Andrea Dekker

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The Blogs I’m Reading (2015)

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my favorite blogs

Several years ago, I shared a post about my 11 favorite blogs that I read on a regular basis.

However, that post is now VERY outdated. A handful of those blogs no longer exist anymore and many of them are posting infrequently or have totally changed their topic so I’m not as interested in them anymore.

It’s no big deal, bloggers can do whatever they want — but since I officially started my “summer break” here on the blog and will only be blogging 2 or 3 times a week from now through September, I thought it might be fun to share an updated list of some of my current favorite blogs so you all have a little more reading material this summer 🙂

FYI: No baby yet — I promise you’ll know when he arrives! 

Please note that by no means do I visit all of these blogs every single day. I usually check in once a week or maybe once a month to catch up. I also subscribe to a few via email so I don’t have to check in on the actual blog.

I don’t have any type of blog feed reader because for some reason, I can not get into reading blogs in a feed reader. I’d rather just visit the blog directly, or read it in an email.

In fact, many of the blogs I follow are via Facebook — so I can quickly and easily skim through post titles and only click on ones that sound interesting to me. This seems to save me a lot of time and still allows me to follow several blogs without feeling overwhelmed by all the new content out there each day.

So, for those of you looking for a little extra summer reading material, let me share some of my favorite blogs (and bloggers) with you!

Life Simplifying Blogs:

  • Life Your Way I get content from Mandi’s blog emailed to me once a week and enjoy reading about her family, their life out in the boonies of West Virginia, and her tips to simplify and organize.
  • The Art of Simple I check in to see what Tsh and the gang is doing once a month. Most of her blog doesn’t really apply to me, but she does have some great ideas.
  • Money Saving Mom I don’t read for the deals, just Crystal’s amazing time management, organizing, business advice!
  • Little House Living This is another blog that I only check in on about once a month — but I’m always intrigued by Merissa’s super simple, self-sustaining lifestyle.
  • Clean Mama Becky always has fabulous tips and tricks to clean just about EVERY area of your home and life. Plus, she has lots of DIY recipes for cleaning products.
  • Clover Lane Sarah has 6 busy children, but somehow manages to find time to slow down, simplify, stay organized, and enjoy life with her family. I aspire to be like her “when I grown up”!

Home & Decor Blogs:

  • Liz Marie Blog Although I truly don’t implement any of her ideas right now, I LOVE her style — and she went to my high school so it’s fun to follow along and see what she’s up to.
  • i Heart Organizing OK, I need to be totally honest here… I absolutely LOVE Jen’s blog and all her fun ideas. She is super cute, her home is gorgeous, and she is amazing at what she does. But at the same time, I feel like her ideas are often a little over-the-top for the everyday home. Even still, I check in a couple times a month to ooh and aah over all the fun home projects she’s been up to 🙂

Food Blogs:

  • The Lemon Bowl Liz is a local West Michigan blogger and although we don’t have exactly the same style of cooking, her photos are amazing, and she’s a great writer.
  • Eat 2 Gather Sheila is another local blogger (she only lives a few miles from my house) and her recipes are totally doable for “normal” families!

Family and Kid Blogs:

  • Kid’s Activity Blog they have hundreds of cool ideas for kids! I usually just visit when I’m searching for something specific.
  • GR Kids The “GR” is for Grand Rapids — which is the closet major city to where we live. This blog focuses on all the fun and cool activities for kids in the area so it’s a great resource if/when we’re looking for something to do.
  • Your Kid’s Table I started following this blog when we were having difficulties getting Nora to eat. And although I’m not sure it helped me solve anything, it does have TONS of great tips and ideas for feeding kids healthy, balanced meals.
  • Truth in the Tinsel This is more of a seasonal blog — but I love how Amanda has a knack for helping children understand the Christmas story and other Biblical messages with her creative teachings, ebooks, crafts, etc.
  • Easy to Love but Hard to Raise I think you can probably get the gist of this website’s content just by the title! Although everything certainly is not applicable to me or my family, I have gleaned my fair share of helpful parenting tips and tricks from this blog.

Misc. Blogs:

  • Modern Mrs. Darcy I don’t know how to classify this blog — there’s a little of everything. But I like Anne’s writing style a lot… so I faithfully check in for new content
  • The Small Things Blog Ironically, this blog talks a lot about fashion, make-up, and hair (3 things I don’t have a huge interest in) but I enjoy Kate’s writing style and she also has 2 little tikes, so I can really relate to her life right now.
  • She Just Glows Janie is another mom with 3 very young kiddos and a great writing style that I can totally relate to. I follow her via facebook and check in at least weekly for new content.
  • Finding Joy I love the Dear Mom letters Rachel writes — and hearing more about her family. She has a great writing style and is very relatable.

