Blog Crushes

Since I'm not traveling, blogging or creating much of anything except facebook posts bemoaning my paper grading purgatory, I thought I'd tell you about some of my favorite bloggers. I just got into reading blogs this winter. I don't know why it took me so long, and certainly there were a handful of blogs I visited from time-to-time before 2010, but I had a change of perspective on blogs when I began to understand them as the way people organize the web. There is simply so much out there, and bloggers sort of organize it bulletin board fashion for others. Sometimes these bloggers add to this with commentary, sometimes not. And then there are all of the journalism/diary type bloggers. And then there are all of the tutorials, which is a fantastic mine of wonderment for DIYers and crafters of all sorts. Here are three of my favorite blogs right now.

from Male Pattern Boldness

Male Pattern Boldness

Yep, we did.

Peter's profile says he started sewing in 2009, but he's hooked! This is one of the few blogs that actually has something to say. Some of the blogs I follow post links and photos that I enjoy, but not much in the way of substance--not Peter. I so admire that Peter has well expressed ideas, relevant to his blog, and that his readers generally make sensible comments back. I almost always smile and usually laugh when I read his blog. Seriously. He bought this clown pattern off ebay a few weeks ago and intends to make it! I don't know which is more shocking--that he bought it or that we had this exact pattern growing up and made a pretty similar version of it. (Mom, if you're reading, do you still have it?) Here are two of my favorite recent posts:

Do Not Tell Your Husband How to Dress

It's Over: Why I Broke Up With the Satorialist

Not Martha

Well, for starters she's got a great blog name. For real, she's not Martha, but Megan, and often her blog is a collection of cool things she's gathered from about the web. However, recently she chronicled her trip to Paris. I've so been wanting to go to Paris and almost sent the deposit in on a group trip this summer--I had the check written but could not bring myself to mail it. (Insert post-ironic sad face here.) Her Paris blogs are fabulous. So fun yet educational. If, like me, you are Not in Paris, check out her slides. Day one begins here.

Colour Me Happy

I just came across this one recently so I haven't had a chance to sift through the archives yet. But from what I've read so far, Maria actually provides useful information about color and decorating. I love flipping through the decorating magazine and I ripped out many a page and hung many a color swatch on the wall only to stare at it for a year or more and leave the walls off-white. Maria speaks from experience, shares real-life client photos and is extremely down to earth. Although many of the photos are from properties well beyond the average home, she speaks color for the people. She's also great at linking back within her own blog to useful previous entries readers might find handy. I love that.

A Light Colour Will Never Come to Life in a Dark Room

Colour is Contex