Posted on 4 Comments

TWiP: Redecorating

Hello! Have you noticed a change over here at Polka Dot Cottage? I’ve been redecorating! I’ve been wanting to modernize things behind the scenes for a while, so it’s kind of exciting to be actually doing it. It takes me longer than it used to, though, because I have to squeeze my tinkering into weekends and evenings while still balancing everything else I want to do during my free time. So, things are changing, but at a relatively slow pace.

Like I said, this has been on my radar for a while, but I was finally spurred into action when an annual bill for a service I use with the Handmades Shop came in. I decided it was time to retire the “home grown” software I’ve been using in one version or another for the last 10 years (at least!) and switch to shop software that is modern, regularly-updated, and highly-customizable.

I thought I knew a lot about WordPress. Well, I did. I mean, I do. But my day job lately has shown me that there is a lot more to learn. I’ve been exploring some aspects of the software that I never had occasion to use when it was just me and this little ol’ blog. The company I work for has a popular WordPress cache plugin, and so in my capacity as technical writer, I’ve been researching how it works, and how it interacts with other plugins. A few weeks ago, this gave me an opportunity to get to know a little bit more about WooCommerce.

I kind of fell in love with WooCommerce as a solution to my own shop problem, and I’ve been working on getting it running here over the last few weeks. Oddly enough, even though I started this whole thing as a way to replace the Handmades Shop, I’ve decided to start with the Downloads Shop instead. It’s much less complicated, and a less frustrating prospect.

That’s not to say it isn’t time-consuming. I still haven’t gotten everything moved over there. But what is there should be working. Please feel free to explore. And buy something, if you like! This shop is more nicely-integrated into the whole site than my other two were, and I think that’s going to make things easier in the long run.

The goal is to have both my original Downloads Shop and Handmades Shop go away. There will only be one Polka Dot Cottage Shop, and everything will be available there together. That’s the goal. Now I just hope it doesn’t take me six months to get there 🙂

So, what is This Week in Pictures?

It’s a roundup of the photos I shot for Project 365 (the occasional when-I-feel-like-it theme for 2017 is “words”), plus some snapshots I posted on Instagram during the previous week.

📷 = taken with my Canon DSLR
📱 = taken with my Samsung phone

Ready? Cast your mind back to this time last week…

Saturday

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365 📷: 2017 161/365 – It’s a coffeelicious morning. I’m making a batch of cold brew, refilling the jar of grounds, and brewing a hot cup for my breakfast.

Sunday

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365 📱: 2017 162/365 – I spent all day today working on my website. I’ve gotten it to a point where I’m happy enough to let it be. Not finishet yet, mind you. Just not in a place where it’s all I can think about… which is a big improvement 😉

Monday

View this post on Instagram

I might actually finish this tonight.

A post shared by Lisa Clarke (@lclarke522) on

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365 📷: 2017 163/365 – Tonight, this project is getting finished.

Tuesday

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365 📷: 2017 164/365 – This print of a painting by Chinese artist Hongbin Zhao was given to me by his son-in-law, who I work with, to thank me for helping them with something. Isn’t that nice? The artist signed it for me, too! I have no idea where to put it yet, so for now it’s sitting on my work table.

Wednesday

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365 📷: 2017 165/365 – Replenishing our iced coffee supply tonight. I love this new jar I bought. It’s so much less messy than pouring out of a mason jar like I used to!

Thursday

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365 📷: 2017 166/365 – This guy. Off to his 8th grade dance tonight. He cleans up pretty good ♥

Friday

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365 📷: 2017 167/365 – Well, that didn’t last long.

Thanks for taking a peek at this week’s photos! If you want to see this stuff as it happens, please feel free to follow me on Flickr and/or Instagram.

I may already have plans to blog about some of these things in greater detail over the coming week, but be sure to leave a comment if there’s something in particular you want to know about!

SAME WEEK PREVIOUS YEARS (2008, 2015, 2016)

24-2008 This Week in Pictures (TWiP) at Polka Dot Cottage

 

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Posted on 4 Comments

4 thoughts on “TWiP: Redecorating

  1. Handsome fella!! Funny-beautiful flower! What are you making in the basket and in the car? Interesting. You encourage me to make some cold brew for out on the patio. Have a great Father’s Day weekend!

    1. There’s a baby blanket in the basket (which, if I ever find the time, I will publish the pattern for) and in the car it’s just one of those little coasters I like to whip up 😊

  2. Yay for redecorating. 🙂 Hey, that “doily” that’s featured in two photos, is that your pattern? Can you point me to it. 🙂 Please.

    1. That’s not my pattern, but it is free. It’s called Little Spring Mandala, from a blog called Made in Capetown. I don’t have the link handy, but Google knows it 😉. Happy Crocheting!

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