Of course, there are literally hundreds of blogs that I’ve clicked through to read an article here or there — or maybe I pop in once a year or so. But the list above includes the blogs I read at least once a month or more.

I’m guessing many of you follow a few of these blogs already — but if not, I’d encourage you to click around and check them out.

Also, I’d love to read some of YOUR favorite blogs too — feel free to leave the links in the comment section!

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  2. Bonnie says

    Hi Andrea,

    I thought I would check out the blog Life Your Way when I saw that it was by someone in West Virginia. She actually lives in Winchester, Virginia not in West Virginia. Usually we hear just the opposite about West Virginia; people think that West Virginia is not a state (which boggles my mind). Winchester is not actually in the boonies either. I am glad that people have a misconception about West Virginia because we can then keep this BEAUTIFUL and FRIENDLY place all to ourselves. I do apologize if this came off sounding nasty in any way, I did not mean it that way.

    I really love your blog & read it everyday.

    Reply

  4. Julie says

    Some of my faves:
    The Prudent Homemaker
    Blissful and Domestic
    Gretchen Rubin’s site (I think you are jon Upholder like her- you can tKe a quiz to figure out which of the four Rubin Tendencies you are.) incidentally, i LOVE her new podcast she co-hosts with her sister, called “Happier”
    Design Mom
    Craftiness is not optional
    While She Naps- about sewing, creativity and running a small business
    Stitched in Color- quoting blog, but great writing. Has a sweet 4 month old baby with some difficulties, in addition to two older kids.
    The House that Lars built- my friend runs this design blog- I occasionally check in for inspiration.
    Made by rae- seeing blogger- I think she’s sort of in your neck of the woods?
    Dana made it
    See Kate Sew
    I concur with Modern mrs Darcy- hard to classify but I love it!
    Cute girls hairstyles- YouTube channel, helped this hair dunce learn a few things (for my own hair, and my toddlers’)
    Tilly and the Buttons
    A Fashionable stitch
    Delia creates
    Sew mama sew- for their “Super Online Sewing match” (unofficially modeled on the great british seeing bee). Would love to hear your thoughts if you check any of these blogs out!
    And of course you and money saving mom are awesome 🙂

    Reply

  5. Lynda says

    I sometimes check out the Sweet Tea & Saving Grace blog written by Kirsten. But I have to say, Andrea yours is the only one I read regularly 🙂

    Reply

  7. Liesel says

    I’m sure you know about it, but I love Bloglovin’! It’s so easy to have all the blogs I want to follow in one place, and just scan through my “Feed” and click to read the ones I want, or click “mark as read” to skip over it. That being said…some of my favorite blogs are: Little Green Notebook, The Artful Parent, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, and Heart Cries. I’ll have to check out some of these new to me ideas from your list!

    Reply

  9. Jenni says

    I’ve been neglecting my bloglovin’ blogs for a while now because I, like you, really only subscribe to a few via email and check up on others I like through social media and check ins. But, evidently your blog was in my feed reader and I have been missing out. I love this post. So many new blogs are getting added to my list and several on your list are in my list of favorites too. A favorite blog of mine that I didn’t see on your food blog list is HowSweetsEats.com. Her writing is funny and real and her photos and recipes are amazing.

    Reply

  10. Kristen says

    I like lifeasmom.com which a previous poster recommended, as well as Jessica’s other blog goodcheapeats.com 🙂

    Reply

  11. Sherry says

    Your blog is the only one that I read every morning. I love that I can count on a post appearing at 8:00 am which I then read and then get on with my day. It’s part of my morning routine now.

    The other two that I follow do mostly videos and don’t post everyday but I really enjoy each of them when they do post. They are:

    alejandra.tv
    cleanmyspace.com

    Both have some very informative videos which I keep up to date on through their Facebook pages.

    Enjoy your summer, Andrea and good luck with the new little one!

    Reply

  12. JoDi says

    I read several of the ones on your list, and I would describe them about the same way you did. I’ve been thinking about checking out Modern Mrs. Darcy for a while because I see it referenced on so many other blogs, but I haven’t done it yet!

    I read a few others regularly, but the one I think you’d enjoy is Assortment:
    http://www.assortmentblog.com/

    I think I first checked her site out after seeing her on Art of Simple. I subscribe by email, and she posts every 2 or 3 days which is a nice pace. Her home is beautifully simple, and her posts poetically and artfully convey the joy and beauty of everyday life. I find her site soothing to the soul, a peaceful oasis in an unquiet world.

