Have you realized how many blogs there are out there? Just take a swing through Pinterest and Blogher (a great source) and you will totally be inundated with blog after blog. And if we are being honest, not all are created equal– but that’s a totally subjective call on your part. We’re not judging as we’ve been known to put out a few stinkers, too.
Very few people would ever call either of us “followers” in any sense of the word– except when it comes to social media.Today, we wanted to celebrate and share with y’all the whos and the whys of not only our favorite blogs but our who we follow on social media as well.
My newest social media obsession is Instagram. I am just over Facebook. I totally and 100% acknowledge that Facebook is the single most influential social media outlet but, I’m over it. I still cruise through there and I try to wish everybody Happy Birthday but, my days of trolling Facebook are over. Fi-nee-toe!
I love Instagram because it is pretty much just pictures and cute hashtags. There’s not a tremendous amount of extra crap. So, let’s get down to who I get a kick out of following on Instagram. 
The first two accounts I followed outside of people I actually know, were @GoPro and @JonBoyTattoo. Back in the summer, I was kinda thinking I needed a GoPro- I mean, they are pretty cool and you can take them just about anywhere. So, I started following the official account on Insta. Go Pro users submit their photos and short videos and the official account picks their favorite to post daily or maybe twice daily. In the 8 or 9 months that I have followed GoPro, they have never failed to post truly spectacular photos. Jon Boy, a NYC tattoo artist, also posts spectacular photos of this artwork done on people’s skin.
No, I do not have any tattoos nor do I have any real plans to get one. But, this tattoo artist is on fleek. His style of just simple lines to create some of the most amazing tattoos I’ve ever seen- like how does he do that with an ink gun?!
And then there are a couple children clothing companies I follow. I only follow a couple because they tend to clog my feed with all the photos of children’s clothes and since most of the clothes are for little girls, that gets old. But, the two that I particular love are @Smockingbird_Clothing and @SouthernTots. Now, I know 
boutique clothing for children is not for everybody and particularly not for every little boy. However, it is for Baby Bub! I wore boutique clothing as a child and so, I just feel like Baby Bub should too. He is so cute when he wears his little outfits. No, I don’t let him wear them to play in the mud- but, to school yes and for special occassions, yes. I want him to look like a little boy, not a little man- and the boutique clothing helps me get him there. He has his whole life to look like a man. I want him to look like my baby for as long as possible!
Next on my list of Insta accounts that I follow are what I call ‘just for a laugh’ accounts. They post funny or clever memes or photos usually with some other particularly clever hashtags. These three are @fuckjerry, @betches, and @brosbeingbasic. Bros being basic is basically a mockery of the photos that women take and post on Instagram and then attach about 50 million absolutely hilarious hashtags. All three accounts are just mindless entertainment usually good for a chuckle.
And then there are 4 blogs that I love. I also follow them on Instagram and Feedly (my blog reading platform). The one that inspired me to call Leigh and say, ‘Let’s start a blog’ is Young House Love. I found it when I was breast feeding and just fell in love with it. It is a Wife-Husband team showcasing their design and DIY prowess. I loved their writing, I loved their projects, I loved watching their family grow. They are a great example of blogging gone big. As such, they kind of fell victim to having too much on their plate to do their blog justice so they suspended writing blog posts to focus on other projects in their life. What remains is an amazing archive of their posts. Totally worth checking out.
The second blog that I want to talk about is I Love You More Than Carrots. This mother of 3 boys under 5 keeps it real. Her blog posts are written in a manner that you feel like your BFF is talking to you about life over a glass of wine. Her boys are the cutest little biscuits you have ever seen! She is girly and she’s not. She’s healthy but she loves food. She’s insightful and funny. She likes adult beverages and the beach. I mean, we must have been friends in another lifetime.
Third on my list of blogs that I read is Bower Power. This too is a mom of three boys under 5 that show cases her and her husband’s design and DIY prowess. You think I have a theme here. I like mom blogs but, I don’t like mom blogs that only talk about being a mom. Being a mom is a big part of my life, but it’s not the only thing I got going on and therefore I like mom bloggers who do not solely focus on being a mom. This blogger is super cute and bubbly and does projects that are totally my style and totally doable. Win-Win.
