Laina Turner's Blog, page 54
May 10, 2015
May 8, 2015
Fab 5 Friday
These are some of the awesome blog posts I read this week.
The Diary of a Jewellery Lover – 30 Ways to save money on holiday….who doesn’t want to travel?
A Sorta Fairytale – The Happiest I’ve Even Been…we all should be our happiest.
Brown Eyed Baker – No Bake Peanut Butter Lover’s Icebox Cake…I say YES to anything with peanut butter.
She is Fierce – What Feminism isn’t (and what it is)…I’m not a die-hard feminist but I found this very interesting.
Modern Commonplace Book – What is this I hear about a capsule wardrobe?…because I really need to clean out my closet.
Have a great Friday!!
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May 7, 2015
Too Many Magazines, Too Little Time AND a Link Up!
I love magazines as you can probably tell by the photo. Unlike books, which I also read, magazine don’t take much time to read, and I love the pictures. However, I haven’t read a single one of these. I’ve just been too busy.
Now before you judge me for spending so much money on magazines that I don’t even read know that I don’t buy most of them. They just get sent to me.
It’s true.
I’m not exactly sure why but most of them come to me in care of my business name so my thought is the magazine folks think I have this big office with a waiting area and tons of people sitting there needing to read magazines.
I don’t, but I am happy they keep sending them to me. Even though, I haven’t been able to read them like I used too. All they do now is cause a lot of clutter all over the house, but I can’t bring myself to throw them away until I’ve read them. I feel like it’s such a waste to toss these glossy beauties when I’ve not looked through them.
With the purchase of our new house and moving sometime in the next 6 weeks, I need to declutter and purge and get rid of s***. And that includes items such as old magazines.
I took that picture a week ago and those magazines are still sitting there, and I’ve added a couple new ones. I told myself I would through them away Sunday night whether I read them or not.
On a more fun note, one of my personal mantras is Being Fabulous is a Skill. I guess because I like to think I’m fabulous. Some days I feel this more than others, but I truly believe we are all fabulous in our own way. It’s just not always as effortless as we make it seem (ha).
In today’s link up I want to celebrate the fabulousness in each and every one of you by sharing your fabulous blog posts (I know I’m probably using the word fabulous too much, but I LOVE it).
Being Fabulous is a Skill Link Party Guidelines
• Link to any post that shows your fabulousness
• Link to the specific post, not just your blog
• You can link up to 3 posts each week
• Please don’t link to shops or other link ups
• Make sure to comment on other fabulous blog posts
And most importantly…HAVE FUN!
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May 6, 2015
How to get your blog noticed without getting naked
Most bloggers have one goal, and that’s to get their blog noticed. Well and to have a creative outlet.
And make money
And make friends.
Ok, fine. Bloggers have lots of goals. Today, however, we are only talking about the one.
How to get your blog noticed without posting naked selfies.
Which in my case would probably drive away traffic not attract it.
There’s a ton of noise out there, and it’s stiff competition, but there are some things that can set you apart and make you shine.
Images – I can’t stress this enough, and I’m the first to admit it’s my weak point. If I could have, a professional photographer follow me around all day and take pictures whenever the mood struck me or a graphic designer to live in my basement and crank out awesome graphics I would be in heaven. Pictures speak a thousand words and peeps love their pics.
Content is King – I recently heard Jon Steinberg of The Daily Mail speak and this was one of the many nuggets of wisdom I came away with. He actually said Content is SO SO King. Which to me means it’s important. He also said that if you build the content the audience will come.
Bill Gates once said, build it now, sell it later.
Kevin Systrom (co-founder of Instagram) said great products sell themselves.
I think you get my point. Have awesome images and create great content and your blog will flourish.
Social Media – getting the word out about your blog posts on social media is also important. Social Media isn’t just for stalking. You just want to do it in the right way. It’s all about relationship building. It’s not a one-way street of forcing content down someone’s throat. YOU want to engage your audience so when you do send out a link to your blog post they want to go read it.
