Mikey D

I've been meaning to do this for awhile, but I really need to talk about Grace's blog, Money Smart Fashion.

Grace first started a blog a few years ago to keep in touch with friends and to write about random life events, but it has evolved into so much more. She's focused her blog on her primary interest in life, money and fashion (yeah not me). As a chronic shopper and spender it's been tough for her through the years to find the balance between having great style and keeping that great style within budget. Her blog is an open "diary" for her spending and ideas for creating fashions that don't break the bank (I've also noticed it serves as a never-ending wish list of dream outfits, accessories, and shoes). She posts not only her thoughts, but the outfits that she creates. Many of her posts are her in the outfits that she wears to work and out and about (I'd like to say I'm a proud contributor to her efforts, as I am usually her cameraman of choice).

Last year she had her site remodeled into something quite snazzy, and it currently has 83 followers (through Blogger and Bloglovin'). And she's gaining steam. She's an "Alpha Shopper" for Lucky Magazine, and sometimes gets random free things sent to her in the mail (soaps, bras, etc.), and not to mention free publicity for her blog on the website. She's been featured in Glamour Magazine's very popular "Slaves to Fashion" online blog. She's also been recognized by numerous fashion blogs, like "Runway Daily" and "Beauty and the Budget". Lucky...Glamour...these are very high-profile places! Right now she even has a giveaway contest going on for an online shopping store! They picked her blog to do a giveaway of a $60 gift certificate...very neat.

But I think the coolest will be in August when Grace will be in the September issue of "Lucky" magazine. It's one thing to be featured on a website, but another to go to your local grocery store, pick up a magazine, and see yourself. That's just crazy to me. I can't wait. And millions of people will see her...in print! Too cool.

In Grace's own words, her blog has become like a second job to her. She spends a lot of her free time creating and developing future posts, but her efforts really seem to be paying off. I'm very curious to see where this blog will take her, because in just a short while she's done so much. It's just great to see her pursue something she's so passionate about, despite the grind of full time job and night classes.

Money Smart Fashion...become a follower; support Grace.

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Randoms:

~So Columbia, where I live, came in at #2 on Money Magazine's annual "Best Places to Live List". This really surprised me, and I'm really curious how you guys view the place when you come down for the weekend. Perhaps I'm just bitter at my recent $800 annual Columbia Association fee (completely separate from HOA fees, mind you), but I don't view Columbia as a top-50, let alone #2, place to live. As Grace always points out, it looks like Columbia was built exactly like the architectural model probably looked. Every tree seems too perfectly placed, and it just seems...fake. I don't know, you guys can provide an outsider view.

~I survived the earthquake that happened today! A 3.6! That was a first. It happened right around 5 in the morning, as I was getting ready to hop in the shower. When everything first began to shake, I thought it was just a plane flying too low overhead (we have planes flying into BWI go over us all the time), but the shaking continued. Then I thought that there was something wrong with our heater, and that it was shaking violently making the house shake (I know, random). So I ran downstairs and by the time I got to the basement the shaking had stopped. I definitely became confused, but since I was still half-asleep I went back to my original thought that a plane was just flying too low. I checked the news later that morning and there was no mention of an earthquake. But later at work, yep, turned out to be a quake.

Grace ended up sleeping through the whole thing, which tells you a lot about what kind of sleeper she is. But if I were going to describe the feeling, I'd say it was like someone was shaking you to wake you up, something very soft, with only low vibrations. It wasn't anything scary, but it was loud, which I guess explains why I thought our furnace was going to explode. Interesting to say the least.

~Mikey D