We traveled almost every month this year for various reasons, and one thing I have learned is that it is impossible to predict how a trip will go with little ones. There are so many factors that can affect a trip, BUT here are a few things that helped us out over multiple hours in the car with multiple children… VIEW FULL POST
I know I have openly admitted to my lack of commitment to a skin care routine before. Since my skin wasn’t too problematic, I was pretty lazy, until this past year my skin started to shift in different ways, and the winter seemed to take it’s toll. Add in pregnancy to the mix, and it was as if I was back in my teen years. It shouldn’t take breakouts and dry skin to get you to take care of yourself, but it certainly snapped me into an active hunt for better skin care options! … VIEW FULL POST
{Source}
When you are younger, you are so frequently asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our first response at this age was just what we loved to do the most, or what we admired. For me it was to be an artist, singer, or teacher. Those were the people I looked up to, and the things I never tired of. They were things integrated in my day to day life in some form of play or imagination.
As we start to grow older and different things start to influence us, the question gets a little more complicated, and we begin to formulate in our minds what we picture ourselves doing, or rather what we think we should be doing. More often than not, our life’s course takes a different path than our initial desire as a child. Sometimes this is a choice, and sometimes it is a result of a series of circumstances. For me it was a little of both. What about you? … VIEW FULL POST
{Original image by Benedict Morgan}
Continuing the biz tips series today, and winging in a super cool blog whiz, Melyssa of The Nectar Collective. We will be teaming up for some helpful topics in the coming weeks, and so happy to have her as a guest today!
Hey blogger babe! I’m super excited to be joining you here today because I just adore Anna’s blog AND I love handing out blog and biz tips — match made in heaven, am I right? Today, I’m sharing some strategies on a topic that has majorly helped my blog and business: SEO. Want to increase your pageviews, be seen by more people online, and affect a larger audience? Then you should definitely be implementing some SEO strategies to make sure that your blog posts are popping up in search results on Google.
Before you start running for the hills, let me tell you — effectively adding proper SEO to your site is NOT that difficult. In fact, between you and me, it’s pretty easy to accomplish some basic SEO that will have a big effect. Ready to stand out? Here are 5 ways to instantly improve your site’s SEO:
Keywords are essentially the search terms that one would use to find your post on Google. It may sound like it needs to be one word, but actually it’s usually best to use a short phrase. For example, if your post is about “How to Make a DIY Fall Wreath”, it’s not advisable for your keyword to be “wreath” or “DIY.” Imagine how many posts out there contain those simple words?
Rather, be more specific and try something like, “DIY Fall Wreath.” Imagine what someone might search on Google. For help selecting a keyword, try the Google Adwords Keyword Planner.
Once you’ve selected your keyword, infuse it into your post in several places. A few that you shouldn’t miss? The post’s title, the post’s URL, and the first few sentences of your blog post. You should also (naturally) weave it into your blog post a few times.
Yoast is available for self-hosted WordPress sites and helps you to make sure that you’re using keywords in all the right places. It also has a neat “page analysis” tab under each post, which lets you know what you did well and what you could improve. It basically makes SEO a cinch.
I see a lot of bloggers and novice designers make this make. What I mean is, if it’s possible to use HTML or CSS, then you should use that as opposed to creating an image with text on top. For blog articles, it’s normal to create text images, but for things like your categories, navigation bar, and sidebar widgets, it’s optimal to create these with code rather than Photoshop. The reason being that Google can’t crawl those images, so you’re missing out on search engine traffic.
{Source }
Make sure to include a description, title, and alt attribute for your images, which includes your post’s keyword in it. Also, before you upload them, name your images something that relates to your post, such as “where-to-find-vintage-telephones.JPG” instead of IMG_28945.JPG.”
Perhaps most importantly, you should create a focus for each of your blog posts. What exactly are your readers going to get out of it? What’s the main goal or takeaway? This is important because search engines are looking for the BEST content on a particular topic. If your posts are scattered or unfocused, Google won’t understand what they’re supposed to be about. Instead, be more specific so that Google can find your post and start ranking it in its top results. Woo!
