Welcome to the brand new Oleander + Palm.  This has been a long time coming.  This is a BIG, Big deal everyone – I’m no longer on Blogger.  I’m so excited!  Can you tell?  So many explanation marks!!! A new site and a new look. I feel like I went from a beat up Honda Civic to a shiny new Tesla.

Here’s a look at the old site. It served me well for almost 5 years, but it was so one dimensional.There are lot of really great things about the new Oleander + Palm. Here’s what I’m excited about:

#1.  One of my favorite new features is the pretty galleries for my categories.  You can check them out on the top bar and in the righthand side bar. There are pages for FOOD + DRINK, TRAVEL, DIY, and DESIGN. Thumbnail pictures on these pages link to the full post. Now if you are looking for something specific, it’s going to be so much easier to find.

#2.  A newsletter is coming very soon. So sign up with your email address now!!!

#3.  I finally have a fresh clean header and logo.  It’s been long overdo and this new look feels so much more like me.

#4.  I love the instagram preview at the bottom of the blog.  It’s a great place to show off my latest IGs.

#5.  How about that cool new rotating marquee at the top of the blog?  This makes me feel fancy! If you haven’t visited the blog in a while, it’s a great way to see what the latest posts are at a glance.

#6.  I’M NOT ON BLOGGER ANYMORE!!!!! You guys, I’m pretty sure folks are going to take me a little more seriously now. This isn’t a hobby blog, it’s my full-time J-O-B. But, in all honesty, WordPress is going to make my life so much easier. There are so many plugins I’m excited to use. First on the list is a recipe card, wouldn’t it be nice to print out a recipe and put it in an actual recipe box?

This took a group effort to make this move happen. I’ve got some very special folks to thanks. I’m so grateful to have friends with techy smarts and talent. First off, Amanda of the beautiful blog, Handmade Mood, was the mastermind behind all of this. She is backend blog expert and did an amazing job of moving all 800 of my posts over from the old site. If you are stuck on Blogger still, she is the lady to employ.

Next I need to thank Molly of both Almost Makes Perfect and Blogzilla Studio. Molly and her partner customized the already beautiful Velvet Blog Theme to be exactly what I was looking for.

And lastly, but far from least, thank you to my generous friend and talented designer MJ of Pars Caeli for helping me refresh and design a new logo and look for my blog.  Be sure to check out her awesome new store, Good in Store.

So, what do you think???