Blog Positivity Week

photo credit: s'Wonderful Photography

Blog Positivity Week.  Positivity - which is apparently not a word and my spell checker is going crazy.  Either way, we get the idea.  Be positive.  Ashley from After Nine to Five had this super awesome idea to have a week of positivity throughout the blogging world.  I think it is an excellent idea, which is why we joined, however it's a bummer we are even on this subject, which means some people are just kinda rude.

I love the blogging world.  It has been tremendously fun getting to know people from all over the world and having a connection with them just through the internet.  But why, oh why, does blogging have to feel like high school all over again??  If you're not in the 'cool crowd' don't even bother talking to those kids.  If you don't have a certain number of friends/followers, you're not cool enough or worth my time.  It is SO SAD people!  Make friends, be nice, reach out, it is so worth it!  This world is about community, support, friendship, not a competition!!

So let's spread the love this week.  Leave an awesome comment on that blog you always read but never have a chance to comment on.  Send an e-mail to a blogger who has encouraged you recently, or ever!  I guarantee they would LOVE to read it!  Heck, get an address and send a care package, how awesome would that be?

Let's share the love, ladies.  Share the love.

Have a great week! :)

Let's recap this year...

Welp, it's been a year.  A whole year since I have had this little bloggy blog.  And quite honestly, I am no less excited about it as when I first started.  It has been the most amazing journey, opened up doors I didn't even know existed, and made friends from around the globe.  I have every intention of staying right here and I hope you do too!

Here is my blog a year in review.  No big grand giveaway or anything just yet because we have some super awesome exciting things going on in April!

February is where it all began and I wrote my very first post.

In March I added my very first but one of many  Makeup Tutorial.

In April I had some people interested in hearing more about our crazy lifestyle.  So I started the My life in France series with a post about our back story and being married to a basketeur.

In May this was my favorite post.  I wrote about loving my husband.  He hates it when I write about him, and I don't do it a lot, but the man works hard and deserves a shout out every once in a while!

In June I feel like I had a lot of fun posts, but one of my favorites was writing about having interracial kids.  It got a lot of feedback and some wonderfully encouraging comments.  Love this blogging community!

In July I posted about 'no heat summer curls' which got a big response, because let's face it, everyone wants beautiful hair in no time at all!

In August I had the first photo contest, which I loved so I am sure it will be the first of many.  I also redid the blog design to what you see now.  And it will soon be changed again by ByAimee and I am so excited about it!

In September I did my own fashion week with a ton of hair tutorials.  I also got pinned from the photo shoot I did.

At the end of September I moved back to France and in October wrote a bit about dealing with jet lag and adjustments.

In November I bought this big poncho. I didn't know if I should keep it or not so I asked you all!  Great pieces of advice, loved it.  *update on the poncho* tried to take it back and they wouldn't let me.  Now it's mine...

I got rid of my GFC in December!  It felt good to have it gone and haven't missed it since!

In January I held the second photo contest which featured some lovely Christmas photos. (The lovely winner was Alyx from Everyday is a New Adventure, post from her coming Monday!)  I also posted a piece I had written about wearing bold lip colors that was featured on SITS Girls back in December.

And here we are, February!  I was so excited to introduce Christie to this lovely blog and think what we have coming is going to be excellent.  I can't believe it's been a year.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and encouraging me throughout this last year.  You are really one of the main reasons I do this.  I hope you stick around and it only gets better than this!

Happy Anniversary to Ma Nouvelle Mode!

Good morning, everyone, and Happy Friday!

Today is a special day to me -- it marks one year I have been writing this little blog.  It is special for so many reasons.  For one, it marks a year.  That's probably the longest I have stayed committed to one thing (besides my husband, of course!)  I have a little bit of an attention span problem and tend to get tired of things easily.  I have not, however, gotten tired of this blog and most certainly not you!

This space has given me the opportunity to meet so many new people, from all over the world, and I feel like I have genuinely developed relationships with a lot of you.  And for that, I say thank you!  Tomorrow I am going to recap this last year, but today I am going to take a second to tell you a bit about what is coming up for Ma Nouvelle Mode.

First of all, I wanted to give a little background as to why I wanted Christie to start blogging with me.  I realize I kinda sprung it on you. Well, I have a love for all things creative and beautiful.  I love hair, makeup, crafts (although not my forte) travel, cooking, you name it.  However, I work best when I am able to bounce ideas off people to create the best possible version of my idea.  When living in France, I can be pretty isolated from true, good, creative friends.  And let's face it, the husband's resources are... let's say... limited.

