Blog loving and a few great before and after's

So today was the big day that Google Reader quit working. Honestly, I didn't even understand what Google Reader did until I started reading other blogger's remarks about the changes. I noticed that quite a few of you switched to Bloglovin' so that is what I did too. Embarrassingly, I wasn't sure why I switched until Sue asked the question, "How do you keep up/subscribe to blogs?" "Ah," I thought, "So that is what it is for!"

Dallas Shaw

I took the whole follower thing off my blog a while ago because I didn't really understand the point of that either. Until today when I got a lovely email from Bloglovin' showing me all the new posts from all the blogs that I FOLLOW.  Ha! Now I get it. I see why it was so upsetting to have this change made. I have always "followed" the blogs I wanted to read daily by putting them on my blog roll on the side of my blog. I had no idea there was an easier way.

Style @ Home via | Photography by Michel Dube

At any rate, the emailed posts I received today were fun to see and although most of the blogs I follow have made it to my sidebar - not all of them had. I read a new post from Maria Killam - a color expert and consultant that I used to read religiously when I first started blogging. In fact, her blog may have been the first blog I ever read. She had some amazing paint before and after photos of a client that she helped and since we all love a good before and after, I thought I would share a few of them. Ready?

Before

After 

The island was changed too but what a difference the painting made!

Before

After

I did not even notice the white marble before! And did you notice the light fixture changes?

Before

After

What did you think? Nice, right?
You can see Maria's entire post and more fantastic before and after photos here. All before and after images are Maria's.

Cake and coffee

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel." - Steven Furtick

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My sister sent me an email today about an incredible 'movement' that is showing up all over blogland called, "Things I Am Afraid To Tell You." She sent me the link to this post written by Ez from Creature Comforts that got this crazy viral internet dialog going about the authenticity of what we as bloggers post; a dialog that was started by a post written by Jess Constable (which ironically I wrote about her inspirational posters in my post last Sunday). Jess also wrote another post (The Icing or the Cake) that talks about another truth about reading blogs, Pinterest, or any social media site for that matter. In Jess' words:

But my Online World lens tells me a different story. My Online World lens makes me feel not quite “enough.” Sure, what I have is nice, but my life could be so much better if I had bright colored jeans, a floral blazer, a puppy, a hunky husband, a baby on the way, and a knack for cooking and entertaining like Ms. Stewart.

Then my life would really be something. 

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The bottom line is that what we see and read is not always reality and even if it is, it can bring us down, make us feel inadequate or give us a false sense of what is important or even true. We blog and read blogs to inspire and be inspired but I agree that there is a negative side to it as well and I think it is a great dialog to start and continue (which is why I am sharing it). And incredibly this all ties in perfectly with a video that a friend shared with me this week about stress and the important things in life. It is just a couple of minutes long and well worth watching.

Click here to watch the video, "Life is like Coffee."

Before I blogged, I ...

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Last week Lisa from A Vintage Vine wrote a post about gardening. She titled the post, "Before I blogged ... I gardened ... an OUTDOOR project you might want to try." (You can read her post here and by the way it is filled with great information on how to multiply the plants in your yard.)

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When I read that title though, it made me laugh. Did she mean it the way it sounded? Because sometimes it really does seem like blogging takes up so much time that there really is this "before I blogged" and "after I blogged" life. And maybe it is not even just about the time it takes to write a blog but also the fact that now you know that all these other great blogs are out there and there is this great desire to read them all! It was almost as if Lisa was saying, "before I blogged I actually was able to garden and now I can't." And it made me think, what would I say I did before I blogged? Like one of those fill-in-the-blank prompts; before I blogged I ________. The first thing that came into my mind was, "Before I blogged ... I got more sleep!"

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And in a way that is the truth, because when you start any new project or hobby or job, something else is going to have to go ... and for me that is sleep! But there are a lot of other things that I could fill in that blank with that are wonderful and positive. Like these:

Before I blogged ... I did not know that there was such an amazing wealth of creativity and ideas and resources available. There is a lot of talent out there and this sharing of ideas only makes us better at what we do.

Before I blogged ... I did not know how supportive and kind bloggers can be. How they rally when someone is in need and how they leave the most encouraging comments.

Before I blogged ... I thought I was the only one who had certain thoughts and fears and self-limitations and passions about design ... and then I read what other people wrote and I realized there is so much more commonality that we share than we are different.

So I'm wondering ... what did you do before you blogged (or read blogs)?