#CantNobodyHoldMeDown

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Happy Friday friends! If you stop by often, you may have noticed I've made some changes around here on the blog lately. There's my awesomely simple new header, social media buttons (finally!), a slideshow of my instagram feed, a blogroll with some of my favorites for you to peruse, and a couple of pages (about me, home tour, my wedding, etc) that I'm excited to add content to over the coming weeks! A big thanks goes out to my work pal Mary Elisa of DIY-ish for sending me the social media button code, as all of the online tutorials I found for adding them were complicated and confusing.

Why all of the changes? Well for one, I've really enjoyed this little blog of mine, and I figured it was about time I show it some love and get it all pretty-fied. But truth be told, last week I got hit with a bunch of super negative comments on random posts that had me pretty worked up for a hot minute. I was being personally insulted and attacked on my blog. My blog that always has been (and always will be) an outlet for me to write about my life, my surroundings, my inspirations. While some of the comments were simple "I don't like that" type things, others were direct digs at myself, my friends and my husband. And for no good reason at all. Not cool. I realized that no matter how fun and laid-back I try to keep my blog and myself, there's always going to be someone out there with nothing better to do but try to hold me down or set me back. Unfortunately for those people though, I don't work that way. I don't let petty people or petty things stop me. Sure, I did plenty of venting about the comments to my best friends and the hubs. Who wouldn't? But then you know what I else I did? I made my blog look better. I made a list of fun posts I'd like to write in the coming weeks. I got more active on twitter and made a couple of new blogging friends in a matter of days just by saying hi. I emailed back and forth with one of those new friends and swapped blogging tips and tricks. I did what I've always wanted to do with this blog, and that was to make it a priority - all while staying 100% true to myself. And then just as I finished editing this post yesterday I got a random email from someone that contributed at The Everygirl with me way back when, thanking me for the pick-me-up my blog gave her with it's cheerful and positive vibe. If that's not a sign that I'm doing exactly what I set out to do with this, then I'm not sure what is.

Among all of the other changes I made, I also learned a thing or two about Google Analytics and installed a traffic tracking tool that provides me with stats for every visitor that comes to my page. Including the total party pooper that left all the negative comments. And to that person I say this - from the amount of time you've spent on my blog I'm sure you've realized that there's not a whole lot of people that actually read it. So, I thank you for spending such a huge chunk of your free time reading what I have to say, regardless of the fact that you clearly don't like me, my style, my friends or my new shoes. If you haven't figured it out by now, I will continue to write this blog regardless of what you think of it. In a day and age where kids are being bullied left and right for no good reason and suicide rates from ridicule and teasing are constantly rising, I see no reason for pointless negativity, and I feel pity for anyone who finds it necessary to to act in such a way. You are in my prayers.

So all of that being said, I hope ALL of you reading like the little changes around here, and I hope you'll enjoy following along as I work to make my blog bigger and better over the coming months. I have so many great ideas for Cakes & Louie, and I'm excited to have you join me for it! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to vent a little bit today in an effort to keep it real. Cheers to the weekend!