I also have some very big ideas of where I want to go with this blog and I just knew that I couldn't do it all.  I felt overwhelmed with my ideas and the amount of time and effort that it takes to make them work.  I gave plenty of thought about getting someone to do it with me, and honestly, when it came down to it, Christie was the only person who came to mind.  I love who she is as a person, her humble, real confidence, I love how cute she is, and I knew she could bring a lot to the blog.  I have already been impressed her with ideas, motivation, and organization (which I was in desperate need of).  And as you know, she is also a mom and pregnant so she can relate on that end as well!

From both of our photo shoots - after the redesign, you will see less of these particular photos, promise!

Second of all, I wanted to give you all a peak into what will be coming up on Ma Nouvelle Mode.  The last week of March we will not be posting at all because April 2nd we will be relaunching our blog with beautiful new branding, a move over to Wordpress, and a lot of new features & cool posts for you!  Christie and I are so very excited about it.  We have quite a few giveaway prizes already secured and are doing a big giveaway a day.

Would you like to be involved?  Maybe donate something from your blog/shop for one of the giveaways or host a guest post from us during that week?  We would also very much appreciate any retweets and Facebook shares you can muster up! :)  We would really love to work with you!  Please send me an e-mail at Natalia@manouvellemode.com and we can chat about it!

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you for so much love and support over the last year.  I am incredibly thankful and Christie is so excited to delve into this world of blogging because of people like you!

Have a fabulous weekend!



 

SITS Day

Welcome to Ma Nouvelle Mode!! Thank you so much for stopping by.  We are so happy you are here!  Without further adieu, let us introduce ourselves!

We are Natalia & Christie, the dynamic duo of Ma Nouvelle Mode.  With Christie in Southern California and Natalia in France, we have come together to give you our best!  Want to know a little more about us?   Here ya go!

My name is Natalia and I live in France with my husband and two boys.  I started this blog when I had been feeling pretty dumpy being a mom and not taking a lot of time for myself.  My kids had been sick for something like 4 weeks and I hadn't left my sweats in probably the same amount of time.  I thought, "Wait!  I used to be creative!  I used to wear makeup!  I used to get out of my PJ's and occasionally do my hair!!  There is no reason having two kids should stop me from doing just that!"  So that is where 'Ma Nouvelle Mode' came from, meaning 'my new style' in French.  I am reinventing myself in a way.  I have come to a point where I am learning to embrace the woman God made me to be and trying to use his gifts to the best of my ability.  You can read a bit more about me and my family here. 

My name is Christie and I live in Southern California with my husband, my daughter and my son. I am also currently carrying my third baby! My hands are full with my family and I LOVE them more than I can ever express in words. But just like Natalia, I was losing sight of who I was and the strengths and passions God had given me. So I joined in on this FABULOUS blog and it has been a great motivator for me as a mom, as a wife and as a woman in my own right! Always working on the beauty within, so that whatever beauty exudes externally is genuine, confident and secure in who I am.  You can read more about me and my family here.

Our mission at Ma Nouvelle Mode is to encourage, motivate and inspire women of all walks of life to discover {or rediscover} their own fabulous panache. (We thought it was a fun word too!)  We want to see women build the confidence to embrace who they are through the modes of fashion, beauty, home décor, travel, and other creative passions.  Here we are building a community of supportive women who cheer each other on throughout it all.

How do we work our magic?  With fashion we share ideas of how to shop your closet, build a wardrobe on a limited budget, and find new ways to style old items.  We like to have photo shoots featuring different styles and eras so there is something for everyone.  In the beauty department we have a plethora of tutorials from smoky eyes to red lips to help our readers gain the confidence to be able to create these looks themselves.  We love sharing do-it-yourself techniques for the home to inspire creation of a space that fits the style and feel of our readers.  We both have traveled quite a bit, with and without our kids, and we love to share our stories and photos.  We also include plenty of recipes for the culinary inclined!

We would love for you to come on this journey with us!  You can subscribe through RSS feed here.  You can also follow on Bloglovin' if that's more your style.  Our Facebook fan page is chock full of cute posts about which shoes to buy, which outfit to choose, and sometimes even some fun giveaways!  You can often find Natalia chatting away on Twitter (haven't convinced Christie just yet!).  And if you're like almost everyone we know and you love Pinterest, check out our Pinterest page.  It's just so much fun!

