As you’ve guessed from the title I’ve finally set up a proper Youtube Channel for our V-Logs 😀
So my main channel will be used just for hair/beauty/craft/art type things and this new channel will have all of the fun random stuff we do around Melbourne. This way you can just subscribe to the parts you like ^_^
I’m updating once a day for the first week then the V-Logs will be weekly from then on. The other channel will continue to be 2-3 videos a week so lots to watch!
I’m really looking forward to getting into doing V-Logs again, I had so much fun doing them in December 😀
Just a heads up that tonight the site will be blacked out as a sign of protest towards SOPA/PIPA and all similar bills internationally.
I don’t normally talk about political things here but this is such an important situation that directly effects both this site and the internet at large.
While these bills are specifically American there have been similar censorship talks here in Aus and I believe that this is something that would effect everyone worldwide.
I have problems putting my thoughts together as eloquently as others do on this topic because it’s a difficult and complex issue. I think this video explains things quite well though.
I believe in copyright laws what I don’t believe in is vaguely worded laws which leave so much room for interpretation. Rules need to be clearly defined so people can follow them and not able to be changed when it’s convenient. And I think having no recourse for site owners or expecting them to check EVERY single page in every single site they link for its content is absolutely ridiculous.
A while ago there was talk within Australia of an internet filter controlled by keywords. This isn’t one of those “oh it won’t effect me” things, if the government decided to block the word “lolita” for it’s negative connotations that would absolutely effect both myself and so many people I know. This kind of thing would have direct effects on sites I love and use every single day.
This is not the right way to do things.
Here is a list of sites with posts explaining things in more coherent detail:
I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend no matter what you celebrate 😀 We went to the Zoo as per our tradition this morning and it is currently storming and thundering like crazy so I’m going to curl up with some hot chocolate, admire the Christmas Billy Idol Day* lights and play some Assassin’s Creed 2. I’m having a fantastic weekend and I can’t wait to post all of the photos and videos from the zoo today! I’m going to put the Christmas Billy Idol Day Eve V-Log up tonight as usual so if you’re wondering how we celebrate check that out XD
Hope you’re all having fun no matter what you’re up to ^_^
*For readers who weren’t here last year, Billy Idol Day is what we celebrate instead of Christmas because I’ve never been a fan of Christmas but James loves celebrating special occasions so we compromise and celebrate our shared love for Billy Idol 😉
So we made it back home! Unfortunately our internet is down. VERY frustrating! I’ve been on the phone to TPG all morning trying to find out what the problem is but apparently it will take a couple of business days for them to investigate -_-‘
At the moment I’m using my phone allowance to update and I will probably go down looking for free wifi this afternoon so I can actually update stuff >_< I have like 7 V-Logs which need to be uploaded and lots of posts written while I was away so I’ll try to post those tonight on the 3G net too. So yes, just wanted to let you know what was going on with the lack of updates etc!
Ugh YOU SUCK TPG!! Fingers crossed it gets sorted soon, I miss the internet!
Just a couple of quick social networking related updates ^_^
Facebook Page
So I finally bit the bullet and set up a Facebook page for those who want to follow that way. It has a feed from both this blog and my Cuties mobile blog and there will be regular updates there as well as random other stuff. So there’s a widget on the left if you want to like it without leaving this post or you can click here to be taken to the page. I’m still setting it all up so if you have suggestions of stuff you’d like to see there let me know! I’ve never been on Facebook too much so I haven’t researched what I can put there yet! You’re all still welcome to friend me on my personal account too of course ^_^
Pinterest
One of the things mentioned in my survey ages ago was requesting better sharing buttons at the bottom of posts, specifically Pinterest. Done! I have mixed results in getting it to work with the images on particular posts but you can always use the Pinterest browser plugins if you can’t get it going and want to share anything.
I’ve also set myself up a Pinterest account so if you have one of those send me the link so I can follow you, mine is over here!
Google+
Another button added to the bottom of posts, I tried to get excited about Google+ but I kept forgetting to update another social media profile >_< Anyway it’s there if you want to use it!
