Goddess of.. Social Media Marketing?!

As you know, I've disappeared. I haven't really been around the blogosphere since I got my new job (last August, time flies!) and I've missed blogging regularly.

I've been doing terribly well at my new job, not to brag. I just mean that I feel extremely comfortable in my work environment and my ideas are always welcomed with open arms. It's been a growing, learning and super rewarding experience thus far.

I got my first pay rise in January, not too shabby (12%!) and they also acknowledged my work with the company's Facebook fan page. Apparently, I have a gift for handling social media and I managed to grow the company's fanbase on Facebook from .. 2,500 to 25,000 fans in well.. 4 months. I'm super proud of myself because I love the company and I think it deserves to have all this attention from the general public.

In the process, I am learning so much about marketing and social media in general. I've really gained a huge interest in the matter and I am hoping to take more classes, attend conferences, etc. If you hear of anything interesting happening in that area.. please think of me and let me know?! :)

Also, I'm thinking of going more tumblr than blog.. what do you think?

Love you,

Goddess of.. Where did November go?

Seriously, where did the past month go?

I wake up suddenly, one crisp-cold morning and, it's December 1st, a Wednesday with yet another newsletter to send out. I read on Facebook about my friends who've just shaved off their Movember mustaches.. and those who've completed NaNoWriMo. The latter being the #1 reason why I didn't blog this past month, I must confess: I failed epically at NaNoWriMo.

I was so determined, but it just did not happen. Projects piled on at work, and that meant extra money.. so I wasn't totally willing to give that up (or the 5 hours of sleep a night, that kept me barely functionning). Also, I didn't have an outline and did not think my "rough idea" of the story I wanted to write would suffice to create a full-on 50,000 word novel. However, I did manage to write well over 36,000 words for my extra projects (SEO optimization texts, for those of you who speak nerd) at work. That's gotta count for something, right? I also managed to hand-in my freelance work on time, every week, despite the extra projects. Go, me!

Now, we're here, on the 4th of December.. the eve of my third bellydance show. I am finishing the freelance work I planned on getting done last night but finally had to postpone due to the arrival of some family friends' first grandson last night: Welcome to the world, baby M!

Did I ever mention that I don't really like newborns? All tiny, fresh-out-of-the-womb, fragile newborns.. don't make me go Awww or Ouhhh.. and I don't think they're cute. Give me a chubby/chunky 2 year old and I'll go nuts.. but those still covered in goo, not so much. Anywowzer, I digress.

My first show, Dec. 2009

Bellydance tomorrow should be fun, got friends coming: Violet, Lolita and Frantz will all be there, along with Mom. 

It's a bit of a big deal for me to invite more than 1 friend.. as Violet and Frantz have never seen me dance in person. But they are both great friends so I don't feel too shy to dance in front of them (and 200-300 strangers). Plus, this semester, I am performing with the most advanced bellydancer group at my dance studio so I nervous, but somewhat proud :)

Talk to you soon, 

Love XOXO

Goddess of .. LouLouBell Giveaway Winner !

This week, I've decided to keep my little weekend re-cap for another post later, probably on wednesday, and just announce the LouLouBell giveaway winner right away !

The lucky winner of the Classic Damask

Flat Bottom Zipper Pouch / Small Cosmetic Carry Along 

from LouLouBell's Etsy store is :

And lucky numero UNO is :

The very endearing and honest, fellow law-school graduate :

Non Sequitur Chica @ Non Sequitur Chica - the blog !

Congrats girl ! You said you needed a new toiletries bag so here it comes :o)

I will send you an e-mail to get your home address and LouLouBell will send you your lovely prize very soon !

Thank you all for participating !

Oh ! And I just want to throw it out there, because someone questioned my blogger / lawyer sense of integrity this week (and I deleted their post because they did not want to be entered into the giveaway), that I am NOT receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing these giveaways. I support LouLouBell's etsy store simply and fully because I love every one of her items and I asked her to do a giveaway with me as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

Have a great week, bloggies !

I will be posting another wonderful giveaway later tonight..

.. so come back and enter for your chance to win :)

Goddess of .. B'day Giveaway #2 - LouLouBell !

::: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :::

This is my second post today, I wrote a first one about my fun, fun, FUN weekend and I also revealed the winner to last week's Charming Rebecca giveaway. The winner gets to pick any item in the Etsy store, YAY !

**Click here to see who the lucky winner is !**

.........................................................................................................

Without further ado, it's giveaway time again, Bloggies !

