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Tour Through Blogland

November 10, 2014 by Susan 5 Comments

Last week I was flattered when the gals over at Pumps and Pushups invited me to join them in a Tour through Blogland! It is such a fun idea and a great way to get to know new bloggers. I also enjoy reading how fellow bloggers blog. We all spend so much time reading each others’ posts, it’s nice to read the behind-the-scenes deets as well.

As the blogger who is hosting this Monday’s Tour through Blogland Pitstop, I have a few simple questions to answer {below} and then I get to introduce three bloggers I am currently loving! So welcome to the 2 cats & chloe Blogstop in Blogland!

1 // What am I working on? ~~Sometimes~~ Most of the time, I am such a perfectionist! #wompwomp Because of this constant need to have everything in it’s perfect place, I am still working my new WordPress template. I would love to redo my header and logo. Aside from that, I’m still working on the Celebrate Southern Linkup and some fun, festive Paleo and Whole30 recipes that are perfect for this holiday season. Oh, and I’m working on putting together a 2 cats 2015 New Year Whole30 Challenge… any takers?

2 // How does my work differ from others in it’s genre? You know, there are so many lifestyle bloggers out there. I think at a certain point we all jump and build off of each other. I want to say that the one thing that makes my lifestyle blog a bit different is that all of my recipes are clean eats that will help you {and me!} achieve health goals. I try to mix the clean eats in with several other topics to keep things fresh and interesting! But my husband claims that this type of blogging drives people crazy… so who knows.

3 // Why do I write/create what I do? Prior to recently trying to “grow” my blog and network with other bloggers, I have been blogging for years and years. And for one simple reason: I love to document my life, my thoughts, my projects and my recipes. Sometimes I feel like I get too caught up in my “fluffy” posts like recipes and fashion while my heart is yearning to just write. My goal is to keep a balance of everything, in a creative but cohesive manner, and continue to document my life.

4 // How does my writing/creating process work? On a good month, I have posts and parties all planned out on my editorial calendar. On an average month, I am putting my posts together a day or two ahead of time. I find it difficult to be a lifestyle blogger and pre-plan my posts. I cannot anticipate what life will throw at me… so I cannot always anticipate what I will be writing about.

Meet Esther and Jacob from Local Adventurer:

Esther and Jacob are ATLiens and travel bloggers who currently reside in Las Vegas. They’ve been moving to a new city each year to explore everything each city has to offer, and through it all, they’re learning to find the meaning of home in new unfamiliar places.

Meet Heather from Bake. Create. Love.:

My name is Heather, and I’ve been blogging (in some form or another) since 2003! My blog started out as a food blog, but it’s slowly begun to transition to a lifestyle blog. I’ve found that as much as I love food, I also love to babble about everything else going on in my life. I love blogging because it’s such a wonderful resource. It’s a way for my husband and I to look back on things we’ve done together, it’s a great way to connect with people from all over the world, and it’s a great resource for me to easily save and share my favorite recipes.

I have a history degree from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte, and I was so excited for the Air Force to move us to a place as historically significant as Virginia last summer. I love to blog about our adventures, the amazing food we eat, the things we create, and basically just everything that makes me happy. I live with my husband, Graham, and our two cats (Buddy & Charlotte), and our dog (Hermione). My animals are pretty much the most awesome in the history of the world.

Other than my little family, I adore Harry Potter, Frasier reruns, quatrefoils, olives, wine, Boston and every shade of blue imaginable. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello! I’d love to connect with each of y’all through my little blog!

Meet Nina from Flowers in my Hair:

I’m Nina and writing makes my soul sing. I’m a twenty something girl from Chicago. Once upon a time, I moved to San Francisco without knowing anyone. Two years later, I returned. To this day, six months after my sojourn, people appear shocked at my gumption. I always tell such people the same thing: I just did the next thing. If you always do the next thing, before you know it, you are living an adventure. My blog is a space where my soul feels like a combination of Adele and Beyonce (because writing makes my soul sing, remember just a few sentences ago?) I write about my adventures and my mistakes, how there is loveliness in both of those things. I write about tough things. I also write about crafting, decorating, photography, food, books, anything creative really, fashion, and health. Faith and family (I come from a big Italian famiglia) anchor me. Keeping it real is an extremely high value to me and I do it on my blog as truly as I know how. I love to laugh and believe sense of humor is absolutely essential. I pray. I study the Bible. Someday, I would like to be married with some babes and pups but for now, it’s just me and the cities I love, writing and loving and trying to bring some good into the world.

