There's An App For That

I was just making my Super Shuttle reservations from the airport to hotel for BlogHer and found out that there is a SuperShuttle app - it's free.

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Six Again

Great dancing again this week.

This week's favorite routine - The homeless routine with Ade and Billy

Routine(s) that made me smile the most - AdeChike and Courtney's Jazz Routine, and Comfort and Jose's Hip Hop and Kent and Jose's Broadway. How can you not smile every time Jose dances.

Best Solo - I love AdeChike's solos.

This Week's Favorite Dancer - Tough call, so many good performances, but probably Billy

Favorite All Star - Kathryn - Just beautiful routine with Robert. Ade a close second for homeless routine with Billy

Best Lift - So many great lifts - but Ade lifting Billy straight up over his head was amazing.

Best Choreography - Stacey Tookey had two stunning dances tonight Last Moments Before Going To War With Robert and Kathryn and the homeless routine with Ade and Billy

Best Music - Manteca by Dizzy Gillespie

Most Likely To Be In The Bottom Three - So hard to guess this week. I imagine it will be Robert, Billy and Jose. If it is the judges will send Jose home for sure and it's a toss up between Robert and Billy.

Update - Spoiler
So...Lauren, Jose and Billy were in the bottom three. The judges seem particularly taken with Lauren so it was no surprise that she's staying and Billy and Jose are leaving. I thought Billy's solo tonight was absolutely amazing...for that alone I think he should have been the one staying. I will miss Jose...every week he was pure joy.

31 Days to Build a Better Blog #8 - Best Tips From My Favorite Magazines

Task - Interlink old blog posts

Each month I make a list of ten best tips from my favorite magazines. These are pretty popular posts for me, so thought I would list the ones I've done so far.

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010 Coming Soon!

Ten Seriously Creative Bloggers

1.  Kelly Rae Roberts is the author of Taking Flight: Inspiration And Techniques To Give Your Creative Spirit Wings.  She is a talented, successful artist and writer and shares not only her work and process but the work of other artists.

2.  sfgirlbybay - This San Francisco blogger posts wonderful decorating and design ideas, is a terrific photographer and loves flea markets as much as I do.

3. Chefwanabe is a mouth watering cooking blog by Anna, a Brazilian now living in Los Angeles. Not only are her recipes wonderful, but her photography is gorgeous. She just started a second blog called Bakerwanabe.

4.  I just recently discovered Leigh Viner's Create Blog. Love her fashion sketches and photography and I have found new music to dance around the kitchen from her Music Monday Playlists.

5.  Have a gift to wrap for a special someone? A Gift Wrapped Life has the most inspired ideas.

6.  Liz Kalloch at Athena Dreams is not only a talented artist, but I love reading about her creative process.

7.  Mati Rose describes herself as an adult who paints like a child. It has taken her 32 years, 2 schools, and approximately 486 paintings to get to this point. Her art is really fun and her blog is inspiring.

8.  When I read artist/photographer Vicki Dvorak's about section I knew I had found a kindred spirit, besides art and photography, she loves coffee houses, traveling and chocolate.

9.  If you love art journaling there is a great group on ning.

10.I love combining photographs and paint. Lisa Bebi does it well. I want to take one of her workshops. There is a particular one I have in mind that is in Paris the end of the year with Pam Carriker and  Renee Richetts.

I created this list for Creating a Link Post - my task #7 for 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.

Another Cup Of Coffee

Okay, I've poured myself another cup of coffee and am ready to catch up with the #31 Days To Build A Better Blog Challenge.

Fall Fashion Colors

The Six Color Trends For Fall 2010

1.  Camel
2.  Deep Pruple
3.  Mixed Olives
4.  Bright Red
5.  Metallics
6.  Baby Blue

I Have A New iPhone

My niece just bought the new iPhone 4, so I bought her iPhone 3GS and gave my other niece my iPhone3G. I like the tap focus on the 3GS. I should be working on my 31 Days To Build A Better Blog challenge...but am distracted checking out the new features that I could not do on my 3G. Off to read about multi-tasking.

31 Days To Build A Better Blog - Day 5

Today's challenge is all about communicating with our community. The task is to email a reader. I have emailed readers in the past when there is something specific I want to talk to them about in private. I assume that others, like me, get so many emails in their inbox that it can be a bit overwhelming. I would rather carry on a chat in my comments section or visit readers back at their blog if they have one, leaving  a comment there...

