I have only been thinking about it for more than 4 years, but I have finally gotten around to getting an updated blog template! I had the same design for more than 14 years which is a long time! And whilst I loved it for a long time, it has become a bit tired and I have lost some of the background images. It was past time for a change. My husband even gave me a blog makeover as a gift a few years ago, but I have only just gotten around to it!
Thanks to Serena at PrettyWildDesigns, I now have a blog design which feels very clean and contemporary, a custom made header and some new custom made buttons for Weekend Cooking and Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
One of the things I love in particular about this design is the dynamic header. The line of pictures above will change with every post, so one of the things that I will need to contemplate is the first picture in each post. I also love that the blog title now represents the fact that I predominantly blog about both books and baking! I think I will add in another category for travel...maybe.
You will notice that instead of a graphic you can now see my face, looking my very best. This photo was taken at the dinner we had on our wedding night. Just the two of us, in a romantic location on the lagoon in Vanuatu, eating our wedding dinner!
There are some links and things that I need to add in, and I need to figure out the images as they are all very large in the posts, especially in posts where I have multiple images
There are going to be some formatting issues in old posts, so I may go back and fix some of the more recent ones, but I won't be going back the more than 18 years to the beginning of my blog.
I do still need to decide what to do from a social media perspective. I have my blog Facebook page where I always post, but I need to get better at posting on my Instagram account, but then I wonder if I should have a separate IG account..
.webp)
In other news, Emma at Words and Peace has announced that she is again hosting Paris in July this year! This is one of my favourite blog events each year. I already have a couple of posts written and several ideas! Even yesterday we spent the day in a country city and have two potential posts from just that one day.
I am sharing this post with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz.
I didn't recognize you at first. :) But I like it. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThe thought of trying to change up my blog terrifies me. All that time, and what if it doesn't wind up working out. I doubt I'll be changing mine no matter how outdated it gets.
I did have the same design for 13 years so I have had plenty of time to think about it Mark!
DeleteI agree with Mark -- you are brave to change your blog format so completely. I assume it's still in the debugging stage, as it looks good on my desktop computer, but has a serious problem on my iPad. where I could not see all of the text column. Good luck with the new format!
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks for the feedback. I have been playing with the column widths but if I change them it breaks other things. Will try to contact the blog designer
DeleteI clicked on your linka nd wasn't sure I was in the right pplace. But it has been awhile. Looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's great to see you Tina!
DeleteYay for a blog update! It looks great!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty happy with it!
DeleteLove the new blog design!!
ReplyDeleteThanks JoAnn!
DeleteOh my! Your blog looks fantastic. I especially like the real photo of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about Paris in July coming soon!
I just need to figure out how to get my old avatar changed. I have had it for years so maybe it was time for the real me. It's not like I never put photos of myself up on here anyway!
DeleteLove the new look Marg - very fresh and modern.
ReplyDeleteAnd love seeing you too :-)
It does look fresh doesn't it Brona!
DeleteNew layout looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am pretty happy with it!
DeleteWOW!!!!! The new blog looks GREAT!!!! I love it!!! Totally my colors. And what a GREAT picture of you! Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis will be my first year participating in Emma's Paris in July and I may need to participate in your Historical Fiction challenge because I see I have a nice little stack of them that are never going to get read any other way!!!!
I look forward to seeing your contribution for Paris in July! And you are more than welcome to join us for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge!
DeleteI love the new look! But on my WIndows (14in laptop) it goes from one edge of my creen to the other and I can't read the first letter of every line. Hope that helps with debugging.
ReplyDeleteI have reached out to the designer to see what I can do about that
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