A Little Revamp

Thank you all for your sweet response to yesterday's post. I think I definitely just needed a little break from all of the craziness, so I spent the day allowing me to treat myself here and there. Cupcakes for breakfast? Sure. A latte in the afternoon? Why not. Needless to say I'm feeling much better today.

I've been reading a lot of design blogs lately, and after reading this awesome post from Allyssa I decided it was finally time to take the plunge and do a little revamping of my "about" page. My original one was thrown up kind of haphazardly more than a year ago. So I figured why not go ahead and update it?  Here's the whole shebang...

Emily: The Girl Behind the Blog

Welcome! I'm Emily, the girl behind the Blue Dog Belle blog. I am originally from Georgia where I lived the first 21 years of my life. A few months before I graduated from college, I picked up everything and moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue my dream of working in politics. 

I love all things girly and have a strange obsession with the color gray. Like any southern girl I love a good monogram and drinks in mason jars. I am a beauty junkie with a weakness for all things makeup, and I'm a huge college football fan. Throw in an infatuation with glitter and you have me in a nutshell. Want more? Quirks. Goals. Friends. Confessions. History of me. 

Washington, D.C. : The Setting

After nearly four years living in Washington, D.C. the city has really become my home. DC has a unique culture unlike any other city in the world. This is truly the epicenter for all things political, but with a diverse and youthful citizenry the life of a local is never too serious or boring. Want a little taste of what it's like to gallivant around DC? Try this. this. this. this. or this.   

Blue Dog Belle: The Name

Many a-political types aren't tuned in to the various coalitions within political parties, and that's okay. But to understand a little more about me, you need to understand what a Blue Dog is.  According to their website...

"The Blue Dog Coalition was created in 1995 to represent the commonsense middle of the Democratic Party. Blue Dogs advocate for mainstream American values, a commitment to fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense. 

The name “Blue Dog” originates from the long-time tradition of referring to a strong Democratic Party supporter as being a “Yellow Dog Democrat,” who would, “vote for a yellow dog if it was listed on the ballot as a Democrat.” Leading up to the 1994 election the founding members of the Blue Dogs felt that they had been “choked blue” by the extremes of both political parties." 

So essentially a "Blue Dog" is a moderate Democrat. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal is what I like to think. The Belle portion comes from my desire to be a southern belle. Really I just wanted a name that would represent multiple aspects of my personality. You guys know this, but I'm a political junkie with an addiction to glitter and sparkles. For more on the meaning behind the blog read my post: here.

New Orleans: The Future

As I posted here I will be picking up my life again to move to New Orleans, Louisiana to pursue my dream of going to law school. I'm both terrified and excited about this new adventure, saying goodbye to DC is much harder than I expected. Stick along for the ride though, and I'm sure we'll have tons of adventures in cajun country together. Read about my first adventure here.


And I'm back! So what do y'all think? too long? Are you annoyed by the round pictures? I hope you love it just as much as I do! Now I'm inspired to make even more changes! What should I tackle next???

Happy Birthday Blue Dog Belle

Well one year ago today I wrote my very first post here. A year later I can't believe how much this blog and my life has changed. I have so many new friends and friendships that I'm sure will last for years to come. I'm actually kind of "in" to fashion now... not something I would have said a year ago. The blog has forced me to focus on what I want in my life, what I don't. It's kept me accountable, and pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Some days I still don't really know why all of you lovelies stop by here and read my opinions on the random happenings in my life, but you keep coming back. For that, I am forever grateful. I'm sure those of you that blog can share in my sentiments.

And seriously, what better day to have a Blogiversary than on my favorite day of the week! Friday's Fancies!

T shirt / DKNYC / TOMS / Kate Spade bag / Metal jewelry

Did you see my post yesterday? I shared some of my feelings about the big google announcement. Needless to say I'm going to make the transition to bloglovin, so don't  forget to add me!

And if you're new to BL, like me, check this post out from Whitney on how and why to change your comment form!

I'm heading out tonight with #DCCallie and many of my favorites to celebrate the Blue Dog Belle's big day! Thanks again to everyone who has come by, left a comment or followed me over the last year, it means so much to me!

A new phase

So I updated my blog during lunch today after I found out about the death of google reader. Well, I have more to say. I'm beyond frustrated with the amount of time and effort I've put into growing this here blog all to have it essentially go by the way side (though the friends I've made here will have made it 100% worth it).

I went and read the official google reader blog post about it, and the reasoning just seems ridiculous. They are cancelling the service to to waning interest. I'm sure that just about any other company would be thrilled to have the user-ship that reader does. It seems absolutely absurd to throw that to the wayside, not to mention anger so many "influential" people. 

As someone who has had an on and off love affair with the blog world for years, I loved google reader/blogger for keeping me linked with old friends. Now it seems that link will be disappearing. All of this change is forcing me to strongly consider moving to a self hosted page. I don't want to deal with google or these antics any more.

So yes Google, I'm "sad to see reader go", but I've learned my lesson. I want to own my blog, and my readership.

I will personally transfer my feeds to both bloglovin and feedly. I'm still new to both, but bloglovin seems to be better for blogs, feedly for news and magazines. While I'm frustrated that I will now have to rely on two platforms to handle what reader did, I'm happy to support two companies that appreciate their users and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. In the meantime lets make some new blog lovin friends! Link up below and post the code on your page.

Color Crush: Greyed Jade

First of all... notice anything different around here? 

I finally have a real blog! OMG I know. So exciting. Kate has been putting up with me for the last, four months or so to put this together, and I'm absolutely thrilled with out it looks. She calmed all of my craziness and created something so much more than I ever could have thought of. Thank you so much Kate, and to any of you out there, I can't recommend her services enough. We may still be under construction today- but bare with us!  

So we all know I've been obsessed with Emerald lately (as evidenced here, here, here, here oh and here). Well I was browsing pinterest this weekend and decided there's another color I might be loving a little bit more. I know. Shocking. It's no lie I love the color grey (very strange I know), but this Greyed Jade color is absolutely gorgeous and so glamorous. 

I couldn't help but imediately start shopping to add some pieces to my wardrobe. While I still haven't found anything that I can't live without, I have found a few things that I love...

shawl collar cardigan / coat / straight leg pants / heels / leather handbag / metallic bag / necklace / scarf 

I mean, that kate spade bag? I may have to add it to my collection. LOVE it.

Anyways, hope you ladies have a wonderful weekend. I plan on catching up on some MUCH needed sleep. Yay. So excited.