Less is more – no one likes a cluttered house (even though mine often is – such a losing battle at times), and no one likes a cluttered website. Too many ads or flashing banners or squeezing in as many widgets as possible into the sidebars not only makes it hard to find what’s really important it just looks messy. Like my kitchen table does right now.
Interact with fellow bloggers – if it’s one thing I’ve learned since blogging is bloggers are an awesome group of folks that I’m thrilled to be a part of. Building up a network – a tribe – of other awesome bloggers will help you reach your goals, and you will learn so much.
Have fun – this is the most important piece I feel. Most bloggers I know spend hours and hours on their blog and if it becomes a chore, I don’t mean you have a bad day where you think it sucks but get where you don’t have fun with it. Then stop. Life is too short to not love what you spend your time on.
Have a fabulous day!
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May 5, 2015
Transitional Home Style
I mentioned before in my last couple “hey, I’m excited we bought a house” posts that my fiancé and I have completely different tastes when it comes to décor. So we both shared the same concern going into this of not being able to agree on anything.
Though honestly, he is probably more into decorating than I am. Not that I don’t like it and I do want to be more into searching on Pinterest or Houzz.com for awesome things, it’s just a time factor. I have so many deadlines staring me in the face it’s hard to immerse myself into the home decoration process. I’m trying as it is not to think about the little time we have and the whole moving process which I hate.
As I shared last week in my 32 Shades of Grey post, we did agree on color, so that was a huge win!
I think we settled on –
Now we’ve moved on to fixtures. Everything in the house currently is the original brass, and neither of us are fans, so we want to change the color and style. Once again color was easy (who knew) we both like the darker oil rubbed bronze
Once color was decided, he then went looking and found a style we could both agree on called transitional. Defined by HGTV as a marriage of traditional and contemporary furniture, finishes, materials and fabrics equating to a classic, timeless design. Traditional colors and a minimal approach to accessories are right up my alley, and he likes the look too.
Another win!
Waiting impatiently for the contractor who is doing the bathroom to get his design and estimate to us. All this waiting is driving me crazy. I just want to be able to start lining things up and get started. I’m bugging the mortgage guy almost daily to see when the underwriting will be done and if we can close early. I’m just afraid the contractor and painters won’t have time to finish before we move in, and they really need to be able to. I’d be super happy if the floor could also be installed before moving in.
That reminds me I need to call the fireplace people back because that needs to be installed before the painters come.
Off to call them now. Have an awesome day!
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May 4, 2015
Accidental S’mores Fudge
Who doesn’t love s’mores? Anytime I’m around folks who start roasting marshmallows for this yummy treat it brings back childhood memories of camping and stuffing myself silly on chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers.
Who am I kidding I still stuff myself silly on chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers.
I was watching an episode of Food Network Star and one of the chef’s made this super awesome looking dessert thing that was a variation of s’mores. Now I took the idea of a s’mores variation and came up with my own idea.
The one she made on the show was so far above my ability. I can barely recognize the ingredients they use on those cooking shows much less be able to make what they make.
But I liked the concept. My intent was to make a s’mores like treat somewhat like a Rice Krispy treat. I love me some chocolate. However, it ended up being fudge like.
Super yummy but not exactly what I was going for so I will be trying again. That’s the fun of creating a recipe. Accidental results that are good.
The girls tried to sneak them when I was staging for the photos.
I made them wait.
But then they finally got some!
Here is the recipe. It’s super easy!
My favorite chocolate chips are Nestle Chocolate Semi-Sweet Morsels – 72 oz. bag
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S'mores Fudge 2015-05-03 19:59:31
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Save Recipe Print Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1 bag mini marshmallows 6oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate if you prefer) 2 1/4 cups of crushed graham (I sued the kind for making graham cracker pie crusts)
Instructions Grease a 8 x 8 pan and set aside. Melt butter on low and add the marshmallows stirring frequently. When marshmallows are completely melted add the chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and take off heat. Add 2 cups of the graham and thoroughly mix. Pour in pan and sprinkle the remaining graham on top. Let cool and harden. About 30 minutes.
