Love and Olive Oil

7 Years Ago Today…

…I first said hello to the world under the banner of Love & Olive Oil.

It’s a special day for us, for obvious reasons.

Two years ago to celebrate 5 years of blogging, I threw a birthday bash.

And last year, I shared with you some of the very first images, showing just how far I’ve come (spoiler: A LONG WAY).

But I was at a loss for what to do this year. I didn’t want to skip it, because 7 is my lucky number, after all. That’s no small feat, keeping a blog going for 7 years, and I didn’t want it to go unrecognized.

Julie suggested I share a photo of Taylor and myself from 7 years ago. So I opened up the old iPhoto library and scrolled back to see what I had in the way of old photos…

And sure enough….

Eating the first recipe ever to be posted on L&OO.

That’s 24-year-old Taylor, enjoying our home-cooked Valentine’s day meal (in his pajamas, how romantic). But that salad he’s eating just so happens to be the very first recipe I ever posted on this here blog.

Baking the first cake to appear on L&OO in 2007.

And that’s 21-year-old me, baking a cake. This cake, to be exact. The second recipe I ever published, posted later that day.

I’ll have you note that I am NOT in my pajamas.

The fact that I had these images blows my mind. My iPhoto library was quite sparse until later that year, when I graduated collage and we moved to Nashville and I started to get more comfortable with my digital camera. That I even had these photos, blurry as they may be (I was still learning how to use my camera, apparently), was incredible enough, but the fact that they depicted us making/enjoying the exact meal that comprised my very first post…

Well, that’s just fate.

And while a lot has happened in the past 7 years, graduating and moving and starting a business together and buying a house and getting married and adopting a few more cats and writing a few cookbooks (and yes in that order)…

Cats on the counter. Some things never change.

Some things never change.

Bad kitty.

Anyway, with 7 years behind us and (hopefully) another wonderful 7+ years ahead, I ask, what do YOU want to know?

We’ve done this once before to celebrate 3 years of blogging: opening ourselves up to your questions. Ask us anything! What do you want to know? Lindsay’s top 5 books of all time? The one food Taylor refuses to eat? What advice we’d give to a new blogger? Any subject is fair game, whether it’s about us, the blog, food, Nashville, the cats… seriously. Just ask.

We’ll answer some questions here over the next few weeks. While I can’t promise we will get to every question, I do promise we’ll be completely candid and honest in our answers.

So, what are you waiting for, ask away!

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41 Comments

  1. Congrats on 7 years of blogging!!

  2. CONGRATS ON 7 YEARS!!! :) Wow, that`s definitely an impressive number! I cannot wait to see more!

  3. A belated happy blogday! My blog will turn 7 in August. I can’t believe it, either. But I think I’ve made even more progress, but only because I started a lot further back than you did. I didn’t even have a recipe on my first post. :D

  4. Congratulations on 7 years!

    Your first photos were WAY better than mine. I had a terrible zoom-in super close on everything problem for a while there. :-P

  5. Congratulations on 7 years! That’s amazing! I love looking back and seeing where we came from – your first photos are still great! I know I have no cringe-worthy shots on mine!

  6. Wow! Congrats on 7 years. That’s a great, lucky number, milestone! Been browsing your blog — keep up the great work!! :)

  7. Congrats on 7 great years! what advise would you give to an aspiring blogger?

  8. Congratulations on 7 years, Linds and Taylor! What an amazing accomplishment :) 

  9. congrats Lindsay!!!  truly so happy that I found L&OO and that I was so lucky to work with you via Purr – You couldn’t be sweeter or more accessible, and I can’t thank you enough for how much you’ve helped me!

    I really like Averie’s question, but I’d also love to know what are you favorite & least favorite foods to photograph!  I’m always trying to improve my photography, and seeing how far you’ve progressed really gives me faith I can do the same :)

    To another 7 years! xx

  10. 7 years! Wow, time flies! Congratulations to you both, I just love the pictures – an amazing reminder of how much you’ve accomplished, together!

  11. Just wanted to pop in and say happy 7 year anniversary!! Here’s to many, many more years of blogging!! (Love the images in this post!)

  12. Happy 7 years! I love that you had those photos saved. I wish I could be that organized. Cheers to another 7 years!

  13. congratulations!!! looking forward to what the next 7 years will bring ;) 

  14. Congrat’s on 7 years. I look forward to the next 7 years. I actually wonder what we’ll all be doing then!

  15. Happy Birthday :) 

  16. Adorable pics!! Congrats on 7 years!

  17. Cheers to you for reaching 7 years. I hope the next 7 are just as much fun for you (and for those of us who follow). Congratulations.

