Showing posts with label NOLA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NOLA. Show all posts

Friday, March 29, 2013

How I learned to make sharing #Travel #Photos easier with #Tripographer powered by @Marriott #spon @NicheMommy



With my birthday swiftly approaching, my case of 'wanderlust' is getting worse and worse! I love to travel, and to me the best souvenir of my travels are my photos, and since I have long since made the switch from 35mm to Digital, I tend to take TONS of photos. I love architecture and nature photos, and take more pictures of WHAT I see, only to get home and realize I'm not in many photos because I was so busy taking them.

I'm always looking for new ways to make the photo sharing process easier and more fun, and I just hit on something I thought I'd share! Note: This is still in Beta! So you are getting an opportunity to be 'in the know' before it blows up!

About Tripographer, powered by Marriott:

Tripographer is a new, fun and easy way to stylishly and dynamically share your trip, whether it was a much needed getaway, an unforgettable adventure, a family vacation or a business trip. Apply filters and edit your photos, create beautiful slideshows and build actual street-view tours and share them all on your favorite social networks!

My Experience with Tripographer:

I decided to try it out and started by creating a slideshow of my pictures to the Audobon Nature Institute Insectarium in New Orleans, Louisiana. When I hit the Niche Mommy Conference last year in it's inaugral year (by the way butterflies the conference is now called The Niche Parent Conference), I got to take some time to see the sites with other bloggers attending the conference, The Audobon Nature Institute brought some animals from their zoo straight to the conference! And they offered bloggers tickets to the Zoo, Insectarium and Aquarium, you know I couldn't pass that up, especially the insectarium because they had butterflies there!

I started creating a slideshow of my insectarium visit, see below:



How it works:

1) You can easily create an account with Facebook or you can create a profile quickly with your name, selecting a user name and password if you don't want to create it with Facebook.

2) To play with the cool features you need to upload some photos! And you have a variety of ways you can do that, upload from your computer, your webcam, Facebook, Flickr, or Instagram

3) Then comes the fun part, you can 'Treat a Photo' by uploading a photo, and then stylishly editing them, you can also provide a caption and share them on your favorite social networks. You can Create a Slideshow, which allows you to upload multiple photos and order them however you wish. or you can 'Build a Tour' which allows you to create a real street view that takes you to all your favorite destinations from your last adventure. You can also upload photos to go along with your landmarks with a caption AND audio narration!

4) Manage your projects: Just use your dashboard to manage your Tripographer Creations! See it's as easy one, two, three!

My Take:

I think this is a great way to share your travel photos. I know many people are not comfortable about how Facebook uses their info and images and don't tend to put too many there, so it's nice to have an alternative way to share that's as private or as public as YOU want it to be. I have only one small complaint, as I really love taking all my photos in hi-res, I wasn't able to upload all the photos I wanted into my first slideshow because they were simply too large. The size limit per photo is 2 mb, and I only had three files small enough to fit the bill which is why my slideshow is so short. I am hoping that they increase the file size limit per photo, once they do, I'll be a slideshow creating mega butterfly! I can actually spend hours editing, optimizing (and now that I'm blogging WATERMARKING) photos, so I greatly enjoyed finding out about Tripographer and I think it's pretty cool that it's being powered by Marriott! In fact I probably should have tried to find my photos from the last time I stayed at the Marriott in Cancun! Maybe I'll make that slideshow next!

Butterfly have you tried Tripographer yet? If so, please share your photos with us! If you posted the photos or slideshow on your own blogs, then feel free to comment here with the link so we can all check out your creative travel photos too!


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FTC Disclosure: This sponsored post was written in partnership with Niche Mommy Network & Conference. While this is a compensated post, all opinions are 100% my own. And I have greatly enjoyed my stays with Marriott and I do love Digital Photography as much as I love Travel!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: I was a Lucky Dog in New Orleans #NOLA


Lucky Dogs Hot Dog Street Vendor in New Orleans, Louisiana

Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies! Bloggers be sure to comment here with a link to your Wordless Wednesday Post so we can check out your photos too!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: The What Happens in New Orleans STAYS in New Orleans Edition + @AcmeOyster #NOLA #Travel #Food

Royal Praline Company, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2012 - What Happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans!
Some more way overdue photos from my trip to New Orleans for the inaugral year of the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference in New Orleans in 2012! (My New Orleans Wordless Wednesday Series got seriously interrupted so I promise I'll get them through all, at least before #NicheMommy13 that is!) I definitely hope  it's true that What Happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans! LOL (as well as Vegas and Atlantic City,  Just Saying!) I'm glad that the Royal Praline Company agreed with us! I regret not buying that towel when I had the chance!

