Hey everybody. There's something I've been meaning to ask you -- because, well, I sort of feel like we're friends at this point.
So, umm, here goes: Why so quiet? I know from my super-sneaky site counters that a couple thousand of you stop by most days. And yet ... you're surprisingly silent. (To my regular commenters -- and you know who you are, all five of you: Thank you!)
But the rest of you, what's up? Why are you giving me the silent treatment? It can get a bit lonely here behind the keyboard, and I long to hear you talking. What am I doing wrong? Am I not leaving enough room for you all to chime in, or am I somehow giving the impression that I don't want or need you to? What can I do to encourage more give-and-take?
Let me know and I promise to do better. In the meantime, feel free to jump in and join a debate on the merits of "disposable decor" or how bad Design Star blew this season. Confide your deepest, darkest feelings about Gwyneth Paltrow or Juno. Weigh in with advice for a fellow reader with a design dilemma. Start a conversation. Ask a question. Share a tip. Vent. Give me an earful about something that's bugging you. Or, you know, just say hi.
I'm listening.
64 comments:
I view your blog through a reader, and that makes me lazy. You are doing nothing wrong! Truly, you are one of my first clicks of the day.
I love this blog. I live in the Bay Area so the links to local stores are very useful. I don't know how I found it, but I check it daily. Keep up the good work.
I found found you through the design*sponge post about your daughter's room a while ago and I was delighted to discover that you live in Oakland. And I'm guessing somewhere near me since the bay view that you posted is rather similar to the one at the end of my street. I'm a book editor that secretly wishes she worked on fun design books instead of business books. I attempt to satiate myself with daily visits to the dominomag blogs, design*sponge, and more ways to waste time. I don't think you're doing anything wrong either.
hi! i'm a lurker so i don't usually post comments but i thought i'd chime in with everyone else and say keep up the good work. i live in sf and your blog has inspired me to shop locally. so thanks!
my favorite entries are the ones that feature local shops, art exhibits (have you seen chihuly @ deyoung?), and events like the renegade craft fair. so i guess i'm asking you to go out more? tough task, i know.
anyway, thanks again for the awesome blog!
Oh, SGM, you and your blog so totally rock. I would hate you if I didn't love you so much.
Thanks Heather!
msmaris: I live in Redwood Heights -- do you know the area? And tell me about it. I wrote and edited articles on diaper rash and breastfeeding for ten years before I got out. I'm doing this as much for my own sanity as anything else.
Live in Florida. Absolutely love your blog. Third place I go everyday after I check out the state of the world thru Drudge and CNN. Always great info and cool links. Makes the day a little bit easier to face. So, thank you. We're out here. Just taking your greatness for granted. And for that, I apologize! But please keep it up.
Hi kogepan!
I'd love to do more local stuff. Sometimes I worry that I do too much of it, since so many readers -- like 85% -- hail from all over the U.S. and even the world. And sometimes I leave the SF stuff to Apartment Therapy and/or sfgirlbybay, since that's pretty much their territory. So it's a fine balancing act between throwing up some local love and not boring readers who are elsewhere.
But I can always be counted on to spread the news about aart and design happenings and great shops on this side of the Bay, and will write more about Bay Area stuff in general if you all want to read it. Let me know.
as said by SGM; i also view your blog, along with others, through googlereader. this also makes me lazy. it means i must open the blog, then the comment page, then comment.....yep im still in those lazy teenage years-that just extends my laziness(and well comes as a useful and convenient excuse!! lol)
i really enjoy reading your blog...andto be honest when you have a really long post, i dont read it there and then-ill leave it a few days when i have time and look back. i will try and break my habit..and spread some love!!! hahaha
ooh, i tell you what is fun though; post a poll. choose a random topic and let your readers go nuts!! even the lazy ones will join in :)
have a great day, and keep up the amazingly fascinating work!!
tegan
Leah,
You are great; i read you regularly, as you know---guess I just don't think to comment; we should really catch up some time and have coffee.
warmth and support; your posts are great, your humor is appreciated :)
jana
Tegan, I totally will! First up: Donuts -- yes or no?
;-)
Jana, howdy! I'm commuting into the City for work these days, but just as soon as I get my life back, there's a venti latte and a park bench with my name all over it ...
Leah
Hey i live in England and i also LOVE your blog, it's one of my daily faves and you are totally right i should comment more!! Also think your blog title is fab :)
As with the others, I get the post in reader form and then have to click click click to be able to comment. I read every post and apologize for not commenting. We are out here and thank you for not being as lazy as us.
