Beauty, Blog Tips, Daily, Fitness

Blasts from the past

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I’m recycling old posts today, blasts from the past if you will.

Collecting posts that had a lot of hits and views on the good ol’ blog that I think may be of some value to new readers who haven’t had the chance to look through them. I’ve categorized them into beauty, fitness and general blogging tips.

—  Beauty posts —

 

Dior-Tra-La-La

Dior Nail Lacquers

Looking for the perfect pink nail polish? Grab the Dior Tra-La-La nail polish that launched this spring.

Make Up For Ever cream blush

Make Up For Ever launched a universal cream blush that will suit any skin tone. I use cream blushes all year round, but they are especially perfect for summer to achieve a healthy glow on the apples of your cheeks.

self-tan

Self-tanning routine

A walk-through on how to use at home self-tanners without turning orange.

wet-dry-epilator

Are epilators worth the pain?

I took it to the test. First shaving, then I got into waxing. How do I feel about epilators using little tweezers to pluck individual hairs out at an alarming pace?

— Fitness posts —

 

Nancy archesHow I became a rock climber

The history of my 19 years and counting, climbing hobby.

paleo-burger-n-friesWhy I gave up paleo

I completed a 30 day paleo challenge at my local CrossFit box. Won first place for accomplishing the most. 10 pounds gone on my small frame, yet I gave it up. Why?

Alberta CanadaAccomplished Fitness Milestones

Rock Climbing, CrossFit, Hiking the rockies — these are a few of my accomplished fitness milestones.

lululemon-vs-costcoLululemon vs. Costco workout clothing

Are we paying through the nose for a brand name, or are we paying for quality?

— Blogging tips —

 

STAPLES Upholstered Leather ChairHow to stay organized when you have a blog

Have a schedule, know when to photograph, de-clutter your workspace and more key points about staying organized.

YSL Spring 2014Taking blog photos indoors

Sometimes it’s chilly, or windy outside and you’re only free one day a week to take blog photos. Make the most out of it with knowing how and when to take your blog photos.

out-with-old-in-with-newBranding and Blog Re-Design

Constructive criticism was difficult to hear, but it made me evaluate the look of my blog. I redesigned it in April, 2014.

I’ll be taking the remainder of the week off from blogging as I’ll be attending the BlogHer’14 conference in San Jose from July 24-26. I’ll be back early next week with a recap or two.

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Blog Tips, Daily, Photos

7 Things I’m Bringing to BlogHer’14

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The tenth anniversary of BlogHer starts on Thursday. Being that it’s my 4th blogging conference, and 2nd time attending BlogHer, I’d like to share my thoughts with you on what to bring to a blogging conference.

This time, I don’t have to fly anywhere, or drive out of town. Luckily, BlogHer’14 is in San Jose — right in my (new) home town.

I try not to get too worked up, overwhelmed or anxious over the thought of a blogging conference. I’m going this year, to meet some local bloggers to become friends with, to chat with a handful of brands I’d ideally like to work with, and enjoy the experience.

Comfortable shoes1. Comfortable shoes — so important. I think that’s pretty self explanatory as you’re going to be on your feet for most of the days at the conference, so wearing something you can easily walk in, for hours. That, or bring a back up pair of flats.

nancy-button22. Business cards — No doubt you’ll be exchanging business cards with new blogging friends and of course, brands. I’m bringing my buttons, want one?

3. Battery charger — You don’t want to run out of cell phone, or camera battery!

4. Camera — I’ll be using my BlackBerry Z10 for taking pictures.

5. Dressing in layers is key — I tend to get warm and cold easily, especially in conference rooms if you’re attending sessions. Places like that tend to crank the a/c. Clearly I like to be overheated and dress warm at all times.

6. Gum — I like it when my breath smells nice at all times.

clutch7. Cash — Never know when you want to grab a quick bite outside of the sponsored meal times.

Bonus tip: Heard this one from my friend Jessica. Bring pre-filled out personal information (name/blog/twitter or even street address) for dropping into raffle/door prize boxes.

Ideally, less is more. Most likely you’re going to be carting around your expo tote bags filled with samples and goodies all day, so make sure to do multiple trips to your hotel room to drop it off. Of course, those coming from out of town would probably want to bring your laptops/ipads etc, for blogging on after you get back to your hotel room. However, last time I went to a blogging conference and stayed at a hotel, I didn’t update my blog until I arrived home.

And that’s it. I’m stoked about McDonald’s being the sponsor for the closing party on Saturday night. HOOOO Boy. Love me some McD’s. Remember that time the marketing rep for McDonald’s Canada said I was their biggest fan? He was 100% accurate on that.

Questions for you:

Are you going to BlogHer?

What’s your favourite fast food restaurant?

Have you met another blogger in person?

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Blog Tips, Daily, Geek Speak

Taking blog photos indoors

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Let’s face it. Photos add interest to one’s blog. If I see a volume of text on one’s website without photos, I’m less inclined to continue reading more than one or two posts. Simply out of visual boredom.

I rarely take my blog photos outside, and prefer not to use artificial light. I’m here to help you how to make the most of your time, and tell you my tips I’ve learned along the way.

Know when and where to take your photos

When I worked, I took blog photos on the weekends for the upcoming week. My balcony was the only place that had decent light so I worked between 11am − 1pm. I’m not working now, but I still only take blog photos once a week, and try to get it done within an hour. At our new place, the perfect time of day for photos like these are between 1pm − 3pm on the upstairs landing.

Make your photos visually interesting

Clean up your area before you photograph. Garbage in the background, dirty plates, stacks of paper, it doesn’t add much to a photos appeal. You don’t have to style your images as they do in magazines, but have fun with what you’re photographing. Be unique, take photos from different angles.

Use a backdrop

When you see that I have a plain white background in photos, it’s because I’m using a painters canvas as the background. Something more cost efficient but not as durable, is plain white printer paper. You could also grab a colourful placemat, a piece of wrapping paper, or even books.

Edit your photos

If you’re stuck inside with artificial light, try your best to light your subject with light bulbs that don’t have yellow undertones. Then go into Photoshop and play with the layers. Here’s an example of a photo edit before and after.before-after-poutine

Hope these tips help you out!

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