Category Archives: Bloggity

11.18.12

Are you a Google Reader gangster?
Do you want to be? I have to openly admit that I was late to this party.
Only about a month ago did I take the plunge into GR addiction.

I am obviously not an expert, but it has changed my life and I feel like you should be in on this.  For the first time in my life I can call myself efficient.
I am a blog reading boss. Getting started is super easy, especially if you have a Google account.
GR is a browser based application, so there is no need to download software.
Just go to Google.com/reader and sign in using your Google account or you can create a new account.

Then you need to find some good reads.

If you are totally new to this scene then I want to take a second to warn you….blogs will become an addiction and will suck all of your time up like a vacuum.  I felt that I should at least give you fair warning, your welcome.

To find blogs to read you can click on “Browse for stuff” or even choose “Staff Picks” for a little taste of what you are in for.  You can also enter keywords into the search and browse field at the bottom of the page.  That is a really good way to find articles and posts that will be common to your interests.

If you are a veteran at this whole blog reading thing then you probably already have a few favorites.  I have found the simplest way to add them is to enter the name or URL into the “Add Subscription” field and usually the very first entry to come up is your bingo. You can also almost always find an “RSS feed” or subscribe button on blogs, it is super easy to click that button and have it added automatically to your feed after a few prompts. Now you are reading to get sucked in for hours upon hours….think of Google Reader as a big fat newspaper, and each blog as individual articles. It is just so easy…now you aren’t going to every blogs page and getting disappointed when they haven’t posted.  Even better, now your favorite bloggers can’t sneak a post past you.  You are like a spy.  Congratulations.

GR will also stalk your life and give you trends on your reading habits.  Kinda neat, until you realize how much time you have spent reading other people’s blogs instead of working on your own…panic attack ensues…yada yada yada.

You can also save, star, and share your articles so you aren’t searching the whole world wide web to try and find that article you once read on how to eat as much chocolate as you want without gaining any weight.  If you find that article, will you let me know….mmkay thanks.

You can also create folders to organize the blogs once you start amassing quite a collection.  You know….food blogs, gardening blogs, DIY blogs, fashion blogs and they all have their own little folder.

If you are pro-status then check out Extensions.  Genius. Now here is the real juicy good stuff you have been waiting for.

There are tons of hot keys…you can basically get around the whole dang place without a mouse.  Google is good like that.

You are now ready to rock it.

Since I am still a newbie here….fill me in on some more tips and tricks.

Written by Christina and Tim
11.17.12

Hidy ho good neighbors…please someone get that reference.

Would anyone believe me if I told them that two New York Times best-selling authors wrote a little snippet that featured yours truly?

I wouldn’t believe me either….but it happened.

One of the best blogs on the internet…Young House Love…actually featured me and my boytoy and our crazy trip to Chicago for their book tour.  Make sure you check it out here.

Yesterday was pretty much the best day of my life….if you couldn’t tell from all of my tweets and status updates.  I got to experience a fraction of the gushy love-fest that John and Sherry live in.  You all are all so amazing and I sincerely thank everyone that took the time to read our shenanigans!

An even bigger thank you (from the very bottom of our hearts) goes out to John & Sherry for linking and showing some love.  You guys rock too hard and I could never tell you what it meant to us to see our cheesin grin on one of our favorite sites.

Believe you me when I say it will be getting framed, blown up into a canvas, and turned into an ornament.

Eternally grateful y’all….truth.

Written by Christina and Tim
11.14.12

Remember when I said you would be seeing some ch-ch-ch-changes around these parts?

I am not sure if you have noticed….but…. Who remembers coming home from school and cheering on the girl who got picked on in high school who is oh-so-hot now in her skimpy leather jumpsuit.  That was my jam…of the peach variety.

So I called in the faithful Jenny to do a switcheroo on my little ol’ blog.  And by Jenny I mean Photoshop and Redbull.  I mean if we learned anything from those makeovers it’s that they are hard work, amirite?

There will still be some changes and tweaking, lots of it actually.
But what do you think so far?

Written by Christina and Tim
11.11.12

Three years ago I ran across a blog.
Three years ago I don’t think I knew what a blog was.

I stalked John and Sherry Petersik’s wedding and home renovations for days….and those days then turned into everyday for three years.

I have followed their ups and downs and admired their ceramic animal collection from afar for a creepily long time.

So once the creators of Young House Love announced their book release, I prayed and prayed some more that they would visit somewhere within a ten hour driving radius.  I don’t like limits but I felt like 20 hours of driving might be pushing it if I wanted someone to come with me.
Then they said the magic words….Chicago.

Game over.

Then of course the nervous list making began.

So here’s the part where most people will think we’re crazy….we left on Friday night at eleven o’clock at night.  On three hours of sleep.  And drove six hours to Chitown.

I obviously don’t have any road-trippin pictures like I did here since it was night time.
But once we got there….well picture frenzy commence.

I called West Elm to make sure that we could get in since I was unable to RSVP when they announced the tour.  The girl was so sweet and told me to make sure I got there super early because some people might camp out, hence my boytoy’s loving text from yours truly.  We got there at 5:30 am and there was not a soul around.  And nothing was open.

I decided to set up camp since it wasn’t too cold and I needed to save my pep for meeting Sherry & John.

It didn’t stay lonely for long.
We met the most AMAZING people in line and we had a blast passing the seven hours of wait time. 

It was so nice to meet all of you, and everyone else that came to meet the crazy girl who showed up at 5am.
The Petersiks really do have the best fans.

West Elm was seriously amazing.
The store was gorgeous.
The people were fantastic.
Joanie and Jeromy, holy amazing.

