For The Love Of Blogs

We've Moved to i Blog 4 me

2012-01-09T05:56:00.001-08:00

Sorry this is so late but wanted you all to see that we've moved to HERE

Come share your interview and still join the many link ups, tips and blog networking! Love and Peace always!

Featured Blog-Happy Bow lucky

2011-12-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hellooooo, blog friends! :)

So nice to meet all of you.

I'm Chelsea and I blog over at www.happybowlucky.blogspot.com!

Please come check it out sometime.

I promise to make you feel REAL welcome.

Anywhoo.

Back to the good stuff.

I'm 19 years old.

I love Jesus with ALL of my being.

I'm ALMOST engaged to this guy pictured below! :)

(I know, I know. Gorgeous. And hilarious, too.)

I have the best family ever.

I have a heart for missions.

And I'm currently going to school online to be a teacher.

But I don't want to be a teacher anymore.

(Wanna know why?)

Come on over!!

Ha.

._.

(That's an evil smiley face. ^^^ In case you were wondering.)

Hm….

What else?

OH! I just recently started blogging.

So if you come SOON…

you will have hardly missed a THING!

And I promise it only gets more interesting.

I mean, what is more interesting than me being a 2-headed monster? NOTHING. That's what.

(I'm the one on the right.....)

I have such good stories to tell!

Things like….

My boyfriend throwing dirt in my mouth…. (He's such a sweetheart.)

Catching my mom & dad doing Turbo Jam together…. (Hilarious.)

My awesome BLONDE moments.

Like mixing ingredients by HAND – quite literally!

(Which EVERYONE loves to make fun of me for!)

Or that one time I....

Nah. I think I'll save that story for later. ;)

(This was me in high school, btw. No jokes, please.)

I am sharing it JUST because I think it's hilarious.

And if you wanna know the story behind it, just COME TO MY BLOG! :)

It's a lot of fun.

I promise you'll have a good time.

(Did I mention I like to fish? No? That's because I don't! I just grew up doing it. My family does

it, my boyfriend does it, and I occasionally do it. I like to be on the water, but I hate catching fishies. And putting the worms on hooks. Poor fishies. Poor worms.)

SO YEA!

Better get your booty on over.

Follow me!

On bloglovin'.

Twitter.

GFC.

ETSY.

I don't have FB right now.

(TOO MUCH DRAMAAA!)

BUT YES!

Come by!

Introduce yourself.

Feel relaxed and at home.

I promise it will be worth your while. :)

And let's be friends.

MUAH.

xo.

chelsea leigh

P.S. The first 2 pictures of me are recent!

But the rest of these pictures are like SUPER old.

Like.... a few years worth.

I never have anyone around me when I'm looking good enough for pics. :)

But it will get better.

Promise.

Hope to talk to you soon! :)

Soul Singing Liv

2011-12-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Sponsor LOVE

--we asked these fun questions for you--

What do you do to pamper yourself on the days you have off?

I make myself the biggest cup of tea possible, cuddle up on our big couch, and catch up on my DVR. After filling my brain with such thought provoking shows such as Project Runway and The Vampire Diaries, I take a long bath and read a few pages of whatever book I'm reading at the time. Is there anything better than taking a bath in the middle of the day? I think not. This is all happening while simultaneously running after my children, of course, so it's in small doses. But I try to get a dose, nonetheless.

When I was a kid, I remember being surrounded by cousins and playing for hours in the woods behind our house. We used to build the most elaborate forts and go fishing in the creek on our property. We played until our mamas called us in for supper, our imaginations running wild, our lungs full of fresh air, our laughter filling the trees. It was the best.

My daily fix is black tea and the newspaper before anyone else wakes up. Those few minutes of quiet, catching up on the news, starting my day with a little peaceful moment.

If you could have your dream shop {or if you already do} what would it be, describe it.

My best friend and I have big dreams to someday start our own line of natural skin care products. I'd love to have a space filled with local made goods: soaps, candles, jewelry, a co-op for local makers of natural things. Now if I can just convince my husband to let me buy a couple of goats...

Soul Singing Liv

Picture Perfect: Anything Goes

2011-12-29T05:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday to everyone. Did you survive the holiday weekend? Did you take a lot of pictures? Good! Because you can put them to use on our We Love Photography Group. Week#8 Photo challenge has just started, so hop on over and join in.

I was extremely pleased with the number of photos uploaded during this past week's challenge. Even in the busy holiday rush, you lovely people took time to enjoy the photography challenge. And for that, I thank you kindly!

Look at this lovely photo

This is from Becky. Is there anything more precious than this?

There were so many other fabulous photos.A vintage style Christmas picture from Kim, Larissa's wet toes,
Sarah's B&W picture of a deer in her yard, Kate's photo of rain on a window, cranberries, old bridges, and so many more. Please go view these and drop a kind note of encouragement to these lovely ladies.

Great job everyone! I hope you all enjoy a fantastic day.

Sponsor us in January!

2011-12-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

Ready to drive some new year traffic to your blog?

ONLY 5 spots available!
Are you interested yet?Please read the sponsor details carefully1.Two for the price of one:For sponsoring FTLOB you will also get a FREE AD SPACE of 200x200 on my blog.2.Your ads will be placed under the Things we do gadget on the FTLOB site and along with my other sponsors in the sidebar.3.The ads will be rotated throughout the month for you to get maximum exposure.4.The lovely sponsors would be featured in a group introduction along with a few cool questions I have for them both here and my site.5. For $2 more you have the option to be a part of a Group Giveaway.

Book your January adspace now and be a part of our Fabulous community!Email me at: swetablogs@gmail.com. 5 Spots ONLY.

Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Do you need one more indulgence before the New Year begins? One more not so healthy treat before your New Years resolution to lose weight? I found just the treat for you!

Click on the pic to get the yummy recipe!

Do you have a food tradition for New Years, something that you make or eat every year for New Year's Eve or Day? We' love for you to share that with us! It's always fun to see what others' do and how they celebrate.

Link up your yummy recipes, and be sure to fine others'.

Happy Celebrating!

Tutorial: Who doesn't love pretty fonts?

2011-12-26T23:02:00.000-08:00

Hello lovelies! Let's learn something new shall we? In the following post we'll learn how to add Custom Fonts to your Post title, post body and sidebar title.

Earlier it was a bit of a hassle to add Custom fonts to blogger blogs. The font had to be downloaded, then hosted somewhere and then embedded in your layout. But now,thanks to Blogger's template editor it's so much easier![Template Editor>Advanced>Choose your fonts!]

Another way to add cool fonts is the Google Font API. Consider the Font APIs building blocks for you to make a pretty blog.

Firstly,remember this before making any changes to your template code,back up your template by logging into your Dashboard>Design>Edit Html>Download full Template.Save it in a location you would remember to upload it again if you mess up the template.
No need to be scared!Just follow the instructions and you would be okay.

Next, choose a font you like from Google Font API. There's a slider on the left side where you can choose the slant and thickness of the font and the site will sort accordingly. Convenient,yes?

Once you've chosen the font,click on "Quick use".

I chose a font called "Electrolize"
The quick use code given is such

<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Electrolize' rel='stylesheet'

type='text/css'>

But we have to make one minor change to it for it to work!{Paste it in a text editor like notepad }

<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Electrolize' rel='stylesheet'

type='text/css'/>

See what I did there? I added a "/" before the closing ">".If you don't,blogger wouldn't be able to save your template.Now we paste this code under <head>.This must be at the absolute top of your template.If you still have trouble finding it press ctrl+f and a little box at the top pops up and highlights the code you're searching for.
Next we grab the font family code,which in case of Electrolize looks like

font-family: 'Electrolize', sans-serif;

Okay,so we have the font,we have the codes,now what?
We apply!
To apply to your your post title,
search for this code{ctrl+f}-remember this,it comes in real handy when you wade through that sea of code!

.post h3 {

Paste the font-family code like so

post h3{ font-family: 'Electrolize', sans-serif; font-weight:normal;font-size:140%; color:#000;}

Remember while pasting you don't remove any of the single quotes or semicolons.

If your template does not have .post h3{, you can paste the above code anywhere between <head> and ]]></b:skin>.

Change the colour and font size accordingly :)

Similarly to apply it to the sidebar headings search for .sidebar h2 (or add it) and apply this code

.sidebar h2{
font-family: 'Electrolize', sans-serif; font-size:20px; color:#000;}

To apply it to your post boy {the main text where your posts are displayed}

search for

.post-body {

and paste the codes like so:

.post-body { margin:0 0 .75em;
font-family: 'Electrolize', sans-serif;font-size:16px; line-height:1.6em;
}

adjust the font size accordingly and remember to choose a font that's easy to read.Refrain
from choosing cursive or squiggly fonts as that would drive the readers away faster than
you can blame the "Quick Fox"!

See some custom fonts in action on my blog!
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial-feel free to show off your results in the comments!

Embrace

2011-12-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

Good day beautiful peeps! It's a new week, and for most of us the holidays are over. Phew! With a new day comes all the beautiful things we have to embrace! All of things that are beautiful to each and everyone of us! I hope that you have something amazing that you would like to share. Link up your inspirational post with something you're embracing!

We have many new and exciting things coming your way in the new year, so be sure to browse around and find all the wonderful things this blog has to offer, like our Community Chat and our Giveaways. Don't miss out by linking and running! We'd love for you to stay for a while!

Featured Blog: Lil Mys Ninja

2011-12-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

Hi there all you bloggers and bloggettes! My name is Maria and I blog over at Lil Mys Ninja: A Day In The Life Of Maria...

Who am I you ask? In short (no pun intended!), I'm a short Filipina-American woman that loves to dance and rides a motorcycle. I'm a passionate woman who wears my heart on my sleeve, a pet owner, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a biker, a runner, a poet, a volunteer, and a Cradle Catholic returned home. I love music, dancing, the mountains, hiking, white-water rafting, tattoos, reading, books, coffee, animals (especially tigers), and running.

When I first started out blogging I couldn't figure out how I was going to do it. I thought that I needed to have a theme so what better subject to blog about than motorcycles, considering I'm a female biker?

One of my fav photos!

Smile...it's contagious!

Well, that didn't last long. Not only did I blog about my experience of owning and riding a bike, but I found myself wanting to blog about other things...specifically things in my every day life. So it ended up turning into a random blog about my life experiences and passions. Now, I love to blog and love networking and "meeting" people from across the world who have similar interests as me, whether it be motorcycles, riding, reading, running, volunteering, or just living life in general! I experience my every day life with my family, friends, and the love of my life, PJ...

Cooper River Bridge 10K

The year that I beat my sister's time!

