It’s time to celebrate because today marks Books Baking and Blogging’s fifth anniversary! That’s right, I’ve been keeping this thing going for five whole years now. I’m as surprised as you are. A lot has happened in those five years since I posted my very first post, but this blog has been a constant throughout it all and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, let’s look back over the years, shall we? Keep reading until the end to find out how to enter the giveaway!

The Beginning

In October 2013, I was two years into my university degree and I felt a little disconnected from books and reading. Because of all the reading I had to do for my studies (I studied English language and literature), I hardly did any reading for fun anymore and that was starting to really bum me out. Plus, I also wanted to do more with my love for baking. I’d already been thinking about starting another blog (I’d had a few of them in my teen years, but nothing that stuck) for a couple of months, but I wanted to make sure I created something that I would stick with. Oh, and it needed to have a good name. Thinking of the name and making sure I was happy with it probably took the most time out of the entire process, to be honest. Or maybe that prize goes to picking a WordPress design. Every step of the way, I wanted to make sure I was completely happy with what I’d chosen. It was a struggle.

Here’s the first design Books Baking and Blogging ever had:

Bit different, no? I still think it looks alright, but I’m happy with what I’ve got now, too. Although I have been thinking about changing it up again soon, but I haven’t decided on that yet…

After all the technical stuff, it was time to actually start blogging, and that happened on the 28th of October. I posted the recipe for my favourite brownies and that was that; I was in business.

Where to next?

For the first couple of years, I diligently posted twice a week (with the occasional exception). Looking back at that now, I can’t for the life of me understand how I did it. Of course, back then I was a student. Sure, I had to go to class, but mostly I was very free in deciding how I would spend my time. Plus, in all honesty, I was also a little lonely sometimes. Now, I work four days a week and I live together with my boyfriend, which makes finding the time (and energy) to blog a bit difficult sometimes.

Nevertheless, even with the hiatuses and breaks, I’ve always loved this blog and the blogging community. I might not blog as regularly anymore as I did back then, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it any less! I still love writing up my recipes and although I haven’t been writing that many book reviews lately, I do still love talking about books. So, I want to keep blogging and I’ve even been thinking about starting a YouTube channel as well, but that’s still a strong maybe. Would you guys be interested in that at all?

This blog is where I can nerd out about my favourite things with all of you, so I want to thank you all for making this so much fun! Maybe you’ve been following this blog for the full five years or maybe you’ve stumbled upon it just now (welcome!) – it doesn’t matter: you’re all great and I’m grateful to all of you.

Giveaway

That’s why I’ve decided to host my first ever giveaway! I never did it before because it seemed like such a hassle, but now seems like the perfect time to figure it all out. So, here are the details!

Prize: One book of your choice (max. 20 euros) from Book Depository

Here’s what you have to do:

• Go to my Instagram: @booksbakingandblogging
• Make sure you follow me (and no following just to unfollow right away)
• Find the giveaway post with the picture above (dated October 28th) and like it
• Leave a comment telling me what your favourite book is and tag a friend in the same comment

Terms & conditions

• The giveaway will run until the 8th of November
• I will contact the winner via Instagram messages and they will have 7 days to respond
• The giveaway is international, as long as Book Depository ships to your country
• The winner will be picked at random

And that’s it! So, head on over to my Instagram to participate!

Again, thanks to all of you for the past five years and also a special shout out to my Dad, who’s been my biggest fan since Day 1. Here’s to the next five years!