Five Delightful Blog Aspects

I follow 57 blogs, about 45 of which update frequently, and luckily I have the free time to keep up with them. For the most part, I love the ladies on my list. But every so often the urge strikes me to write a post entitled "Things Bloggers Do That Annoy Me", and I have to squash that impulse. (With mixed success. "The Perfect Style Blog In Five Steps" was basically a list of don'ts.) I would hate to be the kind of person who is hypercritical and nasty. The potential is there, so I have to consciously suppress it.

// Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire //

I tell myself what moms have been repeating for years: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Luckily, I do have nice things to say! Five delightful blog aspects, in no particular order:

1. Weekly giveaways on Bon Marche Couture. Not only is this awesome because of the possibility of winning something, but it's also an impressive promotional strategy. Literally rewarding your readers? Great tactic. Could it get expensive? Maybe, if you were shelling out for fancy French goop. But Emily is a veteran thrift shopper as well as a knitter, and in addition she draws from the stock of her vintage store.

2. "Link Love" on Unpack the Box. It occurs to me that I am basically copying this concept right now. I like being exposed to posts that I wouldn't read otherwise, and the updates on Karen's doings are fun.



3. Fantastical guests on The Painted Rogue. You're never gonna get bored with these makeup reviews. The battle for underworld supremacy rages on around the dreamy rose lipstick that Syl wore on her wedding day.

4. Feline Fridays on Lostvestige. I was a little skeptical when this feature was introduced, because my tolerance for people who constantly rave about their cats is pretty low. (X was like, "Yeah, because your rabbits are so much more interesting." CORRECT.) But it turns out that Sarah's kitties really are adorable--one of them is named Jeeves, okay--and I like seeing them every week.

// Stephen Fry as one of the title characters in Jeeves and Wooster //

5. Metalsmithing on Condensed Star Stuff. As I've mentioned a bazillion times, I agonize over tackling new skills and working through the unavoidable phase of not being good at something right away. It's inspiring to follow Danielle's journey as she learns an unfamiliar craft, because she brings enthusiasm and good humor to the process. Plus, her creations are beautiful!