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December 11, 2014

Blog Survey Results

This post almost didn’t happen because I was wrapped up in getting my Christmas tree decorated, but I really wanted to share my survey results and what that means for this old blog of mine. I am finishing up my second year of blogging and I really want to focus this blog a little more, and plan a little more to keep my sanity.

In the coming months I hope to make some slight changes and I would love your feedback along the way. I might even do another survey in a few months so brace yourselves. 

 

Question-1a

How Did You Find This Blog? 

We know each other in real life 2 4%
Facebook 0 0%
Twitter 0 0%
Linked from another blog i.e sidebar or linkup 25 54%
Pinterest 1 2%
Friend recommended (If so give that friend a hug from me) 1 2%
Can’t remember 17 37%

 

 Summary: If this says anything, it is that linkups are worth it. I know some of my longer time readers are from a recipe linkup we used to do.  I obviously need to do more with Facebook and Twitter. I fail to pay attention to either on most days so this is not shocking to me. 

Question-2a

How often do you read this blog?

This is my first time 0 0%
Every post 35 76%
Once a week 6 13%
A few times a month 3 7%
Whenever I remember 2 4%

Summary: For the most part you read every post. Some of you catch up when you can. This at least let’s me know I am not boring the pants out of you. 

Question-3a

Should I post:

More Often 7 15%
Less Often 0 0%
Just right 37 80%
Don’t care (I’m crying a little) 2 4%

Summary: I like that for the most part you like the frequency in which I post which is roughly 4 times a week. I like having Wednesday off to play catch up with blog reading but depending on how organized I can be next year I may blog more often. I love that no one said less often. I am going to assume don’t care means you want me to do what is best for me and not that you could care less, because you hate my blog. Mmmm kay!! 

Question-4

How do you read this blog

Through a reader i.e Bloglovin, Feedly, Google reader etc. 34 74%
Via Email 1 2%
Twitter 0 0%
Facebook 2 4%
Type in the address into a search engine 4 9%
Other 4 9%

Summary: I am not surprised most come through a blog reader, since that is becoming more common. I am surprised people type it into the address bar, but again I really need to work more on Twitter and Facebook. 

Question-5

What are your favorite posts

Friday Favorites 28 61%
Recipes 32 70%
DIY 24 52%
Be The Change/ Random Acts of Kindness 29 63%
Book Posts 21 46%
Random Life Posts 31 67%
Weekend Recaps 18 39%

Summary: I am glad recipes are in the lead because they are something I like doing and plan on continuing. Friday favorites are fun for me and I like to be able to catalog some projects I am hoping to complete. I am not surprised the Weekend recaps are in the bottom since most bloggers can care less for them. This is one of the posts I am looking to revamp and hopefully cut a lot of info out, and shorten them. I am going to try a few formats so look for those and give me feedback. 

Question-6

What are your least favorite posts

Friday Favorites 1 2%
Recipes 3 7%
DIY 2 4%
Be The Change/ Random Acts of Kindness 0 0%
Book Posts 8 17%
Random Life Posts 0 0%
Weekend Recaps ( I know most bloggers hate these) 10 22%
Duh, none! 25 54%

Summary: Awwww I love you guys. Not surprised again weekend recaps are the least favorite. Book posts are subjective, what I read may not be your cup of tea or *gasp* you may not be a reader. It is a huge part of my life, I read from a book everyday so I don’t plan on removing them but I do like the linkup with Steph and Jana that is once a month. This frequency is a better fit than mentioning them every week. Compromise wins. 

Question-7

 

Anything else you want me to know?

