Some Thoughts on Blogging

This week is the 10 year anniversary of Glenn Reynold's Instapundit.com which I have been reading daily for the last decade. How Glenn, a husband, father, constitutional law professor, author, interviewer and commentator can also put out the most successful aggregating blog for 10 years is beyond me, but he deserves some crazy kudos. That man is a god, no wonder they call him the blogfather!

Recently I read a report about the correlation between the hours spent watching television and life expectancy. You probably saw that article too.  What I wonder is what is the correlation between time spent blogging and life expectancy?  I would guess that is it is something similar.  I can personally attest to a correlation between time spent at my computer and middle age spread....and so can my derriere.
Which brings me to my point of asking this question...
Is there a optimal amount of time that you can spend blogging before all hell breaks out on your body?

My guess is yes, but it depends on your lifestyle.
If you are an active person, an hour a day is probably alright. If you a working person, comme moi, who spends an average of 10 hours a day at the office in front of the computer, any amount of additional time spent blogging must be detrimental.
So what does a working person do?  Stop blogging?  Blog only on weekends? I don't really know the answer.

Blogging has opened up my world in many ways. 
I've put Australia, Scotland, Wales, Belgium  and the Pyrenees high on my list of places to visit...just because I've enjoyed all the posts by FF, Tabitha, Ruth, Greet and Dash.  I couldn't have predicted this when I started BHB. 
I've also learned a lot about my favorite subjects, history, art, literature, gardening and decoration through reading blogs. 
And, being an anti-social person by nature who avoids social interaction whenever possible, I believe that I have a better understanding of people by reading about their lives and interests.  More importantly, I've learned that there are people out there in the blogosphere that I would love to hang around with....so much for my being anti-social!

Blogging has also helped me to accomplish my primary goal of making people aware of the benefits of buying estate jewelry versus paying retail for new jewelry, and of course about Beladora.com. Let's face it, when you are starting a business and you don't have a budget for advertising or PR...blogging is one way to go.  I look at it as the DIY of branding.  But BHB has also co mingled some of my personal opinions with my brand, which is not what I set out to do.  (Fortunately, I am in the process of upgrading the Beladora website with new code and such, and adding an actual Beladora blog to the site which will solve that issue.)

Blogging has certainly been a worthwhile experience, both personally and professionally, but I've decided to cut back on posting to one day a week. 
I know that my general health, and my derriere, will thank me for it.

Problems With Blogging

Last week there was an article on Drudge stating that internet addiction was as difficult to kick as drugs or alcohol. 
Why do I find this difficult to believe?
I spend virtually all day long in front of my computer
so stepping away from it seems like a vacation.
Forget social networking and twitter
I haven't even logged on to facebook in over 2 months.
But I do follow a lot of blogs and I read them everyday.

This year I have been so frustrated with Google blogger because of the problems with  my profile disappearing when I'm trying to comment on a blog post
and as you know by now, I am opinionated...and I like to leave comments.
Because of this frustration I assume that I could easily give up blogging
without an intervention or a 12 step program
so no addiction here.

Have you been having the same frustrations with Google blogger?
If so, how do you handle it?

Is this Google issue or maybe an Explorer issue?
Should I be using  Firefox?

Oh, and I appreciate everyone who takes the time to leave a comment on BHB
If I'm not commenting on your blogs, it's not because I'm not reading them
it is because blogger is on the blink.

The Evolution of Style - Another Reason For Optimism

Last week I blogged about Interior Desecrations, James Likeks book about hideous interior decoration from the 1970s.  We've evolved from that time and thank god for that.
This week Maxminimus, natty gent and writer extraordinaire,
has brought us a great post First Car - First Girl,
a reminiscence of his 1970s youth, a time when printed nik-nik shirts and platformed famolare shoes were all the rage for trendy men.  Even the Allman Brothers looked bad in nik-nik shirts.
Be sure to read his post.

And today designer/blogger Scott Wood brings us Patrick Grant getting dressed
and proving that at least when it comes to men's fashion,
things have evolved from the sartorially shamefull 70s.


Note Mr. Grant's attention to detail even with the color of his cufflinks and the way that he coordinates the color of his watch strap, belt and shoes.

When it comes to men's fashion I'm unabashedly a trad. 
I appreciate well tailored clothes, quality shoes and coordinated colors.
I'm a trad when it comes to men's jewelry too.  A watch, wedding ring and cufflinks are all the jewelry, in my opinion, that a man should wear.  Even with this limited range there can be plenty of opportunities for a man to show his individualism.

