Budget Living Magazine went belly up years ago, but remains one of my favorite magazines of all time, right up there with MS Kids. In a cleaning fit I recycled all my issues a long time ago, but I picked this second hand copy of the April/May 2004 issue up the other day for a bank breaking 49 cents. The San Fransisco apartment they featured in that issue (pictured above) is one of my favorite looks of all time. So now I can gaze at it anytime. I love the graphic black and white toile mixed with pink. I love monogrammed things. And I do adore Bertoia chairs and would love to own a set one day (Peter promises "one day").
You can click on the photo and it will take you over the flickr page where I've added some notes.
I found out that the owner of this house, Gennifer Goodman, had another of her homes featured in Lucky, which you can see here.
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I picked up on this really great meme that Meg and Daria have already done. I read their answers and immediately became reflective about what my own answers would be...
1. Do you promote your blog?
No. I don't actively seek avenues to promote my blog. That feels like it would be a lot of work, and besides, that's really not what its all about here. On the other hand, I get really excited when someone links to something I've done. That you like and enjoy what I do. So very fun. Everyone's blog is theirs to do with what they choose, and self promotion isn't a bad thing for whoever wants to do it. Part of the reason I love the craft blogging world is how unique everyone's blog is. We're all different, I don't want us all to be the same (please don't be the same, please don't feel your blog has to be the slickest on the block!), it would be boring. Carry on everyone!
2. How often do you check hits?
Sometimes once a day, sometimes once a week. I always find something interesting when I check hits, I like to know where people are coming from, but am I obsessed with them? No.
3. Do you stick to one topic?
I blog about my creative life. So, one topic, with many branches...fabric, mail, aspects of my everyday life, secondhand shopping, cooking, etc. I consciously choose not to blog about things like money woes, family tensions, job worries, things like that. Honestly I would bore myself discussing things like that here.
4. Who knows that you have a blog?
My family knows, some of my friends know. My Dad doesn't own a computer, I don't think he ever will, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know what a blog is. I think 90% of my daily hits are from my mom's computer (thanks mom!). I feel very shy when friends find my blog through Google. "I didn't know you had a blog!" they will yell from across the parking lot. Well, I guess there's just no convenient way to slip that into most daily conversations. I usually don't talk about my favorite method of paper piecing patchwork, or my design aesthetic when I'm dropping my kids off at school. I figure, who cares, really? But I'm learning that some of my friends do, and its so nice how supportive and interested they are.
(Peter?? Do you read??)
5. How many blogs do you read?
A LOT. My Bloglines feeds are out of control. More than likely, yours is right in there. But, like others, I've become a very fast skimmer. I love catching up with everyone, but there are just not enough hours in a day. I've recently started working part time at home while the kids are at school (another post for another day), which puts me in front of the computer for other things, so again, I try to give myself a break from the screen. Which is why I comment only occasionally these days. I read, I skim, I "Wow!" here at home, but I don't always comment.
6. Are you a fast reader?
Yes, but I also think I have the attention span of a gnat some days, so I don't always retain what I read. I will often try to recall which blog I saw something on, and it just doesn't come to me.
7. Do you customize your blog or do anything technical?
I love the idea of manipulating .html, and its on my list of things I want to learn more about, but for now I am eternally grateful for the ability to customize pre-done templates in typepad.
8. Do you blog anonymously?
No, I use my own name, my family's names. Although I no longer post full-on shots of my kids. It was something Peter and I talked over and we decided it didn't feel like the right thing to do for our family. We prefer to keep them more anonymous. (I have a very cautious husband, which is probably a good thing, cause I can be very "out there".) I do have a password protected page that we share with our far away family and I may broaden that to friends at some point, and my kids are plastered on that, and I do occasionally show an action shot of them. Reality is, I just cannot be 100% sure who is looking at the blog, and I feel I must respect their privacy. It hasn't been a problem for me to do that, and I like to think I am able to give you a glimpse into their lives without having pictures of them up every day.
The cat may be a different story, Gracie says no problem with showing her photo! : )
9. To what extent do you censor yourself?
I am truthful, but I don't tell you every woe of my life. It would bore you, its not that exciting. As you would expect, some days are yucky, and a pretty picture on my blog to look at that day cheers me up. Some days I've come close to eating all the junk food in the house. Some days I yell at my kids. So, if it makes you feel better, know that's all here-behind the scenes, but I won't be talking about it. Let's be honest, once I say something, its completely "out there", whether I delete the post later on or not (just as an aside, I've only ever deleted one post). I try to be sensible and think through what I'm putting out into a public forum. But, again, I am truthful.
The other things I don't blather on about... hmmm, well, my kids are not without some TV (PBS kids and DVDs), junk food (I bought Emma one of these the other day, first one she's ever had, with me feeling all nostalgic and telling her how as a kid I used to ride my bike to get one in the summer), and we are not immune to being marketed to (after all, my husband creates brands, so its in our stream of daily consciousness). But we try very hard to strike a balance and Seattle is a fabulous city to do that in. And we do not judge what others do simply because we ourselves don't do it. Quite the contrary, we are often inspired.
10. The best thing about blogging?
I feel romantic about the idea that I have made this big world a smaller place for me thanks to you all. You read, you comment, you affirm, you support, you provide advice. Seriously, how else could I converse so often with people I have things in common with from all over the world? I find that fascinating and wonderful. I genuinely love the connections I have with all of you. This little/big world of blogging can put a smile on my face on the worst of days, can pump me up to tackle the toughest (and usually most rewarding) of craft projects, and genuinely make me feel like, somewhere, what I say matters, even a little bit. I can't thank you enough for that affirmation.
There, my two cents.
