I have been working on Bella Vida for a little over a year now. I started Bella Vida in early 2011 on a platform I wasn’t very happy with. In July I transferred everything over to this site and have been more consistent. However, not many may know this, then again some of you might remember, I have been blogging since about 2005. My first site was a novice attempt at blogging and one I would not share on here. Those of you who might remember that old blog, which lived on blogspot, can feel a little privileged to my blogging history.

I started Bella Vida at a time I was laid off and had way too much free time on my hands. I needed an outlet. I needed creative
therapy. I. NEEDED. TO. WRITE. Since then I can say I have been overwhelmed by what Bella Vida has become. I have written exactly 102 posts since then. That makes it about one new topic for all of you to enjoy every three days. Those aren’t bad odds? I’d like to become a bit more consistent, but when I first started I had given myself a goal of one or two posts a week, just to see how it goes. I must say, it’s gone very well. Since it’s inception, I’ve had exactly 18,275 all time visitors. I’ve had visitors from across the globe. Which, thanks to WordPress I can track them as of this February. This is more than I could have ever imagined.

I was nominated, by popular vote and WON, the CBS4 Most Valuable Blogger Award in the Everything Else Category. A few months later, I was chosen by People StyleWatch magazine as a Style Hunter and have had the honor of sharing with all of you new fashion finds and styles.

So I decided that for Bella Vida’s one year birthday, I’d spruce it up a bit. As a gift for itself. A gift for all of you – my readers. A gift for me. I figured it was time to make this thing official! If you look above to your browser, you might notice that the websites domain name is no longer: michellearean.wordpress.com but a newer more hip little personality at: abellavidastyle.com. I added the word style to the blog’s name and gave it a cute punch line. In a gist: Bella Vida Style means A Beautiful Lifestyle. Why you may ask? Well, because life IS beautiful. This site isn’t only about fashion and beauty, but about life, about my hobbies, about life-altering and life-changing events, about inspiration and about anything else that makes MY life beautiful.

This is Princess Bella, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and the namesake behind Bella Vida Style.

Here’s a little history, my gorgeous pup (who I treat like my child) – her name is Princess Bella, that’s where the Bella in the name comes in. Bella Vida Style is in three languages: (sort of) French, Spanish and English – the three languages I can speak. (Just don’t test me too much on my French, I’m a few years out of practice, merci? Pardon moi, mais j’ai voudrai parle francais beaucoup une jour encour comme j’ai parle à l’école secondaire.)

One of the few screen shots I have from my first design. I wish I would have kept the screen shot of the main page and header. (insert sad face here).

I also changed the design a bit. I wanted to make it more of a magazine style. So please let me know what you think of the main blog page. Do you like seeing all the featured stories? What do you think of the sliding feature stories? This might be good in case you miss one, the recent ones and popular reads are easy to find. I wish I would’ve kept a screen shot of my original site. I thought about it, but while I was working on the re-design I got excited and carried away and hit the publish button a little too soon. Now my first baby might be forgotten forever. Bella Vida Style did not

only get a new look on the world-wide web, it also found a new home on Facebook. You can now become a fan of Bella Vida
Style, share posts with friends, leave comments, topic ideas – whatever your little heart desires at the place where you all most frequent. Let’s face it, we know we can’t spend an hour or so without checking out the status feed.

Now, my favorite little accessory Bella Vida Style gained in this process is its new logo. Gone is the image of cherry blossoms (though I’m still a bit in love with those, oh yeah, and sunflowers too). The new “do” is its fancy little logo. Bella Vida Style has been branded! There are two choices: a spelled out version and a shorter, smaller version with just the initials that you can find up on your browser bar as well. What are your thoughts? Do you like the look? This creative design was done by my good friend Eric over at Folk Creative. If you’re searching for some logo re-vamping, I highly suggest his professional take, patience (took me about 6 months to decide on a logo), and talent!

Even the colors were carefully chosen. Want to know why? Here are the reasons: navy blue because it’s my birthstone color and my favorite, bright pink because I still like to keep things a bit girly without going overboard and turquoise because I’ve always been drawn to this color in some form. Think I made a good choice? Here are its “official” color meanings too in case you’re curious: dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America. Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness. The color blue is one of trust, honesty and loyalty. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn’t like to make a fuss or draw attention. Blue hates confrontation, and likes to do things in its own way. This color exhibits an inner security and confidence. Blue has a need for order and direction in its life, including its living and work spaces. Blue seeks peace and tranquility above everything else, promoting both physical and mental relaxation. The color blue reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation and order . The color blue is idealistic, enhancing self-expression and our ability to communicate our needs and wants. It inspires higher ideals. Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. The color pink represents compassion, nurturing and love. Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. Pink is intuitive and insightful, showing tenderness and kindness with its empathy and sensitivity. Fuchsia: A blend of deep pink and blue, fuchsia inspires confidence, assurance and maturity, a more responsible and controlled nurturing and love. Hot Pink: inspires a more passionate, playful and sensual love. It exudes warmth and happiness and a love of life. Turquoise helps to open the lines of communication between the heart and the spoken word. It presents as a friendly and happy color enjoying life.Turquoise recharges our spirits during times of mental stress and tiredness, alleviating feelings of loneliness. It influences rather than preaching and demanding. Turquoise heightens levels of creativity and sensitivity.

Still with me? What did you think of those colors?

Now, with change comes something new. There will be a few new things on the site. For one, for the next few weeks, once a week I will be featuring a local (or sometimes not so local) blogger. I look forward to sharing these Q & A’s with you. Hopefully it can help those of you wandering through the blogosphere with some inspiration, tips or hope on how to figure it all out. For those of you who don’t blog, stay tuned anyway! These ladies are fashion mavens, creative souls and very inspirational. It’s not all going to be about their craft, some personality will be sprinkled in as well. Promise!