Blogger Appreciation Week

I’ve been blogging almost two years now and it’s been a most fascinating journey.     When I look back at how my blog has evolved during that time, I just have to laugh at how “unsophisticated” my first attempts were!    And while I certainly don’t pretend to have a high-tech blog or  one of the newer .com’s some of ya’ll have, I’m pretty happy at how my blog has “grown up” since it got “birthed”!       But truth be known, there are a few fabulous blogs that have influenced me from the very beginning.       Let me tell you who they are and a little about them.    In no particular order, they are the following:

1.    Joni at Cote de Texas – I don’t know how I stumbled on Joni’s blog but I’ve been smitten from day one.    She has totally turned my decorating style around 360 degrees by her love of linen, slipcovers (or “slips”), seagrass rugs and lots of white!    Plus as busy as she is, she has ALWAYS taken time to answer any e-mails I send her and made some very sweet comments on my blog.    I can’t imagine there is anyone out there that doesn’t know about Joni, but if you don’t, go check her out.

2.   Rhoda at Southern Hospitality – I saw her blog name on someone’s sidebar and being the true Southern girl that I am, the name immediately intrigued me so I checked it out.    This was shortly after Rhoda began her blog and I remember sitting at my desk at work (wasn’t busy that day) and ready her whole blog and printing off some 60+ pages from her blog (I’ve told her this so I wasn’t REALLY stalking her).    We started e-mailing back and forth and I discovered she lives close to my son’s neighborhood.   We made plans to meet as soon as possible and from the very first meeting I knew she was a “keeper” friend.     Since our first meeting, we’ve had some great thrifting adventures, including our whirlwind trip to Atlanta in January to meet up with Eddie Ross.       Rhoda has such passion for what she does and it shows….she’s one of the best.   Her cost-effective, hands-on decorating style is one we can all relate to and utilize in our own homes.     I feel very fortunate to have met this wonderful Southern Belle!

3.   Pat @Back Porch Musings – You know how it is when you meet someone and you just know they have a wonderful soul?   That’s how I’ve felt about Pat from the very beginning.    Although we’ve never met in person, I feel like she’s a wonderful friend.     If she wasn’t so sweet, I would be seriously jealous of her talents – decorating, cooking, gardening and photography!    She just posted her bedroom re-do which I’ve been eagerly anticipating and as I always tell her, she didn’t disappoint!     If you’ve never visited Pat, don’t miss your chance now to scoot on over and get acquainted with this precious lady.

3.   Melissa at A Little Loveliness – Melissa and I met on line a little over a year ago.     Again, this lovely lady is a neighbor, just “down the road a piece” as we say here in Dixie.     She should be an event planner and if you’ve ever seen any of her projects, you will agree.    Plus she has the most gorgeous family ever!    Her daughter Mary Ashley and  my Taylor are little friends and share ballet lessons together.     Melissa is a sweet soul and she lives and radiates her Christian walk daily.  

 

4.   Marian @Miss Mustard Seed – I just discovered Marian’s blog last week and I’m totally smitten with her creativity.    I spent some  time drooling over her blog and I would highly recommend you do the same!    She hosts Furniture Feature Fridays and I decided to play along and to my surprise she picked my dresser re-do which I posted about several months ago as one of her favorites!    I was very honored to be featured with these other talented ladies.   I can’t wait to see more of Miss Marian in the future.

And there you have just a short list of some of my favorite blogs.    There are really too many to mention and I might do another Blogger Appreciation at another time but this will give you an idea of where I get my inspiration from and an idea of some of the extraordinary talent out there.

Ya’ll have a great week!