sunday social: back to basics

How did you come up with your blog name?

The original name of this blog, like the URL, was Not Just Brides, because I was a bridesmaid when I started this thing and wanted to feature ideas that just about everyone involved with planning a wedding could appreciate.  As I was planning our wedding, I changed the title to Spin Through the Stars because I was pretty sure our wedding song would be "You & Me" by Dave Matthews Band and that's my favorite phrase from the song.

Thanks, Wayback Machine!

Turns out Mr. Q was feeling angry/bitter toward Dave Matthews as we got closer to our wedding date (his uncle works for Dave and couldn't get the day off to attend) and we used "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne instead (Dave is now back in our good graces).  Post-wedding, I decided that I needed a title that would encompass newlywed life and whatever else comes along.  Hopefully Beyond the Aisle is the last name change I'll have to make for this little piece of the Internet, and I'd like to have my own domain name someday.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

My high school Diaryland page... sometimes I read it and laugh because I was a very witty teenager, sometimes I read it and cry because my self-esteem was so low.

I've been keeping some form of online journal since high school and it comes much more naturally to me now than keeping a paper diary does.  I like feedback, and it's nice to be able to share ideas and opinions in an environment that seems a bit less judgmental than the "real world."

In college, I moved on to Livejournal, which is probably the only thing I had in common with Mark Zuckerberg.

What is one thing you have discovered because of blogging and now cant live without?

Photo from my wedding venue, the Vinton War Memorial

Um, maybe milk glass?  My mom always had a bunch of milk glass vases in the china hutch when I was a kid, but I never thought of them as anything special until I started reading wedding blogs. While I was planning my wedding, I became a milk glass hoarder with help from my mom, Mr. Q's mom, and Goodwill.  Milk glass patterns became one of the main design themes of our vintage-inspired wedding and even my cake was inspired by milk glass!  After the wedding, I couldn't turn off my vintage junkie ways.  I still feel compelled to stop whenever I'm close to one of the local Goodwill stores, and I always browse the "home goods" section for milk glass pieces even though I really don't need any more!  I like to include my favorite pieces in vignettes in our living room and kitchen - they make me happy whenever I look at them.

Facebook or Twitter? and why?

Facebook!  I am a verbose person who requires more than 120 characters to share my sarcastic thoughts with my friends and family members.  Facebook lets me be a much bigger creeper than Twitter does - go ahead, ask me what any of my high school classmates are up to these days! 

If one celeb read your blog who would you want it to be?

In my dream world, Beyonce loves my blog so much she tells Jay-Z about it, then hires me as her personal assistant and ghostwriter... (photo via Straight from the A)

Though Beyoncé is the first one who comes to mind, because Beyoncé, let me think a little deeper about which celebrity would enjoy a blog featuring links to cute things on the Internet, fashion ideas based on bright colors, wedding/party inspiration and holiday crafts... I'm gonna go with Zooey Deschanel.  Or Ellen.  Or Anna Kendrick.

Hey Zooey, my blog looks pretty good in mobile form.  (photo via Digitaltrends)

What is something you want people to know about your blog?

I want you to know that my big goal right now is to become less of a content curator and more of a content producer.  In other words, less me sharing other people's work and more of my own work.