Many thanks to Esther and Jacob, Heather, and Nina for participating in this little pit stop on our Tour through Blogland. Happy Monday everyone! Cheers!

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: November in Virginia

November 4, 2014 by Susan 17 Comments

Today I am celebrating Virginia’s very distinct seasons. I love Virginia in Autumn: the fallen leaves, fun scarves, tall boots, apple cider and puffer vests! It’s November in Virginia, huzzah! I swear this is one of the prettiest times of the year for this state! This past weekend I spent hours driving through our mountains, surrounded by bright orange and red trees. {Only to be chased away from the mountains and back to the beach by a few magnificent snow flurries on Sunday morning!}

I consider myself a lifestyle blogger. I blog because it is a really fun way to document my life. I love recipes, crafts and fashion just as much as the next blogger does… so much so that sometimes I feel like I forget to record my happenings. I forget to stop and archive the chronicles that are my life, not just the clean recipes I love to eat. So many of my fellow blogfriends do a great job of keeping a monthly record, but my favorite is Kelsey’s monthly post over at Sitting in our Tree. So I am going to borrow this idea from her, and begin documenting what I’m doing every single month.

So as the leaves and temperatures begin to fall here in the South, as the mums begin to wilt, and as the holiday decor begins to switch from burlap to glitter… I bring you November.

2 cats & chleo: November Boots and Fallen Leaves

EATING — clean, paleo foods until the week of thanksgiving when I begin prep for my endoscopy.
DRINKING — orange le croix.

PRACTICING — time blocking and sticking to my calendar. It’s a tough battle to fight.

MASTERING — saying NO to candy corns… the fact that Halloween has passed has helped with this…

LEARNING — all about designing and building a house

PLAYING -- this.sick.beat.

FINISHING — our to-do list on the current house in hopes of putting it on the market after turkey day!

PLANNING — a client appreciation gathering for my mom’s real estate business.

READING — magazines! for the first time in a very, very long time!

WATCHING — Gilmore Girls on Netflix AND cheesy Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. Don’t hate.

WALKING — through Target wayyyyy too often.

WEARING — leggings with boots that actually fit my calves! Hooray for target and their wide boots available online!

COOKING — more often, in hopes of saving money from eating out so frequently.

WORKING — zero more weddings until 2015! Hooray for an excellent 2014 wedding season!

TRAVELING — no where fun this month… although I wouldn’t be opposed to a trip to a winery… or to Switzerland.

WANTING — to really hunker down and get into shape before the year is over.

CELEBRATING — our first wedding anniversary on November 9 and then thanksgiving with both of our families, at my house!

What are you working on this month? Celebrating anything exciting? Wearing anything festive?

Celebrate Southern Linkup: 2 cats & chloe.

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Don’t forget to join today’s fun and CELEBRATE all things SOUTHERN!

Southern Bloggers Linkup Celebrate Southern

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Friday Faves including my BFF.

October 3, 2014 by Susan 39 Comments

I’m slightly hesitant to even do this post today, but after spending the week in transition (did you notice the new look??) I feel like I can timidly venture back out into Blogland. While I want to sit here and tell you all about my new space that is casually sneaking into the wonderful world wide web, I definitely do not want to jinx myself. There is still a massive to-do list, chock-full of both fun things and lame things. Fun things like the new “Clean Eats” page full of paleo and whole30 approved recipes, in an awesome, pro-foodie blogger layout. And then lame things like getting in touch with Disqus because half of my comments didn’t make the move with me…

But ya know, it’s Friday! We shouldn’t be wasting our time talking about to-do’s and blog chores! We should be talking about all of the awesome and wonderful things that Friday’s are made of! With that, I give you a few of my things you should know:

1 // I spent part of my yesterday picking! No, not my nose. Or my seat. I spent a crap ton of money to get across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in order to find myself a mantle from some old Eastern Shore estates. And then I accidentally bought TWO. #whoops. More to come on this nonsense next week.

2 // Have you heard? I’m teaming up with J over at Bless Her Heart Y’all! Starting on Tuesday, October 7, we are going to start hosting our very own “Celebrate Southern” linkup! Basically we want to come together and celebrate anything and everything “southern.” The linkup is open to all types of posts: Southern Recipes, Southern Style/Fashion, Southern Cities you live in or visit, Southern Crafts/Decor! Best part? You don’t even have to be from the South or use the word “Y’all” to join the fun!

