This week, I’d like to introduce you to Angie from Two Sisters & A Blog.
Angie is one half of a dynamic “blogging sisters” team. Her sister, Mindy, is the other half. Their posts are always engaging, and their writing styles compliment each other. Angie’s 3 year old daughter, Mayhem, steals the show with her unique style. Trust me on this! Follow Angie Mayhem on Instagram for instant mood enhancement and a spring in your step! Follow Two Sisters on Facebook.
Q & A with Angie
Q. How did you and Mindy decide to share a blog?
A. The idea for a collaborative blog came about in September of 2010. I was 9 months into the SAHM gig with Mayhem after having spent 12 years in the professional photography world. Mindy was 4 years into her WAHM career as a medical transcriptionist following 9 years of working as a preschool teacher. To say that we were both in need of more adult conversation is a bit of an understatement and we’d talk on the phone daily. These sisterly conversations led to abnormal amounts of laughter and we wondered if anyone else might find a little humor in some of the things we discussed. So we decided to collaborate on a blog with the idea that we’d keep the topics (or at least the tone) light and/or sarcastic since the rest of life seems to be stressful enough.
Q. Your tutorials on watermarks, glitter cups and lemon sugar scrub are excellent. What tutorial are you planning next?
A. Thanks so much, I’ve enjoyed creating those posts. I’m not sure what’s up next but I’ve had several requests to post a “how to” on the paper dresses Mayhem and I create that show up under the #fashionbyMayhem tag in my Instagram feed. Personally though, I’d like to create one on retouching people in a professional manner. I see a lot of bloggers who are super duper over doing it with facial retouching and it makes me cringe. I see these high profile bloggers making themselves look like plastic or totally flat and I don’t think they realize how bad it looks. Retouching faces while still maintaining the contours of the face truly isn’t that tough, but you do have to pay attention to highlights and shadows.
Q. How did you decide to have Mayhem tested for allergies?
A. Great question! The first time she ever ate peanut butter was about a month before she turned two, and she immediately had a reaction. Up until that point, she refused to eat peanut butter. The mere smell of it made her turn away (apparently SHE knew she shouldn’t have it), but I basically force fed her a single goldfish cracker with a small dab of peanut butter on it. Within seconds she began scraping her tongue off with her hand and I knew something was wrong. I gave her a drink of water and she, in turn, threw up all over our carpet. A call to the pediatrician led to a visit to the local Children’s hospital and a blood test which confirmed she did have a peanut allergy. We were advised to keep her away from all nuts until we could have further (more accurate) skin testing performed, which is not recommended until age three. Two months after she turned three, we were able to get her in with an allergist and were stunned to find out the extent and severity of her food allergies. It’s been a definite lifestyle shift for us, but we’re working through the challenges.
Q. You were a guest speaker at Bloggy Convention last year discussing “Photography and Your Blog“. Are more guest speaking appearances in your future?
A. I hope so because I do enjoy it. I spoke at Bloggy Conference again this year which was just about a month ago and I also presented at a beer bloggers conference (yes, you read that correctly) in February of this year. I only had one sleeper during my session at that conference which was immediately after a lunch that included all the free beer you could drink. And, I was told by the event organizers, that even the sleeper gave my session very high ratings in the conference follow up survey. So I’m currently scouring the internet for “margarita bloggers conferences” to apply to as a presenter 😉
Q. Where does Mayhem get her sense of style?!
A. That’s the $64,000 question…. Not from me for sure, as my daily wardrobe consists of jeans, a solid white or black shirt, and not a lot of bling. Mayhem is definitely the anti-me where fashion is concerned, but honestly, I admire her sense of style. I often think that her wild style is here to remind me of the creativity that we all have inside, but sometimes gets squashed as we grow up. One of my greatest hopes is that no one, me included, ever squashes that pure creative imagination she has.
Angie, thank you for your time!
This is a fun tutorial to show how to use Pixlr Express, a free online photo editor. It can give your photos a fresh, unique look. I use it to create collages.
The steps are easy.
1. Visit Pixlr Express and “click” Collage. Choose Layout, upload your photos and begin editing.
2. To apply different effects to each photo, click on the paintbrush at the top of each photo. Apply effects, then save to return to the collage.
3. To apply the same effect to all of the photos, choose finished. Then apply effects.
Edit options include Adjustment, Effect, Overlay, Border, Sticker, and Text. Select each one to see your choices. With Adjustment, you can rotate, crop, lighten, etc. Effects contain the filters. Overlays are bursts of images.
When finished, save to your computer.
My edits in the top collage were as follows:
Top Left = Jenna Sue Text
Top Right = Hagrid Effect
Bottom Left = Satya, Gram, Helena and Hans Effects
Bottom Right = Tom and Ingrid Effects, bronze and Roger Overlays
Here’s one my daughter made! Now I’m holding a pop-tart while a monkey plays on the lawn. Super sweet!
Pixlr Express is also available to download for FREE to your iPad or iPhone.
Give it a try, and share your results!
As part of my new series, Meet The Blogger, I’m introducing my favorite bloggers.
Mary of The Mama Mary Show and I met online in 2010 through SITS. There is something about Mary! She’s remarkable in all of her endeavors. Her blog is polished, and she is engaging, humorous and candid. You will love her.
Follow Mary on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Q & A with Mama Mary
Q. You have the blogs, the book, the news segment, the husband, the kids, the freelance writing. What is next for Mama Mary?
A. Thank you for asking this question because it’s made me really think about what I want to do next. The answer is, I don’t know yet. I’m at a crossroads with the blog and I though I really want to focus on video and web productions, I’m not exactly sure which path I’m going to take next. I am going to start doing a vlog series on Felicity Huffman’s site, WhattheFlicka.com and I am also brainstorming on the next spoof video with my husband, but other than that I’m open to ideas, so if anyone wants to collaborate . . .
Q. Who do you turn to for advice?
A. Oh man, so many people. I am lucky to have a ton of amazing people in my life that I can turn to at any time. For life issues or medical advice I turn to my bestie Mariana who is a doctor in New York–I text her almost daily with some sort of ailment for my self or my kids. She is my backbone in most situations. For personal and professional related advice I turn to my husband who has a great way of getting me to come to my own conclusions without telling me what to do. For cooking advice, when I’m trying out a new dish, I have my friend Laura on speed dial so I can ask her the most inane of questions. For blogging advice I turn to Theresa of RockonMommies, who is, ironically, my rock in this crazy blogging world.
Q. What is your current favorite casual outfit from head to toe?
A. My red Justin Timberlake tank top that I bought at his Legends of Summer Tour and my long black maxi skirt that is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn, my black Michael Kors sandals that I bought during BlogHer ’11 and my teal fedora from Target. Yes, it’s still warm enough in San Diego to wear a tank top and sandals.
Q. What is the secret to being so comfortable in front of the camera?
A. Wine. Just kidding, just kidding! I try to forget that the camera is there and I just act like I’m just talking to a friend. And practice. Lots of practice.
Q. Complete this sentence – The best place to enjoy a cup of clam chowder in San Diego is __________.
A. Dobson’s. Actually, it’s not clam chowder, it’s mussel bisque and it’s to die for. My dad used to take me there before he died and I recently went back just because I was craving that soup. It’s a little hole in the wall, upscale restaurant, adjacent to Horton Plaza in downtown. Just belly up to the bar, order the soup and use the sourdough bread to dip, and you’ll be in heaven.
Thank you, Mary, for your ever entertaining and candid answers!
