Blog Fun

While I sit here starving (I'm prepping for the colonoscopy) and waiting for the dreaded 3:00 appointment with a big jug of nasty (another part of the prep) I got to thinking about a few things that I find helpful as a blogger. I think most people have heard of them, but just let me have this moment...it keeps my mind off of all the yummy goodness I can't eat. Oh and by the way...this is totally just me raving about these websites/programs. Although, if any of them wanted to be a sponsor to my blog one day I wouldn't say no.

#1 Google Reader
Wow, could you have asked for a handier way to get all of your blogs read in one easy place?! When I first started reading blogs, I would go to a friends blog who had already added them to their sidebar (coughSarahandKaricough) and just go crazy reading them all. I then realized that doing this was silly when I could just add them to my favorites. Soon I realized that having to scroll through my favorites was ridiculously time consuming and annoying. That's when I finally found Google Reader. If you are an avid blog reader and haven't discovered it...please do now! It saves me so much time AND I can easily read the blogs on my iPhone. Loving it!

#2 Picasa
Picasa is the greatest free invention for photographers. I heart it! Let me give an example (and show you one at that). Last night Josh and I went out to my old stomping grounds (think the boonies of Salem) and wanted to capture some of the beautiful fall foliage before it was all gone. Unfortunately, the light was pretty poor because he had to go in to work unexpectedly so we did not get out as early as hoped. This bummed me out BIG TIME. Let me show you a photo so you can understand that lighting is EVERYTHING when it comes to photography.

Picture BEFORE Picasa

 

Picture AFTER Picasa

See? Not a HUGE difference, but enough to fake a little extra light. Who can complain when it's free?!

#3 Polyvore

Oh my mood board loving goodness! While Photoshop gives you the greatest opportunities for creating interior design fabulousness, many don't have the moolah for it (or at least I don't). Enter Polyvore. I have been making inspiration boards non-stop. I may not have my house yet, but I could tell you what each room is going to look like. I also used it to give Ruby (remember the dining room?) a good idea of my color inspiration for her kitchen/living room. Polyvore is geared more for people who want to play paper dolls in a sense (you'll see what I mean if you check it out) you can also use it for your home. The greatest thing is the ability to go out and "clip" pictures from your favorite stores websites and add them into Polyvore. It's quick and simple and oh so fun!

Well, now that I have kept you busy finding new ways to enjoy blogging, I will leave you with a few fall photos...

 

 

Our dog is a model. Sometimes we wish Bella could have puppies, but we took care of that problem a long while ago. See, we thought ahead and knew that one day we would wish she could have puppies and then when she had 11 puppies we knew we would not be able to get rid of any of them. We would then become 101 Dachshunds. Oh, a career with Disney? Maybe we shouldn't have taken away her ability to have puppies...then again I still have the option of becoming Tinkerbell so maybe I will pursue that dream instead.

Have a great Monday!