Acme Oyster House, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2012 - Prepare for super long lines to get in,  but the food is THAT worth it!

A larger group of bloggers headed out to Acme Oyster House, but only some of us could handle the wait, but I think I speak for all of us who made it, when I say this place is well worth the wait. the food really is amazeballs, great drinks, great service, perfect mix of locals and tourists (and when a local turns around and tells you, 'yes this is the line, even with reservations, but don't leave because you'll regret missing that meal, its the best advice ever and now I'm paying it forward and passing it along to you)

Char-Grilled Oysters at Acme Oyster House, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2012 - We ordered  one to share, and boy was that a mistake, everyone ended up ordering their very own order of these, they are so good. The long lines were worth it,  seriously just for THIS!!!! The sauce (let it cool a bit) will make you want to lick each of your fingers for the stuff that stuck to your fingers besides the bread. So delicious they are almost sinful! and I mean that in a GOOD way! :) Oyster Nirvana can be found at Acme Oyster House!

The Char-Grilled Oysters were a HUGE hit, let's just say that quite a few of these platters were ordered to share! And sadly when you leave NOLA, you will see these and taste these in your dreams, your taste buds will salivate at the sheer thought of them! This will be my first stop when I go back to New Orleans!

Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies! 

Bloggers feel free to comment with your Wordless Wednesday links, we are not formal enough for an official Linky Widget around here, so just join in the fun, get laid back, and most of all, get Wordless (someday I promise I'll keep it entirely wordless).


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored, this is a recap of my experiences during my visit last year to New Orleans for the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference in it's inaugral year. I was sponsored by Britax as a member of their Latina Digital Advisory Board and Latina Hispanic Outreach Blogger and Brand Ambassador. No Monetary Compensation has been received for sharing my experiences at the conference.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Visit to @AudubonZoo during #NicheMommy12 Part 2 of 2! #NOLA

Asian Domain in the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana
I am back to our Wordless Wednesdays from New Orleans series! During the NicheMommy 2012 Blogging Conference in New Orleans I got to sneak in a little time to visit the Audubon Zoo. They brought some of the animals to us, and gave us the opportunity to also visit them! A group of intrepid bloggers headed out for a fun adventure to the Audubon Zoo! We tweeted the Audubon Zoo from the bus on the way over and they tweeted us back! I couldn't fit all my zoo pictures into one post, so I split them and today's focus is on the Asian Domain in the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana.


Check out the cool Elephant Fountain below:


Check out the three elephants in the Asian Domain Area picture below, cool Decorative Fountain!



Close up of one of the Elephant Statues in the Asian Domain area of Audubon Zoo, New Orleans,  Louisiana

Found a lovely spot to Meditate:


Meditating Buddha Statue, Asian Domain, Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, Louisiana

Left: Meditating Buddha Statue, Asian Domain, Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, Louisiana Right: Ascending Butterfly enjoying a moment of reflection!

The Wordless Wednesday series from New Orleans will continue, we still have the Insectarium, some street signs, some supernatural, and some amazing eats to feature from our Journey to New Orleans! And slowly but surely, all of the pictures taken in New Orleans during Niche Mommy 2012 are being added to our Pinterest Page as well so be sure to check them out. On Pinterest you can see them in their original sizes!

Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies - Bloggers feel free to link us up to your post too in the comments section below! I look forward to seeing everyone's photos!
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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received to post my recap of my day at the Audubon Zoo. However ALL bloggers in attendance at the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference were offered tickets. I attended the conference as a guest of Britax. I am a Britax Hispanic Digital Marketing and Outreach Blogger and Blogger Brand Ambassador.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Visit to @AudubonZoo during #NicheMommy12 Part 1 of 2! #NOLA

Entrance to Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, 2012 Credit @Ascending Butterfly


I am back to our Wordless Wednesdays from New Orleans series! During the NicheMommy 2012 Blogging Conference in New Orleans I got to sneak in a little time to visit the Audubon Zoo. They brought some of the animals to us, and gave us the opportunity to also visit them! A group of intrepid bloggers headed out for a fun adventure to the Audubon Zoo! We tweeted them from the bus on the way over and they tweeted us back!

Dave from The Audubon Zoo shows bloggers in attendance at Niche Mommy a Spider! Photo Credit: @Ascending Butterfly, 2012. Niche Mommy 2012 was held at The Roosevelt, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New Orleans.