And please, please, please reach out to us if you have a chance!  We love meeting new people and to us it isn't about how many 'followers' we can get; it's about making friends and building a community.  We hope you will become a part of ours!

Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by!

 - Natalia and Christie

Let's recap this year...

Welp, it's been a year.  A whole year since I have had this little bloggy blog.  And quite honestly, I am no less excited about it as when I first started.  It has been the most amazing journey, opened up doors I didn't even knew existed, and made friends from around the globe.  I have every intention of staying right here and I hope you do too!

Here is my blog a year in review.  No big grand giveaway or anything just yet because we have some super awesome exciting things going on in April!

February is where it all begin and I wrote my very first post.

In March I added my very first but one of many  Makeup Tutorial.

In April I had some people interested in hearing more about our crazy lifestyle.  So I started the My life in France series with a post about our back story and being married to a basketeur.

In May this was my favorite post.  I wrote about loving my husband.  He hates it when I write about him, and I don't do it a lot, but the man works hard and deserves a shout out every once in a while!

In June I feel like I had a lot of fun posts, but one of my favorites was writing about having interracial kids.  It got a lot of feedback and some wonderfully encouraging comments.  Love this blogging community!

In July I posted about 'no heat summer curls' which got a big response, because let's face it, everyone wants beautiful hair in no time at all!

In August I had the first photo contest, which I loved so I am sure it will be the first of many.  I also redid the blog design to what you see now.  And it will soon be changed again by ByAimee and I am so excited about it!

In September I did my own fashion week with a ton of hair tutorials.  I also got pinned from the photo shoot I did.

At the end of September I moved back to France and in October wrote a bit about dealing with jet lag and adjustments.

In November I bought this big poncho I didn't know if I should keep it or not so I asked you all!  Great pieces of advice, loved it.  *update on the poncho* tried to take it back and they wouldn't let me.  Now it's mine...

I got rid of my GFC in December!  It felt good to have it gone and haven't missed it since!

In January I held the second photo contest which featured some lovely Christmas photos. (The lovely winner was Alyx from Everyday is a New Adventure, post from her coming Monday!)  I also posted a piece I had written about wearing bold lip colors that was featured on SITS Girls back in December.

And here we are, February!  I was so excited to introduce Christie to this lovely blog and think what we have coming is going to be excellent.  I can't believe it's been a year.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and encouraging me throughout this last year.  You are really one of the main reasons I do this.  I hope you stick around and it only gets better than this!

My thoughts on GFC & other things

So if you didn't notice, I removed GFC (google friend connect) from my site.  When I heard that it was going to be removed from all sites other than blogger, I was at first a little bummed.  I am planning on moving to Wordpress (shout-out to ByAimee, my designer!) next year and obviously will be affected.  Then I started thinking about it.

Why do I need it?  So I can show everyone who comes to my site how many people are 'following' me?  I bet that sounds so creepy to non-bloggers.  It is a status thing, like I mentioned yesterday.  The problem with this is that, like it or not, people (including myself if we're being honest here) judge bloggers by their amount of followers.  Want to know something even more sad?  The fact that blogs with followers over, let's say 1,000, think they are pretty hot stuff.  They never respond to tweets, Facebook comments, e-mails.  They are just too cool for school.

It makes me sad, really.  The number one thing that I love so much about blogging is the community.  It is the women I have met along the way.  I have heard this from numerous people, as well, the feeling of having friends everywhere whom you have never met in 'real life.'  The blogging community is truly a remarkable thing!

So I did it.  I took down GFC.  I was a little nervous, like will anyone ever come back if I take it down?  And like a fellow blogger-friend mentioned to me, it is exciting to see the number go up and to watch your blog grow.  It is, I felt the same way.  But there were also times when I would think about it too much.  And if it didn't go up, it bugged me.  So in a way, it is freeing to not have those numbers anymore.  I don't have to check it, I don't have to obsess.  I can truly focus on content and networking, which is why I started this in the first place!

Please don't take this post as a 'if you still have GFC up, I think you're bad' kind of post.  I would, however, challenge some bloggers to try to create a community whether or not that blogger is 'big' enough to talk to you.  And can I make a point here, if I have ever, I mean ever, made anyone feel like that, please e-mail me and tell me!!  It is never my intention as I try to respond to most every comment I get and visit your blogs as well.

