Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Favorite blogging tools

As a blogger and a social media professional, you’d think I’m all about apps and digital stuff when it comes to blogging.  Not so.  There are only so many apps that do the same thing that I can have and actually use.  I love list-keeping apps, but sooner or later, a favorite comes out and I get rid of the other ones so they don’t bog down my phone, yknow?

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is Favorite Blogging Tools and I’ll let you in on a little secret…it’s a pretty simple list.  I wrote about a few other tools I like for blogging, so take a look at it here if you’re interested in other ways I keep the blogging train going.

You'd think I'm all about digital apps when it comes to blogging. Today I'm sharing my favorite blogging tools and the simplicity may surprise you! #BloggerMayI #blogging

Moleskine Journals

I keep basically all of my ideas in a small Moleskine journal.  I have the fonts, sizes, colors I use in there, too.  It’s easy just to grab my Moleskin notebook and a pen and put it in my work bag or my purse and jot down something quickly when inspiration hits.  I can also easily flip through and look at notes about what I want my blog to be and rekindle that excitement I had when I started GIHH.

I also use a larger (homemade) Moleskine square journal as my planner.  I keep a running list of blog to-dos here and it’s also where I write down my editorial plan for the month.  I really wanted a separate blog planner and editorial calendar, but realistically, I wouldn’t carry both a personal and blog planner around with me.  So this suits me for now.

Evernote

Evernote is my backup for when I don’t have my notebooks on me.  I have a hard time going back and remembering to check this, though!  I really wish I got more use out of it, but I prefer to write things down with a pen.  If you’re more of a digital person, this is great for organization.  I used to use it a lot more frequently before I started keeping a separate notebook for blogging.  Within Evernote, you can have different notebooks and different notes, search your notes, take pictures of physical notes, and reorganize your thoughts into logical orders.

Maybe I’ll play around with this a little more.  I’ll report back on how my use of this changes if you’re interested!

WordPress

So I couldn’t blog without a place to publish.  For me, that’s on WordPress.  It’s my platform of choice.  I actually started Moda Vivendi, my quilt blog, on Blogger, and I’m so glad I switched.

Honorable mention to my domain geniuses at Tubu.net and the great tech help at 17th Avenue.  They recently helped with a problem I was having on my social icons and Allie stuck with me until the problem was fixed.

Here in WordPress, I keep a running stream of blog ideas with their external links once they’ve gotten out of the Moleskine notebook.  From there, I start my draft.  Some people write in Evernote/external app and then transfer into their publisher, but I prefer to write all in one place.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is what I use to post to Twitter for my blogging tweets.  I use HootSuite professionally to help with Twitter scheduling, but I like TweetDeck for the blog because I can have streams of hashtags to track, have multiple Twitter accounts all in one place, and easily switch between different accounts.

Another honorable mention goes to Photoshop – it’s what I use to edit my photos and add text, though Canva is also great for making quick graphics on the fly!

What are your favorite blogging tools?  I love seeing what everyone uses to make magic happen!


 Need the prompts for the Blogger, May I challenge? Gotcha covered. Want to use your own prompts? No problem! Just grab a button to show that you’re linking up with myself, Katy, and Meghan. Oh, and use #BloggerMayI on Twitter/Instagram to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

How to: use manifesting and affirmations

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is what are you learning?  It’s the perfect time to share this post.  I love Britt Reints, Emily Levenson, all the other women in the Propelle community who are believers in manifesting their dreams through intentions and affirmations.

I am a little skeptical.

Manifesting is an interesting idea that's getting a lot of attention in empowerment groups. Here are a few resources to learn about manifesting your dreams.

I am learning about it, though, and it’s fascinating.  My mom is a big believer in listening to your intuition; I am getting there, but I’m still having a hard time recognizing what I’m consciously thinking and what I’m hearing “the universe” say to me.  That said, I usually am pretty good at following my gut [insert joke about needing to tone my abs here].

A little over a year ago, I did Emily’s Project Miracles and had a great experience.  Based on Melody Beattie’s book, you write down your goals and what you want to and in 4o days, poof, it should be there.

It did take some time to get into the groove; I had a hard time trying to figure out where it was all going.  It was about a year after I did it that I finally saw some of the miracles I wanted to manifest take place.  I’m so impatient that I expect to work out once and see results, so manifesting and positive affirmations are as much an exercise in patience as they are in faith for me.

If you’re into manifesting and using affirmations, here are a few things that I’ve found to be helpful.

One is setting the intention.  I received an email from the Propelle ladies that had this specific intention: I am open to receive.

That’s perfect.  How can you manifest anything if you aren’t open to the experience?  If you aren’t sure if you’re listening to your gut, tell yourself that you’re open to receive and just wait to see what vibe you get.

Second, believe what you’re manifesting is possible.  In another Propelle email, they wrote this:

Manifestation is not only about envisioning what you want to happen happening but it’s also believing it’s possible and that you’re capable and worthy.

There’s also a fun letter to the universe you can use.

