giveaway Archives - Gardening in High Heels

October 27, 2015

How to know when you need a blog break

October 27, 2015

Okay. So. Not to be entirely self-pitying, but I’ve had a rough couple of months. Between moving, problems with my mom, fluctuating responsibilities at work, and trying to keep personal relationships from sinking…things around here got a little quiet. Anything that wasn’t absolutely essential to keep in the air got dropped.

I really turned inward and didn’t want to broadcast my problems for the internet. Airing dirty laundry takes on a whole new level when it’s available world-wide (not that I flatter myself that someone in Paris is reading this, buuuut….)

And while I wrote about what I learned from blogging every day, I didn’t write about what I learned from not writing when my heart wasn’t there and how to know when you need a blog break.

How do you know when you need a break? When you’re heart isn’t in it. It’s that simple. You need to take a step back to reconnect with what you love doing. Creatively rejuvenate yourself. That’s a post for another day, but I know my writing struggles when it just isn’t exciting me and I can bet it’s the same way for you, too.

So what did I learn from taking a blog break?

Of course, there are the practical things I’ve learned like I should have kept up with the promotion and sharing old posts through Facebook and Twitter. I mean, it makes sense. But again, my heart just wasn’t there. So do as I say and not as I do: still go through your popular posts and promote the hell out of them. Even if you aren’t producing new material, still share old material.

Find a new outlet. I turned to Instagram to document what was happening in real life. #BecauseImKeepingItReal

I don’t want to always have this picture-perfect portrayal here because life isn’t picture perfect. And while I want this to be a reintroduction to me and a hello to a new business of sorts, I also want to recognize life’s stumbles. Yes, you need to make sure you’re spelling is correct and your pictures aren’t fuzzy, but you also need to connect with people’s hearts. That’s my belief.

If you don’t have their hearts, all you have are numbers. And what good does that do you?

Another thing I learned from taking a step back is that it’s okay to change your path. You aren’t stuck in one niche forever. You can evolve. You can pivot.

I know, these are all things that are like, “Angelica, you seriously didn’t realize that??” but there’s a difference between knowing something and getting it.

So, back to pivoting on what you’re doing. Jenny Blake is the pivot queen. (She actually wrote about what happens when you try to nail your niche.) I love that we don’t have to keep doing the same thing over and over. Especially if you want to go in another path but feel like you should stay on the route you’re on. That “should” word is a red flag that you need to mix it up.

I’m redefining what I want to write about and letting this be a place for people to learn more about me and my work in a real way. I’ll still write about makeup and the trials of cultivating a beautiful life, but on a more consistent basis again. I’ll also be focusing more on letting this be my outlet and a way to highlight my writing strengths in the hopes that people hire me to write for them (because I love sharing my thoughts with you, but thoughts don’t pay the rent, y’hear me?)

As a thank you to people who have been with me through it all and a welcome for any new readers and friends I’ve made along the way, I want to share some of my favorite things (and let you win them).

Of course, my favorite pens, Post Its, and copious amounts of Target dollar spot stationery. My favorite balm + stain that looks great on anyone (it’s the Revlon Balm Stain in Honey) and a few other lip products. A freakin’ hilarious letterpress notebook from Sapling Press in Pittsburgh and purchased at my favorite card shop in the city, Wildcard. And this lovely scarf, of course in gray like everything else I wear. I seriously almost kept the for myself, yo. But I love you guys, so you win. And a few other things I may pick up along the way.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can you pick out a theme? Me neither. It’s pretty much me in a box. And hopefully if you’re like me, you’ll love this all, too.

What’s your sign to know when you need a break?

PS: You guys rock. Just sayin’.

June 17, 2015

Proud times (plus a giveaway!)

June 17, 2015

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!

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!

March 22, 2015

Sunday Lately, 12

March 22, 2015

March has gone by so incredibly quickly. It feels like there are things that just happened yesterday, like the March Levo Pittsburgh event, though now it’s actually two weeks ago. Does that happen to anyone else? Ugh! Just when I feel caught up, things sneak up and tap me on the shoulder and say, “Ha, thought you had a handle on me, didn’tcha?”

