New and Improved and Ready to Rock!

Ahhh!! I cannot contain my excitement about my new blog design!! Janie with Fortune Favors did a fabulous job and I would highly recommend her. There are several improvements to my blog besides the new design. I added an "About Me" with some of the basic info about me and you can now sponsor my blog!  This is great for other bloggers, Etsy shops or anyone who has something to promote. Not only will you be featured on my sidebar but you will get much social media love! I also added a section for "Social Media Marketing." All the details are yet to come on this service but you can email me with any inquiries at this time.

Besides all my normal posts I have some new regular posts that will be coming your way. This will include "Makeup Mondays" where I will feature cosmetic product reviews  or makeup how-tos. It will also include "Long Island Love" posts where I will feature activities and things to do on Long Island.  I am also looking into getting a few guest bloggers to be featured periodically to give my followers a good variety of material to read.

Thanks for checking out the new and improved blog and stay tuned for some great posts coming your way! I have some fabulous reviews heading your way and an amazing experience to share once I am allowed to give out the info.

Weekend Wrap Up

I've been slacking a little with the posts the past few days but we are so consumed with our upcoming move that every free moment has been spent cleaning and packing. Besides packing I had an opportunity to add a few new items to my Etsy shop, Hole In Her Stocking Designs. I haven't really written much about this shop of mine but I like to think of it as what's trendy and in style and what I would wear. Below are a few photos from my new Dainty Cross Collection.

Now I am involved in a few giveaways at the moment so I wanted to remind you all to enter for your chance at some great prizes!!  First their is my Create Your Own Tutu Giveaway. If you win you get to chose the colors for your tutu. You can design one for yourself, your daughter or to give as a gift.

There is still two days to check out the Keeping Cool In the Sun Giveaway Hop. Be sure to enter my giveaway and check out all the other amazing giveaways taking place!

 

Lastly, I am thrilled to be featured on Girl Booklet.  Go check out her awesome blog and feature on me!! There is also a giveaway going on where you can win an awesome neon friendship bracelet with chain and a custom pair of earring. As of right now there is low entries so go check it out for some great odds on winning!

Win this!

Well, I hope you had a great weekend and I would love to hear what you did.  Comments welcomed!

Patriotic Cuteness Photo Post

Hi everyone!! Hope you are having a great Friday! I have so many great posts up my sleeve along with the unveiling of my new blog design but I cannot release certain info and experiences until a later date. No worries, that date is fast approaching. So I decided to share some photos I took of my daughter Olivia modeling one of my patriotic tutu designs for Oh So Pretty Designs. 

 

Isn't she the cutest! It's hard for me to get great photos of her because she is at the age where staying still isn't an option but I still love the candidness  of these photos.  I also got one of my all time photos this particular day. Check it out below!  And you can always see more of my photographic work on my Jenny O Studios Facebook Page.

One of my all time favorite photos!

Hurts So Good....Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles

My Sis and I were both lucky enough to try these insoles!

I had an opportunity to try Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles for free thanks to my second campaign with BzzAgent. I was pumped to give these bad boys a try because I LOVE to walk. Plus, I do some 12 hour shifts at a vet I work at part time.  So anything that will make my feet feel comfortable is welcome!

I wanted to love these I really did but felt slightly disappointed. I hate to share bad news but my readers deserve to know the truth. I wore them for the first time for my 12 hour shift at work.  When I first put them on it felt like I was wearing a pair of snug shoes for the first time and my feet ached. As the day went on the aching went away but I didn't feel any "massaging." But as the day was coming to an end my feet were starting to hurt once again.  I then wore them for my 3 mile walk workout the following day and my feet hurt and more of the same when I wore them to the gym the day after that.

But I didn't give up. I wore them to run some errands a few days later and my feet actually felt pretty good.  I didn't know if was just because I was wearing them for a shorter time but I was starting to feel a bit optimistic. I decided to give them another try at work and finally some relief. My feet felt good after my long day! I just wore them for my walk and again no aches and pains. There was a light at the end of the tunnel!

I am now happy with how these Massaging Gels make my feet feel but I just wish I didn't need to go through days of achy feet to get to this point.  I guess they just needed to be worn in.  If you are willing to tough it out for a few days I would definitely give these insoles a shot! Check out Dr. Scholl's for more info and to get your pair today!