Three: get specific.  That’s another theme throughout my research that I’ve noticed.  Propelle recommends getting very specific.  Marie Forleo talks about it in conjunction with a gratitude practice.  My mom would always tell me that, too.  Tell the universe very clearly what you want.

How’s this for specific: tapping for $50,000.

Lastly, meditation.  It helps to have a clear headspace when you are manifesting.  I love this practical guide from A Daring Adventure.  Britt Reints also has many helpful affirmations if you sign up for her newsletter!

Everyone says to “sit with it.”  This is something I hear all the time, most recently from a Google Hangout that Emily Cassel hosted.

I’ve come to learn that I need help just marinating in things.  I definitely trust in feeling out a gut reaction, but sometimes I have a hard time knowing what the universe is saying to me and what am I consciously thinking.

If you’re looking for more information about manifesting, here’s a seven-step process from Kate Northrup.  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Gretchen Rubin, too!

What are you learning?  Would you ever try manifesting?


Need the prompts for the Blogger, May I challenge? Gotcha covered. Want to use your own prompts? No problem! Just grab a button to show that you’re linking up with myself, Katy, and Meghan. Oh, and use #BloggerMayI on Twitter/Instagram to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Mom

A few months ago I wrote an ode to my mom.  I know it’s cheesy, but she probably is the most important female figure in my life, which is today’s Blogger, May I theme for the day.

And super-appropriate because tomorrow is Mother’s Day.

Moms are so important. Mine is the most important person to me. Who's your most important female figure?

I’ve said it before, but I get a lot of things from my mom.  Don’t get me wrong, I of course get things from my father and his sisters and family on my mom’s side, but in terms of women I’ve spent the most time with, it’s my mom.  I learned how to make the perfect pie crust from her and how to keep a garden alive.

I’ve also learned how to say the wrong thing and get annoyed easily and have little patience.  But y’know…I’m well rounded!

Having my mom be so far away in Virginia is actually a great thing for our relationship.  When you spend a lot of time with anyone, you naturally have things that get under your skin.  Being so comfortable with my mom, I would say things I didn’t mean or that I did mean but came out wrong in the heat of the moment.

When someone moves far away, you really appreciate the time when you do get to see them and you spend less time getting annoyed and more time sharing things.

Need the prompts for the Blogger, May I challenge?  Gotcha covered.  Want to use your own prompts?  No problem!  Just grab a button to show that you’re linking up with myself, Katy, and Meghan.  Oh, and use #BloggerMayI on Twitter/Instagram to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Who’s the most important female figure in your life?

People Over Profit

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is A Story Without Words.  I’m kinda cheating because the pictures have words in them.  But they tell a powerful story.  They’re from Dale Partridge’s new book, People Over Profit.  If you are looking to do any leading or inspiring, you need this book.  For real.

"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen." Brene Brown #quote #peopleoverprofit

 

"A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity." Dalai Lama #quote #peopleoverprofit

"Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, and truth loving." James E Faust #quotes #peopleoverprofit

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt #quote #peopleoverprofit

"Stop complaining. Start creating." Dale Partridge #quotes #peopleoverprofit

What’s your story?


Home

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is Where Do You Call Home.  Man that is a loaded question.

Home to me is where the kitchen is. It's the warmest place in the house!

Since I was about 10 or 11, I lived in two different places.  Half of my life was spent at my mom’s house, the other half was spent at my dad’s house.  I still have clothes and shoes spread out between the different locations, even though I’m living in my own house (which is actually my mom’s house that I’m renting from her while she is living in Virginia).

I’ve given a lot of thought to the idea of “home” recently.  If you go back to posts in March, you’d see that I spent a lot of time whining that I had to pack up my father’s house while he was in the hospital.  It’s one thing to move away from your first home, but it’s another entirely to pack it up and sell it.  Two different mindsets, I guess.  You can always go back if you move away.  When you sell it…well, you can’t go back to those memories.

It’s ironic that I’m writing this because I just found out that my father is putting his house on the market.  It’s happening for sure whereas back in March it was a suggestion from his sisters.  It’s definitely bittersweet.  He and I acknowledged that I can’t live there and take care of him forever and that I’ve worked hard to afford what I can and get where I am.

And it’s sad to think that last year, we unwittingly had our last Christmas there.  And Easter.  And birthdays.

But now, home is where my kitchen is.  Like I wrote a few weeks ago, my mom’s kitchen is one of my favorite places.  I love to cook and bake.  I definitely got that from both of my grandmas, but my mom had a biiiig role in that, too.

She taught me a great deal in her kitchen.  I tried to make her kitchen my own, but some things still remain, the her Pfaltzgraff rejects (she got new ones so I got the hand-me-downs.  Not complaining!)  Nice little touches of home.

Pfaltzgraff utensil holder

Franktuary poster

So while home is in transition right now, I’ll still have things that remind me of my dad’s house, like the bookcases he built that were in the living room the whole time I was growing up (I already said I’m taking those, no exceptions) and the beautiful Barry Jeter pieces he bought for me.

Where is home for you?

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We Belong in the Garden Together