weekly faves [01]

so, like, everyone does a weekly favorites post. but i can't help it! i often stumble upon so much wonderful content and i tweet it, but i want to compile what i loved this week into a post! this may not be every week, but when i feel like it... aka the entire spirit of my blog. "whatever, when i feel like it." yeah, suuuuper professional, meredith. that's how we roll here. anyway.

• when i visited molly in athens last weekend, we went to brunch at this fabulous place called the pines. she's got a post about their yummy biscuits & pimento cheese grits. chyeah.
• as you probably noticed, whitney gave my blog a stunning refresh. she's amazing. seriously. direct all your design needs her way at heart & arrow design.
• 3 pieces of advice for introverted bloggers by jennypurr. yes, this. yes. this is a struggle i think many bloggers, writers & creatives share. i've written about my thoughts on introversion here.
• this moroccan style raspberry souffle is beautiful - and it features my favorite fruit!
• megan from lush to blush shares 3 things blogging taught her about herself. i'm a fan of this introspection. how has blogging really changed who you are or molded your life?

blogger collaboration 101: part two

last week, i talked about how to get started collaborating with other bloggers. to read that post, click here!

collaborating with businesses is not always as intuitive as working with fellow bloggers can be. and honestly, it can be intimidating. i remember not having the slightest clue about how to work with a business. i learned the ropes gradually, and now, i'm a lot more confident. this post is mostly going to be about approaching businesses you'd like to work with.

• identify who you want to work with. start small. start local. is there a new local restaurant in town? is there a fabulous candle company owned by a friend of a friend? i fully believe in giving a voice to smaller, locally owned businesses. working with larger companies is ok too. just don't forget your local friends.

• have your list (yes, make a list!) of companies? get the right contact. it is so imperative to do your best to locate the name of someone at the company you can chat with. if it's a small company, odds are the person answering your emails is the owner themselves. find this information and address your emails accordingly. if you search to the ends of the earth and can't find this, double check your email and make sure you sound absolutely sincere in your pitch. when i receive emails that don't use my name, i tend to automatically assume it's spam/someone who did no research. add details to your email that assure the recipient you actually viewed their site and understand their business.

• here's the most important tip i have to offer: this collaboration is not about begging for products or asking to be recognized. initially, this collaboration is about how you can help benefit this business. keep this in mind. that's what you're here for. you're the voice. bloggers are the new media. do not ask what this business can do for you - ask what you can do for this business. i get it. you want the free eyeshadow. and while many companies are practically throwing samples out the window, a lot aren't. you need to build trust first.

• the initial email is not the time to play hardball. you're coming out of the dark, introducing yourself and establishing a conversation. wait until you receive an interested response from the company before getting explicit about what you want. once you've got a company's interest, this email is also the time to talk numbers if they ask - your blog stats, traffic and what sort of reach you feel you can provide. be honest. talk about your social media following as well, or any important roles you play in your local community that bring activity to your blog. stats aren't the only thing you have to offer.

• some businesses don't, well, "get it". many have not worked with bloggers or similar methods of promotion before. this is where you have to get blunt. ask for what you want after a few initial emails. "i am very interested in sharing _____ with my readers. could i try a sample so that i can adequately express my thoughts in a post?

ready? here's a sample "cold call" pitch email with an imaginary company.

dear ______,

my name is meredith davis and i blog over at www.meredithnoelle.com. i just discovered alabama candle company and have really enjoyed reading about your products on your website. as an alabama native, i am passionate about supporting all things local, and as a candle collector, you've kind of already got me sold.

my blog has a loyal readership of both alabama natives and other bloggers across the country. i would love the opportunity to help y'all get the word out about your endeavors, and would be happy to chat with you about promoting alabama candle company on my blog and social media. please let me know how i can help.

looking forward to hearing from you!
meredith

collaborating with other bloggers + businesses are two imperative skills for a seasoned blogger. do you have any other topics in this series you'd like to see?

further reading:

• helene in between's 'my answer to advertisers' - don't know what to say when you receive an email pitch asking you to work for free? helene handles this perfectly, and this is a must-read for all bloggers.
• feast & west's 'working with sponsors for a party' - these tips are applicable whether you're hosting a blogger event or just asking for sponsors in general.
• simply stacie's 'how to write a disclosure statement for your blog' - if you're accepting sponsored posts, you need a disclosure statement!

exploring athens

last weekend, beth and i ventured to athens, georgia to visit molly! since molly got married & moved last october, we hadn't had a chance to check out her new place. beth and i both had never been to athens and were so excited to make the trip.

we got in friday night, talked for hours and promptly got to exploring on saturday. we stopped by cali and tito's for lunch & then walker's pub for coffee as we explored downtown athens. it's such a cute town - really reminds me of fairhope! since athens has a trader joe's, we got the bright idea to go finally try this "cookie butter" everyone talks about. and during that conversation we decided... let's make cookie butter cupcakes! that's for a later post.

