I Heart Organizing Blog Love

Are y'all fans of Jen's blog, I Heart Organizing?  I absolutely adore this women, she is as genuine as they come and has created such a useful, successful blog based on how she lives her life and the organizing tips we can all benefit from.  Her designs are fabulous too.



She's the genius behind this fun and colorful kids playroom complete with unique storage ideas for every toy and art supply.

I refer to Jen's blog often when I have a specific organizing dilemma, like I did last weekend because I need to get the schoolwork papers under control.

And I'm totally ready to tackle the dreaded cord wire mess.

I really want to try her natural homemade cleaners.  

and work on my auto travel organization. 

Last but not least, she recently revealed her gorgeous bathroom makeover.  It looks so good!

I'm honored to be included with these talented ladies as a contributing writer for I Heart Organizing.

Later today I'll be sharing my inspiring and organized home office desk- the place I most often write to you from!

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Using Social Media/Pinterest to Grow Your Blog & Brand

As difficult and stressful as life can be sometimes, I am so thankful for this thing called blogging and the blogging community of wonderful people that I have been blessed to have met through it.  One of the main reasons I was looking forward to speaking at the Haven blog conference was to be able to get to spend some face to face time with people I mainly keep up with through their blogs.



Although I wasn't able to go, I followed along on Instagram (@honeywerehome) and today, you can read recaps of the conference at A Thoughtful Place, Hi Sugarplum, and Our Fifth House.  We are also sharing the highlights from our panel discussion: Using Social Media to Grow Your Blog and Brand.

My original goal for blogging was to share my passion for creating an inviting, comfortable, pretty, well-organized home and to get inspiration from other bloggers since I was a new SAHM to a then 4-month old baby.  This blog has grown steadily and organically in three years by being featured by other bloggers (thank you!), having original content, and through social media.  My second biggest blog referrer is Pinterest- I think because images from my blog are pinned and repinned (thank you!)and because I'm highly active on Pinterest (I genuinely love it)! Let your blog readers know you are on Pinterest too!



Below are my top 7 tips for growing your blog with Pinterest:  

1. Make it easy for people to pin images directly from your blog by adding a “Pin It” button to your blog posts. I used a great, easy tutorial by Code It Pretty to create a simple button, but she has more advanced tutorials for a more customized button.  I like the button that I have that allows people to see how many times an image has been pinned. 


2. Post high-quality content with pin-worthy images.  This is super important since Pinterest is a visual social media. Create a pinnable image in PicMonkey (or other photo-editing site) by adding text to describe or label the project, but don't do on every photo- people prefer clean images. Not all of your readers are looking to pin, so don't clutter up your post.


3. Make sure your pins link back to your blog (test them out).  It’s annoying/frustrating to click on a pin that leads nowhere or not to the post the pin generated from (i.e. the home page).


4. Tall, long images pin best (twice as tall as it is wide) and the best time to pin for repins is between 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST and 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. EST.


5. Schedule your pins with Pingraphy or Ahalogy. You install a bookmarklet in your web browser’s bookmarks bar (just like the “Pin it” button). When you find an image you want to pin, you just click on the button to post to Pinterest or schedule. Pingraphy features a stats program that shows repins, likes, and follows.  It's free for 30 days, then subscription based.


6. If you've been blogging for awhile (pre-Pinterest) go back and create pinnable images for your old content.  Or repackage your old content  - maybe you've done a lot of projects with a particular product i.e. rub 'n buff, spray paint, mod podge, etc. - create a new post rounding up those projects with a pinnable image to gain traffic from your old content. 


7. Be nice and genuine.  Repin other bloggers' good content and thank bloggers for pinning your good content. 

You can read Carmel, Cassie and Courtney's tips for growing your blog too:

Twitter: Carmel {Our Fifth House}

Facebook: Cassie {Hi Sugarplum}

Instagram: Courtney {A Thoughtful Place}

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Blog Friends

My friend Cassie (Hi Sugarplum) is the first "blog friend" I made, and when I was on my way to meet her in person for the first time, it felt like I was driving to an internet blind date.  But, we hit it off right away -- it's impossible not to immediately like her -- she is genuine and smart and too cute for words.  Even though she is really funny and witty, she is also someone you can be completely honest and real with.  I've come to truly appreciate our friendship and her point of view/support when I need it.  Nearly three years later, we've managed to get together a few more times, although we live in different cities. Cassie stopped by this weekend on her way to Galveston, which is where James and I will be hanging out with her and her sweet kiddos today!

