Finally Letting the Cat Out

Okay... this is it. This is the day I've waited for since an idea back in October became a project. I've mentioned the big project by way of a tease in a few previous posts, and although I've enjoyed teasing everyone with it, the reason for the tease is because I've found it very difficult to keep it to myself. The truth is I've been absolutely bursting with it.

I can go on all day and night about how excited I really am, but I'm not going to do. I'm just gonna tell you right now.

Our new web site is coming soon. I wish it was here this very minute to show you, but it's still being tweaked here and there, so you're going to have to settle for a little pictorial history.

So join me for a little trip down memory lane. I warn you, though, whatever went before is not what's coming next...

This is where it all started. We bought the dot com, prepared the basic design for the site, and Jason put this teaser page up. I couldn't stop clicking on the page and ogling it. This was going to be my web site. This was going to be Manor Hall.

The original home page that went live on Day 1 in December of 2005. The soap is Orange Tree Blast. Photographing the soap with the oranges and the mint in a puddle of rain was an absolute blast, if you'll excuse the pun. Take a look at it closely for a moment. It's not a puddle of rain. It's a birdbath in my garden. And the rain? Well, the rain is me holding a garden hose sprinkler from a height like you wouldn't believe... while Jason clicked away.

This was the second home page, circa the end of 2006. This photograph is real. The seagull truly did come down for a look at the Four Seas Spa Bar. The horizon on the bar really did match the horizon in real life. We hadn't touched the photo up other than to add the text. I thought it reflected well the natural philosophy of my soap and skin care products, and so it made the home page.

July 2008. Full website revamp. I've always loved the simplicity of the frame that the three color bands create. It was achieved by design. I've never been very techy, and I've never been ashamed to admit it. We all excel at different things, and I love the way the world works like that. Because of my "shyness" where computers are concerned, I wanted a web site that was as easy as possible to navigate and fun to be on. What I really mean, I suppose, is a web site that I could navigate, and I could have fun on.

And so... where to next? Well, I'm calling it a "return to my roots". What does that mean, exactly? It means you're going to have wait a little bit longer. Did you really think the answer was going to be anything different?

Stay tuned... the launch date is coming.