Oui In France is 4 this month: Roundup of top posts (plus a giveaway)

Oui In France has a birthday this month! I’ve been doing this blogging thing twice a week for 4 whole years now and no one is as shocked about that as I am. It honestly feels like I just started — and in other ways I don’t even remember what my days were like without thoughts about Oui In France creeping into my head. I appreciate your support so incredibly much, so whether you’ve been here from Day 1 or just found my blog today, un grand merci! There’s a little giveaway below so click on for that.

For today’s post, I’m sharing some of the most popular posts over the years as well as my faves.

GO!

Oui In France is 4 this month: Roundup of top posts

I started my blog in May 2012 after living in France for a few months and wanting to share my life with friends and family back home. I then realized more than just a handful of people were interested in what life is like for an American in France, and little by little, my blog has grown into something I’m really proud of.

Over this past year, on the blogging side I’ve stepped up my activity on the Oui In France Facebook page, tried to create better feature images for posts and continued to come up with content that I think is engaging, gives you insight into what life is like in France, and is of course fun. On the personal side, I shared a few pet peeves, told you about things I’m terrible at and wrote all about the year’s BIG highlight: the best vacations of my life in Corsica with my family.

Thank you again for being here!

Before we get into the roundups, I want to point something out. You’ll notice most of the posts below have a France focus. It’s true — most of what I write here does tie into France/French culture/language/life in France. It’s the focus of my blog and always will be. I do live in France, after all, and I enjoy sharing my American perspective. I may enjoy it a little too much!

When I started my blog, I figured that 60-70% of the content would have a tie-in to France in some way and the rest would be related to pets, healthy living or anything else I felt like sharing on my personal blog. I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself into too tight of a niche and also wanted you to see more of me than just “Diane the American living in France.” As much as I’ve worked toward that balance, it seems like I still have a ton to say on France and have been tipping the scales closer to 90% France stuff. And that’s not a bad thing. I enjoy my France-related content and I think you do too. 😉

I really need to stick to an editorial calendar where I deliberately plan only 60-70% of France content. So that’s a goal of mine as we embark on year 5. Will that happen? I honestly don’t know. But as I mentioned almost 2 years ago, a shift in focus is a good thing. Onward and upward!

So here’s to 4 years of blogging and hopefully many more!

Here are my 10 all-time most popular posts ranked by page views in Google Analytics:

Diane’s note: Most of the readers of these posts came from a Google search after googling a particular topic. It’s interesting that many of the most-read posts have to do with women/style/love/beauty. And none of them are from the last two years of blogging!

(from least to post popular)

10. At the doctor: Strip down like you don’t care (but I do!)

9. Cost of living in France: What are French prices like

8. French/English sayings that get lost in translation

7. Why French pharmacies rule

6. Ask Tom Tuesdays: Differences between French and American women

5. 12 Reasons why you should marry a French guy

4. French style: How to look French

3. Top French pharmacy beauty products

2.  The strange noises French people make

1. Dating a French guy tips you should know before you kiss

Top posts I’ve written in the past year of blogging (ranked by page views in Google Analytics)

10. Most useful phrases for travel in France (AUDIO)

9. Why people will look at you strangely if you use Vaseline in France

8. Part 2: What the French find weird about Americans

7. French things I don’t do

6. 5 Embarrassing French mistakes

5. Baguette etiquette: What to do and not do with your bread

4. 6 Things that are totally true when your husband is French

3. French foods I won’t eat

2. Expat life: 8 Things I wish I knew before I moved to France

1. 17 Things I can do in France that I can’t in the USA

Although these didn’t get quite as many page views, these are some of my favorite posts I’ve written over the past 4 years (in no particular order)!

45 Things Americans think when visiting France for the first time

Mistakes I made when I moved to France

What we can learn from eating like the French

Blogging pet peeves that make me want to scream

Are you happy in France?

6 Life lessons I’ve learned from my dog Dagny

Hugging in France: Never hug a French person (and what to do instead)

4 Myths about the French healthcare system you should stop believing

7 Things I’ll never understand about the French

And now for the giveaway…

I reached out to Nuxe and they generously agreed to send one lucky a winner a 3.3-ounce (yes that’s the big one!) bottle of their bestselling Dry Oil Huile Prodigieuse. It retails for US$45 and is made with plant oils to nourish skin and hair. It’s a French pharmacy haul staple and just my way of saying thanks for being here. 😉

The giveaway is open to US residents only and will be shipped by Nuxe directly to one lucky winner.

The only way to enter is via the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will run for one week until midnight on May 20, 2016.

If you don’t win, buy some here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Good luck and see you next time!