Carrots ‘N’ Cake is getting a facelift tonight! I hope you’re ready!! 😉
Did you know that CNC once looked like this?
Yep, that was the good ol’ Blogger days.
In September 2008, Carrots ‘N’ Cake received its current look and hasn’t changed all that much since. However, in the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that CNC crashes almost every day. Well, the “back end” of the blog no longer supports its traffic, so the new and improved Carrots ‘N’ Cake should definitely help with this issue.
If you’re curious about the full history of Carrots ‘N’ Cake, you can read it here. In 2.5 years, my blog has gone through a lot of changes!
Lunch
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of enjoying lunch at Brasserie Jo with Katie, the E-Marketing/Entertainment Sales Manager at The Colonnade Hotel. (Remember my trip to the rooftop pool?!?)
In a few weeks, Mal and I are hosting a fundraising party in Boston, so we’ve been contacting local businesses to donate prizes for the event’s raffles/silent auctions to raise money for Team in Training. Katie was kind enough to offer an AMAZING prize, so I met her today to discuss the details.
Local folks: Save the date – Thursday, September 30th. You’re all invited! Details to come! 😀
For lunch, we started with a freshly baked baguette. I ate at least three or four pieces with butter. I have zero control around French bread!
Then, the chef sent a wonderful appetizer to our table: jumbo scallops + pork belly. The dish was his take on bacon-wrapped scallops. It was definitely something special!
Holy flavor! I never knew I liked pork belly so much!
After the appetizer, the chef sent another dish. This time, it was Salade Nicoise, served with a thick piece of medium-rare tuna. It was also delicious, but I only took a few bites, so I could pace myself for the main course.
For my entree, I ordered the Belgian Endive Salad, which was served with a citrus dressing, big chunks of blue cheese, sliced apples, and walnuts.
After two appetizers, I was glad that I ordered a light entree!
I almost turned down dessert, but Katie offered to split the Alsace Brioche Bread Pudding with me. Chocolate-apricot bread pudding!?! Um, yes, sign me up!!
The bread pudding definitely put me over the edge, but it was totally worth it! I’d visit Brasserie Jo just to eat this dessert again. HOLY YUM!! 
I also drank a cup of coffee with dessert.
It was much-needed on such a dank and dreary day.
I’m not used to 4-course meals at lunchtime. Now, I need a nap!
Get ready for the new Carrots ‘N’ Cake!!!
I LOVE IT!!! Little Murphy makes it!
LOVE the new look, Tina!! I just logged in to catch up – what a GREAT surprise!! I love that you included Murphy!!! 🙂
The new layout is adorable!! Well, the fact that Murphy is adorable and getting all of the attention he deserves! Congratulations Tina!
I like the new layout, it makes the page look wider and cleaner.
Anyways, i’m not sure if the tag line has always been there but I noticed today and I like it. It’s catchy..”wholesome eats and tasty treats”.
The blog looks awesome! 🙂
This redesigned layout is the bomb! Clean but not dull, loving it. :]
It’s gorgeous! I can’t stop looking at the new design. Stunning.
Wow! Will take some getting used to…
Love the Murphy logo on the top with the carrot cake. 🙂
Wish I didn’t have to click on “read the full post” every time though, I hate that on blogs for some reason.
Overall cute design.
8000 times better!!! love it!!!!!
1) love how it is light but not white
2) love the logo so much
3) the header is so cute
4) love how it’s not just orange and green
5) love love love this font in the comments
6) love love love
Hey,
I love the new layout. That little “pic” of Murphy is sooo adorable. the only problem with the new layout is that on my google reader I only get to see those short preview part..anybody else have the same problem??
Wow, love the new layout, so different from the last one, but so functional, kudos!
I like the new look of the site! Nice! Ooh that food looks amazing. Especially the scallops!
Love the look, but please don’t make us click over from Google Reader. I love your blog and have been reading it for quite some time now, but I really, really hate to have to click over to read it. Thanks!
I love, love ,love the new look and new fonts! I hope all the stress will be worth it and the new server is all that you hoped it would be. 🙂
i cant tell you how much i love the new layout!! or how much a i adore this cute font for typing this comment!! haha <3
@Amy H:
Agreed! The look is beautiful, but full posts in reader are a must. Full posts on the blog homepage are nicer too. Less clicking, more reading!
Also, the news fonts are great….I just wish I didn’t have to type in funky fonts in the comment box.
I’ll keep reading because I do love your blog–but I hope you at least think about these things!
I LOVE your new layout! The font and colors are adorable!!