I also found out, St. Louis is getting a West Elm next year.
I am going to start saving now.

The whole event was surreal, and sweet.

By the time this photo was taken of me enjoying my sweets, we had been there for a little over eight hours.
The line was wrapping around the building, and it was pouring.
Dedication….we got it.

It was so worth the wait.

It was one of the coolest days I have had in a long time.  John and Sherry are exactly how you would expect them to be….amazing.

So fun and happy, and the best part was all their fans are the same way.

I also ran into Nicole Balch from Making It Lovely, who also is a co-teacher in the e-course I took with Holly Becker of decor8. After I met Sherry & John I got to leave them a little note in their blank book that they bring to all the signings.  Talk about pressure, even my girl Roo has written in this book.

If you all really want to see me geeking out, just watch this video that Tim caught.

He is such a good man…I figured I owed him a little somethin somethin for you know staying awake for 26 hours, driving me to Chicago, feeding me chocolate when I wanted to crash, capturing the magic, and wiping my tears when we got outside and I realized that I just met Sherry and John.  Seriously, that happened.
 
Soooo…as promised.
Amendment:  As I was writing this post….this happened.
 
I am not going to deny getting up and doing the cabbage patch as soon as I read this….then I may have cried.
My life is seriously complete.
 
I have to send a HUGE, wet, sloppy kiss to @westelm and @younghouselove for hosting such an amazing shindig. 
 
It really was the best.

Written by Christina and Tim
11.04.12

Everyone knows I am all about the blog lovin…

Big blogs, small blogs, pretty blogs, smart blogs…I love and read them all.
I love to share the love.

So when I found out I was nominated for the Liebster Award from the gorgeous Yasmin from Bangles and Bungalows AND I got to nominate other small blogs…I was basically flabbergasted.

You can buy those lovely farm trophies here if you hurry.

The Liebster Award means “dearest” in German and recognizes up and coming blogs with less than 3,000 followers. The rules state that I need to answer 11 questions from the nominator, provide 11 unknown facts about me, and choose another 11 nominees for this award to pay it forward. Get ready to learn a little about me, and find some amazing small blogs.

Here are the questions from Yasmin:

1. Who is your style icon?
My homie Kate Middleton is my style icon for sure, that girl is classic charm and preppy glamour.  I only wish I could pull of coral pants like her.

2. What is the grossest thing you have ever eaten?
The nastiest nast was when I chugged sour, rancid milk.  Seriously, who puts rotten milk back in the fridge.  I know that is not eating but it was pretty chunky so it counts (sorry for the visual).

3. What is your secret indulgence?
This will sound so strange, but I love to sit and eat Cheez-Its and mini Snickers.  It’s the sweet, salty, cheesy, holy caloric goodness that I crave.  What candy maker can I talk to about patenting a Snick-It?

4. Favorite all-time TV show?
Oh so many, but if I had to watch one on repeat it would be Three’s Company.  Friends is a close second.

5. What beauty product do you swear by?
I adore Stila cheek stain, even if you aren’t wearing any other makeup it gives you the perfect flush.

6. Who were you in a past life?
I know at some point I was an Indian princess, like with the full head dress and body paint.  It was great.

7. If you could live in any country (other than your current one), where would you live and why?
Do I have to choose just one, can’t I just be a vagabond?  I would probably want to live in New Zealand…I have never been there but I hear fantastic things.

8. What song is your anthem?
Cheesy as it is I always get choked up to the Star Spangled Banner, so I will stick with the tried and true.  Better than Ke$ha I suppose.

9. What’s your greatest fear?
Going crazy scares me more than anything.  You know all the movies where someone is trying to convince people that they can time travel or that they have ghosts and everyone says they are a total nutcase….I never want to be the person that people disregard as a loon.

10. Who is your celebrity look-a-like?
People tell me I look like Busy Phillip….yea I wish
11. If you could invest $10 million dollars in anything, what would it be?
I feel like this is super obvious, but saving the Great Barrier Reef.  Duh!

1234

You want to know eleven things that you didn’t know about me….sit back and relax because they are comin atcha now:

1.  I played the violin for nine years, and quit just when I sounded bearable.
2.  I love raw dough.  Biscuit and cookie, I eat it till I’m sick.
3.  I am a really good line dancer, truth.  I love boot scootin all night long.
4.  I played soccer and tennis growing up, and I was terrible at both.
5.  I found out on my 23 birthday that I was allergic to cherries.
6.  I absolutely despise worms or anything that resembles a worm….trauma.
7.  I have never smoked a cigarette in my entire life, good kid here.
8.  I hit a deer once, I now shake while driving at night…no joke.
9.  Once I get something in my head, like White Castles, I can’t stop thinking about it until I go/do it/have it.
10.  I could eat spinach in anything, just call me Popeye.
11.  I bite my nails like all the dang time and I am stopping tomorrow.

Now for the good stuff….my nominees for awesome blogs that you might not know about yet:

Swish & Swoon
Floridays Mom
Scribbles & Notes
Belle & Beard
Just Two Crafty Sisters
Homemade Ginger
Little Paper Trees
Girly Obsessions
Mixed-Media Map Art
Kitch + Craft
She Makes A Home

Gosh, I know I am missing some of my favorites….I have so many!

I can’t wait to read all of your answers and scope out who you nominate.

Written by Christina and Tim
10.05.12

I am so excited that Blogging Your Way Boot camp started today!

If you hurry you can still sign up…and thank me later sweets. Isn’t Holly gorgeous!

I am really excited to give you all a little more cohesion and focus in this lovely space.

I have already met a bunch of amazing bloggers and it is only the first day, so the next four weeks should be full of excitement!

Written by Christina and Tim