Analyse this

 No not this dodgy film, your website. Analyse your stats peeps.

You may well have heard about Google Analytics. Chances are if you run your own business or update the website at your place of work, you'll at least be familiar with the term.

You may also (like me, I have to admit), be more familiar with the fact you should be familiar with the term than with the concept itself.

Confused yet?

Yep, me too.

It's important in life to admit defeat. Thankfully people are good at different things. And the lovely Janina over at Handpicked Hotels is definitely knowledgeable about this murky, grey area otherwise known as 'who looks at my website, and how can I use this information to my advantage'.

For part one, the intro on Google Analytics see Harlequin & Romance (and then pop back here for part 2).

Take it away Janina:

Google Analytics:
The simple guide PART 2
By Janina Downey, guest blogger, e-commerce specialist and lover of helping others.

Now the simple explanation is out of the way and what a great response from
you all that own a www. Now for the exciting stuff and analysing what lovely
online visitors help make your business succeed and how to build upon this!

Who are these people and how to get more…

In part one we established ‘what is Google Analytics’ and just how simple it is
to use this FREE tool to look at your website.

Looking at your website more in depth will help you to understand which
marketing efforts have paid off and which ones; not so well. Running your own
business or department is time consuming enough so being pro-active and
using the strategies that worked can help manage your marketing time more
efficiently.

Using the interesting features such as the site overlay which visually shows
you where web users click on your pages and also how many times is
interesting to placement and content.

Google Analytics gives you the big picture about your website which in turn
helps you interpret your site and add to your advertising needs. Following the
trends and patterns will help you engage more customers and focus on what
works allowing you to in turn increase awareness and sticky content to your
site.

You can also use Google Analytics to determine which of your ads are
performing (when used in conjunction with Google AdWords, Google’s Pay-
Per-Click advertising). Google Analytics also provides shorthand information
for the non-techy user and much more in-depth info for those who are a little
more of an expert on web analytics (after all my articles you will be!).

Any questions setting up or understanding your data please just contact me,
but now I hope you are all using and understanding your website data to its
maximum potential!

Props to Janina for trying to explain to us laymen how this shizzle works. And keep your eyes peeled for more hints both here and over at H&R.

Here comes the sun

I haven't done a Mixtape Masters for far too long. I've been working on a secret music project which has been sapping my musical energy (more on this very soon)!

But the sun is shining today and it feels like summer is around the corner. So here's a little mix of reggae/dub/roots to help get you in the mood...




For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Adele - definitely making me feel her love

This week's mixtape masters post is all about Adele. I can't believe this girl is only 22. Her voice is incredible.

Her performance at the Brits was immense. And so I'm dedicating the whole of this playlist to Adele because quite frankly she rocks my world.





What do you think lovelies? You in love with this girl and her voice as much as me?


For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Have you ever seen anything so adorable?!

Gratuitous cute post. Just because.



source - polar photographer Sue Flood

Little People street art

Okay so this has absolutely nothing to do with weddings but these images tickled me and I thought they might amuse you too.

Check out the blog Street Art Utopia where I found these, it has some interesting stuff on it.









Which one's your favourite? I like the couple with the cigarette art best I think.

Now how much would this be in London?

'The Brain' is a cinematic laboratory in Seattle but I would like to rather like to live there. The huge windows, the 'book' cases, the greenery outside. Heaven.







Check out the architects site Olson Kundig Architects for more rather amazing spaces.

Spring, please hurry up, we need you rather badly

I want the trees to look like this...



I don't know about you but I have had my fill of winter.

I want that smell the air has when it starts to get warmer.

I want it to stay light until at least 7pm.

I want to see blue sky, and sun.

I want the temperature to reach double figures.

I want to wear what I want, not what keeps me warm.

I want to sip coffee in London's outdoor cafes.

I know. I want a lot but don't you agree, it's time for spring?

New music you may or may not have heard of (or like for that matter)

Well I'm glad to see Friday this week folks. It's been a mental week which is fast becoming the norm here at Savoir HQ ;)

Anyway I missed my weekly mixtape masters last week from just being so damn busy but this week am back with some new sounds for your ears to wrap themselves around.




Music Playlist at MixPod.com

For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Some truly splendid song covers

So I have a bit of a thing for song covers and for this first Hi Fi Weddings mixtape masters of '11 I bring you some fab Radio 1 Live Lounge covers.

I'm not really sure why I like covers so much. It's just interesting to hear the different ways a song can be sung. Often makes you appreciate the original too.



Create a playlist at MixPod.com

For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Be a Mixtape Master. Email Angie or Ashley to get in on it.

Merry Christmas folks!

This is me signing off for the next few days where I intend to behave much like the baby above ;)

I hope you all have a splendid Christmas, with plenty of presents and general merriment (not to mention copious amounts of food and drink).

See you on the other side.

Josie x

Birthday time!

It's my 29th today so I shall be taking the WHOLE day off blogging and wedding work. I just love birthdays (not just because of presents and cake) but because for one day of the year you can do exactly what you want!

Have a great day and I'll be back soon (when I'll be one day closer to 30 aaaagggghh)

x

Girl power. A cheesy title but some awesome songs by girls...

That's right folks, it's Friday, so it's time for my latest mixtape masters entry for Hi Fi Weddings weekly collective playlist.

I'm a big fan of a wide range of music. I truly am one of those annoying people that says they like all sorts of music. And I actually mean it. I am in fact a bit of a music snob.

