Category Archives: Totally Recommend

Pinterest Management Service (and why you need it)

You wake up. You read emails. You answer emails. You slam coffee. You check Facebook, Twitter, you like, post, RT and Tumble. You slam more coffee and get on with tasks for the day. Three hours later, you haven’t tweeted in a while and a cold sweat of panic and guilt washes over you. More coffee. Then on to Instagram. You like and comment and wonder how you’ll find time to snap great pics of your hectic life. You get back to the “real” work of making sure your business is running smoothly…phone calls, meetings, coffee, more phone, spreadsheets, email email email.  Oh phooey. You forgot about Pinterest. You switch over (after checking Facebook and Twitter) and as the cascade of bright and shiny images loads on your screen, you do all you can not to jump out the window.  It’s just. Too. Much.

Ok, now that you’re in your fifth panic attack for the week (you may want to cut back the coffee just a wee bit ;) let’s take a deep breath and figure out what you can do to take some things off your plate.

The truth is, Pinterest isn’t hard to manage. In fact, it’s so darn pretty, it’s rather fun. But it does take time, and if not kept in check an hour can turn into four spent pinning and re-pinning and that just can’t happen during your crazy work days.  However, if you have a brand that is: visual, product based, creative, graphic, or female-focused, you really should have a solid presence on Pinterest.

Here’s how I can help.  Beyond my normal consulting services, it has become very apparent that this new social media channel is sometimes just too much for a small business to handle.  I have been managing many, many Pinterest campaigns over the past two years, and understand fully what it takes to keep your brand alive and well on this channel; thus the creation of my Pinterest Management Program. It’s simple:

Cost: $300/month – 3 month minimum
Includes:
- A minimum of 5 pins per day (typical pins range between 8-15) – equally divided between your brand’s original content + strategic pinning and repinning of other content. We’ll keep things in your voice and with your aesthetic so it feels genuine and on-brand.
- Mapped out strategy plan for creating boards, and following key influencers.
- “Likes” of every trackable pinner who has pinned something from your brand.
- Liason with your web programmer to make sure you have a visible Pinterest presence on your own site, including “Pin it” buttons, “Follow me” etc.
- Analytics presented at the end of each month.
Cost Compare:
A grande latte + snack at Starbucks can run you between $9-$11. For $10 a day you will have guaranteed visibility in the fastest growing social network on the planet. It’s calorie fee, locally grown and supports small business.

Interested? Let’s chat and get started! There’s no where to go but up!
email: traceyteeATmacDOTcom

*image by Ashley Goldberg

My Curated Collection on Cargoh.com

Are you shopping on Cargoh? Oh you should dear friends, you really, really should. Cargoh is a social marketplace for independent art, design + culture. An easy to use e-commerce solution for independent creatives to buy and sell the things they create. The site is interactive, highly curated but with loads of variety and beautifully designed. For handmade goodies created by insanely talented people, I just love this site!

Lucky for me I got to curate a collection and have a little interview with co-founder Cariann Burger (who might literally be the nicest gal ever.) Have a look them go and check out the other curated collections by loads of online notables who are waaaay cooler than me like Ampersand Design Studio, Hollye Jacobs, Rue Amandine, Natalie Holbrook and Erin Loechner, just to name a few.

Happy Shopping!

About Me: Love from Ampersand Design Studio

If there were ever a more applicable scenario where “the feeling is mutual” could be so completely true, I’d like to see it. Because I have so much awe and respect for the gals of Ampersand Design Studio, that it’s funny almost, that they’d turn around and write such a lovely thing about me. But write they did, and even though I’m slightly embarrassed at the niceties, I’m even more proud that some peers whom I admire think that what I’m doing is good.

Please read their blog. You will be inspired daily. HIRE THEM if you need gorgeous graphic work. And if you’re considering joining a few issues of NewNOW, let this be an outside opinion for you to noodle.

