It’s always nice when a project you worked on and helped shape and mold, spreads it wings and flies off into the wild Internet and makes something of itself. So when I was doing some online research I happened to stumble on a logo I recognized on Pampers.com!  Paige and Gretchen from Mommy Cast were long time clients and Joelle worked hard with them to shape the design, the logo and their overall branding of MommyCast.com.

Congratulations to Mommy Cast for their growing success and a pat on the back for Joelle who crafted their branding into something purely fabulous!

I think I mentioned this once before, but for the last few weeks, I’ve been contributing posts on blog design to BlogHer’s How to Blog Better series. Since some of these posts might be helpful to our clients and readers, I thought I’d toot my horn a little and link them up!

• How to Change Your Banner for Wordpress.com
• How to Change Your Banner for Blogger.com
• The Non-Designers Guide to a Blog Design Theme
• How to Create a Simple Banner Using Photoshop (Video Tutorial)

In the coming weeks, I’m going to cover how to create a seamless background pattern, some “do’s and don’ts” in blog design, Twitter background design, best practices for ad placement in design… and, hopefully, more!  Is there anything you’d like to know how to do or know more about? I’m open to your ideas! Let me know in the comments here or on Twitter.

Speaking of BlogHer... are you going to BlogHer ‘10 in NYC this August?  We are!  Kathy and I both will be there and we’d love to meet you. So look for us [in the lounge] or let us know you’ll be there so we can look for you.  It’s my first trip to New York, so I’m really looking forward to it. Hope to see you!

Greetings and salutations, chickadees!  The birds are singing, the weather is bright, the flowers are popping up all over Southern California and there’s a cat audibly looking for love outside my building.  *deep breath*  Ah, Spring!

In other news, I have a new writing gig!  The fine (and clearly, very wise) folks over at BlogHer have asked me to be a contributor to their feature group, “How to Blog (Better)” — specifically, articles about blog design.  Fortunately, I know stuff about that. It would have been awkward if she’d asked me to write about pickling or something. Though, I’ve always wanted to learn to pickle. Those hot n’ spicy carrots at Mexican restaurants? Totally pickled! Who knew? But I digress.

I posted my first piece this week: Playing Dress-up: The Non-Designers Guide to a Blog Design, which breaks down the basic anatomy of a blog design theme, talks about the parts and what they do.  In the next few weeks I’ll (hopefully!) be writing, I’d like to cover some very commonly asked questions, like how to change your banner or make changes to your blog design using the style sheet. We’ll also talk about how to hire a professional designer for your site (that’s us!) and other sundry topics about blog design.

If there’s a particular topic you’d like to see covered, do tell!  Give me a shout, either in the comments here, via our contact form or on Twitter.

And on the homefront, you know those old minecars that you see in adventure films? The runaway ones that go up and down and then somewhere ahead, you just know there’s a big gap in the track?  That’s totally our schedule right now. It’s an all-out wild ride! But we’re enjoying it — we like adventure. 

My schedule is currently booked until August. There many wonderful projects on my plate right now, including a desert B&B, a dating advice site, a scrapbooking site, a couple yarn boutiques, a photobooth rental company, an 80’s ice cream parlor, a brand new spa, a community for scorned daughters-in-law and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee. *tap dance*

Kathy’s got various projects simmering, but may have some availability earlier than August, so feel free to drop her a line!  Please bear in mind that she’s a full-time mom of two adorable niblets under the age of four, so your patience is appreciated.

We are currently accepting Requests for Proposal for Late Summer / Fall 2010.  If you are interested in working with us, please take a couple minutes to fill out our Request for Proposal form and we’ll get back with you as quickly as possible.

We hope everyone has thawed out and is enjoying some beautiful Spring weather.   Happy blogging!

Did you know we wrote a book?  I’m sure we’ve mentioned it.  But just in case we haven’t tooted our own horn in a while (yeah, right!), allow me to remind you that we wrote a book about blogging called… “The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie”!  It’s a fun little book sharing the ins n’ outs of blogging for someone new to the scene.

We talk about all kinds of stuff, from how to blog on the cheap with free services, where to get templates to spiff up your new blog and insider do’s and don’ts to blog etiquette, common blog terminology, deciphering RSS and what our favorite blog platforms are. It’s not a tome of dry, boring tech stuff for the geek elite, so if you’re looking for a more “serious read” or the color pink makes you want to picket something, this isn’t the book for you.  But just because it’s not dry doesn’t mean it’s not still stuffed with great information, bookended with fabulous unexpected tips like our favorite hand creams for those long hours at the keyboard and recipes for cocktails to celebrate the launch of your new blog.  It’s a good time and perfect for those who are new to blogging or those who may feel intimidated by the lingo or for those who just like a fun, dishy read disguised as a tech book.

We received the nicest email from Janet M. this morning, a reader who picked up our book a couple days ago online:

I just wanted to send a quick note in regards to your “Blogging with Moxie” book that I ordered via online and received 2 days ago. I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved the info and how you presented it.  Even more impressive is that I haven’t been able to actually read through a book in YEARS because I’m so prone to distraction.  I found myself on the last page and flipping sadly to see that it was over!  I learned more in the past 2 days about blogging than in the past 3 months of searching for info online.

Thank you girls!!  I will be recommending the heck out of it!  :D

Squeeeee, we say!  Insert girlie clapping here.  This is why we wrote the book and it warms the cockles of our hearts to hear this.  Thanks so much for your email, Janet!  You cockle warmer, you.

Here are just a few of our nods from Amazon, where The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie is currently ranked super duper!  Ok, that’s not an official ranking, but with all but a mere handful of our reviews at five stars, we declare it super duper.  Here’s just some of what they’re saying:

Click the image to be taken to the full review… and lots more!

They say nice stuff about us on bn.com and you can order on Borders.com and Indiebound.org, too!  And, if you’re like me and you want to touch it and sniff the pages first (is that weird?), you can pick it up at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders, as well. Sweet!

Say, do you have a copy of Blogging with Moxie?  Leave your own review!  Or snap a pic of yourself with your book and upload it to our Flickr group.  We’ll be running drawings and contests this summer where we may pick from various areas, so share your Blogging with Moxie experience via review or photo evidence! Or both!

Happy blogging!  xo

• 6 cups cubed seeded watermelon, divided
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1 English cucumber, peeled, sliced, and divided (about 3 cups)
• 2 1/2 cups tonic water, chilled
• 1 1/4 cups gin

Combine half each of watermelon, mint, juice, and cucumber in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Line a fine sieve with 4 layers of cheesecloth, allowing cheesecloth to extend over edges; strain watermelon mixture through prepared sieve over a bowl, reserving juice mixture. Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together. Holding cheesecloth over sieve, squeeze to release the remaining juice mixture. Discard solids. Repeat the procedure with the remaining watermelon, mint, juice, and cucumber.

Combine 2 1/2 cups juice mixture, tonic water, and gin, stirring well to combine. (Reserve any remaining juice mixture for another use.) Serve over ice.  Makes about 8 servings!

I’ve been digging around for some fresh spring inspired recipes and with Easter on it’s way next weekend, I have a group of friends and family stopping by for a casual barbeque. I wanted to mix up a fresh cocktail to serve with our burgers and pasta salad.  Down here in Florida, a nice cool fresh libation like this one should hit the spot on a sunny day.  Bonus? It’s only 135 calories a cocktail.  Bottoms up.  Happy Easter!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine