Mary, Giveaways

Happy 10 Year Blogiversary (+giveaways)

The anniversary of my very first blog post was on May 22nd, 2006 – which was ten years ago! When I started this blog I had no idea where it would take me, the things it would lead me to, or the people I would meet along the way. After ten years I still enjoy talking about food as much as I do, I still love taking photos and sharing my finds with all of you! I’m celebrating with some sweet giveaways (more on that later)!

10-years-ding-dongs

For my 10th Blogiversary, I thought I’d have a little fun and look back at a few of the things that happened during 2006.

Movies of 2006

Some of the popular movies that came out in 2006:

The Da Vinci Code (The book was better)
The Departed (I loved this one)
Night at the Museum (A Ben Stiller movie I actually liked)
Cars (Pretty sure I didn’t see this until after I started dating Jake over a year later)
Casino Royale (Daniel Craig’s first crack at James Bond)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (I love you, Johnny Depp)
Talladega Nights (One of Jake’s favorites, definitely not one of my mine)
Little Miss Sunshine (Indie love)
Blood Diamond (Brutal but excellent)
Borat (Had some funny moments with a lot of uncomfortable moments)


The box office winner in 2006? Pirates of the Caribbean. The Oscar winner? Crash.

TV Shows of 2006

Just a few of the top TV shows:

Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Heroes
30 Rock
IT Crowd
Eureka
Torchwood
The Unit
Ugly Betty
Big Love

Top Songs of 2006

Do you remember some of these hits?

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Sexyback by Justin Timberlake
My Love by Justin Timberlake 
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
When You Were Young by The Killers
My Humps by Black Eyed Peas
Sugar We’re Goin’ Down by Fall Out Boy
You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At the Disco
Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Food Trends of 2006

According to restaurant.org, the top 10 food trends of 2006 were:

bite-size desserts
locally grown produce
organic produce
flatbread
bottled water
specialty sandwiches
Asian appetizers
specialty coffee
whole grain bread
Mediterranean cuisine.

Weird! I think this was the year that “Organic” stuff really took off. Organic aka “Let’s charge you a ton more, woo”.

This Tasty Life 10 Year Stats

sauced-hot-chicken-wings

My most popular post of all time is my recipe for “Almost Fried Oven Baked Buffalo Wings“. In the last couple of years this post gained quite a bit of popularity on Pinterest. Imagine my surprise on Super Bowl Sunday this year when it was getting mad hits! It’s a recipe for buffalo wings that taste fried (re: very crispy) without actually frying them. There’s a little secret to making them extra crisp.

salted-pepper-chicken-wings

My most popular restaurant review ever is still about Mandarin Chinese Restaurant which I first posted back in 2009. I still think their salt & pepper garlic chicken wings are seasoned with crack to make me crave it nightly.

chips

The 10th post on this blog didn’t come until well over a year later in November of 2007. The post? Roberto’s in Mira Mesa. Roberto’s had replaced Burger King at the corner of Black Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Blvd. Roberto’s has since been replaced by Vallarta. Back then, Jake was only referred to as “my boyfriend”. I didn’t start referring to Jake by name until 2010! 

10-years-mini-donuts

In the spirit of Top Ten lists… let’s do my Top Ten Favorite Donuts! These will not be any particular order because I don’t feel like ranking today.

  1. Vanilla Kreme Filled Maple Bar from Peterson’s Donut Corner in Escondido, CA
  2. Carrot Cake Donuts from The Donuttery in Huntington Beach, CA
  3. Key Lime Pie Donut from Glazed Donuts in Key West, FL
  4. Blueberry Bourbon Basil Donut from Blue Star Donuts in Portland, OR
  5. Blueberry Donuts from Danny’s Donuts in Vista, CA
  6. Earl Grey Vegan Donut from Donut Panic in San Diego, CA
  7. Cruellers and Red Velvet Donuts from Mary’s Donuts in Santee, CA
  8. Coconut Pandan Donut from Nomad Donuts in San Diego, CA
  9. Buttermilk Bar from Star Dust Donuts in Imperial Beach, CA
  10. Twist Donut from The Jelly Donut in Yucca Valley, CA

Honorable Mention to The Donut Stop, my local donut shop in Mira Mesa who also makes yummy blueberry donuts and to Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood, CA who has the BEST Crumb Donuts ever.

10-years-pizza-bread

And just ONE MORE Top Ten list before I kill this whole idea (hush if you already think it’s been killed). My Top Ten Favorite Pizza Spots in San Diego (also in no particular order):

  1. Lu Pizzetta in Pacific Beach
  2. Sicilian Thing Pizza in North Park
  3. Isa.Bella Artisan Pizza in Clairemont
  4. Napizza in Little Italy
  5. Pauly’s Pizza Joint in Miramar
  6. Bronx Pizza in Hillcrest
  7. Rosaria Pizza in Mission Beach
  8. Milo’s Pizza in College Area
  9. Monello in Little Italy
  10. Urbn in North Park

Giveaway Time

This giveaway is NOW CLOSED.

Thanks to my THREE winners Susie, Lolo, and Yvonne! 

——

To celebrate my 10 years of blogging, I’ve decided to do a little giveaway. I’ve got three prize packs to share with all of you. Thanks to Islands and Weinerschnitzel for providing some of the gift cards for my special 10 year blogiversary giveaway! Here are the prizes:

Grand Prize: 1 – $25 gift card to Islands, 1 – $20 gift card to 85c Bakery, and 1 – $10 gift card to Weinerschnitzel ($55 total!)

