Fall Thoughts

The first day of fall has come and gone.  I meant to post, because I had posted on the first day of fall last year, but it was a really busy day and I didn't get to it.

Thursday's weather was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.  It was cool enough that I could wear long jeans, but warm enough that I didn't have to wear a jacket.  The sun was shining; a gentle breeze was blowing.  And then it started raining.  And it hasn't stopped since.

I'm still constructing a Fall Bucketlist.  We did go apple picking yesterday, and I even got to take my dog.  The apples were amazing.  Our church is having a fall picnic again this year, and we have games, go-cart and wagon rides, dessert contests, a huge bonfire, skits, the whole shabang.  We didn't have it last year, which makes it even more special.  It is one of my favorite things about fall.

The fall weather has come in full blast, so I need to go through my clothes and switch out to winter clothes.   It will be a little bittersweet to see my summer clothes packed away, but I'm also excited for fall clothes.  I've been rocking jeans and scarves and boots all weekend, and I don't plan on slowing down.

 Side-note: thank you all for commenting and reading my blog.  It's been a little rough switching URLs and trying to post consistently, so all of y'alls support is really amazing.  I just wanted to thank you.  And I'm going to try and get back off the ground with posting regularly! 

Enjoy the first full week of autumn, lovelys.
~J.

What are some things on your Autumn Bucketlist?
What are your favorite things about fall?


  

4 Ways to Make Your Blog Look More Professional

  Having a successful blog is a combination of a lot of components; good content, good pictures, and a good blog design.  While having good pictures and content is extremely important for keeping a good followers base, a good blog design is your very first impression to new visitors.  The design gives the reader a subconscious opinion of your blog before they've even started reading.  However, sometimes new, professional blog designs can be really intimating; especially with a hefty price tag.  So here are some ideas on some little things to do to make your blog look more professional, without coding.

     This is something that shouldn't be taken too far, but should be at the back of your mind as well.  Your blog should have the right balance of the same colors, without going overboard.  For example, you don't want your blog to have blue font, bright pink links, an orange title, etc.  But you also don't want everything to be all one color, either.  A good rule of thumb is to have two or three main colors that look good together.  For example, my blog colors right now are peach and light orange.  Alternating these colors makes the blog flow well to the eyes, without being overwhelming.

      This is big.  Oftentimes new bloggers, even myself, started out by playing with a lot of different fonts.  Not only do difficult-to-read fonts distract the reader from what you are trying to say, but they also force the reader to pour much more focus into reading, which is tiring and leads to an easy excuse for the reader to give up reading and move on.  Easy to read, classic fonts make the blog look sleek, professional, and it is much easier for the reader to get what you are saying at a glance.

        A floating title is when your title is on a white background without a frame, and the background is white as well.  This limits distractions and your title is the first thing your viewer sees.  Minimalism is big right now, and for good reason.  This is not to say that a header with pictures or a colored background is unprofessional, but having a simplistic design is popular right now and brings the design together.  You can make headers on the "Design" feature of both befunky.com and picmonkey.com.
(I recommend and use them both frequently, so if you have any questions/problems, shoot me a email.) 

       Labeling your pages simply and straight to the point not only makes your blog look more professional, it will be helpful to your readers.  Rather than having your email address way down on your sideline; having a "Contact Me" page right at the top will make it much easier for people to find out about you, your blog, and how to get to know you better.




   Well, there you have it.  What are some small things you do to improve your blog design?

Is It Fall Yet?

This morning, I woke up...chilly.  That is right, folks, the windows were open, the air was off, and I was cold!  I practically squealed with excitement.  Why?

Because I love fall.

I love summer, too, but see, way down here in South Carolina, it can get pretty crazy hot during the summer, and stay that way until Thanksgiving.  So, I celebrate fall when I can.

