We interrupt our normal programming for a bit of blog business. We’ve updated our sidebar! Please, contain your excitement.
It’s nothing major, but enough of you have had questions about the changes that we whipped up over Memorial Day weekend that we figured it warranted a quick explanation (and an apology to those who witnessed any funny business on Monday while we played around). One of my goals now that I’m a full time blogger/father has been to improve some of the function of our site and clean up the design (within my limited coding skills). In fact it was even my resolution this year. So to that end, here are a few of the things that might look a bit different (unless you read us in a reader and have no clue what our sidebar even looks like):
Change #1: A Second Tabbed Window- We’ve condensed some of our sidebar content into another one of those handy-dandy tabbed windows like the search box that we have in the top right corner. You may be familiar with that one, and this additional box resides just a bit lower and contains things like, um, our cheesy smiling mugs.
Really it’s just a replacement for our old Contact button. But in the tabs behind it we’ve added things like a new “Shortcuts” window that contains easy links to some of the most frequently asked questions (where did you get that _______ in your house?) along with our most referenced how-to posts.
You’ll also see that we’ve moved our Link Love section (i.e. our blogroll) up into this window so that you don’t have to scroll as far down the page to access it anymore. And we even added a gooey little appreciation tab there on the end that we’ve called “Smooch” because we really do love you guys.
Change #2: New Buttons- Right under that new tabbed window, you’ll also see three new buttons (well, two of them are just redesigned and one is actually brandy new). You can still access Burger’s blog quickly and hop over to a page for browsing all of our House Crashing posts, but now you can also find your way over to a Flickr album of Clara pictures. We figure it’s an easy way for those of you who are hungry for a daily dose of baby to get your fix without flooding our post schedule with “isn’t she adorable” moments (which, if I may brag for a second, there are A LOT of lately).
Change #3: New Boxes: This last change is really just about cleaning up a bit of the design. I finally figured out / took the time to learn how to do something simple like add a clean white box around all of our sidebar widgets (like our Twitter feed, Discount-O-Rama listing, We’re Digging items, etc) so everything just looks a bit more consistent. Probably makes no difference to most of you, but it was a sweet sweet victory to me.
So that’s the mini sidebar makeover. Hopefully you guys agree that the changes fall into the “improvement” category, but – as scary as this is to ask – please let us know if you’ve got other suggestions for us. We’re happy to hear all ideas, but please understand upfront that not every suggestion is possible (even if only due to my limited coding abilities). Also – as scary as this is to ask as well – please let us know if something doesn’t look quite right on your computer or if you think something isn’t showing up correctly in your browser. Thanks everyone! Now go click on that Smooch tab up near the Contact Us tab that we mentioned for some virtual love from YHL to you.
UPDATE: Some of you are reporting trouble seeing the changes. The new buttons, like our sponsors’ ads, are coded using a flash advertising software. So if your browser is running some sort of flash or ad blocker (I’m not talking pop-ups, homey don’t play that here) it may be preventing you from seeing the Burger, Clara, or House Crashing buttons. If you can turn that off for just YHL, that should solve the problem (thanks Barbara for figuring this out!) And no, this wasn’t a clever ploy to make everyone view our ads – I just used our ad software so that I could rotate a few versions of the buttons so you guys get served up a variety of Burger, Clara, and House Crashing thumbnails.
mp says
Miss Clara … the most beautiful baby born since my daughter in 1981. And Burger … such a cutie!!!
Tonia says
Love the improvements. Looking good.
krstn says
Love the baby photos (sorry! I’m a sucker! My little girl is coming in a few weeks and I’m baby 24-7 at the moment)
You guys have some amazing shots of her! Now you need to do a tutorial on how to take great baby photos!
GreenInOC says
I solved mine with Cado units. The one in my bedroom doesn’t have a workspace but is solely for display and storage.
I adore them. If I could sprinkle magic dust on them, I would marry them. Although, then I’d have to get more of them!
