Hey loyal blog readers! Thanks for sticking with me. I wanted to drop y’all a note and let you know where I’ve been lately and let you know I’m still here!

My poor little blog has not gotten the attention lately that I would love to give it. My real job (you know, the one that pays the bills!) has been super demanding lately and the computer has been just about the last thing I have wanted to look at when I get home for work.

I’ve also taken on several volunteer positions which I am really excited about! This year I’ve volunteered to be webmaster for the Dallas Pi Phi Alumni Club as well as President of the Dallas Pi Phi Alumni Junior Night Group. I’ve always been involved in my sorority and I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the club this year in two positions! And our national convention this year just happens to be in Dallas, making

And though I try to keep politics out of my blogging I am too excited not to share that I’ll be the Dallas city chair for Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s GenKcampaign team.  The KBH Generation K Team is designed for Texans 30 years of age or younger who support Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s campaign for Governor of Texas.  Our mission is to assemble a team of civic-minded, young Texans with new energy and fresh ideas to serve as the foundation for the campaign’s grassroots movement; the end goal of which is electing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson as Texas’ next Governor. For more information visit www.texansforkay.com.

Add those obligations with a week-long vacation to Palm Springs last week and you’ve got a perfect recipe for no blog posts! Don’t worry friends, just because I haven’t been posting doesn’t mean I haven’t been party planning! I’ve got tons of draft posts saved and just need a little polishing before they’re ready to be posted! I promise, I’ll be back soon — and better than ever!!!!

I often daydream about throwing parties. (Hey, you know you do it too!) There are tons of parties I have been dying to prepare for but have put off due to lack of time, resources, inspiration, occasion, space, or any combination of the above. And then there is the constant interruption of holidays I “just have to” decorate and party plan for. I keep saying “when I get a bigger apartment” or “when I get the right group of friends who will make this theme really fun,” but it seems like the list of parties just keeps growing and all of the other factors i.e. space and time, remain constant.

Some parties I am dying to throw are topical or based on something I’m really into at the time. But there are others that I have been dying to throw forever, I have just lacked the motivation, inspiration or resources to actually execute them. If you are anything like me you have a list like this too so read mine after the jump then feel free to add your list in the comments!

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Though I read tons of entertaining blogs, one of my favorite blogs is actually not about parties or decorating, but about blogging! ProBlogger.net has been a great resource in getting my blog up and going and helping me find ways to be a better writer, drive traffic to my site, and improve my blog in general.

Yesterday Darren of ProBlogger.com posted a “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” challenge. The challenge begins April 1 and will focus on helping bloggers improve their sites with simple lessons and “homework.”

I completely relate with Darren’s observation that “While we all want to have better blogs sometimes it becomes one of those things that we’re going to do…. one day.” Proof in point is my delayed branding switch and domain name roll out.

While I know many of my readers are not bloggers, I have found that most of the most active commenters actually have blogs themselves. I’d like to invite my online friends and fellow bloggers to join this challenge with me in an effort to improve our blogs and share experiences. I believe that having a group of people to keep me motivated and accountable for sticking with the challenge will make it ten times more productive.

Darren asks that those participating in the challenge sign up on his website in order to receive full benefit. If anyone is interested, please let me know in the comments below and hopefully we can find a forum in which to communicate our experiences with the challenge!

For those of you who aren’t bloggers, I can’t wait to get started with the challenge to hopefully give all my readers a better blog-reading experience! 

{Graphic courtesy of ProBlogger.net}

Hi Design by Kendall readers and Happy St. Patty’s Day! I wanted to take today to apologize for not posting any St. Patrick’s day ideas. All of my St. Patty’s day decor is sitting on my dining room table waiting to be put up but it doesn’t look like I’m going to get to it this year! I promise, no more holiday slacking for me! I didn’t have time for another big post today but I wanted to give a few shout outs to some great bloggers out there:

• There is a sale going on over at Hostess Jo (see the Let’s Entertain blog). Fifteen percent off all merchandise until March 31st. Just enter promo code MARCH at checkout!
• Thanks to Amy at Stem Parties for promoting my giveaway last week. I got a big surge in traffic/survey responses thanks to your post!
• Heather at Swanky Paper blog for saying that my blog is fabulous! You’re is too Heather, you rock!
• Yesterday was an exciting mail day….Martha Stewart Everyday Food, Real Simple, and a cookbook I won in a giveaway at the Mermaids of the Lake blog! Thank you Shelley for the amazing cookbook! I can’t wait to try the chocolate chip cookie recipe!
• Also to all my blogging friends who use Blogger…sorry if I’m not commenting as much but about every other day google gets mad at me and says when I post a comment that it looks like spam! I’m trying to get the issue resolved but I can’t seem to fix it. Anyone have any ideas?!