LOVE the new layout! So cute and fresh. I do agree that I prefer to be able to read the full blog post without having to click again, but that may just be me. I’m weird like that. Won’t keep me from reading, that’s for sure. LOVE the new design and art work. SO CUTE!
Love love LOVE your header! “Murphy”.is.adorable up there!!!!
Like the changes! Good for you…..I LOVE the look of those seared scallops. Reminded me to put them on my grocery list.
Normally, I’m not a big fan of change. (You should have heard the hissy fit I pitched at home in front of the computer when WordPress did away with my blog theme.) But your new look is great. I love the banner, with the picture of Murphy ”” and I see that Murphy has his own category. How fun!
I LOVE the new layout! It looks really good. I haven’t been able to read your blog recently because it kept crashing. Good to know its A-okay!
dig the redesign except for the size of the right-hand column (with the foodbuzz ad, featured posts, &c). maybe i’m easily distracted, but i find it too big in comparison to the posts themselves — it’s like the right side is competing too hard for my attention.
Love the new look! And Murphy’s there too 😉
Your lunch looks fantastic. I’m French and wish there was a really good French brasserie near me…but nope 🙁
ooh new website exciting!
That bread pudding looks amazing!
🙂
I love the addition of Murphy, the fun but readable fonts and the ability to preview more than one post per page. Nice redesign! 🙂
I like how your pictures work in the new style, fun and so exciting!
Those scallops and pork belly look heavenly 😛
I love the redesign but no full posts on reader is brutal! It means I can’t read your blog since I can’t access at work :-/
I should be getting ready for work…but I wanted to check out the new layout!! LOVE IT!! Looks awesome! I esp love the little cartoon Murph!
I will most definitely save the date for the 30th!
I love the makeover!!
I love the new look! Very professional and fresh! 🙂 Awesome, Tina.
And I think there’s a rule against turning down bread pudding 😉
LOVE the changes!!! Awesome, easy, more awesome!
It looks nice! I do agree with the other comments about the “Read More” function. I prefer to not have to click on that, especially in Reader. Other than that, it’s awesome!
i love the murphy addition!!!!
It’s going to take some getting used to. I agree with JB that the ads on the side are way too big…. do you have to do that for your sponsorships? I must just be change averse… I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
It looks rad, Tina! Especially love the Murphy graphic 🙂 Like others have said, the layout looks really professional. Great job!
Hi Tina!
All the best,now and always!
Do you mind a few comments re new layout? I am a long time fan of your blog!
Just a few things- a biggie for me in any blog is having to click to read the rest of the main post-this is a huge turnoff for me and I often won;t bother.(don’t know if others feel the same? of course I do love actually reading your blog a lot, but enjoy the ease of reading a blog that makes it easy for the readers to access).
I find the ad part on the right side of page is now much bigger(wider) than previously and to the eye seems almost to be starting to take over the awesome part(your writings!)Would love to see this back to previous porportions (hope it doesn’t affect your income though!)
Hope you don’t mind these comments-would like them to be helpful feedback ?
All the best always in your career and also in house purchase! I have enjoyed readinng your blog many a time over the years and hope a little feedback is what bloggers want.Comments are coming from a fan 😉 Cheers!!!
Not a fan of the changes, especially the truncated RSS feed. I know you want people to click through to the site so you can get ad revenue, but I can’t access your site (or blogspot or a lot of other blogs) while I’m at work b/c they are blocked. Since I’m on the computer so much during work and school, I don’t surf much at home on my own. Sad to say I probably won’t be reading CNC anymore for that reason. 🙁
Oh I am so sad to see no more full RSS posts. I am not allowed to surf blogs at work, so I won’t be able to read very often now.
Good luck! I love the new look. I usually unsubscribe to blogs if I can’t read the whole post.
Love the new header! The full post isn’t coming up in my reader 🙁
I love the new blog look! Congrats! The header looks totally cute.
Hey Tina! Love the new CNC look. It sure has come a long way. Your pictures (especially on this post) are stunning. I need to upgrade my camera and was wondering if you can recommend a good one, or features to look for.
Thanks!
Liz
love the new design! sooo cute, and OH MAN that lunch looked DELicious. yum!
that bread pudding looks to die for
I love the new look! =)
Whoa! I had no idea CNC used to look like THAT. 😉 LOL! CNC has definitely gone thru a lot of ch-ch-changes thru the years.
I really don’t think you should let the negative comments get to you! None of those peeps have a site that looks as good as yours does anyway. 😉 I love the facelift.
I love the new format! Easy to navigate.
Love it!!! I”m new here! How did you build your readership? Any tips?