I've made some changes to the blog recently and wanted to fill y'all in on everything, what it means, and what's to come.  Some changes have been made according to new laws and some are just aesthetically pleasing to me or act as ways for me to make some money.  These changes will not affect my personal policy of being honest about items I review, nor should they have a negative affect on your participation on the blog.

First, you may have noticed a new banner and tag line.  I simplified the look and made a similar banner for Facebook so everything feels a bit more cohesive.  A logo may be in the future, but I am content for now.  I still love my color scheme, so that hasn't changed.  Eventually, I will be moving to the WordPress platform where the blog will have a new layout.  This should not negatively affect you as readers of the blog and should not change the way in which you view new posts.  I will definitely give you all a head's up when that change is about to take place.

I've moved banners and widgets around a bit on the sidebar.  The Blog Roll and Post Archives are now at the very bottom of the page, along with less Amazon ads.  I finally took down the pet related ads (I miss my fur angels.) and replaced them with fewer Amazon ads that just focus on fashion and beauty products.  These are affiliate ads that give me a few cents if you make a purchase after clicking them.

Blog Feature banners are a bit farther down the side of the page, while I moved some affiliate banners up a bit.  These banners are for Lane Bryant, Torrid, Catherines, Gwynnie Bee, Hips and Curves, Modcloth, and Fashion To Figure.  As affiliate banners, I receive a few cents to a few dollars for purchases you may make after clicking on them.  This doesn't change any price or anything for you as a consumer.  It just acts as a way for me to try to make a few dollars from all my work on the blog.  Along with these affiliate banners, I have banners for Birchbox and Ipsy with my referral links that give me points if you sign up using my link.

While I have always been up-front with all of you when I have been gifted an item for review or, on the rare occasion, been compensated for telling you about an upcoming event, FTC laws are requiring me to put a notice at the very top of the blog about whether a post is sponsored or an ad or contain affiliate links.  I've recently made more aesthetically pleasing ways of letting y'all know about this at the top of each post (because an italicized sentence just doesn't look cool. lol).  SO, in the future, you will see one of these little word banners or both at the top of a post:

"Sponsored" means I was paid to post about the subject at hand.  "Gifted" means I was gifted the item for review.  I will still make this clear verbally in each post.  All reviews on the items will be my honest opinions and thoughts based on my experience with said item.  I like to try new products and retailers, but I also want reviewed items that make sense to all of you and make sense for the blog.  If and when I am monetarily compensated for a post, I will also be forthcoming about that.

"Affiliate Links" means the post contains links that will earn me a small commission (typically a few cents) if you click on it or purchase something after you click through.  Again, this doesn't change what you pay for the item, it just helps me attempt to earn a little cash.  Most of my posts these days contain one or some affiliate links as I have been using them to point you to whatever product I am wearing or to similar products. Instead of putting the disclosure at the bottom of the post, it will just take the form of this word banner at the top of the page.

Lastly, when you visited the site, you may have noticed a cookie policy at the top of the page.  European Union laws require that I give European Union visitors information about cookies used on my blog.  The notice explains Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies.

Alright, I think that is everything for now, my friends.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment or email me.  If you have any suggestions about what would make navigating the blog easier for you, please let me know.  I would love your input as I am working on the design and layout for the WordPress version of my blog.

Thank you for visiting and reading the blog.  I love and appreciate your continued support and friendship!