Our team for the Relay For Life 2011

Visiting NY on vacation

Rafting the Hudson River in the Adirondack Mountains

Hiking Table Rock Mountain

The Scenic Overlook, view of Pinnacle Lake

I'm on top of the world!

And did I mention that I have two furry four-legged kids? Well, just like any proud parent, I love bragging, so here they are!

Raven (the dog) and Sock (the cat) squirrel watching

One of the few times they sit together like this

Raven loves car rides!

I'd love for you to swing by and spend a day in my life with me!

Alisha and Brandon

2011-12-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Hi there readers/party people/people stalkers!
{let's be real, we all know we stalk people via the internet}
No need to be ashamed.

My name is Alisha, and I blog over at Alisha and Brandon where I share bits of my life from my home, my photography, to my faith and my passions, and sometimes I talk about my husband too. ;)

A little more you ask?

Hmm, well, I like coffee.

Wait, let me rephrase…

I'm addicted to coffee.

I love anything and everything to do with photography.
I take my DSLR with me every where I go.

I don't consider myself a photographer. Yet.
But, I do love capturing a moment in time that you can look back on for years to come.

My handsome husband.

Oh, and I like food.

A LOT.

Coffee and food together - the perfect combination.

Yes, that is all for me.

Delicious cake balls! Recipe HERE.

Still reading? Hmm… Well I applaud you. Go you!! If you really want to know more about me feel free to visit me over at my blog. I'd love to get to know you!

And for you...
A button.

I know, I know, I'm too kind.
You're welcome.

Twitter Party Thursday

2011-12-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

I thought I would throw out a Twitter Party today for all you tweeps! Link up your twitter accounts and get to hoppin!

There are 2 days left to win this beautiful Gumball machine, don't miss out on it, or this one or this one. We hope you are loving our giveaways!

Happy Tweeting and Winning!

Wonder Filled World

2011-12-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all! I'm Bri (pronounced like the cheese), and I'm relatively new to the blogging world!

I graduated from UNC-Charlotte last December and after I entered the "real world" I quickly realized that there was no "how-to" book for life. Figuring it out has been quite an adventure. I've experienced so much this first year out of school and I started this blog to share those experiences with other young women like myself.

My blog is about my fast paced life, I work for NASCAR and I'm on-the-go A LOT! I grew up with three brothers and always knew I wanted to work in sports, so I truly feel like I'm living my dream.

My background is super complex but I love to think all the different pieces make me who I am. I'm a Texas gal, but I spent my younger years living in Mexico City and like to think of myself as a proud Latina! My heart is definitely in the Carolinas and I'm dying to live in Charlotte again some day soon.

I've named my blog "wonder filled world" because the most important thing I've learned is that no matter how crazy life feels, it is ALWAYS filled with wonderful moments if you just stop long enough to take them in.

Follow me as I blog about the lessons I learn along the way through my career, love life, friendships, family, and travel.

Picture Perfect: Red

2011-12-21T04:52:00.000-08:00

Hello there! How is everyone doing this fine day? Ready for the holiday weekend? It's going to be the perfect opportunity to get out that camera and snap some memories.

Over on FTLOB community we held our weekly photo challenge and the topic this week was RED. The interpretations that came from this were fascinating. So many smart creative people here!

We chose Hi_D's (Random Hi_D) photo for this week. Isn't it awesome? Great work Heide!

And once again, thanks to those of you who participated. You are the cream in our coffee...the Ying to our Yang...the, oh never mind. What we are trying to say is we can't have a successful photo challenge without you. So thank you!

Check out the next challenge over on the We Love Photography Group and upload a photo for us all to see. I always look forward to seeing every one's creativity shine. If you don't plan on showing one of your own images, be sure to drop a comment on the other photos there. Tell us what you think of them. Get a conversation started. Meet new friends.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Sponsor Love: We Took the Road Less Traveled

2011-12-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

Blog||Twitter

we asked some fun questions

Question 1-What do you do to pamper yourself on the days you have off?
On my days off I like to veg out, enjoy a glass of wine, and catch up on all my shows stored up in the DVR! I currently have an unhealthy obsession with The Vampire Diaries and Modern Family re-runs. I also love to travel when I get a free weekend with the hubby! Living in Germany is perfect for sight-seeing day trips!

Question 2-When I was a kid, I remember
Grabbing my little sister, popping on the rollerblades, and heading down to our basement to "ice skate"! We had a concrete floor in our basement growing up and my sister and I would spend HOURS down there pretending we were figure skaters (in the Olympics, of course) just skating around and making up routines to Mariah Carey songs. We were totally awesome at it. Do you think I can skate these days? Not a chance. I've since traded my gold medal dreams for two left feet and a cracked tail bone. Story of my life.

Question 3-My Daily Fix is

Facebook. You thought I was going to say coffee or something, right? Nope. I'm a total Facebook junkie. Helps me feel connected with everyone back home in the states. It's a totally healthy addiction, promise!

Question 4-If you could have your dream shop {or if you already do} what would it be, describe it.

I'm a born and bred Southern girl with an affinity for beautiful things, so that's what I'd fill my dream shop with! Lots of lace, burlap, and vintage looking pieces that ooze Southern charm. I'm testing out the crafty DIY waters as we speak, so maybe check back for a shop sometime in 2012?! Fingers crossed!

We Took The Road Less Traveled

Tasty Tuesday- Holiday Edition

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Are you all ready for your holiday dinner this weekend? I know my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Some of us have already celebrated, but it's never too late to grab some more recipes for next year! Have you found the perfect roll recipe? Check these out, they are just beautiful!

Click on the photo for this recipe!

Today's Co-Host is Kami from Searching for Serendipity! Go say Hello and meet a new friend. Search for some yum while you're at it, like this easy apple crumble and look what she's having for breakfast!

Don't forget to enter some really cool giveaways here like the Gumball Machine with 4 lbs of Gum and the beauty package giveaway valued at over $100. Oh and of course the Urban Wall Print or Decal. Awesome stuff guys! check it out! Have a great day!

Embrace

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Good Monday Morning all! It's the beginning of a new week, with so many things to do and embrace. From the beautiful Christmas Lights

to the awe of a child

It sure is a Beautiful time of year.

Share what you have embraced this week! Be sure to stop by The Holiday Home Extravaganza for recipes or ideas, and check out the conversations over in the chat, or start one of your own!

Whatever you do, embrace the day, and have an amazing week!

Saturday Inspiration

2011-12-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

I personally love this time of year! The holidays are a time to bring out that inner craft and love you have for others. I'm loving all the posts about the season. This wrapping idea was seen on Miss Decorate via the long thread. I'm a huge fan of bags, bags, bags.

I enjoy seeing wreaths all year long and this tutorial is perfect for any time of year! or how about this paper wreath, um hello! how unique.:

So what have you made to inspire others this holiday season? Please share, we'd love to see. Crafty, handmade projects only please. Enjoy the weekend pretty friends and always remember to inspire and be inspired! xo

Meet Reinventing the Ordinary: ♥

2011-12-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

If I could have a real shop with a physical address.... I'd love to have a funky clothing boutique.. or an eclectic design or interior decor shop.

Blog||Shop||FB

Shop Discount For FTLOB Members

15% OFF
code word LOVEOFBLOGS

Urban Wall Giveaway

2011-12-16T03:35:00.000-08:00

There is something magnificent about art. I used to gaze at the walls in the hallways at school when i was a little girl. Today I still gaze, looking at gorgeous art on restaurant walls, even bathroom walls. And there is no place better than the walls of your home to place magical paintings, decals and prints. The wonderful folks over at Urban Walls is giving one lucky winner a $50.00 gift card to pick out the wall art or print of your choice. There are so many amazing pieces, you may just find yourself indulging all day, perhaps even buying some for loved ones for the holidays.

The prints Danielle creates are the most sweetest I've honestly ever come across. From nursery to little girls rooms, to your husbands den; they are simply divine!

There are so many ways to enter this fabulous giveaway, take advantage and good luck pretty friends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One Day Grabber

2011-12-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

a Cheery ♥ Weekend Wander

2011-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hello gorgeous faces. With the busy Holidays and the many link parties we have going on, we're going to put this hop up from now until late Sunday. We want to see more than what we've had on our hops. This means spread the word, get those friends involved and everyone mingle with old and new friends. Show us your pretty decor for the Holidays and share the love of your family posts here. You can link to more than one post. We have a ton of members that hesitate to link, but we want you to feel comfortable in linking, sharing your blogs! Link up and make yourselves at home! Kick those cozy slippers up, set that laptop on your legs, sip that hot cocoa and give a little light this season.

Our Co-Host this weekend is Melanie from

Keeping up with the Cantelmo's

she's our number one spot, go follow her journey and link up, mingle, meet new faces! enjoy the long weekend and be cheerful

Wanderlustee- a ftlob featured blog

2011-12-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

hey y'all! i'm kim from wanderlustee.com and i'm here on FTLOB to try to ~~brainwash~~ convince you to visit my blog!

what started as a way for me to vent about my fitness adventures and weightwatchers watchin' turned into a general blog about my life.

i have lived in nyc for going on five years (don't be jellie) but miss my old life in the sunshine state and i loooove to travel (be jellie!). i wish i could be one of those amazing year-long travel bloggers who supports themselves simply by taking awesome pictures and talking about how awesome travel is, but unfortunately it's not in the cards (yet). until then i spend my summers trying to visit new countries and my school years planning the next trip.

did i mention i'm a teacher?

a high school teacher?

in the boogie down

(that's the south south bronx for those of you non-NYers)

a spanish high-school teacher in the south bronx.

are you soooo jealous of me yet?

so sometimes my work life creeps into the blog but i try not to talk about it too much as you occasionally hear on the news about teachers getting in trouble for blogging about their worklife. the most recent "incident" at my school was a girl walking back into class after being kicked out holding up a sign that said, "who wants to eat my a**". charming right?

but life as a teacher is never boring, if not totally frustrating.

in comes escapist fantasies of year-long, world-wide travel!

i also have a budding interest in photography that i'm trying to find time to explore, plus teaching myself italian via rosetta stone, learning to art journal (or other various crafts), reading the widest variety of books ever and keeping up with my television and celebrity gossip!

oh, and harry potter is featured heavily.

if any of the above seem even mildly interesting to you, i implore you to stop on by and give me a holler, also tweet me @thekimberlyrae ... my tweets mostly consist of television commentary but im working on becoming more entertaining!

thanks for reading, and hope to see y'all soon! :)

¡adiós!

