I love St. Patty's day because my mom is nearly half Irish and we grew up hearing about all the traditions of our proud Irish ancestors We're a wild, crazy but loving bunch, us Irish.  I'm a little less than a quarter but I still wear my Irish with pride.

I love how everything is green and fresh around this time of the year, especially this year since Emerald is the Pantone color of the year.

Cheers to you my friends!!  I don't drink much these days but if I did, I'd share a pint of Guinness with you while we ate corned beef and cabbage (which is actually what I'm making for dinner tonight).  I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day and stay safe!!

Have you linked up with the Aloha Friday Blog Hop yet?  (It's still going strong!!)
Link up HERE {Aloha Friday Blog Hop}.

Oh and did I mention I'm having a St. Patrick's Day Flash sale on ALL ad spaces?  All ads are 40% OFF!!  This is the time to buy ad space whether you're purchasing now or for a future week or month, this is a big savings, take advantage of it!!  Enter code: FLASH16 at checkout.  

Go take advantage of the ad sale HERE {Advertise on What Jean Likes}

So I was watching tv last night when this commercial started to play.  I can't help but like Jennifer Aniston.  I don't know if its because she is so down to earth or whether it's because she was my favorite on Friends... or perhaps it's because she got her start in The Leprechaun (Happy St. Patrick's Day), but I always have and probably always will like Jen.  She's just that kind of likable chick that seems so cool, mellow and laid back.

She's got that very easy, breezy California vibe about her without the pretention.  Anyway, I'm excited to see what her collaboration with Aveeno brings about in regards to new products and ads. I like Aveeno, it's one of the few brands I can use at will without worrying about having a bad reaction.  Though I'm sure Jennifer Aniston doesn't use their face products (not that there's anything wrong with them), their lotion is really gentle and moisturizing.  Heck, regardless of whether she actually uses them or not, I'm sure having her as a spokeswoman will increase Aveeno's sales worldwide.

I'm personally looking forward to the collaboration.  Makes me want to go buy a new bottle of lotion..  yeah... I'm an easy sale on beauty and skincare!

Check out the commercial below!

Dolce Bag Shop Now Runway Apparel Shop Now Island print tunic Shop Now Brocade Shorts Shop Now

I love getting emails from fashion houses because even if I can't ever afford to buy it, seeing the trends that walked down the runway give me inspiration and ideas on how to incorporate the coming trends into my current wardrobe.  I got an email about the graphic above and I just really liked the colors, textures and patterns so I thought I'd share .  I'm not pushing you to buy this because I wouldn't buy it even if I could afford it because of the insane prices but still, isn't it pretty?

Are you all as ready for spring and summer as I am?

Have you linked up with the Aloha Friday Blog Hop Yet?  It just started & we are getting so many link ups!! Get your blog some followers, link up here:  Aloha Friday Blog Hop #47

Grab our button!!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/search/label/aloha" title="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee419/whatjeanlikes/AlohaFridayBlogHopbutton.jpg" alt="Aloha Friday Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week's featured friend ...

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Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So I don't know if you all heard yet, but Google Reader will not be available after July 1, 2013.  They claim the reason for that is due to the decrease in usage and readership of Google Reader but let's be honest, it's more about Google Plus being a fail than a fall in Google Reader usage. (For the full story, click the "read more" button).

One has to wonder, if they're cancelling Google Reader, will they also cancel the Google Friend Connect (GFC) feature?  More than likely they will which is such a disappointment for myself and bloggers like me who've worked so hard to get our GFC follow numbers to grow.  A little over a year ago, GFC stopped being available for non-Blogger (Google Hosted Blogs) to use and I'm pretty sure that in the near future, no one will be able to use GFC.  Is it the easiest service to follow back and use?  Yes and no.  GFC is convenient because you can click "follow" and a pop up window opens and you follow the blog. Done.  However, following back people that follow you is increasingly difficult because even if you click on the little pictures from your followers, not all of them link to their blogs so it's a challenge to follow everyone back.

I think Google is planning on obliterating all of their external services in an attempt to get more people to use their Google Plus feature.  Yuck.  I don't know about you, but I'm no fan of Google Plus.  The circles are confusing, I still am not quite sure how to follow people from my blog page and not my personal account, and only a selected few pages are able to have a custom url (plus.google.com/blogname).  Most of us are stuck with some random long number.  Not a very professional way to market your blog.  If Google was smart, they'd find a way to integrate their GFC feature with Google Plus or transfer the follows on GFC to our Google Plus pages automatically.  Let me tell you, if they did that, I'd be much happier and would actually use Google Plus for once...

It's not that Google is the only social media outlet with challenges.  Facebook and it's ever changing news feed, privacy policies and lack of integration between personal accounts and pages leaves a lot to be desired.  I am constantly irritated with Facebook. Firstly, why doesn't "liking" a page while you're "acting as" your business/blog page count as a like?  Mark Zuckerberg is wealthy and smart enough to figure out a way to integrate the "likes" you make on your personal account with the "likes" you make from your page.  It's such a hassle to go back and forth from your personal account to your page when you're "liking" someone, just so the "like" counts.

Another gripe I have with Facebook pages specifically is the fact that the news feed never seems to be quite up to date.  You can sort it by "most popular" and by "most recent" but the most recent sometimes only has posts made several hours ago and not the most recent post that the page you "liked" actually put up.  Frustrating!

Now Facebook also makes it super hard to get your posts seen from your "page" unless you pay to promote it and even then, it doesn't feel like you're getting many views. I wonder if the numbers they give saying how many people viewed the post are made up because if 5,000 people actually saw the post I paid $20 to promote, shouldn't I have more than 1 like? Ya know? I could go on and on about Facebook but I already made a post about my Gripes with Facebook before.