Dave from the Audubon Zoo was showing Spiders and other assorted creepy crawlies, he was very close to where I was eating my Seafood Gumbo and I was afraid one of them would jump into my bowl! You can tell how close he was to where I was sitting by the shot, I was seated, and did NOT use zoom to take this picture!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Alligator from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Rose offered to let me touch it, but despite that sweet looking smile, I declined! It was lunch time and I figured the smell of food all around might make it hungry and it would confuse my hand for chicken fingers!

Rose from The Audobun Zoo shows off an Alligator from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Thankfully Founder of Niche Mommy Nadia Jones husband wasn't as squeamish and he touched it instead! And to think I once had a Reticulated Python as a pet!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Now this guy I wanted to pet, but they wouldn't let us! This Eagle had so much personality!

Rose from The Audobun Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

The Eagle was totally taking everything and everyone in!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans! Left: Ascending Butterfly, Right: Rose from Audobon Zoo holding an Eagle

Right before this picture was taken, The Eagle looked at me and I moved my head back and then he moved his head back and we were all laughing!
Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans! Left: Maria from http://bloggingbabiesandthebayou.com, Right: Rose from Audubon Zoo holding an Eagle


Maria got to snap my moment with The Eagle and I got to capture hers too! The poor Eagle was probably getting Flash Blinded from all the bloggers getting pictures! He must have felt like a celebrity and thought we were all paparazzi! The zoo offered bloggers at the conference a chance to visit the zoo, aquarium and insectarium too! So Ascending Butterfly and some intrepid fellow bloggers decided to take the city bus to the zoo and check it out! 

Left: Ascending Butterfly making Peace signs! Right: Christina from http://bluekittycool.org/

Here we are hamming it up on the bus and we also tweeted the Zoo to let them know we enjoyed seeing the Animals at Niche Mommy, and that we were on our way!

Left: Maria from http://bloggingbabiesandthebayou.com, and right: Laura from My Three Ring Circus: http://kileigh7.com/

We were super stoked when the zoo tweeted us right back! New Orleans companies have great Social Media community Managers, because when Maria and I visited the Harrahs Casino in New Orleans, they tweeted us right back too! Pretty Impressive!

A beautiful sunny August Day at the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

First up: Flamingo Cafe, we arrived thirsty!

The first animals we see near the Flamingo Cafe? The Flamingos of course! 

I love watching them balance so gracefully on one leg!

Cute Duck Statues!

Disccovery Walk at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

It's like 3D Elephant Art at the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

We tried to wait for the Elephant to come out from there, but instead I had to zoom in to capture him.  Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

This guy wouldn't quite turn around either! Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

Everyone stayed here the longest, this Orangutan truly loves people and hammed it up the most for Christina, I wish I would have filmed him! This pic was shot with my iPod, so no zoom! Audobon Zoo, New Orleans.

Finally got a perfect shot of an animal facing the camera! Isn't this Siberian Tiger just gorgeous? Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

My mom saw this picture and said it reminds her of ME! LOL Siberian Tiger,  August 2012 Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, USA.

We all needed a break and stopped off for some snacks! This sign was in view from the bench where we sitting! Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, August 2012. It's like they knew Ascending Butterfly was coming, LOL :)

The sign reads:  English: The Monkey is Weaving - a thread of insatiable lusts - on the margins of morning -  he topples a pollen-fall - startles the violet flight - of the butterfly.

I love that it was also translated and posted in Spanish: Los Monos trenzaban un hilo - Interminablemente erotico - En las riberas de la aurora - Derribando muros de polen - Y espantando el vuelo violeta - De las mariposas de Muzo. 


You know if there a butterfly sighting, even if it's just the word butterfly I had to have a picture of it!

We had to hit the gift shop, and this cute elephant was right outside! Audubon Zoo, August 2012, New Orleans.

Saw this sign at the Zoo and had to snap a picture of it! This intrepid group also visit The Insectarium, but that's a whole another post!

There was so much to see and do at the Zoo, that I had to break this into two posts, because I didn't have time to optimize and watermark all the photos in one sitting, so next week will be a whole section of the zoo I visited unto itself, but this last picture was a sign at the zoo, that speaks to another Wordless Wednesday from New Orleans series post, you guessed it, The Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. But that one will post after the part two for the Zoo pictures!

Don't forget to post a link to your Wordless Wednesday Links here, Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received to post my recap of my day at the Audubon Zoo. However ALL bloggers in attendance at the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference were offered tickets. I attended the conference as a guest of Britax. I am a Britax Hispanic Digital Marketing and Outreach Blogger/Ambassador.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Who DAT Dog? #NewOrleans #NOLA #Travel

Blue Dog by George Rodrigue


Back to our New Orleans themed Wordless Wednesdays! These were taken during my August trip to the Niche Mommy 2012 Blogging Conference in New Orleans!

Blue Dog by George Rodrigue


Who DAT Dog?

