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Bower Power

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Green Day

OUR 1st HOUSE

And I ain’t talking about the band!

I’m actually talking about our exterior.  I know.  I know.  It’s totally not baby-related.  But seriously folks…I gotta talk about something other than Will sometimes.  He’s pretty awesome and all but too much baby talk can drive anyone a little bonkers….err…a little more bonkers.

So before we went into labor, our front yard looked a little like this…

BLEAK.  and brown.  and unbloomerific. 

and when we got back from the hospital after our four-day stint, we were pleasantly surprised.  Apparently God was in the mood for a little before & after action. It was completely painted green and pink and lovely.

My boyfriend was thrilled that the grass had greened up. And even though there were a few patches that had died before they were established, the smile on his face was completely worth the $400 water bill we had last year. (long story…here’s the short version…we laid sod, Eric the yard dude told us to make it swampy, we made it swampy, water company charged us for the swamp plus some, we argued with said water company, water company revised bill, we paid $400 for swamp). It was crazier than eyeliner on a Jerseylicious girl. Almost.

And because I am in a generous mood, here are the side by side before and afters.  Yeah…because scrollin stinks, right?  Or am I the only one that is THAT lazy around here?!  Don’t answer that.

 

 

So that’s that.  Now I have another totally unrelated question for ya.  I think that I need a little spiffing up around here…as in the blog.  I think I might be ready to get my own little web address and stuff like that.   But I am kinda a doofus around computers…so does anyone out there know of a good way to cheaply go about spiffing?  Maybe you can recommend some kinda book for dummies?  Or know of some web designer person that can help out a gal?  I have like $13 I can pay 🙂  Whatever your recommendations, I’d love to hear em!

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  1. I’d be happy to help you with a header! I also know someone that is awesome at moving blogs if you’re interested. Shoot me an email. 😉

  4. I can’t help personally … or really suggest anyone … but I bet you could totally find someone to do a little swap with you – whether it’s for design help or just for ad-space on your blog! You have a ton of readers so they would get great clickthrough rates!

  6. Try doing an alcemy request on etsy for someone to redesign your site. I did it with great result for a logo…that I still haven’t used yet. You mentioned lazy?

  7. My husband is an amazing web developer and designer, and he works with WordPress backends a LOT. He built my site (a self hosted wordpress blog, http://www.housemadehome.net) and he has his own site (www.scottrockers.com) where you can access his blog and portfolio. He actually specializes in flash portfolio and blog templates that work with a wordpress backend, but he can do basically ANYTHING you want and could walk you through the entire process. Check him out and contact him through his site or through me via email if you are interested in working with him!

  8. How nice of things to green up while you were out! I’ve been working on spiffing up my blog too. One of the sites I came across (found a recommendation somewhere, can’t remember where though) is http://www.rainydaytemplates.com. I think all the premade designs look great and she has lots of options in terms of customization.

  10. God-induced before/after’s are the best.

    My understanding is that once you buy your own domain you have a lot more freedom on the visual aspect of your blog. But I bought my domain through blogger (I may import everything into wordpress eventually, but I like my comfort zones) so I’m not really sure.

    Good luck!

  11. Take a look at SquareSpace.com. They have good design templates you can work off and improve on. It is a great site for a non-techie person. You can then purchase a domain name from GoDaddy or other place.

  12. What a gorgeous yard, don’t you love it when you can SEE your hard paying off??

  14. Your yard looks amazing! I love what you did around the tree on the left. I’ve spent the past few weekends sprucing up our front yard garden, not nearly as dramatic as your transformation has been (I’m guessing things grow a lot quicker in the South)!

    http://thepurplepeach.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/mother-may-i/

    I’ve done a bit more since then…just haven’t gotten to blogging about it yet. I can’t wait until the next phase of blooms happen here in NY!

    -Emily

  16. just found your blog- love it. I was laughing out loud. Your family is beautiful- congrats. Can’t wait to hear more adventures with the bf, the house and the kid! Should be some good times ahead.

  17. Ask Sherry and John over at YHL. They always seem so “in-the-know”. 😉

    ps, you my friend, are my favorite. can’t wait for part 5!

  18. What a great change! It looks beautiful when it’s green and colorful! Ok, enough house talk…let’s talk more about Will. 🙂

  19. Hey Katie. Getting a domain name is super easy. Just select the name you want like http://www.bowerpower.com or whatever. Godaddy and yahoo have good ones. You just follow the directions to set it up so it forwards to the site you already have.

  20. Ha! I hear you on the $13. I’m a big fan of Squarespace – it’s very user-friendly to set up your site/blog. And I just got my domain really cheap from 1and1.com. Good luck spiffin!

