April 6th, 2010
I’ve been amazed at how different Delia and Aiden are. Delia was terrified of men, especially men with beards, when she was a baby (sorry grandpas – both grandfathers had beards and she would cry and turn away when she saw them)…Aiden prefers men, he will reach out for strangers even, especially men with beards. Delia loved baby dolls and stuffed animales from 3 months forward…Aiden could take them or leave them but is in love with any type of ball, calling out “ball, ball, ball” as we bass the giant cement balls in front of Target. Delia never opened any of the cabinets in the kitchen and Aiden has already opened every cabinet he can get his hands on.
My little boy amazes me every day. He is so sweet, his hair finally growing in and taking on that long haired curly boy hair sweetness. We went to an easter egg hunt this weekend and had a chance to sit with the Easter bunny. It was so cute, even if the bunny reminded me of the oh so creepy bunny from Donnie Darko. I saw that movie when I was 7 months pregnant with Delia and ended up hysterical in a puddle by the end of the movie. Still, how sweet is my poor little one – hubby handed him right to the bunny, Aiden took one look and burst into tears. He’s a people person and will go with anyone, but apparently the oversized bunny was just too much.
Posted in Everyday Things | No Comments »
April 5th, 2010
I love watching our pre-made templates from My Quick Boutique transformed into something that looks more like a custom boutique website. SimpleYetElegantAccessories.com used our very popular Darling template, and with an overall color change, addition of their own logo and front page setup, ended up with their own unique boutique look. With their fantastic selection of high quality costume jewelry and women’s accessories, their jewelry is everything the name says – Simple Yet Elegant. Make sure to stop by and take a peek!
Posted in Newly Launched | No Comments »
April 2nd, 2010
I just received the nicest little thank you card and gift from a recent My Quick Boutique client, the Krusees from takeittothecross.net. I was extremely pleased with how their site came out, so of course, I’m thrilled that they are happy. It just goes to show, that you don’t have to have a big budget to have a great looking site. The Krusee’s chose a pre-made boutique website template from My Quick Boutique, added a color change, front page setup and used their own custom logo and ended up with a store that looks fantastic! Make sure to stop by and take a quick peek at their store.
Posted in My Quick Boutique, Newly Launched | No Comments »
March 31st, 2010
A turnkey boutique is one of the easiest and most cost effective way to start an online business. We offer turnkey boutiques that include a custom website designed specifically for the category of products the site will carry. Careful consideration has been given to the quality and selection of products for the boutique, all from reputable drop ship suppliers, and 350 products are loaded on the site and available for sale as soon as you purchase the boutique. In addition, our turnkey boutiques include a blog template, Twitter and Facebook accounts and backgrounds, business card design, newsletter design and set up, and most important all turnkey boutiques include unlimited email support. That adds up to a complete turnkey package that gets your boutique up and running as soon as you purchase the boutique. We have a very knowledgeable Turnkey consultant with a knack for finding unique and high quality products – these aren’t cookie cutter sites, stocked with the same thing over and over, but unique eCommerce boutiques with excellent potential for success.
We’ve just added two new sites that are being setup and stocked with products right now. petitestationery.com and poshbabygirl.com are both beautifully designed and come with all the extra touches that will contribute to their success. Don’t delay – contact us today for more information.
Posted in Modern Sugar News | No Comments »
March 30th, 2010
I finally put together an about me page for the Modern Sugar website. People have been asking for it since I started the website in 2005, back when it was The Maine Baby and later TMBDesigns. Somehow it never got written. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, where I started…why I started. You can read the story on the website – it is brief but hits the major points. I think some of what’s missing is how desperate I felt in those early days.
I knew, even before I was pregnant that I wanted to work from home. I searched around for something that I could do. I was certainly competent and educated with administrative skills. I typed 80+ words a minute and had worked as a legal secretary. I worked as a teacher and knew all about teaching, lesson planning, pedagogy. I had been paid to publish articles, so freelance writing was an option. But, none of this seemed like the answer. Freelance work is hard to come by and often you have to be well connected to break in. All my skills from being an educator didn’t really seem to translate into making money from home. My secretarial and administrative skills were in demand, but the field was cluttered with people who had the same skills. Even back then, around 2001, I spent a lot of time on the Internet. And the only thing I knew for sure, was that the answer would be found online. I took an intro to web design course online and then, before I had any sort of plan or future as a WAHM I was pregnant. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Everyday Things, Modern Sugar News | No Comments »
March 20th, 2010
Elegant, chic, modern and pretty. Bellefleur is a new pre-made website template from My Quick Boutique. This pre-made, limited edition template comes in our wider format and valid xhtml/css layout. This color palette is soft, pretty and perfect for your online boutique. Check it out:
Posted in My Quick Boutique | No Comments »
March 9th, 2010
My grandmother turned 90 on valentine’s day. We were supposed to be there for her 90th birthday party, but an uncharacterstic snow storm (one of 2 or 3 this winter) hit the Baltimore area a couple of days before and the party was postponed. So we’re heading down this weekend to celebrate a month late. I’m beyond excited, not just for her birthday but also because we are driving down.
