now i want a makeover

after all your great suggestions for inspiring new blogs, i am craving a makeover.  i feel a resurgence of wanting this blog to be as active a place as it used to be...with people commenting and sharing and even more than that, i want it to be a place that even better documents our life so the kids (and matt & i) have something to look back on later.  a virtual scrapbook and a piece of family history that actually captures the essence and mood and fun in our days. 

what i lack:

good photography skills

the ability to edit photographs with any success

any sort of technical know-how (nor a husband who happens to be a computer geek who can help) to design a blog

a sense of style on my generic typepad layout

 

what i have:

a desire to learn to take better photos

a renewed committment to the blog

a creative itch to do something with this awesome space and the amazing people who still come visit

an idea that if i could be consistent and post better photos amidst better design, then maybe i'd have more people come say hello here

so...

i'm thinking of ways to enliven things, to spruce up this space for the new year.  starting with 1) a redesign (new look, color, fonts, feel) 2) a re-dux of my 'about' page 3) new photo (since that one is 4 years old! jeanette, wish you were here to take another one) 4) and to consider several regular postings that make sense in my life...what we do in this family, and not a bland copy of someone else.

some 'columns' i'm considering are:

*school lunches - i love making the kids lunches and put alot of time into this.  it's like a love note from home everyday.  (and it often includes a real love note :)

*sunday dinners & projects with the grandparents with guest posts from my mom.  our entire family lives in sonoma and we often do fun project/cooking days all together on sundays.  since we've got very talented and crafty family members, i think the projects with kids plus our sunday menus and all the friends that drop by would make fun weekly retrospectives. 

*school clothes - what the kids wear since i'm often asked where i find their clothes and how i 'style' them

*temple's daily steeze - while i do still 'style' the kids for school, little miss temple is a pistol and loves to choose her own outfits.  this girl has some very individual fashion sense and i think she deserves a daily pic all her own!

i rest my case.

*reviving my 'hit parade' a sort of monthly review of my favorite things & new discoveries

you could help me by letting me know if there is something you read here that you'd like to know more about.  there aren't many of you, but you are mighty!

 

and now, my four new favorite blogs, thanks to all of your suggestions:

james at bleubirdvintage.  her house feels like a fun party and her son, julian - with his long hair and happy eyes, reminds me of satchel.  her lunch boxes, love notes to her kids, camp outs, birthday celebrations and special meals remind me of our house too.  i just can't photograph it like she can - nor do i sew :)  nor am i as skinny OR pretty as her either!  i love the overall balance of her blog (work, children, love, fun) and the fact that it seems like she is able to do it in real life.  if i could homeschool like her, i would. oh, and her fashion inspiration columns are awesome!!!

rockstardiaries is a beautiful blog.  again, they look like they have FUN.  and their photos are lovely.  and they have a quirky creativity and fashion sense that i love.  i'd like to figure out how to translate those beautiful moments into photos that say as much on my blog. 

melissa at dearbaby fully impresses me with her ability to be such a great mom, work long hours, look beautiful and maintain a stylish blog on a regular basis.  working as much as we do right now makes me appreciate the dedication it takes for her to mother like she does while also working full time.

and glennon at momastery has a beautiful way of mixing the spiritual with the daily grind without sounding preachy or kooky - either one.  and this post knocked it out of the park for me.  i cried my eyes out.  and would sign my name to that post if i could.  amen sister! she also devotes passion and energy towards uplifting others.  who doesn't think that is a great quality???  i am so moved by her compassion and kindness.

thanks everyone for hanging in here, and i hope i have something fun and new and interesting for you soon.

xox

 

Comments

[Adie]

Brooke..for sure, if I am lucky enough to get to California again, we will meet and drink that wine!! I'm holding you to that!

[mb]

i must be one of the kooky ones you are talking about. i love you.......

[Rebekah]

I know I already posted, but when I came back here this morning I had to post again briefly to say I would LOVE to see the lunches you make for the kids. I think I already knew how much time and care you put into them, and I would love to see them. I'm always looking for inspiration and your creativity and prowess in this "medium" would be awesome to see and pass on to OUR family.

Keep on keepin' on, my friend!

[Mrs. Williams]

I've enjoyed reading your blog the past few years. I don't post often but I am a faithful reader checking in every so often. I love the style in which you write, the insight and the way you celebrate your family's life. I am excited to see how you are going to "make over" your blog. You cook some tasty food! Maybe a recipe/cooking post every so often~what's for dinner?

