South On Broadway Has Moved // New URL!

It has been a glorious 3 years here on my blogger platform but I am so excited to share that my site has moved over to southonbroadwayblog.com. Come and check it out! 

Make sure you update your browser, favorites list, bloglovin' feed or however you might get to my blog so you don't miss out. All my previous posts and content have moved over and now you should too.

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Thank you blogger, it has been a hell-of-a-ride navigating the blogosphere with you!



south on broadway

Big News... Blog 2.0

Hi all. I feel like I need to re-introduce myself as I have been so absent here on the blog over the past week or so. Ugh, it is all for good reason... promise.

I am super excited about today's post and the hard work that has been going on over the past few months here at south on broadway. I mentioned months ago, april to be exact, that my blog was looking to get a face lift and finally after hours, weeks and the help of many tech-savvy friends, we are ready to go live!

(a little sneak peak of my new blog design)

I have a completely new blog design to debut that should not only be a nice upgrade after 2+ years with the current design but I am also switching over my hosting platform from blogger to wordpress. My plan in upgrading my blog was three-fold, I wanted to freshen up the design of my blog but I also wanted the capability to have more control over my content and I also wanted to put in place a way to have better engagement opportunities for my readers. Hopefully you will have an easier time navigating my site, searching for specific content and engaging with me! on my new 2.0 blog which I cannot wait to launch tomorrow!!!

So, starting tomorrow my blog url will be changing. You will no longer come to this web address to access my blog and I cannot wait for your feedback on the new site. I am still working out a few little quirks but  I cannot wait to share it with all of you. 

Come back here tomorrow and I will have a direct link to the new site! Happy monday lovely readers and as always, thank you for your support of this little blog of mine :)

Blogging Updates

This little blog of mine has been alive and kicking for 3 1/2 years now which is a little crazy (and a lot bit exciting!) to think about. My corner of the internet has been a labor of love that has honestly, given back to me ten times what I have probably written and created for you. 

South on broadway's inception came from my personal lack of focus and inspiration; I was at a low point with my job, wanting to find an activity or hobby to pour myself into and truly, just needed a change. My best friend beth got me into reading blogs right around this time and I fell in love, hard. I was inspired and could not get enough. Before I knew it, I was registering for a blogger account and spending countless hours trying to find my voice, writing content and creating a place that felt like me. 

(my blog header through the years... the bottom one is a sneak peak at some of the things I am working on currently)

Over the last 3 1/2 years I have had 2 site updates, written nearly 1,000 posts and have learned a lot through trial and error. I am a long way from being proficient or even successful in the blogosphere but I am quite proud of where things have evolved to. I am actually super excited to let you all know that I have been feverishly working away on some major updates around here that I cannot wait to go live in the very near future!

I cannot give too much away just yet but there are some serious changes happening in my world so, I hope you keep visiting my site to stay up to date on the fun. 

Wellington Lake // Magisto Video

I used my favorite video making site, magisto to make a quick video of our camping trip from last week. This site is great... you upload your photos + videos and it automatically edits them together for you... oh and free which is perfect in my mind. While I would love to have a bit more control of what is included or how the edit is made, I do not have this skill-set so magisto is the next best option in my book. Please enjoy!

Camping Trip // Video Editing with Magisto

During my summer camping trip a couple weeks back, I took a lot of videos of our stay at wellington lake. I was inspired by my friend phil who documented his recent trip to catalina island through an awesome video that he edited from all his footage. You can watch it here. 

While I am not one tenth as tech savvy as phil, I did find a free video 'editing' site that will take the footage you upload, along with your images and it will create a video for you. The site, magisto, has pre-set video editing styles to choose from along with music to create a soundtrack. While you cannot edit the content you upload, it still does a pretty solid job on its own. Check out my video below...

this post was not sponsored by magisto; these are just my thoughts which I wanted to share with you, my lovely readers.

Latest Obsession // Nespresso

I have become obsessed with nespresso makers.  My interest first peaked last holiday season when I popped into a sur la table and they were handing out sample drinks.  The frothy cappuccino was deep in flavor, rich in color and so much better than any kurig coffee I had ever tried (sorry kurig and kurig lovers).  Plus, most models come with a milk frother so you can brew up both espresso,   lattes and cappuccinos.  I don't think any other product on the market right now can even compare.

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Lisa from peridot skys loves hers, a close friend told me its a staple in his daily routine and even hotels are starting to feature them in their rooms for guests so I know I am not alone on this one.  Like I mentioned yesterday, I made a few (oopsy!) while staying at the four seasons last friday.  

Have you had a nespresso?  Do you think it is worth the investment?



this post was not sponsored by nespresso; these are just my thoughts which I wanted to share with you, my lovely readers.

Blog Redesign... Up and Running!

OMG today is a good day for this little blog of mine.  If you remember a few weeks back, I won a free blog redesign from Blair at Design That Inspires.  I could not be more happy with the complete overhaul that has been done to my blog and the amazing work that Blair was able to create for me.  I truly am in awe of it all.  

Thank you again Blair!

Concierge.com

Do you have a go-to website you feel yourself constantly recommending?  A site that always gives accurate advice that you hold to the highest standard.  Well, mine is Concierge.com for anything travel, food, activity or hotel related for nearly any city across the globe. 

I love the interactive map tool that lets you click on a city anywhere in the world to find Condé Nast reviewed and approved locations.  You can create your own ‘trip plans’ that earmark restaurants, hotels and activities for an upcoming or bucket list trips.  The best part, you can sort by price so regardless of your budget, there will be suggestions to choose from.

