Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

TV Time

There’s something so fantastic about a good show.  You get sucked in.  The characters are dynamic.  The story lines are captivating.  The scenery is vibrant.  You want to live in the show.

I’m going to preface this by saying I don’t watch a lot of TV.  My set is from college and I’m pretty sure I have purses bigger than the screen.  So when I live for a TV show, you know it has something magic about it.

A lot of these shows are from years past when I did have more time and the luxury of a bigger screen.  They’re still favorites and shows I’d love to live in.  Do we have any favorites in common?

The five best TV shows I wish I could be a part of

Sex and the City

When I was younger, I would watch SATC on HBO until my mom came home from work.  I thought I was being so slick and she had no idea that I was developing a deep attachment with this show.

Well, she knew.  She’s a mom – she always knows.  And she started to watch it with me.

This is my number one if I could live in a TV show, it would be this one pick.  Everything about it from the friends and clothes to the themes and the Of course, I’m a Carrie.  Hello, I love writing and shoes.

Gilmore Girls

I slightly based my decision to attend Penn State based on Rory and her beautiful, old, ivy-covered campus.  I was no Rory in terms of books smarts, but I could have my own, less trust-fund version!

I love that while Gilmore Girls is mostly happy, fun, and upbeat, there’s a real dynamic with the characters.  It isn’t all sunshine and roses, even though Lorelei and Rory are basically inseparable (expect for that one season that was just a waste of our time.)  There is a real view of relationships here.

And Stars Hollow is just so dang cute.  Many thanks to Meghan for sharing that link!

Parks and Recreation

Back when I was working at Sharp Edge, I had the idea of hosting a Waffle-Off (like a bake-off but with waffles).  I even pitched it as a possible Yelp Pittsburgh event idea.  No further proof needed that I am Leslie Knope in spirit.

What I love about this show is that it all seems plausible.  I know, it’s a caricature of a small-town governmental agency, but it seems really real.  The relationships, the characters, the whole thing is very identifiable.

Plus, Ron Swanson has the best lines ever.

On giving your all: “Give 100%.  110% is impossible.  Only idiots recommend that.”  On crying: “Crying: acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.”  On small dogs: “Anything under 50 pounds is basically a cat and cats are useless.”

Imagine what he’d say when cameras aren’t around?

Royal Pains

This for me is all about living in the Hamptons.  If I could live in this show, I would want to be Paige.  She has the best clothes/hair/makeup.  And she’s living her dream job as an artist.  I mean, what could you want more of?

Oh, so you think you want more?  How about beautiful shots of summery beaches and brilliant-blue Hamptons water?  Yeah.

The Office

I think I’d like to be a fly on the wall of this show and not so much in the show itself.  It isn’t anything against the hijinx that everyone gets into, it’s just fun to watch everyone interact.

I think more than anything, I’d want to know what’s happening in the background.  They got a little into this in the later seasons with more of a personal look at the characters, but I want more.  What Dwight is like when he gets drunk?  What do Pam and Jim do on Saturday morning?  That kind of thing.

It’s no wonder that Parks and Rec and The Office are both on my list.

What TV show are you just so obsessed with, you wish you could live in it?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Be a Twitter Chat Rockstar

Last night, while participating in the #CreateLounge Twitter chat, I got to thinking about what makes for the best chat experience.  I don’t do a lot of Twitter chats, but I try to attend the ones I know and love as faithfully as I can.

Why tweet and chat?  It’s a fun way to interact with like-minded people, learn some new view points and/or techniques, express your opinions, and grow your following on Twitter as an influential user.

In the process of tweeting and chatting, I’ve learned a lot about what makes for a good experience and what needs a little work.  Here are a few essential things to make sure you’re doing during a Twitter chat to be a gracious guest.

Twitter chats are so much fun! Love these tips for being a great chatter.

Make sure you’re using the hashtag

So you sent out a tweet without the chat hashtag.  That’s okay.  It’s a rookie mistake, but it’s still okay.  I’ve done it, the best Twitter chatters have done it, you’ll probably do it.  But use it because it allows the host and other chatters to easily find your tweets in the sea of lost message.

Oh and keep an eye out and make sure you have enough space to include the tag when you’re done making your brilliant point.