Picture Perfect: Editing {sorry we're late!}

2011-12-15T05:09:00.000-08:00

Hi sweet people! We had very interesting photos submitted for the Week #5 Photo Challenge over on FTLOB Community. The theme for this challenge was "Editing". And wow! Here is a re-cap of the photos submitted. Hi_D submitted a 2-part photo of herself having hair, and then bald. Very interesting. Sweta turned herself into a vampire. Nice! Jenny and her pal 'Kloey' had a fashion photo shoot. Adorable! Jaime turned a lovely photo of a daisy into a B&W version, leaving a plash of yellow. Very nice! Vic took an ordinary book fair sign and constructed a lovely vintage-feel collage. Very creative! And lastly, Dana edited a cup of tea into a dreamy, steamy I-gotta-have-it-now! photo.

And Dana, author of The Sisters Blog, is the one we will feature this week because as the weather gets colder, this photo makes us all feel warm and fuzzy, doesn't it? Love the softness and bokah.

Great job Dana! And great job to everyone else.Thanks so much for playing.

A new challenge will be up soon on the FTLOB community, We Love Photography Group. We hope you will go check it out and join the fun this week.

Go enter the great giveaways here on the site and stay tuned for more great features.

Showing off our December Sponsors!

2011-12-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

Learn a little more about our AWESOME December Sponsors from our teeny questionnaire they answered and shower LOADS of love on their blogs and shops!

Blog | Shop | Facebook | Twitter

Miss Mommy sells Leather Wrap Bracelets in the shop along with Antique necklaces and silver necklaces.

I am a Canadian Mom of 2 little girls that lives in Melbourne Australia. I blog about everything from homesickness, my girls, my secrets, our love story, recipes and everyday life in general. Along with having a husband who usually works 6 days a week and does shift work, an online shop and blog, my 2 girls, I also have a "real life" job as I call it. I work in Financial Planning 3 days a week.

This is what prompted me to start a blog: Being a Canadian and living in Melbourne Australia. I started my blog as a way to keep in touch with my family and it was one central spot everyone could come and see updates

on us, my girls and our lives.

My 5 favourite things about blogging: By far the best thing is the friendships I have formed. I have several "friends" whom i've never met in real life but I still call them my friends. Blogging is my outlet - my way to release. Inspiration - I seek a lot of inspiration from other bloggers. Tutorials - I use a lot of tutorials and recipes i've found.

My take on Vlogging: I like vlogs. I have done a few vlogs and will often post videos of my girls. I think it's personal and really like the connection.

My favourite post to date is: hmmm - it's hard to pick just one. I like the videos of my girls.

My pick me up when I'm having a blogger's block: Pinterest. I go to Pinterest for inspiration. I search "inspirational worlds", and read a bunch of inspirational phrases. Life, and experiencing life. I will go for a drive or a walk and bring my camera. You can see a lot of beautiful things while taking pictures.

Blog | Twitter

Hi! I'm Lauren, I blog over at Living Loved and I have been blogging for a few months now - It's the perfect creative outlet for me!

So I live in Brisbane, Australia and my pet Kangaroo's name is Buck. Just Kidding. We don't name our Kangaroos, that would be ridiculous. I'm twenty-one and I'm attempting to keep film photography alive through my little collection of plastic cameras. I also really enjoy digital photography and am getting to know my dslr better. I blog about what I bake, the bands I like, the books I read and the people I love.

At the moment I'm putting together a series of guest posts on 'A day in the life' of different bloggers, email me at lktadde[at]gmail[dot]com if you'd like to be involved! You can catch me on twitter and pinterest too!

My 5 favourite things about blogging:

1. The blog love. I've 'met' so many lovely people through blogging.

2. Writing. I guess we just do tell stories like we used to do and blogging keeps that alive in a way!

3. Sharing the recipes I love. I LOVE to bake and have made a few recipes of my own. Sharing them is really cool.

4. More photos. I will always take my camera with me now and do my best to take great photos. Yes, to share on the blog but also learning to use my camera properly and not having it on 'auto' all the time!

5. Knowing my opinions on certain issues. People blog about controversial stuff sometimes. It's really made me sit up and decide 'Do I feel the same way?'

My take on Vlogging: Hmm.... I like vlogging when it's funny. But I think most times vlogging isn't, so that's a bummer!

My favourite post to date is: Hard to pick! For different reasons I love this one and this one.

My pick me up when I'm having a blogger's block: Hasn't happened yet...but when I get an idea to blog about I usually write it down somewhere, so I have a little list I keep that I can refer to if I'm stuck!

Blog | Facebook |

My name is Alyx and I blog over at Every Day is a New Adventure! I'm married to an amazing guy (affectionately referred to as Hubby in the blogosphere), and we're currently living it up in the middle of nowhere, Germany. This here blog is where I share my deepest secrets. Okay, not really... but I do share some pretty awesome recipes, hilarious stories, awkward moments, and sometimes I sprinkle a little something fashionable or sentimental in there. Living out of two suitcases in a foreign country is definitely a crazy experience, and Every Day really is a New Adventure.

You can visit me on the blog, or on Facebook! Be sure to stop by and say hello - I love meeting new people!

This is what prompted me to start a blog: I started a blog a couple of years ago when I moved to Europe, but then never wrote in it. I rediscovered it when I came to Germany again a couple of months ago, and stuck with it.

My 5 favourite things about blogging: 1. Meeting new people 2. Finding awesome recipes and DIY projects. 3.Reading other people's blogs. 4. Sharing my experiences with other people. 5. It's a creative outlet.

My take on Vlogging: I think it's lame. At least for me - I'd end up looking a little dumb, and I'd probably ramble a lot.

My favourite post to date is: This one: http://garnerfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2011/12/dear-germany.html Yes, I was having a bad day... but it was actually kind of fun to rant about silly little things, and make my bad day seem funny.

My pick me up when I'm having a blogger's block: I usually do some lame blog post about my day if I can't think of anything better, but try to add humor. Humor makes everything more interesting to read, even if I'm just talking about why I hate carrots.

Blog | Shop | Facebook | Twitter

Hi...I am Messy and I started a whole new adventure with My Paddy just over a year ago. We went on a 2 month European Tour, moved from one side of Canada to the other, started a new life in a small town and opened our own business upcycling furniture. Come and enjoy the ride of a lifetime with us. The good, the bad and the ugly.

This is what prompted me to start a blog: I was a card maker and a girlfriend of mine started a blog to enter contests with her cards so I thought I would do the same. It turned into a blog about my life when we moved and started our new life adventure.

My 5 favourite things about blogging: meeting new people, learning new DIY's, getting outfit inspirations and ideas, the feeling when someone leaves me a nice comment and it forces me to do fun and exciting things so I have interesting things to post about.
My take on Vlogging: I would LOVE to do it but I'm too chicken. LOL
My favourite post to date is:The one about my time at the cottage in the summer. Or my Cheddar Cauliflower soup...I dunno! Too hard to choose! :)
My pick me up when I'm having a blogger's block: Take my dog for a walk with my camera. I always find inspiration on walks.

Hope you enjoyed knowing a bit about these lovely ladies. Now,mingle!

Gumballs.com Machine Review and Giveaway

2011-12-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

Are you all still looking for a unique gift for someone? Well here is a great, adorable idea that everyone is sure to love! Head over to gumballs.com and grab a gumball machine! You can not only get tons of gumball machines, you can get candy machines too! I received this beautiful junior Gumball machine with a box of gumballs. I had the choice of gum or bulk candy and chose the gum, I love gum!

Look at the detail in this machine! Isn't it beautiful?

This machine reminds me of the machines I used to get gum from as a child.

A great feature of this machine is that you can use it as a piggy bank for yourself, or a little one.

I really like gumballs.com they were wonderful to deal with, and my machine was shipped to me within days! If you are looking for a great and unique gift for anyone old or young, these are great!

Included in the instructions, is how to clean your machine. You can make the machine fit to your needs. You decide how much gum comes out with each spin.

For those of you that need sugarless gum, they can even take care of you! There are endless options for your needs.

One lucky winner will be getting a beautiful Junior Carousel Gumball machine with a 4 lb refill box of gumballs!

This giveaway is open to US Residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will end on 12/24, all previous comments/entries will be included. Good Luck Gum lovers!

12 Days of Christmas Hop

2011-12-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

For the Love of Blogs and Casa del Hansen are co-hosting the most festive blog hop of the year:

This is meant to be fun and to help those of us who might have trouble coming up with blogpost ideas during this busy season. Feel free to join as much as you are able - just share a picture, a story, or a link - Join the Blog Hop here to let us know you're participating; Casa del Hansen will host a daily blog hop for individual posts, as well.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree (12/13):
Topic: Christmas Trees

Two Turtle Doves (12/14):
Topic: Loved Ones

Three Calling Birds (12/15):
Topic: Holiday Cards

Four French Hens (12/16):
Topic: Travel Tales

Five Golden Rings (12/17):
Topic: Decor and Baubles

Six Geese a-Laying (12/18):
Topic: Gifts Galore

Seven Swans a-Swimming (12/19):
Topic: A Moment for Grace

Eight Maids a-Milking (12/20):
Topic: Holiday Eats

Nine Ladies Dancing (12/21):
Topic: Party Time!

Ten Lords a-Leaping (12/22):
Topic: Achievements of 2011

Eleven Pipers Piping (12/23):
Topic: Song and Music

Twelve Drummers Drumming (12/24):
Topic: Traditions Marching On

Participating? Grab the Challenge Button below:

Merry Christmas and Happy Blogging!

Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, there's mice in the kitchen! Are these not too cute?

Click on the pic for the recipe.

I think these would be adorable for a holiday party. They are chocolate, how can you go wrong? We would love for you to start linking up your holiday treats and recipes. Before we know it, it's going to be the New Year, and the holidays will be over for another year. So be sure to come back and get some delish recipes and add your holiday fun here.

Sponsor Love with Bye Bye Beehive

2011-12-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

We asked:

What do you do to pamper yourself on the days you have off?
On Saturdays and Sundays I'm all about sleeping in until 9:00. Oh yeah. I love to cuddle by the fire, play Scrabble, and I'm always changing my nails. Nail art is a huge passion of mine!

When I was a kid, I remember mixing NesQuick with my vanilla ice cream to make delicious chocolate soft serve!

My daily fix is ... kind of silly. I'm not a coffee addict or anything, but I love playing Words With Friends. Challenge me! My username is Anneliiise.

If you could have your dream shop what would it be, describe it.
Well, I love nail polish, nail art and makeup. I'd probably have a small nail salon with a boutique in front that offered makeup, recycled clothing, accessories, and of course... polish!

Get more of Bye Bye Beehive here:

Twitter||Blog||Blog#2

Embrace

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Beautiful people! It's Monday, another week is here, and we want to know what you are embracing this week? Link up any and all posts that you are embracing. Did you take an amazing photo this weekend? Did you make something that is inspiring? Please only link up the things that you have embraced that are inspiring. All other posts will be deleted.