Look carefully to the right of the Red Dog, see my hand and watch in the reflection of the glass as I snapped this picture?


I got to snap quite a few photos of the famous dog while I was out and about in New Orleans, but I was always curious about this dog and did a little research, The Blue Dog by George Rodrigue was inspired by the myth of the 'Loup-Garou', inspired by a book of Cajun Ghost Stories (Bayou, Inkwell, 1984). Described as a 'werewolf-type' dog, the artist familiar with the legend as he had heard it often as a boy, could find no specific image for the loup-garou and he set out to create it. Using photos of his studio dog Tiffany, who had died years earlier, he painted an image under a blue night sky of a grey blue dog with red eyes. Over time the dog's eyes were changed to yellow to make it a bit friendlier to audiences, but The Blue Dog (there is even a Cafe with the same name in New Orleans) is known not just in Louisiana but everywhere! As horror and mystery are my favorite genres and vampire and werewolf lore are favorite reads (and movies) of mine, I was fascinated to learn the history behind this iconic dog!

The Red Dog Sign Rotated and became Blue Dog Again! There's my reflection in the Glass again!

Unfortunately this shot captured too much 'noise' I think I was still zooming when it snapped.

Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies! Feel free to link up your WW photos in the comments below!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. I am under no obligation to share my photos from my trip to New Orleans for the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Gravier Street, New Orleans #NOLA

More New Orleans Photos from my trip to the Niche Mommy Conference, these were all taken on Gravier Street!

Gravier Street Sign, New Orleans

Statue on Gravier Street, New Orleans

Statue on Gravier Street, New Orleans


Feel free to post the link to your Wordless Wednesday Photo in the comments! Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. I am under no obligation to share my photos of my New Orleans trip to the Niche Mommy Conference!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

I am on my way to #BlogHer12 so why are my thoughts on the @NicheMommy Conference?



Witchcraft, Voodoo Legends, and Vampire Folklore - OH MY!


This week the BlogHer Conference is coming back to my city, New York City! And I'm live blogging this year FOR BlogHer which I'm totally excited about. So why is my mind already on the Niche Mommy Conference?



I guess since I already live in New York City, and I'm not taking a plane to get there, I'm not getting that 'travel rush' I normally get before a conference, so my mind is drifting and wandering towards thoughts of new sites and sounds. A city I have never visited. A city with Vampire Lore (Hello, life long Horror and Vampire Movie lover here!), a city with a rich Jazz musical history and great restaurants, New Orleans!



I have been researching this city for years now, and according to the Haunted New Orleans Tours website, "New Orleans, (is) America's Most Haunted City" - It seems to me it's part haunted and part enchanted and that is a strong part of the draw for me. I don't know why none of my travels to date have yet to take me there, but I'm thinking the Niche Mommy Conference sounds like a perfect excuse, I mean ahem, a 2012 'business' trip! Yeah, that's the ticket! While I know most folks immediately think about Mardi Gras madness, I don't want to try push my way down crowded streets, I want to take leisurely strolls and get great pictures of local architecture, meet tons of locals and hit the restaurants on my wish/research list. Yes I have actually been compiling a list of must try restaurants, I'm such a hopeless foodie!

You know how I feel about Vision Boards, and how they help you put the power of attraction in action! I have been compiling info on New Orleans for awhile now, and here is an advertisement that I clipped from a  magazine that highlights some of the things I want to do while in NOLA!

My 'Big Easy' Vision Board:

Press on each picture to see them as a full page and then backspace and come back here to see the next one!









I was robbed of quite a bit of travel time in the last year (due to a medical nightmare I certainly didn't see coming), and I plan to make up for it! While there are all the obvious reasons of why I love conferences (connecting with online friends from across the miles in the real world, learning how to make my business grow stronger by blogging smarter not harder, meeting great brands and making new friends), I also love travel and I love exploring new cities. I'm totally excited that Niche Mommy will be held in New Orleans this year, and I totally hope to make it out there!

For all those coming in this week for BlogHer, please be sure to visit my post that outlines the top 10 family fun New York City sites and attractions, if you missed it, you can click HERE.


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FTC Disclosure: While this is NOT a sponsored post, this is a personal essay entry into a Britax Competition for an opportunity to win a sponsorship to the Niche Mommy Conference. This is a closed competition for members of their Latina Advisory Board - Hispanic Digital Outreach Blogger Brand Ambassadors. This post is my entry, all opinions are 100% my own. I have NO personal affiliation to the Niche Mommy Conference organizers or the New Orleans Tourism Board. I am however entirely fascinated by the supernatural and have always wanted to visit New Orleans!