Monday, January 14, 2013

It's ( STILL ) Christmas time in the city

The weather was unseasonably warm on the weekend - gorgeous really -
In under 2 weeks we went from a record breaking snow fall


to this





John and I decided to walk - a long walk - a 2 hour walk - with my camera in hand.....................
as the day progressed and twilight fell - the magic happened - Christmas hasn't left at all
I loved seeing that the city was lazily holding on to the prettiness ...................
It spoke to me -
And this is what it said

Welcome back - it's good to see you 




come stroll awhile


 we did this for you


enjoy the magic of the season


take a break - remember to breathe - to sit - to relax - to enjoy


you were too busy shopping and wrapping and cleaning and cooking and decorating - to take the time to notice 



we're not going anywhere just yet 



let us cast our magic upon you for awhile



take it all in



look in wonderment



let your heart sing



we decked the halls for you my friend



but you scurried here and there and never noticed



you forgot about us - the streets of your home - once you packed it all away



and it says


with every step I take


slow down   



you're going too fast

you've got to make the moments last




the way you once did - long long ago  - when every moment was a life time  





 
this year in particular, Christmas flew by far too quickly, did yours?



life shouldn't be a blur.....................



Sharing with

Homework
Clean and Scentsible
Nutmeg Place
Adorned from Above
Shabby Creek Cottage
French Country Cottage
Happy-Go-Lucky
My Romantic Home
A Little Knick Knack
My Turn ( for us )
The Shabby Nest

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Updating your blog - for DUMMIES

Good morning everyone!
I had a few emails asking me if I could give a tutorial on how to give your blog a face lift -
which kind of makes me want to spit my tea out all over the keyboard in laughter every time I see one - because you have no idea how " stupid " I really am when it comes to these things............
The first email I received I actually panicked - " Oh my God - how DID I do it - I can't remember - it
was so much trial and error - and back tracking - and cursing - and pulling a few clumps of hair out of my head -
By the 4th or 5th email I decided it was my " duty " to break it all down for you -
God help you all -

And by the way - I know most of you know how to do this - I know it comes easier for you than it does for me - ( and I can say that safely - without a doubt - knowing it to be 100% true ) but for those of you that are as clueless as I am - I hope this helps a little!

Step one...............
Sit down at your computer and start talking yourself into this
You can recite Winnie the Pooh if it helps - repeat if necessary..................

" promise me you'll always remember - you're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem - and smarter than you think

I personally went with the line from " THE HELP "

" You is kind, You is smart, you is important "

Ok - once you've done that - take a deep breath - and let's go

The first thing I did was go to DESIGN - and click on TEMPLATE
There's many options - I chose the TRAVEL one
You can try them all out - as a small section appears to show you what it would like as you click on each one.
Once you find the one you like - you're ready to start customizing by clicking on DUH -
CUSTOMIZED ( on the top of the screen )  and then clicking on ADVANCED - which allows you to personalize to your heart's content - fonts - background colors ,
WARNING - you can end up playing around on this for hours until you find the right fit -

If you want to incorporate your own photos this is how that step is done.

Download your photo.
Go to PIC MONKEY and do any of the changes you want to do to it there - if you want your header to have several photo - click on Create a Collage instead of Edit a Photo -
Choose DUCKS IN A ROW - you have the option of 2 photos - 3 photos - 4 photos etc............
I chose 3.
Once you have the look you are going for - save it - ( another DUH moment ? )
Now you come back to your blog - again go to DESIGN - and this time you click on LAYOUT -
and you click EDIT on  your blog name - the window that opens will give you an option to upload your photo - once you've uploaded it - you must go to PLACEMENT - and choose BEHIND TITLE
AND DESCRIPTION................don't forget to scroll down and click on SAVE................

And there you have it - faits accomplis mes amis!

Now that I'm looking at the above I'm even more embarrassed that it took me as long as it did - this really should take you no longer than 20 minutes tops!

To create a blog button for DUMMIES refer to my post HERE

Hope this helps someone out there - ( please drop me a line if I can help in any way )

you is kind, you is smart, you is important
you is kind, you is smart, you is important
you is kind, you is smart, you is important