So what are we bloggers to do? Well the people I know who are on non-Google Blogger hosted blogs are already prepared for this transition because they've had to network using other social media outlets for at least a year now.  It's still not clear if GFC will be cancelled but it's probably around 80% or more likely that it will be so we have to prepare just in case.  Am I going to quit using GFC? Heck no!  I'm going to ride that horse 'till the bitter end. In the meantime, however, I'm going to start actually working on my other social media outlets that I've neglected like Bloglovin' and.... I cringe as I type this... Google Plus.

So, please follow me on both sites, I'll provide the links below.  Comment and tell me your thoughts and put links for your Bloglovin' and Google Plus as well so I can follow you back!!  I'm going to have a super hard time adjusting to not seeing all my favorite blogs in Google Reader so I have to start finding new ways to follow you all!! I follow everyone back who comments so please leave a comment so I won't miss your blog come July!

• What Jean Likes on Bloglovin'
• What Jean Likes on Google Plus

Here's the story courtesy of CNN:

I get a ton of emails every day with questions about my blog, advertising and especially, the Aloha Friday Blog Hop.  My inbox gets so backed up with inquiries that sometimes it takes me days to answer those emails.  Firstly, let me say that if you've emailed me and haven't heard from me yet, I'm not ignoring you...  I'm working on replying to everyone and should be caught up by week's end *fingers crossed*.

So here we go...

Advertising/Sponsoring

I know some of you aren't familiar with advertising or how to sponsor blogs.  I get a ton of questions from people who want to sponsor What Jean Likes or who have questions about what that entails.  Yes, anyone who has active ads on my blog are automatically entered into the Aloha Friday Blog Hop every week that their ad is live on my blog.  Want your link to be one of the first people see?  Sponsor What Jean Likes by purchasing an ad space!! All Sponsors are automatically linked up! More info on becoming a sponsor here: Sponsorship & Advertising page.

I just added a new ad space called "Post Sponsor Ads" last night.  It's up, ready and available for purchase if you're interested.  I won't bore you with details in this post.  I'm having a promotional sale on this new ad space to celebrate!! If you look at the very top of my page, there is a colorful bar with information on current sales on ads.  Use the code above to get the discount when you buy ads (if you want to buy ads).  If you don't see it, you can always tweet me @whatjeanlikes to see if I have any current ad specials. I usually respond to those within minutes.  You can get all of those details and info by clicking here:  What Jean Likes Sponsor & Advertising Info.


Aloha Friday Blog Hop Details

• Aloha Friday Blog Hop (AFBH) occurs every week starting late Thursday - the following Wednesday each week. 
• Although it's called the Aloha FRIDAY blog hop, I consider it more of a weekend to early week hop.  
• Co-hosting is completely free.
• Upcoming months are full.  There are spaces open in June and beyond.  (I'm actually working on a spreadsheet that I will eventually make live so potential co-hosts can sign up and reserve a spot)  That spreadsheet should be launched next week and I'll update all of you when it happens.  That will make signing up an easier, more streamlined process for you and for me.
• AFBH doesn't typically start on the 1st of the month and end on the last day.  For example, the March AFBH first week was 3/8-3/13 and the last week for the March team will be 3/29-4/3.
• Co-hosting is a month long commitment.  Don't sign up to co-host unless you are sure that you can and will post the code every week (4 weeks total) and do a little light networking.
• Each week we feature a blog in the "Aloha Hoapili" feature in the hop.  It doesn't cost anything to enter for that drawing. All you have to do is link up to be eligible and my main co-host Sarah chooses the winner at random and sends me the code. 
• Co-hosts are required to have the AFBH button in their sidebar for the duration that they are co-hosting the AFBH.
• I create the code and design for the hop and typically email it between Wednesday and Thursday before the hop.
• We ask that you post the hop no later than noon Friday each week.  If you can't do it by then, just let me know you'll be running a little late.  As long as it's up by Saturday, it should be fine. 
• We asks that all co-hosts follow Sarah, myself and the other monthly co-hosts at least for the duration of the blog hop.  Supporting each other is crucial to building a strong team.
• There aren't any set rules for this hop.  It's all about showing each other love and aloha.  
• Anyone can link up their family friendly blog and/or Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram...you can link up all of your links to the hop if you want.  
• The only real rule we have is that if you link up, please follow all the hosts. 
• As a co-host, you basically get the code, follow the co-hosts and after it's live, spread the word.  
• I get questions about how to spread the word; sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, other blog hops, anywhere you think can help is just fine.  You don't need to spend a ton of time doing it, just try your best. A little goes a long way. 
• We ask that anyone who links up follows at least 3 other blogs (besides the co-hosts) to share the aloha with each other.  
• Every month we host a giveaway.  It's optional for co-hosts to participate, not mandatory at all.  
• Co-hosts can give away anything they want whether it's ad space, gift cards, crafted items, or other items.  
• During the monthly giveaway, I create a Rafflecopter form for people to enter the giveaway.  All co-hosts who've contributed to the giveaway have their blogs/links featured first as options to enter the giveaway.  After their links, I add links for the other co-hosts blogs that aren't participating. This gives entrants more opportunities to increase their odds of winning and it helps co-hosts to increase their followers. 
• I personally follow back every person that comments.  I used to follow back every person who linked up but as it creeps to nearly 500 link ups, it's too time consuming to follow everyone who links up.  If you want to make sure you get a guaranteed follow back from me, leave me a comment.  I run a week or so behind following all those that commented back but I always follow back everyone who comments on my blog's AFBH post for the week.