Grey Owl

Snippetandink.com:  This is a daily wedding inspiration board that I loved (and referred to often) when I was helping my dear friend plan her wedding.  I believe the young woman who blogs started this as a fun hobby—most likely inspired by her own personal wedding planning, as many of these blogs do start that way.  I do like that she posts daily so there is always something new to check out.  The blog started with inspiration boards and then branched out. Now it features real weddings, giveaways and much more.  This blog appropriately cites resources, which I appreciate, and is a practice I will obviously plan to incorporate into my own blog.

CentsationalGirl: This is a top rated home and garden blog that I like to follow. This blogger is a former lawyer who closed her practice to become a full-time blogger—recording her love of repurposing and DIY projects—two things I also love to do in my “spare” time. The blog has opened up a lot of great opportunities for her to showcase her style and partner with a horde of corporate sponsors/websites. With 800,000 visitors and 1.8 million page views per month, she has to be making a minimum of $1,500/month in ad revenue, so I doubt she has any problem funding her next blog project. I am drawn to blog sites that I feel are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and this is definitely one of them. This is no static site either; it is regularly updated and very easy to navigate. She does a great job of linking and makes it easy to connect through social media and RSS feed options. Without question, this is a successful format that I would like to try to model in my own blog.

TheFarmChicks:  This site is pure eye candy. Serena Thompson is the author of this blog, or as she refers to it, “web journal.”  I learned about Serena, her business, Farm Chicks, and her other ventures through a friend of mine who has been to a couple of the Farm Chicks shows.  Every year, Serena coordinates an antique “ picker-like” show at the county fairgrounds in Spokane, WA.  She is a hometown girl, and has her hands full as a “mother, author, entrepreneur, & Country Living Magazine contributing editor.”  Even with so much on her plate, she still finds time to be creative . . . my kind of girl. Her blog focuses on her personal life and endeavors, which just plain inspires me.  She posts frequently, and I like the casual yet thoughtful style of her writing.  She constantly encourages her readers to go out and seize the day, (and then share their stories with her).   She approaches her blog very interactively, which I think makes it stand out from other blogs of similar content. She has a website and a shop that she self-promotes through her “web journal,” and she also has quite a bit of advertising that I am sure brings in a fair amount of revenue. I wouldn’t mind incorporating these types of revenue generators into my own blog—although I am aware that this takes time.

GingerLemonGirl: This is a “guilt free gluten free” blog. It is written by a blogger (Carrie) that is as passionate about her writing as she is about going gluten free. She reveals on her blog that she was suffering from severe migraines and GI issues when she first discovered gluten was the likely culprit. So, she started her blog to share her newly found passion for gluten free cooking and baking with others on a similar quest for a healthy gluten free lifestyle. Her dietary restrictions have changed over the years and her recipes have definitely evolved along with them. She has tapped into social media, has recipe groups, a shop, and also appears to be generating revenue from ads. She has some great links to Celiac sites, which I’ m sure folks find helpful, as well. Viewers are invited to use her recipes/photos on their own sites as long as they link back to her site and give her credit.  I delight in her spunk and her writing style just as much as I enjoy her recipes. My daughter, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Celiac back in 2008, also enjoys this blog. It is both informative and entertaining, while also being easily navigable. I would attempt to incorporate this combination of information/entertainment into my own blog, as well.

OhJoy!:  Oh Joy was started by a New York graphic designer named Joy.  After working for many years in the design world in NYC, she wanted to start something that also included her passion for fashion and food.  Posts are regularly added, 2-3 times a day.  I love this blog because it always has new information and fresh ideas.  Joy now promotes her designs by having her own textile and stationary lines.  She also serves as the Market Editor for a home decor magazine called Anthology, and has co-written a book called Creative, Inc. I find her inspiring and innovative, and enjoy exploring all of her design avenues. She has great links to other interesting sites, including her sister-in-law’s site, Fig and Fauna, which I also enjoy quite a bit. (Many of the recipes highlighted on Fig and Fauna come from ingredients produced right there on their farm—and they are naturally gluten free! Always a plus in my book.)