While you're here, embrace the beauty we have here in the groups, and enter a giveaway or two.

While in My Teens- a ftlob featured blog

2011-12-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

I’m Sam. And saying hello just doesn’t cut it for me; but seeing that you are most likely miles and miles away, and are unavailable to hug. I will simply say hiya.

I spew my emotions and thoughts over at While in my teens. I'm a sarcastic, outgoing, witty sixteen year old trying to get by in this crazy thing we call life. I am currently a Junior in high school. AKA. I'm the one in the middle that is too cool for the sophomores but I don't even compare to the seniors. Blunt is my middle name (not really, it's Jean) and writing is my game.

I love who I am!

I believe in loving yourself and mocking others who don't. I adore being a teenager even though it has it's insane ups and downs. I only have 1,171 days until I am no longer a teenager! I can't even imagine. 20? How the time flies. I can already feel the wrinkles setting in.

It may seem like I am the most perfect teenager to ever greet this planet, I know I know. But I'm going to be humble and say you are slightly wrong. Once and a while I get a zit. (See picture below). I have troubles that men can't even fabricate. *Wink Wink.* (Do I hear an amen?!) I'm blonde and tall, thus the judgement of being a dumb blonde is often inflicted upon me. I'm slightly addicted to this heavenly drink called Dr. Pepper. And I often find myself taking it back to the second grade and calling people weenies.

Did I mention Sarcasm?

Pretty much this is all that falls out of my mouth. If you read my blog and are offended, please please PLEASE, know that I am probably joking. 90% of what comes out of my mouth is sarcasm. 8 % is crap, and the final 2% is serious.

Come along with me on my journey through teenhood. (Is that a word? Oh well.) You have either been a teen, you currently are one, or you are one of the less fortunate that puberty hasn't even hit because you are still a tween. (Bless your soul.) Through my blog you are able to relive your past, relate, or prepare. I hope the teen you is having as much fun as I am. I can't wait for 1,171 more days of being a teen. Pray for me.

So stop by While in my teens and take a peek or two.

Two would be good.

Seriously, take two.

-Sam

Comment ♥♥♥

2011-12-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Well hello there lovely bloggers! We all think it's important to show some comment love especially since most weeks are way too busy for us to return the love, read or catch up on our most favorite blogs here. Comment Love is all about Support, visiting new blogs and catching up on some of our oldies.

To Join:

1.) Leave a comment Here on this post. Introduce yourself and tell us a little about you, what you're doing, what your blog is about, etc.....Leave extra links if you wish.

2.) Visit the Blog's Comment In Front of your Comment. Leave a genuine comment on their posts and stalk them for a bit, get to know them.

3.) Stalk a few more blogs on the comment list below if you wish--

4.) Return the love when you get a moment. Be sure that you allow name/url or anonymous as a comment option in your settings because we're still experiencing difficulty commenting when you have your comments embedded below the post. Switch to pop up if you can and TURN WORD VERIFICATION OFF, please!

Now go....comment LOVE!

Card Swap Partners

2011-12-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Pretty Faces! We're so happy to be spreading the Holiday Love here at FTLOB and can't wait to see these beautiful cards we send to our wonderful friends.

Here is the list, please email partners to exchange addresses!

: Sarah shades.of.shayes@gmail.com and Tina boothe48@gmail.com

: Krystal krystal@krystalskitsch.com and Laura laura(at)casadelhansen(dot)com

: Bobbi datssocute@gmail.com and Katherine katie@katherinescorner.com

: Krystina krystina@almaguer@me.com and Kaity kaitybest@yahoo.com

: Kristina kristinam.streeter@gmail.com and The Lungos thelungosblog@gmail.com

: Aleksandra aleksandra_lukac@hotmail.com and Rachel Rachaelsarette@msn.com

: Sweet Caroline sweetcaroline101@gmail.com and Sweta swetablogs@gmail.com

: Lisa lisacreter@gmail.com and Metch metch@mindogandmetch.com

: MarieHarmony thenewscheherazades@hotmail.com and Bits and Pieces of Me brlracincwgrl@gmail.com

: Jamie Lane jamiemalthaner@yahoo.com and Olivia olivia.booska@gmail.com

: Kassi and Alyx alyx2011@gmail.com

: Clare Cooks clarecancook at gmail dot com and Lauren lktaddeo@gmail.com

: Megan meg.kimmelshue@gmail.com and S. Christie sarah_b_777@hotmail.com

: Glassy Painters Designs zmsaa12345@yahoo.com and Marian mkrick127@gmail.com

: Sarah sarah.kathern@gmail.com and Laura lel_104@hotmail.com

I believe we got everyone! Please, please send me an email to swap addresses, I'd love to swap with everyone. I'm at bloglove at aol dot com or me at datssocute at gmail dot com

Thanks for playing and Happy Holidays Friends...xoxo

Sponsor Love with Jackie Travels

2011-12-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

We asked Jackie to answer some fun questions:

What do you do to pamper yourself on the days you have off?

SLEEP. So much sleep. I also flip through my favorite blogs and sites, try to get outside to see something other than a computer screen, and on days when I'm feeling fancy/pretentious: stopping by the Art Institute of Chicago for a good dose of art and a coffee in the Member Lounge.

When I was a kid, I remember: way better Disney Channel Original Movies. Why did they get so bad?

My daily fix is: Diet Coke

My dream shop would be: I would love to sell little treasures that I find during my travels around the world -- vintage postcards, textiles, weird or cute little souvenirs. I am also a huge DIY-er, which I rarely get to write about since my blog is mainly about travel, so I'd love to sell some of the things that I sew and put together in my spare time. Maybe one day I'll stop fearing the post office so much and get my act together.

More of Jackie Travels Found Here:

Twitter||FB||BlogLovin'

Click the pic to go to her Blog

Facebook Interaction

2011-12-09T11:43:00.000-08:00

Since many of you are FB fans and most have this little gadget built into their phones, we'd love to get more involved in our wall to wall activity. Our FB Link Up is a great way to gain "Likes," so link up anywhere possible and get your fb pages going. What about a Friday Facebook Link-Up?

What we'd like to know is what kinds of questions/topics you'd like to talk about on the wall more often? and what we'd like to see is our members jumping in and starting wall conversations, mingling and connecting with the other blog lovers.

Don't be shy! Start a convo and get involved, ask/respond to wall activity and meet some other bloggers just like you!

What you can expect from us :

More Tips, Advice, Daily Convo, Personal Photos of Myself and Family, Q&A, FAQs, and much more. Come on...u know you're a FB junkie!

Happy Weekend

2011-12-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Our Apologies about the last hop---here's a new one! Link up and enjoy the weekend!

Last Call: Holiday Card Swap

2011-12-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder that we'll be pairing you up so we can get these cards sent out in time! Go HERE to leave a comment if you'd like to join us in swapping cards this season. Happy Holidays---a post with your partners will be up tomorrow!

Weekend Wander

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Ok all, let's get this weekend hoppin!

I hope you all have had an amazing week, and are ready to get your weekend started. Be sure once you've linked up, you find some more rad blogs to stalk, and stick around here for all we have to offer.

Be sure to add your Holiday fun here
Enter to win this or this
and Join us here

We have so much to see and do, don't miss out! This hop will be up all weekend! Have a Fabulous weekend! xoxo

Blogging tutorial:How to add Share button with counters to Blogger

2011-12-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hullo lovely bloggers!Let's learn something new today!

Sharing, spreading the word about your post,proper networking give a huge boost to your blog and business-we all agree on that.We also agree that social networking sites like Facebook,Twitter,StumbleUpon,Digg etc are the platforms where your posts reach out to others.But,how do you think your posts will get there?
Share buttons of course!Now, Blogger has default share buttons that you can activate to show up below your blog posts.However,I'm not a big fan of them-why?
Sure,they do the job!But?
a)I'm big on aesthetics:I find them neither very appealing,nor very noticeable-and thus not very effective.
b)They don't come with counters which don't show how many times they have been shared.We all track our traffic stats don't we?So why not the shares?When you're seriously getting into blogging and wish to see your blog grow,numbers are really important.
So today we'll learn how to add those noticeable share buttons with counters under our blog posts.Are you ready?

Let's go to the official Sharethis site.Scroll down where you see a green box title "Grab this button" and click on "Get it now".

Next we choose our platform.Click on "Blogger" where it says "1.Webite or blog?"
Now we choose the type of widget.Since we are looking at crunching some numbers-we choose one of the widgets with counters.There's a horizontal one and a vertical one where the counters show up at the top.The horizontal counter can be seen live here itself (take a peek at the bottom of this post).

Clicking on either box will open a drop down box where you can customize the services you want in your widget.

You can add or remove services by clicking on the <-- and --> buttons respectively (see the image).

After you've chosen,click on "Get the Button"-which will take you to a page where we add the button to our blog as a Page element.
Choose the blog you want the Share buttons to be added to from a drop down list.

After Selecting the blog click on add widget and then drag the widget under your main post column from the "Page elements" page.
Refer to the image below.

Annnd we are done!
Enjoy your new share buttons!
Watch this space for more tutorials,tips and tricks.

Kaity Best

2011-12-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

It's funny how quickly life can change and my blog is certainly a testament to that.

I'm Kaity Best (yep, that's my real last name. Awesome right?!) and I started blogging as a wee little junior undergrad before a semester abroad in...wait for it...Uganda!

I was determined to save the world, feed beautiful African babies and prove to my friends that I could totally live in a mud hut.

Seeing such unimaginable poverty changed me. I decided that I was going to devote my life to ending world hunger once and for all and I've been blogging ever since.

Since then, I've...

...worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer with a community garden

...fallen in love

...been accepted into grad school

...and gotten engaged.

Clearly, I'm rarely short on things to talk about.

Some things you should know about me:

I hate calling myself a Christian, but I love Jesus.

I love vintage pin-up art.

I'm a vegan (ish...I do cheat on occasion).

I'm a compulsive hair-dyer.

I love music. My current obsession is Frank Sinatra.

I love holidays and playing dress up.

I love food, but rarely cook.

I'm getting married September 2, 2012 and trying to plan a DIY/Buy Local wedding.

...And a whole host of other things that you can find out by reading my blog:

http://kaitybest.blogspot.com/

While, you're at it- grab me!

Accordion to Kellie

2011-12-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I'm Kellie over from Accordion to Kellie, and I'm so happy to make your acquaintance!

I write in my quaint and oftentime zany little corner of the blogosphere with the sanguine view of amusing, inspiring, and ultimately, edifying readers and friends.