that night, we made our cupcakes, photographed them for probably hours (typical bloggers, duh), then made a wine & cheese plate to pre-game before we head out for the night. we ended up eating dinner at south kitchen + bar & omg, was it amazing. duck fat tater tots, truffled mac and cheese, killer cocktails... need i say more?

on sunday, we met up with jennifer of jenny sue makeup and elizabeth of mz savvy style for brunch at the pine. we talked all things blog and southern blog society. oh, and the brunch at the pine is fantastic.

i'm not sure why it took me so long to make my way to athens. it's a fun place and i can't wait to go back! what did you get into this weekend?

birmingham bloggers + bottle & bone

if you live in birmingham, you know who's got the meats: bottle & bone.

bottle & bone is a new establishment at the uptown entertainment district on the north side of town, catering to the beer, wine and meat lovers of birmingham. in addition to a to-die-for brunch, bacon flights (yeah. bacon. flights.), beer & wine on a tap plus any cut of meat you could ever ask for, bottle & bone hosts butchering classes, beer tastings and so, so much more.

the wonderful jen barnett of bottle & bone invited birmingham bloggers to stop by and get a taste of what bottle & bone has to offer. we sampled multiple bacon flights and boudin balls. those went kinda quick, as expected. we also tried the 'beef on wcek', which features brisket, brown sauce & creme fraiche, and the 'the daily grind', an awesome burger with pickles & aged cheddar.

paired with the bacon flights and awesome sandwiches, we sampled some dark beers - even a peanut butter ale! everyone sipped wine, local brews and chatted the night away while we got to know the menu. i met a lot of new birmingham bloggers and had fun talking with everyone!

thank you so, so much to jen and the entire bottle & bone team for hosting us! this place is awesome y'all, and i am so glad we've got such a unique addition to the birmingham culinary scene. bottle & bone is truly one of a kind. click here to take a look at their menu. if you're in birmingham and you haven't stopped in yet, you're missing out. cannot wait to go back!

some photos courtesy of the wonderful www.bethcakes.com :)

blogger collaboration 101: part one

at our birmingham bloggers coffee chat last weekend, we talked about our goals and resolutions for 2015. many people mentioned being interested in collaborating with businesses, events and other bloggers. this task can seem a little daunting if you haven't collaborated before. once you get into a good rhythm and begin to build relationships with the bloggers, creatives and businesses around you, you're going to feel like you're just talking to your friends. which is good, because these people should become your friends!

the first thing you need is a desire to get plugged in. in today's post, we're going to start with collaborating with other bloggers. 

• if you're a new blogger or a blogger looking to become more connected, this should be your first focus. the very, very first thing you should do is make sure you have an active account on the primary mediums bloggers use to connect - bloglovin', twitter, instagram and facebook.

• follow your favorite bloggers and bloggers in your area on all forms of social media. use blogging networks to locate nearby bloggers - start by googling "your area + blog" or "your area + blogging group". check out the southern blog society, the southwest blog society, blogher & more!

• twitter and instagram are my personal favorites for connecting with bloggers. on twitter, respond when they post links to their posts or articles. congratulate their successes. leave comments on their blog. these are the fundamental building blocks for creating relationships and partnerships in the blogging community.  

• but don't forget - maintain these relationships! there's nothing worse than someone leaving you in the dust, so to speak, after they've "gotten what they wanted", whether it be a social media shoutout or a guest post. it's obvious. it's shady. don't do it. you're either here to be a part of a community, or you're not.

• does your blog friend have a small business you'd be happy to support? did they write an awesome post on creating their own online book club, and you'd like to join? speak up! shoot them an email, reintroduce yourself if you haven't connected on twitter or instagram, and mention you'd like to find a way to work together. an easy way for bloggers to help each other out is to guest post. it starts with an email.

dear ____,

hi! my name is meredith davis and i blog over at www.meredithnoelle.com. as an avid reader of your blog, i truly feel like your content is something my readers would also enjoy. i really enjoyed your posts on ____ and _____, and would like to invite you to guest post on my blog. if you aren't available to guest post, i'd really like to find a way for us to work together. let's keep in touch!

looking forward to hearing from you!
meredith

that's it! if you like what they're doing, tell them so. be genuine. strive to create a connection as opposed to just a business transaction, and remaining transparent about your thoughts, intentions and stance are the best way to do that. you can even mention being a new blogger looking to get involved, and ask if they have any advice. bloggers love talking about blogging, let me tell you. chat them up! oh, and always attend local meetups! if you don't have a local community, click here to read a post on starting your own.

next week, i'll be discussing how bloggers can get started collaborating with both national and local businesses - how to pitch them, how to form relationships + more!

