FBFF

FBFF: Blogging Community

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Vintage Ladies- Blogging Community

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It’s been way too long since my last FBFF post and I love this week’s questions!  Today, we’re talking about the blogging community, which I touched on a little bit in this post.  Let’s dive right in, shall we?

1. What blogging communities do you belong to? I belong to the big one, Independent Fashion Bloggers, which has so many great resources and tips, especially for a newbie blogger.  I also belong to the awesome NYC Bloggers’ Collective which I love because it’s given me the opportunity to meet several other New York City bloggers in real life!

2. What do you think the role of community is in blogging? I think community is the best thing about blogging!  When you interact with other people through blogging, it’s a great feeling to know that you’re not alone out there on the world wide web.  Supporting each other in the blogging community is so important.  Just as someone helped you grow by interacting with you on your blog and maybe giving advice, it’s great to pass along that knowledge and community spirit to another blogger!

3. Blog comments, twitter interactions and meaningful Facebook threads have decreased in the last several months. What are your thoughts on why that is? Hmmm, as I mentioned before, I’ve noticed that comments on blogs have generally decreased.  As far as the other two platforms, Facebook and Twitter, at least for me I would say that my interactions on those networks have only increased as I became really into Twitter in the last year and created a Facebook page for my blog a few months ago.  I think one possible reason for this decline is that there are now so many social networks that you can interact on!  For example, I may see someone’s post on my Instagram feed and “like” their picture, but not necessarily click through to the actual blog post and leave a comment.  And oh boy, the increased difficulty of CAPTCHAs has deterred me from leaving a comment many a time (not because I don’t try, but because I can’t read those darn things!)  In general, I don’t think of this as a bad thing- I would rather be interacting with my readers in some fashion, than not at all!

4. How do you cultivate community around your blog? I try to cultivate community by asking questions at the end of my posts.  I’m always interested in what you have to say!  Also, I try to respond to every single comment left on my blog, even if it’s just a simple thank you.  I want my readers to know that I read their comments, appreciate them, and will make time to comment back or respond to any questions.  If it’s been a crazy week and I just can’t respond to everyone, I’ll at least try to leave a general thank you comment.  Interactions via comments, twitter, or Facebook are important for building community because it makes it two-sided (as opposed to one person just talking to the air!).

5. If you could make one resolution to be a better community member what would it be? I think my resolution would be to leave more comments.  When I was first started blogging, I was commenting on so many blogs a day by clicking through from other comments and I discovered some really great blogs that way.  I’d love to get back into the habit of doing that!

As usual, I’d love to hear your answers to any and all of these questions in the comments! :)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday was created by Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Become a member at the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group to join in the discussion!

FBFF

FBFF: Tech Tools

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my computer, iphone, DSLR-2

It’s that time of month and I’m ready to tackle this next set of FBFF questions :)  This time we’re talking about something that goes hand-in-hand with blogging: technology!

lol at this decal- it used to say “love!”

1. What are the tools you use to blog? Numero 1- my computer of course!  I would say 95% of my blogging is done on my computer, including writing posts and commenting on other blogs.  A close second is my iPhone, which I use to stay connected through Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest while I’m on the go.  I’m seriously checking these apps constantly throughout the day because I feel like I never want to miss a good tweet or picture post!  I’ve also got my DSLR (Nikon D40) for outfit posts and just generally capturing snapshots of my life.  Other tools in my repertoire include Alex, who has taken most of my outfit pictures since I moved to New York and my trusty little Ikea couch, which serves as the background for many of my still life shots (Exhibit A: see picture above).  Also, I’m old-school in the sense that I still like to write things down, so I carry a notebook with me most of the time.  They come in handy when I need to quickly jot down an idea for a post, or sometimes I even draft out a full post in writing, then put it together on my computer.  Does anybody else do this?

2. What technology item is on your wish-list? An iPad, definitely!  I’m sure I would have a lot of fun playing around with it and I feel like it would just make traveling so much easier.  It’s definitely a wishlist item though- those things are expensive, especially for someone on a tight budget!

3. Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, poses, messages, etc… how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?  Ahhh yes, how to avoid getting sucked into all the technology! Honestly, I’m not very good at this!  I’m usually on a computer (at work or at home) and if I’m not on a computer, then I’m on my phone.  However, on the weekend I’m much better at turning it off (the social media itch, that is).  I like to have at least one full day to myself, where I can catch up on my favorite TV shows, or my knitting, or my current read.  It’s definitely important to unplug from time to time!

As usual, I’d love to hear your answers to any and all of these questions in the comments! :)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday was created by Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Become a member at the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group to join in the discussion!

Also, there are two quick items of business that I wanted to remind you guys about!

– Google will be shutting down Google Friend Connect next month and I want to stay connected to y’all!  There are several ways to stay connected to my blog: you can follow me on Bloglovin’, subscribe to my RSS Feed, or follow me on Google+ where I share all of my favorite finds on the web.  There’s also Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!  I would so appreciate it if you could follow me on one of these other platforms! :)
– Missed out on the Correspondence Club in February?  Well now’s your chance to join in on the fun for March!  If you would like to participate in March, please send me your information by February 29th at 12:00pm EST.  I’ll also be doing a round-up post of all the February letters that day and I can’t wait to hear about everyone’s experience! :)

FBFF

FBFF: New Trends- What’s Catching Your Eye?

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FBFF: Trends I'm Loving

So I’m quite excited to get back into the swing of FBFF with this year’s first set of questions!  FBFF has been restructured a bit so that we’re only answering questions once a month, which I think will be much more manageable for me.  This week we’re discussing new trends and what’s catching our eye right now!

1. With Fashion week just around the corner, we are all beginning to focus on the upcoming trends for fall. But what about the trends hitting stores now? What are you coveting? Some of the trends I’m loving right now are stripes, rose-gold accessories, colored denim, animal prints, and loafers!  I added some stripes to my closet recently with the purchase of a Stylemint tee (the Broadway) but I could always use more stripes like this cute top from Joe Fresh.  I’m also loving rose-gold accessories for the sweet, feminine touch they add to an outfit.  Colored denim has been on my must purchase list for a while- I need to get on that!  Animal prints (not talking leopard here, but animal animals, like cats, horses, birds and more!) have been huge for a while and I’m hoping to jump on the bandwagon with the adorable cat print scarf in the Jason Wu for Target collection.  Lastly, I’ve been on a major loafers kick for the past couple of months!  I first purchased a pair of blue velvet loafers from Lulu’s (which is adventurous for me) then I couldn’t resist snagging these studded ones by MIA shoes for half the price at TJ Maxx.  Next on my list are those super cute pink snakeskin loafers from Target (pictured above)!

2. How do you incorporate new trends into your wardrobe? Since I’m on a pretty tight budget, I can’t afford to go out and buy every new trend as soon as I see it, so I usually wait a bit until I can score a good deal!  When I can, I also like to look in awesome thrift stores like Saver’s and I might also be turning to Swap.com now too.

3. What trend are you seeing and not loving? Recently I’ve read a couple of articles about pajamas as outwear and I thought, “Huh?”  Also, in this street style video, this guy is totally wearing pajamas and he has this whole philosophy about it (he’s toward the end if you want to watch).  I’m just not buying it…

4. Do you feel the pressure to constantly update your closet with the latest trends?  Yes and no.  The answer is sometimes yes due to the fact that I’m not 100% happy with my wardrobe.  I still have clothes that I’ve been hanging on to for too long for no good reason and I still think my wardrobe is a little on the young end.  I’m trying to get rid of the skirts that are too mini and the shirts that are too small, and instead move toward a more sophisticated closet.  I would love to always look chic and feel that I’m dressing my age.

When I first started blogging, I had this idea that as a fashion blogger, I had to post an outfit every single day, which means lots of clothes, right?!  Well of course I soon discovered that there are no blogger police, and that this was not the case.  I’ve definitely relaxed on that front and take outfit pictures when I can.  In the meantime, I’ve enjoyed exploring other aspects of fashion when I don’t always have my own personal style pictures to post.