Having said all that, make sure you follow me!

haha just kidding!!!!!

Good Bye Google Friend Connect

Happy Thursday everyone!

I don't know if you have heard, but Google has announced that they are doing away with Google Friend Connect for blogs hosted on anything other than Blogger starting in March.  Here is what Google is saying about it:


"Friend Connect allows webmasters to add social features to their sites by embedding a few snippets of code. We're retiring the service for all non-Blogger sites on March 1, 2012. We encourage affected sites to create a Google+ page and place a Google+ badge on their site so they can bring their community of followers to Google+ and use new features like Circles and Hangouts to keep in touch."


You can read the whole article here.  

This may not affect those who are on blogger and plan on staying.  I, however, will be moving to Wordpress starting in March.  It seems like Google is really trying to push Google+.  I am not sure I really see it taking off.  I am on it, but I never use it, which is what I usually hear from other bloggers and people.  Facebook seems to have the monopoly on that one.


Isn't GFC kinda a weird thing anyway?  Having followers?  I mean, really when we think about, it is a status thing.  I guess a way of measuring your success as a blogger.  You don't need a GFC to be successful because your success doesn't have to be based on how many people are following you.

So what to do with all this news?  I have decided to remove my GFC after this post.  I just don't want to get more readers only to have them vanish in March.  I have so many new ideas coming, it is hard to keep them to myself!  I can't wait to share them with you.  Honestly, I am a little excited to move forward without GFC so people won't be able to judge me at first site.  (we all know we do it!)  I am also a little nervous.  I don't want to see my numbers drop too much.  I am willing to take this chance though, to move forward.


With all that being said, if you follow through GFC and you enjoy reading my blog, would you consider subscribing?  It is really the same thing, in case you were wondering.  You can click here or click my RSS Feed button up there to the top right.  

What are your thoughts?  Do you think that Google+ is going to take off?  Are you on Google+?  Here is a link to mine, you know, just in case it does take off, I want to be on the bandwagon!! 


If you are on Wordpress or another forum, when will you be removing your GFC?  Or will you just wait for Google to do it for you.  So many questions!

Happy Thursday! Almost the weekend!

In case you need other awesomeness to check out, I am over at The Grant Life sharing some holiday beauty ideas aaaand over at Junk in the Trunk Trio sharing a scrumptious recipe!

New Blog Layout! Whaddya think?

Well, you might have noticed, things are a bit different around here!  I revamped my blog and I am really excited about it. I was able to keep my Frenchie girl, who I love, but I gave her darker hair and blue eyes. It kinda fits me more.  I love the softer colors, too, and the solid writing is called "Parisian."  Isn't that perfect?  I thought so!
I thought I would try to help you find your way around the new design!  I know you're all pretty smart, but you know, it's Friday.  So here ya go:

Thanks for stopping by! Your feedback is always appreciated!  If you haven't followed yet, I would love to have you.  I love meeting new people, so always introduce yourself!  You can also check me out on Twitter and Facebook, definitely love my tweet buddies!  Thanks and stay tuned!

What Happened to April??

Happy Sunday everyone!

I can't believe it is already May.  Where did the time go?  I leave for the states in 8 DAYS now!  Yikes, I better start packing!

In honor of a new month, I thought I would take a post to do a 'month in review'.  But since my blog is so new, I am going to do a 'blog in review'. 

First of all, I would like to thank my followers!  I know, I sound like I am accepting an Oscar, but seriously, I have come to realize, that in this crazy life of mine, where we are never settled for very long, my bloggy friends will always be there.  Because I can take you wherever I go!  So thank you all for your friendships, you know who you are!

Now a few of my favorite posts. 

I love my outfit post I did here.  I love it because of the colors, I like bright colors.  I love it because of the scarf.  I love it because of the 'unopenable door'.  I also used my mom's good camera, which might  have something to do with the pictures turning out so good. 

Now my favorite craft post has to be my Countdown Blocks.  I have some jewelry I haven't posted yet that might beat it, but I am going with what is on the blog already. 

My favorite 'other' category post would have to be writing about our back story.  We had a tough dating relationship and a tough first couple years of marriage.  It was so encouraging to read all the comment love.  It is great to know that not everyone thinks like, well, you have to read the story!