Translations
Another thing on the list of improvements from the survey is translation options. I’ve been scouring the net looking for a solution but I haven’t found anything yet that doesn’t either take forever to load or spit out crappy translations. I really want to install something along these lines so in the mean time I’ll be adding something like Google Translate this week. If anyone knows any good plugins please let me know so I can check them out!
Pages
I’m half way through updating all of the pages in the top navigation, I’ll be updating the galleries next though I’m debating if it’s worth it because I don’t think people generally use them XD I might look at some other options and see if I can streamline it all at least for the inspiration galleries. More thought needed!
Cuties
I’ve updated the theme/layout to something more my current taste. Take a look! I’m still tinkering with the sidebar but it’s getting there.
Sidebar Updates
This week I will also be updating the graphics in the sidebars, if there’s anything particular you would suggest just let me know ^_^
That’s all for now, I’m getting more on top of things now which is a good feeling! Hope you’re all having a great weekend!
Firstly apologies for any typos or if this is written terribly, I’ve been sick with a bad cold since yesterday so I’m quite out of it at the moment but this couldn’t wait!
Thank you!
Thank you so much to everyone who answered my reader poll yesterday, all of your feedback has given me a clearer idea on how I can make the site better for you all and where to go from here! It’s very reassuring to know that I’m mostly on the right track and a lot of you are actually enjoying my posts. I really appreciate the time you all took to write in your suggestions so thank you!
I never imagined when I started this blog that literally thousands of people would be logging on to read it every day, the idea that people would actually be interested in silly things I write about at all makes me so happy. Having never been in a situation like this before I appreciate you guys taking the time with me as I learn how to move forward and progress! At Blogopolis I was complimented in some really heart felt ways that made me tear up a bit. I know that what I write here is hardly earth shattering or world changing, but knowing that there are some people who log on to cheer themselves up after having a bad day or to escape from their real lives for a few minutes gives me the energy and passion to keep going and make this the best site it possibly can be. Without you all reading I would be able to do half the things I do now and any success I have I owe to you guys… so thank you! I’ve learned so much since I started this blog all those years ago and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
Which brings me to my next point…
Newspaper!
This morning I woke up this morning to a bunch of texts, emails and tweets letting me know that I was on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age *_* Apparently there was a journalist at the Blogopolis event over the weekend who picked up my pink hair as being a new fashion trend! I’m not really up with current fashions but I really appreciate the shout out and the fact that she thought I was worth writing an article about! Thank you so much Natasha Hughes for writing the article, I’m really flattered to be in such a large publication!
And thank you to the awesome Danimezza for taking that photo of me too, I’m so glad you were at our table and it was awesome to meet you finally!
If you want to read the article and some of the funny comments that were left just visit the links below!
On to other exciting news, I’ve just had the details finalised so I can let everyone know I’ve been invited to be special guest speaker at the Adelaide Beauty Conference! I’ll be speaking about blogging and giving a nail art demonstration on a couple of the girls attending. So excited! I’ve never been to Adelaide and I’m so lucky that the first time I get to go it’s because I’m being flown in to talk to fellow bloggers! They wrote the most flattering article about me on the site too, I feel very fancy!
To see more about the conference take a look at their website over here:
In other travel news James and I will also be attending IMATS in Sydney this year. IMATS is the International Make Up Artist Trade Show which is held every year in Sydney. This year there is a blogger’s weekend happening around it called ABBW (I know, so many acronyms I’m confused now too!) and we will be flying down to Sydney for the weekend! I’ve only been to Sydney once before and it was just overnight so I will be very happy to spend a bit more time there with like minded people and explore!
Blogopolis!
So as you’ve probably guessed, on Saturday James and I were lucky enough to go to Nuffnang’s Blogopolis Conference. It was basically a conference with around 300 bloggers from all around Australia who came to talk about the ins and outs of blogging. There have been a lot of run downs of the day already including some really in depth looks at the content covered so I will just show you guys photos and my funniest moments from the day ^_^
Full gallery with many photos of me posing with various awesome bloggers and people I respect. I will update with everyone’s URL’s and info as soon as I feel a bit better as well as the link to the professional photos.
Apologies for the crappy picture quality, I didn’t realise some of the settings on my Lumix had been changed until we got home >_< the other half of these are from my phone that I was live tweeting on the day.