However, while my units are lovely they totally lose on the budget front. In spite of Craigslist scouring I still spent a pretty penny on them.
Your desk looks totally fab and professionally built – I bet it looks more like a $700 solution and heck yah for the recycling aspect and totally integrated cord management – home run!!
GreenInOC says
Okay, I’m a total loser.
I meant for the above comment to go with your desk post and not this one!
While I’m here though, love the new improvements and especially love the pics of your adorable new daughter!
Leslie says
OK found what I wanted…….baby pictures! Do her cloth diapers fit her yet? I have a few of the BG organics and love them.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Leslie,
Not yet but we’re getting close! Can’t wait to take them for a spin. Of course we’ll fill everyone in on how we like them when we’ve used them for a little while. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Linda says
Love the improvements! And I already hopped over for my dose of Clara cuteness…your daughter really is adorable!
Elle Sees says
I’m loving the new layout, and yes, I noticed before.
I love this blog and how you make us feel like we’ve been to the wedding, know our way around the house, and a virtual part of your family. Thanks again!
Abby says
You are brilliant to put all the mood boards in one spot! I was just looking at them before the big change. (I didn’t mean to make it sound like menopause) The new tab is so easy, even though they are worth the hunt!
kristiina says
looks great! i love the new buttons of your helpers and your ‘hobby’…great to revisit all of those spots when I’m in need of inspiration (or cute baby/mood lifting pictures) :) Thank you both for continuing to keep your site ‘fresh’..it’s always a pleasure to come here.
Meghan says
One other thing that could be causing people to not see the new buttons: if they’re using an iPad or iPhone to access your site, they won’t be able to see the Flash components. Apparently Steve Jobs doesn’t like other peoples’ proprietary closed systems. (Pot, meet kettle.)
Still love my iPhone though, and I love your site more.
:-)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s funny! I actually see them on my iPhone (3GS) so now I’m feeling special! Anyone with an iPad who can let us know if you see ’em there?
xo,
s
Laura J says
I like the changes, especially the Clara button! She is so beautiful! I love the silly faces. We are saving all of our daughter’s dorky pictures and putting them in one big album for her future boyfriends. LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Now that’s funny. Such a good idea!
xo,
s
Christine says
Love the Clara pics! Too cute.. Hope you are getting some sleep :)
Meredith says
Look at Clara, holding her head up so well!
The blog changes are pretty cool too ;)
Julia says
Clara is soooooooo cute. Her expressions are so animated. Thanks for posting.
Tia says
I too am someone that hates change, but I love the changes you’ve made.
I see your helper and hobby buttons, but the sponsors still aren’t showing up on IE. I’m at work, so I can’t go installing stuff, but I thought you’d like to know since your sponsors might not be thrilled that a lot of adware programs are blocking the ads they are paying for.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tia,
We’re thinking that your office has some sort of ad blocking software that’s keeping them from showing up, either that or IE has an ad blocker running (which you can change by going to the settings and unclicking the “ad blocker” description). We wish there was a way for us to help people view our sidebar remotely, but unfortunately it’s all something that is controlled on the computer user’s end. Thanks for the heads up!
xo,
s
Erin says
Ok, how bizarre (well, for me anyway)…when I logged on today to check your blog I was thinking “I hope they have new pictures of the baby soon.”
And lo-and-behold…there was the adorable tab on the side with that cute little face!!! Seriously, Miss Clara is so freakin’ cute! I can’t believe how expressive she is already!
Erin says
Oh…and I was so worried that Burger was going to be jealous before Clara was born. But I’m in awe of how protective he seems of her already and looks like he’s claimed her as his own! It’s adorable!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, that’s his baby too!
xo,
s
Lynn Van Slyke says
I love the pics of Miss Clara, she is a peach =)
So I have a question: Is there a reason why the new box with the contact us, shortcuts, link love, and smooch wouldn’t be showing up for me? I see the search, subscribe, etc. box and the Clara and Burger tabs but not the one that is supposed to be in the middle. Is there something special I need to do?
