DeDivahDeals

Fashion and Fun after Fifty

Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED DEDIVAHDEALS IN THE NORTH DELAWARE HAPPENINGS CONTEST

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40 Minutes of Fame on MadHouseTV

The Delaware Blogger was on MadHouseTV

40 minutes of fame at MadhouseTV

Most of you know that I host a weekly Podcast, Social Media Sunday with the Delaware Blogger, which is live every Sunday at 6 PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for AAU Teen Talk Radio/TV/Magazine.  The last live broadcast for the year was on Sunday and the topic was Social Media and the Church, it was my 15th Podcast and I must admit that when I first started I was unbelievably nervous.  The shows on the 26th of December and 1st of January will be encore programs so if you missed them, make sure to log on to listen.

The show’s Executive Producers are Roger and Chevrona Johnson and they are also the CEO’s of the Whitney E. Johnson Foundation.  I am very appreciative to both of them for giving me an opportunity to host my own Podcast, but was even more so when offered the opportunity to take the show on the road and host it live on cable at Madhouse TV Studio in Long Island, NY.

MadhouseTV Studios

With everything scheduled for last Thursday, hubby and I drove from Middletown, DE to Long Island, NY which by the way was definitely not an easy trip, but that’s another story for a different day.  However, I was able to drive the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate AWD which I was reviewing for Hyundai via Drive Shop USA so it wasn’t a bad ride.

 

arriving at the studio in style

Arriving at the studio a little past noon, my guest, Nikki Valentine, owner of N.V.Me Designs and her models were already inside busy preparing for the 2:00 show.  Check out my Instagram page to see pictures of everyone getting ready as well as some great memorabilia inside the studio owned by Tommy Maher, aka The Woodstock Guru on Facebook.

The Delaware Blogger on MadhouseTV

Nikki and I were able to run through our script which we had previously written when she came to “shop my closet” the week before which you can see on my YouTube Channel.  The topic of our segment was “Balling on a Budget – Outfits from the Office to Party Fab” and she and her models did a great job in featuring these outfits. 

Nikki Valentine, owner of NVMeDesigns

The link to the broadcast is below, so check it out and then come back and leave a comment as I am anxious to know how you liked the show. I hope Chevrona liked it as well as I would love to go back for another segment.

The Woodstock Guru

Delaware Blogger on MadhouseTV

This is also going to be the last blog post of the year as I shut down DeDivahDeals and transfer it to DelBlogger and when I come back in the New Year, there will be great reviews and giveaways – so enjoy the holidays and be safe!!!

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment with your review of the show and let me know if you would like to see me back on Cable TV!  

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SHOW

Had a great time at MadhouseTV Memorabilia at MadhouseTV The Delaware Blogger on Cable TV

  The Delaware Blogger on Cable TV Nikki and I on set Tommy the Woodstock Guru


Can Blogging Break Up a Marriage

You do remember how innocently it all started out.  At first you were just writing a few hobby posts every week no big deal, a time filler just having fun.  Then you started getting followers who began to comment and so you started to take blogging a little more seriously.  Your audience was growing and so was your attention to them…your virtual family and friends.

blogging as a hobby

Perhaps after a few months you started to get the kids involved, asking them to pose and then asking hubby to take pictures of you with them in the store, the park or at the beach.  He reluctantly obliged but never understood why he nor the kids could eat anything that was on the platter before you took a picture trying to capture the perfect “Hero Shot”.  You set the table with fancy utensils, napkins, flowers and props for the blog post telling the family to dish out their meal from the pots sitting on the stove.

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www.travelblog.goaheadtours.com

Then you start doing sponsored posts, sometimes getting a few hundred dollars deposited into your Paypal account or getting free products that the kids could use and free tickets to an event or for a weekend getaway that hubby enjoyed.

You became obsessed with seeking bigger pay days signing up for even more sponsored posts.  You take pictures at sunrise, at sunset, in the rain and snow while on vacation and sometimes even at work.  Selfies are taken in department store dressing rooms and out on the floor, with every purchase becoming part of an OOTD post and using hashtags for even more recognition.  sunset-home-office-working-with-laptop-on-the-garden-picjumbo-com

You’re signing up at even more blogging community sites, submitting pitches for product reviews and adding more and more to your content calendar.  Your photography skills are improving and your posting dates outnumber doctor and dental appointments highlighted on the family’s calendar.  You become more selfish with your time especially if you also have a job outside of the home.

