Life is like a basket of apricots…you never know what you are going to get.
For the past year, I felt as though I kept being handed the same rotten box of apricots when I signed up with a designer to have my blog redesigned and kept being shuffled from promises to promises and nothing to show for them. Oh yes, a larger hole in my pocket book, that’s about it.
But then, thanks to the magic of Twitter and my good friend Garrett showing a fresh new and attractive template, I found Ellie. And I felt like the sun was finally shining again. Professional, smart, witty and hard working, Ellie operates Rainy Day Templates like a Master chef his/her kitchen. She started working on my design shortly after our initial contact and working together via email we had this site redesigned and re-outfitted in three days. Three days! And look how purty she made it look!
All kudos go to her because beside choosing a design and adjusting a few things here and there. I just sat on the other end of her screen going "can we do that instead?" "can you move this up?" "can you expand this?" And trust me, I hate to ask. Love the color scheme she picked instead of the original one. Her instincts are right on. A pro. I had tweaked my previous template beyond recognition, but could never get exactly where I wanted on my own. I wish I could personally deliver some of the gluten free apricot financiers I made over the weekend (recipes and pictures soon!) to thank her.
Humor me for a second to point out really cool features:
The welcome bar on the right hand side will be used to highlight everything and anything pertaining to food and blogging that I may come across. Recipes, bloggers, articles, events, etc…
And look at those pretty social buttons! From Google to Twitter…Woot!! Oh! and that search bar…believe it or not *I* find it useful when I write a post and try to reference another!!
One very cool detail she added was the bakers' twine detail around the header and at the bottom of every post. I know, it’s a girl thing, but it’s nice an subtle. Love it!
It’s always a bit nerve wracking to change layouts but I hope you like the space and find it as cozy as I do. Thanks for indulging me in this shout out to her design and work. After one year of rotten apricots, it feels special.
Ellie received some bad news over the weekend and I wish to send her a special hug. This girl is a gem, both personally and professionally.