The Blog Workshop- Where Blogging Meets Business #TBW

The Blog Workshop  is a learning community for bloggers and vloggers. Whether you are a beginner blogger/vlogger, looking for tips and tricks to having an awesome blog or you’re an experienced blogger/vlogger looking to take it to the next level.. they have an AMAZING website to show you how to get it done.

They have workshops, annual conferences, and an amazing community that will definitely help you to understand and bridge the gap between YOUR blog and PR reps, brands, and influencers. The Blog Workshop is “Where Blogging Meets Business.”

Even though I’m not a newbie blogger, I’ve been doing this for well over 4 years now- there are still NEW things to learn everyday about blogging, making the best of your blog, and connecting to brands.

The most difficult thing to understand when starting out is how to gain Page Rank. I was confused for almost a year on how to optimize my blog to show up in Search Engines and how to gain link backs. This is where you gain your page rank.

The Blog Workshop has an entire Workshop dedicated on teaching you the ins and outs of Search Engine Optimization. How to get your blog out there and getting it’s name known. It’s all there in their Surviving SEO workshop

This is where the brands are going to be looking. They are going to search you before they say “YES, we would like to work with you”. They are going to see what comes up, how many followers you have, and if you complete high quality work that is worth their time and money.

Knowledge IS power. If you are running around the blogospere not knowing what to do, where to go, or how to get started.. this could definitely help you! They have tons of Workshops that will show you EVERYTHING!

 

 

They also have a Blog Workshop University. That way when you do get jobs with those brands and sponsors you want or need, you’ll know exactly how to serve them and make them happy. You want them to come back, right? Well, getting the job done with quality AND preciseness is part of the job! Learn how to do it!

The Introductory Blogging Diploma is a 1 year program that consists of 4 semesters. Each semester is 3 months long, allows you to gain hands on experience and teaches you the ins and outs of establishing a successful blogging enterprise. Early Enrollment Tuition: $1800

There is a NEW blog workshop on June 26 about SEO!

The Blog Workshop -Surviving SEO - speaker Dan Morris 06/26 8-9pm EDT

Takes place on June 26, 2013 from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm

About:

The Blog Workshop is being organized by lifestyle blogger Da Vinci, founder of YourLifeAfter25.com.  As a veteran blogger of almost 6 years professionally and 10 years of blogging all together,  Da Vinci has been able to witness the blogging phenomenon grow, evolve and flourish.  With that growth Da Vinci has been able to cultivate a trusted audience of readers, fans, followers and supporters.  Your Life After 25 is receiving on average 300,000+ monthly visitors with over 1,500,000 impressions/page views a month.

Connect with The Blog Workshop online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlogWorkshop

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBlogWorkshop

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/theblogworkshop

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/theblogworkshop

 

Jessica Renee

A Pool Has Become A Backyard BBQ Necessity

Everyone throws backyard BBQs – at least those who have some sort of outdoor area to do so. Especially in the hot summer months, when there is a bbq, there should be a pool. This allows guests somewhere to be other than around the hot grill. It also adds an element of fun to ensure more people show up.

Seating Areas

When you consider having a backyard bbq, you have to be conscientious about where everyone will sit. If you don’t have a pool in the backyard, you may have to supply a significant amount of seating for everyone because there isn’t a lot for people to do. You may need picnic benches, tables with umbrellas or at least lawn chairs.
If you have a pool, however, you can toss a few floats in the pool and ensure everyone isn’t just milling around the barbecue area. Those who wish to cool off periodically in the backyard can simply jump in the pool. People can also grab an inner tube or raft to lounge around while someone else is grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers.

The Entertainment Factor

It’s a great idea to have a backyard bbq, but you can’t expect everyone to come over just for food. You also have to provide some sort of entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with expecting people to make conversation amongst themselves – at least for a little while. Eventually, though, if there’s nothing to do besides eat, people will start to leave.