A homeschool graduate, ardent bibliophile, and the oldest daughter and second of six children, I am an endlessly blessed farmgirl who loves the Lord God with all of my heart. I currently live at home with my family in the gorgeous mountains and valleys of rural North Idaho, striving to serve the Lord in every aspect of my life. I love to sew and create beautiful things, and am at present working on expanding my own design business, located at kelliefalconerdesign.etsy.com. It's been a fabulous learning opportunity, and my dream is to one day become a designer in my own right, making lovely clothing, accessory, and home decor lines.

For now, I love to design historical costumes as well as modern clothing, embroider extensively, and design and hand-craft pinback button badges and compact mirrors. If you need a special button badge or compact mirror, I've got it covered! =)

As of June 2011, I live in a 10x12' canvas wall tent that is my studio, bedroom, and retreat, nestled on my family's forest property. My accordions, embroidery, old books, design sketches, antique furniture, vintage finds, and, occasionally, a little sister or two are to be found tucked away in it's quaint interior, and I am loving every minute I am blessed to spend there. I just installed a wood stove, too, and I'm going to see if I can survive in the tent all winter. it's going to be quite the adventure, as North Idaho winters mean on average 4-8 feet of snow and 10 - 20 below zero temperatures!

I love studying God's Word, reading copious amounts of books, world history, working on various entrepreneurial endeavors, historical fashion and clothing design, working with horses, using far too much butter when baking, clever witticisms, foreign accents, laughing, gardening with my family, and historical dancing. I have a weakness for old books, tooled leather, fresh cherries, plaid, the color green - and my beloved pith helmet. I love to sing and play the accordion, piano, mountain dulcimer

and ukulele (with more or less success), and hope to one day soon become a certified piano tuner and teacher. I enjoy fishing, archery and rifle shooting, am passionate about home education, and am enthralled with all things Scottish - as well as myriads of other things too numerous to mention!

Most importantly, I love to be a daughter, sister, and friend.

It is my sincere hope that you will be encouraged and inspired by what I have to say - come on over and visit awhile!

See you soon!

--Kellie

This is How I Roll!

2011-12-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hello out there! I blog over at this is how i roll and moderately difficult.

I blog about many things; mostly my life, my family and food. These are a few of my favorite things!

My first blog is this is how i roll about food, food...and...well, food. I love all things food and it's my favorite thing outside of crafting and spending time out with my family. I post a lot of recipes; original and by others. I hope to add a little spice up in there with experiences in the grocery store, restaurants and with my holiday baking! Stop on in for a little treat!

My other blog is Moderately Difficult. This one is about my life; chaotic and real…so read at your own risk. *wink, wink* There I blog about crafts, my writing and anything else that may tickle me that day.

A little about me…

I am passionate about life and the people who I surround myself with. The road I've traveled hasn't always been the easiest to say the least. I've been through and conquered many things and that is what makes my life interesting. Just when I think I have some time to relax, another hiccup in the universe makes a wave, throws me up in the air and here I go again!

Besides running on the road of chaos I love to craft. I cook & bake, I dabble in photography, I make jewelry and write poetry. I'm sort-of a Jack-of-all-Trades. I try to keep up with everything so I leave myself enough time to pamper my creative side and I love to show it off!

The cast and crew in my screenplay called "Life" include my awesome husband Scott...

...my 2 beautiful daughters; 10 year old Amber and 18 year old Sam & my 21 year old step-daughter, Alyssa...

my 2 doggies; Jax and Karma, my 2 kitties, Snickers and Kohl, our snake Raff and our beardie, Allie.

Please visit me at both my blogs and be sure to grab my button! I need all the help I can get...lol!

I have a full house and a full life..I’d love to have you along for the ride!

Picture Perfect: Fall Winner

2011-12-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! We had some really good photos submitted for the Week #4 Photo Challenge over on FTLOB Community. And it was super hard to pick our favorite photo, as all of them were very engaging. But after looking at them over and over again, the one we kept going back to was from Helina at Moments Of A Libra.

Something about those three red leaves together in the midst of all that green was captivating. So, congrats Helina!

Be sure to check the We love Photography Group for this weeks #5 Photo Challenge. Thanks to all of you who participated this week.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

HEXBUG Nano Review & Giveaway {Closed}

2011-12-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

What is a HEXBUG? { HEXBUG was designed to give children a positive experience with robotics at a young age. Our passion for robotics, as demonstrated by our VEX Robotics program, was the main catalyst fueling HEXBUG's inception. Hence, the brand was born! People are drawn to the HEXBUG brand for our products’ fascinating behavior, intelligent bug-like attributes and eye-catching packaging. Some of the products are so animated, they even fool cats, dogs and some humans into thinking they are alive! }

When we received our Hex Bug Nano Spiral Starter Kit, I was excited to build the track and get it ready for my boys. I wasn’t sure how long or interested they would be watching a bug run around, but I was wrong.

When the track was ready and the Hex Bug was turned on for the first time, I was shocked how lively and energetic the Hex Bug was. I did not expect it to move as fast as it did. Our two year old watched and shrieked as it ran around. He loved watching it. Our 5 year old was more curious on how it worked and how it moved around the stadium habitat.

We have the spiral stadium with a top deck and bottom deck. They are stacked on top of each other and are connected by a spiral ramp. When setting the bug down on the top deck, it ran all over and flipped on its side and back. As it did this, I went reaching for it to flip it over, but I didn’t need too. The Hex Bug actually righted itself back on all its feet and kept moving. It bounced around and eventually made its way down the spiral ramp to the bottom deck. What really impressed me and surprised me again, is how it was able to make the journey back up the spiral ramp to the top deck. There are little gates that you can open and shut to limit where the Hex Bug can run.

The Hex Bug Nano provides hours of entertainment for all ages. I just love to watch it run around and see where it goes next. There are habitats that you can buy and add on to your existing track or create new habitats for the Hex Bug’s. Starter kits can be purchased for as low as $10.99 and individual bugs as low as $5.99. You can purchase all the Hex Bug products at Hexbug.com, you can also purchase these at Target and Radio Shack.

Order and try one out for Christmas, they make an excellent and inexpensive gift that will provide a Hex of a lot of fun.

One Lucky person will be winning a Hex Bug Spiral Starter kit just like this one! Awesome right?

To Enter:

Visit Hexbug and tell us in a comment below which is your favorite "Bug"

Extra Entries:

Like us on FB and Write on the Wall who you'd be giving this gift to { 3 Entries }

Tweet this at least once a day: I want to win an @HEXBUG Nano #Giveaway @TaylorDates @DatsSoCute http://bit.ly/rYcmZT Because I think they are totally RAD! PL RT

Become a Member of Our Fabulous Community Chat { 1 Entry }

Grab our New Button on our Sidebar { 1 Entry }

Winner will be selected on 12/16. Please leave your email address in the comments and leave separate comments for each extra entry! Good Luck.

TO FIND OUT WHO OUR WINNER IS, JOIN US ON GOOGLE +

Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to start making those holiday goodies? I sure am, I found this yummy recipe on last weeks hop and thought it would be perfect to share with all you lovelies to try.

Click on the picture to snatch the recipe. Doesn't it look divine? Link up your most delicious recipes! and have a yummy day! Stay tuned for more features and giveaways.

Embrace: a new ftlob feature

2011-12-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we sent out our Embrace the Face Feature + Giveaway last week and mentioned that we'd be bringing this here as a weekly event. We want you to link up anything you're embracing. This is an inspirational link up that could be about the love you have for yourself as you're growing, a post about your fashion shoot embracing the moment you're in, a post about your children and the photos you took capturing those moments, anything you embrace--link up! This will be a weekly hop every Monday, so get those posts ready to link and share. We will be deleting anything that is not directly linked to an embrace post, so be sure to link accordingly.

Remember this starts next Monday. In the meantime, enter the giveaway! Enjoy the eve and check out these fabulous sponsors throughout le site! xoxo

The Run-On Sentences of Life

2011-12-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings from ...The Run-On Sentences of Life...!
My name's Jodie-Ann and I'm sixteen years old. I look like this:

Look how sexy I am. LOOK.
See Robert Pattinson in the background? I love him.
So, basically I blog about my days. My wonderful and sometimes crappy days of being a teenager. And, sometimes, I vlog. If I'm not too lazy.
:)
I blog about being with friends often. Mostly Jasmine because she's... well... special.

Jasmine. :)

I also blog about the silly things I do.

Honestly, Scream is so hot.

And, I blog about how annoying it can be to live in Québec, Canada.
I started blogging in June, 2010. Since then, my blog has grown a lot and I'm super proud of it. It's like my baby!
So, drop by and say hi! I love making new blogging friends :D

My blog:
http://musingsbyjodie.blogspot.com/;

My super awesome button that you know you want to have:

Comment Love

2011-12-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Show Some

We have a bunch of great stuff going on here like our chat and the Holiday Home Extravaganza! Please check them out when you get a chance.

We ask that you Please follow the rules!

Leave a Comment Here-Introduce yourself, let us know more about you and welcome people to your blog!
Visit the person in front of your comment to show them some love and get to know them.
Let everyone know you are from comment love day but also READ their post and leave a genuine comment about their writing, photography, etc.
Visit as many blogs on the comment list below and interact getting to know more fabulous bloggers.
NO Copy and Paste Comments---Don't Be Rude!!!
Return the Love when you get a chance.

Some more Sponsor Love for December!

2011-12-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

Hi lovelies!

Have you been looking for some exposure and that little (or HUGE) boost to your blog and/or shop?We have an amazing sponsor offer for you!

Are you interested yet?Here are the details of your Sponsorship:1.Two for the price of one:For sponsoring FTLOB you will also get a FREE AD SPACE of 200x200 on my(Sweta's) blog.2.Your ads will be placed under the Things we do gadget on the FTLOB site and along with the other sponsors in my sidebar.3.The ads will be rotated throughout the month for you to get maximum exposure.4.The lovely sponsors would be featured in a group introduction both on the FTLOB site and mine.
Book your December ad space now and watch your blog grow!for further details and questions,email: swetablogs{AT}gmail{DOT}com. ONLY 5 spots available!
P.s:Have you checked out some of our hottest discussions on Community Chat?

Feature Post- Lush lounge

2011-12-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hi! I’m Kim from Lush Lounge. My blog is all about yours truly, my crazy life, yummy recipes and much much more. This year I've been doing a Project 365 and I have a picture everyday for this whole year! There are tons of pictures on my blog! I'm a blogging fanatic and would be overjoyed to have you as a reader! Come check me out! :)

This is me. I LOVE kittens, and puppies, and everything mini.

I am:

From Nor Cal

A Liberal Thinker

A Dreamer

A Scorpio
A Romantic

A Communications Major

I Love:

Life

Peace
Tattoos

My friends

My sweet boyfriend

LOUD MUSIC

My angel/devil kitty Ginger

Parties

Art, I'm not very good at it, but I love it.

