I was lucky enough to attend a fantastic Thanksgiving for Orphans party my friend Madeleine threw a couple weeks ago, and I met some awesome ladies who wanted to know about my eyeliner. What better way to tell you about it than in a video? When you’re ready, get your LORAC Sparkle Pencil Eye Shadow/Liner here!
Tupperware gets rave reviews, makes great gifts!
Julia Lowenthal says, “My classmates are obsessed with my sandwich keeper! And so am I!”
JenMom says, “I’ve had Tupperware for longer than [Jen’s] been alive, and it’s still going strong. Thirty-five years and it’s still going strong.” Continue Reading
How many twitters are too many twitters?
I started out with one twitter account: @jennifer_heller. I think I’ve had it for a little over two years and it’s only within the past year that I’ve started enjoying using it at all. I’ve heard others share a similar experience: it takes some time, but it’s addictive as hell once you get into it. I can attest to that, but as someone balancing many competing priorities, it’s hard to prioritize reading hundreds of tweets a day. Especially since I’ve steadily added other twitter accounts to my list.
When I launched Van Gogh My Pet in the second half of 2009, I added a second twitter account: @vangoghmypet. This one, I thought, would concentrate on my pet and art related thoughts and would attract a different variety of people than @jennifer_heller. It seems to work; @vangoghmypet is on 42 pet and art related lists and my followers have steadily grown.
This graph of Van Gogh My Pet tweets verses website visits suggest that the tweets have very little if not nothing to do with increasing visits.
When I decided to brand my design and communications work as Artsy Geek Designs, it was a natural progression to add another twitter: @artsygeekdesign. Here I would tweet about my geeky subjects–web design, coding, communications. And maybe some art. Hey, @artsygeekdesign and @vangoghmypet can overlap a little right?? A further reason for separating @artsygeekdesign from @jennifer_heller is that I fully intend to expand and work with others in this business. They should be able to tweet from the business too!
I made the decision a few weeks ago to consolidate all my blogging here at www.jenniferheller.com. Believe me, I do not miss maintaining a blog at Van Gogh My Pet, and I can say with 100% certainty that I am not sorry I didn’t add yet another blog on at Artsy Geek Designs.
This January, Will and I are launching Lushes in Love, our new blog devoted to our endless love and appreciation for cocktails. You can check out the design–I put it up over the weekend, but we have yet to move in. I’ve already signed us up for a twitter: @lushesinlove and tweeted something like five high quality tweets. Thankfully, Will will also have to help with the @lushesinlove tweeting, but this addition marks my fourth twitter!
Who wants to follow a long-ass stream of nothing but links? Do you??
Perhaps it would be best to take a cue from my decision to simplify my blogging and simplify my twitter? One twitter, four subjects… perhaps that would make me a more interesting person to follow in general?
Perhaps I should embrace the robotic future of twitter and create automated twitter robots for all four… That just isn’t my style though. I believe in sincere, honest communication. When I notice that someone I follow is being a twitter-bot, I immediately unfollow.
So what to do? Nothing? Consolidate? Automate?
Oh, the problems associated with living a life on the internet. I’d appreciate any sound advice please!!
(This post could also be titled “How many Facebook pages are too many Facebook pages?”)
A Great Winter Salad
I posted on Facebook awhile ago wondering what the winter salad is. I eat a lot of salads (one a day keeps me sane!). When the weather turns cold, I shy away from lettuce and other raw veggies. They take a lot of energy to digest, and when I’m using my energy warming myself up, the last thing I want is to sacrifice some of it to superfluous digestion.
Some friends came through with some great suggestions: whole grain salads with barley, garlic, orange zest, olive oil, and pickled veggies, roasted veggies tossed with herbs and balasamic, and green salads full of fennel citrus and red onion. Yum!!
I have more experimenting ahead of me, but I want to share this awesome recipe my aunt Liz suggested: Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad.
Composed of sauteed red onion, cabbage, raisins, feta and slightly sweet toasted sunflower seeds, this warm salad is sweet, savory, crunchy and warm. I nervously made it for the first time and brought it to a Thanksgiving potluck the other week. I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be–I’ve met many people afraid of cabbage and raisins (I was once myself!). I was shocked by what a hit this salad was! I had even been hoping to take some home with me, but alas, no luck.
I make it in the Cuisinart and last night I whipped it up a second time in literally twenty minutes. That’s pretty quick for me — I’m a slow cook. My aunt recommends making extra sunflower seeds (they store well and are great for snacking) and adding more raisins, balsamic and feta than the recipe suggests. I agree!
Tupperware’s Stuffables containers are AWESOME for storing dishes like this. At first glance, my dish wasn’t going to fit in the container:
But thankfully, the flexible lid accommodates!!
A lifetime guarantee, flexible lids and it’s even dishwasher safe. Get yours today!
Pete Townsend on the cover of Who Are You
Will held up this album cover today and pointed out how hungover each band member looks.
Pete Townshend, especially, looks like he’s really suffering.
I, for one, am thankful that I do not feel that way today, and that I would have the good sense to refrain from such partying the night before a photo shoot*.
But what else can we expect from the man who woke up in a ditch, didn’t know who or where he was, and wrote a song about it?
*Or so I say….
Halloween Karaoke Idea
Sing Chicago’s Hard Habit to Break to a dancing pack of cigarettes. I bet I could sucker Will into dressing in a cardboard box (if I decorate it)… If only I could sing, I might place in the top ten. Regardless, it could be quite a performance!
Cigarettes, as I’m sure you know, are more addictive than heroin. Why are they legal, US Government, when marijuana–with accepted medical practices and no chemical action in the brain stem (where the worst addiction mechanisms take place!)–is persecuted? I look forward to your comments. Continue Reading
I kick her. She punches me in the stomach. I should have hit her with my flute.
In Health I insult Leah. In band she kicks me. I kick her. She punches me in the stomach. I should have hit her with my flute.
On the phone me and Jennie made up a really mean letter. I’m going to send it, too.
Jennie got these hella cool stickers. They’re stars and moons and planets. They cost five bucks, but I have got to get some. They are hella HELLA Cool. Her room was like outer space.
Glow in the dark stickers. What every 11 year old girl is actually consumed with.
I have to get second chair in band. I can get any chair as long as it’s above Leah’s. If I don’t I’ll cry. Right there. In front of everyone. I will cry. Continue Reading
Yep, I started to swear.
I’d taken up swearing with many many underlines even!
It’s awful in band. Ana is so terrible. I can’t describe it in words. She is the biggest bitch in the world.
Yep, I started to swear. Whenever I swear someone says Oh wow I can’t believe it. Jennifers swearing. Continue Reading
Value of Experience
I spent yesterday updating Van Gogh My Pet for the holiday season.
Van Gogh My Pet was the first website I used the awesome Thesis theme for WordPress as the basis for the design.
Back then, the reason I chose Thesis was because it allowed the customizations that I make to the theme to be stored in only two files in just one directory. This makes my design invincible to updates to the theme and WordPress. Continue Reading
