If you can't stand the heat....

Get out of the kitchen!!!

So, here is my dilemma- we have an old house, lots of character, charm and a 50 year old oven and it is neither charming or full of character. It is just UGLY, horrible and at this point pretty dangerous.

We have been searching everywhere to find a new oven- for years- the thing is - the damn thing still works!  However, we take our lives in our hands every time we turn it on.  It get so hot that you have to open it with a pot holder! Notice the bubbled paint above the oven....scaryyyyyyy

Ugliest Oven on the Planet

Now, there are a lot of things I would like to redo in our house- so it has crossed my mind now and then just to turn the oven on broil and go out for awhile, but then reality sets in and I think about all the things I would miss if the house burned down- plus, arson is just not my gig.

So here is the problem. The cabinets were built in the house, custom- to fit the stupid oven, and they were made to last a millenium. Not that I don't hate them, I do- but the thought of gutting the entire kitchen just wears me out to think about. Not to mention it took 2 years for my husband and I to agree on the new countertops when we redid them. Both of us are arty and like "different", so any type of normal countertop was out of the question. Finally, we did this:

Copper Engraving Plates Countertop

My husband owns a stationery store and I used to have a stationery/invitation manufacturing business, so when an old stationery engraving business moved from Birmingham, my husband got a bunch of their old copper engraving plates.
I laid them out all over the counters and then poured tons of epoxy over them. They look great (even though this picture doesn't look so great), and they are REALLY different, but perfect for us!

Back to the oven dilemma- The space the oven is in is just too small for ANY oven- we have looked, and because the way the cabinets are made, there is no way to enlarge the space.  

This is where I need your help. What do we do???

 Here are the options we have thought of:

1) Don't cook. Sounds pretty good to me, but not entirely practical.

2) Remove the cabinet with the oven and just replace that and get a new oven. Well, that would make me NUTS- I just don't think I can handle having ONE cabinet that is different from all the others.

3) Gut the kitchen- oh... 

4) My husband suggested taking the oven out and having a very small chef live in the space- he thinks he is SO funny....

So, I am open to any and all suggestions- would love to hear ANY kind of idea, because we can't figure it out and sometimes it takes just someone else's eye to figure out just the right thing to do...so lay it on me....and hurry, before my house burns down!!!

hope you all have a great week!!
xoxox

TRANSFORMATION

I believe in Pink!

For those of you that have been reading this for awhile, you know I have been struggling with this blog for a year- well I got a push from Laura (my last post), and from a few other blogs and websites, that helped get me off my butt and inspired to get this blog in gear.


So, my first step was to redesign my blog to make it reflect "me" a little more-more whimsy, more PINK and more FUN! I love it and it makes me happy to look at it now, so that should motivate me to write it on more often.


Now, I am going to TRY and write on my blog twice a week- I will do my best to make it fun, motivating, and interesting. I will still be helping promote my customers- because I love seeing what they do with my graphics and showing them off to you. 


And of course, I will still be announcing my sales here-for you very special people that read this!  


To celebrate my new "coming out in pink party", I am going to have a sale from the posting of the blog through Saturday, April 21st- ending at midnight. The sale is for my website only, as this saves me time from having to upload all the files, etc...and of course, YOU get your files immediately! In the coupon code box, type the word PINK, and you will get 50% off your entire order. Since I normally do buy one, get one free, I thought this would be the easiest and best way for you to get the same deal!!


So, get ready, I am on a roll!!!  I am open to any and all suggestions for things you might want to know, tutorial ideas, anything- so let me know and enjoy the sale!


and I know it's early- but have a great weekend!!!


xoxox

My Learning Curve

Help me!!! I'm drowning!!!
This is how I have felt for a long time now- any of you who have read this blog, know that I keep "trying" to do better- and keep NOT doing better- well, I was looking around on the web for some help and ran into this FABULOUS gal, Laura Simms.

Yeah, I know...she is disgustingly gorgeous, as well as smart.  She has a great blog, with wonderful videos, full of tremendously helpful information. Last week, she sent out an email asking her blog followers to send her a question you would ask her if you had 30 minutes to sit down and talk to her over coffee.


Well, today she did her blog about MY question- and on not only did I get some GREAT advice...I get a Starbucks gift card too!  My question was all about how overwhelmed I feel trying to tend to my blog and all the social media sites...she has some great tips- and I am going to implement them all! You can watch the video here:

http://createasfolk.com/how-to-manage-your-time-with-social-media-marketing/

I also bought her ebook, "Roadmap to Action".

And because I do better having something actually WRITTEN down, I printed out all the pages and the calendars that are included in her book. She has a blog calender (obviously-I haven't really used that one yet), and a daily planner, a weekly planner, and a monthly planner, where she helps you set your goals, priorities, strengths, and projects. This book helped me figure out what things were bogging me down and what things I needed to work harder on. It also helped me focus on the my strengths and give myself a little break on my weaknesses. It's a GREAT book and I recommend it to anyone with a business, particularly an online one.

I hope you watch the video, sign up for her blog- it is fantastic and has helped me so much- and maybe some of you can hold my feet the fire to make sure I stay on track on my blog!!!  

I would love to hear your ideas on what drives you nuts about social media and how you handle it.

so now...my first blog post of April....let's see how I do 

xoxo