Loving Your Blog in Sickness and in Health

July 10, 2012/14 Comments/in Blog /by Jill Colonna

Did you know what happened to the website over the last two weeks?

Thinking it was just a crazy dream, I woke up and discovered the nightmare: the site was down and not a temporary hiccup.

No big deal. ‘It’s just a website,’ a friend reasoned on Facebook. He was right, but when your blog instantly disappears without a proper backup and all your labours of love are magically reduced to one BLANK page staring defiantly at you, it’s pretty soul destroying. ‘Try not to go down with the site,’ I told myself, c-a-l-m-l-y. My main worry was that everyone would just forget about Mad About Macarons; as if nothing had happened over the last year and a half. As the website’s email account is still down, I have missed seeing blog updates and messages from friends.

The company that hosted and originally built the site eventually explained that their system detected a virus/hacker situation and so the website shut down completely. There were no backups containing the new site design. A word to my blogger friends: learn from my lesson and back up your site on your hard drive. Conducting the full backup function on WordPress means nothing if you don’t download it as a zip file on your hard drive.

The site was restored thanks to Melissa Hartfiel of Fine Lime Designs, who redesigned the site in March. Melissa – thank you so much for all your help, courage and incredible patience, especially as we have been dealing with extreme time differences and lack of hosting communication. Now with a new host we’re moving on and catching up.

I’m back up and running – give or take a few photos missing and more tweaks needed. Please don’t be shy at leaving comments (I tried to turn it off here but can’t – this is not a sympathy post, just keeping you up to date.) You’ve no idea how your words of encouragement help ensure my mad posts come your way!

Now, let’s get that Yuzu post up again finally…

14 replies

Yvette says:
July 17, 2012 at 8:27 pm

Congrats! happy that you found your site. I bet you are happy with Fine Lime Designs. How did they manage to get it all back. Even the links to your site I have on my site work again!! Take care! Yvette x
Reply
- Jill says:
  July 18, 2012 at 12:15 pm
  
  I am ever so happy with Fine Lime Designs. Melissa worked so hard doing a fabulous job to get it back together and with so much patience too! Yes, all links are working again. Phew!
  Reply
Vicki Bensinger says:
July 14, 2012 at 4:42 pm

OMG Jill I would have died if that had happened. All the hours of hard work sitting in front of the computer only to have that all gone.

Thank goodness someone stepped up to the plate and fixed it. Your lucky day and yes, a lesson to be learned for all bloggers.
Reply
Ivy says:
July 12, 2012 at 5:06 pm

Good to see you back again. It must have been awful. To be frank I do not know how to back-up my blog.
Reply
[email protected] says:
July 12, 2012 at 3:07 am

Jill! How awful. Only Bloggers can appreciate the time and effort put into posts and when the whole blog goes down it must be a real pain.
Pleased to see you are back up and running 🙂
Reply
Laura Hastings says:
July 11, 2012 at 11:27 am

Fantastic to see you up and running again Jill. It must be such a relief! Looking forward to keeping up with you via Le Blog once again 🙂 xx
Reply
Lucy Samuels says:
July 11, 2012 at 10:57 am

Hooray!
Reply
Lora says:
July 11, 2012 at 4:39 am

Wow! what a nightmare. So glad you’re back!!!!!
Reply
Kathy Dean says:
July 10, 2012 at 11:33 pm

Happy to see you’re up and running again! I’ve been checking. I finally found UNsalted pistachios and want to try the pistachio macarons. I noted your Facebook entry about pistachio Macs and I’ve been wanting to try making them.

I’m glad you’re back!
Reply
Liz says:
July 10, 2012 at 11:29 pm

We would NEVER forget about your blog!!! I am SO glad to see you back! Hooray. I think I better make sure I know how to back up my blog :/ Thanks for the reminder!
Reply
Pauline aka Mrs Mulford says:
July 10, 2012 at 4:48 pm

Well hello again 😉 and Déjà vu in the nicest way. Good job from Melissa too! If we could just get back to the normal round of regular sweet temptations x
Reply
- Jill says:
  July 12, 2012 at 12:20 pm
  
  Thanks, Pauline. Melissa has been incredible! It’s now back on track and I couldn’t have done it without her.
  Reply
emma says:
July 10, 2012 at 2:45 pm

wahou ça marche !!!!
enfin !!!!
MaM le retour après quelques semaines de repos .
sacré backup 😉
même aux baléares je peux regarder des nouvelles des derniers “yuzu” macs …
merci Jill pour ce super blog !!
you’re the queen of mac.
Reply
- Jill says:
  July 12, 2012 at 12:21 pm
  
  Awe – merci beaucoup, Emma. What on earth are you reading this blog for on an idyllic beach. Get sleeping and snorkelling! (but not together)
  Reply

Reply

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Your email address will not be published.
I love hearing from you about the recipes, the articles and your ideas for future posts.
Required fields are marked *

Teatime in Paris Reviews

It's not 'cos' I happened to paint the Paris pastry map endpapers, but I love this cookbook. I'd no clue I could bake but Jill's Teatime in Paris makes it easy to bake real French pastry. If I can do it so can you.

