All Shiny and Floral.

So any one who has followed me for a while will have noticed a bit of a change in the landscape around here. The page is all floral, clean and a beautiful tidy place to be.  I'd hated my old blog design for a long time, I tried to play with the design but it was never want I completely envisioned. I can make pretty things with my hands but I always miss the mark when it comes to computer design. I know what I want but can't make it appear, it drives me mad.
My blog was starting to feel like the room in your house that you find the time to decorate, you just don't want to spend time there, or keep the lighting dim. 
That's where Jen from Magic Feather Designs came in, we'd already met at a Cumbria Bloggers meet up and I'd seen lots of her fabulous designs appear on blogs. I booked her services and it was worth every penny to rejoice in my lovely blog, it still needs some extra work on my part but love it.  Being the doofus I am I didn't take a before screenshot, but hears a picture of my old signature just to show the difference. The actual design process is very easy (well I wasn't doing it) as you get sent a questionnaire style document to run through, which covers all parts of your blog. Once that's done she came up with a rough design to work from, she was very patient with my ramblings of and I'd like flowers here and badges there and oh can we add this, and this, and do this.... And then poof it's all yours, done and wonderful and just want you wanted.
So if you're feeling like your blog is the shabby room in your life, I would hesitate to get Jen in for the job.

Cumbrian Bloggers Meetup

So last Sunday saw the first Cumbrian Bloggers meet up in Carlisle, okay we're not the only Bloggers in the whole of Cumbria but we're the ones who have met up through twitter and arranged a date to meet. We're hoping to double the numbers for the next meeting, as new people are making contact every day through twitter #CumbrianBloggers and through the new Cumbrian Bloggers Facebook page. 

Hey why would you want to meet? 

Surely you just blog to talk about yourself and get free stuff(as 6 people have told me, this week). Well actually no, people write blogs to engage with others, we have things to say and sometimes no one like minded to say them too. Be your blog be about health, fashion, make up, food, crafts, travel, motherhood and all this and more; all Bloggers want to do really is talk. Sometimes we don't need a reply just the act of putting a thought our there is enough. Sometimes you find people so like minded through it you just want to meet them.

I think it was Jo from Perfect Hiding Place who organised the meet up(thank you Jo) and arranged to meet at The Thin White Duke. Now I've been to tweet ups before which I've always found to be tough as you sometimes have never tweeted(spoke) to those there but everyone who arrived at the Bloggers meet I'd read their blogs first. 

I felt like I knew a little about them, making it easier to chat everyone had a starting point.

 Helen aka Pierrelecat I was reading her blog before I knew she lived locally, proving that even the internet is a small world

Here's Jen from Jenny and the Magic Feather deep in conversation with Sally aka Sally Tangle

 A lovely picture of Anna from On The Dressing Table. 

It wouldn't be a meeting if details, hints and tips weren't discussed. 

Here's Cat from Outside Beauty, Inside Health our most famous Blogger as she was finalist in Cosmoplitan 2012 Blog Awards, chatting to Jo and Anna.

Of course I was there too,but you know me already. Go on give these ladies a read, I'm sure you'll be impressed with them as I was and be following them yourselves soon enough. 

Or if you're a Cumbrian Blogger get in touch to come to the next meet up.

I hope to be posting a lot more updates about Cumbria's Bloggers soon.