Good Hair Days

House, Electronic, Dubstep Music

Raves

The Beach

My Phone, it is ALWAYS within arms reach.
Tangerine Beer!

Freshly Painted Nails

California, home sweet home.

I Like To:

Cook & Bake, check out my recipes page!

Bike Ride

Shop!

Adventure in New Places

Meet New People!

Come stop by my little spot in the blogosphere and say hello!

I would LOVE to check out all of your blogs as well! :)

Karen Kane Giftcard Giveaway via The Weekend File

2011-12-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

Hello FTLOB members! I am Hayley and I blog over at the life and style blog, The Weekend File! I have teamed up with the amazing folks over at Karen Kane to bring you a fabulous giveaway! Up for grabs is two gift cards. One worth $100 and one worth $50! Giveaway ends Dec. 14th, so you have plenty of time to enter!

Above are just a few of my current favorites. They have festive Holiday looks, great sparkles for your New Years Eve and even gorgeous blue dresses to take you into Spring!

I wanted to open this giveaway up to my lovely friends that are apart of the FTLOB Community and offer you an exclusive entry into this giveaway! Leave a comment on The Weekend File mentioning you are a FTLOB member and you will gain an extra entry! That means you guys have 7 opportunities to win 1 of 2 gift cards (those are pretty good odds if you ask me!)

All you have to do is head on over to The Weekend File to comment and find even more ways on how to enter this giveaway!

Good Luck!

Welcoming Our New Blog of the Month

2011-12-01T06:04:00.000-08:00

Phew! December, where did you come from? I love our new design, don't you?! Thank the lovely Miss Sweta and Let's Introduce y'all to a wonderful new blog being fabulously featured for the entire month of December right here on the very top of our site! Meet:

that's her blog name, but her name is Little. and she's pretty spectacular. i love her little saying right as you enter her blog......"What is Life without Mistakes?" Gosh, how true and nice to hear each day. which is why visiting her each day for the rest of time should be on your list. you'll absolutely relate, connect and make a new friend. And of course what I love the most, is her cussing....yes! it's true. i'm a cusser and love to find those like moi.

so you ask, what is so special about BOTM here at FTLOB? well, we expose your blog more than anything {even sponsors} {shhhhh...don't tell them} with a welcoming post, an ad of some sort throughout the site {near the top}, several tweets and mentions and so much more.....we get our members involved in meeting new faces and nominating your great blogs, so head here to nominate for Jan 2012---Huh? 2010 was just yesterday---Life man, I'm telling ya!

xoxo

Picture Perfect: Fall

2011-11-30T07:38:00.001-08:00

Hello sweet faces! It's time for Picture Perfect Wednesday.

November is almost over. I love Fall, and it goes by too fast. All the glorious colors on trees and the chill in the air just makes you feel all cozy and wanting to pull out the sweaters and drink hot apple cider, doesn't it?

The week #4 Picture Perfect Challenge is now open over on the FTLOB community - We Love Photography group.
We want to see your photos! Head on over and upload your favorite photo of Fall. The favorite will be posted here next Wednesday with a link to your blog. This is great exposure and a fun way to meet new bloggy friends.

Even if you don't plan on sharing a photo, feel free to jump on in, start discussions about photography, editing, or anything you may need help with. Meet other Shutterbugs like yourself who also have a love for photography.

Have a wonderful Wednesday~

Sponsor Us for December

2011-11-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovelies! Hope everyone is having an amazing day. I want to remind you to grab your sponsor spot for December.

We have 5 large ads available for $15.00 and

5 small ads available for $12.00 these are great deals considering how large and quickly we are growing. {they won't last}

Don't miss out and get in line for the top ad or the extra large ad for January.

Contact me at datssocute(at)gmail(dot)com I'll take care of you!

PS: Grab a New Badge---awesome eh?

Tasty Tuesday

2011-11-29T05:30:00.000-08:00

Good Day Delicious Lovers. Sharing your recipes from this past holiday would be lovely. Link up directly to the post. If you don't have a recipe, share a night out for dinner or lunch, we'd love to see!

click on the pic to get this tasty treat! yum. Can't wait to see and taste the goods. Have an mmmmm mmmm good day!

Check out these popular discussions from our community

Bucket list

http://worldofhazeleyes.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-bucket-list-reminder-that-there-is.html

Go comment with something off your bucket list!!
read more...

I ask:What makes you follow a blog?

Or breaks it?
Personally I go for well written blogs that provide an insight into the blogger's mind and thus I tend to gravitate towards personal blogs.I also prefer clean,uncluttered layouts and dark text on light background.
For me-what breaks it-Pop up/automatic music players.ARGH!

... read more...

Hello Everyone! Newbie here!!!

I am thankful that I got into blogging but even more thankful to be part of communities like this. I’ve been reading a lot of personal blogs lately and was surprised at how much some of them are so relatable.So, in the hopes that I might be able to produce the same realization in other peop... read more...

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Holiday Card Swap

2011-11-28T04:54:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than receiving a beautiful card. It beats any amount of gift any time of the year and since we love giving, we want everyone to join us in our Holiday Card Swap. Happy Holidays!

To Join the Swap Simply:
- leave a comment letting us know that you'd like to participate.
- be sure to include your email addresses or at least make sure it appears on your profiles.
- let us know if you'd like to do more than one person.
- a holiday card is all you have to send but if you'd like to include extras, that's totally up to you.
We'll be pairing everyone up to send holiday cards out by 12.10.11, a post will come with everyone's match. Enjoy the day, stay tuned for more great posts including features, giveaways and more!

If you'd like a chance to enter a $100 Holiday Beauty Package, view details here.

Too Crewel: sponsor love

2011-11-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow FTLOBers! My name is Liesi, and I blog over at Too Crewel. On my blog you can expect to find an abundance of craftiness, DIYness, and etsy love. I spend majority of my time embroidering (and crewel embroidery), working on DIY projects, and sewing anything and everything.

But enough about me, I can't wait to meet you! Don't be a stranger- stop by and say hello!

xoxo.
Liesi"

Weekend Wander-Thanksgiving Edition

2011-11-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! We hope you know we are Thankful for each and everyone one of you! We also hope that you have a day filled with love, laughter, friends and family. Spend today, and this weekend enjoying yourself and the things you are most Thankful for. This hop will be up all weekend long, so when you have time, spend it finding new bloggy friends and checking out all the awesome stuff this community has to offer!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, love BJ and Vic

Blogging Tip:A quick fix for your blog photos

2011-11-25T07:36:00.001-08:00

I was digging around for a software,Photoshop Actions aside,that would fix up my blog photos when I feel a tad lazy-and I came across Pixlr-matic.We've all had our fair share of Picniking though I have to admit I'm not too pleased with their photo overlays.Hence Pixlr-matic.It installs as an app on Google Chrome but you can access it from the site as well.(It's also available for download on android devices I saw).
Let's check out what it's all about,shall we?
After you go to the site you see a flash based interface-don't worry,it's rather quick to load.

Click on the button that says "computer" and upload your image.

After the photo has been uploaded you see a range of photo effects much like Instagram.Just for fun:Try moving your mouse on the developer tub(i.e on the main picture ;] )

Go crazy selecting the appropriate effect by clicking on each tiny box at the bottom.clicking on them alls moves the strip left and right revealing more effects.After you're done move on to the next screen by clicking on the ">>" button.

You can add a few more effects here-though personally I'll recommend only the Vignette.Or maybe at the most a sunburst or bokehs if you're going for something dramatic yet pretty and not going utterly edit-vomit.Click ">>" to move on to the borders screen where,again,you'll have much to choose from.

A vintage album border?

Something grungy perhaps?

Or the clean rounded corners. Click ">>" to move on to the save screen.

Give the file a name and save it in a convenient location to upload later.It always helps to have a separate folder for blogging images.

I was having to much fun creating this tutorial and went with the flow.There you go-lady gone edit-crazy!

I just did a simple colour edit on this one.Notice the difference in the colour of the sky?

And to this I added a sunburst background and a polaroid border(Nolaroid on Pixlr-matic)The colour effect used is called "Samantha"

Quick,fun stuff eh? Go crazy on those holiday pictures and share the link in your comments below.

P.s: Did you get yourself a signature yet?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of You!

2011-11-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and fabulous ftlob family members, today we give thanks to the many blessings in life. We're so thankful that we've found such amazing people to share our lives with. We've discovered a beautiful way to connect and we wish each of you the most wonderful day of the year. One of my favorite things about eating today is the delicious desserts. Click this pic to go to the recipe.

We want you to share in a post what you're thankful for. Link up food, recipes, family photos, a little something your child did to make you melt, a visit with friends and family back at home or something/anything that you're proud of. Link to posts only please and while you're here visit some friends, enjoy a gorgeous day.

Sponsor Love with Kristen

2011-11-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! I'm Kristen; the girl behind Confessions of a Graphic Design Student.

I'm 24 years old, from Connecticut, living in Utah, married to my best friend, fascinated with design, and figuring out life one day at a time.

My dream has always been to live an artistic and creative life.

I was the kid who's art projects always got selected for the art shows. I was voted "Best Artist" my senior year of high school and even was chosen to be recognized for a state award. Come senior year I was accepted into Utah State University's art program. Everyone thought I would do amazing things.

I ended up surprising everyone by doing a total 180...

Long story short... I dropped out after one semester and followed my heart to Josh who has been my husband for over five years. I've never regretted choosing love... I know there is no one else in the world that could love and tolerate me as much as he does :) We are mommy and daddy to two mini dachshunds, Sam and Nelly (I tend to mention them from time to time!).

I spent a long time trying to prove to everyone that leaving school was a good choice, that getting married at 19 was in no way a naive decision, and that I could be just as successful as I wandered down my own path.

Well, I was definitely naive.

Life was being thrown at me in all different directions and I got a little lost. After years of trying to convince myself that office work made me happy, I decided one day that it was not the life I wanted to live. I wanted a career; not just a job. I wanted to follow my passions, to go back to my artistic roots, to feel like myself again.

So I followed my heart (again).

I quit my job, enrolled in school, started this blog, and here I am one year later, much closer to making my dreams a reality.

I'm a deep thinker with a huge sense of humor. I love sharing my projects and telling the stories behind the art. Sometimes they're serious, but more often they are silly confessions that are sure to entertain :)

I just want to share who I am with the world and see who else can relate... there is something really beautiful about two strangers living across the globe who see the world the same as you.

It's funny, really.

My only goal starting this blog was to inspire others, but little did I know this amazing blogosphere would be my biggest inspiration.

