ready for a road trip
you know that friend who makes you laugh when it’s totally inappropriate? the one who tells it straight…the one who gets you out of your comfort zone and is one of the people you’d pick the phone up for anytime day or night? come to think of it, that’s all my girlfriends, from grade school to college and beyond, i have a handful that are my rocks. the one i’m referring to in particular is my homegirl, liz. we met in nyc at 26 and 27 and are now 50 and 51. from the streets of new york to sunny, funny florida, we’ve seen each other through the highs and lows of life cause for some reason we never live far from each other. for about a year she’s been hankering for more space, moving north a bit, having a place where she could let her animals run and play. i’m sort of set in my ways thinking that i’d never have the quality of life I have with my piece of the pie in the sky. but she’s the kind of girl who can make anything happen and voila, changed my perspective. she set up some appointments to see some houses for sale and rent so tomorrow we’re taking a road trip to check out what life might be like in melbourne beach. maybe where i am is not the be all, end all, after all.
i’d never heard of it (other than yesterday when the billion dollar lottery winner was announced. over the holidays i drove all the way up north and noticed there was so much i haven’t been exploring. there are tons of flea markets and sales going on but i never seem to get past west palm so this will be a much need day of exploration and adventure.
it’s a town of only 3k residents but the images of it are gorgeous. i couldn’t help but google it to see what it was all about
turns out it’s historic. and below is a working couple who live there so it can be done! anyway we just need to get away for the day and dream
designsponge.com/2015/07/a-photographer-couples-beachy-treehouse-in-melbourne-florida.html
but it is an artsy town and I like that in a community
downtownmelbourne.com/murals.html
well i’ll keep you posted, i know this was a totally random post on day 11 but it’s the weekend and i want to do something fun and carefree. oh it’s 4 minutes to 12 and i have to announce the winner of the collars hold on…
the winner is suzanne! email me at theparisapartment@gmail.com
oh one thing before i go there’s one minute left…these blog posts won’t be going to the subscribers anymore, i didn’t feel right about inundating anyone for the next year so if you’re here, that is great, i couldn’t be happier to be in such wonderful company!
working it out
hello chers amis, ça va? it’s officially friday, let your hair down and swing from the rafters! ok well at least unbutton your collar or the waist of your pants. the point is to let it all hang out. glad you’re here for a minute hanging out on day 4 of the 365 day project. before anything, let’s announce the winner of the ‘Paris Style Guide’ book. hold on, going to the generator now…
and our winner is #13, Jo of My Gramas Soul. your link isn’t live so please contact me with your addy and i’ll send it right out. ok up next is another book to give away, but this one is a christian lacroix journal. we’ll draw the winner on tuesday so if you’re interested, just say so!
so…what’s going on today? well i had a lot of time to think about it and decided that you’re right, it’s not about selling TPA, it’s about making it better. the website is what i would call stagnant in the fact that the html pages haven’t been updated and have been left alone for so long it’s crying for a makeover. the boutique is easy to use and i still like it. but it does have its limitations and issues. maybe because i’m resistant to change, it’s easy to overlook these issues but it’s time to jump in and go pro. i met a young web developer in december who is a friend of a friend and he offered to help. i’m taking him up on it and i’ll pass his info on to you if you’re interested. he recommends that the e-commerce be built with wordpress compatibility. since i’m not techy and already use and trust them it’s fine with me. so he had me google ‘wordpress e-commerce templates’ and wow did i fall down that rabbit hole! i didn’t want to let so many pretty options go by without bookmarking and eventually using one and thought if you’re doing something similar this can be a shortcut since it’s really time consuming, i didn’t want those hours to go to waste so here are a few:
nimbusthemes.com/ecommerce-wordpress-themes
themeforest.net/item/glamo-responsive-wordpress-ecommerce-theme/8980416?ref=pelfusion
shopkeeper.getbowtied.com/woocommerce-video
mr-tailor.getbowtied.com/indie-store
demo.woorockets.com/themes/wooplus/wordpress/#
just as i was about to close my eyes and purchase one, i thought about what else i wanted in a store…and it was…community. so just now i entered ‘multi vendor template’ in google then realized we had to hold everything:
Multi-vendor online shops, aka marketplaces, are gold mines when done right. The big dogs are Etsy and Ebay, but you can find popular niche multi-vendor sites such asThemeForest or ArtPal. The idea behind multi-vendor sites is to allow people, or companies, to create profiles and post their products for sale.