Doing

Last weekend, I spent hours clearing things out of my father’s house. There’s still more work to be done, but it’s getting cleaner. It’s a sad and surreal experience. I’ve lived in different places and grown up in my mom’s house, too, but my first memories are in that house. It’s hitting me that I’ll probably never read a book on the back porch underneath all the trees or see the really big Christmas tree in the living room…and I’m now going to cry. So onward with the other things!

Appreciating

Seriously, the small things. Like the ice cream glacier Jonathan brought me on Tuesday night. (For those of you who aren’t near a cute little mom-and-pop ice cream stand, a glacier is like a Blizzard – I hope you’re all familiar with DQ. If you don’t know your ice cream, we can’t be friends.)

Also suuuper appreciating when traffic isn’t that bad in the mornings. I’ve been leaving my house on the early side, a little after 7am, just so I can avoid traffic. I get to work about 30 minutes early, but I’d rather do that than sit in rush hour traffic. I hate traffic. Boo hiss traffic.

Designing

My blog blah blah blah I say this every week and nothing ever gets done. Ugh! I just need someone to tell me how to make the content area wider. I can probably figure out the other CSS changes myself, but I’m just not figuring out how to make this one (kinda big deal of what I want this to look like) change.

Humming

I have a co-worker who likes to sing one line of popular songs over and over again. That results in me leaving work with “Uptown Funk” stuck in my head on repeat. Not cute.

Expecting

Quite honestly, I have no idea what to expect anymore. I know I wrote about getting back into hyper planning mode last week, but I have no idea how to plan for half of the big things that are looming over me. I have no idea how to sell a house. Or help to clear out a house.

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So that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve also been reading a lot. If you missed it, I’m giving away a copy of Hausfrau to a lucky reader. Check out this post to see a review and enter!

What have you been doing lately?

March 20, 2015

Hausfrau book review and giveaway

March 20, 2015

There are so many questions I have after reading Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum. I’ll try not to give any spoilers here, but I seriously read the last sentence and was like, “Is that all?!? What happens next?!”

I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to get into the action of the novel. I didn’t dislike Anna, but I didn’t like her either; that made for some pretty bland action at first. Basically, Anna is this exhausted, complacent, lonely hausfrau (who never confirms that she is lonely/bored/etc) and enters affairs…because she can pretty much. Again, we never know why. I love that we don’t. Some things in life aren’t explained and just happen.

The more I read this, though, the more intrigued I became. How is Anna going to disengage herself from these lives of lies? What will her husband do? How will she get found out? Will she get found out or will she extract herself no harm, no foul?

It was sort of like reading about a train wreck.

There were ~~more than~~ five things that stood out to me as I was reading this that really made me wonder. (I tried not to do this, but there is a spoiler and it’s noted as such.)

The Bruno Scale

When Bruno is around more, Anna acts out less. The more attention she gets from him, the less she needs it from other people. That’s a pretty basic observation, but I do think it’s worth mentioning. His presence in the present can’t undo the past, so there must be some retribution for Anna’s actions (and oh is there ever).

But he’s trying! You see him trying!

I actually like his character. He appears to be the only one who is active. It’s true, Anna is doing the cheating, and she’s probably doing it because he’s passive towards her, but when we see him interact with other characters, he’s always active whereas Anna closes herself off.

Mary

Oh lordy, I do not like Mary. Everything would have been fine if she just kept her mouth shut. Trust me, I’m not rooting for Anna here, but I’m definitely rooting for Mary to mind her own damn business.

She’s the catalyst for both good and bad. She brings Bruno back to Anna, but she also really, really breaks Bruno and Anna apart.

There is a lot to say about her character, which is interesting because she only appears for part of the book. She sets a lot of things into motion. She’s almost like Anna’s affairs themselves: provides something to feel good about for the moment but ultimately is a downfall for Anna.

Maybe I’m reading this at a basic level, and every book needs a villain, and I’m just inserting Mary into that slot where it wasn’t the intention. Help me out here, anyone else see that in her character? Perhaps foil is a more appropriate term.

Anna’s birthday

Here’s another thing that Mary screwed up! [Spoiler alert] She planned a birthday party for Anna when Anna expressly said not to do anything. Mary and Tim / Anna and Bruno had a fantastic day together with their kids. You see a hint of humanity in Bruno and a switch slowly turning for Anna. I almost thought this was the pivotal moment moment for them.