Alyson Fox Fete Necklaces

I’ve been a big admirer of Alyson Fox’s work for a loooong time.  First her drawings, then, well, everything else. This gal’s creativity knows no bounds.  Naturally, I was excited and thrilled to see a set of lovely necklaces by Alyson Fox created for Of A Kind on sale today! I treated myself to the Neon Yellow Cluster necklace. Because you know how I love neon, and I’ve been looking for a brightly colored long strand for a while now.  Frankly, if I didn’t have a 9 month old, and left the house more I’d probably have gotten all three, because they do look fantastic layered together.  Alyson created 60 of each style for Of A Kind, so be sure to snag one soon if you’re smitten like me.

$50-$65 at Of A Kind

boon WRAP protective bowl cover


I’ve been reading some disturbing articles questioning that while BPA-free is great, but what are the plastics replacing the BPA, and why haven’t those been tested? I have a long history of female heath problems resulting in my abdomen looking like a bizarre Frankenstein experiment – and some day I’ll write about them – but until then I am super hyper-sensitive to anything that can cause future reproductive problems (plastic, hormones in meat, pesticides on produce, preservatives, parabens + phthalates in cosmetics and cleaning supplies…) for my daughter, whom I fear naturally inherited my issues from the start.

Ergo, I spent the better part of Saturday scouring the web trying to find A) Good glass or stainless sippy cups (anyone have suggestions?) and B) non-glass or non-plastic bowls for feeding, as Evie is eating solids a couple times a day now and already hurling objects off her high chair with impressive fortitude.

And then I discovered THIS.  There really isn’t a reason to buy a whole bunch of new dishware for the youngins at this age, since they could care less about design.  Plus, good luck finding a good alternative that isn’t breakable or plastic.  And anyway I prefer using my small pyrex glass bowls to feed her since I can just heat up her food and mix it all together in one dish.  Oh dear lord the boon WRAP is genius. Genius!! Use the dishes you already have, and wrap this sucker around it and watch it bounce to safety.  Plus it suctions to the table, which means greatly eliminated projectile tossing!

The WRAP isn’t available yet, but I’ve already pre-ordered it on Amazon.  Boon does it again.  My house is becoming a boon showroom!

Wherein I start to become *that* ridiculous mother…


But who in their right mind could resist these adorable tiny gold mocs by Trumpette?

Evie and I can be twins, because I just splurged on these gorgeous gold flats from Tory Burch!

Paraben-Free, Phthalates-Free, Plant-Based Products I Love


Happy Earth Day!

I am by no means an expert in the area of super-green living, but I have been trying to make small changes every year for the last 3 years and have done a decent amount of research as to what products are cleanest, greenest, and most importantly, what is safest for my family.

Below is a round-up of the products we use every single day in our home.  These items have been tested, used and then determined – sometimes despite a few undesirable ingredients – that their results combined with their ingredients serve my purposes best day to day.  Some of these rate a bit high on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, so I’m always looking for better replacements.  In the meantime, these do the job.

Caudile Instant Foaming Cleanser ($26),  Beauty Elixer ($46), Grape Water ($13) – A great line. Love it all.

Josie Maran Organic Aragan Oil, $14 – This makes a good early morning or before bed moistureizer.  I rub it on if I’m heading out to breakfast with the fam and don’t feel like putting on make-up, but want a healthy glow.  I love to top it off with a spritz or two of Caudile Grape Water.

Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion Daily Shade Formula SPF 16, $19 for 32oz – I like the SPF, and it moisturizes well in this dry climate.

Alba Shave Cream in Coconut Lime, $4 – Coconut & Lime! This shave cream is so yummy!

Mustela Stelatopia Moisturizing Cream, $19 – The best stuff I’ve found to help with Evie’s dry skin.  We’re in Colorado, so I know dry.  This really works and is unscented.

Mustela Bebe Vitamin Barrier Diaper Cream, $9 – I love the scent and it keeps her moisturized as well as protected.  Ok to use on cloth diapers.

Ok, I use a whole lot of Mustela products on my daughter – I love the line, I really do.

