You made it!! All the way, dear Reader, to the fourth of this Rebranding My Blog series – and this is the best post of all (well, the second best – introducing the new look was the best, and if you haven’t read those posts – STOP and go back to Part 1, then Part 2 and Part 3). Today I share with you all my most favorite bloggers who inspire me every day with their content, their photos, their style, their advice, their blogs, their writing and their photography. I aspire to be like all of these ladies in one way or another – and at the very least, I just like looking at them! They are beautiful and stylish – who wouldn’t want to visit their websites every day just to get a little glimpse into their lives, am I right?! But in all seriousness, to reach the level of success they have reached, one has to work SO hard. I respect each of their visions, their dedication and their brands. And maybe one day I’ll make it onto someone else’s blogging role models list myself!
OVERALL – MEMORANDUM, MARY ORTON
This is my favorite blog of all time, ever. And I JUST discovered it three weeks ago. Mary Orton of Memorandum is straight up killing it across all fronts – her photography, her writing, her style, her posting schedule, her partnerships, her new app style app TROVE, her layout and brand, her sense of humor – all of it. Memorandum focuses on a topic that is near and dear to me – appropriate work style and advice for how to wear different looks in different work environments. This is something I too would like to eventually focus on, so I’m glad I found someone to follow who is doing it so well.
STYLE – STYLE PANTRY, FOLAKE HUNTOON
Folake Huntoon of Style Pantry is a goddess. Everything she wears is perfect in every way. I love her. There is really nothing more I could say to do justice to her amazingness so I just won’t try. Instead I will show you tons of pictures of all of her outfits so that you too can swoon over them.
VISUALS – STYLE CHARADE, JENN LAKE & ATLANTIC PACIFIC, BLAIR EADIE
My favorite blogs to go to just for looking at pretty pictures are Style Charade by Jenn Lake and Atlantic Pacific by Blair Eadie. Not a lot of text goes into either of these – it’s all about the outfit, the woman, and the scenery – which I love. Jenn Lake often poses in front of amazing street art found all over Chicago and the other cities she visits. Blair Eadie usually has a more generically urban background with looks that will blow your mind into oblivion. Sometimes I just want to look at pretty things on the internet, and these are the first stops I make.
PHOTOGRAPHY – A SOUTHERN DRAWL, GRACE WAINWRIGHT
My sister first introduced me to A Southern Drawl, and I was blown away by the quality of the photography. In fact, she used to give photography lessons on the blog but she doesn’t do that anymore. Grace’s style isn’t necessarily mine but I love to get ideas from her and more importantly, to see how she’s been captured. The light is always lovely in her photos, as is the editing. She’s based in Kentucky, which I think is neat because a lot of the bigger bloggers are from major US cities like NY or LA, but she certainly stands out as on of the top of the top in my opinion.
WRITING – BE FRASSY, AUDREY LEIGHTON
Audrey Leighton of Be Frassy is a fabulous writer and often speaks from the heart about the things she struggles with in life – like body image issues or the criticism she receives on social media. She’s based in France and Spain but originally from the US. I love her style and her photos, but most importantly her raw honesty and how unapologetically herself she is on her blog. In fact, I have a love-hate relationship with her because sometimes her honesty makes me uncomfortable. But I keep coming back because I like that – like most of us – she struggles each day and – unlike most of us – isn’t afraid to talk about it and go through it openly.
BLOGGING – BLOGGING FOR KEEPS, BLAIR STAKY & JESS KEYS
Blogging for Keeps is a site that was recently launched by two Chicago bloggers I like a lot, Blair Staky (The Fox and She) and Jess Keys (The Golden Girl blog). They provide a lot of FREE blogging advice, which I really appreciate because it perpetuates a community of sharing and lifting each other up across the blogging community. If you are a blogger, you should absolutely jump on the B4K train ASAP to get your free guides to Instagram, MailChimp, WordPress and content management!
And congratulations, you made it all the way to the very end of my full blogging rebrand series! You deserve a stiff drink! And you’ll get just that tomorrow in fact. I’m sharing my recipe for Moscow Mules- the perfect summer to fall transition drink!
What are your favorite blogs? Let me know in the comments below!
