my blog-mances

This week, Literally Inspired is asking bloggers to share our "blog romances."  I spend a lot of time reading blogs and consider it one of my major forms of recreation, particularly as a quick break from grading my students' work, so I couldn't choose just one...

- My biggest blog crush is probably Bleubird Vintage.  I love getting to peek into the life of Miss James and her family.  She and her mister, Aubrey, had the most dreamy, looks-like-a-movie wedding, and their home is filled with so many quirky little touches that make me smile.  My favorite posts are always the ones in her "A Picture an Hour" series.

- A Beautiful Mess Blog has a similar vibe to Bleubird Vintage - very midwestern 1970's flair, and I find it kind of strange that I am drawn to these blogs because that is not the style at work here in The Country Townhouse at all... we are very shabby chic earthtone cottage around here.  Maybe I love them because they are so very different so it's a way to vicariously embrace bright, eclectic style? Elsie and the other ladies who work on this blog post the most adorable craft and art journal projects like the Floral Boots DIY and Geometric Photo Art.  And I want to make DIY Coffee Syrup now.

- My husband and I are both pretty much in love with The Pioneer Woman and I'm sure many of y'all are, too.  I followed Ree's blog for a while before she got her Food Network show (not to sound like an "I liked it before it was popular" hipster, but I did), and love her voice as a writer in addition to her yummy dishes and stories of life on a working ranch.  My favorite P-Dub recipe so far is Beef with Snow Peas, and the Mister got really brave and made her delicious Prime Rib.  My favorite everyday life post from Ree is the photo story His Little Muffuletta... makes me grin every time!  I would for reals truck it on out to Virginia Beach to attend her book signing, but like most other fun things soon to happen in Virginia, it falls on the same weekend as the Virginia State Reading Association conference, which I would not miss, good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

- My favorite home decor blog is Centsational Girl.  You cannot go wrong with the tagline "Fabulous for less."  I feel like at least half of the things I add to Pinterest come from Kate's blog.  My favorite posts are her $25 Writers' Desk and Design Trends of 2011.

- I've also got a blog crush on Dear Lillie.  Jennifer lives in Virginia and has an awesome eye for vintage-inspired home decor and fashion that is gracious, girly and, bear with me on this adjective, poetic.  She's got two beautiful girls, Lillie and Lola, who appear in a lot of her gorgeous photos.  She's a Jane Austen fan, too, so that kind of seals the deal for me.  I love her monthly printables and they almost always add up in our little distressed frame on the counter.  My favorite posts include her summer Dining Room Tour, the Breakfast at Tiffany's birthday party she threw for her sister, and her Spring Wreath with the cute little nest.  Also, this Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake is delicious.

- I recently discovered Haley's blog, Tiny Twig and love, love, love her No Brainer Wardrobe series.  I've been applying these tips to my own closet and have one nice little basket packet and ready to go to Goodwill and a nice little stack of scraps for my sewing box.

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend so far - tell me about your fun plans in the comments!  So far we've watched Lethal Weapon 3 (which I would argue is one of the great love stories of our time) and some UVa basketball, so I feel that getting off the couch should be in my near future.