So here are some cufflinks
have at it

And have a Happy Father's!

Lost in Cyberspace

Can someone please explain to me why on certain blogs
*cough Bourbon & Pearls cough*
my profile name, email address and blog URL disappears. 
I'm having a blogger identity crisis and I'm lost in cyberspace.

Why blogger why????

Lately Tabitha has been channelling more Carolina Herrera than Highland Lass,
but I'm still dedicating this Polyvore set to her.

Highland Haute Couture by lifeinthefashlane featuring lace up boots

Boat neck sweater, $396
Chloé short mini skirt, £1,235
All Saints lace up boots, $315
Balenciaga leather bag, $1,895
Brooch
Cuff bracelet
18k ring

My Daughter The Blogger

I suppose that it was only a matter of time before the beautiful Miss de Ville started her own blog chronicling her impressions of life in LA with irreverent commentary and arty photography.

3 Guides and a Girl
Armed with a selection of guide books, good shoes, a collection of cameras and a terrible sense of direction, a single girl decides to see everything worth seeing in Southern California. 
From the bizarre to the beautiful, the quaint to the quackery, no sight is safe.

I love her photography
 

and of course I enjoy reading about Los Angeles from her perspective

The Spadena house on Carmelita in BH is a really superb example of storybook architecture. Also known as the witch’s house, this spooky building is smack dab in the middle of a bunch of colonial and neoclassical monstrosities. I drive by on my way to work and it always makes me smile. As a kid, I lived a few blocks away and I distinctly remember that you couldn’t trick or treat there (they had cops outside the gates) which, frankly, is bullshit. Fun fact: this is the house Alicia Silverstone walks by in her pouty, epiphany scene in “Clueless”.

My beautiful girl turned 26 today....where did the time go....

Around (another) Town - Lunch With Lisa at the Left Bank

It was a special privilege indeed to have spent the weekend in beautiful Palo Alto and to have had the opportunity to meet the lovely Lisa for lunch at a charming brasserie, the Left Bank in Menlo Park.

Lisa, bloggeress extraordinaire, was just as stylish, intelligent, thoughtful and downright pretty as I expected her to be, especially after getting to know her online by reading all of her posts on Amid Privilege.

Oh...and as for her archetype...she didn't strike me at all as a Sturdy Gal...I found her to be what I would call dressed down Grande Dame....which to me means educated, understated and elegant.

If you aren't reading her blog, you need to be. She can really write.

And...while not a tweeter myself....I'm tempted to sign up just to read her tweets!

Taking A Break

Blogging has been curtained recently because life has been busy. 
I was hoping to action a little hiking today or a trip to the gym but I've got 6 auction catalogs and 2 books to peruse today for a lecture on Indian Mughal jewelry that I'm giving next week.
Besides that, I've got the upcoming antique and estate jewelry show in Miami Beach to prepare for, some technical and graphic spiffing up to do on both websites, and you know, a life.

I started this blog for the purpose of SEO and branding because I didn't have the funds to hire a big NY firm to do those things for me.  And, I admired Wendy B's hands on approach to blogging for her business. (btw, congrats Wendy on the new site and the FGI rising star nomination) Originally I planned to post only about estate jewelry and vintage fashion.  Later BHB morphed into something else entirely, because I have trouble staying on topic and keeping my opinions to myself. Today BHB is all over the place, sort of everywhere and nowhere at the same time. 

So, I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while to concentrate on my "tacky online jewelry business" as a fellow blogger described Beladora in a personal email to me.  I'm aware of the fact that I'm not curing cancer but my little business provides gainful employment, brings value to the customer and is green....and yes, I'm proud of it.

I will of course keep up with the many blogs that I read and stay in touch.
à bientôt

If You've Got It Flaunt It - Or So They Tell Me

In the new issue of the edgy Flaunt Magazine, another gorgeous photo by Donna Trope with Beladora jewelry...or so they tell me. I can't tell anything from this photo so I'm off to buy the print edition.

Meanwhile, if you're not the type to flaunt it
please go see the beautiful pieces on the latest post of one of my favorite blogs, Amid Privilege. 
5 Pieces of Jewelry For A Wish List
Beladora has happily purchased a little ad on Privilege (our first blog ad!!)
and we feel privileged to be associated with one of the classiest blogs on the internet.

If you click through the Privilege blog and decide to purchase a little this or a little that
we will, with pleasure, send a modest referral fee to the Privilege blogstress...
as we would for anyone else who refers a client to our firm.