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You can’t go anywhere without taking pictures and you began to schedule and attend events only if they are  opportunities for a blog post including the kid’s school field trips.  Leaving your business cards everywhere, on the grocery store and church bulletin boards, on the counters at the local liquor stores and blogging becomes more of an obsession.

sleep apnea

https://www.verywell.com

After homework with the kids and dinner with the family, hubby heads to bed while you toil away on your laptop until the wee hours of the morning.  Your sex life begins to wane because hubby can’t keep his eyes open until all hours of the night as you edit and re-edit the perfect post.

woman working in bed

Every shopping experience turns into an opportunity to promote a new product or service and you are proud to admit that you are a blogger with a major following on all your social media platforms.  An expert in the field either as a Lifestyle Blogger, Foodie Blogger, Travel Blogger or Blogger Blogger.

You are constantly reading Social Media Examiner, other blogs, joining link parties, upping your video game and enjoying every moment of it, however, hubby has been put on the back burner and your relationship is strained.   woman-shopping

He doesn’t understand why you have to attend a blogging event every week and why you can’t just sit and watch television without your Laptop or Smartphone, constantly checking Facebook stats, Twitter and Google Analytics.   checking Facebook and Twitter on an iPad

You want him to understand and you need him to know that blogging has become part of your life and you want him to become a part of it as well…but will he ever?

Are you allowing your virtual life to overtake your real life…and will blogging break up your marriage?


How to Make Your Blog’s Design More Enticing

How to Make Your Blog’s Design More Enticing

By: Maurine Anderson

The overall look of your blog has a significant impact on whether visitors read your content, on whether they navigate to other pages, and ultimately on how long they spend on your website. In short, your blog’s design truly can make or break the popularity of your blog. So how do you make sure that your blog’s design is truly enticing? Here are some tips to keep in mind as you create a blog design that is sure to draw visitors into your site.

Use high quality photos.

This can’t be stressed enough. Instead of taking slapdash photos on your phone’s camera and uploading them to your blog without making any adjustments, you’re going to need to pay some attention to detail. This means using well exposed, well balanced photos—and resizing those photos to fit the width of your blog post area exactly. Making it a habit to use correctly sized, high quality photos will give your blog a much more professional feel, which is sure to draw in more visitors.

Digital Online Homepage Web Page Office Working Concept

Feature easy navigation.

As this article details, your site’s navigation should make your site as user friendly as possible. Easy navigation has the power to carry users through your website very quickly, and can can really influence how much time a user spends on your site. Keep your navigation prominent, such as just below the header of your website. More sophisticated websites will even include a feature that adds a horizontal navigation to the top of the window when the user scrolls down below the main navigation at the top of the page.

Navigation should also give visitors an instant, broad overview of what’s on your site. When visitors can get a quick overview of your site, they are less likely to become confused and more likely to stick around on your site. A good way to approach your navigation is to first ask yourself: “which major categories would I use to organize all of my content?”

If you run a lifestyle blog, for example, and you tend to share cake recipes, playlists, and photography, then “recipes,” “music,” and “photography” might become three different options that you’ll be able to select from your navigation menu (along with the usual “about me,” “contact,” and “FAQ” pages). Each navigation option would then lead you to either a static page or to an archive page that organizes older posts.

working on a blog

Make it cohesive.

Instead of filling your site with standard social media buttons, plain links to other pages on your site, etc., customize these elements to suit the overall design of your site. Your design needs to be cohesive. If your site has a primarily geometric design and feel to it, for example, you might use triangle-shaped social media buttons in various colors that match your palette.

If your blog is rich in pastels, then maybe you’ll make the “about me,” “contact,” “sponsor,” and “FAQ” buttons in your sidebar various pastel colors. If you’re going for a clean, minimalist look that favors lots of white, then maybe you’ll make several of the “featured post” images in your sidebar circular in order to incorporate more white. Defining a color palette and list of one or two fonts are great ways to really tie things together in your site’s design.

making your blog worth reading

Make elements continuous throughout your site.

Remember: when looking to improve your blog’s design, you need to take into account the fact that not everyone is going to see your home page first. In fact, if you have blog post links scattered all around the Internet (and chances are you do if you’re a blogger), then visitors to your site likely aren’t going to see your home page first. So it isn’t just about your home page here. Your blog design needs to feature stunning elements that are continuous throughout your entire site. This includes things like a bold header, a footer, navigation elements, social media buttons, and a sidebar if there is one.

Put your all into every post.

With this in mind, you really need to consider the overall look of every blog post that you publish, because every post has the potential to serve as a landing page for visitors to your site. Some elements of an eye-catching blog post: a clear and attention-grabbing headline; an image at the top of every post; a healthy balance between text and images; and text that is organized with line breaks, subheadings, and bullet points as needed (and therefore easy to skim).

guest post disclaimer


From Purses to Portfolios – The Money School of Delaware

Two years ago I attended my first From Purses to Portfolios Conference at the Chase Center on the Riverfront sponsored by The Money School of Delaware. I was so totally impressed with this free event that when I got home I immediately sat down and wrote a blog post (click here). Ronni Cohen, Executive Director of DFLI, read that post and contacted me asking if I would consider blogging other events for The Money School.

That post also lead to me teaching blogging classes at local libraries and then last Saturday not only did I attend the 10th Anniversary From Purses to Portfolios conference, but I also presented “From Passion to Profit with a Personal Blog” and was the recipient of the “2014 Sandra A. Varano Golden Purse Award’. God is good and I am truly thankful for being afforded these wonderful opportunities.

From Purses to Portfolios

 

Purses to Portfolios is Delaware’s premier money conference and this year’s sessions included “Zero Debt” presented by award winning author and The Money Coach, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox; “Handling College Costs”, presented by CCCS of MD & DE, where I sat front row center because you know that I need all the information I can get with two sons in college.

Handling College Costs

The other sessions included: “Never Too Early; Never Too Late”, “Carpe Diem-Brewing Up Your Business”, “Passport to Prosperity”, “A Man is Not a Financial Plan”, “Kiss Your Landlord Goodbye”, “Not Your Grandmother’s Library”, “Credit Crackdown” and my session “From Passion to Profit”.

The doors opened at 8:30 a.m. and at registration everyone received a free personalized tote bag, pen and a large glossy program.  A light breakfast was available and there were exhibitor displays throughout the Riverfront Ballroom. In addition to the speaker sessions there were also breakout areas for the Delaware Library and a Credit Clinic, sponsored by TD Bank. The program was emceed by Tina Betz and both U.S. Senator Chris Coons and Governor Jack Markell spoke briefly welcoming us all to the 10th Anniversary of Purses to Portfolios.

Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics

A mid-day break gave participants an opportunity to grab a free bag lunch, gather information or make purchases from the exhibibtors, visit the Money Club House and meet the WIFE.ORG founders, Candice Bahr and Ginita Wall.

Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics

The day ended with a closing session, award presentations and fantastic Door Prizes which were donated by several sponsors including Barnes and Noble, Men’s Wearhouse, Target and Wawa.

PURSE TO PORTFOLIOS

Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics

 

For me this was by far the most exciting and well attended Purses to Portfolios Conference and next year look for a name change: Passport to Prosperity: Design you own financial journey, I hope to see you there!

Purses to Portfolios 10th Anniversary pics

 FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT AND OTHER FREE FINANCIAL CLASSES OFFERED BY THE MONEY SCHOOL, PLEASE VISIT THEM @www.dfli.org

dfli banner

A Green Tie Event is the fundraiser that precedes the From Purses to Portfolios conference, it too was held at the Chase Center on the 16th. Hubby and I both attended and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The Welcome Greetings were presented by Ronni and Cher Przeomski, DFLI Board member; a testimonial by Tyreese Green, GTech Commercial & Construction Cleaning Services and awards were the highlights of the evening.  A light dinner, a Silent Auction and entertainment provided by Atiba Music made for a very relaxing evening.

Green Tie Event at the Chase Center Green Tie Event at the Chase Center Green Tie Event at the Chase Center

 

Stay Blessed ~ No Stress in 2014!

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Influenster #GoVoxBox Review

Hello Friends and Welcome to the Weekend – oh, how I love the sound of that word…weekendweekendweekend!  I know that I previously stated that I was going to enjoy each day to the fullest and not live solely for the weekend, but it’s so hard not to  especially in the summer!  Can you believe we are already at the end of the first week of June?

got it from influenster By now most of you have probably already seen or read the reviews for the #GoVoxBox from Influenster, so I am not going to go into great details, however, I did want to share my opinion on a few of the products.