Tom’s of Main Long Lasting Deodorant Wild Lavender, $6 – The ingredients in standard deodarants are just scary, so I decided to make the switch to natural.  I’m not crazy about it, and I sometimes still need to use a bit of Degree if the day calls for it, but for most days, this works really well.  It takes some getting used to, but I think it’s worth it.

Kiss My Face Moisture Hand Soap Lavender Shea, $7 – Clearly I like lavender! This is the hand soap we use around the house.  Cleans up well and smells great.

Seventh Generation Liquid Laundry Concentrate Free & Clear, $22 for 150oz – No dyes or crazy perfumes. Plant-based and keeps our clothes clean. I just use a smaller amount for the baby’s clothes and she’s never had a problem.

Seventh Generation Dish Liquid Lavender & Floral Mint -  Love the scent and again – cleans dishes really well.

Better Life cleaning products (all of them!) – Oh man, I can’t say enough great things about this line.  We’ve been using it exclusively in our home for nearly two years.  I love the people that own the company, and I love love love the products!!

Ecover Automatic Dishwasher Tablets, $8 – I’m annoyed they wrap each tablet individually, but beyond that these clean our dishes wonderfully.  I can’t say I understand the intricacies of dishwashing detergents, but I think these are a step in the right direction.

The Sauce


I had to post about this because I made this sauce AGAIN last night, and ate it AGAIN this afternoon for lunch…as I have been doing several times a month FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR.

I cannot possibly begin to pass the proper amount of praise onto the source of this divine recipe, SmittenKitchen.com . It is by far one of my most favorite blogs EVER – and better still that it is all about food.  But praise I shall.  The writing, the photos, the recipes, the attitude….all of it.  Author Deb Perelman is one talented lady, simply put. But I will be forever grateful to her for teaching me about what we now call in my family (my EXTENDED family and some friends…because that’s how great this is) The Sauce.

It is a simple, glorious concoction of 3 ingredients: tomatoes, onion and butter. It is delicious. It is perfect. I love it.

I now keep several SEVERAL cans of San Marzano tomatoes stockpiled in my pantry, and yellow onions always in my basket, should the need for The Sauce arrive.  It is elegant enough to serve guests, and so $%%DF$%!!! easy you will want to harm yourself.

Go to Smitten Kitchen and read her Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter recipe.  Read the SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE comments. Bookmark her site, and check it often.

And thank me later for telling you about this little dish of saucy heaven.

Boon LAWN Countertop Drying Rack


There is no doubt of my love for Boon’s Grass Drying Rack – except that lately not everything I need to dry fits on our cheery little patch of BPA-free drying “grass.”  Clearly Boon heard the cry from parents who have little hungry hippos and are always drying bottles – because the grass has turned into a Lawn!  This is great as we slowly venture into solids and have even more utensils to dry.  Also, Evie’s 8oz glass bottles will nestle so much easier on a larger space…no more balancing acts and piling of nipples!

Toddy Gear Smart Cloths


Now that I’m newly iPad obsessed, I of course have to consider every single iPad accessory out there to pimp protect my little friend.  Since I’ve already managed to splatter said iPad with red clam sauce (while cooking from the Whole Foods recipe app) last night, I immediately purchased a couple of Toddy Gear’s gorgeous and super-useful Smart Cloths, and I can’t wait to put them to use.  This is no new idea but I love the designs! Here’s a break down of what they do:

  • Made of 100% premium microfiber for effective removal of dirt, smudges and grime from your iPad or any touchscreen device without the need of any liquid
  • Perfect for Toddying smaller surfaces such as iPods, iPhones, Blackberry and Android devices
  • Double-Sided screen cleaner: plush to clean and buff – silk to polish
  • Environmentally friendly – machine washable, cold, tumble dry low
  • Treated with AEGIS Microbe Shield® to protect it from germs, mold and mildew making it the perfect antibacterial touch screen cleaner.

Can’t wait to clean up all my tech gear!

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