We have chosen not to sign up with the big affiliate marketing firms because the set up fees and monthly costs would have had to have been be incorporated into the prices of our jewelry. 

We would much rather work with bloggers, who we admire, on an individual basis, where we can compensate them in a way that will not affect our end prices to our clients.
For clarification, we don't work with the standard retail markup.  Our prices are based on what we had to pay to purchase an item.  If we bought an item particularly well, we will pass on that savings to our clients.

For example, take these earrings

They are being sold elsewhere for $18,000

Meanwhile, Beladora has the all white diamond version of the same Oscar Heyman earrings $9750.
They were purchased well, and can be sold at the right price.

So, go check out the Privilege wish list,
You might even be inspired to make your own...
you never know, with the holidays approaching fast
someone may want to know what you are wishing for.

Amid Privilege - What A Place To Be

Things have been busy around here today but I wanted to make sure that all of you know about the launch of the new Privilege blog.
Beladora.com is proud to be associated with one of the most  well written, informative and elegant lifestyle blogs.

Why Blogger...Why?

It must be the beginning of the end. 
You know that feeling when you make a big effort on your part to say something clever or charming and you are met with total nonchalance on the other side.
And you ask yourself what did I do wrong? 
I was there faithfully everyday, giving it my all.  But as the years and the posts passed, little issues started cropping up between us that just couldn't be corrected.
How many times, like yesterday, can I allow myself to spend an hour scanning photos, uploading images, writing commentary and inserting links only to have you be completely unresponsive to my needs.
Oh I admit it, I blamed it first on my computer.  But now that I have my new super computer I have to face the fact that the problem is with you.
OK, I get it.  The relationship was always one sided anyway.
Somehow it all makes sense, especially knowing that you come from a family where long standing relationships weren't truly valued. After all, your parents moved to Bermuda to avoid paying taxes...and you know they say about the apple not falling far from the tree...or at least I think that's what they say.

Blogger, I hope that you treat your other bloggers better than you have treated me!

When Blogger Goes Bad

Why have I been having problems uploading my images...and where did the rest of my posts disappear to?

October Already

All of the sudden time seems like it is speeding up as if the whole time space continuum has gone into warp speed.

October already, the dreaded month harboring colder weather and worse an upcoming birthday.
With October the Fall social season has gone into full swing as well with an event scheduled almost every other day, luncheons, dinners, gallery openings, lectures, concerts...and the list of events continues until the Holidays.
I was hoping for a trip to Europe this month, but that is out of the question.  Even November now is too booked for travel.

I'm out of breath, not physically but mentally, feeling that I can't keep up with even the most basic tasks including reading all of your blogs and posting here on BHB. I can't keep up with my email, business or personal, or even clean my desk, there are papers and post it notes and notebooks and random pieces of jewelry all over the place.

It distresses me how unorganized my life is next to other bloggers, like Faux Fuchsia who manages to have a day job, work in her garden, paint her nails and whip out a gourmet dinner all in one day. Or, Jill who can decorate an entire hours, take a master gardener's class, read a book, walk her dogs, and give a dinner party all on the same day while keeping up with her blogging. It exhausts me just thinking about how much they accomplish.

Maybe my new super computer, which hopefully should be ready to go next week, will speed up my basic online tasks, and make my day more efficient.  Hopefully is the key word here. 
We shall see...

To everyone who follows and  reads BHB, thank you.  I appreciate it. 
I'll try to keep the ranting down in the future.

Sharing The Love or Savoring A Little Savoir Faire

For your reading pleasure I bring you the Savoir Faire blog written by David Toms, my favorite Aussie in Canada.
Go ahead and read his fabulous posts on An American In Paris about the incredibly talented Mainbocher
and
Worth A Second Look about the rebirth of the House of Worth.
David has a amazing eye for not just couture fashion but all things stylish in design, decor, antiques, architecture and travel.
What's not to love.

Certain Celebrity Style or My Problem With Blogging

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I worked in the financial services field for a division of an uber bank.  What was instilled into me at that firm through its rigorous training programs was to know what you are talking about, to have an opinion and to be able to back it up. As all of you know by now, I have an opinion. In fact I have lots of opinions and that's one of the reasons that I started this blog with a pseudonym.

But now, three years later I realize how careful I have to be about what I write here.  Conflicts of interests are always present.  There is what I need to do for business and what I really think.

Take for example my love hate relationships with fashion/style magazines.  There are some magazines that I enjoy reading, such as ELLE and others that are so syrupy in their celebrity sycophancy that they make me cringe. Yet cringing or not, I still want to see my product displayed in their glossy pages.
Like I said, conflict of interest.

