If you’ve followed me for a long time, you know that my blog is my baby. While I started this whole thing over on Instagram, and it was those of you following me at that time that encouraged me to start a blog to make attaining product details for my outfits way easier. I absolutely love creating long-form content so it’s been a little heartbreaking to see IG stories become everyone’s preferred way of digesting digital content. Of course, I also love sharing content on IG stories so it’s all good but I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t made me even more thankful for those of you who take the time out of your day or week to venture over here to check out what’s been going on!

So, thank you!

2018 was a record breaking year in terms of traffic. We saw an increase in page views and unique visitors compared to last year, which was especially impressive because we did this with almost 30 LESS posts on the blog … due to such a heavy travel schedule and an increase in creating blog posts with a lot of copy within the post versus the posts that are easier to put together like outfit posts and gift guides.

Here were the top ten blog posts on AlysonHaley.com this year. I took the liberty of excluding any post that pertained to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Those always top the list so I took those out and am highlighting the others, that were more evergreen and potentially more useful to you now!

Five Basics Every Girl Should Invest In

It didn’t surprise me that this post did so well! What girl doesn’t love some good, solid basics? While I love a good sale, I am a firm believer in making investments in your wardrobe. Everyone is going to find some investments more ‘worth it’ than others so, in this post, I talked about some basics that I personally think every girl should invest in and one of my favorite places to find those investment pieces! Be sure to check it out if you’re looking to make some elevated investments in your wardrobe!If you’re wanting outfit details for this outfit, here ya go:

Heart Talk: How I Really Feel About Being Single With Two Dogs

At the end of January, we will celebrate Chips’ 2nd Gotcha Day! Around this time last year, I got really personal in this post about how I really feel about being single with two dogs. It’s tough. While I can’t quite say just how comparable it is to having kids, Chips has really made me question if I’m getting up and down and not able to get as much done as a lot of you momma’s! He was a piece of work the first year I had him as a rescue pup who had been passed off a lot. It’s been challenging with him and I was nervous to share my true feelings about it, but it’s always the posts I’m the most nervous to share that y’all love and appreciate the most. Y’all flocked to it and I was so happy that it could make a lot of you feel less alone in all that you’re juggling and trying to do for the little ones, whether they’re human or pets, to raise and love.

Q&A Tuesday + White Romper For Summer

Every week, I tackle some of your most recent questions or frequently asked questions through my Ask Alyson Haley newsletter. I absolutely love that so many of you are wanting to be a part of that community! Over the Summer, I had an increase in new followers so thought it would be fun to do a Q&A Tuesday so that those people didn’t feel like they were following a stranger! Ha! I cover tons of questions in this post from blogging to nursing, Fish & Chips to travel! So, if you’re new around here, be sure to check it out!

Here are the outfit details if you’re curious:

What I’ve Learned After Five Years Of Blogging

I cannot even believe that this year will be my SIXTH year blogging. It has been quite a journey, especially considering I went to school for something that couldn’t be further from what I do now. I have learned SO MUCH and, while I fully believe I still have plenty to learn [one of my favorite quotes is “if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”], I thought it’d be fun to compile a list of lessons I’ve taken away from the first five years. It gives you a little bit of insight into how I got started, what inspired everything, and what I want you all to remember if you are a blogger or follow bloggers. There’s truly something in there for everyone so be sure to check it out if you missed it!

If you’re curious about the product details, here is the widget from the post. Not everything is going to be in stock as the post went live last April but happy to share regardless:

Answering Your Most Frequently Asked Questions About Travel

With the dramatic increase in travel over the course of the last two years, you can imagine I get asked tons of questions about the products I find to work best for different situations, tips and tricks and advice on different processes like purchasing high-end items and the tax implications when coming back home. While I never mind answering these, I felt like it would be super helpful to everyone to have a reference post for frequently asked questions regarding travel so, last year, I made it happen!

In THIS post, I share my favorite luggage, tips on preventing hair tools from combusting and the most helpful app’s for navigation and language translation. Check it out if you’re traveling this year! It also might be helpful to pin some of the images to your Pinterest boards or bookmark it for future reference.

Video: My Everyday Makeup Routine

I don’t do many beauty posts but when I do … I like to be thorough and that’s certainly what I did with this post last year. I finally went into great detail on my everyday makeup routine. This is when I switched over to cruelty free beauty but most of the brands I use ARE so that’s nice! I shared a video, too, to make it easy for you to see how I apply everything! Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions and I’ll get back to you when I can! 🙂