Women I Admire

I want to go a bit off topic this week. I know I did a 'blog love' entry a while back, but it was so hastily thrown together, I don't think it really did them justice.

Every now and then, when I'm sitting back and daydreaming about all my various goals in life and current projects, I go to some of my favorite blogs and I whine at Brandon about how badly I want to be just like the women who write them. All of them! It would take a lot of energy, I don't know if anyone could be all these women at once, they all work so hard at what they do. And they're all so accomplished. In short, these are the blogs that make me drool!

Of course I have to start with the famous Megan Hunt of Princess Lasertron. She was one of the first bloggers I discovered back when Val had me browsing Weddingbee.com for wedding ideas. She makes these amazing, funky bouquets out of felt and vintage buttons. The cool selling point is that they're unique, but they're not 'weird,' so they won't freak out your grandma, but you can still have a wedding that's all you. What's amazing is that her style keeps evolving, she's really refining her product and expanding her brand. She's fantastically business-savvy, and has the same quirky style as I have. I'll admit, I've modeled more than a bit of the business side of Nimble Toad after Princess Lasertron's example.

Did I mention I'm in love with her wedding gown? She's releasing an original line next year. I'm SO excited.

But of course original crafts aren't my only love. You guys have seen a bit of my vintage fetish here on the blog. And one of my favorite Etsy vintage sellers is Solanah of Vixen Vintage. She LIVES the lifestyle. I mean, it's unbelievable, she absolutely surrounds herself in vintage wares. And she has the figure for it, too. Which comes in handy, I'm sure, because she's the model for her shop as well. Her photographs are so professional and polished, but very informative about the piece she's showing, and a little artsy and a little sexy as well. She really strikes the right balance. Solanah's photos embody exactly what I strive for with my product photos in our Etsy shop. And good lord she has a fantastic selection.

This is a little embarassing, but I also strive to get my hair to curl just like hers. We have very similar hair, and she does some truly fantastic things with hers.

Next up is Ki Nassauer of Junk Camp. She refers to herself as a 'junker,' and she's started a whole new trend, both in style and in crafting. She goes to flea markets, junk shows (I never knew there was such a thing!) and antique shows to find old throw-away junk that she can transform into new and wonderful things. Her mantra is "forget what it was, think what it could be!" and she has some truly inspired, creative and hilarious crafts. She's inspired me to shop cheap, and make it myself whenever possible, and it's because of her blog that I find myself looking at junk in a totally different way.

Of course there's always the wonderful Maki of JustBento! As you guys have seen before, I love bento boxes. It's a healthy way to eat, and a fun little way to be creative with my food. And of course, I love Japanese food! Maki shares recipes, special diet advice, bento gear and kyaraben decorating tricks on her blog. I got all my favorite bento recipes from JustBento.

Check out her adorable logo!

Aaah yes, Winona of Daddy Likey. Guys, this chick is hilarious. I'm serious, she absolutely kills me. I don't generally read fashion blogs, but Daddy Likey doesn't read like a fashion blog. Winona writes her blog like her readers are actually her closest friends, and she often treats them like they are. She's full of silly anecdotes from her life, sometimes totally unrelated to fashion - but always worth it. What's fantastic is that her brand of humor is really similar to mine. She's goofy, and knows how to play it up just right. I only hope I could be half as funny as her. I seriously want to hang out with her some day, she just sounds like an absolute blast.

And she has a book out!

Lastly, but definitely not least is my good friend Leslie from The Curious Adventures of Inkhat. Leslie is one of Val's best friends from college. She's a poet - no, seriously, she's studying poetry in grad school. And she's quite the wordsmith. Her blog follows her adventures in grad school, and it's full of wonderful, creative anecdotes and thoughts about her classes, her friends, and her pets, as well as products, movies and albums that she likes. Her writing is clever, inspired, poetic and entertaining. And she reads our blog, too!

I wasn't sure if she'd be embarassed, so I grabbed one of her famous wallpapers instead.

So, when I'm lazing around in front of my computer, I often pull up entries from these blogs and complain to Brandon about how I want to be just like all these women... all at the same time. Sounds exhausting. I'd be pretty darn cool, though.

What are some of your favorite blogs?