    Reply

    • Leigh says

      And the Nester. It does not have to be perfect to be beautiful. And she is slow rennoing an old farmhouse too.

      Reply

      • Andrea says

        oh yes, I’ve visited the Nester’s blog a bunch — but I guess it’s been quite a while since I’ve been over there.

        Reply

  15. Debbie says

    I read many of the blogs you posted and really enjoy them all! Some others that I like are:

    -becomingminimalist.com
    -bemorewithless.com
    -thenester.com

    Reply

  16. Kelly says

    I just recently came across Clean Mama and love it. I even ordered her book and am excited to use some of the cleaners.

    Reply

  17. Becky says

    Thank you SO much for including me Andrea! We have a lot of the same favorites and yours is one of mine too! xo, Becky

    Reply

  18. Laura says

    Obviously this one! =) And I read IHeart Organizing too. Others include A Bowl Full of Lemons (though it’s become very quiet over there lately) and Zen Habits (all about minimalism and creating good habits).

    I use the Feedly RSS reader which I really love (in fact, it’s where I read this post). I check in once a week and “hide” all the posts that don’t interest me. Then I read the others when I get a chance. =)

    Reply

  20. Debbie says

    This is cool! Thanks to your info on one of the blogs I was able to remake my morning so I’m able to accomplish more and be on time at work every day now. I’ll check out some of these other blogs for some of the things I have interest in. Have a great summer break and will look forward to your once a month blog. Praying you’ll have the baby soon.

    Reply

  22. Melissa says

    I just love Addicted 2 Decorating. Kristi does DIY projects in real time and has the BEST tutorials. So nice to see how long it actually takes to get something done. Her projects are inspiring too. She does most of them all by herself and is amazing! Check her out!

    Reply

  23. Kelly S says

    Thanks for sharing these! You have given me some good ideas for new blogs to check out. 🙂

    Your blog and Money Saving Mom are the ones I read the most (like you, I “skip the deals”). I also enjoy Art of Simple and Oh Amanda (Truth in the Tinsel’s “all year long” site).

    Some that I enjoy that you didn’t mention are:
    – rageagainsttheminivan.com
    – ashleyannphotography.com
    – jessmclenahan.com
    – themomcreative.com
    – lifeasmom.com

    I subscribe to:
    – annvoskamp.com
    – sallyclarkson.com
    But am sometimes a little overwhelmed by their writing styles so I don’t read them faithfully.

    Also, it’s not a blog, but I have been getting “The Skimm” and I really enjoy it. Have you read that before? It’s news for “Millenials” in a short email newsletter Monday through Friday. I don’t really read/watch the news anymore, so I was feeling really out of the loop, and this helps a lot! I like that it covers major news stories and what’s going on in the world, but not all the weird little tabloid stories or some story of something terrible happening to one individual person somewhere far away… these are the big news stories going on, in a simple to read way. It’s worth a try! 🙂

    Reply

  24. Jennifer says

    Thanks for the great list of blogs Andrea! I’ve taken a quick peek at all of them this morning and already in love with a couple of them! I’m looking forward to searching thru more of them and finding useful tips! I am fairly new to blog reading and following so yours is honestly the only one I truly flow and enjoy so I’m hoping I can add to that list! Thanks!

    Reply

  26. Jen says

    I love Sarah at Clover Lane, too! Just wish she posted more frequently. Unfortunately, if I start reading a blog that doesn’t post pretty regularly, I lose interest fast. That’s why I LOVE yours! 🙂

    I also enjoy http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/. She has a very down-to-earth, practical, no-nonsense style and she takes lovely photos!

    I used to read many of the “big name” bloggers, but most of their blogs have turned into money-making machines, and I enjoy the more personal approach so much more.

    Eagerly awaiting your baby news! 🙂

    Reply

  28. Leanne says

    Favorite Blogs:
    1. Yours 🙂
    2.Money Saving Mom
    3.The Homespun Heart– I’ve been reading her blog for at least 9 years 🙂
    4. Mix and Match Family
    5. Revive our Hearts

    Can’t wait for baby news— I bet your can’t either!!!

    Reply

  29. Megan says

    I love Rachel from Finding Joy as well. Her site is wonderful, she speaks from the heart and is just as sweet in person!

    Reply

  30. The Busy Brunette says

    Andrea, I read so many of those, too, and I love them! There are a few I haven’t heard of, so I’ll definitely be checking them out. Thanks for sharing your list. Your blog is definitely on my “must read” list. I just love it. And I’m so excited to find out when your baby boy arrives! Good luck in the last leg of your journey and an early congrats!
    “The Busy Brunette”
    http://thebusybrunette.blogspot.com

    Reply

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