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2013 Flashforward: 3 Blogs That Should Be On Your Radar

Closer to the end of the year, I was spring-cleaning my Google Reader and realized I had several hundred blogs on my reader. I’d say 99% of the new ones were referred by current blogs I already read.

I thought it’d be fun to highlight three blogs that were new to me in 2012, and that I’d share with you, dear readers.

In no particular order… here they are:

Making It Lovely

makingitlovely-blog-logo

NicoleBalch-April2012

I learned about Nicole Balch really really really late this year. Like, December 31, 2012, making it the last new blog I added to my reader! I think I found her through a link through a link from Apartment Therapy. I tend to read the “About” section first (after the targeted blog post), and Nicole’s said she had a “handyman background.” SOLD! This lady was going to show me how to make things for my imaginary house and SHE was going to do it. Not some guy (or her husband), but HER. She writes about her life in Illinois, her fashion style, work stuff, sponsored stuff, and design stuff. Best of all, she does her own DIY!

I love her before/after photos of her home renovation projects. Especially her kitchen. I’m surprised she hasn’t been pinned to death yet. But maybe she has. Oh wait, she has.

 

Cuddlebuggery

 

cuddlebuggery-blog-logo

Now this book blog is fantastic! I learned about this blog because there were a ton of book bloggers who wrote about book-bullying on GoodReads.com or something. The gist of it is that a bunch of writers, bloggers, GoodReads users created a “no bullying” website and began to bully some of the bloggers on THIS blog. WTF. That’s called bullying, you halftwits.

Kat-cuddlebuggeryWhatever. Thanks to the cyber bullying site, I found Cuddlebuggery and have been a fan. I think Kat and the rest of the gang are usually on-the-money with their reviews. Kat was their public enemy #1, but I really don’t see how her reviews should be singled out in a anti-bullying website. She’s witty, honest, and it’s her opinion. If you don’t like it, move on. You don’t have to like her reviews. Find book bloggers whose sensibilities are the same as yours then.

I highly recommend you DON’T succumb to the drama and just enjoy this blog about YA novels.

 

 

The Demure Muse

 

thedemuremuse-blog-logo

I think it’s hard to find Asian women bloggers who write about fashion. Correction. It’s hard for me to find Asian women fashion bloggers who don’t look frail and weak. I don’t want to read about any Asian blogger who looks like they’ve got zero muscle tone and could use a tan. (That’s probably why I tend to veer towards plus-size fashion bloggers – they actually look like real people, and they also look like they can punch a rapist if necessary.)

thedemuremuse-twitter-logoCut to Katrina – not a plus-size blogger. I don’t remember how I found Katrina’s blog, but I’m glad I did. She’s a Canadian and new-ish transplant to Seattle, and writes not only about fashion but about life in Seattle. I think her fashion is really cute, and while I can’t wear a cat-eared hat without looking like a dork, she can pull them off, and she’s soo cute. (Run-on sentence, I know.) If I wore glasses, I’d wear the ones she’s wearing.

Like Nicole, I like Katrina’s easy style and enthusiasm for fashion. You know that you too could pull her outfits off. Plus she loves Hello Kitty even more than I do. I think she might love Target more than I do too.

So there you have it. Three new blogs I found in 2012, and three new blogs I’d recommend you add to your reader.

Do you have a list of blogs you’ve discovered in 2012 you’d like to share?

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Prepping for Blogher 2012: Meet My Roommate

Have I told you how excited I am to go to BlogHer?! Have I also told you that it’s still expensive because many of us pay our own way? I threw up a post on a couple of Facebook groups and found myself a roommate for my hotel room. And we’re both SoCal Lady Blogger group members. And she lives close by to me locally! And she knows what Porto’s is! Holla!

fearless-formula-feeder-header

Fearless Formula Feeder blog – Love the tagline!

Who I Ran Into yesterday: Meet Suzie, the woman behind Fearless Formula Feeder. She’s a mom. She’s from SoCal. She is cool. She also writes this blog that promotes non-judgement toward moms who formula feed.

When I met Suzie, I was confused about her blog. I didn’t know there was that much #cray around formula feeding, so I did some digging. I’m not a mom. I don’t breastfeed on a regular basis. I can barely drink cow breastmilk anymore. (Asian – lactose intolerant – you know the drill.) I just thought people who didn’t breastfeed probably had a health issue going on. Regardless of what the reason is behind formula feeding, there is mom-shame and guilt for doing so.

Well, shizz. Who gives a flying rat’s ass if the woman next to you is feeding her baby formula or breastmilk? I know there are health benefits to breastfeeding. I’m not that ig’nant – I’m on Twitter. *zing!* [I crack myself up. *zing!* Eggs, ovaries, get it?] I’m pretty sure the formula feeders know it too but people have choices and sometimes people can’t breastfeed or don’t want to.

Suzie will be reading pieces at BlogHer’s Voices of the Year! I encourage you to show up and show your support for all the honorees, winners, and readers.

You have a choice.

 

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Inspiration: Pinterest DIY TV Unit by Cat

IKEA Hemnes TV Storage Combination

We all know about Pinterest. We all Pin things that inspire us. Have you created something, thanks to the Pins on Pinterest? I know someone who has. Meet Cat, fellow Pinner, photographer, and So Cal blogger.

I don’t know about you, but I gotz no time to paint a TV unit right now nor do I own my home. Cat and her husband recently bought a home, and she’s been getting her new home decorated their way. I asked her if she would share her process in sprucing up a plain TV unit into a fabulous TV unit, and she said yes! (Photos below are courtesy of Cat’s iPhone – yet another vote for smartphones with good cameras. You never know when you’ll need to whip it out.)

Here’s my interview with Cat:

Q: Which Pins inspired you to personalize your furniture?