So in summary, I started this blog for a creative, girly outlet for me and I love it. I love writing.  I love meeting new friends.  I love reading everyone else's blogs.  I love it!  So thanks for the support, friendy-friends!

In other news, if I am a bit absent from reading and commenting on your lovely blogs, please cut me a bit of slack and forgive me!  I am getting into packing our whole house and I stink at it.  So I get overwhelmed easy.  And if I am still reading and commenting, tell me to stop and get my butt in gear!

And I decided against my Projects in Progress Linky party.  I will have features tomorrow from the last one, though.  I am in the process of thinking up another cool linky party! 

Okay, off to bed.  Bonne nuit mes amis!

Guest Post ~ Love Ramsey

 Hey all!  I am on my way to good ol' Paris right now so I thought I would feature another blogger I totally love.  Let me introduce you to Ramsey from Love, Ramsey.  From the start I have loved her blog.  Not only are her outfits to die for, but she is funny!  Oh so funny!  You can't not enjoy reading her blog! (you understand, right? good.)  So here is a little bit about Ramsey.  Then, go check her out!

1.) When and why did you start your blog? My blog actually started out as a craft blog back in the day. I just needed a creative outlet since my life is decidedly uncreative 90 percent of the time. As school cracked down on my tushie, I had less time to craft, so I stopped posting for a while. Then I discovered the world of fashion blogging and I thought, “I could do this.” I get dressed anyway {most days, I don’t like to be overly ambitious or anything} and who couldn’t use a little motivation to amp up their wardrobe styling? So I did it. And then, Love, Ramsey was born. And all was sunshine and rainbows because I had finally found a way to balance creativity and time constraints. Then end. Well not really the end because I’m still blogging

away, but the end of the beginning.

2.) Where do you get a lot of your fashion inspiration from? I would say I get inspiration from magazines and catalogues, sometimes movies, and sometimes even from my old outfits. That’s the glory of photographing yourself every day, you can look back and see what you’ve done.  Without pictures, I’d probably wear the same thing every other day. I have the memory of a goldfish.

3.) What are your goals for 2011, bloggy or otherwise? School, school, and more school.  Graduate. And work on expanding my photography into a business. Which is super duper exciting for me because I am in loooourve with it!!!

4.) What does a typical Sunday afternoon look like for you? Hmmmm. Nap. Eat. Maaaaybe go for a stroll. Or a drive. {How cliché!} Cook a BIG dinner and fall asleep to the Discovery chanel. Oh yeah, and homework, because that little booger just won’t go away.

Thanks Ramsey!!  She even has a accent on cliche!  I can't even do that and I live in France where they have accents everywhere! 

What are you all doing this weekend?  I hope it is beautiful for everyone!

Etsy Spotlight ~ Babes and Sages

Hello everyone! And good morning! (for me at least)   So if you haven't already added your linky for Projects in Progress, go do it! And if you already have, or don't have anything to post at the moment, check out the others, I would love to see all the creativity out there at work!

Now onto the fun stuff!  I want to introduce my friend Sophie from Babes and Sages.  She is so sweet and it has been a pleasure getting to know her! If you get a chance to check out her blog, you must read her love story, super sweet!  I asked her a few questions and she so kindly obliged.  Check 'em out!

1.) When and why did you start your blog?
I started my blog in February of this year. I have been reading blogs for a couple of years now and gotten so much inspiration from others that I thought I would take it to the next step and start my own blog. I am also currently not working, except for my Etsy store, and blogging gives me something to do and helps me stay focused on certain tasks. I love to connect with my readers and make new internet friends.

2.) Where do you find most of your inspiration?
I find my inspiration all around me. My friends and family are a great source of inspiration as well as nature, colors, good design and of course the WWW ;) 

3.) Any goals for 2011, bloggy or otherwise?
My big goal for 2011 is being a great mommy. The hubby and I are expecting our first child in May and I will be focusing all my attention on parenthood. I would also love to grow my Etsy business and of course my blog. I am really hoping to not have to neglect either one too much once the baby comes. However, the baby will of course be my first priority.

