by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 23, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Note: The Village Emporium is a client of Breaking Even Communications.
My friend Dorrie runs The Village Emporium, a clothing and gift shop in Bar Harbor and
launched her website a couple months ago. As the summer season approaches, Dorrie was looking for a way to begin populating her email list while getting ready to open the store to its regular full-time hours May 1. She also just started a Twitter account for the store to complement the Facebook page one of her employees started last year.
I told Dorrie she should have a giveaway of some merchandise in the coming weeks and she ran with it.
by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 20, 2010 | About Us
I write whatever I want about at the end of the week. Because I can.
Now that it’s finally sping in my corner of the world, I can advocate walking again.
I mean, we all know that it’s great exercise and doesn’t waste fossil fuels like driving, but these last few sunny days have made me think about the actual reason I enjoy walking: You notice funny things that you never notice when you are driving a car.
I could show any number of lovely photographs of some of Bar Harbor’s more famous landmarks at this point but instead here are some things I’ve driven by a million times but just noticed when I was out walking the other day.
It makes me wonder what else I’ve missed, and makes me think of walks past, like my walk to school on Vinalhaven, my walk into town from my French apartment, or the nightly walk my dog and I used to go on around the block.
by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 18, 2010 | This Week In Business
This week was all about helping friends (and having them help me out) in both my personal and professional life. Here’s how things went.
I attended my friend Ogy’s first webinar, and he did a heck of a job.
I love attending webinars but I’ve never given one myself. Giving one must feel an awful lot like being on the radio. You are talking to yourself and not sure about what your audience is thinking because you can’t see their faces or get any other feedback from them. Meanwhile, you are trying to get through your slides and read everyone’s questions all while being an interesting and engaging presenter. In short, I’m sure it’s way harder than it looks, which is why no matter what, I was going to attend my web designer friend Ogy’s first webinar.
Turns out Ogy did a great job, and the good news is he has more coming up. (Did I mention they are also free?) Seeing Ogy do this actually encouraged me to go public with a few projects of my own I’ve been a bit nervous about.
Matt came over and we set up the screen and projector.
My friends know that while I love the internet, I am completely nervous about setting up anything physically. Everything from operating a dog crate to a sewing machine for the first time, I usually try to get a friend to help me by offering to cook them food. I have a profound fear of breaking things and get easily frustrated.
by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 16, 2010 | Too Cute Tuesday
Sometimes, you have to change plans at the last minute. TCT will resume it’s regularly scheduled program next week but this week, we’re giving one of our own a little TLC and taking the day off. Jodi, a TCT fan who has her own blog Living the Road Less Traveled, was kind enough to share her cream puff triumph as a guest post.
If you are looking for a cocktail, may I suggest a pre-Saint Patty’s Day treat of green beer? Just sayin…
This is a recipe I’ve had sitting in my box for quite some time. It originally comes from my Great Aunt Violet.
Bring 1/2 cup of water to boiling point and add 1/4 cup shortening; stir until melted. Bring back to boiling point and quickly add 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 tsp salt; cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes or until mixture forms small, smooth balls.
Cool slightly. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each. Beat for 5 minutes until mix is thick.
Shape dough into balls and place 2″ apart on a greased baking sheet (parchment paper would also work). Bake at 450 for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake another 20-25 minutes.
by Nicole Ouellette | Mar 15, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Every Monday, a post about websites, web promotions, and how to do it well. Let me know if you have an idea!
I was going to write about something else entirely until the task of transporting 25 pounds of cuteness consumed my life.
To be clear, let’s take a look at what all this work has been for:
*Sigh* Ok, that was helpful. And gives this whole situation perspective.
Regular readers may be aware that I had to put my dog down in January. She was 15 years old and I had watched her slow decline for almost an entire year. As someone who lives alone and works at home, I’ve missed the companionship of an animal. And while I am not expecting another Sadie (who was irreplaceable), I know my new dog will add a lot to my life… if only there wasn’t the slightest issue.
Corky the Corgi lives in Georgia. And I live in Maine. (Unrelated: Yes, I am changing her corny little name the second I get her.)
I have spent days investigating how I can get this animal to where I am, and would like to offer the folks who run animal shelters a few tips to help people adopt more animals, as I have been ridiculously patient throughout this process in a way that others might not be.
If you’re going to offer it, be ready to know what that entails, and how much it costs.
On the front page of the shelter’s website, they say transport is available to the northeast. The transporter I talked to (an affiliate of but not exactly connected to the shelter) could only get my dog to Rhode Island. Last I checked, there is still a lot of the northeast to go after RI.