That’s it for me for today. I’m headed to play kickball then ask the bartender at Christies if they can make me one of these: Hostess Blog: Beer Floats! Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Congratulations to Jaime Wright of Creative Entertaining blog who won the $25 gift certificate to Favor Affair in last week’s survey giveaway! You will be contacted soon with info on how to redeem you prize!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey; you’re feedback was so helpful! Also a BIG thank you to Favor Affair for sponsoring this great contest! If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out their website which has some fabulous favors and gifts for all occasions!

Check back soon! I have a very full week of inspiring entertaining pictures and ideas to post!

{Note: Surveys were counted in the order they were received and a winner was generated by random.org}

Update 2.16:  The survey is now closed. Congrats to the giveaway winner, Jaime at Creative Entertaining! Thank you for your feedback.

Just a quick reminder that today, Friday March 13, is the last day to enter the Favor Affair Giveaway. Thanks to those who have already filled out the survey! Your input has been so helpful!

Those who submit a survey and decide to enter their contact information will be entered to win a $25 gift card from the oh-so fabulous party favor store, Favor Affair. Your personal information will not be made available for any purpose.

In addition, those of you who COMPLETE the survey will learn the NEW name of my blog and URL so you can go ahead and bookmark it!

The Survey Is Now Closed.

Looking for inspiration for your spring-time soirees? Then get your party planning tush to Pottery Barn this Sunday, March 15 for a complimentary entertaining class! I have attended a few pb classes in the past and have always come out super inspired and excited. The classes are usually on Sunday mornings before the store opens to the public. There has always been a good crowd when I’ve been (usually women) and it is really fun to spend the morning chatting and collaborating on design with other décor-loving friends!

Our local store has a great instructor who makes the class very participatory and is very good at explaining how to recreate the displays you see. One of my favorite parts of the class is that you don’t feel any pressure to buy anything. (PB is often a bit out of my price range) But if something catches your eye they offer 10% off all merchandise used in the class to those who attend. The main goal of the classes seems to be to get people in the store during a non-peak hour and explain more about all the services that PB offers.

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Update 2.16:  The survey is now closed. Congrats to the giveaway winner, Jaime at Creative Entertaining! Thank you for your feedback.

Please take a few moments to participate in my reader survey so that I may receive your constructive feedback on my blog. This information will be very helpful as I prioritze adding new features and execute my blog redesign. I welcome your input and will take your ideas and comments into consideration when evaluating the blog and implementing new content and enhancements in the future.

The survey will be open until Friday March 13. Those who submit a survey and decide to enter their contact information will be entered to win a $25 gift card from the oh-so fabulous party favor store, Favor Affair. Your personal information will not be made available for any purpose.

In addition, those of you who COMPLETE the survey will learn the NEW name of my blog and URL so you can go ahead and bookmark it!

The Survey is Now Closed

Today I wanted to take a minute to write about a cause that is close to my heart. And to get you to actually read it I am posting pictures from a recruitment party that I planned when I was rush chair in college! It is super cute and has a Dr. Seuss/Literacy theme so enjoy!

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Hey blog readers! As some of you may have noticed there are a few changes taking place here at Design by Kendall. I am slowly but surely getting the site upgraded to help make it more interactive and user-friendly. Some of the first changes you can see are in the sidebar on the right. There are two new sections meant to help you connect more with me and my site. Please bare with me as I do have a full time job. This means you’ll more than likely see the site upgrade in small phases instead of one big launch. Here’s the low-down on the updates and a sneak peak at even BIGGER site changes to come!

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