MB
I also read your blog through a reader and more of a lurker anyway. But I DO love your site. Some of your house voyeur posts have been incredibly inspiring in dealing with my small space. I find myself going back to your post on Tracey Falk's apartment all the time for ideas.
I'm also lazy because I read through Google Reader. Your blog is fun. I got into it when you posted about your daughter's awesome attic room. Spectacular, I want it!
And...I loved Juno. Rock on.
Awww... I try to comment when I can, but often I read through Google Reader on my blackberry, which doesn't really encourage click-throughs.
But you are my design muse! Love what you post...
Your blog is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. I don't know a whole lot about design, but I enjoy colors and being daring with my space, and your blog inspires me to play with things and pay attention to things. I check your blog every morning.
I live in Raleigh, NC in a cute little ranch style home. My husband and I have a design dilemma related to a steeply sloped living room and bedroom ceiling. Perhaps I'll be one of the blessed ones who gets pics posted for you and your readers to help us out? *big cheesy grin*
Keep doing what you're doing!
Ditto on the RSS feed laziness! Love the blog - you are doing great! I notice the same sort of thing on my blog as well - the same handful of commenters that don't match the number of hits I get each day. :)
Sorry, I've been lurking more than commenting lately.
I truly adore this blog; I find you are the first design blog I visit every day. Your Etsy finds and your eBay finds keep me going-- I have something to look forward to with my morning coffee (or evening ice cream). I also like that you post on weekends sometimes. I will try my darnedest to show you the love from now on when I am wasting time (your site's name really does suit my state of mind!). I apologize for being so quiet until now; I am a classic lurker, don't really think what I have to say can improve on your brilliance. Keep up the amazing, fresh ideas and writing. You really ROCK!
LOVE your blog (daily read), and i've found so many great links via your site...plus you featured my home! here's an informative, serious blog: fanaticcook.blogspot.com and i always head to dr.davis' link from there...great info on cardiac disease.
i just found your blog recently and love it--especially the ebay finds. i don't comment because i usually read it through bloglines and i tend to be more of a lurker, anyway. i'll try to comment more often, though. just know that the blog is great!
I'm another lazy Google Reader lurker! Your eBay finds keep me clicking over, but in all honesty I just don't have much to say. Sorry! My fault, not yours.
Sorry :o) I read your blog in a reader as well, and since it's so polished and professional, I guess I just figured I didn't have much to contribute! I have a HORRIBLE eye for decorating- most everything I do, my husband un-does after work and rearranges to make it look 10 times better. So I love looking at your pictures and your rooms and thinking about what we could make work in our house on a very limited (read: about $20) budget. Mostly we just rearrange what we already have, and pull together "new" collections, etc.
I'm just lazy and don't comment on anything. :) I check your blog everyday except for the weekends and then Monday morning I immediately check it. I also look more at the pictures you put up then read. It's a rare case I read your blog more just look at the awesome pictures you find!!
i am not usually the type to comment blogs, mostly because i don't read the comments so i kind of forget they're there! but it's good to know that bloggers actually would like to hear feedback from their readers.
i love your posts, they give me good material for internet breaks at work. i especially love your etsy finds and comments on portland cause i live there!
keep up the great work!
Leah, you are so awesome. Because of you, my new house is adorable and I am broke! LOVE the etsy finds you post, I have found so many unique and fun items for my home and for gifts. You're the best!
like your blog but posts have been way too girly and frou frou lately...also with all the design blogs things get redundant...i think you were on to something when you featured photos of the house in sf you bough furniture from...it is more interesting when design features focus on real people not just what magazines think are the latest trend....
Leah, I also really enjoy your blog, I just wish I had more to say! I read it for the House Voyeur and House in Progress sections and for your ideas on renos and redecorating on a budget. By the way I am in Canada but I don't mind reading about the local stuff. Thanks!
I like the stuff on Portland, especially the stuff on McMenamins, since I work for them. The next time you visit (or move here?) I will set you up with some tours. But please, never, ever mention Paltrow again. Blech.
Here's a question -- we are going to rip out our carpets and install wood floors. On a budget. Would you go with bamboo? Ours is a 1500-ft 1987 contemporary with a kitchen/living area great room.
i never post anywhere, i just like to look!
I have never even thought of posting feedback before you asked! I read your blog everyday, it's one of my very favorite reads! I even get a bit sad on days when there is no new content.. . i will be a better commenter from now on.
