Tag: Alt Summit

  • Push the Little Daisies

    Push the Little Daisies

    I was doing a television appearance once, and there was a stylist on set for wardrobe. She had some great options for everyone, but then she zeroed in on a giant beaded daisy necklace for me. “This looks like you!” she chirped, and I politely declined, all the while thinking of Drew Barrymore in the 90s. I may have tried to emulate her skinny brows at the time, but I’ve never been much for daisies.

    I’ve written before about my sentimental jewelry pieces. I always wear my wedding ring, but when I travel, I also wear a little elephant necklace that reminds me of Eleanor, and a heart ring for August. I had been looking for something that would remind me of Calvin too, but nothing I’d come across had been quite right.

    I associate him with flowers. I was working on a post about my entryway a few days before my due date, and I’d almost finished my setup. I went out to the florist and came back to arrange everything, but I couldn’t take photos because the sun had set. I joked with Brandon that the baby was going to arrive before I could get my shots in the morning, and sure enough, I went into labor in the middle of the night. I had Calvin, and the first thing I saw when we came back home the next day were those flowers.

    Making it Lovely's Entryway

    hr 644

    I just got back from Salt Lake City because I was there to speak at Alt Summit again. I’m lucky to have so many opportunities to travel because of the blog, but it’s the times when I’m away from my family that I love having those sentimental pieces with me the most. I’m not a superstitious person, so it’s not about them being my ‘good luck charms’ or anything of that sort, but I have for years worn my wedding ring, my elephant necklace, and my heart ring when I fly. I like the tangible reminders of home.

    I don’t like to wear too many types of jewelry at once. My wedding ring, a necklace, another ring, and something else is a lot, so I’d been looking for another gold ring that I could stack. I wanted something delicate with flowers or leaves for Calvin because of the association and I’d come across a few nice ones (along with plenty of not so nice ones), but I would know it when I found it, and I finally found it.

    I wasn’t familiar with Alex Monroe before, but his floral designs are exactly what I’d been looking for: delicate, modern, and pretty, and not giving me flashbacks to nineties Drew. Some of my favorites are below and his other designs are fantastic too (mouse and tea cup ring, anyone?), but I chose that second ring. So glad I finally found my little Calvin reminder.

    Alex Monroe Gold Floral Jewelry

    1. Fine Buttercup Ring

    2. Forget Me Not Fine Stacking Ring Number Two

    3. Fritillary Flower Hook Earrings

    4. Little Bluebell Necklace

    5. Little Fern Leaf Bracelet

    6. Baby Pearl Chrysanthemum Stud Earrings

    7. Floral Fayre Brooch

  • That Dress I Wore to Alt Summit

    That Dress I Wore to Alt Summit

    I didn’t put together a full recap of everything I wore to Alt (just the sequins), but I’ve been asked so many times about the dress I wore during my panel that I figured I ought to post about it.

    Nicole Balch and Vivian Mansour(That’s me and Vivian Mansour of Ish and Chi. She came all the way from Australia! I’ve read her for years and years and was so glad to finally meet her in person.)

    I wore the Cameo Printed Dress by Ted Baker, and it is awesome. If you get close enough, you start to notice how random the print is. There are cowboys, horse-drawn carriages, pennyfarthings, and a rabbit exclaiming “AH!” when you find him.

    I wore it with black tights and black suede heels (similar), along with my Warby Parker Mallory glasses, an oversized round hammered brass ring (similar), and vibrant coral lipstick.

     

    Printed Cameo Dress

     

    My peachy pink bag and striped laptop case didn’t really match (close enough), but if I were to pair a bag with the dress, it would be this one.

    Bonus: If you drop chocolate on your dress the second time you ever wear it and then it instantly melts and stains, the pattern is so busy you won’t even notice! Um, not that I did that or anything.

  • The Design Blogger Look

    The Design Blogger Look

    Nicole, Wearing her Fox SweaterI’m in Seattle right now on a quick business trip, so I’m popping in with a short post today.

    I taught a class online for Alt Summit last night from my hotel room, all about what to wear to the event. I’m predicting that animal sweaters, like my foxy find, will be big.

