Clever Pink Pirate

Learning all about WordPress, HTML and Twitter at #SoFabCon!

May 212013

I’ve been on WordPress for over a year now and I’m really embarrassed to say I am still a beginner. I know some HTML (I used to help develop eBay pages when it first started which was eons ago). I was excited to here the all mighty tech Gurus Jay Thornton, VP of Technology and Chris Whittle, Director of Technology at Collective Bias (yep, they know their stuff) talk about WordPress at So Fab Con. I was expecting to be overwhelmed but they did a great job at breaking down the basics of how to use the more technical side of WordPress.

Biggest thing I learned? How to use Developer/Webmaster Tools in Chrome to make blog changes as sort of a “preview mode!” This can be done by clicking “CTRL + SHIFT + I” in Chrome. Wait, don’t click it yet! Your head may spin! First, here is what it does:

It allows you to change things live time like color and style changes in your blog, but you aren’t really changing it! You are just doing a preview.

You will need to know some basics about HTML but that’s nothing a little Googling can’t help you find. I bookmark helpful items like HTML Color Codes.

Utilize Google Webfonts when choosing your fonts, over 5000 free fonts http://www.google.com/fonts/! Where has that information been all my blogging life?!

Don’t refresh, you’ll lose it all! Add the HTML to your CSS editor plugin before leaving the page.

Don’t be scared to try it, dig in and preview as you won’t hurt anything! Try to do many changes at a time:

A few important tips to remember about WordPress:

It’s important to keep WordPress up to date, the reason is that the longer the platform is available, the more chances there are for people to develop security breaches. I’m horrible about updating but will make it a point to do it from now on!
The more plug ins you install, the more you are at risk for a security breach. When you install plugins, do your research. when was it updated, what are the ratings etc.
Back up your blog, especially before changes.
Don’t ever use “admin” in your WordPress user name, this is commonly used and makes it easier to “hack” into blog posts.

While I am no expert just yet, at least I know some key things to work on and Google to continue to make my blog look awesome!

Skipping w/ @TedRubin at #SoFabCon #RonR

Skipping around with our #SoFabCon Peeps thanks to the encouragement from Ted Rubin!

Along with learning about WordPress, I learned a lot more about Twitter. I went to Ted Rubin and Sandy Jenney’s session called “Twitter…Not Just a Place to Tweet”. I will back track a little here and say one thing I took away from So Fab was the importance of Twitter. I used to look at it like another Social Media outlet but it’s so much more than that. It’s a constant river of interaction, knowledge and engagement. It’s a place to continuously connect with brands, friends and fans!

Ted Rubin Says:

What doesn’t work for social media? Not being social! Continue to engage with your audience.

What’s important in Social Media? Connecting with people and building relationships. Continuous engagement with your audience is key. Make it all about your your customers, fans etc. As consumers, we want people to listen and we just want to be heard. Ask your audience, “How can I serve you”? Don’t unfollow people, they still listen and follow everyone back who follows you. Great way to build a following and an audience.

How to rock at Social Media ?

Listen!
Know the people in your audience, do your research.
Think like a child and change your creative mindset to one that works.
Reach out to your audience. Listen and call people by their name.
Think reputation, not ranking.
Work to make a connection with people, not just a network.

I know after hearing more about the importance or Twitter, I will work harder to engage on this platform not only as a blogger but as a brand. One thing Ted Rubin also mentioned is keep it kind, even if you aren’t happy with a store, brand etc you can still express your displeasure with them professionally. I couldn’t agree more!

Speaking of Twitter, I got to experience a live time Twitter Party with #IDIcedCoffee and my favorite gals Lindsey Hodous and Lauren Blass from Collective Bias, hosted by Rebecca Parsons of http://www.cre8tivecompass.com/mag/.

It was a lot of fun seeing how a Twitter Party works in real life and we got to enjoy some delicious iced coffee. I in fact had a little more than a few of those delicious iced coffees by International Delight during that hour!

Invisalign Straight Talk Party #INVStraightTalk #AD

Party No Responses »

May 192013

Disclaimer: This post and party were sponsored by Invisalign but all photos and opinions are 100% of my own.

As a mom of a tween who needs braces, we have been exploring our options. I started researching Invisalign for a number of reasons. I remember having braces when I was a tween and I just remember it was not a pleasant experience for me. I remember the gross impressions, the pain of putting them on and taking them off, the horrible maintenance, not getting to eat what my friends ate and I hated smiling. Hated it! Pictures were never an option for me either, I didn’t want proof of it. I want Clever Tween to not have to deal with those issues and Invisalign seems like a great option. I still had questions though so I was delighted to host an #INVStraightTalk event at my house with a doctor and some fabulous bloggers who also wanted to learn more about Invisalign.

Dr. Thomas Shipley of http://www.shipleyortho.com/ came over to explain more about this treatment. He took a good amount of time thoroughly explaining the process of Invisalign and answering all of our questions.