And then Mary doing Mary got in they way. Lady, if someone says “I don’t want a party,” you don’t force them to have a party, especially when they’re as standoffish as Anna. And have so many different lives.

What happens when Bruno finds out?

This is kind of a big question that drove me to keep reading. So, Anna is cheating, this we know. What we don’t know is what will happen when Bruno finds out. I can tell you – it’s good. And all Mary’s fault! Well, okay, Mary didn’t force Anna to cheat. But she started it!

I wrote this one down as I was reading and it seriously bugged me. Like I mentioned, this question drove me to keep reading. If Bruno is one of the most active characters, what action will he take when he finds out he’s been cuckolded? We never see him get scary-angry, but his power and authority is definitely conveyed.

Fire…what?

What does the fire symbolize? Playing with fire, I guess, but where does it come from? It happens when Anna meets Stephen and carries throughout, but it only appears at certain times. I guess it’s play with fire, but maybe it’s also destruction and may be renewal (like a phoenix). Pay attention when you’re reading this for the fire references and tell me what you think they mean/where they come from.

I’m almost leaning towards destruction, but 90% off the book is destruction and there aren’t that many references to fire. Perhaps it is referring to Stephen and his particular involvement in the novel.

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So, have I piqued your interest in Hausfrau? Good! The book is already out (released on a lucky day, March 17th) and one of my readers can win a copy of the book thanks to Penguin Random House and 20SB!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What have you been reading lately?

[disclaim]I was provided a copy of Hausfrau to read and review and another to give away bu Penguin Random House and 20SB. These are my honest opinions about the book.[/disclaim]

November 6, 2014

Not my circus, part two

November 6, 2014

I was reading a blog post from Clarity on Fire and it hit a nerve. This was perfect timing because I was thinking something similar to the situation in the post it came from – not the part about breaking up with toxic friends, because I’m pretty good at the moment, the part about people not being respectful of my time. Rachel explained my sentiments pretty perfectly:

Personally, I tend to get pretty miffed when people are rude. Take, for example, when I schedule a free breakthrough coaching session with someone, we confirm the call the day before, and then they totally ghost me. They don’t bother to send a, “Sorry, can we reschedule?” email or a quick text that they can’t make it. Nothin’.

Part of my day job duties include scheduling appointments with people so I can help them with their marketing strategy or program in general. The other day, every single scheduled appointment I had didn’t answer when I called them. It wasn’t like I was Rambo-ing into their day and catching them off guard, these were mutually agreed upon times.

It really kills my day’s momentum when I have to stop what I’m doing to make sure I call these people on time. It takes time for my brain to shift gears and prepare for the next task at hand. Similarly, it takes time to refocus on what I was doing.

It smacks of not having consideration for the people around you. I understand that some people forget or something comes up last minute; I’m not begrudging anyone of that and I’ve been guilty of it myself. I’m talking about people who make it a regular occurrence. Why is this okay to say to give the message that you just can’t be bothered to be considerate?

We were taught to say please and thank you. Well, I hope we all were. How many of you didn’t get a thank you on Halloween when passing out candy, hmm? This self-centered attitude we’ve adopted is a big problem.

What I loved about the Clarity on Fire post is this simple reminder:

What other people say and do is about them. Not me. In fact, it never says anything about me.

Their actions are not a reflection of me. I am not responsible for people not answering the phone. Thank goodness we have a good note-taking system at work to prove that I did call them if there’s ever a dispute! I am also not responsible to parent someone’s child and demand a thank you for providing free candy.

I can only control my actions.

It reminds me so much of “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Rachel even said that in her post, too!

What’s great about this is it works in both the positive and the negative sense. Of course, if you blow off an appointment, it says you don’t care much for other people’s time. On the flip side, if you do give someone a heads up that you will be a few minutes late or you go out of your way to hold the door for someone, it says that you are a respectful individual.

So today I’d like to ask you to bring back politeness. Leave something in the world today that shows you are a decent member of society. Let’s bring back being considerate and thinking about how your actions will effect others and how your actions make you look in turn.

Comment below and let me know what you’re going to do today to make yourself a reflection of how you really want to be known!

What other people say and do is about them, not me

PS: Don’t forget to enter the Miglio Jewelry USA Giveaway!

How to know when you need a blog break

What’s your sign to know when you need a break?

Proud times (plus a giveaway!)

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