auguri, Nicky and Oliver!
All the best in the year to come!
Hi,
I recently stambled across your website which since then has become like a daily fix. I just wanted to congratulate you for this amasing effort. I am greek and live in london for about 10 years now, it's a great shame there's no blog like yours about our city to point out wonderful shops and hidden food related gems...
Your site is an inspiration.
I am sending the biggest, louded and most celebratory birthday wish to you guys for a year of amazing writing, stunning photography and for keeping the bar so high in regards to food blogging. Such an inspiration to me, and just saying how thankful I am for being included in your message can't convey how utterly flattered I am.
You guys are amazing and continually amaze me!
Here's to another delicious year!
-matt (mattbites)
Congratulations Nicky and Oliver! Your site has thrilled me with its creativity and overall beauty since I first laid eyes on it, thank you so much for sharing with us!
I'm about four days late to the party, but nonetheless...happy blog b irthday, delicious:days! Hip hip!
Nicky and Oliver, you are an inspiration, as always.
Alles Gute zu Eurem ersten Jahrestag! Eure kleine Geburstagsfeier an dieser Stelle ist wie Eure ganzer Blog - geschmackvoll, witzig, interessant und beeindruckend. Ich kenn Euch noch nicht so lange, aber nach Eurem Rückblick fällt mir nur der Alte-Tanten-Spruch ein: „Mensch, bist Du aber groß geworden!”
It’s good to have you on the blog/block
Sebastian
Congratulations on yuor first year! I'd be interested in more info about the WI sauerkraut producer. I am in WI and have considered selling sauerkraut at the farmer's market. Can you at least tell me their name? Thanks!
Congrats!
I visit your blog religiously ever since I first stumbled upon it! I just wanted to say thanks for the great photography, recipes, and inspiration! I can now be open about my addiction with cooking... there are others out there! YAY! oh ya, I was curious what plant you have pictured up there?
beautiful blog beautiful pictures, just found you look forward to more visits, happy cooking.
Congratulations on reaching one year and creating a truly delightful blog along the way.