One of my favorite blogs that I enjoy reading:

Enjoying the Small Things~ http://www.kellehampton.com/. I have a feeling you would too, maybe you already do.

[kim]

I'll enjoy your blog in whatever format you choose, and it will be fun to see how you evolve it; but I just have to say that little Temple and her style is the cat's meow! What an angel! The 'Lady Gaga' of the 2020s! (love LG!)

[Brooke]

I am so sad tonight that I wrote the longest comment ever - a personal note to each of you who commented - and somehow it never posted. I even called Word tech help to see if I could retrace my document. It's lost. So I will do my best to recreate here.

Melissa, Trish Walker and I trained together with Pam England in 2006/2007. We went through some very deep, spiritual work together and it makes me smile that you think of us in the same category of blogger. (And it is a reminder that I should pop in and say hi to her!)

Rebecca, that you would tell me I am okay as I am, that even without a pretty blog or nice photos or some snazzy layout that I still matter. That most importantly it is my heart and my truth that means the most. This validation means so much. Thank you for giving me permission to be my most natural, un-efforted self! That is truly a treasure. Thank you.

Addie, you are one of my faithfuls! Your name is like an old friend. Do you know that the comment you made about birthday cakes - YEARS AGO - has influenced our yearly birthday traditions??? You, like so many others, have touched my life through this blog and have lived inside of me as life goes on. As for a perfect life, I have been trying to pep things up around here. After 3 hard years (finances, marriage, moves, work, finding my way) I felt like I was doing too much negative talk. In reality, I am the first one to air my dirtly laundry and laugh at my imperfect life. Or if I'm not laughing, I'm at least confessing and asking how to do it better :) You would laugh at the number of people I've frightened at cocktail parties with my candor. I can make small talk, but mostly I go for the jugular :) Someday we will share a bottle of wine and I will show you just how much I can drink.

Lisa, I've taken many breaks. I've come and gone, but it feels good to have this space. A space that is mine but also an 'ours' and that the ours morphs, bringing new and lovely people into my heart all the time. A gift like this deserves the effort.

[Rebekah]

Lady, your blog has always been and will always be one of my greatest breaths of fresh air. It's honestly like an oasis in my otherwise crazy day. I am so glad you're here and if there's going to be MORE of you here? I am a happy woman.

SO glad you like Momastery. I honestly only found her a couple weeks ago but she is quickly becoming my new very favorite blog. I really like her. And anyone who is able to intelligently, honestly share their faith without preaching is GOOD in my book. =)

xoxo

[Lisa Madden]

I am so glad that you are going against the flow of many bloggers out there "taking a break!" and instead deciding to devote even MORE time to it than less!~ Thank heavens. I have found that a lot of my regulars are re-thinking their sharing in the ether, and well, that is just plain abandoning us readerfolk! Though I have been quite neglectful of my own lately -- there is definitely a time and place in our lives for blogging -- I find the more you do, the more you do. Oh, and P.S. your pictures are GREAT!

[Adie]

You'd better keep up the blogging! I've been following (as you know) since you were on Pregnancy Today, way back when it was a diary and before you scooted off into the blogging world! Just tell me your life isn't perfect, that sometimes the kids do drive you crazy and you can't wait till they're in bed so you can have a large glass of wine, alone. Then I'm happy :)

[rebecca]

Morning Brooke,

It's 6:17 and one of my first thoughts after coffee was actually about your blog, so I felt compelled to comment. I've been blogging with more or less consistency since 2006 so I can totally relate to the ebb and flow of the blogging tide, the desire for pretty pictures, and the wish for a unique lay-out. Sometimes I feel motivated to pour energy into my blog (so I do), and sometimes it feels like a chore (so I don't).

As for YOUR blog: I've been reading here regularly for years. I was reading for Temple's pregnancy and birth, and likely a bit before. And what has kept you in my solid top-ten bookmarks this whole time is your ability to find the vein of your truth, tap it, and to write about it so beautifully. I don't think there is anything wrong with your desires to want to spruce the place up, learn more photography skills (I've always thought your pictures were beautiful), and the like. But, the essence of what makes your blog so awesome are the times when you are moved to really put it all out there. A pretty space with "columns" would be fun for you to design I'd bet. And, if it helps you get into the zone where real sharing and inspiration happens, than I say good for you and good for us!

[Melissa]

Here is one of my favorites http://trish-walker.blogspot.com/ although she doesn't write often enough, I am trying to get her to write more often.
I think your ideas for your blog sound great. I have been reading for sometime, can't even remember how I came across your blog but I do enjoy reading it!