Hey There! I love your blog and check in at least a couple of times a week. As a new blogger myself, I should know how nice it is for folks to comment now and then. Shame on me for not telling you I love reading your thoughts! I'm in the Boston area and wish I had a you equivalent here to give me all the inside scoop on fun stores. I did just renovate my house and completely plan on sending you the before and afters...as soon as I get organized enough to get them together!
I learned of your blog from a friend while we were having lunch. She said I would love it and I do. You are something eles and I would like to link you from my blog.
Here's the deal. I can't for the life of me leave comments on blogspot because I can't figure it out so I have to leave anonymous.
http://ladybugcircus.typepad.com
Hi Leah,
I'm tired of the MCM madness and general bitchiness at AT and sometimes get tired of Decorno's snarkiness (I like Jennifer Anniston) so I'm blog shopping right now. I've only been checking out your blog this week but I do like it and think it will become a regular stop.
Cynthia
I live in Berkeley and you are my go to girl for East Bay art/design events and shops. I love that you don't try to cover SF as well because, IMO Oakland is a whole different vibe.
Like someone said above - your posts seem to cover everything and don't seem to need any comment from me. I think of this as a place to get information, not necessarily a place for conversation.
still here, just working a lot. also unreliable wifi in the studio
keep up the nice blog!!
Hi Leah:
Just one of your many lurkers here, who happens to be a fellow Oakland resident and design aficionado. I was just wondering today exactly how I stumbled across your site, probably a link from one of your freelance articles.
Anyhow, some info about myself: I live in the Oakland Hills, but will be moving soon due to the impending Le Divorce. While that part sucks, I look forward to decorating my new place with some of the fab design inspirations from your site.
Keep up the great work!
hi! personally, I don't comment unless I have something to say or ask besides "thats really cool"
anyyyway, because I'm in a mood for it I thought I would comment about the Juno post. Thats all well and fine to not like a movie, but some of the reason you, and others gave weren't very good. I agree it did try to hard in a lot of ways, mainly Juno's dialouge. But to say "teenagers don't talk that way" is way to much of a generalization, especially if you yourself aren't a teenager any more because each generation is different from the previous one and has a different world and culture to deal with.
and some say it glorifies teen pregnancy but it really doesn't it's just not a "scared straight" kinda movie, juno complains about being pregnant, and the whole bit with mark? just because you can laugh during the movie doesn't mean its all fluff.
Just my opinion, I just liked the movie.
I also like your blog, all your ebay posts are inspiring me to actually learn how to use ebay, theres so much on that site!
I'm new to looking at your blog, but this one seems like fun, and it's being added to my favorites. I'll troll your archives and make introductions soon!
jbhat
you know what? rarely comment on blogs because usually someone else has already said it better than i could. but i love your blog and really enjoyed your post on old photos. i came across someone's old photo album in an antiques shop in VA recently and it made me sad. to think that someone's precious memories (each picture was labeled) were discarded by later generations (i'm assuming). glad to know there are people out there that give them a home.
Leah,
I'll bet I am at least 6 of your hits a day. You are my little rest bit at the office and once in a blue moon when I get 5 minutes on-line at home.
You've a fun light aesthetic that puts me a ease. And, honestly you must be a workaholic or insomniac. I don't know how you manage to post from the west coast and I'm seeing it at 7:45 AM at my desk. Plus your links ROCK.
Don't stop, certainly don't self doubt and thanks for kicking me and your other loyals in the butt for not telling you that we appreciate you and/or telling you when you're off base once in awhile.
Happy hunting!
You know i love you! I am just lazy!
I love your blog as well. Most of the posts are short, design inspiration & ideas so they don't seem to spark a lot of comments. Rest easy though, they DO spark our imaginations.
I started reading awhile back and especially love some of the more personal posts. (ie your daughter's attic room tour that everyone has mentioned.) Thanks much for a great daily read.
Glad you asked.
You've made a couple of (slightly bitter) references to bloggers who are "lazy" for posting "Yes or No?" polls that rack up dozens and dozens of comments. Here's the problem: So what if they're "lazy"?
You can sweat out a six-hour research project on Milo Baughman and still bore the tears out of your readers. Meanwhile, someone posting a three-word post about bacon brings in over 70 comments. What accounts for the difference? It's like being at a great party: you can't explain how it comes together, or what made the chemistry so good. And you can't guarantee it with "hard work." It's in good part due to the host being generous, and funny, and open, and and up for anything, and on top of that, being warm and appreciative.
I just like the eye-candy.