Points we learned about Invisalign:

Because the aligners can be removed, kids can eat, brush and floss as they would normally. Teens can smile with confidence while straightening their teeth since this treatment, unlike traditional metal braces virtually invisible.
The measurements for the aligners are taken with a digital scanner! No messy impressions or uncomfortable xrays.
Each space in the aligner is developed to help each tooth fall back where it needs to be.
The treatment is broken into phases and different sets of aligners.
Invisalign is comparable in cost to braces. While all doctors vary, Dr. Shipley says that he offers Invisalign at the same prices as prices.
Users of Invisalign can take them out to eat anything they want and it’s okay. The aligners only need to be worn 20-22 hours a day.
The average time frame for treatment is 12 months (depending on the severity of the case)
So what if your kid loses it? There are alloted replacements available that are included in the treatments.
Worried that your child isn’t wearing the Invisalign like they should? There is an indicator directly on the aligners that help the doctor determine if they have been worn correctly. This is great!

Along with learning, we enjoyed some food and treats!

After the talk with the doctor, we did a little throwback to the 80′s with some fab photos in our 80′s gear!

We also shared what makes us smile!

I’m glad I was able to learn more about Invisalign for Clever Tween.Dr. Shipley stated that the longer you wait for treatment, the harder teeth may be to treat. Yikes! I have to get Clever Tween an appointment ASAP to start the process!

Take the Invisalign Smile Assessment ! Did you know there are more than 2 million Invisalign cases in treatment or completed worldwide. From very simple to very challenging, Invisalign offers a full

spectrum of clear straightening treatments for most types of orthodontic issues. Take the Invisalign Smile Assessment to find out if Invisalign is right for you or your child.

You can keep up with Invisalign here:

Single Momhood and My Wingman #ThisIsMe

Mom Files 2 Responses »

May 172013

It’s been 2 weeks since my last post. Yikes! It wasn’t intentional I promise, things have just been busy these last few weeks. I went to three blogging conferences, I’ve had 3 school events, a 5K, a blogger event that I hosted myself, I joined a gym and oh ya, I got the sinus infection of death. I’ve finally had a chance to recover and take a breather. I’ve slowly gotten back into the groove of things and hopefully I can share some creativity with y’all soon.

One of the biggest things to happen to me in the last few weeks is I attended #SoFabCon (that is So Fab Con, not Sofa Bacon, though I think a sofa bacon conference would be cool too). Anyways, SoFab was great because I got to connect with my work peeps and the bloggers I have worked with over the past few years on various campaigns. It was really amazing. I’ll be working on recaps soon but one of the biggest things to come out of So Fab was the final keynote from Jasmine from http://thebrokins.com/. She not only put on this fabulous conference, she did an amazing key note (at the last minute, total rockstar) . She shared with us how she turned her struggles into triumphs but only because she always shows her true self. She just puts it all out there and is completely transparent. During the keynote, she shared a story about when she was first married and how she was having Thanksgiving at her house and she had this white bone china and how she wanted everything to appear as perfect. I thought, holy crap, that’s me all the time.

Snickers Cupcake Recipe

Recipes 2 Responses »

May 022013

Do you love Snickers? Want to take your love for this delicious treat to a whole new level? Yesterday I experimented with a Snickers Cupcake recipe and ooooohh yum!

First let me start by saying, if you do not like sweets this recipe is not for you. This is sweetness overload right here.

These would be perfect for a girls night in or a bake sale! You can tweak the recipe as needed, if you don’t like overly sweet you can use another frosting recipe or eliminate the snickers inside the frosting.

Snickers Cupcake Recipe

Print recipe

Serves	12
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	50 minutes
Meal type	Dessert

Love Snickers? You will love this Snickers Cupcake Recipe!

Ingredients

1 box Cupcake Mix (Use a box or your favorite White Cupcake recipe)
14 Fun Size Snickers Bar (The fun sizes are about 2 inches long)
2 cups Butter
1 tablespoon Butter
2.5 cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Directions

Step 1
Create your favorite white cake mix
Step 2
Chop up the Snickers bars and place in a bowl on the side.
Step 3
Fill cupcake liners approx 3/4 full.
Step 4
Add a couple pieces of the snickers to the middle of each cupcake
Step 5
Bake according to the directions
Step 6
Let the cupcakes cool
Step 7
For the Frosting: Mix butter, milk and powdered sugar on low until well blended, add vanilla.
Step 8
Take 1/4 cup of chopped snickers and place in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat in microwave for approx 25 seconds.
Step 9
Pour the melted snickers mix into the frosting mix.
Step 10
Frost the cupcakes! (here's a tip, if you pipe the cupcakes you will need a tip large enough to pass the peanuts)
Step 11
Garnish with remainder of chopped snickers bars.

What the heck is a Beauty Blender and does it work?

Fashionista on a Budget 1 Response »

May 012013

If you follow beauty boards on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen this pink thing floating around in your pins.

At first I wasn’t intrigued but the more I saw it, I finally decided to click on it. I found it was a beauty sponge that you could buy online and the highlight of the product is that it blends your makeup in well, not leaving any streaks for a flawless finish. But what is the big deal about this pink thing and was it really worth it?

After I found out this was primarily sold online at a price that was a little steep for this bargainista ($19.99), I tried to find a “similar” product in stores. I went to Target and didn’t find anything but found the a blending sponge at Walgreens for only around $5. I also did a search on Amazon and found a variety of Beauty Blending Sponges on Amazon between $5 and $15.

Does it work? From far away, I couldn’t tell a difference. I did the left side of my face with a traditional sponge and the right side with the Beauty Blender Sponge from Walgreens. Up close though I could tell especially around my eye that it had evened out the foundation well.

I think for around $5, it’s worth the investment to have better coverage with foundation!

Have you tried one of these pink sponges? I’d love to know your thoughts!