Also, I get to play Cassie's 20 Questions on her blog today, where you can find out some random things about me like my height, high school jam, and totally inane talent (hint: it involves my feet:)



P.S. Did I mention Cassie's kitchen is in BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS right now?!  It's the Kitchen and Bath special issue publication on sale through winter.  I couldn't help but tell the cashier, "My friend is in this magazine!"  She got all excited too and had me show her! :)

I hope you enjoy your Monday! I'll be back soon to show you how my dark grey hallway doors and striped foyer turned out.  I've been on a painting kick lately - if you follow me on Instagram (@honeywerehome), you can see some sneak peeks!

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Have a Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all are gearing up for a happy 4th of July!  I'm excited about an extra long weekend and, although I don't think I'll be doing much cooking, if I was baking something, this cheesecake never disappoints.  The recipe is from Barefoot Contessa and I just garnished it with fresh berries for a colorful kick.  I only make it about once a year, but it's heavenly.

P.S. I've heard a lot of talk about Google Reader closing down and I did use that reader so it was a bummer for me, but it forced me to find Netvibes, which I love even more.  I like how I can switch between thumbnail views or list view.

Is this effecting you at all?  Are you using a new reader to read blogs?



If you want to follow Honey We're Home, click HERE.



To get Honey We're Home via email, go to my sidebar and type in your email address where is says SUBSCRIBE and hit the SUBMIT button.



I will see you back here on Friday with a new blog friend's home tour that you don't want to miss!  

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Blogging & Social Media

In just a couple of months, Cassie (Hi Sugarplum), Courtney (A Thoughtful Place), and Carmel (Our Fifth House) will be talking about blogging and Social Media at the Haven blog conference.  As we prepare, I wanted to reach out to YOU (who better to ask?!) and find out what forms of social media you like best (and worst) and what questions you have about how to use social media.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I love Pinterest and Instagram (@honeywerehome), have started to become more active on Facebook, but Twitter kinda overwhelms me.   What about you?  If you are a reader or blogger, I'd love to hear from you! I just recently figured out how to link my Twitter and FB accounts, but I like to keep Pinterest separate for fear of bombarding FB/Twitter with my many daily pins!  Because I really enjoy Pinterest and Instagram, I'm most active there but I wonder if any of you are really reading tweets/tweeting.  I feel like so many people are on Twitter that my tweets would just get "lost" in feed- does that make sense?  

someecards

Tell me what you think in the comments if you get a chance. 

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Honey We're Healthy

I wanted to take a minute here to thank you all so much for reading and supporting my health and fitness blog, Honey We're Healthy.  I'm proud of the content I've built up with the help of my friend and food contributor, Jennifer of The Chronicles of Home.  Lately, I've been sharing some of the meals we eat around here (which are quick and simple to make since I'm no gourmet chef).  And like many of you, I'm a busy mom without a lot of time to create elaborate dishes on the weekdays.  Weekend meal planning has been a life saver!  I've been utilizing the chalk wall in our kitchen for that purpose.



If you want to check out some of the recipes on Honey We're Healthy, click the links below.

Huevos Rancheros

Multigrain Buttermilk Pancakes

Fruit, Nut, and Cheese Salad

Butternut Squash & Lobster Risotto

Quick Morning Oatmeal

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken

Quinoa Caprese Salad

If you want to follow Honey We're Healthy, go HERE.  To subscribe, go HERE.

I noticed that Honey We're Home is just shy of 5,000 followers!  Thank you- I'm really honored that you take the time out of YOUR busy day to read my blog.  Many of you know I started this blog as a way to connect with other women when I first became a stay-at-home mom to a little baby.   I never dreamed that it would last this long and be such source of happiness in my life.  Thanks to you for reading along!  

To follow Honey We're Home, go HERE.  To subscribe, go HERE. 

Thanks so much!

Heading to Haven Blog Conference 2013

I'm thrilled to be heading to Atlanta this August to speak on a panel with some of my best girlfriends at Haven.  I had planned to go last year, but had a scheduling conflict.

As you know, I have a special place in my heart for home bloggers and home blog readers.  Are you going?  Please let me know- I want to meet you! :)



We did a Houston meet up awhile back and it was so fun . . .

And I went to Blissdom and got to meet some friends whose blogs I'd been reading for years. 

Connecting online is cool, but nothing beats interacting in person.  :)  

In the meantime, you can follow me here (click the picture to follow)

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