chocolate...

 Hi

The lack of posts = crazy silly madness... You know the kind were you husband is on leave, you have a house to paint and fix, the kid has school project, outings, orals and activities, the emails keep piling in and the cleaning never ends, and you want to fit in a week away somewhere.... well that has been the last +/- a month.

I am just trying to get my digital,online legs back / the pile of emails sorted / photos edited etc...

So please bear with me

I feel so bad for not popping in sooner. BUT brownie points to me for:

• Being able to update the Betty Bake facebook every now and then. 

• Do the occasional pin on Pinterest because who doesn't like a pretty party? or a chic looking home? or creating a cute craft?
• Tweet some crazy food stuff or random thought
• Of course if there was a pretty coffee to photograph or thing I thought was nice- I instagramed it

During this crazy time Ive also learnt to say No sometimes and not feel guilty! - well kind of ;) I work through it and in the end all is good.

What have you been up to?

Hope you are amazingly well :)


 
ps while we were away I did manage to bake the chocolate loaf cake in the pic... hope to share it with you soon 

REVIEW: Lampedusa Pie by Andrea Burgener

WIN a copy of LAMPEDUSA PIE by Andrea Burgener with www.bettybake.co.za and Pan Macmillan

ABOUT THE BOOK:

WIN a yummy Food Hamper

The V & A Waterfront in Cape Town has opened their very own food market with individually owned stall holders so you can shop for a variety of yummy homemade and fresh foods.
Its the kind of market everyone can find something to eat or drink - its very tempting to try lots of delicious goodies! so beware (don't say I didn't warn you)


WIN a very cool and yummy food hamper from V and A Market on the Wharf

10 THINGS EVERY FOOD BLOGGER SHOULD KNOW.. (OTHER BLOGGERS TOO)

I am not a major food blogger, I haven't won any awards and I don't think I am the BEST! but I do feel after blogging for a few years that I have noticed a few things and this blog post is a pep talk to me for the days I feel like Im just not cutting it! 


1) Your Blog matters
Even if you only reach one person it IS OK! (If I only effect the life of one person then my blog has done its job...) Your writing mattered to someone out there

2) You are cool enough
There will ALWAYS be someone bigger than you. Suck it up. And Always be kind to someone smaller than you (blog wise or twitter wise) you were once there too.

3) Stats suck but look how far you've come
Don't judge yourself against Mr or Mrs big blogger, take a step back and go look at your stats from a year ago - really do it!

4) Pictures are worth a thousand words...
ALWAYS work on your picture taking. We live in a media based world where graphics and photos are throw at us daily.. just think of blogs, facebook, twitter, pinterest... etc... photos, photos - this is what people judge your blog in seconds flat so make it pretty for them. This includes your layout *(note to self - declutter blog layout)


5) Sometimes you post won't be perfect
Sometimes they just won't be - and thats ok. We all have creative slumps - its about the keeping at it! GO GO GO - you can do. Go for a walk and go photograph something... It WILL help.

6) Not everyone will be kind...
People will steal your photos or your content or both! fight for your stuff - YOU ARE WORTH IT!
and likewise don't steal people stuff - ITS NOT COOL!

7) Your regular readers count
Its not only about  getting new readers and more numbers. Think on the kind readers that keep coming back. They are sometimes more important than some fly by night follow and unfollowers.

8) Don't over tweet or facebook your links
Its not cool to keep repeatedly tweeting or updating your time line saying look at my post! its ok to remind people but air on the side of caution. You will put them off and they may even unfollow you

9) Comment
This goes both ways: comment on the blogs that you visit = Every blogger loves to know there is someone on the other end reading.
Comments on your blog: Reply to peoples comments = its polite and lets your readers know you care that they read your work and took the time to write something to you.

10) Copyright
Don't steal people recipes or content (even magazines) EVER - it doesn't matter if others are doing it. Clearly give credit where credit is due. Link, state and thank your source and even drop them an email or comment on their blog stating you would like to use their work with credit etc...

Hope this has made you feel a little better about your blog... I shall be back to read this again next week when I need a pep talk ;)

Remember YOU ARE SPECIAL AND YOUR BLOG MATTERS!

Would you add anything to this?