  • More pics of Seamus! lol – You got it! 
  • I love your recipes and decorating tips!! – Why, thank you.
  • Keep doing your awesome thing! – Will do, thanks! 
  • Every time I come to your blog I love it!! – Thanks! 
  • You’re doing a great job! You never know who you are inspiring…including me. 🙂 – Such a great compliment, thanks! 
  • Love you and your blog! And Seamus. – Seamus, loves you too. 
  • You do a fantastic job!! I always look forward to a new post. Your DIY are very impressive!! – Thank you, made my day! 
  • you’re awesome! – Well, you are pretty awesome too. 
  • I actually found you because you commented on my blog first!! – Yeah, see linkups do work. 😉 
  • You know I love you and all you do!!! – Thank you! 
  • you are awesome sauce. That is all. – My favorite. 
  • I really enjoy your positivity and creativity. Thank you for sharing and enlightening. And for caring what your followers want to see. – Always care about you all, it means the world you spend some time reading my ramblings. 
  • I love your face! – I love yours too. 
  • I comment less often than I do on other blogs because I read via my iPad and it gets tedious to type in my email address, blog link, and name every single time. If I comment from a computer, it’s not as bad because it remembers me but from an iPad, it doesn’t. While I read almost every post, I don’t comment as often due to the commenting format your blog has. Other than that, I love your blog so much!!!!! – You should be able to comment via google, maybe I’ll do a tutorial. Unfortunately this is a WordPress issue but it is a benefit because of backlinks. 
  • Seamus is adorable! – Thank you, I agree. 
  • You do you, my friend! – Thank you for the encouragement. 
  • I really love ALL of your posts- you have such a great variety of everything and I really look forward to reading your blog. – Thanks, it would be boring for me without the variety. 
  • You have an awesome blog! – Thank you so very much! 
  • You and your blog are awesome! Keep it up 🙂 – Thanks, I am sure going to try. 
  • MORE PHOTOS OF SEAMUS. All Seamus, all the time. I like all your posts. I don’t read weekend recaps in general, but I browse yours for Seamus photos. – Haha! Seamus is a star!! He is already a photo hog I won’t be able to get him away from the camera now. 

Summary: It was so hard for me that this was anonymous because I wanted to comment back to you all with these sweet comments. This was really a section for you to give me any feedback you wanted including what you want to see in the future, and it was all pretty positive. I can’t thank you enough. It seems Seamus can not be ignored and will find more space on the blog. 

 

Not worth mentioning: All those who filled out the survey were female and no one had any issues finding what they are looking for on my blog. This let’s me know at least my design is okay.  I thought of a million other questions I wanted to ask after I posted this survey, so a follow-up might happen. 

 

I loved being able to hear your thoughts and see what you liked. I think it confirmed what I was thinking and also got a chance to see what you all think. If there is anything you want to see on my blog in the future, a topic you want me to cover please let me know in the comments. 

 

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Posted by Kerry 30 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: blog survey, results, survey

December 9, 2014

November Books I’ve Read

I was really feeling bad about the number of books I was reading but looking back on this month I actually finished quite a few. The genres of books are all over the place since I was doing some research and also some self-help books snuck their way in there too.

I luckily didn’t have any totally horrible books and some were even really good. I may be biased as they were from some of my favorite authors.

My rating system: 

Five Stars: Blew me away, made me want to stay up till 3am to finish, would read again and again. 

Four Stars: Really good book, fast paced or thought provoking 

Three Stars: Okay, didn’t thrill me but didn’t disappoint me either. 

Five Stars
book covers - five stars
 

The Experiment: Discover a Revolutionary Way to Manage Stress and Achieve Work-Life Balance – Cover Not Available – This book blew me away. I am usually not a fan of self-help books because the author is trying to show you how life evolved they are instead of trying to actually teach you something. What I loved about this book was that it felt like you actually had a life coach and were in the sessions. He gave “homework” and really boiled it down to basics. One of the best self-help type books I’ve read. 

Forbidden – A man finds a woman in the middle of a snowstorm, only to find out she is supposed to be the fiance of his dead brother. She doesn’t believe he is dead though, and wants him to help her find her brother who was overseas covering a story. The way that Suzanne Brockmann tells a story is just so amazing. I have read so many of her books, and this one didn’t disappoint. So many twists and turns and I didn’t want this one to end. 
Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook: Real Food for Real Life – This book covers recipes for incorporate the Paleo diet into your life. I made the meatloaf, ketchup and mayo recipes. I was so happy with the book I ended up going out and purchasing a copy. 

The Icing on the Cupcake – A mean spirited debutante from Texas gets dumped from her fiance, which is social suicide. She moves to NYC with her grandmother, she as never met this grandmother before but she needs to save face. She tries to figure out what to do with her life and baking cupcakes are her therapy. This book includes recipes and I wanted to try them all. 