Also, don’t forget to number your tweets.  If you’re responding to Q1 (question 1), write A1 (answer 1) before your tweet.

Jump right in

Twitter chats aren’t the place to be shy.  Sure you can lurk around for the first few times while you get the hang of it, but the fun in chats is participating with everyone!

If you have something to say, hit reply and type away!  It always makes me feel good when someone starts a conversation with an answer I provided.  If a tweet does un-replied-to, does it ever get tweeted?

Try Tweetdeck

Native Twitter is hard to participate in Twitter chats.  I like seeing a running list of all tweets using the chat tag, my notifications, and any new topics coming from the host.  For this purpose, I use Tweetdeck when participating in chats.  It keeps me organized.

The only catch is that if you make a new stream (to track the hashtag perhaps) and the account you’re using isn’t the primary Tweetdeck account, make sure your favoriting tweets from the right account!  There was a chat I participated in where all my favorites came from the wrong handle.

You could also use your phone.  It’s convenient because it auto-fills the hashtag and handles, the favorites are always from the right account, and it’s easy to follow your new friends.

Follow interesting chatters

Like I mentioned before, you get the most out of a Twitter chat when you can interact with everyone.  Keep that momentum going after the chat by following the people you had a great conversation with!  I’ve met some great people from participating in Twitter chats.

And you know that you have similar interests because you’re participating in the same Twitter chat.  So if you’re in a blogger chat, most of the people are bloggers….with whom you can create a support network, find and share new content, etc.  See where I’m going here?

Some of my favorite chats are Kayla Hollatz‘s #CreateLounge on Wednesdays at 8p ET, CoSchedule‘s CoChat on Thursdays at 3:30pm ET, Megan‘s #TipsyChat on Tuesdays at 8:30p ET, and Blog Elevated‘s #BlogElevated chat on Tuesdays at 10p ET.

What are your tips for participating in Twitter chats? What’s your favorite to participate in?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Proud times (plus a giveaway!)

Like I mentioned yesterday, it’s been one year since I purchased the domain GardeningInHighHeels.com.  It’s taken me a while to get this space going and a while for me to get where I want it to be, but I’m thrilled with it and how it’s turned out.

To say it’s one of the things I’m most proud about…well, I guess that would be accurate.  I don’t have a baby or a pet or some star-studded lifestyle, so I don’t feel bad saying that a blog is a big accomplishment.

It’s still a work in progress and I want to take it in different directions, but I’m pretty proud right now.

Last night, I was doing an exercise where I wrote down the things I loved about myself (step one in Molly Mahar’s The Joy Equation is to practice fierce self-love).

There are many things I’m proud of, like my get shit done attitude and my writing abilities.  I wrote a lot of good qualities about myself if I do say so myself, but not one of them included, “my adventurous spirit.”

Probably because I don’t think of myself as very adventurous.  I’m more of the stay grounded and work hard type.  In my mind, spur-of-the-moment and grounded are mutually exclusive.

Sure, I can be fun and adventurous, but in small doses.  Baby steps.  I would love to work up big, adventuresome muscles.  I guess it takes practice, just like anything else.

If you’re like me and need a little kick in the pants to be proud of the adventures you take in life, maybe this giveaway will help get you there.

And if you already are an adventurer, you’ll definitely want to check out this giveaway.

Some of your favorite bloggers and I are teaming up to give you the chance to win a $300 Delta Airlines gift card!  Talk about motivation to flex those muscles.  Enter using the Rafflecopter below and then fly by these fantastic bloggers to say thanks for this opportunity!

deltagiveaway

Brought to you by:

Life Could Be a Dream // A Prioritized Marriage // Life With Grace // A Beautiful Exchange
Hey Kerri // The Lady Lawyer // Gardening in High Heels // Boone & Owl
Aubrey Zaruba // Miss in the Midwest // Life in the Lost and Found Bin // Making Mrs. M
Becoming Adorrable // Wetherills Say I Do // T.O. & fro // Gold & Bloom
Two Places at Once // Twin Stripe

The giveaway will run from 12:00 am EST on June 17th until 11:59 pm EST on June 22nd.  The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond and claim their prize before a new winner will be selected.  Entries will be verified, so please be honest.  This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.  Sorry, international friends!  Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where would you jet off to if you won?  And what are you most proud of?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Budget battle

It’s easy to forget your wins, small or big.  Time to celebrate something for me.  Tomorrow marks one year since I purchased the domain gardeninginhighheels.com.  I didn’t do anything with it until….6 months later….but the idea is that I bought it.  I had the idea.  I went for something different.  And I loooove it.

