Life is too short to have an ugly blog.

Guess what, everybody. Revelations are falling out of the sky and into my brain!

After three years of blogging, I have come to the sensible conclusion that I cannot design a blog to save my life.

This is no small matter.  If I'm going to be looking at my blog every day, I want something attractive to to look at.  Blogs may be more than skin-deep, but I'm a pro-skin kinda gal.  And, I like my surfaces shiny and pretty.

So!  I am stating two things here, in a very public way, so as to increase accountability.  Or something.  Is this how AA works?   If so, let's pretend you are a "Sponsor."  And I am the "Addict."  Addicted to blog laziness, only putting in the least amount of effort required to grow and sustain a readership.  I hope you're ready for the responsibility, Sponsors.

Here are my two promises to you:

1. I will freaking make over this blog.  It shocks me sometimes that anyone reads Austin Eavesdropper.  I know that sounds irritatingly like false modesty, but what I mean is, I know how many great blogs are out there.  Blogs that are fun to read, as well as gaze upon.

It's also dawned on me that perhaps this blog isn't as functional as it could be.  I never approached Austin Eavesdropper with a master plan, but maybe I should have.  The way it started was, I was sitting on the couch about three years ago, and said: "Looks like I've seen this Seinfeld rerun. Guess I'll make a blog." And then it appeared.

I had no idea what this blog would be "about," but then Austin revealed herself to be the glittering muse that she is, and soon I had a blog "theme." Since then I've mustered up the motivation to create little categories -- please refer to the mustaches on the right side of your screen -- but again, these are only halfway helpful, I think.  There are blogs I adore, like A Beautiful Mess and SF Girl By Bay, who have more extensive, easily navigable categories.  Austin Eavesdropper could (AND SHALL) benefit from their model.

2. This blogger needs a new camera.  Obviously.  I still love my baby Canon PowerShot, a wedding gift Ross and I received three years ago.  But if I'm going to devote this time in my life to documenting Austin, and my experience in this very special city, it's only appropriate to upgrade my tools.  When I look back, I want the soft gauze of this chapter to be created by nostalgia, not by pixelation.

Here is the camera I've got my eye on.  If you have a better suggestion by all means tell me.  (As long as it wouldn't require more photography knowledge than your average 3rd grader or for me to donate my existing limbs to science.)

In the meantime.  I've created a "vision board," so to speak, of images that I want to shape my blog's new design.  (Why do I always lapse into The Secret-like speech whenever I make goals?)  Here they are.

Images courtesy Design Crisis (run by two Austin ladies).  I love these muted colors, with the weird, almost collage-like compositions.

Left to my own devices, this might be how I would decorate a house. Because my husband is not gay, this probably won't come to pass.

I have looooooved Miranda July for a long time.  Ever since Me and You and Everyone We Know came out, and I realized she was part visual artist, part filmmaker, part sage. 

If I ever gain either A) influence or B) a genie, the first thing I do will be to invite Miranda July to my home, where we'll write on things and basically be awesome together.  In the meantime, she'll have to settle for my vision board.

I hope the subtlety hasn't been lost on you here; I really like birds.

What's with the recent fascination I've taken to birds?  I have one tattooed on my neck.  They've perched themselves on this blog's very header.  I have them all around my house in the form of wall decals and artwork.  I'm not sure where it's all come from, but one thing I do know: Birds will be a part of my new-and-improved blog.  They don't even have a choice!

(Thanks to Gennine's Art Blog for the images).

So there you have it.  Those are my creative goals for the next few months.  As the post title says, life is too short to have an ugly blog!  So ugly mine shall be no longer.  Or at least, not much longer.

what creative projects are you tackling right now?