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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Beauty, Daily, Fashion, Thinking Out Loud Thursday

Thinking Out Loud Thursday #5

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1. The building managers where we live put off a pool party for the residents last weekend, and since The Guy (aka my husband, as he wants to remain internet anonymous from now on) was out of town over night, I went solo for a few hours, introducing myself to as many people as possible. The turn-out wasn’t impressive, and I only met a handful of people. But I’m happy I went, because I met a new-to-us couple, who also has a small dog and the wife and I have been walking our dogs every evening after she gets off work. We are sort of forcing friendship with our two dogs. They’re both territorial and “king/queen of the household” so there is a lot of barking and “I’m so scared I poop” (mainly from Alfie). But hooray for new friends!

J Crew Anya Suede Ballet Flats2. These shoes are comfortable, hence me buying them in bulk. Not as practical, as they’re suede and will get dirty quicker. I picked up the pink and blue one’s at the Gilroy Outlets, and bought the turquoise one online at J.Crew Factory for a steep discount. Roughly $110 for the three pairs, in total.

Tillandsia-Andreana3. I killed my air plant, that rarely needed watering. I’m disappointed in myself for letting it die. This is why I can only have real looking faux flowers. I only needed to rinse it under water once a week, which I did. It’s probably too hot for it in California. Lame.

Tiny Post Hoop Earrings in 14k Gold Fill 3mm4. I’ve been meaning to talk about these earring for a few months. I bought them from Autumn Equinox on etsy, and I think they’re super cool. I prefer stud earrings as opposed to anything that drops below the ear lobe, as my ears are pierced unevenly and you can really notice it when I wear anything but studs unfortunately.

5. Songza has been my choice of music for a few months, when The Guy introduced it to me. Freakin’ love it.

Every day makeup6. Makeup has been minimal for me for the last little while. Here’s all the goodies I’ve been wearing when I feel like wearing anything. Dior BB cream // Cle de Peau concealer // Jouer Bronzer // Dior Diorshow mascara // Tweezerman eyelash curler // Real Techniques brushes.

7. I love mangoes, but hate cutting them up — so here’s a way to peel a mango in 10 seconds or less. Thanks to Carla for posting the link on her blog!

FitBit Tory Burch (image from FitBit)

8. Love the concept of tracking your fitness and calories burned throughout the day, but hate the look of the athletic looking Fit-Bit? I know it’s not versatile for every one to wear. But Katie recently blogged about the new launch from Tory Burch making more aesthetically pleasing FitBit gear.

Random questions for you:

Do you have your ears pierced? If so, how old were you?
I was in Grade 5 when I got mine done.

When is the last time you uploaded new music to your iPod/Smart Phone/MP3 player?
I never listen to music on my 2nd gen iPod shuffle, and once it’s on there, it’s there for ever. Songza’s where it’s at. If I’m on the treadmill or running outside, I run sans music.

How often do you go swimming?

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