Touch & Go – Lisa Kackson is another of my favorite authors, so intricately woven. A family is kidnapped and as the search continues parts of their lives are exposed to where you are not sure who is telling the truth and what other secrets are being hidden. The story is pulse pounding and fast paced right to the end. 

four stars
 

Book Covers - Four Stars
The Heart of Christmas – Eve is all alone and single after a broken engagement. She is now managing her family B and B, her birthday celebration went a little too well and she wakes up next to a gorgeous man. He is hiding something and can’t give her forever but she is willing to give it a try. It might just end up being everything she ever wanted. 
Worth the Fight – Elle is introduced to Nico by her boring steady boyfriend. The sparks are immediate and she knows she has to make a choice because Nico is claiming her, but he doesn’t share. Very Alpha male who has his own issues as does Ella. Neither want to settle down but they just might not have a choice, they might just heal each other. 
Bluegrass State of Mind – An attorney is hiding out after she sees a crime being committed by the partners of the law firm and her boyfriend/fiance. She moves to a small town where an ex lives in hopes he can give her a reference and hide out. The attraction is still there, but Will’s ex-wife won’t go down without a fight. The town is highly invested in the relationship and shows their small town charm. 
Books, Cooks, and Crooks – I have read the first two books in this series and it is quite entertaining. A room full of competitive cookbook chefs in for an event and one ends up dead. It seems everyone has a motive for murder. Lila is a literary agent and it is all she can handle to keep the other chefs from going after each other. I was constantly changing my mind as to who I thought did it. A great read. 

three stars
 

book covers - three stars
 

My De-Stress Diary: 52 Effective Tips for Less Stress and More Peace of Mind – This book was outlined as a once a week lesson and while some were too easy and some were worth a look it was unlikely that I would read a book that way. No “homework” or how to apply the lesson was given. Very short and sweet, not a lot of meat to it. 

How to Start a Home-based Etsy Business – I think I have read this twice and it provided some really basic general knowledge which I found useful but I was hoping for more of the business side of things and not just the idea side of setting up an etsy business. 
Nothing Changes Until You Do: A Guide to Self-Compassion and Getting Out of Your Own Way – While I liked the way the author provided real life examples I felt it got tedious after the first few chapters. It was not broad enough and didn’t really give me the sense that it could help me or relate to my life. It was also a little more for someone later in life maybe 40-50 years old. Not bad but just harder to relate or connect to like I did with The Experiment. 

 

 What books have you read this month? 

Will you add any of these books to your list? 

 

Linking up with Steph and Jana for this months reads. 

Life According to Steph
 
 
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Posted by Kerry 52 Comments
Filed Under: Books, Uncategorized Tagged: Books, review, Showusyourbooks, Winter Challenge

December 8, 2014

Holly Jolly Christmas By The Sea

Next week I will be trying out a new format for my Weekend recaps thanks in part to your feedback from my survey. There is still time to fill it out too. I will be closing it on Tuesday at 8pm, so head on over to complete it if you haven’t already. It is also a really good thing that I am off today for the installation of new cable and internet since last night I had major issues connecting. 

 

Every year we have a girls weekend in Camden Maine for Christmas By The Sea. We also explore shop the towns of Rockland, Rockport and Thomaston. Maine will forever be a place of such fond memories and hopefully for years to come. We go up early Friday and make stops along the way and return home on Sunday also making stops along the way.  Too say we were shopped out on most days would be an understatement. I think we really helped boost Maine’s economy! Haha! 

 

Highlights:

christmas-by-the-sea
~ The Lobster pot tree at Stonewall Kitchen

~ Amazing finds at Big Al’s (a dollar store type place). The thigh trimmer and a remote big enough even my Dad wouldn’t have issues finding the buttons.  

~ The parade gets better and better every year. The big lobster is a big hit every year. 

~ We hit Moody’s diner for lunch on the way up since we normally hit it right at lunch time though it was a little later than normal. Amazing food. 

~ For dinner we go to Applebee’s, a new tradition, for their half priced apps and drinks. We each get apps and share among the table. The laughs that ensue after a drink or two are so fun and really adds so many memories. 