3 // Monday is Michael’s birthday! And get this, he told me I wasn’t allowed to throw him a birthday party! I mean, come on… I’m an event planner! That’s like telling a dentist not to brush his teeth. {Well, not quite. Just go with me on this one…} After a little pouting {on my end} he gave me permission to throw him “a cookout. But not a birthday party!” Now I just have to get the house clean and festive before everyone comes over tomorrow… #WheresThatDarnCleaningLady?

4 // I’m having a SALE on my ad space! Since I’ve made the leap to word press, it’s time to spice things up! I have some great things coming, and a really fun opportunity for all of my sponsors beginning next Saturday! Want all the deets on sponsoring 2 cats & chloe? Check out my advertising info in the navigation bar above! Oh, and the most important part - us this PROMO CODE to get 50% off: SWITCHEDTOWP

5 // Speaking of sponsors and J… If you haven’t met her yet, you need to! She is my billboard sponsor this month, so we sat down over a glass of wine and did a little q&a. {Because let’s be real… I’ve known her since we were 14, there’s gotta be SOMETHING we can learn from each other!}

What made you decide to start blogging and where did your blog name come from?

I woke up at 3am one morning, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed and decided that I needed to start a blog. No reason, I just had this need/urge/want to start a blog. The name “Bless Her Heart Y’all” came from what I thought other people’s reaction to some of my choices would be when it came to my bargain outfit posts (my slogan is “Southern Charm on a Budget”) and my shopping destinations (one of my fav places to shop is goodwill!).

Since everyone knows and frequently sees Chloe, tell us about your dogs-behind-the-blog! Are they ever featured in any of your fashion posts?

I have two Boston Terrier pups, Pipsqueak and Thelma. Thelma is terrified of cameras so she never is around when snapping pics. Pippy loves to be in pictures, so much that when she is around she usually sneaks her nose right in front of the lens so all that you see in the pictures is a hairy nose.

I love your style! You can rock things I don’t think I could pull off! What fall fashion trends should we know about?

I went to a fashion bloggers dinner a few nights ago and we talked a lot about the fall fur vest, wearing pastels in fall (hard for me to do, but very trendy!), leather skinny jeans, chunky booties, and big floppy hats! Ekkkkk! I am so excited about all of these trends!

What is one (or two) pieces that I must have in my closet for the fall and winter? I need your help!

So I know how much you love your hats! I would try a berry or warm fall-colored wide-brimmed floppy hat…and booties! Booties galore, booties with buckles, booties with studs, booties with leather straps! And many people forget about the booties without heels. There are so many cute booties with a flat sole. I know that heels are not your best friend.

I know you have a lifestyle blog that you keep on the side! Do you have any delicious paleo or gluten free recipes I would love?

Paleo, no, but Gluten free, yes!

Anything else my readers should know about you? Do you have any weird talents or fun hobbies?

I am a self-proclaimed professional high-fiver and also hugger. My hobbies are horseback riding, horseback riding, and horseback riding!

How can we find you in blogland?

So that’s it for today guys and gals! I just got an email from the super helpful customer service folks over at Disqus… time for me to get the blog and my comments into tip top shape! Go spend some time getting to know J {she’s wonderful}, don’t forget about the linkup on Tuesday, and take advantage of the 50% discount on my ad space!

Today I am linking up with Friday Faves, Oh Hey Friday, High Five for Friday, Friday Favorites, and Virginia Blogger’s Friday Favorites!

Kicking Off Summer with J!

May 19, 2014 by Susan Leave a Comment

I absolutely love the blog world because of all the fantastic people who are part of it. I’ve always been a sucker for good blog-friends becoming good real-life friends. It’s happened a few times. And I’m crazy thankful for them.

What’s even more rare though, is when good real-life friends become awesome blog friends. I’ve learned that this can be even more rewarding because a lot of times, real-life friends think the blogosphere is the weirdest thing ever. Do you ever run into this?? They just don’t grasp the concept of “Hi, I’m Susan and I’m a blogger.” Just curious, do you, fellow bloggers, tell your friends and family about your blog?

Anywho! My ramblings are just the precursor to the introduction of not only a multi-blogger SUMMER KICK OFF Blog Series… but the introduction of one of my real-life best friends, turned blogger-friend. (So basically we totally get each other, in real life and in blog life. It’s a win-win if I do say so myself.)

