19.7.09

babycakes


I have recently decided to make a committment to eating healthier food - less wheat, yeast and sugar - but cakes are still very important to me. So, I am thrilled to be the owner of this babycakes nyc cookbook. Their cupcakes were voted the best in New York -not best vegan cupcake, but best cupcake - period. I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes in this book, but will need to make a special trip to the health food store to find all the ingredients. I will let you know how things turn out.

13.7.09

Lunchtime Walk...


...on a sunny summer's day.

Head Shot, Take 2

This is our new profile photo for the OOAK site. It's a bit difficult juggling a squirming dog whilst holding the camera in my other hand to do a self portrait. I think he had just seen a cat in this photo...

12.7.09

Peonies


My most favorite flower of all time, growing in my garden right now.

5.7.09

The Best Bread Evah!

Today was Martin's birthday, and although we had the official celebration at the Port Pub yesterday, I decided to make a bit of a decadent dinner tonight as well. A part of the dinner was this bread from Delia Smith's "How to Cook." It was absolutely amazing! It was a bit more like a large scone or Australian "damper" than a yeast risen bread - but so yummy. I actually really love all the recipes I've made from Delia's "How to Cook" series of books. They always turn out, and are just simple and good. I also noticed this variation with cheddar and caremelized onions on her website. And now, if you'll please excuse me - there is one final piece of this bread calling my name!

1.7.09

I was on the Front Page of Etsy!



I have always wanted to make it to the front page of Etsy, and - unbeknowst to me - I did it last Friday! I was checking out my google analytics last night, and noticed a huge jump in my Etsy traffic one day. Turns out that my Blue Daisies Organizer had been on the Front Page!



Although I saw the jump in my stats, it was a bit hard to figure out what had caused it, so I will share my findings with you. They all came from this great Etsy Forum Post, written by one of the founders of Craft Cult. By the way, Craft Cult is a great site, and the Heartomatic is a wonderful tool - although I use Google Analytics to check my stats - Heartomatic is much more user friendly and tells you things that an Etsy seller would want to know without getting too technical.

Also - I just want to note that I think that changing up my photography style in my shop really contributed to me making it on to the front page. After reading an article in the Etsy Shop Makeover Series - I cropped and changed my photos, so that the main photo showing in my shop is a "teaser" shot of the item - something taken close up that doesn't show the whole product. This was suggested in the series, and I think it really works. It's kind of a tantalizing way to get people to click through and see more. Also - if you look at the front page and the treasuries, they all feature these types of shots. My photos still need a lot of work - but I always keep these "teaser" shots in mind when I photograph my products now.