  18. Congrats on 7 years! That is an amazing accomplishment, you should be very proud! (:

  19. Name one place you feel like everyone absolutely has to eat at in Nashville. And then one dessert place. ;) 

    LOVE this look back. And congratulations on 7 years! That’s huge! 

  20. Happy blogiversary! 7 years is quite an accomplishment. I can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves for the coming year :) No questions here – just a congrats and keep doing what you’re doing!

  21. Congrats on 7 years! It’ll be 7 years for me in April. Isn’t it amazing that we’ve been blogging that long and still have something to talk about worthy of blogging? my question is – what’s your favorite prop to use in photos?

  22. Such s cool post; happy blog anniversary!!!

  23. Congrats on 7 years! What a great way to celebrate. My question for you is this: if a fun-loving, food loving couple were to visit Nashville for a 3 or 4 day weekend, what would you recommend for an itinerary?

  24. One of the things I love about being married and having a family is the creation of new traditions. In the years you’ve been together, what food traditions have you established?

  25. Congrats on the 7 years! My question is: what are your all’s least favorite foods?

  26. Wow 7 years. Time flies. Fantastic post. Happy Anniversary to the Blog ;)

  27. Congrats on seven years. I love your blog! My question for both of you is do you have any odd food combination preferences that you would normally be embarrassed to share? ;]

  28. Congratulation on 7 years!!! I have just made it to one year of blogging, so I really have the deepest admiration for you guys to keep up such amazing work over 7 years! You truly are an inspiration for me and surely for many more bloggers out there. As a still newbie I would actually be interested in some advice. How do you find your own voice in the craziness of thousands of blogs out there? How to stand out? 
    Thanks so much for all the inspirations you have given me so far and I sure will follow you for the next 7+ years :D
    Rebecca
    icing-sugar.net

    • Congrats! I started my blog about 2 weeks ago and have already been bitten by the blogging bug. How has your first year been and what would you say are the major challenges you’ve faced? 7 years is definitely commitment but I am curious about how the first year goes especially when food blogs are more popular than ever. 

  29. Congratulations on 7 years!  You should be really proud and excited about what you have accomplished.  Glad to have met you through this blogging process.  Have a terrific weekend. :-)

  30. Congratulations on the 7 years blogging. That’s amazing. I just recently discovered your site and love it. Looking forward to many, many more years of your great recipes and tips. My question: what is the most essential piece of equipment (tool, pan, dish) in the kitchen that you would recommend every kitchen have?

  31. More cat posts!
    Including, but not exclusively, cat recipes? Thanks!

  32. My best friend and I started a blog earlier this year and we’re still learning, but love it!  Do you have any advice on blogging with a partner? Obviously a husband is different from a friend, but there are advantages and challenges to having 2 people in charge. Any advice? 

  33. Congratulations on 7 years!

  34. Congrats on 7 years!! I’m so glad you started your blog 7 years ago and me over 4 years ago…and that we met finally at FBF Orlando #1! Time flies when you’re having fun and I’m glad I get to enjoy it with you!

    My question is for both of you, what deal did you guys make that Taylor has/gets to do all of the dishes? I need to work on this for Curtis…Taylor don’t tell Curtis I said that! haha

  35. Congrats on 7 years! The fact that you have those photos blows me away, too! And all the serendipitous turns of events related to it being your second recipe posted. And you two look so crazy young! I mean, you were (and are!) but it’s amazing.  So many questions I could ask you but I’ll go with when you started either Purr or LAOO, did you ever anticipate that you’d make your living doing them and that they’d grow into what they are today? Like did you go to college and get your degree with anything like this in mind? Congrats on your amazing success and that you’ve done it together :)

  36. Congrats on seven years! While I haven’t been blogging that long, this still makes me want to go look at pictures of when my husband and I were in our first college apartment about that long ago. So funny how much changes in that time!

    • Congratulations! I love Breakfast for Dinner. I recently started a blog myself and I’m so pleasantly surprised that the blogging community is so supportive. Food really does bring people together! Is there any recipe that you really loved but didn’t make it into BFD?

    • Hi Maria….I just realized that I commented on your comment as opposed to the overall post. That’ll be the last time I comment from my phone :)

  37. Happy 7th birthday! I do know it is a big feat blogging consistently for 7 full years. I know, because even though for all these years that I have not been blogging, I miss it, and have been aching to get back. Its just that life has been a bit busy, and the rewards seem to be bigger elsewhere. Although the satisfaction that one gets when someone out there, tries out your recipe and sends a mail thanking me or asking/giving tips, is just unmatched! 
    Enjoy your birthday, and here’s to many many more amazing milestones! Good luck!

  38. Happy 7th Birthday! 

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