4.) When did you start your Etsy shop and what made you want to?I have been signed up with Etsy for a few years now and wanted to start my own shop pretty much right away. I just finished up my bachelor's degree in Graphic Design last December and school pretty much kept me from being able to devote enough time to an Etsy business. Now that I am out of school I am ready to do whatever it takes to get my little baby off the ground. I absolutely love Etsy and all things handmade, and am a great supporter of women trying to be their own boss. I hope to feature many other Etsians on my blog in the future and offer product reviews and giveaways for their shops. If you are interested, please contact me at babesandsages@gmail.com or through my blog.

5.) What are your favorite items from the shop?
I love everything I have in my shop. I wouldn't sell something that I don't adore myself. I think my Bloom necklaces are a great way to dress up a simple t-shirt and jeans look or a fancy little evening dress. I offer matching hair clips to complete the look. 

6.) What does a typical Sunday afternoon look like to you?
A typical Sunday afternoon to me is one that i get to enjoy with the hubs and our puppies :) We either relax on the couch with a good movie or do things around the house, like home decor or renovation projects. It is great to have a handyman on call at all times ;) We also like to spend Sunday evenings at my in-law's for a home cooked meal and some good conversations.

Thanks so much Sophie!! I can't wait to get my hands on one of your beauties!  And guess what guys.  She is offering all of my lovely readers a discount!!  All you have to do is enter NOUVELLE at the checkout and she is giving you 20% off your purchase!  How stinkin' cool is that?  If you end up purchasing something, I would love to hear about it and maybe send me picture so we can all see!

In other news, it is my baby's 4th birthday today.  4-years-old?!?!  What?  First of all, I am not that old yet. And second, where the heck did the time go?  Yikes!  I have pictures of his 4th birthday party, (my first French b-day party!) I will post later.

Have a good day lovelys!

Blog crush ~ At home with K

So as I mentioned before, probably more than once, I am totally inspired with all the bloggers out there and their crazy minds for all things creative.  So I thought I would talk about another blog crush I have with a DIY-er for less, At Home with K.  Not only is her blog awesome and a must read, she is super nice!  She is actually featuring a project I did this Thursday, so be sure to check back then!!  I just linked up today for Terrific Under 10 Tuesdays with two projects I have created.  You should check it out too!  She answered some questions for me that I would love to share with you so we can all get to know her a bit more!

 
1) When and why did you start your blog?
I actually started blogging 3 years ago with my old blog. I shared my creative side plus my family life mainly for me to document milestones and for long distance family to read. Never in a million years did I think I would make so many friends through blogging. It has been a huge blessing to me and a wonderful creative outlet for this stay-at-home mom/night nurse. As time went on I decided to keep my family life private and my decorating styles changed. So in July 2010, At Home With K was born. Here I get to share with other bloggers and readers how to decorate/create on a budget. I'm having the best time!

SO cute! You should see the before!

2.) Where do you get a lot of your ideas, and/or what inspires you the most?
I find a lot of my inspiration from other bloggers and design magazines/catalogues. I really try to challenge myself to make something as cheap as I can with thrift/sale items. I'm a mom with a strict budget...and I know I'm not the only one. So I hope I inspire other moms out there as well that it's so easy to decorate on a budget when you think outside the box sometimes. Another person that inspires me is, Nate Berkus. I love that he includes in his designs thrift/trash finds. A guy after my own heart. :)

refurbished, and what a great idea for spring!

3. What are your goals for 2011? Bloggy/home/or otherwise.
My hope for my blog is to grow leaps and bounds this year. I would love someday to be well known enough to have sponsors and be recognized. Nate Berkus, are you reading this?!! LOL My blog is "the little engine that could", but I have faith that I will get there someday.

For my home, I have been on the quest to paint/update room by room. We have lived in our home for over 4 years and it's finally feeling like home with simple changes I have been doing in the last year. Before I was doing too much THINKING than DOING. If you dive right into your projects (no matter how scary they might be) then you get so much more done...instead of worrying what it might look like in the end. I have learned in the past year that it's good to take risks.

And I can't leave out my personal goals...I hope to always strive to be the best mommy there is for my 2 little boys and wife to my wonderful hubby. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am when struggles come my way...so I just need to focus how much God has blessed me with.

Signs made by Kindra

4.) What does a typical Sunday afternoon look like in your house?
Sundays are pretty mellow at my house. In the afternoon, you can find me napping because I work the night shift on the weekends. I know exciting, huh?! If not napping, then I'm playing with my boys or exercising.

Thank you so much Nalalia for featuring me on your blog! I really appreciate it!!