I normally celebrate the start of seasons on the calendar start, because the weather never cooperates anyway.  But, today I decided to be 9 days early.  I put on my yoga pants, ate pumpkin spice english muffins for breakfast, drank my fall tea, took a couple pictures, got out my fall scented candle that I didn't use up last year, and BOOM. Fall has arrived.

A little background; A couple years ago was really rough for me.  We had some family issues, and school was not going well, and I had been sick a ton.  So I had really lost my excitement for basically everything.  Christmas had come and gone, and summer only reminded me of the school year that wasn't ending.  So, when fall came around last year, I decided that I would make myself excited about it.  I came up with a fall bucketlist, I painted pumpkins, I carved pumpkins, I wore a beanie (Which I discovered that I loooved), I  bought fall scented candles, I ate pumpkin spice everything...You get the idea. And, it worked.  I remember getting my love of life back.  So, this year, I'm honoring the season that I grew to love so much.

So here's to celebrating fall a little early; and enjoying life's little moments.

   Jessica

Bloglovin' Test -UPDATE

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14440521/?claim=dedm8zu47f9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

UPDATE!

Bloglovin' is listing the new URL as a completely different blog, so if you were following (Almost) Perfectly Pink on Bloglovin, you have to go and find Living Joyfully and add it.  Type the URL (livingjoyfullyblog.blogspot.com) into the BL search engine and it will come up with my blog.

Thank you so much!
~Jess

First Post of Living Joyfully!

Hello Friends!

Well, the switch is made!  Living Joyfully now happily resides at livingjoyfullyblog.blogspot.com.  Because I know that URL switches can be troublesome, please make sure that any way you are following me; whether through Blogger or Blogspot, you are following the new URL.  As you should notice, all my old posts and everything are still here.

I am working on getting my Facebook page and Bloglovin' page updated.  Man, switching URL's is a ton of work.  *Whew*  But I'm glad I did.  Once this is all settled I will be able to continue to grow my blog without worrying about changing again. =)

Hopefully I will be creating a new button soon, for those of you who have my old one on your page!  Please hang with me as I try and change everything that I need to change.  If you see something that needs to change, shoot me an email; I will probably forget a lot of stuff!  Haha

Speaking of which, I made a new email for my blog!  If you have my old one, don't worry; that will remain my personal one/one for stuff I'm already subscribed to.  If you do not have my old email, personal or not, send it to my brand-new, lined-up-with-my-blog-name-so-it-sounds-all-cool-and-professional email: livingjoyfullyblog@yahoo.com

That's about it!  Thank you guys for sticking with me on this transition!  You're the best!

~Jessica

Big News

Hey, y'all

Okay, so, I've been thinking since last week, and.....


I'm changing my blog name.

Yup.  Now, before you, like, do whatever you happen to do when you find out news like this from a strange person like me, le'me explain.

The other day I was going to make a new account on a website, and I was going to do something along the lines of my blog, when I realized that I don't think the name fits me anymore.  Don't get me wrong; I loved, and still love, my blog name.  And I think it was a perfect match for me...2 years ago.  But I've changed a lot in these last two years, and my blog has too.  And I think the title of the blog should reflect that.  I mean, honestly, none of us could say that we are the same person we were two years ago. (Thank goodness; I was in a really awkward "barrettes everywhere" phase. *shivers*) And that's okay!

Long story short, my new blog name is "Living Joyfully."  One, I think it reflects what my current life mission is.  Two, it's kinda a spin on my middle name.  (Trust me though, I spent, like, 2 weeks trying to think of a name!)

I created a URL for the blog, so that you all can save bookmark the site.  On September 12th, the URL will go live and be matched with this site.

The URL is:
http://livingjoyfullyblog.blogspot.com/  

It will probably take me a week or so after the 12th to get everything sorted out and with the right name.  If you have any confusion about any of this; shoot me a email at dogs4j@yahoo.com

Let me know your thoughts on this change, any questions, whateves.  =)

Have an awesome September! (Question, though...How on earth is it September already?!? Summer flew by!)
 ~Jess