We’ve got some fun and exciting news to share with you guys today! We’ve been so anxious (anxious in a good way!) about this bit of news and the fact that we can finally share it with you all today, makes Greg and I super happy. So, here goes nothin… A little over two months ago, we were contacted by the powers that be at Target. (I know, right?! Target!) After I gathered my composure (aka scanned the email really fast to see if it was an automated press release or something), I carefully read the entire email, trying to contain my excitement. In a nutshell, they asked Greg and I to join Target’s Inner Circle, a small group of social influencers who get to bring our readers the inside scoop and exclusive access to all things Target. This is when Greg and I looked at each other and said, “Are they sure they have the right bloggers?”

Target is a big part of our everyday lives, and as corny as it may sound, making our house a home. That being the case, after talking more with the folks at Target and taking everything into consideration, we felt this would be a fun and natural partnership. As a part of the Target Inner Circle, Target has designed unique experiences tailored to our content here on the blog (decorating, home life and such). We’ll also be participating in some pretty awesome activities with some pretty fabulous people and designers (who shall be named later!) and sharing some of our experiences over on Target’s online magazine, A Bullseye View. Our first post over there will be up in a few days or so – we’ll be sure to let you guys know when!

We’re so thankful to Target for putting their trust in us as bloggers, Target-lovers, and “social influencers”. (Honestly, though, that phrase makes us very uncomfortable – we’re just normal people in a sea of bloggers!) We’re super excited about what’s to come and the experiences we’ll be taking part in. At the risk of getting sappy (but it’s oh-so-true!), we wouldn’t be given opportunities like this if it weren’t for awesome readers like you guys. Annnnnd… we’re super-excited that Target is going to be throwing some love your way from time to time, as well…. and today is one of those times! To celebrate our announcement, Target is giving one lucky reader a $100 Target gift card! Seriously, who wouldn’t love a Target gift card, right?!

Here’s how to enter… Scroll down to the giveaway widget below and log in with your Facebook account or enter your email address. (As always, your information is kept private.) Once you’ve done that, you’ll be shown the entry requirements set by yours truly. Click the “Do it!” button, type the required phrase in the blank in the widget, then click “Enter!”. Now that you’ve entered, you’ll see some optional entry options. To gain additional entries and increase your chances of winning the prize, you can do one or all of them. If you already follow Target (or us!), go ahead and enter your Facebook or Twitter info, and you’ll be automatically given the extra entries. As usual, the winner will be chosen using Random.org. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS On Friday, we’ll be joining in on the Target Inner Circle Black Friday Scavenger Hunt. (Have I mentioned before how much I love scavenger hunts?!) Check out Instagram (@7thHouseBlog), Twitter and Pinterest as we brave the crowds and scout out some awesome deals!

Today, we’re going a little off the normal topics of discussion around here. Just for one post, promise. After Ash posted about our new Pinterest feature, a lot of you asked for instructions on how to get the same feature on your blog. If you’re not quite sure what I’m talking about, here’s an example. Just hover over the photo of Bentley finally noticing the new house guest from Home Depot…

He eventually ended up opening the box by himself and laying down inside. When you hovered over the photo, you should have seen a Pinterest icon in the bottom right corner. To “pin” the photo on Pinterest, all you have to do is click the icon. A pretty convenient way to aid your Pinterest addiction, right? As requested by many of you, I’m here to share the WordPress plugin. Coding geekery on 7th House?! Awesome!! Can you tell I’m excited? Look at all the exclamation points! … !!

I actually wrote this post a few weeks ago but the only problem was, once I was done explaining all the ins and outs, my post was way too technical. Ash read the first sentence and said, “Umm… I have no idea what you’re talking about”. I had my code snippets, comments, configuration variables… you name it… all in one big, complicated post. I figured that’s not something that belongs on a shelter blog.

Much like the Six Million Dollar Man, I had the technology, so I rebuilt the whole thing from the ground up in the form of a nice, simple WordPress plugin. Victory! But, here are a few things to keep in mind…

• This is the first version of “Greg’s Pinterest Button Overlay” plugin. That means it’s bound to have some bugs. I’ve tested it here on the blog and I’ve done my best to make sure it works smoothly, but I can’t guarantee it won’t act up in certain circumstances.
• With that in mind, please test the plugin on your site before you just hit the activate link and walk away. I want this to improve your site, not break it!
• I’m planning on adding a “Greg’s Pinterest Button Overlay” option in the settings menu in the next version. The options will allow you to use your own custom button and change the position. For now, unless you’re willing to get your hands on the code, you’re stuck with the defaults (the defaults being exactly what you see here on our blog).
• Leave a comment here or shoot me an email if you have any issues with the plugin. That will help me work the bugs out.
• If you’re a developer and you want to modify or reuse my code, feel free. You don’t even have to give me credit or link back to our site. If you do decide you want to give me credit or link back, let us know where and how you’re using my code because I’d love to see how other people use it.

So, without further ado, if you’re interested in putting this on your own blog, here’s what you need to do:

1. Download the .zip file here
2. Open your WordPress admin panel
3. Go to Plugins and click Add New
4. Click the Upload link
5. Click Choose File, find gpbo.zip, then click Install Now
6. To Activate the plugin, click Activate Plugin
7. Test your site thoroughly to make sure everything works as expected
8. Share the new feature with your readers!

Again, if you have any issues with the plugin, just let us know. At some point, I hope to get this on the WordPress plugin repository, so it will be easier to update. Until then, just check back on this post for updates. Happy pinning!

[UPDATE: I was so excited to get this posted that I forgot to test it in Google Reader. The plugin has been updated so the Pinterest button doesn't show up in RSS feeds. The new version is now being used on our blog, and the link above has the new version available for download, as well.]

[UPDATE #2: I've released version 0.3beta, available at the link above. It includes some fixes for certain themes and WordPress configurations that were having issues before. If you're having any issues with the plugin, please re-download, uninstall the old version, and install the new version, then let me know how it works!]

[UPDATE #3: New version! This one should be a bit more reliable than the last. For those of you having problems before, this should help!]

We started 7th House on the Left almost two years ago. In some ways, it seems like it was decades ago, but on the other hand, we instinctively remember the weird feeling in our stomachs as we clicked “Publish” for the very first time. We were nervous, excited and anxious all at the same time. We were putting our lives and our home out there for everyone to see. In a few weeks, we’ll have hit our 2-year mark. We’ve learned a lot about the blogging world (the good, the bad, the ugly) and are looking forward to learning even more. That being the case, today we’re taking a tip from Mr. Pro Blogger himself and conducting a Reader Survey! In the lyrical words of Deborah Kerr (actually, Julie Andrews, but that’s an entirely different discussion), this is a one good method for “getting to know you”…

With that being sung said, we’d love it if you’d give us just a few short minutes of your time. We’re really looking forward to getting to know our readers a little better, how we can make our blog more enjoyable for you… Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Yay for yet another King and I reference!

To take our reader survey, just click the “Take the Survey” button below. To keep the pressure off, all answers are kept private (ie: won’t be posted publicly anywhere once you hit the “submit” button and you don’t even have to leave an email address).

Thanks  in advance for your input, comments and suggestions. We value every single one of them and are looking forward to learning how we can make 7th House on the Left better for everyone.