...or on twitter!

Love This Red Chair

I just read about Squint Limited over at the Room Remix Blog. Is this not a terrific piece? I really like their dining room chairs as well.

The 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Challenge - Day 4

The task today is to figure out what our niche is and to visit other successful blogs in the same niche to see what they are doing well.

Trying to figure out what the "niche" would be for photography, travel, wine country, art, dancing in the kitchen, chocolate, decorating a small space and garden, extremely fond of iPhones and iPads. I finally figured that my niche is bloggers who write about the things that put a shimmy in their lives (in other words, bloggers who go out looking for ways to bring joy and passion into their lives and want to share it with others.)

Paris Breakfasts immediately came to mind...

Carol Gillot's Paris Breakfasts Blog is just full of passion and joyful  things. She travels a lot to Paris and includes lots of photographs of her days there as well as in NYC and other charming travels. She also is a wonderful watercolorist and includes images of her art as well as posts about her creative process.

There are pictures of yummy desserts, books she likes to read, latest fashion trends that have caught her eye and cafes galore. This is definitely a woman who knows how to bring fun and inspiration into her life...and we are lucky that she so generously willing to share it.

Inspired by #31DBBB Day Three Challenge - I Went Walking

Inspired by yesterday's 31 Days To Build A Better Blog Challenge, I decided to take a walk with Lola and my iPhone and post on the group blog Creatively Fit. I have always liked this group a lot. They inspire me to walk, and get out and look with an artist's eye. It looks like a lot of the group hasn't been walking for awhile. Maybe it's the heat wave across the country...Hope they all come back. In the mean time Lola and I are heading out for another Creatively Fit walk.

Need A New York City Notebook For BlogHer?

Love this New York City Guide/Journal from Rocket St. George.
Perfect for BlogHer don't you think?

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Six Minus 1

Wow another injury - this week it is Billy with an injured knee. That's 3 weeks in a row that dancers have been out with injuries.

This week's favorite routine - AdeChike and Comfort's Hip Hot
Routine that made me smile the most - Lauren and Twitch's Western Hip Hop
Best Solo - AdeChike - just stunning
Favorite Dancer - AdeChike
Favorite All Star - I always love Twitch, also Allison, but I think it was Comfort tonight.
Best Choreograhy - Tabitha and Napolean's routine for AdeChike and Comfort
Best Music - Fallin by Alicia Keyes -

Most likely to go home - Probably Billy

Happy 20th Birthday To Robert. You were great tonight.

Update
So no one is going home this week...two people next week. I don't think the judges were happy with Billy when he didn't dance after being cleared by the doctors.

31 Day Build A Better Blog Challenge - Day Three

Task - Promote A Blog Post

ProBlogger makes a great suggestion to promote specific blog posts instead of the blog as a whole. I do that on Twitter, but not really anywhere else.

I find that most of my traffic comes from Google Search or from comments I have left on other people's blogs. My most consistent followers have come from the SITS community. I also have just begun to spend more time on The BlogFrog. It's through SITS and BlogFrog that I learned about the #31DBBB. I also sometimes post on Creatively Fit (but haven't for quite awhile and want to get back to it).

A few things I want to try in the future...

* Blogging Directories
* Wordless Wednesday Posts
* Blog Carnivals like the writing workshop at MamaKat'sLosinIt
* Start a Facebook Fan page
* Check out StumbleUpon
* Check out Kirtsy
* Make a Shimmy Button To Share

Catching Up With So You Think You Can Dance

I have been away and had to tivo that last two weeks of SYTYCD. So sad to see that Alex and and Ashley were both injured. I was positive that Alex would be the winner this season.

Favorite Routine Of The Night - Lauren and Mark's Tahitian  Dance
Routine That Made Me Smile The Most - Lauren and Billy's Shoe Routine
Best Lift Of The Night - Adechike and Anya - 1st lift was simply amazing.
Favorite Dancer Of The Night - Billy - He just rocked it!
Favorite All Star - Allison - Just loved her in the Travis Wall routine
Best Choreography - Travis Wall
Best Music - Boogie Shoes by KC and the Sunshine Band
 

31 Day Build A Better Blog Challenge - Day Two

Write a List Post

Today's challenge task is to post a list. I love lists...especially any kind of top ten list. I've done this list before but decided to update it.