And it took me a while, but I finally made the leap and opened a blog-specific Instagram account.  Can you tell that I need to mull things over for a while before I do them?

Ironically, for big things like buying a car, I decide I want a car, then I go buy it.  I can’t/don’t want to take time thinking it over.  I wonder what that says about me..

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food BudgetSo for this week’s Project:Food Budget, I was pretty good.  I spent $39.34 total at Giant Eagle.  I purchased a few cleaning products (on sale with coupons) so when I deduct $5.99 for Lysol (totally not edible so I’m totally not counting it!) and tax, I came in at $32.93.

I should have another dollar off of that because the sign on the hamburger buns said they were free at Giant Eagle.  Whatevs.

I also bought 4 lemons in the Strip for $2, so grand total for all food is: $34.93, $15.07 under budget.  Can I roll that over to next week?  I think it’s going to be stock up week.

I still haven’t made it out to Trader Joe’s or Aldi, but the Trader Joe’s circular did advertise chia seeds 12 oz for $4.99.  I normally pay about $10 for 16 oz and I go through chia seeds in my water, Emily’s banana bread, and these summer staple lemon ricotta chia muffins from Table for Two.

In case you’re wondering, I buy bananas just so they’ll get old and I can make banana bread.  I love banana bread.

Other things I made this week include this amazing chicken meatball recipe.  I cheated and used pasta instead of zucchini.  Also, instead of ranch dressing mix, I used fresh herbs from the garden.  I can’t wait until my zucchini is finally ready for harvest!  I split the pound of ground chicken and made patties for “burgers” and enjoyed on my not-free buns.

I also made Laura’s sweet and tangy macaroni salad.  It is amazing and a staple of my lunch this week, I’m sure.  I used flavored oil and vinegar from The Imperial Olive and it’s incredible.

I’ve also been making a batch of brown rice and using it for a side dish one night and any leftovers get turned into Emily’s rice and pear porridge for quick breakfasts that I take to work.

I put it in a mason jar and someone literally asked me if I eat anything not served in a mason jar.  The answer is no.  It was during my jar-salad kick.  I think I may have a slight hipster problem.

I still have to figure out a menu for this week, but I know at least on Wednesday,  I will again be mooching a meal off of my family.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been driving to my aunts’ house where my father has been staying and spending some time with them.  I always leave with leftover and they always ask me why I need to go grocery shopping afterwards.

Well this week, he’s moving back into his house for a while.  Mostly independent, with the exception of the first night getting used to the environment again.  So that meal is covered.  I think.  Either way, yay for independence and progress in health.

If you need some budgeting illumination, check out what these other budgeting beauties are up to! Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Red Pen Mama / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller / Shea Lennon

Have you joined the budget battle? How did you do this week?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Refresh yourself

This weekend, I enjoyed myself very much.

  • I imbibed at the Tar and Feather 2015 event at Wigle Whiskey.  As pictured here.
  • I visited Spoonwood Brewing Co (look for a review soon on PCBN).
  • I watched a Pittsburgh Passion football game.  Those ladies are in full-on beast mode all the time.
  • I went to Jack’s for the first time.  There’s a blog post in there somewhere.
  • I checked out Neighborhood Flea.
  • I watched The Office and A Few Good Men.  I have to stop and watch that, Goodfellas, and Clueless when they’re on.
  • I read a little People Over Profit.
  • I talked to my mom.
  • I spent lots of time with Jonathan.

And I’m sorry to say, I didn’t write something for today.  Everyone needs a weekend to relax and repair and re-everything.

So while I didn’t write anything groundbreaking, I did an important step towards Being A Better Blogger, which is refreshing your mind.

It was so needed after the past few months I’ve had.  Guys, blogging every day is hard.  I never pretended like it wouldn’t be, but dang-nabit it’s a lot of work.

Since I’m pretty tapped today, check what my other co-conspirators are writing in our quest to Be A Better Blogger.

How did you refresh yourself this weekend?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Let’s Play

           

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together