Carol GillottMaking financiers with ParisBreakfasts

Teatime in Paris is chock full of tips, advice, references guides, clear step-by-step (recipe) instructions, and on-line stockists. For anyone who loves Paris, loves French, loves pastries, this pretty pink book is just the treat!

Jamie SchlerHoliday Cookbook Gift Guide, Huffington Post

Jill shares the best and easiest ways to make French pâtisserie classics at home, from madeleines to éclairs. While some desserts may appear hard to make, Jill breaks down each recipe with a simple step-by-step, making them more than suitable to prepare for your own teatime, wherever you may be.

Lindsey TramutaLost in Cheeseland/Author The New Paris

"...Years ago, I read 'French Women Don't Get Fat'. Colonna writes with a similar levelheaded voice. All things in moderation...

RoyaGoodReads

This pretty cookbook is as tempting as the recipes it describes, and suspect am going to earmark it as Gift of the Year for everyone I know who loves baking, eating and Paris (so that’s everyone).
Rating 10/10

NicolaLiterary Ramblings

To start, Jill scribes a fabulous passage about how the French enjoy pastry while maintaining their waistlines; the section in itself is worth the price of the book.

Brooks WalkerCakewalker

This book is a gorgeous visual feast and would be a lovely gift for those who enjoy baking.

NeginGoodReads

Essentially, Teatime in Paris is an entire book of foodporn: page after page of delectable desserts, pastries, cakes and of course, macarons.

Christina ConteChristinas Cucina

Jill is very down to earth ...The recipes are written simply and with lots of tips and advice so that you can make cakes that turn out like the pictures and taste absolutely scrumptious.

Janine MarshThe Good Life France

Jill’s style is light, humorous and most informative. Each recipe begins with a brief introduction, detailing its history and/or associations ... The photographs are mouthwatering, the recipes are varied and interesting; most importantly they’re actually DOABLE.

ChocletteTin and Thyme UK

Thank you for showing us it is possible to create special looking treats that taste delicious but don't cost the earth with difficult to find ingredients and that are simple and successful to make.

Jacqueline BrownFrench Village Diaries

The book also includes a helpful chapter on baking equipment (the essential and the “little luxuries”) along with a list of stockists for ingredients and equipment in various countries. There’s also a useful “quick reference guide for egg whites”.

Mardi MichelsEat Live Travel Write

Jill’s pâte sucrée (sweet pastry or sweet tart dough) recipe yields the best pastry cases I’ve ever made. They’re sturdy enough for any filling, but just the right balance of crispy and tender when you bite into them. They also don’t get soggy over time.

Teresa McCarthyOneWetFoot Canada

I would love to make almost every single recipe in Teatime in Paris. This is really a feat in a cookbook as many times, I end up putting them back on the shelf when I am considering buying one, as there just aren’t enough recipes that appeal to me.

Christina ConteChristinas Cucina

Programmes like the Great British Bake Off have brought pastries like Paris Brest, macarons and all manner of fancy tartlets into the British consciousness as something that can be made at home. Teatime in Paris! gives you the tools to create these yourself and Jill's recipes make them much easier than you would think.

Janice PattieFarmersgirl Kitchen

The recipes in Teatime in Paris are very well laid out. I wish all cookbooks were this easy to follow. I also appreciate how accessible Jill makes French pastries … I adored this cookbook from start to finish.

Stephanie CarusoKitchen Frolic

It's nice to be able to impress your friends and family with a dessert that looks like it was made by a pastry chef, but I often feel those fancy French pastries are beyond my ability or available time. I had heard that chocolate pastry was really difficult to work with and ganache seems like a tricky thing to make, however nothing could be further from the truth as you can see from these Double Chocolate Tartlets from "Teatime in Paris!"

Janice PattieFarmersgirl Kitchen

As she walks us through recipes for the easiest of treats right through to to the crème de la crème, Jill points out some of the streets famous for the best patisseries in Paris, adding bits of history and plenty of baking tips, making this a recipe tour that’s both fun and accessible.

Mardi MichelsEat Live Travel Write

From cover-to-cover Jill Colonna introduces you to teatime in Paris, both as a dining experience to partake in, and as the maker of the fine delectable pastry recipes she shares. You’ll develop a base knowledge of French pastry concepts, learn how less sugar plays a supporting role, and gain confidence as a beginning baker or strengthen skills you already have.

Brooks WalkerCakewalker

Teatime in Paris brings the Pâtisserie to your kitchen, and no, you don't need to be a master chef to taste these treats in your own home. Thanks to Jill and her easy to follow directions - and with ingredients you probably already have in your own pantry.

Kim KellyLivLife

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply