Blogspiration

Alternate Title: Blog Identity Crisis.
I love my blog. Clearly, or else I wouldn't waste countless time playing around with it! ;-) I enjoy writing, picture-taking, sharing, and hearing positive input. Livin' in the world of Web 2.0, baby! (Don't get me started on Web 3.0 - it freaks me out. Although I guess I subscribe to a bit of it.) And, I'm pretty sure that enjoyment that I get is why my husband is so supportive of the time that I put into it. Woot, one million points to the hubby!

I think because I care so much about the darn thing, it bothers me a bit that I don't necessarily have a clear blog identity jiving. I know, sometimes it takes time for this to happen. But, just as in life, it's good to have an ultimate goal or objective in mind WHILE wandering down the path - which oftentimes shows a fork that you might not have expected.

What are some of the topics that I've covered thus far? Marriage/home life/a wedding (haven't covered it as much as SOME blogs out there), cats-cats-and-more-cats, home ownership, green-ish living (currently we're at more of a sage green than a moss, but we live consciously and consistently, and I'm proud) and, to an extent, non-traditional philosophies, food, attempts at simplifying life, a tad bit of decor...and much, much more. Oh, and recently I opened an off-shoot Etsy page. It's pretty damn random, and I'm shocked that I have any readers at all. It's a pretty selfish page. Writing about my grandmother's hands, really - who cares? (Other than me...and family members.)

It makes me think: what am I really passionate about? If I want to put more into this blog, what should the focus be?

I don't want to alienate my readers by picking one path in particular to write about. I also know myself - in case you haven't noticed, there are times that I procrastinate, or projects that I start take forever (sometimes out of laziness, sometimes out of having zero free time to work on them, and sometimes out of fear of messing up...case in point: the bathroom); so, setting ONE goal for myself would be daunting. If I give myself the opportunity to still write a "random life post" now and then, I'll be more likely to write even when I don't have an exciting new *fill in the blank* to write about.

The strange thing is that the blogs that I read on a daily basis are almost nothing like my current blog. They're blogs that give me inspiration and are well-written, but hardly ever diverge from their topic: generally-speaking, DIY, decor and home projects.

Wow.

Those really sound boring.

I assure you, they're not! I'm in love with them. Do you know how many times I've quoted something I learned from one of these blogs (from a breastfeeding fact to house cleaning idea) to someone? (I generally get the blank stare in response, though. I should just start saying "My friend, Sherry, said..." rather than "I read on a blog that...")

Here, catch a glimpse of my daily inspiration:

Okay, I know I've talked about them before, but they're the first blog I ever got hooked on! They're pretty much 95% DIY projects and decor, with the rare occasional glimpse into their home life. (Actually, they started a small version looking into their everyday life as a tab on their main page called Young House Life - I guess they just have so many interested readers. :-D)

The inspiration I find through them is to better my surroundings. I adored their first house and what they did with it - to the point that I MIGHT just be willing not to live in an "old house" (Dave likes more modern houses - like, post 1950) if I could only achieve what they did. I still enjoy reading about their projects and mishaps, although their style is swaying slightly into "Really? Could I do that?" territory.

This girl is awesome for several reasons, but the biggest: she's real. Really real. She writes posts that will undoubtedly embarrass the crap out of her little boy one day. She's unapologetically a poor speller, even slightly knocking the fact that she was home-schooled. She lays it all on the line, and she's wicked funny while doing it. And, from time to time, her self esteem takes a beating and she writes a post about it. Good girl! Plus, her style is great and she's all about decor on the cheap. Oh, and I'd say that only half of her posts are currently about house projects, since having a baby. She started off being mostly decor- and project-related, but once her son came along, it's shifted - and I respect that.

I tell you, even if you're not into decor or uber-awesome projects, CLICK THIS LINK! Layla Palmer is in-cre-di-ble. She'll MAKE you like pretty things, and you'll leave feeling like you were hugged. Truly inspirational. I'd say that she's one of my current go-to blogs for attainable (yet HOLY CRAP ISN'T THAT GORGEOUS?!) decor ideas - and about 3/4 of her posts are about said decor. Others are about she and her husband's hopes to adopt, family, recipes, etc. She balances it perfectly. I <3 Her and I hope that her HGTV pilot takes off, 'cuz even though I don't have the channel anymore, she deserves the best!

Seriously, go check out the link. I'll wait.

Okay, while I was waiting, I went to rehearsal for "Arsenic and Old Lace", enjoyed some time with my husband, had a full night's sleep, then worked. I couldn't wait FOREVER, after all. ;-)

Who else, who else...Oh, right! My "new" inspirations...

This lady's got style coming out the wazoo. It really wasn't until I found The Lettered Cottage, then stumbled upon Miss Mustard Seed (via TLC) that I realized, "I don't hate country design. In fact...I kind love it." How does one admit to one's mother that they finally have *similar* tastes? Wow. That's surely a come-to-Jesus talk if ever there was one.

Anyhoo, "Miss Mustard Seed" is about a lady who finds flea market and antique store finds and gives them a new life - then is lucky enough to be able to sell these goods (as well as other items that she hand makes) at a local shoppe. Ain't that neat? But, honestly, it's her incredible bloggery that inspires: her clear, concise writing mixed with magazine-shoot-good images. She makes me dream about a new camera, and makes me WANT to learn how to use it the right way. She's made me learn how to swoon over grain sacks and metal wire crates. *sigh*

Honestly, every day I find a new blog that I admire for a different reason. There are ultimately too many to list. Today, I even found one called Three Boys that not only focuses on decor, but green living, too! Heaven.

So, for those of you who lurk and those of you who comment on every single post (thanks, BTW!), lemme know a) what you enjoy about my little home on the interwebs, b) what you look forward to seeing me write about the most (I've once heard feedback about recipes - fun!), c) what you wish I wrote more about (may be the same as b), and d) what you'd like to *politely* critique *coughcough-if anything-coughcough*.

I appreciate you stopping back to my favorite little hobby here and hope that I can write to make folks happy while I continue to enjoy myself doing so. :-)