Meet my friends

I bet you're looking at those editing skillz thinking. Baller. I bet you're also thinking "I think the same thing about blogs!!" Yeah right. embarrassingly enough, those are the things that run through my mind on a daily basis....So todays post is all about...you guessed it BLOGS! Actually that is bliggity blog blog bloggin to you. And on to real words....

Hi Friends! I want you to meet my friends, well my virtual friends! They say that you should surround yourself with people who are better, smarter, wiser, funnier, more experienced, more professional, more stylish, more compassionate, etc than you are. Well I try to do that in real life and in my blogging life. So, I want to introduce you to some of my favorite bloggers and maybe you will make some new friends or learn some new things from them.

First off, I just happen to have some really fantastic real life friends who happen to write fantastic blogs! Somehow I don't get enough of them in person and will read all of their posts like a creepy stalker lady. :)

Let me first introduce to you my personal style expert, Jamie of Southern Simplicity. I have the privilege of having her in my small group but I am super excited for her wedding this summer so we can become married friends too! She seriously is so fashionable and I love reading her tips, she makes me way more hip. She also writes about Jesus and wedding planning. So go check out how cute she is and let her inspire you!

Meet my friend Stephanie of The AntiSocialite, we have been friends seriously since before I can remember. (Good luck at picking us out of this picture. Were both on that green slide with one person in between us. Yep, that's me with bright red hair. Baller. Be glad I couldn't find an even older picture. Those were dangerous...)

She is hilarious, insightful, witty and honest. She is a counselor, so we have lots in common and I love hearing her insight into psychological issues and she writes about being body positive. This is something our world definitely needs more of: intelligent, self-confident and encouraging women like her!

Alex of Alexandria Photography is possibly my most favorite person I've ever meet.

Its like we're the same person. If I didn't have her in grad school I don't know that I would have survived and now she is one of my best friends, the person I can tell RIDICULOUS things to and she is always on board, she's a great listener and will sit and watch Friends with me for days at a time. Her photography is beautiful and affordable, so if you are in the Hotlanta area you should definitely check her out!

This is my friend Elizabeth.

We met years ago working camp together, she was my only friend who was Ok sitting on a bench reading with me instead of shopping. Nerd alert (no shame). She is witty and her Friday Five always entertain me and by entertain I mean make me laugh, cry and go awwwww uncontrollably in my office at work while my coworkers think I'm crazy.

Get out your bibs, I mean napkins. because Darcy of Beauty and The Feast will make you drool. Darcy is my friend who forces me to broaden my food horizons. She is quirky, an excellent cook and is always experimenting with new recipes. Go cook something with her!

I shed a little tear as I write this one, my sweet friend Lauren has just moved to Costa Rica for a year to teach math at a trilingual school. So not only is she learning spanish but Mandarin too! Follow her adventures and see her gorgeous pictures and stories as she adjust to a new life, new culture, new language and new job! MISS YOU FRIEND!

I'm sure there are more, but these are my few favorites of my real life friends. Now, check out some of the people who I can only stalk virtually on a daily basis:

Random Musings:

Roo of Nice Girl Notes is so funny I can't handle it. Her illustrations and jokes crack me up.

Paul of All Groan Up is very insightful for those 20 somethings that are struggling to find their place in the world. Dear Paul, stop hacking my brain and posting it for the world to see, also I want my intellectual property back. JK bro, JK.

Emily of JDC Design is seriously my super hero, life goal, role model. She is a fantastic mommy, brilliant designer and loves Jesus a ton. I cant wait to read her posts. She's super generous, so check out her printables and tutorials!

Auntin Kleon, the author of newspaper Blackouts and Steal Like an Artist. His book seriously rocked my creative world and his blog is such a great extension of that knowledge and creative encouragement he has. Making newspaper blackouts is one of my favorite things thanks to him!

Crafty Blogs:

I don't think I could link to Elise of Enjoy it one more time without her being weirded out. Seriously I just want you to read her blog, everyday. I wait in anticipation for her posts. She cute, crafty and sentimental. My 3 favs.

Same goes for A Beautiful Mess, these sister are just too cute. The thrift, they create, they encourage. Good thing they are accomplishing my life goals.

Remember when I met my blogging heroes?! Is there anyone out there who hasn't heard of Young House Love? If you havent you must be living under a rock, seriously they have exploded! Go get your DIY on!

Here is the second portion of my blog-hero meeting night, Katie Bower, new mommy, DIYer, truthful, inappropriate, hilarious and adorable.

The Style Files is my daily source of beauty and inspiration. They post pictures of different types of home and decor from around the world. Beauty in your inbox daily.

Biz/blogging advice:

April from Blacksburg Belle is a great teacher. She has great, simple and actionable blog/biz advice and she is currently doing a 365 of blogging project and has been posting tons of tutorials and vegan/gluten-free recipes that are FABULOUS!

Pyschotactics is super funny and witty and has great business and marketing advice.

Marie Forleo is someone you would peg as one of those super succesful, super attractive, super confident women that make the rest of us hide in our corner. But! She is such a great business coach and will make anyone feel empowered, she uses her talents for good not evil.

This is a very short list of my absolute favorite (almost) everyday reads. My google reader constantly has 200 unread articles in it because I follow a ton of blogs. But these are my favorites and I wanted to share! What are your favorite blogs? Please share in the comments because I am always looking for new blogs to follow!