I stumbled upon this site years ago when researching a hotel for our trip to San Francisco/Sonoma.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of my favorite Bravo ‘Top Chef’ restaurants on the list so it began my curiosity in what additional info I could find out.  Our trip turned out amazing because of the recommendations I took from the site.  We dined at Town Hall, spent an afternoon admiring art at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and shacked up at El Dorado Hotel in Sonoma.  I guess you could say, from that trip on, my go-to online resource became Conceirge.com. 

Over the years I have found restaurant recommendations that have been spot on like my most recent trip to San Diego when we dined at Neighborhood and Searsucker.  When visiting a cousin in West Palm Beach, The Omphoy greeted us for a weekend stay with contemporary furnishings and amazing customer service.  However the best of the best was the most luxurious hotel I have ever experienced (and probably ever will) for our Honeymoon in Greece, The Belvedere Hotel.  Honestly, I thank my lucky stars I found this hotel and not that I wouldn’t have found it another way, but I want to give credit where credit is due. 

So, looking for ideas of what to do or a new place to try in your home town?  Or maybe you have a trip you are starting to plan and need some suggestions?  Do you just want to see what is out there to fantasize from the comforts of your own home?  Well, might I suggest you peruse Concierge.com and see where it takes you.

P.S.  I (sadly) am not endorsed by this company nor receiving any compensation for this post; these are just my thoughts that I wanted to share with you. 

My 'Network' is a Go!

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I have to give some major props to my friend Phil at A Phil's Life who hooked me up with some serious technology today!  I have been wanting to create some links on my site to give a more-user friendly experience for my viewers for quite some time but do not have the Photoshop chops to do it on my own.  Well, Phil to the rescue as he created my new fabulous links so all of you can check out my Instagram page, all my pins on Pinterest, send me an email and finally, follow me through my new RSS feed.

Seriously, I am so excited about this addition to my blog.  I hope you guys like the changes and make sure you also check out Phil's blog.  Again, my many thanks... maybe Steak Frites will be coming your way after all!

Hungry for Hunger Games

So as I mentioned on Friday, we went to go see the highly anticipated, Hunger Games.  Ryan, Brian and I bought tickets weeks in advance and I will say the movie was great.  I love the review that Haley gave at Cardigan Junkie (one of my fav blogs!!) so please check it out!

Spoiler alert… don’t read any further if you are planning on seeing the movie and do not want to know a couple small details!

The film depicted the arena just as I imagined it from the novel and it felt very authentic.  While it did lack in some serious character building, the cinematography was remarkable and the actors picked up on the nuances of each character extremely well.  I understand that it is hard to portray all the details of the book in 2hrs and 22 minutes but the major changes/elements left-out sold the film a bit short.  There was some foreshadowing about the second novel though which will tie the films together nicely.

I guess the thought that kept coming to mind throughout the whole movie was… if you have not read the Hunger Games, you could be very confused going to watch the film.  Viewers will not understand the deep connection between Peeta and Katniss, nor understand the struggles the districts have been through that give them such revolt towards the Capitol.

Go see the film and ‘may the odds be ever in your favor!’ 

Friday Favorite

I know my 'Friday Favorties' posts are typically supposed to include multiple things I am excited about sharing with you but today is no ordinary day.  Thus, this is no ordinary post. 

Today is the day I am going to go see The Hunger Games!!!  I have read all the books (this is a big shocker for some as i am not a reader) and even pre-purchased tickets.  I cannot wait to see how it compares and give a full update this weekend.

Are any of you planning on seeing Hunger Games?  Who is your favorite character? 

Paper'd

If you have an iPhone and you haven’t yet downloaded the FREE app, ‘Paper’d’ may I say you need to jump off my blog right now and grab your phone.  (Did I just say that?!).  Paper’d is a new iOS wallpaper app that gives you hundreds of options to make your phone more you. 

There are tons of collections to choose from such as patterns, quotes, initials, robots, daily calendars, mantras and tons more.  I love the graphic design on so many of them and the typography is so fun! 

The app was created by two best friends, Jamie Varon and Nicole Antoinette.  Varon gained pop-culture street-cred back in 2009 when she created the website TwitterShouldHireMe.com.  The site got a ton of attention, which ultimately led her to create the high-end web design boutique Shatterboxx in April of 2009.  Varon met Antoinette and the rest is design history. 

Hooray for all of us because we are all now benefiting from their collaborations.

Secrets Out

I feel like I have a total lack of focus tonight and this is going to hinder any ingenious ideas I could be coming up with right now so please bare with me. 

We had our friends Nate and Brian over tonight for tacos and a little reality TV watching which was very fun (and loud!).  I mentioned towards the end of the night that I had recently started a blog and I could not gauge their initial responses. Of course, what I would consider to be a 'typical male response' was something like "You are a blogger!?!?".  I instantly felt embarrassed for something that up until that moment, I was so proud of. 

To be completely honest, I have not been too forthcoming with any of my friends/family about my blog in fear of judgement.  I guess I am not ready to have everyone be a critic.  However, I am putting myself out there and the more I think about it, the people closest to me should have the most support.  I would like to think that Brian will be shortly following this little project of mine as well. 

Ryan keeps telling me I need to start letting people know about my blog but I have such mixed fillings about pushing something I am still trying to figure out on so many levels myself.  I would love to know how other bloggers have felt as their thoughts, ideas, creativity and post became known by their friends and family.  All responses welcome.