Better Bloggers

Posted on May 12th, 2015

I’ve been trying this whole blogging thing for about a month now, and it has been a fun space to share ideas and just do my own thing.  As much as I try to develop original content and have my own voice, there are undeniably other women whose internet personas have shaped my ideas about what blogging can be like.  Naturally, I have to give credit where credit is due.

The College Prepster was the first blog I really read with any regularity.  I like that her content mixes some of the “pretty things I like to look at” with thoughtful writing, and that she isn’t afraid to reveal vulnerabilities from time to time.

Mackenzie Horan is similarly wonderful.  I’m loving following along with her transition to Texas living!  Given her impeccable taste, I can’t wait to see how her house develops.  I have a big soft spot for female entrepreneurs that I don’t even know, so Mackenzie’s story developing her online boutique resonates with me, as well.

When I need to have One Fine Day, Ashley’s blog is a go-to.  Her eye for color is amazing!  She puts together epic collages with her favorite art of the moment, or just general sunny items she’s covering.  She’s not officially a mommy blog, but her son Max is adorable, so I love that he’s become a regular in the cast of characters, too.  What I love about Ashley’s writing is I feel like I know her, even though I don’t, and not in a weird way.  She’s open and honest without being forced.  Her life in rural Texas is not filled with brunches and shopping and nights on the town with fancy friends, yet I can’t wait to follow along with her adventures.

Camp Patton is my newest adoption, by which I mean I have only been reading it religiously every single day for a year.  Grace Patton is a Mommy Blogger in every sense of the word– she writes about the adorable antics of her children, highlights products and services someone caring for a family might find useful, and occasionally shares fabulous Mommy-style outfits.  She currently has 4 children (ages 1, 2, 3, and 4) with beautiful names, and is expecting her fifth next month– I anxiously await the baby name announcement.  She is an absolute riot and I routinely laugh out loud while reading her posts.  Particularly the Bash Chats and Julia Styles series– those kids are outrageous.  Like Ashley, I genuinely want to keep up with Grace’s life even though a) I don’t know her and b) it’s not anything particularly out of the ordinary– she just does an amazing job chronicling it.

I also want to give a shout out to Lauren and Shelby.  No, we have never met, but I consider them both friends (and Shelby is a great pen pal!), and watching them grow their blogs has given me the courage to make the leap, too.

So that about sums it up– these are the kinds of influences going into A Cultured Pearl.  There are other blogs I peruse occasionally, but these are my staples. You’ve probably noticed I’m not one to pose around and have my photo taken in cute outfits, but please note that it’s merely because I think you have plenty of other sources of inspiration for these kinds of photos, and also because I pretty much only wear sundresses and cardigans or jeans and sweaters, and what’s fun about that? Hopefully I’ll improve with this endeavor, but I can only hope to be half as skilled as these ladies!