When customers come to your multi-vendor site they can pick one item from John Q web designer and another from Company XYZ and it is all processed through the same shopping cart. The multi-vendor payment processing system divides the payments behind the two vendors and everyone goes home happy. This ecosystem of people creating and selling in one place helps the customer find a more diverse set of products.
.
themeforest.net/item/-makery-marketplace-wordpress-theme/full_screen_preview/9609178
huh. what would it be like to have friends list their items, or let’s say my friends at the paris flea market? the idea is one i’m going to really mull over tonight.
themeforest.net/item/marketify-digital-marketplace-wordpress-theme/6570786
these site reviews gave me a ton to think about if the brand is going to be more than a mom and pop shop. i don’t want to lose the character and originality so it’s a fine line between modernization and keeping TPA’s atmosphere. check out some of the things they discuss if you’re looking to re-brand or freshen up too:
ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-selling-advice/ultimate-epic-guide-successful-online-shop
Table of Contents
0. The infographic
1. Make an amazing first impression
2. Why photos matter
3. Improve your site’s navigation
4. Have a unique idea
5. Craft a strong USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
6. Start blogging
7. Create a mind-blowing About Us page
8. Develop a successful SEO strategy
9. Target the right visitor with the right product
10. Use Live Chat to help potential customers make faster decisions
11. To coupon or not to coupon
12. Improve shopping cart experience
13. Develop a successful shipping strategy
14. Ask for feedback
15. Rethink your newsletter approach
16. Show people your site is secure and trustworthy
17. Use the power of Social Media to promote yourself
18. Implement an Affiliate Program for your store
19. Don’t neglect mobile users
20. Choose the perfect ecommerce platform for your store
ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-selling-advice/ultimate-epic-guide-successful-online-shop
siteturner.com/best-multi-vendor-wordpress-marketplace-themes
thought they put a lot of work into this info graphic. anyway, that does it. if you’re like me you’re ready to go have a true friday night. enjoy it. a demain!
first things first
bon soir toute le monde. it was a day of transformation. i wish i could say this was my office above but alas, she’s not me. i’m channeling her tonight though for tomorrow’s final touches. it’s 10pm and has been a super long day. it’s day 2 of the project and i just couldn’t do anything at all until that office was attacked and conquered. just shows what a year of slacking off can do and then again, what one day of focused attention can do too. i worked non-stop. when i look at the finished results of hours put into cleaning the office it doesn’t seem that impressive. but i did embrace my OCD and organized the shelves down to every little item. it was a nice surprise was to find there was stock on handles we make and i didn’t even realize.
i’m sure we’ve all read posts on organizing, maximizing time and energy. there are a million ways busy people do it all. but i wanted to spend this first day thinking about the simplest things i’d read and see what stuck before putting anything else in my head. i’m an instant gratification kind of gal and was kind of eager to start my day. still i knew it was in my best interest so i did the 30 second program which is 30 seconds plank, 30 second headstand and 30 second meditation. after breakfast i put on my game face and went in for the kill on the office and wasn’t going to stop till it was time to say when and go to have a glass of wine and unwind with my girl, liz. now i’m home and i have a small window to get this up and not screw up on just day two. so in a 30 second synopsis, these are some of the things i learned and thought may be helpful to share:
*to make videos, i used my laptop using photobooth. here’s a video i watched to learn: youtube.com/watch?v=YMP642HmSck. in the video you’ll see the writing is backwards…does that mean everything is backward? hmmmm
your creation will end with .mov. when you’re ready to share the video, go to File/Export and put it on your desktop. it’s not a a great option but for me it’s the only one till i learn to use the phone or ipad for video. not sure how to send the files since they’re large. am i missing something? anyway thank you, google.
i want to thank you for coming back if you’re going to be checking in. you’re the reason i’m inspired to do this and in fact keep going which is even a struggle on day two for a sloth like me. i’m so happy to know you and hope that you share your experience too.
and last but not least, i’m passing on two of the links i listened to while i cleaned up…no judgement. not the kind of thing i’d normally check out but definitely worth a listen. i learned A LOT
ok leaving you with some inspiration pics. all images in this post can be found on my ‘office’ board at pinterest.com/parisapartment/offices
ok, made it under the midnight hour, whew…i’m gonna take a well deserved guilty pleasure tv break. have a great night, so glad you came by!
the paris apartment 