YoungHouseLove says
Hi Lynn,
Hmmm, not quite sure if I know the answer – could you share what browser (incl. version) you’re using? That might give me some idea. Sorry you’re not seeing them!
-John
Andrea P says
I love when you guys change up the “We’re Digging” stuff!
I gotta know: What color Joovy Kooper did you get & how are you liking it? We are really hoping to get by with one stroller purchase….could this be it? Does it have car seat adaptations?
Thanks! Love the new links!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Andrea,
We actually got the black Joovy Kooper but only because the green one wasn’t out yet (it’s new and we adore that option – but black works too). It’s been working out great! Clara loves walks around town in it and although it doesn’t accommodate a carseat carrier like a snap and go would, we wanted to stick to one stroller for the long haul and it does the trick. We either use her carrier and bring her into a store and put that in the cart or put her into her stroller and wheel her around. We also wear her in an Ergo so that’s another way she hitches a ride. Hope it helps…
xo,
s
Eppu says
Wow, small tweaks but big return. Very good looks!
Lynn Van Slyke says
Hi John,
I use Google Chrome version 5. Looking forward to seeing the updated blog!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lynn,
Wierd, that’s what I use to view the site and it’s showing up on mine! Our only guess is that it could be a cacheing issue, so maybe it’ll show up in a day or two. It also can have to do with your internet provider (their service caches as well) so you might just want to give it a few more days (and perhaps even reboot your internet box or clear your cache) in the hopes that it catches up soon!
-John
Morgan says
Hmmm… can I pick your techy brain? I love the new sidebar and while I use wordpress, photoshop and dreamweaver to update/design my blog I’m wondering what flash widget/plug-in you used for your new sidebar? (I would be uber impressed if you coded it yourself!) It turned out great!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Morgan,
The new features are a combination of self-coding and widgets. The new tabbed window I created by just copying the code from the original tabbed window that came with our template (it’s a Javascript code called Tabber – which you can Google to learn more about). But the Clara/Burger/House Crashing buttons are just images I made in Photoshop and coded into the sidebar with simple HTML. And the new boxes around the sidebar widgets were thanks to editing my CSS (which I figured out again thanks to googling around to learn how). I know that’s just skimming the surface of your question, but hopefully it leads you in the right direction. Glad you like it!
-John
Catharine says
Hey guys! I just love your blog :) So I have a tech related question. My boyfriend and I have a blog and we’re using the same WP template as you with these snazzy sidebars, BUT we’ve gotten a lot of feedback from our Internet Explorer readers that our them is scrambled and the margins are all screwy and they can’t leave comments. Now being Macs and not PCs we’d always tested our layout on Safari and it’s perfect. I tried looking at your blog on Explorer and it was just fine. How did you get around that? How do you make your blog compatible for all browsers? I’m quasi-savvy at coding, but still learning. I’d love any input you have!! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Catherine,
I really don’t know how we managed to get the site to look good in a few different browsers (especially since I’m no coding expert, I just learn as I go). We just thankfully never ran into that issue (although our site was screwy in Internet Explorer 6, and still is last we checked- but that browser gives a lot of coders a problem so we gave up). Maybe you can try googling around for suggestions or advice? That’s usually how we solve tech issues over here. Good luck!
-John
Cadie says
I love the navigation on your site. What widget did you use to create the box on the top right corner of your site? (with the search, subscribe, as seen on, etc. tabs)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a java script function that came with our template but if you search “tabber” or “tabber.js” you might be able to find it!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Hi guys,
Could you let me in on the secret of how you added the “We’re Digging” sidebar? I’m helping a friend with her site, and I think it’s great!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! We make little jpgs in photoshop and placed them in that little row of boxes with links and then added a header. It’s all hard coded (not a plug in). Hope it helps!
xo,
s