Blog Roll Explained: Why I read who I read.

Let’s be honest: I just started this blog, inspired by the folks that I read regularly, in hopes to become a more legitimate writer. But also, because my not so secret goal is to be HALF as cool as these women who seem to do it all. They’re beautiful, they prepare and eat foods regularly that I could maybe manage to make once a week (max), they have precious pups, and they’re leading lives that I admire.

That being said, I know it’s important not to fall into the Comparison Trap with other bloggers, and know that I’m doing my own thing, loving life, and kicking ass. HOWEVER, I thought it might be nice for others looking for some inspiration or fun reading to know WHY I read the blogs I read, and maybe a little bit more about them than just their name/a link!  Here goes nothing:

• Peanut Butter Fingers – Julie at PBFingers was the first blogger I started to follow regularly. I like that her husband’s name is Ryan (my beau’s name is as well!) but I also like how she manages to balance her life, her exercise, and (one of my very favorite aspects of her blogs) her FAMILY! Unfortunately, I live 300+ miles from most of my family, so I don’t get to see them, but I love to read posts about her family gatherings, and it’s clear that family is MEGA important to her. She’s a lovely woman with a very upbeat tone to her blog, and her dog is pretty much the cutest thing around.  Also, she preps meals not just for herself but for her husband, so I love the guy-friendly recipes.
• Running Off the Reese’s – Cely is the funniest blogger I read. Hands down. The way she writes about exercise is so similar to the way I think about exercise, and I feel like, even though I know her, sometimes I hear an exasperated voice  when she writes about things that frustrate her. Her dogs… also a key part of continued reading.
• Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life – Courtney just seems like the kind of girl everyone would be lucky to have as a friend. The only “cat person” I read (well… unless I’m forgetting someone), she likes Body Pump as much as I do, plays sports in adult rec leagues, and gets overjoyed when she gets an extra donut hole at Dunkin Donuts, proving that we can, in fact, all get along (we being cat and dog people). She can absolutely laugh at herself, which I love to read about, and her salads always look bomb.com.
• girl meets life – Gracie is like what I imagine Gossip Girl would be like if they weren’t all evil backstabbers who sleep with each others boyfriends and plot nefariously. She is so down to earth, yet throws down with the best of them. I also admire her spiritual side that she brings into her posts now and then, and she has these great tasty recipes that she throws on her blog now and then that I just hope I have time to make back when I’m living on my own again.
• Daily Garnish – Recently moved to Seattle, Emily is also totally pregnant! Even though  I don’t plan to be a baby mama any time soon, whenever I am, I hope to be pregnant like Emily’s doing it. Her recipes are always delicious looking, and her photography is breathtaking.
• Carrots n’ Cake – Tina is the blogger that, despite I feel my life is a polar opposite of hers, I instantly feel connected to anything she writes. She’s so talented, and her write-up of the Pug 5k from the perspective of her pup, Murphy, actually had me laugh out loud and share with my beau.
• Bess Be Fit – Bess lives near me! I’ll admit, that was the first draw to her blog. After reading a little more, though, she always posts food that looks real/doable, her fashion sense will NOT QUIT, and her appreciation of pop culture gives me my fix without letting me spend more time on PerezHilton than is wise.
• Food, Fitness, Fashion – Ali is a rockstar. And my favorite thing about her: She’s honest with herself and her readers. When she had a problem not too long ago with her running and finding the joy in it, she told us about it. Another Boston girl, I love her accent, I love that she does crossfit, and I loveeeeeee that she likes beer!  Another woman with great fashion sense, her voice in her writing always makes me smile.
• fANNEtastic food – Anne is a local writer, getting a higher education at my alma-mater. Though I’ve only just recently started reading her blog, she continues to impress me with fantastic and healthy recipes. I’m sure that she’s going to rock at finishing the rest of her program and becoming a Registered Dietician!
• The Fitnessista – Gina is another woman who I recently started reading, she’s a fitness instructor in Vegas! She seems to live all over the place, and she’s also recently pregnant, but has great recipes especially for people who need to cook for veggie eaters and carnivores alike.
• Skinny Runner – Also great to get my occasional dose of pop culture updates, she writes about her life with a sense of humor that I think others take as serious (which can lead to some silly comments after her posts). I like how she doesn’t take HERSELF too seriously, and I like her style.
• Julie goLean – I just started reading Julie’s blog, so I’m still getting the hang of Salad Beasts and drive by shakes, but I’m liking what I read so far.
• Meals and Miles – Meghann is another writer who is super honest with her readers. She straddles the line between writing about her daily life and tackling some hard hitting issues, which makes for very good reading without every feeling like you’re getting too much of either.  She just moved in with her significant other, and I’ve been enjoying all that she writes about that and watching someone else go through the same experience I did last year!  It doesn’t hurt that her pup, Maddie, is easy on the eyes.
• The Sunday Flog – The one blogger I actually know IRL!! Ali writes about her Sunday meals with her family, which always make me a) hungry and b) sad that I don’t live anywhere close to mine. Beautiful pictures, a great baker, and definitely a family girl.

I promise, I didn’t write this post as a brown-nosing tactic! merely a way to get my blog roll across as well as the cliff-notes summary of some of the favorite bloggers I read!

Ok, ok. Lunchtime’s over, back to work, and counting down the minutes until a Wine Tasting tonight at A Southern Season!

EDIT: If I didn’t include you here, it’s not because I’m not reading what you’re writing! These are just the most frequent blogs I read, and the one’s I’ve been reading for the longest! I’m picking up new ones every day!