Good morning and welcome to the new blog look! I’ve been working with Emily of Emily White Designs, who is incredibly talented and efficient, to make some changes around here. Though I still am tweaking a few things and have a lot of re-categorizing, organizing and such to do, I am SO pumped about the new changes. It should make things load faster, be easier to navigate, less cluttered, etc.
I’m hoping not to make this post terribly long, but I need to share a local gem I just stumbled upon this weekend. Since the Davidson Farmers Market closed, I searched the ‘net for another farmers market to take Hailey to on Saturday morning and came across a little spot called The Bradford Store.
It’s located in Huntersville and is basically an old family farm that started selling it’s own produce about 8 or 9 years ago, and now offers produce and other items from over 58 local farms. Even with that, Hailey was most impressed with the cows and chickens.
I, on the other hand, was smitten with the store.
It has the feel on an old general store (which it was years and years ago) and offers so many delicious local items!
If you’re not giddy yet, check this out fellow food lovers…
Say whaaa??? Somehow I mustered enough self restraint to not grab them all, despite knowing I’d really give them a great home. Hailey played at the kids table, loaded with old-fashioned toys, while I gawked and grabbed a few goodies, like this organic super greens salad mix.
Needless to say, it was a fun morning for all!
OK, now that I’ve shared… let me overwhelm you with even more pictures. Last week’s meal plan…
Grilled chicken salad over romaine with black beans, tomatoes, feta, onions, jalapenos, avocado and buffalo ranch
Grilled seafood packets with a baked potato
Pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with broccoli slaw and roasted broccoli
Lentil chili with sour cream and jalapenos
*It wasn’t all that flavorful. I’m in the process of testing a lot of old recipes of mine and will only be putting the ones that are really good on the new recipe page. Thanks for your patience!
Homemade pizza night
Buffalo chicken taco and blackened fish taco with broccoli from Hickory Tavern,
where we celebrated St Patty’s Day on Saturday evening.
Other eats:
Veggie egg scramble with avocado and blueberries
Chipotle fresco quesadilla with black beans, compliments of The Laughing Cow. I love this new (to me) wedge flavor! Just the right amount of kick!
Kale sautéed in coconut oil and veggie broth with grape tomatoes, goat cheese and red wine vinegar
Romaine, leftover BBQ, pickles, jalapenos, tomatoes and ranch.
I call this pregnancy salad.
Are your farmers markets open for the season yet?
Thoughts or input on the new design?
Jen says
LOVE the new look Brittany! And that store looks like an awesome find!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast says
What an adorable store! I would have been going crazy, too! Sadly, no farmers markets here for another few months. Most open around May or June… but we’re hoping to start a garden here, so that will give me something to focus on. I love the new look!!
Heather @fitncookies says
I love the new look! It’s beautiful! So clean looking 🙂
Karen says
Love, love the new look!! So nice!!
John J. says
Like the new look – and the tasty morsels pictured. You are the grand presenter, including your tv shots!
Lauren says
I’m not really into the “click to read more” feature. Is that a permanent change? Is there a reason for adding it?
Brittany Dixon says
The ‘read more’ feature was recommended to me because it allows for more content to be featured closer to the top of the page. Since I write about different topics (pregnancy, food, etc) the thought is that readers can more easily skip over content they don’t care to read and more easily choose what interests them.
I’m gauging feedback to see what people prefer. So far it’s about even, go figure! I appreciate the feedback!
Nicole says
First, I’d like to say the new design looks great – very refreshing, modern and aesthetically pleasing. But, I would also like to mention that I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘click to read more’ button either.
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
LOVE the new blog look! So clean, organized, and professional!
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Looks like a fun weekend! Foodie heaven 🙂
And the new design is awesome! Really pretty!
Brittney says
That store looks awesome Brittany! We should meet there with the kiddos sometime since I haven’t seen you in forever!!
Brittany Dixon says
I’d love that! I can’t believe it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other and that A is a YEAR old… craziness.
Catherine says
Love the new look!
We’re about to move a couple miles from that store so I’m glad to know that’s its nice! Every time we pass by I tell my husband that I look forward to visiting.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh wow, only a couple miles away? Sweet! You will definitely have to check it out! Hope moving is going smoothly!
Kellie Mooney says
What kind of ranch do you use? I love ranch but do not love all the ingredients in the store bought ones and haven’t mastered a good homemade one yet. I love seeing your meals! It gives me so much inspiration. If my husband would only eat a salad.
Brittany Dixon says
Wish I had a great answer for you, but I’m still on the search, too. I usually use Newman’s Own, but honestly I wish I could find something that tastes like Hidden Valley without the garbage in it. I’ve tried Brianna’s and was not a fan. Let me know if you come across a good homemade one and I’ll do the same!
Rachel says
Not a fan of the “click to read more” – I’m way too lazy to actually click to read more unless the beginning of the post REALLY draws me in. The rest of the website looks fabulous though!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks for the feedback! I’m usually the same way 😉 Just testing it out to see what people prefer and can tweak if necessary. Thanks!
christina says
i noticed the new design yesterday and i LOVE IT. it looks so pretty and clean. very refreshing for spring!