birmingham bloggers + revelator coffee

revelator coffee is a new addition to the birmingham coffee scene that is not only a stunning visual treat, but a true source of authentic, knowledgeable baristas ready to deliver a one of a kind coffee experience. revelator's focus is on the coffee, and rightly so. as a coffee fanatic, i knew i had to check this place out. and when i did, i decided it was the perfect place for a birmingham bloggers meetup. revelator was so, so kind to host us and let us get to know their brews.

on saturday, january 17th, beth and i invited 12 other birmingham bloggers members to stop by revelator for a casual "coffee chat" to discuss our 2015 blogging resolutions, how to make them, and how we plan to achieve these goals. the chat was a mixture of new and seasoned bloggers alike, which made for great discussion on achieving certain blogging goals.

the wonderful whitney of heart & arrow design helped our bloggers get off on the right foot in 2015 with her custom blogging planner. everyone was so excited about these and got to instagramming them right away! we made little goodie bags for everyone and included some sticky notes and pens to help everyone plan their hearts out.

 

it made my day to meet some members i hadn't met before! i am so passionately excited about how this community is growing and some days i just can't believe it. i mean yeah, this is the largest city in the state of alabama, but... this many bloggers? really? we're at 115 members now, and we don't seem to be slowing down any time soon. i am so glad we're able to host events like this.

i can't wait for our casual meetup at the new bottle & bone on the 22nd - definitely be on the lookout for a post allllll about this amazing place (they have flights of bacon. yeah. flights.)

some photos courtesy of the amazing www.bethcakes.com :)

we found love right where we are

last weekend i took a quick trip to nashville. it was an incredible weekend, and i always have a blast up there. i tried a lot of new restaurants (gabby's burgers, barista parlor, city winery, husk, suzy wong's house of yum...), visited arrington vineyards down near franklin, hit up printer's alley, went to a sunday drag show brunch, y'know, the usual.

sometimes i think nashville is the place i wanna be if/when i move. sometimes, i feel like i wan to push myself to go further. i'm not sure right now. but i do know that nashville is a fantastic place, and i'm so happy it's only a 2.5 hour drive up i-65.

working on: this saturday is our first birmingham bloggers event of 2015 - a resolutions coffee chat at this fabulous new coffee shop on the north side of town. we've been prepping the chat material, packing up the goodie bags (pssst... xoxoheartarrow!) & getting really excited. beth and i have also been to tons of meetings lately... spring 2015 is shaping up to be fabulous for sure!

daydreaming about: all the travel that's about to smack me in the face this year. not kidding. i'm going everywhere. at least it feels that way. i'm heading to new orleans for mardi gras, austin, hopefully charleston this summer, san francisco, and i'm sure i'll end up in atlanta, nashville and the beaches again. it's about to get crazy.

watching: totally binging on portlandia. i watched season one months ago, but now i'm back on it. thank goodness season five just started. i have a huge schoolgirl crush on fred armisen, despite some of the bizarre things you can read about him online if you go lurking (dude's weird, but i have this thing for absurdly talented people, and he's so freakin' talented)

listening: so i just finished the serial podcast - so addicting! i loved but of course, it left me feeling very conflicted. i have my opinion but i won't spoil for anyone who hasn't listened. i've also started listening to a new podcast, being boss. while i'm not exactly what i'd call an entrepreneur, this podcast has some great nuggets for anyone managing their time/money, working on huge projects & navigating into uncharted creative territory. totally reccomend.

how to make a fantastic cheese plate

as a total little bit of a wine-o, i've had many a stellar cheese plate. they make me feel so luxurious. there's something so fancy about cheese with unpronounceable names spread out beautifully on a platter accompanied by a little vino. i often get cheese plates when i dine out, but making one at home is definitely just as fun.

to make your own cheese plate at home, i'd start with a tray, platter or cutting board that will give you a beautiful presentation. after all, we're going out of our way to make a cheese plate here, ok, so just play along & admit that aesthetics are kinda relevant. if they weren't relevant, you're just a girl in your sweatpants eating cheese out of the fridge, watching netflix, alone... not that that's ever happened.

remember: a cheese plate doesn't have to break the bank. if you keep some of your favorites on hand, setting out a few slices for entertaining or even a night in with a bottle of pinot grigio is no big deal. there are a wide variety of great priced cheddars, goudas and goat cheeses - head to your grocery store & experiment!

a cheese plate is about variety and balance. to start, select a hard cheese (cheddar, romano, parmesan, gruyere), a soft cheese (goat, brie, boursin) & a blue cheese (gorgonzola). with your cheeses selected, move on to some garnish. again, focus on a balance of flavors and textures, both salty & sweet.

sweet: grapes, fig compote, dried pineapples/apricots/berries, honey, jam.

