Ok, here I go.

I'm blogging. And feel a little weird about it. Why? Well, first, because I subscribe to a lot - at least I think it's a lot - of blogs. My google reader has about 50 subscriptions right now and I'm always adding. But I only add the ones that are really cool - the ones that have funny things to say or interesting tidbits to throw out in to the internet universe or links that you would never have found on your own but absolutely love finding. So I feel a little intimidated to live up to the strict standard I put on other blogs I read. I hope I don't suck.

It's kind of like yelling into an empty auditorium or shouting "HELLO!" across a desolate canyon. I know no one is listening, but it still feels awkward to make my voice that loud when I'm all by myself.

Ok whatever. I have been meaning for months to start a blog. I wanted to call it "Dear Carly" for my dear friend (Carly) that gets daily emails from me with cute/cool/funny/random links or stories I find or think of throughout the day. She's always been supportive of my future blog dreams, so I told her I would write it just for her. But the URL was taken. So "Bits and Pieces" it is...sorry, Carl. I have all these ideas, right? And I always say "I should blog about that." So here I am, putting my money where my mouth is and doing it. I always thought my blog should have a certain theme. You know, like the New Dress a Day blog where she turns an ugly $1 goodwill outfit into a hipster ensemble every day, or like Copy Cat Chic where she tells you where to find really good knockoffs of expensive furniture, or even House of Turquoise,which is literally just pretty pictures of beautiful interiors that somehow incorporate the color turquoise. See? Simple ideas, one theme per blog, you know what you're there for. And maybe one day I will turn my focus to one thing but for now I have a lot to say. I have a lot of ideas. And if I don't start channeling all the energy in my head in to something creative and fun, I just might explode. I'm an artist, I graduated college with a BFA in Studio Art, but it's been a while since I've felt inspired to create. And while I'm still not inspired at the moment to create "art", I am inspired to record this time in my life. I just moved in with my best friend WHO JUST SO HAPPENS to be my boyfriend too! And so now we have this house and it's great - it's a big ol house and I am in super nesting mode, trying to make a lovely home for us and my dog - excuse me, our dog, Frank - and I have to do it on the cheap. We are, afterall, only twenty-five years old and haven't had the time, money, or taste (him, not me on that one) to collect a house full of nice things. So I'm making it work! And I intend to post about it.

I also like to cook. I like to cook mostly healthy, good for you, eat-your-veggies type recipes. I was once very overweight. Well, when I say "once" I really mean all my life until the age of twenty two when I got control of it and changed the way I live. But I like to make treats too, I'm not a robot diet machine. I love making cupcakes because each one gets to be a tiny designed piece of delicious food and who doesn't love that?

I like pretty things. I like to photograph pretty things, I like to look at other people's photographs of pretty things. I like discovering unique products (hello? how cool is this? or this?) and telling everyone I know about them.

I also like pictures of cute animals that make my face squish up and some indistinguishable noise come out of my mouth. Like this:

See? It got you too, didn't it?

So anyways - I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like blogging about anything and everything without being judged for not being a good blogger. So I'mma just do my thang.