There is a limit

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."
~Albert Einstein

There is a limit in Blogger to the amount of blogs they will let you follow. How do I know?

I just recently reached it.





{Image taken by Eva the Weaver found via Flickr taken for her ongoing numbers project - all of her collections are amazing, I might add!}

  300 Yes. That is right. I follow more than 300 blogs.

I love to follow blogs. They are like having penpals from across the globe. They are also like crack to me. Reading about what makes someone tick, seeing their best recipes, reveling in the successes and failures that make up all parents' lives, finding new artists to follow, and beads to buy. I have found stunning photography, great business tips, cool design and heartwrenching poetry from the blogs I follow. I don't stick to one genre. I like to have a good variety. I love you bead-freaks to pieces but I do need to look at other things sometimes.

And I love to rabbit hole.

So if you have a blog roll of your favorites and I have visited you more than once or twice, chances are that I have followed intriguing names from your blog roll just to see where I would end up. Usually, I can't even remember how I got to a blog. And that is pure magic to me.

Before I even put fingers-to-keyboard for my first post back in 2008 I developed a habit of visiting and leaving a comment on one new blog a day. And from those blog adventures I would scroll through their list to see who they were reading and find a blog title that intrigued me and would hop over there. I would keep doing that until some blog struck me as so pretty-smart-funny-deep-touching and then leave my mark. I became followers of many. Some just for a time, some still.

They make it so easy to click that little 'follow' link to add a blog to your list, but they make it danged hard to remove them. Why is that?

I recently spent the the better part of two hours removing blogs from my list. Ones that I no longer read, or ones that haven't posted in a very long time. I had to. I found a new blog crush that I just must have in my list.

So I thought that I would leave you with a list of some of my never miss blogs (please note, that this is in no way a complete list, but just ones that are off the beaten blog path that you might want to check out, too). Maybe you will rabbit hole from these blogs to find new ones that you can't live without and join me in my quest to fill my blog roll back up to 300.

;-)

Pretty
A Fanciful Twist - when I first started out, I bought an issue of Artful Blogging (which I highly recommend). On one of the first pages I discovered Vanessa Valencia. I got hooked. Her artwork, her dogs, her fanciful life with Mister Lovee in the desert.. I swear she really does live with fairies!

Art Bead Scene - I can recall a time when I thought it extravagant to get a bead that cost $2.00. Now I no long see that an art bead is too expensive nor outside my grasp. I relish the community that this forum provides and I cannot get enough. I am now a contributing editor (although strangely silent this past month - that is due to my overload, not theirs) and I couldn't be more happy to be a part of such a vibrant group of contributing artists and art bead enthusiasts.

Color Collective - I love that there is just a picture and a palette. Someday when I resurrect the Challenge of Color blog hop, this might figure into it!

Kab's Creative Concepts - Kerry writes a blog about her life and art and family and even random thoughts and I cannot get enough. Her pictures are amazing, her beads are to die for, and I love it when she shows her new studio, especially whilst twirling in a big girl tutu.

Yellowtrace - I am very much into finding new art blogs and this is the one that started all the fuss over 300. I love the collections found here and they are a rabbit holers dream.

Smart
Blacksburg Belle - chock full of business tips for creative entrepreneurs, this is a must read blog!

BrandiGirl Blog - I honestly couldn't decide where to put Miss Brandi's blog. She is funny and her blog is so pretty, but ultimately I realized that I have learned so very much from soaking up her presence, and she is now offering her services as a consultant for you! I have benefited from some one-to-one time with her and I would highly recommend it!

Crafting an MBA - These girls are all so smart and accomplished. There is so much to learn on this site. I find the articles are thought-provoking too, so I like to comment here.

Margot Potter - I have a hard time classifying Miss Potter. She makes pretty things. She is blisteringly funny. She gets me to think of things in new ways. But ultimately, this is one smart cookie. I appreciate that she is so giving of herself and her knowledge and that she has worked to very hard to earn every stripe.

Marketing Creativity - This is a new-to-me blog but one that is filled to the brim with delightful information. Great interviews with craftspeople, and intriguing ideas. A winning combo.

Funny
Faces in Places - My kids and I are addicted to finding faces in the inanimate objects around us. This blog has some great ones.

Laundry Hurts My Feelings - Laugh out loud funny, that is what Miss Joann is! She has a way with words and a length that rivals my own. Everything is fair game, from the latest horrific attempt at George Clooney acting to potential drug smuggling terrorists in Mexico to watching her beautiful daughters growing up. Oh, and don't forget about her *mild* obsession with all things Bono. She is taking a bit of a break right now to write her first book (write like the wind, Joann!) but go back and read through her past posts. Snortingly funny.

The Cerebral Dilettante - Kiersten gets high marks in my book for being smart AND funny. And for making absolutely, knock-me-off-my-chair gorgeous jewelry that I will one day own for myself.

The Blog O' Cheese - What could be funnier than a first grade teacher writing about his exploits and concocting a world of inspired lunacy? CheeseBoy's blog is one of those laugh-out-loud funny places to visit. From the Christmas concert of rapping first graders to dressing up as Barney to order Chinese take-out to a regular list of his Facebook statuses, he makes me want to have one of whatever he is having.

Deep
Hint - There is something so piercing about everything that Beth Hemilla writes. She explores the meanings behind things, and always gets me thinking in ways that I never considered before. She also makes some of the finest silver charms I have ever had the privilege to work with, and she has become a treasured friend.

Luann Udell - I love it when someone makes me think. Luann is that sort of writer. The kind where I want to shout out, "Amen, sistah!" to everything she writes. Her articles are the ones that I find myself forwarding the links to most often. She is the sort or writer I wish that I could be.

mairedodd - she proves that you don't need to be wordy (like me) to get your point across. Plus there is some damn fine jewelry with a soul being created by this woman. And I am proud to call her my friend.

Positively Present - I like this blog so much. I can always count on the words inspiring me to be a better version of myself. I like that she distills things to manageable steps. And I love her "words to live by" segment with lyrics and quotes.

Touching
Ivy League Insecurities - Miss Aidan writes about a privileged but flawed life as a life and mommy in New York. While we come from vastly different worlds, she is someone who thinks deeply and I have enjoyed her insights. She is also a great writer and I am reading her first book, Life After Yes, now.

Three Beautiful Things - Can you distill your life each day down to noticing just three beautiful things? Clare in the UK can, and has sparked an international following of people doing the same. There is poetry in her well chosen words, and her posts were the inspiration behind my "30 Words" posts.

Do you have some blogs that you just can't miss reading? (Of course you do!)
Since I made room in my blog roll for some new blogs to love, do dish on your favorites (with links, of course!)!

Enjoy the day!