The pool ensures you have a draw to your party. People are likely going to head over because you have a pool, not because you’re having a bbq. This ensures you don’t have to focus significantly on the food that is being served. Keep it simple. You can put a volleyball net up across half the pool and have a water volleyball game or play a variety of other games in the pool.

Without the pool, you would have to figure out something else for people to do in your backyard – such as horse shoes. This doesn’t provide the same entertainment value, which means people may have the tendency to gravitate inside and plant themselves in front of the TV – and this is probably not where you want everyone hanging out.

Pool Designs

When you want to have a backyard bbq, a pool is becoming a necessity. Depending upon where you live and how often you have barbecues, you have the option of many different pool designs; such as inflatable pools available at BackyardOcean.com. If you own your own home, it may be advantageous to install a pool in-ground. If you do this, ensure you are choosing a size that will accommodate the average number of people you have over for a barbecue.

If you rent or you are not too keen on installing an in-ground pool in your backyard because of costs, you can put an above ground pool out back. While these aren’t as luxurious, these can still be very nice – and allow people to cool off. Depending upon your budget, you can find deep ones with a ladder up the side, a slide and much more. These are available in virtually every size you can imagine.

If the majority of the people you have coming over have little kids, you may even want to think about catering to the little ones. This includes with such things as a wading pool or even a slip and slide or sprinkler. This keeps the kids cool and out of the big pool that requires a lot more adult supervision. It may also be the best route if there are still some un-potty trained kids out there.

Even if you don’t have a pool, there are ways of obtaining one. If you’re in an apartment complex, there may even be a grill and a pool in the same area – making it a perfect way to have a BBQ, even if it isn’t in your backyard, per se.

It gets hot at a BBQ and you don’t want people complaining at the celebration. When the grill can be in the vicinity of a pool, it’s going to ensure a better turn out to the invitations as well as ensure that everyone is cool, no matter what time of the year it may be held.

 

Jessica Renee

Book Review: And I Thought I Was Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies & Meshugaas by Judy Reiser

Do you refuse to take the top newspaper on a stack (even if perfect)?
•Insist that the toilet paper hang "over"?
•Wait for the phone to ring at least twice before answering?
•Keep returning to the refrigerator hoping that something new to eat has materialized?

Outrageous, outlandish and downright ridiculous eccentricities exhibited (and confessed to) by otherwise normal people. From hilarious bathroom behavior to funny money and unconventional clothing habits to eating and sleeping peculiarities to germ-a-phobia and sportsmania and more.

You will laugh while gaining insight into yourself and others!
People do the darndest things!

My Review

Do you ever do something and then think “if someone KNEW about this, they would think I was weird?” Well, lighten up about it, we all have our little crazy quirks that make us who we are.

As a psychology major and all around people person, I am curious to the funny and quirky things people do. This is a collection of quirks that Judy has collected from different people from all ages and walks of life!

It is absolutely HILARIOUS to see that we aren’t the only weird ones! No matter how old you are, you will definitely LOVE this book- it had me busting out laughing within the first page!

Here are some of the things that people do that they think might be weird to other people!

“When I mail letters, I have to open and
close the lid three times to make sure the
letter went down the slot. It hasn’t gotten
stuck yet but I still have to check.”
OWNER, REAL ESTATE COMPANY, MALE, 49

It always seemed to me that seeing one little toothbrush in a
holder for six looked very sad so I fill it all up with toothbrushes. I
have two bathrooms so I have ten or twelve toothbrushes—in all different
colors. I always use the same one, the rest of them just sit there.
PRESIDENT, AD AGENCY, MALE, 35

I divide my money into four separate envelopes in my pocketbook.
It makes me feel like I have a lot of money.
NURSE, FEMALE, 39

I always make out a check for whole dollars and pay the cents in
cash. If a bill is $35.10, then I’ll make out the check for $35.00 and
hand over the ten cents—it makes my checkbook so much easier
to balance.
DESIGNER OF CHINA AND CRYSTAL, FEMALE, 24

