haphazarblog

A few of my favorite things: blogs and blogging platforms

Posted on the February 26th, 2010 under love& life by Sue

I’ve been blogging since I was a teenager. Just to clarify though, I haven’t been blogging non-stop since I was a teenager. Rather, it’s been more of a on and off type thing. But in any case, I’ve been blogging for…a while. What I like about blogging is the ability to keep in touch with people I know and meet new ones. I enjoy reading blogs, though strangely I’m not big on personal blogs and only really keep up with a handful. The blogs I tend to enjoy seem to be more of the activist, news, or book review variety. I guess it’s weird that someone who doesn’t read many personal blogs keeps one herself.

Over my years of blogging, I’ve tried lots of different blogging platforms, from Livejournal to WordPress to Movable Type and beyond. At the end of the day, I think my absolute favorite blogging platform is a self-hosted WordPress blog (the kind you download from wordpress.org rather than the kind you get via wordpress.com). What I like about WordPress is the amount of control I have with it: there are tons of themes to choose from (or you can design your own if you’re so inclined) along with an overhwleming number of plugins to choose from; you can make your blog look and do whatever you want it to. I’m one of those (possibly weird) people who’s really picky about how the archives look and I really like that I can make my archives look the way I want them to. WordPress to me is clean and easy to use.

For a while I used Livejournal and only really stayed because I know some people on Livejournal. But you know what? Aside from the people, I didn’t really like Livejournal. I didn’t like the archiving options (you can tag entries but you can’t put them in categories? Boo), I didn’t have control over how my blog looked, felt, or behaved. Similarly, I know people who swear by blogger/bloggspot. It seems they feel blogger is easier to use, which I really don’t understand (WordPress is easy to use!). I think blogger is like a cheap imitation of myspace.

Yes, it costs money to register and host this blog, but we’re not talking a lot of money. The amount of flexibility I have makes it worth it to me.

The only absolutely free blogging platform I enjoy is tumblr. Tumblr has it’s share of flaws: I’m not keen on their archiving options, nor do they have a built in comment system (if you want comments, you have to install something like disqus). I probably wouldn’t want to use it as my main blog. But there’s just something about it I enjoy: it’s very lightweight and I like using it as a lifestream type thing. I like using mine to post finds from other parts of the internet, post updates from some of my other online activities, etc. I enjoy collecting quotes and posting them there.

So anyway, that’s what I have to say for now.

• 28 April 2010 -- So, um, hi
• 3 February 2010 -- A few of my favorite things: Dark Candles

A few of my favorite things: Dark Candles

Posted on the February 3rd, 2010 under love& life by Sue

Let’s talk about things I love. The list of things I love includes candles, but sadly I’m not allowed to burn them in my current living situation. Thus, I’ve been scouring the web for alternatives. Enter Dark Candles. I’ve bought their candles in the past, enjoyed them, and thought I’d try out their warmer, simmering oils, and wax melts. I received my order maybe a week and a half ago (?) and I’ve been in love since I opened the box. I’ve tried warmers made by other companies that were of poor quality and fell apart quite easily. The warmer I bought from Dark Candles was not only cheaper, but more attractive in my opinion and appears to be of a better quality. So far, I’ve only tried one of the simmering oil I bought and it’s amazing. The scent is amazing and has lasted me much longer than I expected it would (thus, haven’t needed to change). I’m sure the other simmering oils and wax melts are just as amazing. I placed another order with them that arrived at my doorstep today and am looking forward to trying it out.

What I love about this place is that the products are made by hand. This means that your order is made just for you and you can dictate your own fragrance and color combination if you so choose. I think the fragrances are incredibly unique and haven’t been able to find anything comparable anywhere else. Everything I’ve tried has smelled amazing and has been of wonderful quality.

Another thing to keep in mind: you receive a Shadow Card for every $10 you spend with them. Once you collect 10 Shadow Cards, you receive a gift certificate for $10. Way to reward your frequent customers!

Please note: I am not receiving any compensation for posting this. I simply love these products and wanted to share.

• 26 February 2010 -- A few of my favorite things: blogs and blogging platforms