Bonus! >> Combine your blog and business into one site. A lot of people worry about whether they should add their blog to their business website. It definitely depends on you business and the topics of your blog, but if they can be connected somehow (perhaps you run a handmade business and blog about DIY projects), then I definitely say, “go for it!”
Why? Because a business website only has a few static pages. That can make it really hard to appear higher in search results on Google, since Google doesn’t have much content to crawl. BUT! If you have a blog on the same site (must be under the same domain), then Google has tons of blog posts that it can pull up. If you’re smart about it, then when someone visits your blog, they’ll also see a link to your shop or services. BOOM!
I hope this helped, new friends! If you want to learn more about SEO, I actually have a free e-book for subscribers with my top 12 SEO tips. You can sign up to receive it right here. Woohoo!
36 weeks.
I have actually loved the conversation starters a baby in the womb can drum up. It took me an extra hour to get through the store the other day because I was stopped no less than 5 times throughout. In the fine cheese kiosk, over the deli counter, the bakery, around the corner in aisle 3, and once again during my debate over the frozen pizzas in the freezer section….all by different people who wanted to either tell their story or hear mine. I left the store with a wide grin because a new life is actually life giving. One older man wanted to tell me with excitement about his first grandchild being born the next morning. Another, spilled forth her story about how due to a stroke inducing medical condition, she could only have her one daughter, and how grateful she was for that one. And there there was the man with the hair cap on whose first child is due the same week mine is due, and wanted to chat all about it. I could tell how much love he already had for his child.
I don’t really love all the physical challenges pregnancy can bring, but I do love having this baby close to me wherever I go. I realized I am so lucky to be a temple to this little soul for a brief blink in time ….no matter if it feels like years right now.
Just a few weeks left… so the big elbows to the ribs, kicks to the stomach, and swollen feet are reminding me. I can’t wait to see who has been causing the ruckus:)
*Outfit provided by Anthropologie, in collaboration for their Summer in a Snap launch:) Skirt // Top // Sandals // Tote (on mega sale). Photos taken last month:)
My dear friend Mandy is one of those gals you marvel at. She has an ability to make something marvelous out of anything she touches. Mandy has an incredible eye for design, style, entertainment, and of course stocking her shop. I have been lucky enough to watch her from the beginning as an etsy shop owner to successful entrepreneur.
Today, IHOD + Waiting on Martha are teaming up to gift one of you with a $250 gift card to spend at Shop Waiting on Martha. There are more goodies to choose from than you will know what to do with! It’s super simple to enter via rafflecopter below, and a second chance over on instagram!
If you are in the Atlanta area, you must go visit her storefront at the Shops Around Lenox. She will be there through August!
We will draw a winner on Friday. Best of luck!
*My dress is from Isabella Oliver
We changed our plans last minute due to a rainy forecast and stayed put for the weekend. I know, I’m the idiot who thought she could go camping with three little ones at 36 weeks pregnant, but I held onto hope because I realllly wanted to see all of my family. Swallowed that humble pill and moved on to lockdown pastures…
It ended up being a really good weekend though, just the 5 of us + baby belly, and a good deal of time with friends. Along with millions of other proud Americans, we did many of the patriotic pastime traditions. You know, something like this….. the smell of hot dogs on the grill, watermelon stained shirts, wide eyed faces under firework lit skies, chins dribbled with popsicles, grass stains and bandaids,a history lesson from Gabe to the kids on the meaning of Independence Day (ohhh the questions were comical), sparklers, flag waving, lighting bugs, and a few delicious naps in between.
The babe in utero got a little excited and put me in bed Saturday morning with severe braxton hicks contractions. I kindly reminded him/her that we still had a few weeks to go…their chance to be a firework will come soon enough;)
The highlight may have been getting to meet little miss Claire Vivien in the hospital. I was a little bitter my pregnant pal Jessica had to go have her baby, and leave me in the dust to be pregnant all by my lonesome for a few more weeks, but I quickly forgave her after holding this brand new softer than soft swaddle of beauty. Looking forward to seeing our babes take down milestones together:)
How was your weekend my friends? Hope you had a splendid weekend with your families and loved ones.
“Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” ~Louis D. Brandeis
—
P.S. Links to some of the maternity pieces I am wearing in the new shop page🙂