Flowers made by Kindra

I love it! As always, there is some awesome advice and tips in there!  I am also a mom of two boys, how fun!  Kindra is so super sweet and her blog is awesome.  If you haven't already, go check it out! 

By the way, this is not paid or sponsored in any way. I just featured her because she inspires me!

I won an award!

So I just got from Switzerland and I am pooped.  I will have to share the story with some pics a little later, but I figured I would tackle this before bed. 

Guess what??  I got an award!  Jennifer over at Vintage Gwen gave me a bloggy award the yesterday!  So I have to share 7 fun facts about myself and pass it along to 7 other bloggers!  So here is my attempt at the 7 fun facts...

1.)  I am 6 feet tall.  And yes, I am aware of it.  But thanks for letting me know.  "Wow, you are soooo tall!"  I actually love being tall (my husband is 6'7" so it's all good) because I can gain 10 pounds and no one can tell but me!  Unfortunately, that works the other way as well...

2.)  I love to travel.  If you didn't already know that! :)

3.)  I have a ginormous family and I love it!  We are kinda like the mafia, but a nicer version.

4.)  I live in France, you might have known that, but you might not have known my husband plays professional basketball here (hence the 6'7"!)

5.)  When I am living in the states, I run a makeup company with my cousin, Bliss Makeup Artistry.  We do wedding makeup and it is a ton of fun.

6.)  I am allergic to poison oak and one time when I was younger, I climbed a tree, which I did a lot, and it happened to have poison oak in or around it.  Yep, I got it on my face and my face swelled up and was like that for days.  Awesome.

7.) I played collegiate volleyball!

Wow, I am super boring, sorry all!  Now I need to tag some lovely other bloggers!

Babes and Sages

The Junk House

A Law Students Journey

Fashion meets Food

Running with Glitter

Vanilla Heart's Style

Write it in Lipstick

Okay I did it! Participate if you want to ladies, but don't feel the pressure too! 

Bloggy Inspiration ~ Eisy Morgan

I am reletively new at this bloggy thing and can I tell you?  I love it!  I have met so many awesome people through their super cool blogs and found so much inspiration through it all.  It has helped me in so many ways, I cannot even say.  My title, Ma Nouvelle Mode, means my new fashion in French. {I live in France}  It originally started as mostly fashion, but after seeing all the inspiration out there, it has evolved into something more.  It has evolved into my new style of home, fashion, DIY, decorating, beauty, you name it!  I thought it would only be appropriate to showcase some of my favorites.

The first bloggy inspiration shout out is to Eisy Morgan.  I am sure most of you know who she is, and if you don't you need to!!  She is a great mix of everything and offers so much inspiration, I am never bored on her site.  So check out what she had to say. And then check out her site.

1.) When and why did you start blogging? I started writing in mid December of '10 but didn't look for any readers or tell anyone about it till almost the new year. I was nervous because I had no idea what I was doing or where I really wanted to go with it. I started blogging as a creative outlet. I was bored being a SAHM creatively so I wanted somewhere for that and also with an aspiration to somehow make more money for our family income from home. I am still not sure what that will look like exactly but as I learn I follow those "leads"..if that makes sense:)

2.) What inspires you the most?  Where do you get your inspiration? Oh lots of things inspire me!! Things that I find most inspiring are things that are not always main stream, I like finding hidden nuggets that I think are beautiful and incorporating them into my life somehow. I get inspired from life and what I love to do, art, and beauty, my friends, necessity, other bloggers, music, and the most important, the Lord!

3.) What are your bloggy/etsy goals for 2011. (either/or) My goals are rather lofty, even if I haven't spoken them or written them "out loud" yet. I would love to have over 2000 followers by the end of the year. For some reason I have decided my number of GFC followers sets my standard of success, not sure why. Not only that but have an interactive blogging community. Anyone can do blog hops and get mindless followers who follow because you followed them, not because they are actually interested in your blog. Whenever I am tempted to join one of those with blogs that are not at all like mine just to up my numbers I remember I would rather have 5 people who read and comment on my blog then 10,000 who follow but never interact! I would also like to be making a little bit of money monthly through blogging. I don't have any set numbers for that yet.

4.) For fun, typical Sunday afternoon, what does it look like for you? Many times just home with my boys, but sometimes we have a Entermission meeting which is the group of people we are planting a church with! Always fun to see and meet with them and get excited about what we are all in Colorado for!