Sometimes I seriously consider starting another blog, with an even more obscure pseudonym where I could voice my opinions more honestly.  If I had that blog I would probably write about the September issue of a highly popular fashion/style magazine which included an article about "celebrity designers".  The "celebrity designers" in this article were a middle aged pop star, who recently celebrated her 52nd birthday, and her 13 year old daughter with the name a Saint and the nickname of a demimonde.  According to the article her gal pal Stella McCartney solicits fashion feedback from her 13 year old child. Really Stella, is this the best that you can do?

Can anyone out there tell me what any 13 year old, precocious, entitled, spoiled, celebrity daughter or not, really has to say about fashion. In the back of my mind I'm thinking STFU about style, get out of your closet and go read a book or twenty.

But in our material world, because we are all material girls,
celebrities now make up our new Pantheon of Gods.
Everything we need to know we can learn from celebrity magazines...our new Oracle of Delphi
Isn't it enough already that we slather over them....and solicit their opinions on everything from environmental policy to international relations to economic strategy to fashion.
Do we have to bow down to their teenage daughters as well?

(Please note that in no way do I blame the child.  It's the mother pushing he child into the media spotlight that I find disturbing.)

This and That

I've been unusually busy today with all kinds of nonsense but I wanted to post about a couple of things this week.

Patricia Neal, R.I.P.  What an incredible Greek tragedy of a life this woman led, from her affairs with Ronald Reagan and Gary Cooper to her marriage to the philandering Roald Dahl, to the deaths of two of her children to her untimely stroke and subsequent recuperation.  The Mail Online has the story

Then there is the whole Naomi Campbell-Charles Taylor-Blood Diamonds story.  From texting to sexting, did she or didn't she flirt for the diamonds? 

And in a strange 6 degrees of separation story, two of Charles Taylor's daughters by his American ex-wife, were at boarding school with my son and daughter.  In fact my daughter might have even been roommates with one of them.  I remember how great these girls were and my daughter remembers them fondly.  Luckily they were raised in the US and Switzerland, far away from their father.

Out in bloggerland one of our favorite UK blogger babes, Tabitha, has posted that she is taking a break from her Bourbon and Pearls blog.

If you haven't read her blog, check it out. I assure you that you will be impressed with her writing.

Then another great writer, LPC, at her Privilege blog, had an interesting post on the writing that goes into product branding, specifically the writing for high end shoe designer n.d.c.  One of her commenters suggested that n.d.c. should have hired a professional copywriter for their website, and perhaps she was correct.

But then it brought to mind that here at Beladora HQ we do all of the writing in house because we can't afford to hire a professional writer.

Writing product descriptions is seriously dull work, honestly it is brain numbing.
So naturally we try to have a little fun with it when we can like with the descriptions from these vintage charm pendants from Beladora2.com.
Here are a few examples
Vintage Feelin' Pharaoh-cious Charm Necklace in 14K

Take a float down the Nile of style in this vintage charm necklace. Featuring a pair of profile charms on of an Egyptian Pharaoh and the other of an Egyptian queen, this charm necklace is hotter than hieroglyphics
and
Think Tink Charm Necklace in 14K

Why not take a little bit of 'The Happiest Place In The World" with you wherever your go. Featuring a Tinkerbell charm and a "Disneyland" logo charm, this vintage charm necklace is your way to add the wonderful world of Disney to your wardrobe.
and
Vintage Thar She Blows Charm Necklace in 14K

Tell the world a whale of a tale with this adorable vintage charm necklace. A smiling whale charm is complemented by a ship steering wheel charm for a look that's as modern chic as it is Moby Dick!

OK, so we aren't going to win any literary prizes but an important part of our brand message is that estate jewelry isn't only about the serious and expensive stuff of your Grand Dame great aunt
it is young and fun and reasonably priced too.
I hope that we've made our point.

Bluetramontana Style for my 1406th BHB Post

With Italy on my mind today, because of my blog award from Rachel at Inspiration in Italy in her 100th post, I thought that I would share the love and recommend another blog that I am following
Mauro Morello's Bluetramontana Style
Go check it out.

And yes peeps, I've now passed my 1400th blog post....can I make it to 1500 posts?

Tanti Baci Award of More Reasons To Be Thankful

Beautiful Blond Blogger Rachel from Inspiration in Italy, on her 100th post has shared the love around the blogosphere including honoring my humble BHB blog with the Tanti Baci Award. I am thrilled!

