Tagged: Slutty Brownies

13 November, 2012

Search Engine Optimization

I never Google myself. Only if I want to feel really terrible about myself would I do that.

SIENNA MILLER

The Blogiversary Week continues. After seeing which posts received the most hits yesterday, I was intrigued by what people were typing into their search engines that brought them to my site. One of my favorite perks of using WordPress is their Stat’s feature. It allows me to see the exact terms people are typing into their search.

Most of them were pretty straightforward, looking to find my specific blog or a recipe I had posted about. It turns out fellow Manhattanites love So Long Saloon’s Chipotle Raspberry & Black Bean Dip as much as I do, and a lot of them found their way to my blog to enjoy the copycat version of the recipe. For the most part, the searches were pretty normal, but some of them left me thinking “what the what!”

It turns out Slutty Brownies Made Easier more than deserved its #2 spot as the top posts last year, with search terms ranging from “EASY SLUTTY BROWNIE RECIPE” to “SLUTTY GIRL BROWNIES.” For those that were offended by the title, they even searched “OTHER NAMES FOR SLUTTY BROWNIES” and ended up here. Sorry folks, I didn’t give the brownies their title. I just made an easier version of the original. In all, there were 29 different search terms for slutty brownies linking them to my blog.

That wasn’t the only “slutty” term bringing the readers in. “SLUT BARBIE CAKE” turns out to be quite a popular search term, along with “DRUNK BARBIE CAKE.” My most popular edition of Sally’s Pins was one I did to prepare for an upcoming friend’s bachelorette party. Unfortunately, the Drunk Barbie Cake did not make its way to the party, but I am still increasing my stats one Barbie search term at a time.

By far the strangest search had to be for “ILLUSTRATIONS OF TOO MANY TAMALES.” This led people to a post I did on Ted’s Café Escondido and a weekend of dog sitting. I bet they were thoroughly impressed with my unique furniture arrangement and high tech photos taken from my old Samsung InTouch. You can tell by that post that this was a year of growth.

My Costumes of Halloweens Past post helped some people find their perfect costume. Turns out a lot of people are looking for a “GIRLS GONE WILD COSTUME.” This probably was not the case when someone searched for “GIANT BLOODY MARYS,” and they ended up with me in a Bloody Mary costume. Yeah, it is just not as good as the real thing. I have to admit, and I love a Giant Bloody Mary too.

One of the most embarrassing links has to be when I displayed my love of The Hunger Games series by dressing up as Katniss. So if you need a good laugh click here or simply type “HUNGER GAMES BOW” into google. That is my gift to you. The gift to me has been seeing all the wacky search terms readers use. I hope next year provides as many good laughs!

What the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever blogged about?

11 June, 2012

10-Year High School Reunion

I don’t know where I’m going from here but I promise it won’t be boring.

DAVID BOWIE

The reunion weekend has come and gone, and overall, I think that it went well. While preparing for the events I went with the motto “Do your best and forget the rest.” With six weeks to prepare, I knew that it wasn’t going to be the most organized of events, but all that really mattered was that everyone had a good time.

The first event planned was a social gathering at the Stiefel Theatre with a cash bar and small bites. All my ideas came from Pinterest and were fairly simple to put together. By far the easiest item had to be the veggie cups.

The stuffed baguettes were a little more time consuming, but I was able to make them beforehand. They weren’t as challenging as I had anticipated.

There were also Italian Meatballs, Caprese Bites, cheese and crackers, Oreo Balls, and, of course, Slutty Brownies for everyone to enjoy.

We kept the decorations simple, hanging some lanterns and having the class pictures arranged in a large ten as the main attraction.

As a tribute to the classmates that are no longer with us, we had three memorial candles, a flower arrangement, and a sign in remembrance.

Overall, it seemed like everyone really enjoyed catching up. Next up on our agenda was a tour of the school Saturday morning. There have been some drastic updates made over the last ten years, so it was exciting to see how the school has grown. One of my favorite updates was the addition of the pergolas in the courtyard surrounded by student’s mosaic artwork.

The most impressive update had to be the new weight room, which mimics a university level program. To say athletics are important to our small town is an understatement. We lived and breathed football during high school, taking home the state championship twice.

My favorite part of the new training room was spotting my shirtless husband in not one but two pictures!!!

Bahahaha, I don’t think he was expecting to see that.

After the tour, we wanted to host a family event for the children to attend. To simplify things we opted for a potluck and had classmates bring items according to their last name.

It was a success. There was plenty of food to go around. That night to conclude the activities, we all met up at a local bar to say fair well.

It was a cram packed weekend, but we did leave plenty of time for people to see their families while home and attend the local Smokey Hill Arts Festival. I had the best time catching up with old friends, but I am glad to have another ten years before planning another reunion.

Have you attended any of your class reunions?

7 June, 2012

Class Reunion Ideas

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

C.S. LEWIS

I fall into the category of people that married their high school sweetheart. One of the perks of knowing my husband since we were thirteen is that there can’t be too many skeletons in his closet…that I don’t know about. One of the downsides is the baggage that comes along with him being our high school class president.

This means that it is his responsibility, along with the other class officers, to plan our 10 year reunion, which means since he is a workaholic that it is kind of my responsibility to help out. Now if only Pinterest had been around when I was the social chair of my sorority. It sure does make party planning easier. Here is my Mood Board inspirations:

For decorations, I want to make a 10 year version of this Picture Perfect Idea using pictures of my classmates.

I am covering all the food for the party, so I searched out easy ideas with beautiful presentations like these veggie cups.

I gravitate towards any variation of a Caprese Salad, so these Piruletas Italianas are a must.

After seeing the Stuffed Baguette last week, I knew an Italian theme was developing.

So instead of cocktail meatballs, I wanted to have them dripping with marinara sauce to stay on theme.

The easiest dessert I have ever made was the Slutty Brownies for my friend’s bachelorette party, so naturally I have to bring those.

When making food for 100 people, I think it is best to have a few really good ideas and plenty of each for everyone.

What is the largest party you have catered to?

18 May, 2012

Have a Happy Friday!

Think

Travel

Celebrate

Charm

Decorate

Dress

Live

Colorfully

KATE SPADE

These treats might give slutty brownies a run for their money.

Loving this girl’s interview with Self Magazine.

Hoping my mom gives in to buying a new pair of glasses here.

Going to eat at one of my favorite restaurants tonight.

Sign me up for a self-driving car.

Would you get a self-driving car?

17 May, 2012

Black Bean Tacos

Maybe it’s not always about trying to fix something broken. Maybe it’s about starting over and creating something better.

UNKNOWN

I will admit I like looking into other people’s grocery carts. What other people eat is just so fascinating to me. I bet I turned a few heads tonight when I checked out buying a package of Oreos, brownie mix, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Yikes, what a sugar load! It’s all for a good cause because I am making my co-worker Slutty Brownies for his birthday tomorrow.

Tonight I am sticking to a much healthier option. I love being able to slightly change a recipe and get a whole new option out of it. For dinner I turned my Black Bean Burger recipe into…

Black Bean Tacos