Operation Makeover

I am sure I am not alone in the fact that my idea of getting dressed in the morning,  ever since I had a baby,  is throwing on black yoga pants and a t-shirt. Hair thrown up in a messy bun or ponytail and no makeup. I am pretty much a hot mess on a regular basis.  It's honestly starting to make me depressed. I don't want to go out because I have nothing to wear or I feel nothing looks good on me  and I am ready to make a change.

The big problem is that I have gained a lot of weight over the past 5 years. A good 50-60 pounds. So I feel that nothing looks good on me so I just wear whatever I feel can mask my fatness. I used to dress so cute and trendy and I really am missing those days. I used to always be out doing things  and looking cute while doing them but now I just feel like a blob. Don't get me wrong, I am not morbidly obese or anything but I know what it feels like to be fit and cute and I miss those days. I am going to get them back.

How did I let myself gain all that weight you may ask? Well, it was gradual over a few years. First I suffered the loss of my best friend and grandma and coped with my grief by eating. Then , I had a bad back injury so I could no longer workout 6 days as week like I used to.  Then I got pregnant and after having the baby there really wasn't any time to go to the gym. So little by lttle the pounds packed on.

Well, my birthday is in 6 weeks so my goal is to lose at least 20 pounds by then.  I ultimately hope to lose double that but I'll take 20 to start.  Then I am going to ask for a new wardrobe for my birthday. Hopefully being 20 pounds lighter clothing will look a little better on me. Then, I want to do something drastic with my hair. I am thinking about cutting it so it's about shoulder length once it's dry and curly. I also want to go platinum blonde. Drastic I know but I need drastic change.

I will touch base with you all at about the 3 week mark and let you know how I am doing with getting towards my weight loss goal. And of course there will be a big post for my birthday featuring my big makeover!

Thin and fit at my wedding

Me now. Ugh!

Etsy Sellers Beware

I was having a good day until I got a message from a fellow Etsy seller this evening with some disturbing news.  She told me that another seller was using using other shop's photos and listing for half price. My photos were among those stolen. So now when someone searches for a "hot pink tutu" they will see two tutus identical in photos but one for half the cost.

Problem is the buyer will undoubtedly go with the less expensive choice but won't get item photographed. This seller can try to duplicate my item but it will not be the same especially for price listed. There's no way because my products are reasonably priced and this seller is offering free shipping. There is no profit for this seller to make. So one of two things is happening. Customer is getting an inferior item unlike one in stolen photograph. Or since this seller made over 60 sales in two days they are never planning on sending any products and just stealing the money.

Not to mention how can you put out a quality product with so many sales in a day without a long turnaround time. I am beyond frustrated because I take pride in my products and now there is someone out there ruining it for us all. I reported this shop to Etsy and I hope they will be shut down promptly before more buyers are duped and good shop owners lose deserved business.

So I learned a very important lesson. You must put a watermark or your shop's name somewhere on your photo. I opted for right across the tutu because you can still see the item but it cannot be cropped out by those who make a habit of stealing intellectual property. Hopefully this should stop all my photos from being stolen in the future. It's just a shame we have to do this because a select few cannot respect others intellectual and artistic property. Please protect your shops and edit all of your photos so nobody can steal your images, take it from someone who said: "It will never happen to me."

Before and After

Things I Don't Love

I have a lot to be thankful for and I love my life but I love the idea of having one day to gripe about the things I don't love. That's why I decided to join in on Lulu and Sweet Pea's "What I Don't Love Thursday."

Here I go:

* I hate the fact that we will need to wait until 2014 for the next season of Game of Thrones!! This is torture. I am going out to get the books so I don't need to wait. The suspense is killing me!

* I am upset at the fact my daughter refuses to fall asleep until around 2am every night lately. She slept so good right from the beginning and now at 16 months we are having huge sleeping issues with her. We've tried every tactic for fixing this issue and don't know what to do. Anyone else have this issue with their toddler?!

* I definitely don't love packing!! We are moving out of our apartment into a new home and it is stressful to say the least! My hubby and I are so busy with work and have a very rambunctious toddler so we have limited time to get our place all packed up. I'm sure we'll get it done but I cannot wait until this whole process is over with.

Now that I got all that off my chest I hope everyone has a terrific Thursday and has very little things not to love.