But I also LOVE cheesy tunes from pop classics to 80s ballads. And so I thought today I would create a playlist of songs by women (although Willow doesn't really count as a woman seeing as how she is 10).

These 5 songs always get me in a good mood and I hope they have the same effect on you!








For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Be a Mixtape Master. Email Angie or Ashley to get in on it.

The power of positive thinking

Oh my god I'm so stupid?
I look fat in this.
Why oh why am I so useless?
Could I be any more boring?


When you see this written down it looks kind of shocking and dramatic. But I bet you've felt and said at least one of these things to yourself before.

If you're a regular follower of my blog you'll know I sometimes tread off the beaten path of blogging about weddings into 'life' territory. It's just that wedding planning isn't a job to me, it's part of my life and as such this blog feels like the perfect platform to wax lyrical on other topics. See here, here and here for some of my other musings.

After a long chat recently with a friend who has by her own admission low self esteem, I've been thinking about the power of positive thinking. Now I don't want to get all spiritual or lecturing here, I just think it really works and want to share.

Most of us are way too mean to ourselves, too critical, too unkind and don't even begin to show the same mercy and understanding we show others. We tell ourselves things that if a friend said to us about themselves we would vehemently deny and point out the positive or contradictory viewpoint. Okay so we're crueler to ourselves because we know ourselves. But we're also massively biased. Even with something as innocent as a spot on our chin say. We all think people notice soooooo much more than they do, because of course they're all concerned with their own problems.

So nothing I'm saying here is groundbreaking granted. But I do think, one of the keys to a happy life is to train your 'inner voice' to have the same tone and say the same things a kind friend would say. That doesn't mean tell huge fat fibs to yourself in order to have an easy life, just that the instinctive way you speak to yourself might not be as honest as you think. And we've heard this voice all our life so it almost goes unnoticed.

I'm not claiming this is a quick fix for those seriously and clinically depressed. But for the rest of us, we can all benefit from taking the time to hear what that voice says and begin to question whether it really has all the answers.

I know the days I feel overwhelmed or blue are often the result of a bad day. But sometimes I catch myself thinking ' why did you do/say/wear/think that - you idiot!' And whilst it seems like harmless berating, I try to argue back ' no, you're the idiot actually, I'm just fine'. Or just generally be aware of what I say to myself so I can check if it seems too harsh or not.

Which may mean I'm going crazy, but also means I'm a damn sight happier.

What do you think? Are you guilty of being harsher on yourself than your friends or even strangers? Do you think you can 'talk' yourself 'happy'?

As always, I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Hi-Fi Weddings Mixtape Masters!!

Happy Friday people! This week, for no particular reason I have decided to do a rather French orientated playlist. French as in some of the artists are French but sing in English, one's from Belgium and sings in French, another is Canadian and sings in French.

So, not truly French per se but jolly good songs nonetheless I think.

There's something insanely delicious about the French accent. If I spoke French I would talk even more than I do now, just so I could hear myself.

Check out my other playlists here.

Anyways I hope you have a lovely weekend, are you doing anything exciting on this last weekend in November?





For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Be a Mixtape Master. Email Angie or Ashley to get in on it.

When is the 'right time' to have babies?

Apologies here for the somewhat dramatic nature of this post. I felt it was a suitable way to jump start my Tuesday!

Weddings and babies seem to go hand in hand. Probably because for many people having children is the next logical step after getting married.

Like many late twenty somethings, (yes okay, I'm 30 at the end of next year) I have pondered this question of the 'right' time to have bambinos. I love children and definitely want them. When, I'm not quite sure, and being recently single it doesn't exactly look likely for a while ;)

And there's so many questions surrounding having children.

How will I know if I'm going to be a good mum? How will I balance running my own business and raising a family? Will I still exist after I give birth or will I forever be know as mum?

And how long am I allowed to live without thinking about it? Will I turn into one of those, oh I so hate the word, desperate women, who feels like she's running out of time.

Urgh. What horrible thoughts!

It's a sad fact about womanhood that we can't physically have babies forever and because of that truth, will definitely look at our lives and wonder when we should have children, when the right time will be, and whether we'll even be able to. Yes. I am jealous of men in this regard. Charlie Chaplin anyone?

And it seems you're not even off the hook if you're married. I have a few married, so far childless friends who are always been asked when they're going to pop out a couple of sprogs. Questions which they feel defensive and slightly p***ed off about.

I think my point is that getting older and thinking about babies is hard. At 18, 21, 24 I thought about it, but in an abstract way. As I approach the big three-oh it's on my mind a bit more. I'm quite envious of my friends that know they don't want children. How lovely it must be to be sure. You can plan your future much easier in that regard.

Even me with my planning skills can't know the future. I might steal Jolie's crown as international adopter of a beautiful rainbow of children, I might have just one of my own or I might never have children. Whatever ends up happening, I'll get on with things and make the best of the cards I've been dealt. As that's all any of us can do really, and I guess that's part of the wonder and beauty of life.

What are your thoughts then on the whole 'baby thing'?

Style crush on...freja beha

She's got that Danish too cool for school look about her. Her bone structure is to die for, she looks feminine yet androgynous and like she just does doesn't give a damn about much. Kind of like Kate Moss in the 90s. All of which is pretty hard to achieve and therefore I admire.

















What you think? Is she worthy of the title 'style crush'?! Past style crush so far includes Zooey Deschanel