 

christmas-by-the-sea-1
~ My sister/friend Lynn pointed out that she bought one of these scarf pendants so I took a look at them and ended up buying one. They are made from fishing lures which is so unique, but they are also very pretty. The one I purchased was only $15, so go buy one before she hits it big and charges more, totally worth every penny. I ended up buying another piece from her Facebook page. Check out her website here. 

~ After an initial shopping trip to the T.J. Maxx/Home Goods not once but twice we tried out this new place called The Water Works Restaurant and Pub, the food was really good and we shared the brownie sundae and Chocolate layer cake. I would have pictures but we ate it too fast. The bartender/server Chris was really nice and friendly. It was a great find and we hope to go back again. The sweet potato crinkle fries we amazingly delicious. 

~ For breakfast the next day we stopped at one of my favorite places The Three Dog Cafe. I would love to open my own franchise of this place in Massachusetts. The dessert case is mouth watering but they also make really great breakfast food. I didn’t want the bread for my sandwich, sothe guy at the counter suggested serving my bacon, egg and cheese on a bed of greens. It was amazing! The place is decorated in lots of little dog statues, dog fabric covered chairs, and art work and they even have a fireplace in the store. 

~ After picking up Seamus from my Dad’s I picked up a Christmas tree. Once it falls I will be able to decorate it. Looking forward to getting that done. 

 

How was your weekend? 

Is your tree up and decorated? 

Linking up with Leeann from Join the Gossip and Biana from B Loved Boston.

Weekending
 
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December 4, 2014

Operation Organize

My office wears many hats. It is home to all of my yarn and needles, my sewing machine and fabric, receipts, makeup collection, and a ton of random craft supplies. I would have to say this project was only partially successful since I didn’t really set aside enough time to really work on it. I would have liked to gets some more organizers for my drawers but such is life. I will consider it a work in progress.

So what I did to help get it somewhat under control.

1. A letter sorter doubled as storage for my eye shadow palettes. I got some acrylic organizers for my face and eye products. I found them at Marshall’s and one at Ross while I was in North Carolina.

 

makeup
2. My fabric was in the same box I moved them in 4 years ago, so I put all the fat quarters, and scrapes in a stackable sorter that I got from Marshall’s. I put the rest in my file cabinet folded over hanging file folders. 

 

fabric
 

 

3. Now the dreaded receipts, I really wanted to shred and get rid of everything that was over a year old. I did keep any major purchase receipts, home improvement receipts, and any condo specific documents. I think I did pretty well getting rid of a lot. I shredded and recycled what I could. 

receipts
 

4. After my Nana passed a few years ago my cousins and Aunt helped my other Aunt Karen go through her knitting items and we each got to take some home. I was the only one who was a major knitter while the others crochet so I go a majority of the needles. I donated some to the local Council on Aging but kept a lot too. I was storing them in a pretty box, but wanted a few on display. I placed them in a nice yellow pitcher and held them in place with spare fabric.  I also sorted the yarns by type and placed in fabric bins that are in my bookcase, I just need to label them, my handwriting is messy so I want to print them. 

 

knitting-organize
 

 

While I still have some drawers to go through I think this was a really good start. Now I just need to make some projects so I can really downsize my yarn and fabric stash. 

 

Do you have a room in your house you want to organize? 

Do you have any favorite tools for organizing?

 

Life According to Steph
 
 
 
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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Chooseyourownadventure, office, organize

December 2, 2014

Looking for Direction – Reader Survey

Since I spent so much time baking for Thanksgiving I had no motivation to create a new recipe, so I am switching it up for today.

Most bloggers know how much time goes into a blog, from creating an idea, to making recipes or a DIY, taking pictures, editing pictures, reading blog posts from our favorite bloggers, and responding to comments. At times it can be overwhelming but it is also very rewarding. I have met some incredible bloggers this year in person which I am so grateful for, but I also talk to many of them everyday.

There are also some of you who read but may not comment, which is totally okay but I hope you will also participate because I really want this blog to get better and grow to provide even more content that you want to read in the coming year. This also gives you a chance to tell me what you want to see more or less of next year.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer, there are only 9 questions so it should’t take long.

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