What I’ll Be Reading

So excited – I was able to order a few books today with some gift cards, and I can’t wait for them to come!

Zero Waste Home – Oh, this will be a fun one! I’ve been following Bea Johnson’s blog, and I love the photos of her home. It is spotless. And very white. I don’t think I’d actually like to live in it, but I find it very inspiring.

She takes the idea of controlling clutter to a whole new level – just don’t get clutter in the first place. She doesn’t have to spend much time purging, because they don’t own a lot of stuff to begin with, and they stop the clutter from ever entering their home. She says it frees up a lot of time and money, which I totally believe.

Food Photography for Bloggers – I feel the silliest about this one, but Ben says he won’t tease me too much for ordering it! I’m not a food blogger, obviously, but for some reason, I just love taking pictures of food. I think food is colorful and beautiful, and I’ve always loved arranging it in artistic ways, so photographing it joins all my loves together.

The photos I’ve seen online from this book are unbelievable, so I’m extremely curious to get it and spend more time looking and learning.

Kisses From Katie – If you haven’t heard of this story, you should most definitely watch this video about Katie Davis. SO inspiring, I’m actually nervous to read the book. I’m not sure I’m ready to be as convicted and changed as what I’m expecting to be. You may suddenly read that we’ve sold our house and are starting an orphanage in Africa, or something!

What are you reading this summer?

Favorite New Blogs

This post is part of a series called “35 Days of Favorites”, in honor of my 35th birthday. You can read more about the details here…

I’ve shared about my love of blogs in the past, and you can check out my previous list of favorites here.

But I’m always coming across new ones, and try to be choosy about what I spend my time reading, while still doing some exploring for new favorites.

I used to read blogs using Google Reader, but as of July, that isn’t an option anymore, so I’ve switched over to Feedly. I’m not completely used to it yet, but lots of people say it’s much better than Google Reader, so we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, there are a few blogs that have stuck with me for good over this past year. If you’re in need of some new reading material, check them out! I love them all:

1) Zero Waste Home – By far my favorite!! I’ve gone back and read every post. I’m buying her book. I would never be able to live like this, but I think it’s totally inspiring, and I want to take steps to move more in this direction.

2) Assortment – On Living Less – This family of five moved into a 665 square foot cabin. It’s gorgeous. I love her photos, and imagining what our life would look like if we got rid of everything except the essentials. Again, probably not going to end up living to this extreme, but it’s extremely inspiring while spring cleaning!!

3) What Katie Ate – I have yet to actually make any of these recipes, but they sound and look amazing, and I LOVE her photography. This is what I wish my photography looked like. Beautiful.

4) Lia Griffith – Handcraft Your Life – Another beautiful blog. So many pretty, pretty ideas. Her decorating skills are amazing. I would live in her house.

Any other awesome blogs out there that you’d recommend?