salty: thinly sliced deli meat (chicken, turkey, beef), prosciutto, summer sausage, walnuts, pecans, almonds, crackers, wheat thins, balsamic vinegar + a small baguette for dipping, olives, biscotti.

remember the part about not breaking the bank with the cheese? don't feel like you have to spend heavily to get a delicious wine either. to start, read my post on my 3 favorite cheap wines under $10 - you can't go wrong with any of these!

to pair with light cheeses, try fresh, robust, light wines like pinot grigio, moscato or chardonnay. for firmer cheeses, try a pinot noir, port, bordeaux or red blend. again, remember to balance flavors and acidity. if a wine is bold and deep, complement it with a smooth, rich gouda.

for a wine that will pair beautifully with a variety of cheeses, try a dry riesling or champagne.

if you're planning to serve your cheese plate for more than a few friends, account for 2-4 ounces per person, or, if you have cheese fiend friends like mine, maybe a little more. be sure to have small serving knives available for the softer, spreadable cheeses, as well as small dishes/containers for honey, jam and mustard/vinegar. pre-slice some of the harder cheeses, or leave a block with a sharper knife so guests can slice up some more.

a cheese plate doesn't have to be for an event or party. sometimes, enjoying one with a friend over a glass of pinot grigio on a rainy saturday night is the way to go - and nobody judges you for polishing off a block of gruyere. cheers!

2015 goals, blogging & beyond

sigh... every year i say i'm not a resolution person. and i'm really not. i'm more of a goal person - things i'm actually going to accomplish & work towards. i'm not knocking resolutions. but things like "be happy" or "stop cursing" aren't very specific or realistic to me.

so here's what i'm thinking about as we enter 2015. this year, i turn 25. for me, 2014 was a wildly different year than previous years - it was the first year i feel like i really stood on my own two feet and took life by the horns. i loved it, and i am so excited for what another year has to offer.

life goals

1. continue traveling as much as physically, emotionally & financially possible. i did well with this in 2014, having visited denver, austin, nashville and atlanta. i am going to continue this trend in 2015 for sure! so far, i'm heading back to austin this spring and san francisco in august. i'd really like to go to charleston, athens, ga, and savannah.
2. save 10% of my income. i'm good at this, i swear. the holidays made it a little funky but i fully intend to get back on track with my savings (i did just get a raise at work, so here's hoping it makes it a little easier!)
3. smile and look up more. wow, this is a goal. i can't believe it. i want to be fully present where i'm at, mostly when i'm alone in public. get off my iphone. and look, smile, at the people around me. i don't have an issue with this when i'm with friends - but when i'm by myself, i resort to my phone instead of interacting with those around me.

blogging + birmingham bloggers 2015 goals

1. continue posting 2-3 times a week, & giving myself a break when i need it. we're all busy gals. i did wonderful in december sticking to my editorial calendar, and i hope to continue that trend as often as i can. 
2. get a little more personal. i struggle with this. there are so many things i want to say that i write and delete. i want to do a few posts in 2015 that scare me. i'm going to have to force myself!
3. attend as many blogging conferences as i can! i went to y'all connect and the southern blog society conference last summer. this year, i'm hitting up food media south, and i'm going to try to make it to y'all connect, bloganista con & hopefully the southern blog society conference again.
4. hold an event/meetup every month for birmingham bloggers. since our launch in april 2014, we've had an event or meetup every month, and i definitely want to continue this trend. with so much going on for spring 2015, there's going to be quite a few months with multiple events - yay!
5. find a nonprofit/charity for birmingham bloggers to get involved in. this has been on my mind for months, and i can't wait to put this into action. i'd love for birmingham bloggers to get involved in the community.

new years giveaway: $400 at nordstrom!

 

PHOTO CREDS | KELCIE TALK ( link http://www.kelcietalk.com )

happy new year, y'all! hope everyone had a safe, fun holiday. this morning, i am teaming up with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you our first giveaway of 2015! we are kicking off this new year with a $400 gift card to nordstrom! pick yourself up a new outfit to ring in the new year! entering is easy, just use the rafflecopter below. good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

don't forget to check out some of my favorites who are involved in this giveaway: 

KELCIE TALK, Whatever Is Lovely, Kayleigh's Kloset, Sophistifunk, The Urban Umbrella, A Lily Love Affair, Kiss Me Darling, Sunshine And Stilettos, Meredith Noelle, LegalLee Blonde, Simply Mars, Wild One Forever, Over My Styled Body, Cella Jane, Hearts of Gold Blog, Diary of a Debutante, Fabes Fashion, The Heart of the House, Simply Classy, Love Me, Dani Marie, Gracefullee Made, Baby Shopaholic, A Blonde's Moment, KyMarieC, Mama Fashion Files, Life In ATX, Outfits & Outings, Let's Dazzle Darlings, The Cassi Diaries, The Styled Wife