Bower Power Purchases A “Crack House”

Katie Bower, says y’all a lot, has finally acquired the investment property she’s wanted for a while. Saying “nothing is a done deal right now”, Katie proceeded to post the address and interior photos of the property – despite the fact that the “crack house” is still occupied.

Right now it is used as low-income housing for six different people and that is why these photos show a lot of furniture and clothing and stuff. They do still live there. I could explain more detail but honestly, it’s hard for us to even draw up a floor plan because of all the stuff so for now, I will let a few photos do the talking…

Featuring such fun captions as “this used to be a drug dealers bathroom”, the remainder of the post is mostly photos of the interiors. Katie concludes her post by asking readers to “please pray for us” while they “bring on this crazy crack house journey”.

Because obviously the person needing prayers in this scenario is the affluent white woman who will have to *gasp* renovate, not the displaced low income families. Yay gentrification!

DIY Blogging

Young House Love Pregnant With Second Child

After weeks of speculation here on GOMIBLOG and photoshopping her pictures to hide her bump, the Petersiks have finally confirmed that they are expecting their second child in April.

They have promised to “answer your questions” in a follow-up post later in the week.

DIY Blogging

Love Maegan Doesn’t Craft For You

Maegan, of the feather crafting blog Love Maegan, loves to complain about how mistreated she is by readers. Well now it seems someone didn’t like her latest foray into DIY fashion, and Maegan felt the need to not only delete the comment, but to take to her blog and whine defensively about it:

…the other day after posting my recent DIY Feather Mohawk on my Instgram feed, I received a comment explaining that what I was doing wasn’t relative to her and her friends and that’s why she thought other bloggers were beating me at blogging. Beating me at blogging?

Maegan claims she “wasn’t upset by her comment” even though she evidently “spent a few good days thinking about it on and off as if I was trying to get to the bottom of it somehow”. She then rambled on longer than a fight scene from “Face/Off” about how she crafts to express her amazing unique trendsetting self – and if readers don’t get it because they don’t understand OMGFASHUN, too bad:

I think by relative, she meant relatable, unless she’s just unaware of what’s happening in fashion right now, and that’s okay too, but is that my fault?

Seriously. She’s been at this for like 5 years. A single comment about how a feather head fountain isn’t someone’s cup of tea should not require a 2000 word post on how I CRAFT FOR ME. It seems like at least every other month this woman has some post whining about some perceived slight. Maybe that’s why she’s not winning at blogging, not her weird filler DIYs people can’t “relate” to.

DIY Blogging

AB Chao: “I Am Real Gay”

Over a month after speculation began on GOMIBLOG, AB Chao has confirmed that “Vince Chao and I are no longer a married couple”. She then announces what GOMIBLOGers have long suspected:

Y’all, I am real gay. For ladies.

I know. I KNOW. It was a surprise to me, too. In fact, it was a surprise to just about everyone. I’ve spent the past year-ish coming out: first to Vince and Madeleine, then to my closest friends, then to my family, then to my not-as-close friends, then to pretty much everyone else.

She adds that for those following her social media accounts, the “subtext is fairly obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention”.

I am gay. It took me a long time to be able to say those words without shame, or embarrassment, or feeling like a fraud… I am also thankful to be a part of a growing chorus of people who are stepping up, and out, to tell our stories. It makes me proud to be a member of this community.

AB ends by stating she would “like to respect my family’s privacy, so I won’t be answering specific questions about their lives — those are their stories to tell.”

DIY Blogging

Mandy Ferrugia Is An Indie Artist Type Except When She Uses Other People’s Art To Make Her Art

Miss Indie, so twee you don’t even know, recently opened up her blog design store.

I’ve been designing for my own blog and shop since 2009, and hope that I can help you create a look for your brand that you love!

For sale were logos and various other graphics, “made by” Mandy, that she apparently intended to customize upon purchase. For example, this logo “designed” by Mandy was offered for $25.00:

Because evidently in the world of logo design these days taking clip art from Etsy and writing on it equals “design” work. That’s not the only example either – Mandy seemingly bought out half the clip art available on that Etsy shop, and put it up in her shop for sale as part of “her” logo and banner design work. When called out on the fact that she was passively allowing people to believe that the illustration work was hers, Mandy denied any wrongdoing:

The overall logo design is mine because I’m the one who put all of the pieces together to make it into a logo. That is what I state in my shop, that the logos/banners/etc are designed by me. I never said anything about the artwork being mine because it isn’t and I wouldn’t try to pass off someone else’s work as my own. Sorry, but I don’t work that way (as I’ve stated before SEVERAL times). When purchasing the clipart, the seller never asked for or required credit, or of course I would’ve given it.

This isn’t Mandy’s first foray into shadiness. She recently had to remove several items identified as rip offs from her “indie” shop. Saying she had no idea they were stolen artwork she announced her intention to send an email to her supplier in China “to urge them to not only stop wholesaling the brooches with stolen artwork, but to stop stealing other artists designs all-together”.

DIY Blogging Mommy Blogging

“The Next Martha” Will Tell You How To Treat Bloggers

Bloggers are ordering their new moo cards and dusting off their sense of entitlement in preparation for the Blogher 2013 conference. In between tweets whining about google reader and how omg summer is so hot, hundreds of middle class women are emailing any company they can think of begging for a sponsorship while others assert their expertiness by posting blog conference how-tos.

“The Next Martha” has graciously provided the Chicago Sheraton with just such a how-to guide, full of handy tips on how to treat the blogeratti:

What should I expect from bloggers?
You should expect from them as you would any other customer unless you piss them off. Then? Expect your social media to BLOW UP LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE…

Why should I care about these bloggers?
…If you just take a moment to talk to them you might find yourself inspired, in awe, laughing, and better just for meeting them…

Going on to tell the hotel that this may be the only vacation the mommies get, they are instructed to provide “the same service that you would of any customer. Again, if you don’t? You’ll pay social medially.” In case she hadn’t made it clear that if their needs were not met the attendees would destroy them online, she went on: “Don’t water down the coffee you serve us. Don’t. We’ll hunt you down and kill you with hashtags.”

Her fangirls immediately began tweeting a link to the page at the Chicago Sheraton, presumably to give them a little taste of what they would have to #dealwith from these women if they didn’t put on their #bloggerisalwaysright faces. I kind of don’t get the point of that post other than as a way to repeatedly threaten the hotel with twitbombing if the bloggers weren’t treated like a pack of breastfeeding, apple product sporting Jolie-Pitts. Is this who bloggers think they are now?

DIY Blogging Real Estate

Young House Love Buys Another House

Young House Love, house lovers, announced this morning that they are moving to a new spray paint project container:

Yes, this is a seven-years-in-the-making house coup of ours. We would have loved to take you guys on the house hunting adventure with us like last time, but it all happened so fast and before we knew it we were closing on it.

They also made the point – yet again – that their book deal has not made them rich:

This is not “the house the book bought” (we still haven’t hit our royalty point), it’s the house that seven years of saving up and living within our means bought.

What’s this “living within our means” crap? You mean some people don’t fundraise their life choices on the internet, and instead save up and buy what they can afford? That is crazy talk.

In any case, it’s a good move for their blog since a new house means a lot more new content. And maybe I’m feeling a little soft today, but it is nice to see a decent young family achieving their dream. As long as that dream no longer includes wtf paint choices, that is.