LouLouBell is a Canadian Etsy store, based in Nova Scotia, selling all types of deliciously adorable pouches & wristlets .. and hair pins.. that are just to DIE for. The patterns used are adorable and always very classy. I am a big fan of the Damask prints for example.. so versatile and chic.

The lucky winner will receive the following item :

The "Classic Damask - Flat Bottom Zipper Pouch / Small Cosmetic Carry Along" !

Item description is as follows :

This would be the perfect size for tossing into your big bag or overnighter bag for your makeup, jewelry or other small accessories. Conveniently stands on its own and opening is nice and large. Measures 5" across at zipper, 4.5" high and 2.5" wide across flat bottom. Made of cotton outer, denim inner for strength and durability, and interfaced for shape.

This would also make a nice gift bag, stuff it with candy or other goodies, and then it's reusable!

It's awesome, uh ?! Seeeee, I told you. You are lucky, I'd love to win it !

So useful, you just throw your money, cards, keys & make-up in there .. and then, you can transfer it from one purse to another.. without having to worry about having your "essentials" with you, at ALL times. It's genius. And pretty. Extra points for making it so adorable, LouLouBell !

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the LouLouBell store :

 

Black really does go with everything..

 

When you're going to San Francisco, you're gonna wear some flowers in your hair ..

 

Medallions are a girl's best friend ..

  

Oh and did I mention I love the Damask prints ..

.........................................................................................................

LouLouBell
Giveaway Rules

**Open to followers worldwide**

To enter this giveaway :

1. Follow my blog (through Google Friend Connect)
2. Tell me what your favorite LouLouBell item is ?

For additional entries (Please, leave a separate comment for each) :

• Follow LouLouBell's blog (1 extra entry)
• Follow @LouLouBell on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• Blog / Twitter about the LouLouBell giveaway (2 extra entries)
• Buy an item from LouLouBell's Etsy store (5 extra entries) 

That's a total of 10 possible chances to win, so get on it.. Stat !

The giveaway is opened from Monday, April 19th 2010 to Sunday, April 25th 2010.

The winner will be announced next Monday, April 26th 2010.

Good luck, Bloggies !

P.S. Please note that I am not receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing this giveaway. I support LouLouBell's etsy store simply because I love their items and I asked for them to do a giveaway as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

Goddess of .. B'day Giveaway #1 - Charming Rebecca !

::: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :::

What kind of girl misses her own 1 year blog-o-versarie (March 26th, woot woot) because she's too busy looking for a job and throwing a pity party for herself ?

This girl.

Many bloggers host giveaways in celebration of their blog-o-versaries and honestly, I probably would have myself.. if I hadn't totally spaced out about my poor blog's birthday.

However, when I realized what a bad-bad blogger I'd been (prrrrr, prrrrr.. meow !), I decided I should make it up to you bloggies by hosting a few giveaways in the weeks leading up to my 25th birthday (May 9th 2010) !

 Without further ado, it's giveaway time, Bloggies !

Charming Rebecca is a brand new Etsy store filled with wonderful jewelry (pins, necklaces & rings) that I adore. I'll post a few images of my favorite pieces below, you'll see just how pretty and chic this jewelry is ! If you've been reading for a while, you know how much I love anything French or "Eiffel Tower" related .. this store has everything I could ask for !!!

The lucky winner will have the choice of

ANY ITEM

from Charming Rebecca's Etsy store.

 

Oh Darling, the places we will go ..

Paris (not Hilton), je t'aime ..

Yes, No.. OUI.. Non ! Sometimes, it's so hard to decide..

Three's company & Four's a party !

Charming Rebecca

Giveaway Rules

**Open to followers worldwide**

To enter this giveaway :

1. Follow my blog (through Google Friend Connect)
2. Tell me what item you would pick if you won @ Charming Rebecca's Etsy store
   

For extra entries (Please, leave a separate comment for each one) :

• Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• Be my friend on Facebook (1 extra entry)
• Blog / Twitter about the Charming Rebecca giveaway (2 extra entries)
• Buy an item from Charming Rebecca's Etsy store (5 extra entries) 

That's a total of 10 possible chances to win, so get on it.. Stat !

The giveaway is opened from Monday, April 12th 2010 to Sunday, April 18th 2010.

The winner will be announced next Monday, April 19th 2010.

Good luck, Bloggies !

Goddess of .. Can't stop thinking about you !

Hey there, you're looking quite pretty today, if I may say so :o)

I've been thinking about you lately. A lot.

