January 2011 Archives - not your average ordinary

Entries from 31 January 2011

Jan 31

I dream about having a lovely home in New York state one day. I think I stumbled upon one that’s nearly perfect for me.

There’s a grassy backyard and big spacious living room. You can nearly hear the clinking of glasses at a dinner party.

There’s a reading nook large enough to accommodate a whole book club. We’d sit and chat about books, while eating homemade croissants (there would be at least three types) and drinking coffee.

The kitchen would bustle more than any other room. I’d cook dinner and bake, then blog all my recipes with detailed photographs (in each photo, the food would be nearly half eaten since I’m never patient enough to photograph before I taste things).

There would be brunch parties out on the patio, and dinner parties too, ones lit by white candles.

And I’d definitely have one area with such elaborate tile work, you’d forget for a moment that you were sitting with me in my home on the East Coast. Especially after we had mint tea out of elaborate tea glasses that I’d brought back from a trip to Morocco.

Do you make lists of features you’d want in a dream home?

{New York home images from House Beautiful, photographed by Christopher Baker}

40 CommentsHome

The Ladies

Jan 28

I met so many wonderful people at Alt Design Summit, but there are a few in particular I need to say special thank you’s to for making my time there so special:

Janie of Janie Hearts and We Heart Paper
Lillian of Unstitched
Piper of One Sydney Road
Erin of Slipcover Your Life
Rachel of Raenovate
Danni of oh, hello friend
Claudia of Stonehouse Love
Julie of Inspired…Live Simply
Sana of Pip & Estella
Padgett of Padgett Hoke
Vivien of The Eclectic Life
Alexis of Fern + Feather
Melissa of Reverie Daydream
Karey of Mackin Ink

Apologies if I left anyone out! I was so overwhelmed by meeting so many fantastic new friends.

Make sure you spend some time visiting their blogs this weekend. I know you’ll love what you find.

{photo from the camera booth hosted by Kate Spade NY at Alt}

17 CommentsWander

Little Touches

Jan 28

There are three things I know:

(1) Padgett is an absolute sweetheart.

(We met at Alt. Don’t you love her name?)

(2) She makes beautiful jewelry.

(3) Whenever you feel down, putting on a bit of jewelry helps.

(I was a bit down at the beginning of the year and I’m still recovering. The power of a pair of awesome earrings still amazes me.)

Don’t you just love the sweet, classic feel all her pieces have?

{all images from Padgett’s etsy shop}

19 CommentsStyle

What I Learned at Alt: Be Brandi

Jan 27

The one biggest lesson I learned at Alt: Be myself.

It’s a really simple lesson, but I’ve been struggling a lot lately with questions about the education I’m getting at grad school, what I want to do when I finish, how to live up to my own expectations rather than the expectations of others.

Knowing who I am has never been a problem: I’m honest, generous, caring, funny, genuine, smart, silly… I know what I love. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know which dreams to shape into realities.

I bet everyone in the room has felt a bit lost at least once in their lives.

But me? I’ve really been feeling it lately. Lost and overwhelmed.

I had a wonderful realization during the conference: I’m an ideas girl. My strengths have always been my creativity, my willingness to think outside the box, my Renaissance background. Now, I just have to run with that.

Can we talk about this? I really want to know how you feel. Is it easy being yourself or do you struggle sometimes?

{that’s me in the middle of this photo taken by the fantastically talented Lillian of Unstitched, next to the lovely Janie of Janie Hearts on the left and the immensely bubbly Piper of One Sydney Road on the right}

33 CommentsInsights

What I Learned at Alt: Comment Etiquette

Jan 27

So it seems that several of you left comments the other day asking me about, well, commenting. Joy of Oh Joy, Emily of Once Wed, and Grace of Design Sponge gave the group some fantastic tips during the Social Media Ethics & Etiquette session at Alt. Here’s what you need to remember when leaving comments:

(1) add to the conversation

I don’t think this is really a problem for any of you, since you always leave me the sweetest and most thoughtful comments. If you just leave a single word like “Pretty!” I’m not sure what to say back to that; sometimes, that’s really all you have to say and want to share and that’s cool. But by taking the time and adding to the conversation, it’s guaranteed you’ll be remembered and really appreciated. For those of you who are reading and may not be commenting, I really do read every single one and try to respond to as many as I can (schoolwork does get in the way at times).

(2) don’t leave spam – promoting their own site or giveaways

What counts as spam? For many bloggers, promoting your own site or giveaways you’re hosting in a comment is spam. There is, after all, a space in the comment form to leave your blog address. If you’ve been doing this, don’t be too hard on yourself — even I used to do it. But let’s face it: if you leave a good comment, you’re engaging everyone who reads it and they’ll go to your blog anyway. I personally always make it a point to visit everyone who visits me (again, school might delay this a few days but you’re important and I make time).

(3) don’t be promotional

This one springs from the last rule: if you do have a giveaway going on and you think someone would be interested in it, email that person directly. I love getting emails and will respond to those more quickly than I can sometimes respond to comments.

(4) be memorable

Your name says a lot, so be original, even if you’re just adding your blog name after yours. I just updated my google nickname to read “Brandi {not your average ordinary}” even though I’d secretly hoped that Brandi would be original enough.

(5) have a comment policy on your blog

Let’s face it: negative comments happen. The best way to let people know what’s acceptable and what’s not is by having a comment policy. I have to confess that I’ve never had a comment policy because I’ve never had a negative comment. In over 9,250 comments. You all are the nicest group around! But if I had to write something down, this would be it: “Be honest but thoughtful, and speak with an open heart. Spread love more than you spread jam or butter.” You can also take a look at the Anti-Hate Blogger Gang started by Kate of For Me, For You.

Grace wrote a fantastic long post about her presentation on comment etiquette in more detail, so if you’re curious to know more, check that out.

{image from life through the lens photography, via pinterest}

23 CommentsInsights

Playing Hookey

Jan 26

I need a “sick day.” When I was in high school, I’d occasionally take a day off here and there just to relax, to enjoy early morning television shows I usually missed, to stay in my pajamas. all. day. long.

My mother let me. I was a good student — I stayed out of trouble, I brought home good grades. Once I was “sick” a whole week. But there was a very tiny miniature dachshund puppy involved.

No one told me playing hookey would get harder as I got older.

I have to admit I’m still in a bit of an Alt hangover. It left me with a big to-do list, which I added to my already enormous to-do list for school and other projects I’m working on. I’m behind on my blogging. And commenting. And sanity. Now all I can think about is having a day to get caught up.

When was the last time you played hookey? And how did you spend the day? (Any tips?)

(I have two more Alt posts coming for you this week, then we’re back to regular inspiration next week. I just need a moment to compose myself.)

{photographs by Annie Leibovitz, a real American master of the lens}

34 CommentsDiscoveries, Stories

Awesome

Jan 25

If a single word dominated and described this weekend, it would be awesome. It was so awesome, in fact, that you can expect that word to be overused in this post. This quote gets me so right: I started off the year sad, but I decided to be awesome instead.

Now, here’s the thing about awesomeness: it spreads. In your life. Into the lives of others. Seriously. Be awesome to someone today and just watch what happens. Know that you’re awesome yourself and see how that changes your day. Because it will. I promise.

And you want to know more about Alt? Besides how awesome it was? Well, ask away. Email me. Leave a comment. Twitter or facebook me. Whatever you’d like. My notes are a bit too long to pass out here. But we can talk a bit about social media (how much should you tweet?), commenting etiquette (did you know it’s considered a bit rude to leave a URL in the body of a comment unless it’s adding to the conversation?), balancing life and blogging (I’m an expert at this)…

What are you doing on this awesome Tuesday?

{the image I pinned some time ago — does anyone know the original source?}

35 CommentsLuminosity

Inspiration

Jan 24

I had a truly amazing time at the Altitude Design Summit last week. I still haven’t registered it all. I met incredible people and had an amazing time. See?

I learned a lot. About blogging, about life, about myself. I realized what my strengths and weaknesses are. I have more ideas than I know what to do with.

There’s something I want to share with you. Well, I want to share it all, but let’s start simply. Some advice that Tina from Swiss Miss gave us, advice that I think resonates no matter what you do.

Only you can tell you what’s best for you.
Surround yourself with smart people.
Stop talking. Do it. If you fail, then move on.
Be kind and generous. It all comes back to you.
Your enthusiasm and integrity are your biggest assets.

I do hope you’re looking forward to big things this week, like me. Won’t you share what’s making your eyes sparkle today?

{image via pinterest, original by Parker Fitzgerald}

32 CommentsLuminosity

Stars

Jan 21

I’m still at Alt and having an absolutely blast! Today is the second day of the conference and tomorrow we have the day to explore beautiful Salt Lake City. Any recommendations of places or restaurants to go?

I hope you weekend is full of lots of sparkle and starlight.

I also have to thank Elie of Punctuation Mark for this wonderful award and Sara Kate of Dwelling and Design for this stylish one. You ladies are so sweet!

I may wander off and get a bit lost this weekend around the city. If it’s too cold for you to get out and discover someplace new, what about getting lost in a good book?

{first image here, second image here}

20 CommentsTravels

Mix and Match

Jan 20

On Monday, Melissa introduced me to Corduroy, and I have to admit, I was immediately smitten by the sweet animals. I mean, there’s a bear dancing la bamba.

I began to think, wouldn’t it be lovely to collect a bunch of the mugs and have some friends over for hot cocoa. I’m not sure why but these are definitely hot cocoa mugs for me — not coffee, not tea — hot cocoa.