I grew up taking driving vacations when I was younger. We lived in Colorado and my father dragged us all around the west anywhere from a weekend to week long or even two. I know some people have no tolerance for being in the car for long periods of time, but I loved those trips. Since Delia was born, we’ve been on one driving vacation. We drove down to Virginia to visit my best friend and then went to Chincoteague with my other best friend. Delia got sick in Chincoteague and between having a 103 degree temperature and some sort of stomach virus ended up throwing up all the way home…11 hours to be exact.
Needless to say we haven’t been in a hurry to drive anywhere, but we are going to drive this weekend. Taking the scenic route, my husband assures me. Staying in a hotel with an indoor pool, the one request Delia had. I’m working on a scrapbook for my grandmother (and by working I mean I finally got the pictures printed, and there is an empty scrapbook on my desk downstairs, which will be magically transformed before the trip…and hey, 10 hours in the car, can’t forget that extra time just in case I’m running behind) and my father sent me this picture for it. I just love this picture…I’ll let it speak for itself.
Posted in Everyday Things | No Comments »
February 28th, 2010
we have been so busy here that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. Case in point – it’s 10:21pm on a Saturday night and I am working. In an effort to find more balance, I have decided (been coerced, begged, cajoled) into taking every Sunday off. I will say that it has been HEAVENLY, even if I did turn our family fun day last week into family clean day. Seriously, any reason to get my new little vacuum out (did I mention my new favorite toy is a $20 vacuum) and an opprotunity to squirt and spray the house with some lovely smelling method products – even while my family looks on like I truly have LOST it. Ahhhhh, family day. I think tomorrow my husband is going to force me to go out and do something, I think he’s on to my game and realizes that I will continue to put everyone to work if I’m allowed.
Anyway, the new site is doing very well. I’ve been so pleased with the response and the new customers, and it really has made everything easier. I am still a teeny bit behind on one or two projects, but all in all, I’m in pretty good shape. Which is why I spent the day working on a new design for My Quick Boutique. I can’t remember the last time we had a new design, and we are debuting our new wider format – now that most people have bigger monitors and higher resolutions, I decided to go ahead with the wider format, which is soooooooo very nice. Our new design has been floating around in my head for about 5 or 6 weeks, just couldn’t find the time. When I finally got started last night everything seemed to come right together for Spring Chick – a fun, bright and oh so sweet website template, designed to make your store look hip, professional and modern but not break the bank. With temperatures on Friday in the 50s (I know, our friends down south in Boston and New York are buried, but here, rain and balmy 50 degree temps) This template features both our new wider format and valid css/xhtml with tableless formatting, the gold standard that has cross browser compatibility and can help out with your SEO. Check it out, and let us know if you have any questions!
Click here to view the sample store!
Posted in My Quick Boutique | No Comments »
February 19th, 2010
I have to admit, I didn’t love our last site redesign. Sometimes it’s love at first site, and sometimes it just needs to grow on you – but that never really happened. I think that’s why I left my blog with the old design. There was certainly nothing wrong with our last look – it just didn’t really POP. This new one – love at first site. This one demanded that I get the blog template done right away, no waiting around for anything to grow on me.
And…hopefully you found your way to our brand new site – My Quick Boutique! My Quick Boutique has been done for weeks – maybe months, and it took everything I had not to launch it until Modern Sugar’s makeover was ready. But, it’s finally here, and we are thrilled. And we are already filling orders like crazy, which leads me to believe that I was right to think that one site for the pre-mades would simplify everything and make it oh so mcuh easier to order and find what you need! Run on over and take a look – http://myquickboutique.com.
Posted in Modern Sugar News | No Comments »
February 19th, 2010
No need to carry inventory – completely stocked with drop ship wholesale vendors!
bellagrlboutique.com is our newest turnkey boutique, we’ve filled the store with drop-ship products so everything ready for you to start selling online. If you’ve always dreamed of owning your own boutique website – our turnkey boutique solutions are perfect for you.
Take a look at everything that is included in our latest turnkey boutique website package -
bellagirlboutique.com - for sale now at Modern Sugar.
Posted in Newly Launched | No Comments »