  21. Hi Katie,
    After months of quaking in my shoes, paralyzed with website fear, I just moved to my own domain. For $50 bucks, pretty much. I used the program Artisteer which some of my blog friends have used to build my blog template (for WordPress) and I must say that program was worth every penny. I was totally clueless, and I still made everything work. I totally recommend it if you don’t want to pay someone else to build the site and migrate it for you! You can email if you have more questions. 🙂

  22. Katie, I’m a total nitwit when it comes to computers, etc. I started a blog recently on my own…no technical help whatsoever. It’s still pretty raw but I’m learning. I read ProBlogger (Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a 6-figure Income), host with Bluehost and secured my own domain through GoDaddy. No, I’m not making 6-figures – or any figures – at this point. But the book is very helpful in dumbing down and explaining the technicalities of blogging. Other than that, I use WordPress Thesis theme layout although I would like to pay someone to spiff it up in the future. The internet is also another great way to find answers about blogging, widgets, web pages and web design. Let me know if you find a good designer! Good Luck!

  23. I bought my domain on GoDaddy, it was pretty cheap there and sometimes they even have coupon codes. Afterwards, it was pretty easy to set up and has been reliable thankfully. Feel free to email me if you need any help or have any questions!

  26. Okay so I came across your blog and no I am OBSESSED with making my bonus room look exactly like your green and navy and white living room. Can you PLEASE tell me where you got your striped and polka-dotted pillows? You can email me at [email protected]

  29. LOL @ liz. Half of my block could fit on Katie’s front lawn! It’s cool to see how people live in other parts of the country. I don’t see many yards that size in our area.

  31. Hi Katie! Your yard looks gorgeous!What’s the back look like?

    In regards to updating your blog, I have noticed this site (http://thelovelist.net/) working on a lot of blogs that I follow and they always looks great! Might be worth checking out even though I have never used her.

  32. You can get your own web address through wordpress for about $15 a year. It’s still the same blog but your web address could be just http://www.bowerpower.com (if that one’s not taken) or something like that. It’s been about a year since I did it so I don’t remember the exact steps but it’s just an upgrade that you purchase if I remember correctly.

  34. If you continue using WordPress (a standalone installation), there are thousands of free templates you could use. And even more paid ones. From there, you can slowly tweak to your heart’s content.

  35. Katie, guess what? I am the editor of For Dummies books. I’m not kidding. Even better, the Dummies books that I work on are blogging and web design related ones. Shoot me an e-mail at the address I provided and I will send you some. 🙂

  36. I know someone who would be fabulous. I sent him your link to read. Look for an email from Mario Zig. BTW, love the side by side. I am totally a lazy scroller.

  38. Your yard looks awesome!!! I own 3 domains (for my 3 blogs) and I used 1 and 1 (www.1and1.com) to buy two of the domains. I used godaddy to buy my first and wouldn’t recommend it. It’s soooo hard to maneuver around. The website is busy and you have to click a 1000x to get to where you want to go.

    Otherwise, I use tumblr for all of my blogs. Some people like it, some don’t. The bad thing with tumblr is that they don’t provide comments, you have to sign up (for free) through disqus.com and then just paste the code. It’s pretty easy. Hope this helped!!

  39. I take it you guys got some rain down there to help green things up!

    I’m sure you’ll have a bunch of blog-spiffing offers from your readers, but you may want to try Etsy as well (search for “custom blog design” or “custom blog headers”). I got my custom header and button for a whopping $7, which comes in well under your budget! 🙂

  40. looks great! please keep the side by side before and afters. I agree scrolling stinks!

  42. Buy your domain from godaddy.com
    I pay $65/year for mine.

    Adobe Illustrator is your friend.

  45. PS: In my experience, and that of all my computer geek friends, HostGator and Bluehost are much better and easier and more reliable than GoDaddy. I have used all, and am most pleased with HostGator. You can also google for coupon codes to make them even cheaper. Just my two cents!

  46. GoDaddy.com is currently offering Domain Name Registration (new domains only) for $0.99 for 1 year with code INDY2010. Discount is applicable for the following domains: .com, .net, .mobi, .biz, .us, .org, .ca, .co.uk, and .in. Additional 18-cent ICANN fee applies. Just be aware that you have to purchase the privacy option separately to protect your contact information (another $7-$10).

    Another domain name host that someone else mentioned is 1 and 1 Hosting. They are offering a free domain name with the option of privacy service at no additional cost. That deal is here: http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/tariffswitch

    Hope that helps the pocket book! 🙂

  47. katie you have to us designerblogs.com im redoing my entire blog and it has been an AMAZING experience. they spent up to 11pm working to make sure i got it just right. hands down they will do everything for u. try it.

  49. Try dreamhost! I’ve had them for four years and only pay $120 a year. You get your first three domain names free (or you did, when I signed up!)

    Godaddy is also a great option, very cheap.

  52. If the custom URL is mostly what you’re after, you can do domain mapping with WordPress: http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/ … so for $15 you’d drop the .wordpress from your name. But things are still quite limited in terms of custom design and add-ins.

    If you want to go full-blown custom you should set up your hosting separately with bluehost or godaddy, as others have mentioned, and then install WordPress so you still have the same posting interface you’re used to. Plus, you’d have the flexibility to add advertising to your site, which I’m sure Will would appreciate for his Baby Gap wardrobe. Good luck!

  53. It’s so pretty!! I live in north Atlanta (Roswell) and we are also on a massive hill; erosion and a nasty tree have killed our sod. Your lawn looks so great, would you send me the contact info for Eric the yard guy?? It would make my mom super happy!

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