new features on the site
Welcome to the new Chocolatour site! It has the same URL as the old Chocolatour.net site but everything you find here is new or newly polished. That includes six years of blog posts that have been migrated from the former writer’s/lifestyle blog at http://doreenpendgracs.com and the former travel blog at http://diversionswithdoreen.com. Those posts, and any comments you may have made on them have been migrated to this amazing new site that has been created by three of us. Me, along with the expertise of two amazing women:
Jennifer Cook of Cats in the Bag design in Montreal, Canada. Jennifer designed the fabulous chocolate globe logo for Chocolatour that you see at the top of this site, the banner that now appears here as well as on my social media pages, and the icons you see on this page.
and
Sherryl Perry of Keep Up With the Web in Massachusetts, USA. Sherryl has been my web manager since 2011 and is fantastic to work with. She has designed the technical aspects of this site by modifying a custom theme to meets our needs.
Here are some of the new features Sherryl has designed:
On the About Chocolatour page, you will find a slideshow in the body of the page. Please take a look! It’s a quick slideshow with a dozen photos that will take you on a brief tour of what Chocolatour is all about.
On the About Doreen page, you’ll find a lengthier slideshow with 40 different slides from around the world depicting highlights of my chocolate travel journeys. Those appear in the sidebar to the right of your screen. If your device doesn’t display the sidebar, please turn your screen to landscape mode and you will see it.
You can access the library of blog posts from the homepage or via the Blog tab in the navigational menu. What’s new, is the menu of categories you will find in the righthand sidebar, as well as a mini-image to give you a taste of each post that we have to offer. The main categories are:
Travel: there are 169 posts in this category that will bring you stories from around the world.
Chocolate: there are 214 posts in this category that will share information about a chocolate company or something of interest in the world of chocolate.
Chocolate Events: there are 54 posts in this category that highlight chocolate events I have attended, or chocolate events I have or can organize on your behalf.
Writing: there are 105 posts in this category to share writing tips and discussion on what it’s like to be a writer, blogger, author and professional freelance writer.
Lifestyle: there are 18 posts in this category. Lifestyle posts are those that encapsulate our discussions on virtues, volunteerism, and life in general. We’ve had some great discussions on each of these posts in the past. Please check them out.
Manitoba: there are 89 posts in this category. I live in Manitoba, Canada, and occasionally write about events or culture in my province that I have found of interest, and hope you will, too.
If you would like to hire me to coordinate a guided chocolate tasting, a chocolate and wine pairing event, or chocolate pairing with any libation or theme, please visit the Hire Doreen Page. If you like what I’m doing in the Chocolatour project, and would would like to partner with me, please visit the Hire Doreen page or get in touch via the Contact page. Recent freelance stories can be found on the Hire Doreen page as well. I can write to please any audience.
The Media Room features a few selected media interviews and video of me explaining my goals for Chocolatour.
And the Store is where you can purchase Chocolatour books in print or e-book (pdf format), directly from me, or via Amazon. I also have a limited supply of my previous title, Before You Say Yes … A Guide to the Pleasures & Pitfalls of Volunteer Boards that I can offer you at a discounted price. It has been called the “volunteer’s bible” for anyone who volunteers on a non-profit board or committee. There is more of a description of that book on the About Doreen page, as I have been a lifelong volunteer.
That’s it in a nutshell! I hope you will enjoy perusing the site, and that you will find a selection of blog posts to tantalize your mind, your quest for travel, or your palate. Please subscribe to the blog via the Subscribe box you see at the right. It will then send you notice (via Mail Chimp) of every new post on this site. Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.
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Amazing and great look. Your blog is so clean and reads comfortable. Thanks for sharing your expertise with us.
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Beautiful site Doreen! I could spend hours on here dreaming about chocolate!
Yay, Debra! Welcome to my site, and thanks for the kudos. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit and have subscribed. I hope I’ll continue to entice you with the future offerings, but don’t hesitate to look back thru the archives. There are 6 years worth of posts here to educate, entertain, and entice you! 🙂
I just discovered your blog site and as a chocolate lover myself, I’m looking forward to reading about your chocolate travels. What a fun concept…I’m jealous!! 🙂
Don’t be jealous, Laurie. Enjoy the journey with the rest of us! We have a terrific chocolate-loving community here. I hope you’ll subscribe to my site and be part of us. Welcome aboard!
