Lo-Fi London from This is Naive

{picture from This is Naive}

Found this page today and it's making me excited to go to London... not that I will have time for any of these things this weekend.. but that is beside the point...

Oh! They have a Beard Papa on Oxford St.. it might be a priority... I love Beard Papa!!

I want to go to Salt Yard... I wonder if W1T is anywhere near Sok's house??
Or Ikeda at W1K???
Or macaroons from Laduree in W1J??  I think Sok has a W1 postcode..??

ps. I need to find a facinator for KV's wedding in August... Would it be bad taste to wear a black hat to a wedding?? Thoughts on a postcard please!

The Bloggess - And that's why you should learn to pick your battles

Possibly one of the best blog posts I've come across so far...

(contains offensive language)

A 5 ft metal chicken at the front door..

Click the link to find out why...

                                         Enjoy!

Blogger Guilt...

So.. last week I briefly touched on "blogger guilt" in the beginning of my Ikea Meatball Spag post...

I guess as the weather is getting warmer for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we're spending more time outdoors and less time inside and in front of the computer.. my number of unread posts in google reader each morning has definitely seen a decline.. but upon each blogger's return from being AWOL invariably comes a post of.. "I have been a slack blogger"... "Apologies for being MIA".. "I've been away because a, b, c"... and although it's nice to know what people have been up to while they've been away, and of course we miss these people when we don't get to hear from them and sometimes we wonder and sometimes we worry.. but why do we all feel the need to justify our absence??

Most of us, well, most of the blogs I read anyways, blog for the fun of it..

I don't know about the rest of you, but I blog to document my life and to share them with friends far away, I blog to share ideas, inspiration and things that make me smile, in the hopes of passing that sentiment along... I blog to sometimes ask opinions, because often it is those who aren't super close to us that are best at remaining objective.. and let's be honest, who doesn't love a bit of validation that our outfit looked good today, or that new pair of shoes are provoking a little bit of envy??...

I digress... if the majority of us blog for fun (as opposed to for a business or for work).. why is it that we each feel this "guilt" if we've been away for a few days??

Surely we are free to post as often as we like, be it daily, weekly, monthly, or just whenever something happens that we feel like blogging about??!!

Why are we a "slack blogger" because we haven't posted in a week? Who said we need to post daily!?! So far as I'm aware, there are no rules governing the frequency of our posts...!!

I'm sure I'll still feel bad if I don't post for a few days... as I'm sure you probably will too... but... why do you think that is??

Where does the obligation come from?? And when did it all stop being just a bit of fun?? (Not that it's not, mind.. but you know what I mean... ya??)

Em-Jae over at the button hole has similar thoughts.. she's just a lot more succinct with her sentiments!

Inspiration from The Swell Life

{via}
I saw this over at The Swell Life & loved it, so thought I'd share it..

Do you save the best for last??

So, as it's quiet at work today, I eagerly opened up my Google Reader (once I had cleared all my work emails of course!) to see what bloggy nomminess awaited me... I was delighted to see All items (38) sitting at the top..  Hoorah!! 38 posts to help me get thru a sluggish work day!! I had a quick scroll down to see which lovely ladies (I have yet start following a "man blog", I haven't come across too many in fact... if you have any good suggestions, I'd love to know!) had left tasty morsels for me to indulge in!

And now is when it gets technical, and I absolutely play favourites and I'm not afraid to admit it! A large number of the blogs I follow are food related.. I usually read these first.. blogs that tend to be a bit technical I will read first.. usually saving ones that are slightly more "personal" and whimsical until the end.. things like Smitten Kitchen (trying to sneak a peak of any photos of her adorable kid!) and Pioneer Woman (waiting to read about things that make her skirt fly up!) fall into the latter category.. I will tag any recipes I would like to try, and star any that really take my fancy.. and forward anything on to Ms K if I think she would be interested and if I don't think she follows that blog already...

Then I make my way through the fashiony/style blogs to sneak a peak at what people far more stylish than me are wearing! Inspiring! Each and every one!!

Last, but most certainly not least.. I get to the life/lifestyle/general blogs, which are by far my favourite.. maybe because it is what I want my blog to be... maybe because there is a slight voyeur in all of us and I love catching someone else's "slice of life".... but most of all, these are the blogs that usually make me laugh or smile and just generally brighten my day!

And I'm always super excited to see new posts by some certain someone's... you can't ask me who, coz that would be telling....  :D

I wish I could say I love all blogs equally but that would be a big fat lie!!

Is there an order you like to read blogs in?? Are there some you savour for last?? Are there certain blogs that delight you to see they have new posts?? I'm always open to recommendations!!

the whim wham life: Thoughts of a 23 Year Old

bon bon's amazing words about the tragedy in Japan..

the whim wham life: Thoughts of a 23 Year Old: "{via} Yesterday, 1200+ bloggers, including myself, decided to remain silent for the day to reflect on the tragedy in Japan. Throwing any per..."

go check it out.. nuff said..

The Pioneer Woman...

Seriously peoples, if you haven't already, go and check out Ree's website/blog/AHH-MAAAZING'ness @ http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Oh and her Cooking Site is TO-DIE-FOR... I seriously want to leave work, go to the supermarket and go home and make like E-V-E-R-Y-THING.... RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!

Her writing style is fantastic, it seriously feels like having a chat with an ol' friend.. a really funny goofy friend who just makes you laugh and brings a smile to your face whether you're aware of it or not...

With phrases like.. recipes that "will make your skirt fly up"!! How could you resist??!! *swoon*

I had seen her website bandied around in my meanderings in blogland but most recently Mrs. Biscuit mentioned her in this post and I mentally bookmarked it for a quiet day at work.. and I am HOOKED!! I can't get enough of this lady!!

Sorry about all the caps and exclamation marks in this post, but I am ridiculously in love with this website/lady... AND she has been giving away Kitchen Aid mixers... *way to melt my heart Ree*!! Not sure they would ship them all the way over to me but a girl can hope and dream right???

Happy Thursday!!