[zenphotopress album=310 sort=random number=50]
My favorite parts:
On the way out in the morning it was pretty chilly! It was an early start so we left home at around 8am to walk to Fed Square
This is how James looks that early in the morning…
My outfit for the day was my Jesus Diamante dress, a belt and a shawl.
We got a bit lost on the way there but were lucky to meet up with Tim and Ming who are the founders of Nuffnang, below I’m with Tim while Ming was signing in! I was so surprised how big Federation Square was, even though we live very close by we haven’t actually been over to explore in the entire year that we’ve been here, how sad is that?
This is what a bunch of bloggers look like when we conference 😉 Oh yes, everyone heads straight for the coffee table!
Miss Grace and I had a Nail-Off competition, I’m pretty sure she won haha! We decided that I should do a whole line of Grace inspired nail art which involves large amounts of chips. How cute is her jewellery? The one on the left is a little mouse!
I failed pretty miserably at playing Blogger Networking Bingo. Basically we had to introduce ourselves to people in the room and see if they fit the boxes, first one to fill them all won. I was too shy to get many though >_< Next time give me a game of Pictionary and that will get us all talking and possibly yelling and beating each over the head with note pads! BAM. ICE BROKEN.
There were a lot of talks and advice given, the most amusing of which I took from this was from Mr Gadget: don’t write your slides on the plane ride over very late at night because you will accidentally confuse your dot points and tell people to give up blogging hahaha!
You may also have some serious stock photo abuse going on too hahaha! Don’t worry Arnold I still loved your presentation and your stylish suit made up for it!
Morning tea was yummy cupcakes and short bread. I was so excited meeting new people that I forgot to get milk for my tea before the next session started *_*
For lunch James and I went out with Ayr and Super Kawaii Mama for some sushi and Lord of the Fries.
We were nicknamed “The Fancy Hair Brigade”…. no clue why 😉
On Friday I stayed home for ages and was late for several appointment because I was waiting for my new business cards to arrive, very inconvenient but worth it because I’m really happy with how they turned out! Of course I kept forgetting to hand the damn things out which was pretty stupid. If anyone wants some let me know and I’ll post them to you!
I think the main difference I noticed in this convention to other blogger gatherings I’ve been to here and overseas is that everyone here was really shy! Quite a few people later sent me messages saying the were too shy to say hello and I kind of felt the same way, there were so many other wonderful people there that I wanted to talk to but it was hard to get the courage up to make the first move. I think maybe because everyone was there to learn and take notes that maybe the tone of the event was different than the meet ups and awards I’ve been to in the past. Who knows, I still had a great time!
If you wanted to say hi but were too busy/couldn’t find me/were too nervous, say hi here!
I finally got to meet Lori who writes one of the most heartfelt blogs that I have ever come across. She has so much strength and determination and she has been one of my role models for a long time.
She gave me my most treasured item from the day: a wrist band with her url and the word SPEAK. I can’t explain the motivation behind it as eloquently as she does but the message is clear: if you are in trouble please SPEAK.
I spent most of the conference live tweeting and taking notes on my ipad which is funny considering by doing that I kind of failed as a blogger by not taking more photos! Enjoy staring at the stack of business cards I didn’t hand out XD
After everything was done there was a two hour gap between the conference and post drinks party so a group of us went out to dinner. Ming had a craving for lobster so we went out searching for a place.
Group of bloggers catching the tram= hell of a lot of fun camwhoring and falling over in inappropriately high shoes.
It was pretty rainy but that made it an even more fun trip!
Lobster was found and I was pretty excited because I had never eaten it before!
As it turns out, I love lobster! Sorry bank account!!
Of course there were some mishaps, Grace even had a lobster related injury. Don’t worry Grace, it matches your manicure 😀
We headed home afterwards because I was too tired to do the after party but not without one last photo!
We happened to bump into Tim, Ming and Arnold again on the way and showed them our favorite bubble tea place. AWESOME night full of awesomely yummy things! So sleepy by the ends and very glad to be home!
So thank you again to everyone who made the day awesome, thank you to Nuffnang (especially Lynda) for holding the event, thank you to my hilarious friends for keeping me laughing and most importantly…
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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