Laina Turner http://www.lainaturner.com/
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May 3, 2015
Quote of the Day
Enjoy this quote by Thomas Edison. Something we should all keep in mind.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
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May 1, 2015
It’s May Day!
Happy May everyone!
I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s already May. In fact, it’s May Day which if you didn’t know is a holiday. I knew people talked about May Day but never actually knew what it was for so I decided to look it up.
May Day – celebrated on May 1st is a Northern Hemisphere (the half of the Earth north of the equator) holiday to celebrate spring. Dancing, singing, and cake is usually part of the celebration.
Count me in. Any celebration that requires cake has me sold.
It was also chosen in the late 19th century as International Workers Day and while I completely respect workers the holiday doesn’t call for cake.And I like cake.
And did I mention I like cake?
Besides celebrating the fun holiday, I’m excited for the warm weather of summer to come in. This cold weather one-day and warm the next is driving me crazy. I want consistent warmth so I can sit outside to drink my coffee and work. I need to get back into a routine.
The last couple months have been crazy. Work, travel, buying a house, all things that have scattered my focus but life has a habit of doing that to you.
I’m really excited about the house. We should close in a couple weeks and then will start renovations. There is some much-needed work on the master bed/bath before we can move in and the house interior is dated so there is a lot of cosmetic work throughout the house as well. As nervous as I am about the work to be done, and done before we move in, I’m excited about how awesome the end result will be. This is our forever home, or at least until the kids are off to college, and I’m looking forward to making memories.
I should also be soon launching my long overdue new blog design. It’s been in the works for a year now and I’d wanted to launch it a few months ago but again life got in the way and I had a few setbacks. But I’m getting close now and I’m thrilled. My birthday is in June and the goal is to have it launched it by then.
As I’ve mentioned before in my blog this past year has been a very busy and stressful one and because I am a stress eating my health and fitness routine has been way off where it was and should be. However, with the onset of warm weather I have a little more motivation. There is just something about sunshine and warmth that makes me more willing to get out.
I’ve got some great goals to hit by my birthday…
Increase book sales
Increase daily page views
Decrease a few pounds
Get in at least 30 minutes of exercise each day
…. and I’m super pumped to get going on them.
What are your goals for May?
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April 30, 2015
Stella & Dot Mother’s Day Promotion
Special Stella & Dot Mother’s Day Promotion
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
Stella & Dot wants to wish all mom’s an early Happy Mother’s Day! As a gift, they are offering a special mother’s day deal … when you spend $50 on Stella & Dot goodies, you’ll be able to get their gorgeous red and blue Union Square scarf for only $14.99 (a $59 value)! Take advantage of this special promotion by purchasing your gems by May 9, 9:00pm PST.
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April 29, 2015
Best Laid Plans
A lot of us bloggers do more than just blog. Besides being a blogger, I also write fiction and non-fiction books. If you like cozy mysteries you might want to check out some of my titles here or get a free book by joining my mailing list here.
I simply love to write.
Writing books and blogging fulfills different parts of me so I’m lucky to have both as an outlet.
I might not be rich but I love what I do and life is way too short to not love what you do.
I often get asked what made me decide to write cozy mysteries and the funny thing is that was never my intention. I wanted to write chick lit and women’s fiction and when I started out writing my first book, Stilettos & Scoundrels, that’s what my plan was. Then a murder happened (in my story, not in real life) and many books later I have the 10 book Presley Thurman cozy mystery series, a 3 book Trixie Pristine series, and a 2 book Athena Parks series. All which started out with the plan of being something different. Interesting how that worked out.
What’s that cliché about best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray?
I started to wonder if there was just a twisted side of me who liked to kill people off. I mean I read cozy mysteries and thrillers but had never considered writing one until it happened. I’m still not sure why it worked out that way and I do consider myself relatively normal.
I’ve then found myself in a bit of a quandary. My cozy mystery series do well and it’s hard to keep up with writing additional books in the series AND trying to write the chick lit/women’s fiction book I still want to write so it’s taken a back seat.
But it’s all good. It will happen eventually.
What have you started out planning on doing one thing and then having it turn out completely different?
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