Like I said, we are doing a multi-blogger series this week. Each day you will get a tid bit from me, an intro of an awesome chica, and a link to her blog - where she will be discussing “What Summer Means to Me” (Me as in her!) We all decided we needed to come together before Memorial Day Weekend and kick off summer the right way - the blog way!

So meet J. She resides at Bless Her Heart Y’all.

As a fun teaser and a way for you to learn all the crucial summer deets on J - I had her answer a few questions!

What is your favorite summer cookout dish?

Grilled chicken, pineapple, and squash kabobs.

In four sentences or less, what is your favorite summer time memory?

The graduation trip with Suz to Paradise Island, Bahamas. Horse shows with my mom and friends. Weekend trips to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Planning for my wedding with the Hubs.

Beach or Mountains?

Beach, warmth, sunshine, cold drinks, all make this girl happy!

What is your go-to summertime beverage of choice?

Chilled white wine, a sweet pina colada, or a made-from-scratch mojito….somedays I just can’t choose a fav. Life is tough, ya know?!?

Bonus Question: Do you have a summer vacation planned for 2014?

The Hubs is whisking me away for my 30th birthday. Where is he taking me, you ask? I have no idea and I don’t want to know! #ilovesurprises

And just to show y’all proof of the trip she mentioned to the Bahamas, I bring you this gem from 2002. We were young, hip, brand-spankin’-new high school grads, ready to take on the world:

Now may I recommend you join us as we kick off summer?! Take off your snorkel and mask, then head over to J’s blog Bless Her Heart Y’all to get some insight on this summer’s fashions (oh, and how to get them at bargain prices!!)

The Unblogful Process

May 1, 2014 by Susan Leave a Comment

So to catch you up… here’s how my life typically goes.

I write a few blog posts.

Life gets crazy.

Every day I think “I should blog about this.”

Life goes from crazy to cray (just not enough time to even add that the ‘z’)

I have brilliant blog ideas when I am driving. Or when showering.

(Neither are ideal blog-moments)

I begin to feel sad when I realize my camera is dusty and my creative juices are about as useful as olive oil that’s been in the fridge.

I take the juices out of the fridge and put them in a glass of warm water for a few minutes.

And then we are here. At this very moment.

Where I will sit and write. And feel good. I will even plan out posts for the rest of the week. And next week. But then we go back to the “Life gets crazy” phase and start this long, unblogful process all over again.

With the new marketing job, along side of spring (i.e. wedding season getting in gear) I spend a bulk of my hours on the computer every day. When it comes time to write in the evenings… quite frankly my computer is the last place I want to be. But blogging without a computer is just a diary. And that’s just no fun. Unless it is a Lisa Frank Diary. With a plastic lock.

I left you hanging back in February. If you remember, at the start of the year, I decided that my new year’s resolutions included getting healthy. I am proud to say that as of right now, I’m still working on it! I spent January, February, and March as a strict clean eater. I did two Whole30s and felt wonderful.

April, in my humble opinion, has been a bit of a set back. I have been trying to add foods back into my life only to realize I have Celaic Disease (or an maybe just an extremely severe gluten intolerance on top of my newly found dairy intolerance.) Either way, I’m not thrilled.

But we will figure it out. I will keep up with my clean eating and begin to read menus much more carefully. It’s a bit easier now that my husband and my mom (the two crazy people who keep up with my issues 24/7) are realizing that I’m not “making it up” and that certain dinners do require an immediate d-hall dash. (Any JMU-ers reading would understand that.)

Luckily, we are saving money to build a house. Hooray! Which means we aren’t eating out nearly as often as we did in the past. Which also means I can control what I’m eating while saving money and eating clean homemade food! I guess that’s what they call a win-win!

With all of this being said, I have done so many fun things recently that I need to share with you! My sister and I did a dirty girl mud run! We are getting our house clean and prettified to put up for sale! I have become ob-wait for it-sessed with house plans and designs. Oh and I finally got my paws on our wedding album and videos! I’m thinking I should do a Wedding Wednesday Post every week… since I really never shared any of our wedding with you!

Happy May y’all. Maybe I will see you tomorrow. Or maybe the vicious unblogful process will start all over and I will see you again in 2 months. Either way, go jam out to some old school nsync and have a lovely day!