1st Place Prize: 1 – $25 gift card to Islands and 1 – $10 gift card to Weinerschnitzel. ($35 total!)

2nd Place Prize: 1 – $10 gift card to Weinerschnitzel.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

  1. Comment below and tell me ONE of the following things (though you can answer all of them if you really want to) (+1 entry):
    – Have you found a new restaurant that you love through This Tasty Life? If so, what was it?
    – Tell me about a spot in town I need to try out – I always need more recommendations! 
    – Or what is your current favorite meal (either homemade or from a restaurant)?
  2. Re-Tweet this message (+1 entry – can be entered daily, leave comment for each entry with a link to your tweet):
    “I love winning things! I entered to win awesome restaurant gift cards from @thistastylife! Click here to enter: http://bit.ly/thistastylife10”
  3. Like this post on Facebook (+1 entry – leave a separate comment)
  4. Share this post on Facebook (+1 entry – leave a separate comment)
  5. Follow me on Twitter, Like this page on Facebook, Follow me on Instagram or Subscribe to this blog via email (+1 entry for each, leave a separate comment, OK if you are already following)

This contest is partially sponsored by Islands Restaurants and Weinerschnitzel and This Tasty Life! Contest is open to residents of the US. Contest ends on Wednesday, June 1st, 2016 at 8PM PST. Three winners will be chosen and notified by email. Winners have 48 hours to respond to email otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!


Published by

Mary

Mary is a San Diego native and has been a food blogger since 2006. She is an avid reader, a lover of puppies, and loves trying new food. Foods she loves: sweets, peanut butter, pasta, Triscuit crackers with cream cheese, and extra nuts on top of her sundaes. Food she dislikes: pickles, olives, black licorice, and arugula.

35 thoughts on “Happy 10 Year Blogiversary (+giveaways)”

  1. Aww happy blogiversary! (Not entering the contest, just here to say congrats!!) I’m so glad that we met through blogging 🙂 Here’s to another year of deliciousness!

  2. Happy Anniversary! I really enjoy your blog, but our favorite recommendation is Mama Kats. Such delicious breakfast & even worth the wait!

    1. Hi Dianne – Mama Kats is so good! I need to revisit them soon for their excellent hash browns. Thank you!

  3. 1) My friend and I learned about Cafe 21 from you a few years ago. We go there, and just really love the food. They make things so tasty there, and have an awesome birthday program (again you introduced that to us)!
    2-5) Done! =)
    6) HAPPY BLOGiVERSARY!

      1. Liked on FB
        Post Shared on FB
        Following you on Twitter, FB and IG
        Retweeted your twitter post

    2. Hi Susie! Cafe 21’s birthday promo is my hands down favorite one of the bunch – so glad you guys are loving it! Thank you!

  4. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging, and may you have many more to come! I love reading your blog. You seem like such a cool, honest person, and I am hooked on it. I wish you much more success in the coming years. 🙂

    You were the one who pointed out/recommended Isa-Bella Pizza to us, even though it was right down the street from us the entire time! LOL! Right under our noses. 🙂 Also, after your Mama Kat’s post, I became obsessed with it. We drive there from Clairemont all the time. No shame. 🙂

    1. Thanks so much, Lolo! I truly appreciate it 🙂 So funny you guys never went to Isa.Bella when it’s just down the street from you. Mama Kat’s is so awesome – I just wish it were a tiny bit closer. 😀

  5. You introduced me to Chef John’s Fish & Chips. Delicious golden fried fish. It’s like having lunch with John the Baptist himself inside a Bible bookstore ?

    You’ve got to try Pho Mai Cali and Grill (Sweetwater Road). Great pho, and the owners (Mai and her husband) are very lovely people. Very homey feeling.

    My current food obsession is pork belly tacos from Senor Grubby’s in Carlsbad. The pork belly is so juicy and flavorful. You’ll wonder how you’ve lived this long without it ?

    1. Hi Yvonne – I’ll put Pho Mai Cali and Grill on my “to try” list! I love pho and it sounds like a great place to check out – thank you!

        1. I’ve only had the fresh spring rolls. I’ll have to give the fried ones a try. Thanks!

  8. Happy 10 year Blogaversary Mary! I am so glad we met through our blogs and that we are also friends in real life. wishing you many more years of awesome food adventures!

    We first heard of Cucina Basilico from one of your posts (plus they had a coupon,haha). i was also glad I tried out Cafe di Roma in IB based on your post.

    You guys have to try K-Pasta in IB, along with Supannee Thai in Point Loma (their housmade sausage and fried rockfish are great). There is also Asia Cafe for Laotian food plus Mostra Coffee.

    1. Hi CC – Thank you! I’m really glad we met through our blogs as well. I’ve learned about tons of places because of you! 🙂 Cafe di Roma!! Oh man, I need to go back there, I loved their scratch made lasagna. I definitely want to try Supannee – I thought about it the other day when I went to Taste of Point Loma – I need to try that sausage!

    1. Hi Lynn! Your evil laughter seems quite appropriate. 😀 I kid, I kid. I can’t believe I was the first food blogger you met – how crazy! Thanks for reading and for being a great friend!! 🙂

  15. Congrats from the bottom of my heart for this huge milestone! I’ve enjoyed your writing style and informative posts since I found your blog some years ago. Our food adventures have been fun and I am looking forward to another 10 years of This Tasty Life.

  18. Congratulations! My favorite meal at home and out is a veggie pizza!! <3
    It is also my favorite thing to cook..probably because I love to eat it so much.

Comments are closed.