Come say hi- I would love to meet you!

xoxo

Kristen

Black and White Pets Picture Perfect

2011-11-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

This weeks Picture Perfect Winner was a tough one. Group Members had to submit a black and white photo of their pets and boy are they cute! This puppy belongs to Daily Relish. Go meet a new friend and check in with a new photography challenge in our fabulous group for this week. {will be up shortly}

Also, please take note that if you don't want to enter challenges or any contests like these, you are MORE than welcome to just share. We love seeing your photos and we also love making new friends throughout the community, so share links to blogs, posts, and mingle with the other awesome members. Enjoy the Day!

PS: This Blog Design Giveaway is still open until Friday. Go Enter.
PSS: This Scrapbooking Giveaway is still open, and even if you don't care for the gift, share your most cherished memory.

Tasty Tuesday- Thanksgiving Edition

2011-11-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Gobble, gobble, and good morning lovelies! Today we would love for you to link up your favorite Thanksgiving recipe for the rest of us to share! We are so hungry for some delicious recipes, so get your eat on!

Every Day is a New Adventure

2011-11-21T04:17:00.000-08:00

Hello! Or should I say... Guten Tag!

I'm Alyx, and I blog over at Every Day is a New Adventure.

I'm just a [recently-turned] 23 year-old, living life in the land of Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, and Lederhosen like there's no tomorrow (unless it's Saturday, then I'm usually being really lazy).

Generally, I blog about life. What it's like to be a hopeless American trying to adjust to life where people are always punctual, a little critical, and completely wonderful.

Sometimes, I blog about marriage. What it's like to be a [sort of] newlywed in a foreign country.

Other times, I give out really cool [not secret anymore] recipes.

Occasionally something crazy happens to me - like when people pretend to have a bomb as they get onto a train full of people (you can read about that here).

When I'm not wearing sweats, I can be fashionable, so there's some of that, too.

While I'm here, I teach English. Sometimes my students say ridiculous/crazy/interesting/inappropriate things. Those usually end up on the blog, too.

Basically, the Moral of the Story is this:

Comment Love Day

2011-11-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Good Morning beautiful people! I love Sundays, and I really love Comment Love. I know it always puts a smile on my face to get a genuinely beautiful comment, and not some copy and paste, so I'm sure it's the same for you. So Please, all we ask is you follow these rules, and have a happy day!

Leave a Comment Here-Introduce yourself, let us know more about you and welcome people to your blog!
Visit the person in front of your comment to show them some love and get to know them.
Let everyone know you are from comment love day but also READ their post and leave a genuine comment about their writing, photography, etc.
Visit as many blogs on the comment list below and interact getting to know more fabulous bloggers.
NO Copy and Paste Comments---Don't Be Rude!!!
Return the Love when you get a chance.

Photo Scrapbooking Album Giveaway

2011-11-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

With the holidays sneaking up on us, we thought a little scrapbooking would be perfect for our year celebration here. The winner will be receiving a Martha Stewart Scrapbook Album that will hold all those cherished memories, along with a memories album and some bonus scrapbooking pieces fun for all ages.

To Enter:

You Must be a Member of our Fabulous Site and Leave a comment here sharing your most cherished memory.

Winner will be announced next week on Twitter.

Blogger tutorial-Personalize with your signature

2011-11-18T09:40:00.000-08:00

Hi folks!I'm Sweta and I'll be bringing you easy peasy tutorials to pretty up your blog.
Ready for some DIY?
Alright!
When we blog we build up a brand-and that brand must have some our essence for a more personalized look and feel: that's why sometimes blogger's "posted by" line is highly insufficient.Let's remedy that shall we?
I'll be guiding you how to create a unique signature with Pixlr and then applying it to your blog.Awesome thing about Pixlr?-I call it the online Photoshop-however, it requires no download,it's free and so easy to use!
Let's get it rolling then.
Go to Pixlr.com.

click on the link that says Open Photo Editor.
The welcome screen asks you to create a new document or upload an existing one for editing.Click on create a new image.

The next screen asks you to set the size of the document.A signature is usually moderately small-about 150x150 or the likes.Making it any bigger takes away the attention from the post itself or ends up looking stretched and ugly.

I chose the dimensions 160px in width and 130 px in height.Remember to check the "transparent" box or the image will have a white background and if your post background isn't white-it ends up looking ungainly.

transparent:double check!

The next screen opens the blank canvas.

Now let's get creating.Click on the type tool- one which is represented by an "A" in the tool box(picture below)

After you type in your text,you can change the font,colour and size of the text.I observed that Pixlr pulls the fonts installed in your computer and allows them to user it in their software.Amazing right?If you prefer a kind of handwritten and whimsy fonts you can go to Kevin and Amanda.com and get the ones you like.For other types of fonts dafont is a great place.(Need help installing fonts on windows?email me!)

Now that we are done editing,let's save the document.Click on "file" fromm the menubar at the top-->then "save".
Save it as a .png in a convenient location as you'll need it for uploading to Photobucket(or any other image host).Saving it as a .png helps it retain the transparent background.Saving it as a .jpeg causes the problem of bringing up a white background.This is true of saving anywhere-whether on Pixlr,Photoshop,GIMP,or any other photo editng program.

Select.png from the dropdown menu!

Now open Photobucket.Upload the image-->save and continue.(a few more steps to go..)

Now go to your blogger Dashboard and click on Settings.Then click on the "Formatting" sub-tab.

After the formatting page opens,scroll down to where you see the "Post Template" box.The image code will be pasted here.

Now paste this Code:<center><img src="YOUR URL HERE"/></center> in the said box.

Go to Photobucket or any other image hosting site.Upload the image and save.Grab the direct link or the hosted url of your image on the image hosting site. If you're on Photobucket,you can use the following image .

Now replace the words "YOUR URL HERE" in the codes you pasted in blogger with the image code you just grabbed-So it looks somewhat like this:

<center><img src="http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x402/swetablogs/Untitled.png"/></center>

Be careful that you keep all the brackets and quotation marks intact or you can't save your edits.

Now click on Save and Continue in Blogger and the next time you create a new post,your fresh signature will show up!

Check mine out LIVE here.

Hope I could teach you something new today!

Questions?Queries?Feedback? Comment below or email me at :swetablogs@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!

Fab Friends Friday

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful week, and are ready for the week ahead. Before you head out today, check out this weeks Fab Friends, and send some love to more bloggy friends. Don't forget to enter to win a giveaway, or grab your sponsor spot for December! Have a Fabulous day, and weekend!

Twitter Thursday Tweeps

2011-11-17T03:34:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Tweeters! Today I'm sharing a glimpse of my morning drives into work. This is a shot on the way out of our community.

If you're down for more twitter friends, link your twitter names...if you have trouble linking up; remove the #! out of your url and just put twitter.com/username

Today's Highlight is: Che'lyssa M, Go say hello and mingle---don't just @ people saying, "Following from the Twitter Hop!" super annoying--it's fine to tell them you're coming from the #FTLOB #TwitterParty but also say hello and wish them good days, etc....u get the drift!

Have a nice day and go tweet!

Picture Perfect: Leafy Railroads

2011-11-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

Good Day Photographers! This lovely pic was taken by the pretty lady behind Dotted Lily. I just love how she captured the shot. Perfect setting for this time of year and railroads are some of my favorite photo shot places. You can view other awesome photos in our We Love Photography Group and Enter your photos for this week's 3rd Picture Perfect Challenge or just upload photos there for the interaction. Head over to see this weeks challenge. FEEL FREE to start discussions in there about photography, editing, photoshop, anything you'd like; meet new faces who also love photography.

Have a gorgeous day, can't wait to see more pics!

Sponsor Love with La Dulce Vida

2011-11-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

blog//twitter//facebook

Tasty Tuesday

2011-11-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

Are you still looking for something unique to add to your Thanksgiving meal, or just something de-lish for dinner tonight? Here is something just for you! Click on the picture for they recipe, and enjoy!

We are always looking for something yummy to feature! Send us a recipe or be sure to have one of our pretty little buttons on your page!

Sponsor Love with Katelyn Brooke Designs

2011-11-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hi friends of FTLOB! I'm Kate, you may have seen me on my blog, Stripes and Polka Dots.

Last week I launched Katelyn Brooke Designs, my new blog design business! To celebrate, I'm giving away a full blog overhaul to one lucky blogger! I would love for the winner to be someone from FTLOB!

I've been blogging since August 2009, and I got into blog design because I felt like my blog needed a makeover. I had been blogging for two years, but had yet to make any real connections with other bloggers. I gave my own blog a makeover just 3 weeks ago, and it's pretty crazy how much my blog has grown in that period of time. Having a fresh, unique blog design that reflects you and your content is the best thing you can do for your readership. It's what creates a first impression for readers. Please hop over and check out what I've been up to! I would love to hear from you guys!

Click the Giveaway pic to Enter

Fun Posts: My First Post

2011-11-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hello RadNess! Well it's Monday already and we don't really have a scheduled Hop to go out today because we're working on some new blog hops for you to enjoy! We thought you'd like to share your very first post since most of our readers are never around for the beginning anyways, let's take a path down memory lane, shall we.

Here's the deal:

Linky tools slows us down sometimes and I've noticed that it's been a hassle to link up lately, So

1.) Provide Your Very First Post Link here in a comment.
2.) Share how you've changed since then, the thought that went in behind the post and what you would do different if you could go in and edit that very first post.
3.) Head Over to others' first post and see how much they've changed since they've grown a bit. Leave comments and share stories.

Looking forward to reading.

Forever Dream Photography

2011-11-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hello there lovely readers, my name is Sydney. I am wife, mother, daughter, sister, photographer, lover of smiling, laughing, painting, reading, random things that make a persons day better, and BLOGGING. I have a blog called Forever Dream Photography, to check it out press THiS SpoT HeRe. My most recent and one of my favorite post(because of how much I love a good smile) is what I felt would be perfect to share. It shows my love for taking photos(which is what my blog is all about), shows some great smiles(that I hope will brighten your day), and shows a little about myself since it consist of pictures of my girls, nephews, neice brothers, and myself.

*side note- I totally had Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" stuck in my head while doing this post. You should try and think of it while reading*

Can I start with explaining that my husband, my girls, and myself smile ALOT. My husband claims I am way to easily amused and entertained, thus easy to make laugh and smile. He also believes our girls have inherited this trait. He ALSO believes we will never have an unhappy baby because I am always laughing...he said this while I was pregnant with our 2nd daughter, I started busting up laughing...can I add that she smiles ALL THE TIME and is the happiest baby EVER! Honestly both my girls, Scarlette and Sienna, tend to go around with smiles on their faces through most of the day, Scarlette just has a talent to express a few OTHER facial expression that could kill you, haha. Anywho, so last night when we were having time goofing off and just being silly I came across the idea to find pictures I love that I have done of SMILES. Who doesn't love a good smile???

ps THIS is my other baby girl Sienna(who ALWAYS smiles)

<--*Side note: Scarlette at 6 months not Sienna

And always remember to Forever Dream!(<-- My tag line I <3 it very much)

Also here is the button that will take you to my blog...CLICK IT(please)!