Did I hear somebody say they don’t know about Influenster?

“Influenster is a community of trendsetters, social media masterminds, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences.  VoxBoxes are boxes filled with complimentary products from your favorite (or soon-to-be-favorite) brands. Not all Voxboxes are created equal: some programs feature an assortment of products while others will spotlight one awesome brand. But make no mistake: All VoxBoxes are created awesome.”

Their words not mine, but if you want to be a part of this community go to www.influenster.com and sign up.

Now on to the #GoVoxBox Review

#GoVoxBox Products PROFOOT Triad Orthotic – I haven’t tried them yet, however, I have used orthotics in the past with great results of foot pain relief – no rating

Playtex Sport Fresh Balance Tampons – I am in menopause and have no need for this product so I gave it to my girlfriend’s daughter – no rating

Aqua Spa Relax Body Cream – the lavender fragrance is so calming and the lotion is not sticky or greasy.  I love putting it on my feet after a pedicure bath and on my body after a shower – A

Pedicure Spa Bath

PROFOOT Pedi-Rock – this pumice is by far the best I’ve ever used.  It is soft and large enough to handle well, removes calluses without a lot of effort, dries quickly and can be used either wet or dry – A

Blue Diamond Almonds Blueberry Flavored – a double Super Food which is rich in Antioxidant Vitamin E, low in sodium at 35 mg and a great mid-afternoon snack – A

Blue Diamond Almonds

 

The VitaminShoppe Next Step Meal Replacement Shake – is by far the best that I have ever tasted.  There were 3 flavored packs, French Vanilla, Swiss Chocolate and Berry as well as a 20oz JAXX Shaker Cup.  I used a pack, added 8 oz of water and ice and it kept me full until dinner with no hunger pangs or in-between meal cravings.  A coupon for $5 off the Next Step purchase was also included – A+

#NextStep Meal Replacement

Speaking of coupons the #GoVoxBox also contained one for a free container of Muller Greek and Corner Yogurt, which I got from Shoprite right before my blogging class.  I don’t particularly care for Greek yogurts but with the added fruit it actually tasted good and filled me up, which is what I needed because I had missed dinner – A.

Muller Greek Yogurt and coupon

 BTW – the Blogging Class was great, thank you DE Money School!

Teaching Blogging 201

 

Let's Chat Which product would you most want to try?

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Stay Blessed ~ No Stress in 2014!

 


You Choose The Shoes| Week 3

Hello Friends and Happy Hump Day Wednesday!

The winner of last week’s “You Choose the Shoes” was the

Fioni Pumps from Kmart!

 

I don’t know about you, but I am having such a blast with this new feature, “You Choose The Shoes“.  It’s like having a bunch of friends hang out in my closet helping to chose just the right shoes for an outfit – thank you all!

This week’s choices are either Coconut wedges from Marshall’s or Nine West wedges thrifted from Goodwill.

You Choose the Shoes Week 3 007

You Choose the Shoes!

Coconut or Nine West wedges

 

The outfit is a thrifted top from GW Boutique and a cream color ShapeFX skirt from Spiegel Outlet

Nine West thrifted from Goodwill

I think these Nine West shoes are a perfect match in their color and patent leather material for this top.  What do you think?

Necklace and Earrings from Majestical Jewelry

Necklace and Earrings are from the product review that I did for Majestical Jewelry (click here).

Cutout wedges purchased several seasons ago

 

These cutout wedges were purchased several seasons ago from Marshall’s and were quite popular.  I remember seeing them posted by several fashion bloggers.

Are you ready to choose the shoes?

Are you ready to choose the shoes?

Which pair did you choose?

Which pair did you choose?  Personally, I would prefer neither because the feeling of fresh cut grass between my toes feels much better!

You Choose the Shoes Week 3

 

 Linking up with some other FABULOUS THRIFTINISTAS – Whitney Nic James, ColorBlind and DC Goodwill Fashionista!

Stay Blessed – No Stress in 2014!

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TAG I’M IT | Get to Know Me!

Hello Friends and Happy Sunday!

I've Been Tagged

Thank you Louida, it was a fun way to learn a bit more about you and to share a bit more about myself.  

Cindy, Dawn, Pam and Sarah, whenever you get a chance to respond that is fine, as there is no need to rush!

Please click on the name of each lovely lady to read their blog!

Have a wonderfully blessed Sunday!

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