Also, finally being on my own and fully responsible for all of my finances has allowed me to understand something that my dad has been telling me for years- “You must live within your means.”  I’ve had to become very money-conscious and learn that I can’t have everything that I want!  Don’t get me wrong, I still spring for little things for myself or my friends from time to time, but I know that I’ve definitely gotten better at resisting the urge to shop shop shop! (P.S. I hereby release myself from this statement on Feb. 5th when I go bananas and buy up all the pretty pieces in the Jason Wu for Target collection ;)

Phew, guess had a lot to say about that!  Long story short, yes, sometimes I want to be constantly updating my wardrobe with new, pretty things, but I’ve realized that that’s not always possible, and that’s OK!


5. Where do you find inspiration that takes the trend and makes it accessible to you and your personal taste?  Oh, for this I definitely turn to my fellow bloggers!  I love seeing how different people wear the same trend or the same item and it certainly gives me style inspiration!  Case in point, when I first bought my blue velvet loafers, I wasn’t sure how to wear them, but then found this picture above, which has definitely given me ideas on what to pair them with :)

As usual, I’d love to hear your answers to any and all of these questions in the comments! :)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday was created by Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Become a member at the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group to join in the discussion!

 

FBFF

FBFF: Halloweekend!

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FBFF_Halloween_1

Remember how I said I would post my DC pictures today?  Well that will just have to wait until next week because this week’s FBFF questions are so fun- they’re all about Halloween!  In the past few years, Halloween has easily become one of my favorite holidays.  During my childhood, I wasn’t allowed to dress up or go trick-or-treating, which took a lot of the fun out of the day.  Needless to say, when I celebrated my first real Halloween in college, I partied hard ;)  Also, Halloween in college was a multiple-day celebration, so for most years I had two costumes!

2007- Pirate

2007- Robin Hood

2008- Beekeeper

2009- Fashion Police (jk, I was a detective)

Handmade by me

2010- Tightrope Walker

1. Do you have plans for Halloween? What will you dress up as this year? Yes, I think I do now!  This is my first Halloween out of college, so I wasn’t sure how/if any of my friends were celebrating.  Thankfully, one of my friends decided to organize a Halloween party for us all!  However, finding that out last week means I am so behind on my costume planning!  I really like to be creative with my costumes, which means they take a while to make.  However, I don’t think I’ll have enough time this year to pull something really amazing together.  As far as costume ideas, my roomie suggested Daenerys from Game of Thrones and since I am currently obsessed with that series, it might just be a great costume for me…

2. Where do you go for costume and makeup inspiration? This is going to sound obvious, but I just turn to google and literally search “halloween costume ideas!”  Sometimes my friends and I bounce ideas off each other, or in the case of the beekeeper costume above, I was reading The Secret Life of Bees at the time which definitely served as my inspiration for the costume.  Also, youtube is a great place for makeup tutorials!  My friend was a mermaid last year and we used a trick we saw in a youtube video to create the lovely effect of scales all over here face (see an example here).

3. What was the best costume you’ve ever donned? I think my favorite costume so far was the tightrope walker costume.  It took a lot of effort to put together, including making the skirt and adding various embellishments to the top and pole, but all that hard work makes me especially proud of how it turned out!

4. What’s the most creative costume you’ve ever seen? Gosh, I don’t know!  I think the most creative costumes are the ones where you take what you have and make it into something completely new.  For example, my friend went as a battery (see above) and she took pieces she already owned and whipped up a great costume in a matter of hours!

5. No holds barred if you could dress up as anything, what would it be? I would love to dress up as Blair or Serena from Gossip Girl- designer clothes included please! ;)

Tell me: What’s your all-time favorite Halloween costume?

As usual, I’d love to hear your answers to any and all of these questions in the comments! :)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday was created by Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Become a member at the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group to join in the discussion!