Girl Living In Nyc | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

on sponsored posts.

29 March, 2014 by Gracie 42 Comments

Hi hi, happy Saturday!

So I usually try to keep weekend posts pretty lighthearted, but there’s something I’ve been wanted to address lately. I’m assuming the title of this post gave it away…

I’ve gotten a bit of flack recently for posting sponsored content, so I wanted to address the topic straight up. I’m not trying to hide anything here on GML, or pretend you don’t notice it.

The bottom line is that - yes, I participate in sponsored posts. I understand that that might bother some readers (and has become quite taboo in the blog world as of late), so maybe this will help you understand a bit more why I do so.

I’ve invested over 4 years into blogging, so I think it’s understandable that I’d want to monetize it. That’s the only way I’d be able to keep up with the time commitment of blogging, actually, which is about 20-30 hours per week (maybe more? Considering how much of my daily life/routine it has become).

When I first started blogging the main way to monetize it was through ads, which I utilize as well, but these days advertising has strongly gone in the direction of sponsored content. Monica does a good job of explaining it more here.

I know some people think that blogging should remain strictly a hobby and shouldn’t be monetized at all. But for me, that’s just not feasible. Like I said before - I wouldn’t be able to make the necessary time for blogging if it were just a hobby. Even though it truly is something I love doing, I need to make sure I balance my passion with being able to support myself financially (especially living in New York).

When it comes to jobs/careers as a whole, I’m a big believer in doing what you love, so if I have the opportunity to make at least part of a living from blogging (especially as someone who is self employed) by posting sponsored content a few times a month, I am going to take it. And I’m okay with admitting that.

With that being said, I want to be clear that I’m very particular when it comes to sponsored posts. I turn down dozens of offers a week - probably enough that would allow me to blog full time, as a lot of other bloggers have made the transition to. I make it a point to always be truthful about what I decide to promote, even if I am being compensated for it. Please believe me when I say that I only promote products and services that I either would genuinely want to try, or already do use myself.

I should also note that when I am compensated in any way, I will disclose it on that post in one way or another. So if that isn’t there (either an “official” disclosure, or me just saying “I got free samples”), it means I’m just posting about a product/service I like and use myself. That’s the case more often than not, as I truly love reviewing products, restaurants, recipes, etc.

Look, the last thing I want to so is turn off my readers. So for that, I will try to keep things as honest and real as possible (hence this post). I hope that you understand where I’m coming from, and that you’ll continue visiting GML.

**********

What are your thoughts on sponsored blog content? Does it turn you off from reading?

perfect pairings {with new TWISTOS Snack Bites} + a giveaway!

27 March, 2014 by Gracie

After a long day at the office or running around on meetings, there’s nothing better than a relaxing evening at home, complete with a comforting meal. I don’t know about you, but a big bowl of soup is just about as comforting as it gets.

The other day I came home after a snowy, work-filled Monday, so I decided to make a big pot of one of my favorite soups – Easy Butternut Squash Soup. I’ve followed this recipe a few times, and it really is so easy! But more importantly, it is comforting and delicious. I finish mine off with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Whenever I have soup, though, I always like to pair it with something crunchy and flavorful. I was recently sent a bag of TWISTOS™ baked snack bites to try, so I figured I’d see if they paired well with the soup.

The TWISTOS™ snack bites turned out to be such a great pairing to go with my soup! The combination of the warm soup and light & crispy textured snack bites made for the perfect addition to my soup. Not to mention the creamy goodness of asiago gave the TWISTOS™ a delicious twist to the sweetness of the butternut squash.

The TWISTOS™ were so great on my soup that I topped my salad with them too. The TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic flavored snack bites made for a fun alternative to croutons, adding the perfect crunch and sharp Parmesan flavor to every bite.

TWISTOS™ baked snacks come in three flavors: TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic Flavored Snack Bites, TWISTOS™ Asiago Flavored Snack Bites and TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored Snack Bites.

I added the Asiago flavor to my soup, Parmesan & Garlic to my salad, and really enjoyed eating the TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored snack bites on their own. The tomato, garlic and basil flavors almost taste as if you’re eating real bruschetta!

What creative way would you enjoy eating TWISTOS™ Snack Bites?

Leave your answer in the comments section for the chance to win a bag of each flavor of TWISTOS™ snack bites for yourself!

How to enter:

1) Leave your answer in the comments section
2) Tweet about the giveaway: “I entered @alagracie’s #Twistos giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/oxhoyh9” and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

~~The giveaway will end on Thursday April 3rd, so get your entries in! The winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Good luck~~

Winner has been chosen and contacted!

This post is brought to you by a partnership with Frito-Lay & Girl Meets Life. All opinions are my own.
Please note I was compensated for this post.

11 things.

26 March, 2014 by Gracie 23 Comments

Apparently you guys enjoy the all over the place posts, so I guess I’ll keep ‘em coming!

(I like them too – they remind me of what makes blogging such a fun outlet.)

Let’s see…

1) I’ve started using Twitter again. Sort of. I’m trying to, at least. I didn’t really think anyone still used it, but it seems they do! You can follow me @alagracie, if you’d like.

2) Speaking of social media, I’ve been really fascinated about how Instagram seems to be becoming the new blog. Anyone else notice that? It makes sense, since Instagram is so much easier to post on, follow, and more interactive in a sense. Guess I had better step up my Insta-game…

3) Over the past month or so I’ve been working on simplifying my life. I do this thing where I’m constantly overcommitting myself (sometimes to others’ projects, but mostly to my own). I definitely love working on multiple things at a time because I do tend to get bored easily, but I’m finding what my healthy balance looks like when it comes to how many projects I can actually manage at any given time.

4) I love watching the news, and I watch it often. Not knowing what’s going on in the world makes me feel dumb.

5) I’m in PA for a few days. I always feel a sense of guilt when I come here – like I should be “braving” the city more. But the truth is that I need to escape and go back to the simple life from time to time, and that’s been more common lately (I go through phases). But instead of feeling bad about it, I’ve learned how to embrace it and be thankful that I have jobs that allow me to do that.

6) I’m going to be the most stereotypical blogger ever right now and share the awesome bowl of oatmeal I had for breakfast yesterday. It included almond milk, cinnamon, sliced banana, walnut butter, and some mixed nuts. I forgot how cozy and comforting oatmeal is.

7) I also made this lil’ snack plate, which I thought was cute. It included strawberries, Mary’s crackers, hummus, and some coconut dark chocolate.

8) I just referred to my food as cozy and cute. I’m such a girl.

9) I’m so glad that hip thrusts are the new squats, except for the fact that they’re called hip thrusts.

10) It’s almost creepy how perfect daily devotionals can be exactly what you need on given day. Maybe creepy is the wrong word but…you know what I mean.