Silent Sunday

2011-11-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

What better way to spend a Sunday than sitting back, relaxing and enjoying some peace and quiet?

Link up a photo with no words or very few and enjoy some quiet time.

Prompt Me...week 10

2011-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today's Topic: Time Travel

Today's Prompt: If I could travel back in time it would be to....

I think once in a while we would all like to go back in time for one reason or another. Let us know what that is for you.

We hope these inspire you to get a post out when you're not knowing what to blog about.

Each week will be different, and if you have any suggestions, leave us a comment, we'll be happy to feature them.

Also when you are done, please link up to exact post, we'd love to read! This link up will run for 1 week, please don't add any other posts that don't follow these prompts.

Sweta's Full Blog Design Giveaway

2011-11-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another Celebration Giveaway! Today, Sweta is giving one lucky winner a

~~~~~~~FULL DESIGN MAKEOVER~~~~~~~

She's creative, funny, smart and will definitely give you a GORGEOUS Blog!

The Package Details are Listed Below↓

To Enter:

Follow Sweta's Journey and Leave a comment here telling us why you want/need a new makeover!

Extra Entries:

Tweet with Sweta {1}

Tell us what you love about her designs {2}

Tweet this at least once a day: I want a gorgeous new #blogdesign makeover by @_theswetakid #Giveaway @OhPrettyful http://bit.ly/vXcy0b Don't You?

Like us on FB {1}

Grab Our Celebration Button over on the sidebar or any other badge {1}

Like Sweta's Designs on FB {1}

All extra entries need to be in a separate comment, leave links as well as emails! Good Luck, winner will be announced next week on twitter.

PS: Don't forget to enter the other wonderful giveaways during our celebration over on the right sidebar.

Coffee Talk

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Fab Friends! It's the perfect day to grab something warm to drink and get cozy. The weather is starting to drop again here in the midwest, and I love something to keep my insides warm! We ask you to link your blogs and/or coffee related posts {you can link up more than one if you'd like} and then leave a comment below introducing yourselves or making convo by telling us what you're up to this weekend, etc.

If you are new to this hop, welcome; jump in by linking your blogs and sharing a chat with our fab members by communicating via online chat in our community or via comments here on this post and other members blog posts! We have a fabulous giveaway going on for our anniversary, and more to come!

Check out all the new sponsors, and grab a spot for next month.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Show Your Email Tutorial

2011-11-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hi dolls! I'm over in the community chat and thought we covered the 'Show Your Email' Tutorial but we must not have shared yet. So this is where you edit your blogger profiles to show your email, so that when people comment on your posts you can reply back to them via email.

From your Blogger Dashboard, Click Edit Profile, Check the SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS

A lot of bloggers are hesitant because of whatever reasons but if you want to communicate with your readers then this is a really good idea. It shows your readers you enjoy them stopping by and you appreciate their comments. It's always nice to show your love back somehow and if this is the way you'd like to do it, set this up so that the no-reply by blogger doesn't show up when you leave comments.

ALSO, Scroll down to SAVE after you check the box!!!

Need more tutorials? Feel free to ask! We'd love to share.

Twitter Party Thursday with Fig Sidecar

2011-11-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

Ello Thirsty Thursday Twitter Partiers! Let's Unwind with a Little Fig Sidecar. It may or may not suit you this fall season, but let's pretend it's the most fabulous thing on earth. If you're down for some more twitter followers, simply link your twitter url's ONLY today. Friends can easily connect with you on your blog via twitter, so connect, make friends and enjoy the almost weekend.

2 ounce(s) fig infused Remy 1738

1 ounce(s) Cointreau

1 ounce(s) fresh lemon juice

Lemon twist, for garnish

For the fig infused Remy 1738 Cognac:

1 black mission figs, destemmed and cut in half
1 bottle(s) (750 mL) Remy Martin 1738 Cognac
Brown sugar syrup

For the spiced brown sugar simple syrup:

2 cup(s) brown sugar
2 cup(s) water
3 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split

Add ice to a mixing glass and add all ingredients. Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass with a sugared rim. Garnish with a spiral lemon twist.
For the fig infused Remy 1738 Cognac: Fill a 2 Liter mason jar with the figs. Fill the 2 Liter mason jar with 90% Remy 1738 Cognac and the remaining 10% with Homemade Spiced Brown Sugar Simple Syrup.
Cover lid and refrigerate for one week to allow flavors to infuse. Strain through a cheesecloth or filter to remove figs, seeds or sediment. Pour contents into clean bottle and label.
For the spiced brown sugar simple syrup: Put brown sugar and water in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add cloves, cinnamon sticks and split vanilla bean. Simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain through a cheesecloth or filter to remove cloves, cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean. Cover and refrigerate.

Today's Highlighted Tweep is: Curly J
Tweet with her and remember to connect on a level of ftlob's mission-Have a super fab day. Don't forget to Enter to Win this Lands' End Bag and Stay Tuned for another awesome Celebration Giveaway!

Roots, Wings and Other Things

2011-11-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

Guten Tag, FTLOB-ites!

My name is Daryl, and I write over at Roots, Wings, and Other Things. I'm a young, loud, slightly crazy American living in Frankfurt, Germany with the love of my life. I try to fill each of my days with laughter, love, and music, but oftentimes clumsiness, awkwardness, and big creative messes work their way in as well. I'm okay with that, it suits me just fine.

I'm nineteen years old. Wait, only nineteen you ask? Isn't that a wedding picture? Yes. Yes it is. I refer back now to the part where I'm slightly crazy. I met my now-hubby when I was working as an Au Pair in - you guessed it - Germany. Which, by the way, I did when I was only 17. I know, ridiculous. But like Dustin Hoffman said in one of my favorite movies: "Let's start with ridiculous and move backwards." (Name that film! Anyone? Anyone!?)

SO. A whirlwind romance, a proposal, and a wedding later, I find myself back in good old Deutschland. How am I coping with all of this change? Rather well, I'd say! Life can get crazy, it can get difficult, it can get smack-you-in-the-face frustrating, but those are all of the things that make it, well...life! And Life is something that I most certainly love.

Wuerzburg, Germany

My blog is a tool through which I document the notable moments of my creative life. I blog about fashion, I blog about cooking, I blog about my observations of German culture. I tell embarrassing stories and share photos of my adventures and travels.

I named my blog Roots, Wings, and Other Things for a specific reason, and that reason is this: I refuse to accept the notion that if a person wants to settle down - to put down roots, so to speak - they must let go of their dreams and settle for something less satisfying. People told me that by getting married so young I was sacrificing the fun and the freedom that I apparently needed and deserved. No. Absolutely not true.

This is the time. The time to follow your dreams, accomplish your goals, go where you want to go and see what you want to see...and the best part is, you don't have to let go of your roots to do it.

Each day is an adventure as I try to find my wings.
Join me?

Picture Perfect: Winner

2011-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Wow guys! We love your Photos. Thanks for joining our We Love Photography Group and Entering the First Week over there. We think all of the photos were pretty and you all have great eyes for picture snapping. This weeks winner is Joy's Gorgeous Ladder Photo. Click the pic to view her site and visit our photography group to see the other photos.

A New Contest is on for this week, just head over to enter the #2 Challenge. All you have to do to get involved is take the original photo of your choice and edit however you wish. Share your editing options and the original photo in the discussion.

Also, don't forget to join the current groups, let us know which other groups you'd like to see and start convos in the groups. It's a great way to connect, share links to posts and gain friends and followers. Have a marvelous day!

How to Write 'Good Posts'

2011-11-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

No post is perfect. Well, not ours anyways. Everyone has their own way of writing, what they think is best for their daily posts and it works for them. When reading blogs, the first thing I look for is Good, Eye Catching Titles in feeds such as twitter, facebook pages, bloglovin, etc. I scroll to find the ones that sound intriguing, interesting and something that will satisfy my search. Trust me, if it doesn't sound good, I'm not clicking, eh?!

So how do you find the perfect title for your posts? A shorter title is much more attractive than a longer title. Not to say a one word title does it but anything more than a one line title is overwhelming, cut it down. You also increase your views by having some suspense in there. Don't go all boring on me now. Spice that title up a notch. Don't just write "My Weekend in Photos" and think people are going to be attracted to that......let's write something like this, "A Glimpse of Life in the Dates House."
or something to that effect. Trust me, I have a hard time with titles too but the more creative you can be, the more readers will click and actually read.

Adding some exotic words in your posts is fun and interesting too. Try searching the word in a different language and use a little drive in that title.

Onto the actual post. Let's start with a photo if you are going to be including photos into this post. Why? Because it looks much cleaner and you want to attract your viewers right away. So when publishing photos in your posts, put the photo in the beginning and write underneath it. I personally like to use this layout because I'm more interested in the story after seeing the photo head on. If I see a glop of words before and after the photos, I tend to get lost {I know, I'm horrible}

Separate your writing into paragraphs. Like we mentioned before- if someone sees a lot of writing bunched together, they will not even bother to read.

Don't make your text font so small no one can see. Usually a good size is 12px. You shouldn't use anything smaller or bigger. Maybe a 14px if it's a different font but if you can barely see what makes you think we can? Fonts. Use a font that isn't so Fancy if you know what I mean. Sometimes it takes longer to upload and some people have a hard time reading those types of fonts. Clean, neat ones are highly recommended, most times, plain jane is better.

Start your posts with a hello lovely or something to that effect. You are talking to your readers and it's nice to introduce a new day with them. Same as saying goodbye at the end of that post. Wish them a fabulous day and maybe a stay tuned, so they come back tomorrow.

Lengthy posts are call for no views or goodbyes quickly. Do not post a book. Keep it as short as possible.

Don't use these little :) smiley faces. Super annoying and so disturbing. I know. I like them too. But NO NO NO.

Don't write about mixed topics in one post. Stay focused on that topic and don't think to mention about something that doesn't relate. People bunch their posts up with ten different topics and we get lost. Don't do it. Save a food post for a food post and a playing at the park post for a park post.

Links are def. something you must include. If you take a photo from a site to use on your post, link back to them. If you don't and people know that the photo didn't come from you {most will know right away} , they get a feeling of mistrust and won't come back. And linking back to "GOOGLE" is the worst thing I've ever seen on a site who took the pic from google images. You did not get it from google, that pic has a site link and you should have linked properly versus being LAZY! So unattractive.

Good posts are neat, on topic and proper. Follow these simple steps and your posts will be awesome.

Feel free to let us in on your tips!