    I’m sure we’ll also see a lot of what I affectionately referred to as “the design blogger look.” Stripes, polka dots, and chambray, plus top knots and braids. (Glasses too, with bonus points if they actually have a prescription!)

    What to Wear to Alt Summit: Design Blogger Style

    I’d be a total cliché if only I owned a chambray button-down and knew how to do my hair! Sources for everything are on my “What to Wear to Alt Summit” Pinterest board.

    * The photo of me in my fox sweater is by Helen, of Handmaidtales. She was at AB Chao’s Chicago design camp, where I stopped in for lunch and answered questions as a special guest. It was fun!

  • The Bing it On Report

    The Bing it On Report

    I’ve been participating in a challenge with several other bloggers, in partnership with Alt Summit. It has been a week of searching with Bing instead of Google, and today it’s time for the report. Did you try it out too? I use my browser’s built-in search bar and I installed Bing’s plugin for this challenge, so switching for the week was easy.

    So, what was different? Well, I didn’t notice much of a difference a lot of the time. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I was frustrated, and most of the time I felt pretty neutral about the whole thing. There were lots of little differences that you only notice because of the novelty of having them or the strange feeling of missing something. For instance, I like autofill. Bing does it to a lesser extent, but only on its homepage. You know what I mean; like when you start typing “why” and it gives you a drop-down of queries and suddenly you want to know, yes, “why are manhole covers round?” I missed the serendipity. My productivity improved without the internet rabbit hole though, so there’s that.

    I did like the social media integration a lot. I also liked Bing for travel because of its Price Predictor (buy those tickets now, or wait for a drop in price?). Shopping searches were a toss-up, but image search goes to Google. I find Google’s reverse image search is pretty indispensable as a blogger.

    Switching was an interesting experiment. I think I’ll probably switch between Bing and Google moving forward, depending on what I need. I figure it’s good to shake up old habits from time to time, right?


     
    This post is brought to you by Alt Summit and their partner Bing. I’m taking the Bing It On challenge this week.

  • Bing it on

    Bing it on

    I, along with a bunch of my other Alt Summit blogging friends, am participating in a little challenge. It’s an interwebz challenge that appeals to my nerdy techie tendencies: Bing vs. Google.

    Down a Different Road

    I’ve installed a browser plugin because that’s where I typically enter my search terms, so I’ll be using Bing as my default search engine all week long (instead of… you know). I’ve also made Bing.com my homepage for the week, and I’ve installed their iPhone app. I’ll be posting an update on Friday, before my usual weekly Honor Roll post to share the results, good or bad. Apparently, people prefer Bing to Google 2:1 in blind tests, so I’m curious to see how the switch will pan out. You can join us too if you’re up for a little experiment, and we’ll discuss next Friday.


     
    This post is brought to you by Alt Summit and their partner Bing. I’m taking the Bing It On challenge this week.

  • Teach Me, Teacher

    Teach Me, Teacher

    I’m teaching a few classes online for Alt Summit.

    I’ve already taught my first, on Growing a Readership, and I’ll be teaching my second this afternoon about Understanding Analytics. Both will be repeated in March in the evening, so there’s still time to sign up if you’re interested. Each class is just $15.

    Understanding Analytics
    February 23, 11am PST & March 13, 6pm PST
    Page views, subscribers, and unique visitors, oh my! Learn what to use and how to use it when it comes to keeping track of your site’s stats.

    Growing a Readership
    February 9, 11am PST & March 28, 6pm PST
    Looking to grow your blog? Of course you are! Learn tips and get concrete steps to grow your readership and create a true community for your site.

    I’ll be honest; I do get nervous before these things. I’m introverted and shy! I love talking about the business of blogging though, and I have so much information to share. Really, once I get past seeing my face staring back at me during the class (oh yeah, there’s video), I’m very comfortable. Plus I’ve put together some awesome powerpoint presentations (which is something I never imagined I would be typing), and I’m proud to be partnering with Alt Summit on the whole thing.

    Besides, I’m going to pretend you were all listening to this before class. It’s my version of imagining the audience in their underwear; much less intimidating.