When I began blogging a few years ago, I felt like I was driving a 1976 Volvo. Blogger was so new to me and gave me freedom and adventure and needed little maintenance for its upkeep. I used Blogger for a few years and it was great – I was able to do all the things I needed to do with it… But, it didn’t have air conditioning, it didn’t have retractable seatbelts, in fact, the windows didn’t even wind down fully!
Then late last year a deal came through my inbox for hosting and Mr Cool and I decided to just bite the bullet and go down the WordPress route. Learning the ropes of this new blogging platform and my theme was like moving from a 1976 Volvo to a 1990 Corolla. Air con, plush seats, cute shape, it was fun! I really enjoyed the flexibility and the capabilities of WordPress and my {sometimes tricky} theme.
Then, last week my freebie theme upgraded and wouldn’t really let me do what I wanted it to anymore, I called in the big guns {aka Crafty Mummy} and we decided to bite the bullet and change the theme. This was not a good move… The new free theme we chose was not suitable at all. I couldn’t do as much with it as my old theme could. It was like going back to the 1976 Volvo that had had a paint job and CD player installed.
Mr Cool being ever so generous {and perhaps a little inflated in his aspirations for this blog} said I could bite the bullet and buy a Genesis framework and a child theme which some of my bloggy friends suggested. {If you don’t know what the heck-a-doo this means, don’t worry – I had to google it too. If you are not a blogger – don’t google it – totally geeky…} To me, this felt like upgrading the 1976 Volvo and putting a deposit on a brand new cherry red Honda Jazz. I was excited about the prospect of air- conditioning and cup holders and wondering how much it could do.
Well… can I just say that once the theme package was loaded and Crafty Mummy and I got going, I was amazed at how EASY it was to work with! Within an hour or so CraftyMummy and I had things set up and changed and tweaked and snazzed up to be looking reasonable. Instead of a Honda Jazz, I feel like I have a Merecedes Benz! I can’t wait to see what this baby can do!
I am a little sad to see the black and white and red of the old theme go.. but, elements of this will remain for the next little while. I will change things over slowly… I am still getting used to seeing my wee little blog looking so flashy and professional and I am sure when I log in tomorrow I will get a bit of a surprise!
So… realising that I have to tweak some fonts and the header and the backgrounds…
What are your initial thoughts?
Do you like?
Oh – and how do I know what a 1976 Volvo was like? It was my first car…
Very nice Belinda. Looks pretty slick to me.
Anne xx
Anne @ Domesblissity recently posted..Organising with boxes, baskets & buckets
Thanks Anne, it FEELS very slick! Lots of fun to play with though!
Thanks for your feedback.
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Love it Belinda … fresh but still you!
Nikki @ Styling You recently posted..Manland: act your age, not your shoe size
Thanks! The perfect thing to say. I feel like I have a grown up blog now!
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
I really admire all your prettiness on your blog. I’m sure I don’t have half a clue about what I’m looking at or how much work has gone into it, but I admire all the same and wish that I could do something similar to jazz up my place. Oh to find my inner geek that would understand this all. (Oh I wandered over to WordPress during the week because blogger is dumb. It would seem like there’s too much work and not enough time to transfer everything across?)
Caitlin recently posted..6 Month Old Triplets Portraits
Thank you! I never thought I would know as much about all this as I do! But, I have had a great teacher…
It is not that hard to transfer everything across, wordpress is very intuitive.
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Oooh. Just showed The Accountant your blog and you’ve totally inspired him. (Not that I think I’d ever be half as slick as yours!) He thinks I should go WordPress. You shall have to give me some lessons some time. Please?
Caitlin recently posted..6 Month Old Triplets Portraits
I could give you some lessons. But, I don’t know as much as you think I do!
Let’s start a conversation.
First step: Hosting – I go through hostgator.com
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Love, love, love! Love the header, the icons on the side (“Be writes about…”), and the fonts! Well done! You called in the right “big guns”!
Angela recently posted..A Change Is In The Air
Oh – and you saw it before we had finished formatting everything!
I do have the right big guns. She is amazing!
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
It looks fantabulous! How clever are you?
workingwomenaus recently posted..What do children know about the carbon tax?
Oh, I am not sure if you would call ME clever! I have some amazing help! Crafty Mummy is my blogging guru and one of my best friends – she is all kinds of amazing.
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Personally…I am a fan of the red so if you get that happening again I will be more than happy:) Thanks.
Sure. I am on to it. But… don’t you like the aqua – even just a little bit?
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Looking good B!
Janet recently posted..Defeating Depression
Thanks Janet!
Appreciate your feedback.
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
I like it! It’s nice and classy!
Rita recently posted..The simple and always delicious stir-fry
That was just the right thing to say Rita! Thanks so much.
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Oooh, very nice!
Thanks lovely! Mwah!
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Look at you Miss Swish! Very professional, I like it! Love the white space, feels a lot cleaner than the previous layout. Lots of fun things on the sides, lots of tabs to navigate as well – I like this when I visit a new blog! The fonts are nice too.
One piece of constructive criticism: I would love to see an image, or something more exciting on the header …. it feels a little sparse.
Thanks Lacey! It feels a bit too flash for the drivel I write about!
I have made about 6 headers and I just don’t really like any of them. So for the time being it is pretty basic. BUT – I am working on it!
Mwah!
B recently posted..Life: {Blogging} Upgrading from a 1976 Volvo
Oooh I like it! Well done!
Aroha @ Colours of Sunset recently posted..Friday The 13th
Thanks Aroha!
Love the feedback. It is fun to have such a pretty place to call my own.
It is really cool, B. Can I ask you, is the Genesis theme like Thesis (which I use) ie you have to be able to code CSS to use it?? I can’t do that and so can’t change mine much myself and it’s terribly frustrating.
Seana Smith recently posted..Hooray for my Husband’s Leftovers – How To Eat Healthily
I have not really looked into Thesis… I had at least heard of Genesis, had not heard of Thesis. When I decided to move from Blogger to WordPress, my bloggy mentor {The Crafty Mummy} advised me to do it myself. I hated every second of setting it all. Every. Single. Second. But – now I kind of understand CSS. The template I had on my wordpress blog originally was so fiddly in a CSS way. Now that I have Genesis and my new theme {which is called Adorable by Pretty Darn Things} it is SOOOOOOOOO easy to make changes. So easy. So easy to change bits and bobs and easy to drop things into the sidebars. I am totally sold. Mr Cool is too – the transition to Genesis involved A LOT less of the predicted swearing. Plus, the forums were fabulous.
Hope this is helpful…