Five Things for Friday
1. Over the weekend I went down to Santa Barbara for a bachelorette party. We spent Saturday afternoon on the beach and it was just beautiful! Shawn went to college at UCSB, and being down there really brought me back to when I used to drive down to visit him every 3 weeks. We even went to the bar where we celebrated Shawn’s 21st birthday 6 years ago. Oh memories!
2. I got a new car! Well, not brand new. I’m not a millionaire and I hate being in debt. But I got a “new to me” used car! My brother-in-law is a mechanic and helped me find a great used Lexus. It’s so nice! Shawn is going to roll his eyes at this, but that little car accident I got in is working out kind of nicely for me because this new car is much nicer than my old BMW. There’s always a silver lining!
3. We had a bit of a dogs + paint = disaster incident this week. I got this text from Shawn
Followed by this picture of Jake with a smearing of orange paint on top of his head.
In case you’re wondering, nail polish remover works great at getting craft paint out of carpet. Couldn’t bring myself to try it on Jake’s head though. Poor guy has been thru enough.
4. I’m throwing my brother-in-law and his fiance a couples shower in a few weeks. I love myself a good invitation, and found a great one at Wedding Paper Divas. Rather than spending a bunch of money on the invites and shipping, I decided to be a little crafty and make the invitations myself.
They turned out great! They look almost exactly like the originals. And so easy! I actually made these on PicMonkey, which anyone can use. Then I printed them on 5×7 photo paper at Costco, used double sided tape to tape the photo to card stock, used 5×7 envelopes I already had, and BOOM! Super cute DIY invitations that cost a fraction of what I would have paid. And I could pick them up the same day. Winning!
5. I’ve saved the best for last! I received the BEST news on Wednesday!
I got into BlogHer Publishing Network! I am seriously so excited and still can’t stop smiling. I called Shawn at 7am with tears in my eyes saying, “I got into BlogHer! I got into BlogHer! I can’t believe it!” I applied way back in January and have been patiently waiting to hear back ever since. I felt as if I had applied to college and got accepted into Harvard!
In case you don’t know, BlogHer is one of the top ad networks for bloggers. Almost all of the popular bloggers use it, but it is very hard to get accepted into. When I first started out my food blog, my dreams were to learn to take beautiful pictures I could be proud of, make blogging friends and to have a blog high quality enough to get accepted into BlogHer. And now all of those dreams have come true! It feels great to get the validation that I am on the right track.
It has gotten me very sappy and grateful for all the love, support, and kind words I’ve received from family and friends. I appreciate all of you reading more than you know. Without you Tastes Lovely would mean nothing. It feels great to have found my passion and to be creating recipes and photographs that people want to read and admire.
Hugs to you all, and I hope you all have a great Friday!
28 Comments on “Five Things for Friday”
Congratulations Natalie :D Great week..beach, new car, and Blogher! Too funny..the orange strip on Jakes’ head. He’s so fancy :D Hope you had a great weekend!
Yay for a new car, and congrats on your BlogHer acceptance – woop woop! Also, puppies are silly. Our dog is always getting into mischief!
Yay, congrats on the car and BlogHer Natalie – that’s awesome news and so well deserved :) Great job on the invites too – they look fantastic!
Congrats on BlogHer, Natalie! That is sooo exciting! I’m jealous :)
Congratulations on getting into blogher! I’m sure it was worth the wait.
Congratulations Natalie!
Jake does look like a rocker. Too funny. He doesn’t care so it’s ok.
Natalie, what a super cool dog you now have! Not to mention car … and as for the blog, well … you’re clearly going up in the world! Congrats!! And have a great weekend! :-)
Sounds like such a great week, Natalie! Congrats on the “new” car and on joining the Blogher network! I hope it works out well for you :) Have a great weekend!
Natalie, I’m so happy for you. Congrats on the new car and the BlogHer acceptance. So exciting.