Ten Songs That Get Me Up And Dancing Around The Kitchen

1.  Stiched by Herbie Hancock and John Mayer

2.  Say Hey by Michael Franti

3.  Livin' For The Weekend by the Ojays

4.  Fire by Cast from Glee

5.  Heaven by Los Lonely Boys

6.  L.O.V.E. by V.V. Brown

7.  Why Don't We Just Dance by Josh Turner

8.  Mercy by Duffy

9.  Be OK by Ingrid Michaelson

10.Stuck On You by Elvis

31 Day Build A Better Blog Challenge - Day One

The Elevator Pitch

The point of an elevator pitch is to be able to briefly describe your blog, project, book etc in the time it takes to ride an elevator (about 30 seconds or 100-150 words)

I decided that my tag line plus my "about" section pretty much is my elevator pitch.

My blog is about the things that put a shimmy in my spirit, a strut in my walk and rhythm back into my soul... art, photography, travel, dancing, chocolate, journaling, flea markets, and living in and decorating a small space and garden.

For an extended explanation I think I would add...

The best thing about blogging is that I intentionally go out looking for things that bring that joyful spirit into my life and then I get to share it with others.

SITS ProBlogger 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Challenge

I just signed up for the SITS girls 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. I've been slacking off a bit lately and always am up to learn more ways to make my blog better. It's put on by Darren at ProBlogger,  - a great source of blogging information.

The River Farm in Alexandria

We visited the River Farm in Alexandria which has quite a history. It was one of Washington's five farms and before that belonged to and English family - the Brents. Margaret Brent is considered to be the first American feminist. She was a lawyer and landowner and partitioned the Maryland legislature to allow women to vote.

The River Farm is now the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society.

I walked down the hill through a beautiful meadow to the bench with a few of the river.

Just as I turned around to head back up the hill there was loud thunder and the sky opened up and just poured! I had to run up the hill to find shelter on the front porch of the River Farm house. Boy those Virginia thunderstorms are something else. Didn't know I could still run up a hill that fast. Must be the dancing around my kitchen.

Occoquan Virginia

We also visited the historic town of Occoquan. It sits right on the river. It's a little town. The population during the 2000 census was only 759. During the civil war the little post office in town passed letters between the north and south.

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Spent some time wandering around Fredericksburg...

Had lunch...

Wandered into the downtown shops.

The Smithsonian

On vacation we took a day to visit the Smithsonian.

We visited "the castle"...

We went the the Madeleine Albright exhibit. Couldn't take photographs in her exhibit, but her book Read My Pins has pictures and how she used her pins to convey messages to other diplomats during her time as Secretary of State.

Pictures From Vacation in Virginia and Washington D.C.

Just catching up from vacation in Virginia and Washington D.C. Virginia is so beautiful. First vacation I've taken only photographing with my iPhone.

We went to a great gathering for Richard's niece's 20th anniversary. They live in a beautiful place with horses....

and a spectacular home with one of those magnificent wrap around porches.

It was such a fun party with lots of family and friends and amazing food including paella, empanadas, sangria and margaritas.

This Month's Top Ten Tips From My Favorite Magazines - July 2010

From Real Simple

1.  Best Outdoor Blankets - From Anthropologie just $19.95. It was $72. One side is terrycloth the other is Egyptian cotton 60" x 37"

2.  40 - the average number of songs needed for a 3 hr party playlist. Go to songvote.com and friends can vote on and suggest songs to play at the party.

3.  I always love Real Simple's column New Uses For Old Things...so many clever ideas. To help keep your computer cool, prop it up on two doorstop wedges.

From Sunset Magazine

4.  I don't know what it is about Airstream campers that are so cool, but I have wanted one for years. I don't even like to camp that much. What I would really like is one in the backyard as a guest room and fix up the inside so it is very retro 1950s.

5.  Instapaper - lets you save any webpage to your iPhone or iPad to read later. I just downloaded this app. Think I will use it a lot.

From Livingetc

6.  The Navy 111 Chair - "a triumph of recycling" - each chair is made from at least 111 plastic Coke bottles. How cool is that?

7.  Lots of cool wall stickers and other items at Rockett St. George.

8.  While browsing the Rockett St. George website I found these Top Hat Pendant Lights. Love them!

From Country Living

9.  Beverage dispensers seem to be everywhere this summer. This hand-painted dispenser from Cupcakes and Cartwheels is one of my favorites.

10. Think you would need a glass top on this Tightrope Coffee Table from Anthropologie to keep coffee cups etc from tipping over, but I like it.