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for taking the time to click through and comment. I love knowing a little more about all of you, and love hearing from each and every one of you.
I'll take everything you've said -- including the constructive criticism -- into account, and keep doing my best to entertain and inform.
Keep it comin', folks. And please always feel free to pop in here and say what's on your mind. Even if, as one of you said, it's to tell me that I'm off track.
Thanks!
Leah
I am comment number 47! 47! If I ever got 47 comments I don't know what I would do!
This summer has been....odd. I haven't kept up with my blogging or blog reading as well as I used to. That condition seems to be going around lately! LOL
God bless!
love your site - have found so much through your blog, particularly Etsy (as a whole, as well as various vendors). i enjoy my daily (sometimes thrice-daily) visit and even missed it (in a non-creepy way) while you had your vacation.
thanks so much. i should totally thank my favourite bloggers more often - now i know!
I live in Buenos Aires, and i read your blog in Google reader. usually early in the morning, while mi brain hasn´t really woke up yeat. impossible for me to coment in foreing language before cofee.
but i love your blog and inspired me ever since the first post i read.
i´m a fan!
I love your blog; read it EVERY DAY; feel bereft when you don't have new posts; it's one of my favorites. I just don't leave comments much. By the way, I live in New York City. So you have readers all over.
Okay, I'll admit I've been lurking for a wee while. I love the blog, love hearing about Oakland but most of all I love your sense of humour. Keep up the good work.
Oh I feel so exposed! I've been a longtime lurker and never left a comment. I promise to start. Love your blog! :)
I read via netvibes, so I don't really see comments and think about commenting.
I'm another lazybones that uses a reader. I love your posts and read every day. In fact, I learned about Bloglines from you!
Keep up the good work!
Kat
lurk. lurk. lurk. but i'm new. so am i excused? love your blog. am obsessed with etsy. and i heart juno. but i respectfully respect differences of opinions (most of the time). :)
I read you through Bloglines and have never commented because I am very lazy with the "give" part of the give and take relationship between blogger and reader. I'm usually flipping through lots of sites in quick succession with a newborn in my lap, which doesn't led itself to commenting. The only time I really comment is when someone asks for advice and I feel like I have something valuable to say. Or if there's a contest, but I am sheepish admitting that. I think your site is wonderful, I love it, and I always leave feeling happy and like my visit was worthwhile and I'm sure hundreds of other lurkers feel the same way :)
Hi Leah, I feel I need to jump in here and say hello. I love this blog too and read it basically every day. I actually get palpably sad when I see your "over and out" posts on Fridays! I've posted comments a couple of times, which is saying something, because I've actually never commented on any other blog. Maybe I don't comment more here because I relish my role as reader--I get to be a passive consumer of the beautiful things you curate for us every day, and that's part of the fun.
Awww ... thank you, Dylan!
I'm a little verklempt.
;-)
Leah
what a coincidence you bought my picture that happens to have exactly same resolution 1100x546px weighting 98 kb as compressed jpg as I posted on my blog!!!!!! Wow!
the post can be found here
alrighty, since I apparently haven't made myself clear... Do you mind removing my image, about which you'd never contacted me asking permission to use it for free?
I would really appreciate it!
VikaValter
www.vikavalter.com
Sarcasm doesn't come over very well through the internet. To make yourself seem like a professional, it would been simple enough to ask to take it off in the first place.
But as a photographer, you should know to protect your photos, you are lucky she credited it to you, who knows how many people are taking your photos at such a large resolution and not even crediting them.
Also, post a disclaimer on your blog, it sucks but you really have to do this if you don't want people using your photos. (I'm not trying to be mean, but just protect your work.)
Vika, your photo has been removed.
Sorry to have offended you.
Leah
I'm a newcomer to your blog and I really enjoy it. Since I am stuck in NE-- and without a car to even get out of town to boot--I enjoy reading about what you've been up to and what is happening in Oakland, CA. I guess it's the only way I can do any 'sightseeing'. I'm art-starved--not much of that around here. (Although it is very calm around here.) Thanks again, I promise I'll check back often.
Hi!
Ok, I must admit, I'm a silent viewer, maybe because I felt you didn't have time to read our comments. BUT, you should know that this site is where I go to when I find no one beside me.. it gives me a very content feeling, satisfaction, and leaves in me alot of admiration of your work.
Recently, I started redecorating my bedroom - slowly and still - so I get ALOT of great tips from you, plus I enjoy everything posted here. I wish there is something I can not go -WAW- about.
Well done Leah!
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