Hi Doreen, Beautiful website redesign. I’m so glad to see that all your writing and philosophical “how to live well” posts were retained, as well as all the people who already subscribed. As usual, you are an inspiration.
Thanks so much, Tracey! It’s great having you join us here.
What a beautiful website. Congratulations! I love how you’ve set it up. The art is incredible. Your new logo is fabulous. The blog is amazing. It’s obvious you had a great team to work with and compliment your own special vision! Well done. Kudos all around.
Thx so much, Suzanne. I really appreciate your comments, knowing that you are knowledgable in the world of site design. It’s been a real learning process for me!
Congrats on taking the plunge and bringing all of your blogging endeavors together under one domain! The new logo is absolutely fantastic and quite memorable 🙂
Thanks so much, Jeri. Your new site was definitely an inspiration to me. It’s fantastic.
Doreen,
It’s been a pleasure working with you on this project. A lot of brainstorming went into this and we definitely have a few more tweaks that we can make.
I love seeing your new brand across all your social networking accounts too!
Thanks so much, Sherryl! I never could have done it without you. 🙂
LOVE the new look, new site and new functionality. When I first opened it up the amazing banner and logo design at the top captivated me! Well Done!!!!!
Thanks so much, Ceci. Jennifer is truly an amazing designer. If you happen to be on Google Plus, she posts there daily and always has a unique design and message of the day to share.
Looks great, Doreen! I love the new banner, and it makes sense to consolidate it all into one blog. Congratulations!
Thanks so much, Rachel. I think I’m going to order a physical banner from VistaPrint.com of my new site banner so that I can have it up at chocolate events that I do. By the way, they’re having a 50% off site-wide sale that ends tomorrow. VistaPrint is great to deal with!
Congratulations, Doreen! Love your new masthead. Will you focusing your blog now exclusively on chocolate? I enjoyed your other topics, too.
Absolutely not, Jeannette! Chocolate and chocolate events are just 2 of the 6 categories of posts you will find on my new blog. It is an integration of the previous 3 sites, and I will continue to write on all those topics. I’m glad you like the new design. My designer felt it was important to drive home the Chocolatour message as that’s where the efforts of my business point to, but I am still a freelance writer and will be adding a bit more about that. Did you read the About Doreen Page? There’s a super slideshow there in the sidebar as well as a pretty detailed bio. Cheers!
Such a terrific looking website Doreen! Am getting ready to hop over to your media page. That’s usually where I really find out about my blogger and author connections. The redesign from Sherryl, Jennifer and you, looks well, so chocolaty! Best wishes going forward.
Thanks so much, Pat. It’s been a heck of a lot of work (and we’re still tweaking!) But I really think it was worth it.
Wow – the site looks fantastic Doreen! Very user friendly, professional, and so much info under one roof. Well done to you and your team:-)
Thanks SO much, Kathy. It indeed has been a lot of work to get to this point, but I am thrilled at what we have collaboratively come up with. It’s not 100% finished yet, but we will add a few more features as time goes by. Thanks again for your friendship and support. 🙂
Love your new site, Doreen. It is so much better in every sense and way. Jennifer, Sherryl and you did a fantastic job!
Thx so much, Catarina. Having a website means nurturing and evolving a ‘living’ thing. If you don’t keep it new and fresh, you lose people, don’t you? Thx for being along on the Chocolatour journeys with me virtually over the years.
It looks fantastic! Well done to everyone involved. I appreciate the explanation as well.
Thanks so much, Cheryl! As a friend and long-time reader of this blog, I really appreciate your comments.
Very nicely done. I know it was allot of hard work, but it sure was worth it in the end. Now onward and upward.
Thanks, Susan. I felt this explanatory post was necessary, as one of my friends had looked at the site and only got the chocolate message. I hope she (and others) will now understand that the site offers so much more. Cheers!