And although the Skimm is not a blog, I feel like I have to mention it because- I looooooove it! It is an email that arrives in your inbox every morning before the sun comes up. Here is the premise: they keep up and read all the news so that all you have to do is skim it. It’s awesome. I have never been so up to date on world and domestic news. The skimmers, as they are called, break it down and give it to you in layman’s terms and enough of the back story so the average human understand what is going on in the world. I totally suggest you sign up for this newsletter delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday. 
Like a lot of people, I follow some of the larger entities like Martha Stewart, Entertainment Weekly (both who crank out a lot of great content) on Facebook. It is just an easier reading format. As I’ve mentioned before, I also follow Mental Floss that way. Mental Floss is one of my favorite online publications as it really scratches that “random-facts” itch I have. As far as actual blog blogs that I follow, here are some of my favorite ones that come through my NewsBlur (which is MY newsfeed of choice):
Jezebel.com: I get a lot of my daily news from the feminist arm of the Gawker Media empire. Sometimes the authorial commentary can skew a little outrageous, but, why not?! There is a lot to be outraged about, right now. Although it brands itself as covering, “celebrity, sex, and fashion,” it is much more comprehensive than that. Their political coverage has been pretty spot-on this election season.
Along the same lines, I also follow The Mary Sue, which often has many of the same stories featured on Jezebel, but also has more of a geek-culture cred that I enjoy. Lots of female empowerment going on here, as there should be. And yes, that is Hermoine from the Harry Potter books as one of 12 bad-ass ladies on their masthead.
One of my favorite blogs is Apartment Therapy. It is a design and lifestyle blog which really hits all the bases. You don’t have to live in an apartment for this blog to be applicable. It is full of user-submitted house tours, lifehacks, and design news and inspiration. It is a great resource for making your space into a home.
Have you heard of PostSecret? I’m kind of obsessed. Like watching Hoarders, PostSecret makes me feel better about myself. PostSecret is a site in which anonymous users submit postcards detailing their darkest secrets. The example I’ve chosen is one of the tamer ones, but indicative of the style. To me, it is intriguing and it has become quite the movement. The curator now tours giving talks about the power of secrets and the freedom you get when you release them- even anonymously.
A Turk’s Delights is a food blog dedicated to the opulent and delicious wonders coming out of my friend Mary’s kitchen. Hailing originally from Augusta, GA, Mary’s uses her Turkish background to color her plates with a delicious mixture of down-home and international flavors. On her site, you’ll find a glorious culmination of her studies, interests, and travels in recipe form. Plus, some of the most drool-worthy food pics on the internet right now.
Consistent readers of the blog will know that I am a sewer, lover of thrift stores, and avid proponent of re-using things. Refashionista combines all of these things. The authoress scours her local thrift stores to find clothing pieces with the potential to be DIY-transformed from junk to fashion. The transformations are inspired, though she has a figure that I suspect anything would look cute on.
On to Instagram and Twitter! Other than my brilliant friends and some celebrities of interest, here are a few entities that I follow:
Although it follows in the paw prints of LOLcats and Doge memes, I am a particular fan of Twitter user @ProBirdRights and their account birdsrightsactivist. I guess I’m just a fan of anthropomorphizing animals. What can I say?
Much like PostSecret, I enjoy following Bye Felipe on Instagram as it makes me feel better about my own life. Bye Felipe is a user-submitted account of how ridiculous and hostile people can be when they are rejected or ignored. Especially after they send women pictures of their penis. It is both sad and infuriating, but oddly empowering.
Another of my Instagram faves is @miniature_xfiles_office. A fellow fan, who I met in line with my friend Julie when we attended a David Duchovney book reading, @miniature_xfiles_office painstakingly recreates scenes from the office of The X-Files in miniature. I give the example (at left) to show scale. Her recreations are brilliant. A must for fans of miniatures AND The X-Files.
What blogs do you read on the reg? Who do you follow on social media? We are always open for a good blogger or funny/clever account. Let us know your faves in the comments below!
