When I started into this whole WordPress blog thing to say I was terrified would be an understatement.  I had no idea where to start and I was honestly nervous about it.  People kept telling me it was the only way to go if you wanted to really grow your blog.  But I had ZERO clue how to do this thing. People kept recommending “hosts” to me and I was like…what’s a host?

*Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links.  If you click on them and make a purchase you

That is why I am so grateful that I listened to these smart people and went with SiteGround as my host.

In case you don’t know, a “host” is basically just a fancy internet word for the place that your website lives.  It lives on their server and you go through the host to build your site connect your emails, manage your domain, and other back end administrative things. Having a good host is really important.  For me, there were some really important factors that went into choosing a host.

1// Their customer service had to be KING.  

I have worked in customer service enough to be very particular about customer service.  It’s really important to me that when I am choosing a service that if I need help, the people on the phone will be able to help me and they’ll do it nicely. I’ve had to call SiteGround customer service a couple of time (beginner ya’ll…) and they were so kind and so helpful.  They fixed my problems in minutes.

2//  It had to be pretty easy to use.  

I wouldn’t say that I’m technologically challenged, but I’m also not a pro.  Whatever host I went with it had to have a good knowledge base, easily google-able info, & be generally easy to figure out.

3//  It should work well with my chosen platform

SiteGround has auto-installers for WordPress.  It was so dang easy to set up.  All I did was put in my domain, click the platform I wanted and I got started.  I was in writing posts maybe an hour later.  It was so quick and easy.

4// It had to have good reviews and come highly recommended. 

This may seem a little silly, but I have seen SO many complaints about sites crashing, poor customer service, and all around poor hosting.  I was very worried about picking a host that would really deliver so I sought a host that everyone was raving about.

For me that host was SiteGround.  If you’re looking to start a blog, I would highly recommend giving SiteGround a try.

If you already have a self-hosted blog, why did you choose your current host?

A few weeks ago, I was blessed with the gift of a new camera.  Well, new to me.  And it wasn’t really a gift.  I bought it, but how it ended up in my hands, it seems like it was a gift.

I had just decided that it was time to take the leap and buy myself a DSLR camera when a friend of mine posted hers on Instagram for sale.  Of course I knew it was meant to be.  So I messaged her and a couple days later, it was mine.

I had been preparing by studying Pinterest graphics on how to set up in manual exposure and all that, but let me tell you…It is hard.  Getting it just right for the setting and the light you’re in is a real skill. I’m still working on it but I thought I’d share some photos that I’ve taken since I got it.

I haven’t really ventured into the world of presets yet in Lightroom, so all of these photos were manually edited based on the light I took them in…So please be gentle. I’m learning!  Can you tell that my baby girl loves the camera?

They’re not perfect, and to be honest, I shot most of the pictures on auto…But I’ll get there! Hope you enjoyed these pictures of my adorable little girl.