Unveiling, the New and Improved City|Life|Eats

by Valerie on November 10, 2011 · 31 comments

Isn’t the site pretty?  After 4+ years of blogging, I took the plunge and decided it was time to move to self-hosted.  I wanted to feel like I had ownership of my content.  Through the wonderful Gena, I found Cory of Zesty Blog Consulting Services, who also happens to be a fellow food blogger at Zesty Cook, which is a beautifully presented and written blog. 

Cory is also a talented web-designer who redesigned this site, as well as many others (see glowing testimonials here).  He is also very good at dealing with the detail-oriented side in me, and the fact I can sometimes have neurotic tendencies, as I did when it came to communicating what I wanted for the header and the design of the blog. He listened to my ramblings about green and grey and cities and came up with this gorgeous design, and figured a header that really captures what I want this site to be about – namely having a vibrant life despite the fact that life, and especially city living, can get a bit grey at times.  He also really listened about things that were important to me with the site, like the recipe list, and the drop-down menus that were part static pages and part pulling from categories.

Bottom line, Cory is a great web-designer, but he is also a very good listener and is solutions-oriented, which, along with his patience, make him fantastic to work with.  If you, like me, have been mulling going self-hosted, but are afraid of your content disappearing in the transfer and/or want your site to be made-over, I would recommend you contact him.

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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Zesty Cook November 10, 2011 at 3:26 am

So glad you are happy with the final product! It was a pleasure working with you!

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2 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm

Likewise :)

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3 Zesty Cook November 10, 2011 at 3:39 am

I’m so happy you love it. It was a pleasure working with you. Thanks for the kind words.

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4 Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free November 10, 2011 at 4:08 am

Hi Valerie!

Love the new look!! Isn’t it so much fun to get a make-over?? I love the pic of you, too – you look incredible.

Hugs,
Amy

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5 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 11:34 am

Thanks Amy! It really was so much fun to see the process evolve :)

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6 Kalinda November 10, 2011 at 3:15 pm

Looks great! I especially like the new header. And the picture of you is nice too. Congrats!

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7 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm

Thanks so much Kalinda :)

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8 carrie @ gingerlemongirl.com November 10, 2011 at 4:41 pm

looks AMAZING Valerie!! your web designer did a truly awesome job! I noticed it yesterday! :-) And I LOVE finally seeing your picture!! :-)

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9 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Thanks so much Carrie :)

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10 JR November 10, 2011 at 7:34 pm

LOVE the new site!!!

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11 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 7:38 pm

Thank you :)

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12 MM Curator November 10, 2011 at 8:49 pm

Looks fab!! Makes me think I should re-do mine! And I love the pic of you!! 😀

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13 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 9:01 pm

Thanks so much :)

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14 Maggie November 10, 2011 at 10:32 pm

Love it Valerie! It’s perfect for you and your blog. I love how simple and bright it is. Congrats. Always nice to see your face too :)

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15 Alisa November 10, 2011 at 11:05 pm

It looks amazing Valerie, Iove it!

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16 Valerie November 10, 2011 at 11:30 pm

Thanks Alisa :) Also, I owe you an email – I promise to get on that soon :)

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17 Lexi November 11, 2011 at 12:09 am

I love love love your new website. It is so easy to navigate and I love browsing through all your lovely sections.

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18 Valerie November 11, 2011 at 12:11 am

Thank you so much. I know you have been a long-time reader, so I really appreciate your letting me know :) I love how some of my older content is not so much easier to find through the sections and drop-downs :)

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19 Lexi November 14, 2011 at 12:07 am

It is much easier and I have read a lot more of your content this weekend as a result. I feel like I got to see your journey from start to now through the very easy categories. Thank you so much for this blog :)

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20 Valerie November 14, 2011 at 2:16 am

So happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know :)

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21 carol November 11, 2011 at 4:21 am

beautiful. just like you!

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22 Valerie November 11, 2011 at 2:17 pm

Thank you, you are too kind :)

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23 Shirley @ gfe November 12, 2011 at 3:46 pm

Congrats, Valerie! It’s perfect. :-) Love seeing you there on the sidebar as you shared recipes, dispense advice, etc. 😉

Hugs,
Shirley

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24 Valerie November 12, 2011 at 3:53 pm

Thanks so much Shirley :)

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25 Renee @ Beyond Rice and Tofu November 14, 2011 at 2:05 am

Looking great! Both you and the new design!

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26 Valerie November 14, 2011 at 2:15 am

Thank you Renee :)

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27 Karley November 14, 2011 at 5:31 pm

LOVE the newly updated site, Valerie. It’s beautiful!

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28 Valerie November 14, 2011 at 6:53 pm

Thank you Karley :)

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29 Diane Eblin-thewholegang November 21, 2011 at 5:54 pm

Love it!

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30 bitt November 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm

the site looks great! I finally clicked off my reader to see it. :-)

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