I pick up the groceries in the supermarket in the order that they’re
written on my list. If the bread and the cereal are next to each
other in the same aisle but not one after the other on my list, I will
bypass the cereal and come back for it later when I reach it on my
list. Grocery shopping is like therapy for me. It’s relaxing, I enjoy
it, and I take my time with it.
ACTRESS, 28

My brother peels everything from a tomato to a grape. He won’t
eat them otherwise.
SALES ENGINEER, MALE, 53
HIS BROTHER IS A BUSINESSMAN, 47

My husband doesn’t like the different items of food on his plate to
touch so he eats off an old steel army plate that has sections. He
feels that if one food touches the other, they’re both contaminated—
they’re supposed to be two separate foods and they no
longer are if they touch.
HOUSEWIFE, 32
HER HUSBAND IS A NATIONAL SALES MANAGER, CORPORATION, 30

Reading this book was very relaxing for me. I love learning about human behaviors, even the quirky ones! After just the first page I KNEW I’d be hooked on this book. It’s 176 pages of nothing but pure delight!

You’ll find yourself even saying “Oh My God, I totally do that” or know someone who does! My stepdad ALWAYS sorts his money by largest to smallest and they ALWAYS have to face the same way. I called him OCD but apparently there are other people who do this! LOL

My “THING” wasn’t in the book. I have TONS of books. They have to be sorted by whether they are fiction or non-fiction,then the same subjects have to be together, and then they have to be on the bookshelf from tallest to shortest. I don’t know why.. I stack my notebooks like this as well.

I also color-code all my clothes in both my closet and dresser. My closet starts out short sleeves (and I always put the tank tops at the very beginning of the color) white, then yellow, orange,pink, purple, red, blue, green, grey, brown, black. Then there’s the long sleeves color coded, and ends with my hoodies and sweatshirts and then jackets. They are all color coded and sorted by length!

What is something that you do that other people around you may not? Share below!

Buy the book:

And I Thought I Was Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies and Meshugaas

$3.82

 

About the Author

About the Author Judy Reiser began collecting quirks after a conversation in which she divulged something crazy she does and a friend shared something he does. After having a good laugh about it, she soon discovered that everyone seems to have quirks. She has been observing, gathering, marveling at and laughing about quirks ever since. Her husband insists that if she had written this book of quirks as an autobiography, it would have been much longer! Judy interviewed over 2,500 people for her three books: "And I Thought I Was Crazy!", "Admit It, You’re Crazy!", and "In a Cell Phone Minute".

You can find a collection of all her books on the Judy Reiser Website

Jessica Renee

Book Review: Lunch Bags- 25 Handmade Sacks & Wraps to Sew Today by Design Collective; C&T Publishing

Brown Bag it in Style

• Projects include sandwich wraps, baggies, bicycle bags, and totes
• Quick and easy to make with basic sewing techniques; everyone in your family will want one!
• Customize the outside with your favorite fabrics and insulate the inside. You can waterproof it with laminated cotton, oilcloth, nylon, or vinyl.
• Projects are fun, functional, and reusable-make your sack lunches even greener!
• Bags can be washed in your dishwasher or washing machine

Today's hottest designers share their sewing savvy with 25 projects, from a simple sandwich wrap to a sophisticated shoulder bag. Why shouldn't your lunch bag match your personal wardrobe and eco-conscious lifestyle?

My Review

Wanting to tote that lunch in style? Lunch Bags offers much more than just lunch bags. It also has patterns and instructions for reusable wraps and sacks.

I LOVE using wraps and fabric sacks for the snacks and sides I sent to school with Aidan (and now Adisyn) as well as Adam’s lunch for work. Not only does it keep everything separated but it helps to keep plastic sacks from being thrown away.

You’ll NEVER want to use a regular old lunch bag or brown bag special once you see all the goodies within this book. As a seamstress, this had my creative senses tingling all over!

No matter what your looking for, or who you want to make it for- you’ll definitely find something that peaks your interest! They have eco-friendly wraps for snacks, picnic sized lunch bags, basic lunch bags, insulated lunch bags.. some even include instructions on how to make accessories to go with your lunch bag such as drink wraps!

