We Are Family

Do you remember your first blog friends? The ones who helped you get started?
Kate gave me the best pointers when starting my blog and pushed me into "going for it".
Chelsee, the first girl I ever sponsored has became a close friend, my blog designer and someone I can ask for help at any given moment.
Kaitlyn who I have emailed 101 questions too and has pushed my follower count to numbers I thought I would never see in such a quick moment has been so sweet and genuine.
You ladies are the best! I have a lot of others to thank but I don't want to reenact some lame long Oscar speech :)


via

 
The very first day that I stumbled across Kate's blog I thought to myself 
I could do this. I could make a difference. I could make new friends. I could inspire and motivate others.
And that was when Wide Open Spaces was created.

If you are new to the blogosphere you might feel a little intimidated or lost. You might need a few basic tips to get you started? I wanted to help all of my new found buddies who might be needing those tips! We were all where you were at some point and some of us still are!

I have found that there are a couple of blogging rules you must know about. If you choose to keep your verifications up and your email info hidden, I will still love you, I just won't like it :)

No Reply Blogger: This means that I cannot reply to your comments. You might be thinking that I don't have the time or that I might not care to reply back but this is NOT the case. I receive your sweet little comments in my inbox and then the reply back address looks a little like this:

I would love to respond back to you so please link your email to your account! 

Here is how to fix it 

 

Word Verification: There is nothing worse then writing a lovely comment on your page and seeing one of these boxes pop up

via

 

How do you even make out those numbers and letters? There may be times where you have to enter these secret codes over three times! Do us all a favor and fix this small annoyance!

Here is how to fix it

 

 That pretty much wraps up my two main concerns for all my new friends :)
Do you have any other others that everyone should be made aware of?
Please send me a message or comment.
We have to look after each other right?
 

 

 

 

Kate Spade Hand Bag Giveaway!

{via}

Spring is in the air... Which means it's time to ditch the drab colored handbag you've been toting all winter. And what better purse to replace it than a brand new Kate Spade handbag?!

Best of all, we are letting YOU pick which bag you want.

You can choose any handbag you want (:

{up to $300}

This month I'm teaming up with Breanna and 18 other amazing bloggers:

1// Kaitlyn  2// Breanna  3// Melissa  4// Brooke  5// Mallory 6// Clara  7// Jana  8// Ashley  9// Holly  10// Jennifer 11// Samantha  12// Sybil  13// Tookies  14// Laura  15// Stephanie 16// Andrea  17// Marquis  18// Robin  19// Lourdes  20// Lisette These are some of the sweetest girls I have met - go check them out! All you have to do is use the Rafflecopter below!
This giveaway will run from Monday, March 4 - Thursday, March 7, 11:59pm EST. It is open to US Residents only. All entries will be verified. If you did not complete a task which you said you did, a new winner will be chosen. Good Luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Motivational Monday!

via

Can you tell what I woke up daydreaming about?

That would be warm weather, my upcoming vacation in May and the beach!

I could sit by the ocean with sand in between my toes soaking in God's beautiful work all day, every day!

Is there something you are looking forward to?

What gets you through those dreaded Monday's?

Speaking of Monday I am linking up with two lovely ladies, Kate and Kati, to bring you the GBU (the good, bad and ugly) of my weekend!
 

Let's get going!
 

 The Good:

Friday night we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary! If you haven't already read the honeymoon story click here for part 1 and here for part 2. It will be a memory I will never forget.

Here are a few wedding pictures and some from our five year anniversary dinner!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bad:

My computer decided to crash on Wednesday so I had to throw down an extra weeks paycheck on a new laptop! It was totally worth it and I scored a great deal thanks to the help of Chelsee but spending that kind of money kills my checkbook!

 

The Ugly:

 Due to the new computer I pretty much accomplished nothing but writing tons of blog posts and reading up on some of my faves! Including Wifessionals, Southern Beauty Guide and Diary of a Debutante!

 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Kate Spade handbag of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  Have a positive, stress free Monday and work week!