Q: What made you decide to go DIY?

  • When M and I went to Ikea to look for our dining table we decided to browse the media unit, too.  Since I painted the walls grey I knew I wanted a white media unit.  We saw the Hemnes TV Storage combination and we both liked it.  It was a big piece with a lot of white and I remembered seeing photos on Pinterest with painted back panels.  Immediately, I knew I wanted to paint the back of the unit.  I consider myself somewhat of a DIY-er.  Big projects intimidate me, but this one seemed totally doable for me because it seemed more like a semi-DIY project.

Q: How did you pick the background color (yellow)?

  • I went with a grey color scheme throughout my house.  I wanted something that contrasted the grey, looked fun, but still sophisticated.  I was debating between a bright blue or yellow.  I got paint swatches from Dunn Edwards, taped them to my wall and took a vote via friends and Instagram.  My gut always said yellow, and all of my votes were for yellow so I had no doubts about my choice.

Debating on the colors

Q: How long did it take you to paint all these parts?

  • In total, it took roughly 5-6 hours to finish because I had to wait for the coats to dry.  First, I sanded the back panel, then cleaned it off with a damp towel.  I applied 1 coat of primer and let it dry for 1 hour.  Then, I applied another coat of primer and let it dry for another hour.  I painted the first coat of yellow and let it dry for 1 hour.  After, I applied 2 more coats of paint with no drying time in between the 2 coats.  Lastly, I let it dry for 1 hour, then we secured it to the rest of the unit.  I did all 3 panels in the 5-6 hour time frame.

Painting with a roller

I don’t know about you but the finished product looks pretty badass.

Cat’s finished DIY TV unit, inspired by Pinterest pins

There  you have it. 5-6 hours of paint time + assembly time = awesome. I could really use a shelving unit like this for all of my books. (Or if the Wife have it his way – all his DVDs and blu-rays.)

Thanks to Cat for sharing her DIY story with me and you! Read her personal blog at http://www.alittletangy.blogspot.com/, and check out her Pinterest page at http://pinterest.com/mrscattang/.

 

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Erotica, Gaming, Sex, the IE, and Other Fun Topics – Just a SoCal Lady Bloggers Meetup 4.28.12

Check it! I'm too legit to quit.

A few weekends ago, I met up with my fellow SoCal Lady Bloggers for a night of drinks and dinner. This was the first time I had met these gals in person, so I was excited. We met right in “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” at a place called Olive’s Bistro. Who knew there was a serviceable restaurant adjacently-across the street from my favorite Burbank Chinese restaurant?

Inspire key necklace by Whitney Howard Designs via my Instagram: http://instagr.am/p/J-94tsm5VD/

Sidney (My MIL is Still Between Us) and Carolyn (This Talk Ain’t Cheap) spearheaded the evening with a special gift for all of us – an Inspire necklace by Whitney Howard Designs (one of our sponsors). Ok, first, how awesome is this? I show up and BAM! I get a fantastic piece of jewelry!?

At this meetup, I knew AJ (Confssions of a Fat Girl) from my professional life and we were roomies last year at BlogHer in San Diego. I invited my pal Clare who runs two blogs, one of which is a hysterical dating advice site with her writing partner called Ken and Ariel.

Clare, Bev, Trina, me and Su - So Cal Lady Bloggers 4.28.12

Bloggers: KenandAriel.com, writinginflow.blogspot.com, thegamingangel.com, me, and IEShineOn.com.

Cheryl, Melissa, AJ, Sidney, Ricca - So Cal Lady Bloggers Meetup 4.28.12

Bloggers: littlebitquirky.blogspot.com, MizMeliz.com, confessionsofafatgirl.typepad.com, MILbetweenus.com, and sprmama.blogspot.com.

Carolyn, Jamie, Mary, Alma and Erin - So Cal Lady Bloggers Meetup 4.28.12

Bloggers: thistalkaintcheap.com, minnesotagirlinla.wordpress.com, alongcomesmary.wordpress.com, fieldtripmom.blogspot.com, and horsingaroundinla.wordpress.com.

During drinks, I met bloggers who were gluten-free, reviewing gluten-free alcohol!, one who owns horses!, a blogger transplant from Minneapolis (one of my fave cities), a marching feminst (yeah!), mom bloggers, new-to-blogging bloggers, and old hands at blogging bloggers. When it was time for dinner, we split into three tables. At my table, I learned a lot about romance and erotica, the Inland Empire (IE), intuitive eating, girl gamers and the acronym TTC (trying to conceive).

Being an avid reader, I had to ask fellow reader (and writer!) Bev (Writing in Flow) if she had read “50 Shades of Grey.” I’m not a big fan of erotica and was wary of the hype it was getting. Her writers group had mixed reviews and she’ll be reading it, so I’m looking forward to her thoughts. That segued into my asking grilling her on the difference between romance novels and erotica.  I know you, too, are interested in this definition. (Nerds!) Romance and erotica can have the same amount of smut and sexy writing. But… Romance has to end with one of two conclusions: HEA (Happily Ever After) or HFN (Happily For Now). WHO KNEW?!!!!??? [Now we do!]

Tasty brittle by Pauline's and a Matt Damon movie!

I was also given yet another gift by the group – I received a giftbag with a blu-ray copy of We Bought A Zoo from AJ and praline brittle from Pauline’s Handmade Brittle (another sponsor!). I made out like a freaking bandit that evening. I met 14 new bloggers (and blogs), picked up a piece of jewelry, something sweet, and a movie to load up on my iPad!

All in all, it was a pretty special evening. I’m so grateful to have found this bloggers group. I’ve found that this group to be supportive of everyone’s endeavors as well as helpful when a blogger needs advice on this or that.

If you’re interested in joining this group, mosey on over to http://socalladybloggers.com/.

 

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