All of the designs are practical and yet beautiful at the same time. There are a variety of materials; denim, cotton fabric, burlap, lace.. and even plastic drink pouches (kool aid or capri sun pouches).

Each bag is designed by a different crafter, so no two bags are similar. There are some for beginners.. and some that require more experience. They all look very sturdy, durable, and well put together!

The instructions are very clear, detailed, and precise. There are pictures that follow—so it’s easy to flip through and pick which one you fancy! Every ONE of these would make awesome gifts!

BUY IT: Lunch Bags for $15.95

Connect with C&T Publishing:

Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, and Twitter

 

Jessica Renee

Roaring Springs Paper Products Review & Giveaway

Summer is here and it ALWAYS peaks my midnight ramblings. It intrigues me to just write and write and write. I have always been one of those girls that has too much paper, and too many pens, binders and markers. 'I have always LOVED shopping for office/school supplies.

SO you know I was excited to review some notebooks from Roaring Springs Paper Products.  Roaring Springs is a126 year old manufacturer of paper products in the US who has recently extended their line of earth friendly paper products to include Sugarcane Paper Notebooks, Cross-Over Notebooks and Color Me Products for the kids!

I was sent 4 Color Me Notebooks, 2 Cross-Over Notebooks, Genesis Shades 1 Subject Notebook Genesis 5 Subject Notebook and a Genesis 3 subject Notebook, SO you know I was like a kid at Christmas over here.

Here is some info on each:

Color Me Products – These notebooks and folders encourage kids to be creative and personalize by coloring the covers. There are a variety of pre-printed themes on the covers such as Aquarium, Farm, Sports and Fun Park to peak kid’s interest.

Sugarcane Paper Notebooks - This environmentally friendly product is made of paper from sugarcane, truly a renewable paper.  This is a notebook where, by purchasing it really does save a tree.

Cross-Over Notebook - Unique wire bound notebook that has college-ruled lines running the width of the page on one side, and the length of the page on the other side. This unique printing allows you to take notes three ways:  wide for sketching or to illustrate diagrams, standard, or use the backlight grid pattern the lines create for graphing. These are several great ways to get a lot out of one notebook-- crossover to a better note taking

 

My Review*

 

I Love to Write ♥

I write and I write A LOT! I feel better about using Roaring Springs Paper Products because their Sugarcane Paper Notebooks are environment friendly. Instead of using paper made from trees (like normal paper is) there are made from sugarcane!

The BEST thing about the sugarcane made paper is that it actually write more smoothly than regular paper (or to me it does anyway). I took one look at all these empty notebooks just waiting for ME to dig in and get to creating and I was HAPPY HAPPY!

They are regular white like normal paper, and has a durable vinyl cover that can be wiped clean! I also love that I can write notes to myself on these covers with dry erase markers and then wipe it off when I’ve completed whatever to-do list or whatever that I wrote down.

The inside of the notebooks still contain the little double sided folder which is convenient to keep to-do lists, grocery lists, school handouts, or whatever inside. That way they don’t slip out and you lose them for GOOD!

They also have colored notebooks that are made of sugarcane as well. They are also college rules and have the double sided folder in the front as well as the vinyl cover. This is one of my favorites! This is great for personal means. Journals, Quotes, Poems!

This is one of the crossover notebooks! This also have a vinyl cover that is easy to clean/wipe off if needed! It doesn’t have a folder, but these are AMAZING notebooks. I’d never seen anything like it before.

See how the landscape pages can be seen and then when you flip over it’s letter size! This makes it easy to use both sides for something different. Or you can use both back and front for the same such as poems, lists for school or work, to-do lists..

These are the Color Me notebooks. I got 4 of them, so I gave each of my kids 2 each. I’d never seen them have so much fun with a notebook! They had fun coloring and designing the front!

The top picture is my daughters, and the bottom picture is my sons. The inside of the notebook is like a regular notebook with lined paper.

Since it’s summer and Aidan learned so much in Kindergarten this year. We use one of his notebooks for continuing learning how to add and subtract small numbers.

Adisyn’s other notebook is used for learning letters and numbers since she will begin preschool in the fall. My kids are growing up too fast, HOW did this happen?

This is the inside of Aidan’s color book. I loved looking through it and seeing all the cool stuff he is learning to draw. The first picture is of Me and him inside me as a baby (as he wanted to know how he got here LOL).

The second picture is of a rocket ship and the last is a King! He is getting so creative and amazing at drawing for a 6 year old. It’s cool what some crayons, a paper, and an imagination will bring out!

This is Adisyn’s drawings. She said hers was the clouds and her (the first one) and flowers (the second). I am definitely putting these up as keepsakes!

Connect with Roaring Spring Paper Products on Facebook & Twitter.

They have a very interactive Facebook Page that offers their fans an opportunity to win products randomly, by answering quiz questions or sharing.

WIN IT: One Stylish Southern Mama reader will win the exact same assortment of notebooks that I received!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Jessica Renee

Romwe accessory fling sale, start at $1.99

Romwe accessory fling sale, start at $1.99

Go: http://www.romwe.com/Accessory-Fling-c-204.html

 

Jessica Renee

Beauty Review: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Shampoo & Conditioner and Fine to Full Blow Out Spray

John Frieda Luxurious Volume –Fight flat hair in the shower with the reformulated Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Shampoo and Conditioner—the duo creates the perfect foundation for full, natural looking and feeling volume. Trade in your arsenal of volume boosters for John Frieda’s breakthrough Fine to Full Blow-Out Spray, developed to deliver a salon-quality blowout at home.

John Frieda has been an absolute must on my list of hair care products since I can remember. I really liked their whole Brunette line and the frizz ease products. They came out with the new colour care line which included Brunette, Blonde, and Red.. I was fortunate enough to get to try the Brunette Colour Care Shampoo and Conditioner for my recently dyed Cherry Black hair! I LOVED it!

Now I am about to show you their new line of Luxurious Volume Hair Care products! This includes:

John Frieda TOUCHABLY FULL SHAMPOO

John Frieda Touchably Full Conditioner

John Frieda Fine to Full Blow Out Spray

 

 

This shampoo and conditioner duo really does live up to it’s name “Luxurious Volume”. It doesn’t strip the hair of it’s natural oils, and make it frizzy and dry It out. Most volumizing shampoos (even with the conditioner) dry the hair out in time. With the John Frieda Volumizing Line my hair comes out silky smooth, easy to manage, shiny AND full of volume.

The shampoo and conditioner both smell absolutely incredible. I can’t put an EXACT scent on the smell, but if I had to guess- I think it smells like freshly bloomed Tiger Lillie's which I find irresistible. The Spray smells exactly the same.

I love that the scent doesn’t leave ALL day. I can wash my hair the night before, get up and it still SMELLS incredible. Even after I get out of the tanning bed my hair STILL smells like it was just washed. Later on that day before I take a shower the scent is still lingering! ♥

The Shampoo lathers AMAZINGLY. I only had to use a very small amount to wash my entire hair (about a nickel size). This amazed me because even though my hair isn’t thick, it’s very long. If you think it isn’t sudsy enough, put a little more water on your head—that’s all it needs. I can see this bottle lasting longer than a month which is new to me and my long strands!

If you use too much, it’s a waste and ANY shampoo will begin to leave product residue behind if you use too much. Make sure your only using the amount you need for your hair. AND like I said before—add a tad but more water if you think it isn’t going to get your entire head! Rub it in and wa-lah beautiful, amazing, healthy feeling locks!

The conditioner feels like liquid silk. I don’t use very much conditioner in my hair at all AND I never condition the roots. My hair is naturally oily, so I conditioner from about 1/2 away from my scalp to the ends of my hair.

My hair has always been on the “finer” side, although it’s gotten a little thicker as I got layers (or so it seems). The layers weren’t really SHOWING like I wanted them to though. I wanted something that could put the oomph in my hair so the layers could be seen.

The best results I’ve gotten is when I use them together AND follow with the Blow Out Spray. My hair was definitely thicker and had more body to it. It was soft after just the SHAMPOO- but the conditioner really adds the silkiness and vibrancy to it.

I can even use a flat iron on it and it still looks amazing! Many companies make promises, but I needed one that would actually deliver on that promise and John Frieda always does.

I love that I can wash my hair at night, and I don’t wake up with a ton of gunk or oil in my hair. It looks freshly washed, all I have to do is flat iron it and be on my way!

This doesn’t just give you volume, but it gives you BODY from the root all the way to the ends. I don’t have to use a root lifter when I use these which I LOVE!

I just spray the Fine to Full Blow Out Spray onto my hair and blow dry my hair upside down. I love that this is a pump action bottle. I try to stay away from the aerosol sprays because they smell more like alcohol (like hairspray does).. this smells fresh and invigorating just like the shampoo and conditioner.

I do use a thermal protectant in conjunction with this. I love that it doesn’t weigh the hair down while giving it volume though. You can also double this with a styling cream so that if you want you can curl or flat iron your hair after you blow-dry it!

To make them EVEN better, all three feel like they are actually nourishing and moisturizing my hair as well. It looks and feels so healthy and strong. The shine stays all day without becoming oily. This is a plus for someone who has naturally oily hair!

Needless to say, compliments have been rolling my way since beginning to use these three products!

HANDS down A+++ for these! I can NOT live without them now!

Want to experience the awesomeness for yourself?

Buy IT:

John Frieda TOUCHABLY FULL SHAMPOO $5.49

John Frieda Touchably Full Conditioner $5.49 

John Frieda Fine to Full Blow Out Spray $8.99

Connect with John Frieda online:

Facebook and Youtube

 

Jessica Renee

Hot Buns Facebook Photo Contest - $1,000 Prize!

Hot Buns hair accessories Features:

• Fast and Easy to use for all ages

• Perfect for casual or elegant wear

• Also use it to get beautiful, bouncy curls

• So comfortable you can sleep in it

• Comes with 2 sizes for multiple hairdos

• Small – for short hair & half-up styles

• Medium – classic buns for any occasion

• Both sizes leave you with big, bouncy curls!

Bew contest for the hair tool Hot Buns.  Fans of the Hot Buns Facebook page can upload a snap shot of their best style using Hot Buns and then share the photo with their friends to be entered to win. The photo with the most fan votes wins $1,000!

You can enter the contest here.

 

Jessica Renee

Blogger Opp: Back to School Blast

Back to School Blast Event

Hosted by: Mom Powered Media

Prize: $1,000 in Gift Cards up for grabs!

Event dates: 7/1 - 8/1

Free Blogger Event: Sign Up HERE

Power of Pentel 500,000 Sweepstakes

"Unleash the Power of Pentel!" Have you ever dreamed of being a superhero?  You now have the chance with the summer-long Power of Pentel contest; a promotion that gives consumers the chance to win $500,000 ($250,000 for the winner and $250,000 for a school of the winner’s choosing). What would you do with $250,000? Pay for college tuition, take the family on a cruise around the world, pay off your mortgage or start a small business? Now imagine what a deserving school could do with $250,000 – build a new library, buy laptops for every student, create a scholarship program or install new playground equipment. The possibilities are endless with the “Power of Pentel.”

How do you play?

To participate, simply buy marked packages of Pentel EnerGel-X® pens or mail in for a code (no purchase necessary).  Then visitwww.pentel.com/power  and enter the code to see if you can “Unleash the Power of Pentel.”  There is no limit to the number of entries andPentel will be awarding second chance prizes via random drawings every week. Plus, fans of Pentel can engage in fun, hero-themed contests on the company’s social sites, like Facebook®, Instagram®, Twitter® and Pinterest® for a chance to win cool prizes up to a $350 value!


Good luck and enjoy playing!

Pentel of America Online Outreach
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