Cool shot of the ocean through your knees. Craft pain in the carpet and on the dog is no fun! I think the invitations look great.
Woohoo!! Congrats on BlogHer Natalie! Success well deserved. :) Also – how cute are those invitations!? So smart to design them on PicMonkey and have them printed. I’m going to keep that in mind the next time I have invitations to send. Enjoy your weekend!
Congratulations Natalie! Wow, you have a lot to celebrate this week-end. Sounds like life is pretty good right now. The picture of the beach is gorgeous! Love it!
Congrats Natalie! That is such exciting news and a great way to end your week! I hope you do something fun to celebrate this weekend :-) .
Congrats on BlogHer!! I am so proud and happy for you! I read this blog every time you post and I made your cilantro-jalapeño ranch dressing last night for me and Ken. Way to go!!!!!
I couldn’t be more excited for you, Natalie. Getting into BlogHer must be such a thrill – couldn’t think of a blogger that’s more deserving than you! Also, thanks for posting pics of the beach and sunshine – I am living vicariously through you, ha.
Love the new car (at least what I can see of it :). I hate being in debt too, so I know how great it feels to drive a “new” car without having to make payments!! Hope you have the most amazing weekend ahead, friend. Xoxo
OMG congratulations Natalie!! To be honest, I had no idea it’s that hard to get onto BlogHer. SO SO excited for you!! You totally deserve it. Lots of blood sweat and tears go into blog posts, which people don’t really know. Nice that you got a new car, who cares if it isn’t brand new! I’ve never had a brand new car..someday ;) The bachelorette party I bet was a blast, and the fact that you could reminisce of the past with Shawn I bet was lovely! Thanks for sharing your week, as always! Cheers to you NATALIE!!
Thanks Kelly! You are always so nice and encouraging! Seriously! You were one of my new blogging friends that I was thinking of specifically when I was writing about my gratefulness. Blogging is definitely more work than it looks, but it’s so much fun it barely feels like “work”. I love it, and am excited that I may make enough money to at least cover my hosting expenses and grocery bill. Haha! Have a great Friday friend : )
Oh I’m so laughing at that orange streak. Kind of makes Jake look like a real badass, lol! Girl, I swear we are twinkies! I just got accepted in BlogHer, too! EEEEE!!! Although I’ve been trying for YEARS. Third time applying is the charm I guess. Congrats to you and TGIF!
It’s 3 days later, and Jake still has orange paint on top of his head. I don’t know how to get rid of it! Other than using nail polish remover, which I’m sure to his stronger dog senses would make him pass out. For now, he looks like a rebel rocker with an orange “mohawk”. So funny!
And that is so cool you got into BlogHer too! You must be extra celebrating if you have been trying for years! Let’s both treat ourselves to a glass of wine…or 2…or 3 tonight. Haha! We did it!
Woo, such great news on BlogHer — huge congrats! And fantastic job on the invites. I’m a huge paper nerd myself, so I appreciate a good card! I ordered my wedding invitations through Wedding Paper Divas and loved the quality, but making them yourself is absolutely a great plan. :) I just designed my “we’re moving!” postcards to print through Vistaprint and am soooo excited about them. Like, more than a rational human being should be.
Thanks Meg! I’m so excited about BlogHer! I feel like a “real” food blogger now. Haha! And I am so glad you’re an invitation nerd like me! I bet you go totally nuts designing and sending out Christmas cards just like me. I bet your “we’re moving” cards are super cute! You should post them, I want to see!
Congratulations on getting into BlogHer, Natalie! I’m so excited for you — you definitely deserve it! Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks Sarah! You’re so nice! I don’t think I could be more excited about it. Feels like a real accomplishment to me. Hope you have a great weekend too!
Wow! Great post. You must be so excited.
I’m so excited for you. A ‘new’car and acceptance into BlogHer. That’s fantastic!!!!
You go girl!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks Melanie! Happy weekend to you too : )