All of us know how time consuming it is to blog...especially to reach 100 posts, so please stop by her blog and give her your congratulations.  And, be sure to check the gorgeous photographs of her fairytale life in Italy...we should all have lived such a life when we were young....

Getting Out The Vote and Sharing The Love With The UK Blogger Babes

If you haven't done this already, please click over to Kate Battrick's Make Do Style and congratulate her on her well deserved master's degree.
And then go over here to vote for Kate's film "Dress Up".
She needs your vote today.

Complemented on Comments

Super Comments Award

This week when I checked in on one of my favorite blogs to catch up on the chic life in the Welsh wilderness at Life The Universe and All That's In It, I was so pleased to read that Ruth had kindly nominated me for this award.  Thank you Ruth!
The rules are ....

Post it on your blog
Thank and link the person who gave it to you.
Answer the ten questions that come with the award.
Nominate some of your favourite blogs.

Why do you blog?

I started this blog to write about Beladora.com and why you should invest in estate jewelry.  Also I wanted to share my shopping philosophy which comes down to 3 principles:

'friends don't let friends pay retail'

'friends don't let friends waste money on costume jewelry'

'smart women invest in assets with long term style (estate jewelry), not trendy fashions'

Obviously three years later my BHB blog has morphed into something else entirely because I have opinions about all kinds of stuff, and this is where I express them.

What are your three best memories?
Taking my horses out on the beach, and into the ocean, on the coast of Carpenteria.
Skiing with my children in the French/Swiss Alps resort, Avoriaz.
A vacation in Cabo San Lucas.
If you had to change your name, what would it be?
There was a time when I would have liked to have changed my name from a simple English two syllable name with a diminutive 'y' on the end, that was once described in a book as a "maid's name", to a stronger European multisyllabic name like Cassiopeia, Alexandra, Genevieve or Brunhilde.
I've also secretly loved masculine/feminine names like Sydney and Whitney.
Name five things you couldn't live without?
My family, my friends, my job, sunshine and a sense of humor.
Four best books that you have read?
How can I pick just four great books when there have been so many.
For non-fiction
'Modern Times' by Paul Johnson.  I separate the world into those who have read the book and those who haven't and anyone who hasn't read the book should.  I also love all of Johnson's history books including 'Intellectuals' and 'The Birth of the Modern'.  (Like Wendy B, I love Barbara Tuchman's history books as well) 'Mistress to an Age' by Herold, 'The Road to Serfdom' by F.A. Hayek and 'Journey into the Whirlwind' and 'Within the Whirlwind' by Eugenia Semenova Ginsburg, 'Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World' by Young-Bruehl and all of the books by economist Thomas Sowell.
For fiction
The works of Zola. 'The Magic Mountain' and 'Buddenbrooks' by Thomas Mann, 'Foucault's Pendulum' by Umberto Eco, 'Daniel Martin' by John Fowles, 'Possession' by A.S. Byatt, and the works of Edith Wharton.
Tell us a unique and interesting fact about yourself?
A picture of me was once on the cover a specific sports magazine with the tag line "Is it a sport or an addiction".
What do you love best about yourself?
The fact that I am no longer naive
What is the best movie ever made?
Oh come on....this question is impossible to answer.
If you had a "Freaky Friday" experience, who would you change places with and why?
Germaine de Stael because that bitch was everywhere and met everyone of importance of her era from Goethe to Tallyrand to Pitt
or Hannah Arendt because of the legacy that she left.
What is the best part about being a woman?
The best part about being a woman is getting older and not taking yourself so seriously.

Well Ok then....questions answered.
and I further nominate
Bourbon and Pearls
Kimmystyle
Privilege
Metscan
Admiral Cod - obviously change the gender in the 10th question

BTW, if I haven't made myself clear about this before, I do so appreciate all of you who have taken the time to leave a comment or multiple comments on BHB.  I love reading your thoughts and opinions.  I do my best to comment on all of your blogs as well....I wish there were more hours in the day.

If I Had A Hammer

Over the last few weeks I have had multiple computers (home and office) giving me multiple problems which makes all thing bloggish and businessish take much longer than usual. Life is short so in all things computerish, I feel the need for speed.
Why have I let this go on so long...well probably because I believe in magical realism and that one day soon I will just wake up and my computer issues will spontaneously be solved....all without my being driven to the level of frustration where a hammer is necessary.  In fact I finally broke down and scheduled some quality time with my tech guy.  He will be here tomorrow bringing memory and other techish magic with him hopefully upping my hard drive's efficiency, so I can once again have tech joy and happiness back in my life.