Don't worry, nothing creepy. I swear. For the most part.

All week long, I have been rummaging Etsy shops for hours on end, looking for the very best items.. the crème de la crème. You should've seen me, it was cute at times and pathetic at other times (i.e. when it was 4pm.. Okay, I'm lying, it was 5pm.. and I had spent the whole day in front of the computer. All I had eaten was toast & coffee .. and I was still in my pjs). The things you do for love. *singing* The things you do for love. *singing*

But it was worth it, 100%. I am well on my way to some great partnerships with the finest & coolest Etsy sponsors a girl could have.

And THAT means giveaways for you !

Stay tuned, bloggies.
XOXO

P.S.    Don't worry, today was a wonderfully-bright-and-sunshiny day.. and I spent it outside ! I won't let you write me off as a total hermit crab just yet :o)

HAVE A VERY HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND BLOGGIES !!!

Goddess of .. Snail Mail is the Best Kind of Mail !

And Bloggers are the Best Kind of People !

Seriously.

I got some wonderful snail mail yesterday regarding

Suz's Starbucks giftcard giveaway which I won on Dec. 18th.

Mark your calendars people, that was a great day :o)

I can't believe how lucky I am.

I started reading blogs and blogging in March 2009 and already, I've won 2 giveaways.

The first one being my "Cherry Blossom Girl" print

from a giveaway hosted by JKLdesign & Miss Lizzy Marie.

Anywho, just wanted to thank you, Suz !

The card was very sweet and I loved getting snail mail :o)

I'll be heading to Starbucks this weekend to enjoy some lattes.

Everyone head over to Suz's "30 before 30 List" blog .. you will love it :o)

Goddess of .. A fresh start for 2010 !

It's 6:17am.

I pulled an all-nighter but I did it, hehe.

I hope you like the new template for the blog. I originally wanted to make it all pretty by January 1st but the custom header image thingy was difficult a bitch to make (it took me days).. because I am not at all Photoshop-friendly (or Photoshop is not at all Aritza-friendly .. if you will). Anywowzer, I was determined to incorporate that specific image because it. rocks. my. socks. OFF.

...

Here's how the Holidays went down for me

December 23rd : Housewarming party at Lolita's - Major Success, about 15-20 people were there and it was fun. The food that Lolita and I cooked was really good, I was kind of impressed we pulled it off.

{Only halfway done with the clean-up at that point ..}

December 24th : Christmas Eve celebration with Mom and her bestfriend. We had a five-course dinner at a very fancy hotel restaurant .. it was simply delicious. And then, as a gift to all of us, I rented a room in that hotel, where we exchanged gifts and drank some bubbly !

{3 people, 50 presents, sounds about right}

{Make-up station for the Belle of the Bal}

{Have I ever mentionned how much I lurve hotel beds ?}

December 25th : Christmas Night dinner at Lolita's dad's place. It's always a good time when we go there .. espescially because her dad is a wine specialist / expert (the man does that for a living, my hero). So uhmmm, amazing food, amazing wines and a jacuzzi, enough said. I died and went to heaven.

 

{Lolita and her cousin giving me the Bunny Ears}

{One third (!) of Lolita's Dad's wine cellar.. I'll be baaack}

{Fettucini, Linguini, Martini, Bikini}

December 26th : Boxing Day - Shopping bonanza. I bought plenty of work clothes because it was necessary and some pretty pretty boots because I'm worth it, hehe.

{Mama bought some hawt boots}

How 'bout you ? How were your holidays, bloggies ?

 

P.S. It's now 7:53am .. ouch .. no beauty sleep for me. We hip hop and we don't stop.

Goddess of .. Big news for the New Year !

Ahem. Ahem.

< insert lame excuse here >

I'm sorry. The truth is, I've been procrastinating. God, I love using big words. They make me feel so smart and superior and .. okay, shut it.

{Forgive me, pretty pretty please ?}

via Weheartit

The bottom line is :

New year = New Look

But not for me, silly. Although I could use a haircut of some sort but I'm not really set on what I want just yet and I really just wanna grow my hair long so, you know .. and .. okay, shut it.

I plan on changing my blog theme for a 3-column template. I find that there's never enough room for all the things I wanna add on the sidebar.. and it doesn't help that I have the longest blogroll ever .. but ya know, I love you bloggies.

I haven't picked it out yet but I'm sure it'll still be girly and I hope you'll like it enough to keep coming back around here. Please don't get lost ..

HAPPY NEW DECADE BLOGGIES !!!

2010, Here I come bitches !