A Narrower Focus Yields Unexpected Creativity

Even though my online class, Blogging Your Way, has ended, I'm still going back to Holly's and Leslie's lessons and my BYW notebook. One page I frequently turn back to has my list of goals and priorities. When the class started, many of us in the class were unfocused and had created multiple blogs to give the illusion of focus (if you're curious how many blogs I have, I wrote a post titled Scattered on W0rds 'n M0re, one of my other blogs). Holly's first task for all of us was to choose just one blog to focus on. (While my inclination was to say I can do them all, I listened and chose Recipes for the Good Life).

After we decided which blog would get our attention, we had to more work to do. Holly guided us through exercises designed to tease out mission statements and craft road maps. The result was an actionable plan with milestones for our blog at the end of the class.

In addition to a clear direction, I learned more about myself. In particular, I don't value original content more than well-thought out synopses or syntheses of third-party materials. What I do care about (and some could say obsess about) is clear attribution. Why? Because I value transparency and authenticity, I like to "connect" with the writer. If you're curating a gallery of images, sharing who created them, doesn't lessen the value of your gallery. Including others' work without proper credit is another story. As I explored why I followed certain blogs I found out some of my reasons were inaccurate. I thought one blog that I'd followed for over a year was all original photography as the images were not linked or credited. I had valued what I thought was the vision and technical skill of the writer. I felt mislead. This experience affected so much that for our final homework assignment, I set a short-term goal of updating my Blog Roll by June 1st. Before revealing the new Blog Roll, I'll share why I included the blogs I did.

Another consequence of Blogging Your Way is I now have so many ideas about what I want to write about (as well as objects and places I want to photograph). I rediscovered passions that had lain dormant until I started drafting an About Me post (a draft I broke into two parts, the first part The Story of Me is live on W0rds 'n M0re). An About Me post that I'm happy with (along with a short succinct tag line) will appear on this blog by June 1st (the second of my 3 short-term goals).

My third short-term goal is to clean up the look of the ads that run on the site. After revisiting my goals for this blog (our first homework assignment), I'm revising my third goal. I'm going to go back through my first 100 posts and clean up any linked but not clearly credited or attributed images (and update any broken links). 

Anything you'd like to see me change or alternatively keep as I continue to evolve this blog?

Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for Recipes for the Good Life.

(You've Got)

On any given day, I have a To Do List that's a mile long. It's organized into Must Do (i.e. pay bills), Should Do (i.e. put clean laundry away, unbox the office), and Nice to Do (i.e. sew door draft pillows). There are some pet projects in the Nice to Do column that have been there for awhile. Sadly that's where this blog languished for a time.

You might remember that I resolved to "Do Your Best or not at all." for New Years. With this resolution in mind, I signed up for Blogging Your Way, co-taught by Holly Becker of decor8 and Leslie Shrewring of A Creative Mint. Our first homework assignment had us identify why we followed the blogs we did. This assignment took me awhile as I follow over 300 through Google Reader (and I went through each and every one of them). There are some I skim and read when an image or headline catches my eye. Then, there are those I eagerly anticipate. Those I anticipate cover a wide range of subjects - home renovation, interior design, fashion, cooking, packaging design, paper, and more. The one commonality? Personality. 

'Cause you've got - (personality) 
Walk - (personality) talk - (personality) 
Smile - (personality) charm - (personality) 
Love - (personality)

- (You've Got) Personality, lyrics found on International Lyrics Playground

Around the Thanksgiving Holidays, I had discovered a 1950 edition of Culinary Art Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook. The preface, written by the encyclopedia's editor Ruth Berolzheimer, struck a chord with me (complete excerpt). 

The Personality of a [blog] is as apparent as it is important. ... a mixture as familiar, friendly and exhilarating as a pine woods early on a summer morn. ... that gives a comforting feeling of confidence in the final product. ... but above all a feeling for the kind of beauty that women want about them in their work-a-day world. 

- Ruth Berolzheimer, Culinary Art Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, c1950

With Berolzheimer's words in mind, I made myself a cup of tea, grabbed a blanket and SpriteKat, dumped stacks of magazine clippings onto our coffee table, and settled down in our loveseat to determine what I wanted my blog's personality to be (other than sporadic and scattered - it's current personality) when it grew up. 

After a few cups of tea, I had a mental image. 

The Finds (top row, left to right): 1950 GE Advertisement courtesy of Retro Cookbook; Home Baking Made Easy for Beginners and Experts, 1950s, courtesy of Zinnia Ridge; Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls, c.1957, $7.99, from sandmarg. Bottom Row: 1950s Tea Towel, $42, from Call Me Jasper; The See and Do Book of Cooking: Indoor and Outdoor, c.1959, $13, from Back Stash and Bygones. 

A little later - okay much cutting and gluing later - I had a mood board and a mission statement.

I want this blog to reflect the sights, sounds, and smells of my mom's kitchen where, after school, I did my homework at the dining room table while snacking on freshly made baked goods, and on weekends, I helped my mom make breakfast or bake a cake. 

Hopefully you'll pull up a chair and stay awhile. Everyone was always welcome in my mom's kitchen and she never let a soul go away hungry. Here you'll find the same hospitality with a modern retro twist. Enjoy!