So You Can Teach a Not-So-Old Dog New Tricks

Plugging along on developing this blog. I’m starting to get the hang of Instagram. And today I learned how to make a favicon, thanks to British blogger Catherine Summers at Not Dressed As Lamb.

Catherine’s blog has become one of my favorite to follow. She has fabulous style, great photos and spunk! She offers lots of tips for beginner bloggers. She is a great example that style only gets better with age, and “encourages women to be fabulous at any age.”

Winter whites (skinny jeans and roll neck sweater) - over 40 fashion
photo: Not Dressed As Lamb

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I’m on Instagram!

I’m slowly starting to get with the digital age. I took some pics and played around with the Instagram filters and BAM! I’ve got a couple of photos up on Instagram! I even put hashtags on them and instantly got a couple of “likes” and comments. Here’s one of my first images:

Instagram Victorian house | thatwasthenthisiswow.com

Victorian House

I’m almost giddy. I feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up and figuring out how this brave new world works. I took a few photos with my iPad and learned how to upload, crop, add captions etc. Woohoo! Check out my pics by clicking the Instagram badge below.

Yeah, I know kids can do it, but hey, it’s quite a big step for me. Now I want to figure out how to upload all kinds of photos and add them to my Instagram. I looked up several people who are supposed to be Instagram queens, such as @garypeppergirl and @annstreetstudio.

It’s like being a kid in a candy store. So much to chose from! Now I feel the need to find the Instagrams of blogs I’m following. So many beautiful photos. Can’t wait to get my own up!

Who do you follow on Instagram? Follow me and share in the comments!

Ciao! Paula

Instagram

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iPhone, smart phone

So Who Needs an iPhone Anyway? Oh, Me!

Today I finally got an Instagram account–on my iPad. Now I need to start taking pictures with the iPad until I get an iPhone.

We’re dinosaurs

My husband and I feel like we’re in a tiny minority that doesn’t have some kind of smart phone, whether it be an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Windows phone, etc. But up until now, we honestly didn’t need one. However, on vacation this Fall, we found having one would have been really handy to contact our hosts for our accommodations, maps when we got a bit lost, finding restaurants, etc., on the go.

So exactly what do we get for our money?

And it’s not the cost of the phone, but the plan. When smart phones first came out, the plans were ridiculously expensive. My old ATT plan is still the best for the money with Rollover minutes for basic mobile service. It gives my husband and me plenty of minutes to share for under $60 per month.

Time is money

But it has become apparent that having a smart phone will start saving us time and money in the long haul. Being able to snap a pic to deposit checks would be fabulous. Being able to snap Street Style pics without having to dig out a “real” camera and freak people out is a definite plus. Using Siri to tell us how to get places instead of hauling out a different paper map for every location would be much simpler.

Which carrier should we go with?

Still doing research, but so far T-Mobile is winning, unless we want to get stuck with a two-year contract with ATT.

Got any suggestions or recommendations? Tell me in the comments. Thanks!

Ciao! Paula

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Doing Good Feels Good

I’m very excited. I just sent off the first draft of a Pro Bono logo design project to my non-profit clients. I sent several versions of the vertical version and the horizontal version of their special edition logo, to commemorate their 5th anniversary.

They are a youth shelter based in Oregon, serving “homeless and at-risk youth by providing shelter, educational support, mentoring and transition planning with a faith-based approach.” They collaborated with another faith-based youth group to build a community center across the street from the shelter.

HWAM_girl

HWAM_boy

I will reveal the name of the organization and the chosen logo after their big ceremony in December.

I had a little time on my hands (see my post about freelancing here) so I decided to put it to good use. I have always enjoyed volunteer work, especially with or for kids. I’m not particularly faith oriented, but I don’t disdain it either. All I care about is people who care.

I can’t wait to finish the logo for them and see it in use, and feel a sense of pride in helping them carry on their good work.

What volunteering have you done lately? Tell me in the comments!

Ciao! Paula

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older model, silver, beauty

Older Models Find Success After Youth

In our youth-obsessed culture, as women get older they start to lose value. Enter the era of the older model.

Women well past 40 are gaining speed in the modeling world. Some are former models returning as the Baby Boomer generation demands more representation of their demographic, others never stopped working.

I’m featuring four here, but there are many, many more out there. All are proudly silver haired and eschew coloring it.

First up is Daphne Selfe, a British model known as “the world’s oldest supermodel.” In an article from the Huffington Post, 85 year old Selfe can be seen in a video for a TK Maxx (UK version of TJ Maxx) strutting her stuff alongside her much younger counterparts.

Daphne_Selfe
photo: Huffington Post

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Welcome! Follow me on BlogLovin’ and BlogHer

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
This is my first post on my brand-new blog. I’m excited and terrified at the same time. Hopefully the learning curve will not be too steep and the results will be great! I hope to give my readers interesting, fun, provocative, insightful, educational, and maybe sometimes just mundane things to read and enjoy. I started blogging just a little over a week ago on BlogHer and am starting to find what I most enjoy writing about, or sometimes it’s just a place to vent. I just write what comes to mind for now. My focus will make itself apparent soon enough.

Ciao! Paula

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