Katie @ Pick Any Two says
I like the new look! I like clean, simple, uncluttered designs.
I’m very fortunate that in my town there’s an indoor market that’s open year-round! I actually used to work there as a teenager, and it’s still one of my favorite places to go.
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Love the new design – very clean and pretty!
Becky@TheSavedRunner says
I love your new design!!! I am in the process of switching to self hosting, and I am trying to figure out how I will want to design my blog. I need to check out who helped you. And I have actually never been to a Farmers Market before, but I was just telling the Hubs last night that I want us to go the next Saturday we are available. The one you went to looks amazing!!
Katie says
I really like the new look of the site but have to add that I also dislike the “click to read more” feature. I know it’s not that hard to click but I stopped reading Fitnessista altogether for that reason.
Jen says
Love the new look overall! Just 1 suggestion, the font is very light which makes it hard to read- much easier to read black, or maybe a darker gray. Thanks!
Heather says
That store has to be one of the coolest finds ever! So neat! Also, I love the new blog look!
Erin says
I love the Bradford store, it’s 5 minutes from me so I visit often especially in the warmer months. They do pick your own strawberries and have a lot of good plant seedlings. My daughter loves the chicks too!
Ali says
I love your new site look! It’s so clean and refreshing. Good choice:)
Maria says
I love unique stores like that! They are a rare find here, but back in VA, there’s an Amish-owned store that sells all kinds of bulk items, organic foods, naturally-raised meats, and homemade candy. My mom and I go crazy in there!
The font color looks great on my Macbook Air, but on my work computer (shhh!), it’s really hard to read (too light). Otherwise, looks great and the design is so fresh and so clean 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O I love the new design! So clean and fun, its perfect 😉
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
Lovin’ the new design. Very bright and clean!
Brittany says
I’m obsessed with your new design. I’ve been thinking about redoing mine for quite awhile now….just waiting to save up a little to make the investment! I would die over that store! I love places like that, and how amazing they have a basket of free peppers!
jodi says
love the bradford store pix! definitely on the to do list!! the new look is great! not sure about the read more click either. granted I will still click it and read more… 😉 question for you, maybe I am an idiot, but was looking for a recipe of yours (energy oat bites) and didn’t see it under recipes. maybe I missed it or maybe I need to look somewhere else…?? just in case you did n’t realize you might be missing some recipes… (or maybe i am just an idiot and can’t find them…)
Brittany Dixon says
The no-to-click-more crowd is taking over so I’m sure I’ll be tweaking it! 🙂
PS- I’m missing a lot of recipes and a lot of categories at the moment. I’ve put about 5 hours into doing the back end stuff so far, but still have more than I care to acknowledge to do, so it’s going to be a slowwww process.
However, here’s the recipe you mentioned!
http://www.ahealthysliceoflife.com/recipes/?recipe_id=6048108
I actually made a double batch today for tomorrow’s shindig 🙂
Emily says
LOVE the modern, new look!
Marjorie says
Oh I love the new look! It is so minimalist and clean.
And oh my goodness that store looks like heaven to me! We do have famers markets here, but they are not as cutesy or quaint as the shop you show here. How neat!!!
Danielle says
I love the new look! I usually end up reading blogs from my phone and the new design is mobile friendly. It’ll take time for me to get use to it. Had to do a double take to make sure I was on the right blog. Lol
I don’t know of any farmer’s markets in my area, but my family just moved to country so we’re going to try growing our own. We have cherry, apple, pear, and peach trees, grape vines, and I’m going to plant some strawberries and tomatoes. We also just got ducklings so we’ll have fresh duck eggs to eat.
Stefanie says
OOooOOOo pretty! I love the clean feel of the new design. I don’t love the “click to read more” so much though.
Niko's Mama says
Love the new look – super cute & warm/friendly colors!! I was bummed that you now have to scroll down ALL the way past all the comments, suggested posts, etc before u get to the link to previous posts when before the link was right after the current post you’re reading… I know this seems silly/lazy lol but just wanted to share my thoughts 🙂
Lindsay says
I love the new look”. i do not like the click to read more feature. It actually made your page load slower than normal for me. The new design is very fresh and clean though 🙂
Chantal says
Love the look!! And that store is AWESOME. I love it!
Cheryl says
Very pretty, looks great! 🙂 I love the white!
Matt @ Runner Savvy says
All of those meals look delicious!
Jillian @ Baby Doodah! says
Every single one of your pictures make your food look mouth watering. Mmmmm Especially the pulled pork!
Lindsay says
Love the new design! So fresh! Like those peppers! I would have taken them all. Lol!
Emily says
Thank you for changing the “read more” feature – I am also not a fan – just because I hate clicking twice and sometimes it’s a hassle on mobile.
LOVE the site, again!
Danica @ It's Progression says
1 – I LOVE the new look!! I actually thought I went to the wrong URL when it loaded at first haha
2 – That farm sounds like a dream!!
3 – I’m drooling over your food pictures.
Molly says
It looks awesome over here! I MUST check that store out!