I Dyed My Hair and No One Noticed, So I'll Be Doggone If No One Notices My New Blog Design!

OK, there's a teeny tiny little white lie in that title; my husband noticed (my hair, immediately, because the "white streaks" were gone. "White streaks" he claimed not to have really noticed before. Yep). Ladies, there's a lesson in this somewhere. But, I veer off to the left a little...

Where was I?

Oh yes! HAVE YOU SEEN MY NEW BLOG DESIGN?! (I know a few of you have.) But for those who only see the blog in a reader, or email, or Triberr (or wherever - other than on the actual blog), or maybe you only stop by when the headline is particularly juicy for a pet blog (hair dye, anyone?), YOU'VE GOTTA SEE MY NEW BLOG DESIGN, STAT!

Note: Link goes to Glogirly Design, where the talented Debbie G. (aka Glogirly) hones her craft. And, to whom I owe all the credit for my blog's terrific new "do." What a pleasurable experience that was - working with "Glogirly"! And (I kid you not), the entire process - from my first email to the final product - only took a week!

Here's the header, because I like you (even if you're still looking at this post from inside a reader, etc.). But you've gotta click to the blog to see the whole thing!

OK, I see it and it's fab (omg, isn't it?!), but why the heck did you do this, Elizabeth? 

Well, I'll tell you: It's been forever over two years since I updated the design (all by myself, I might add), and since then, I'd outgrown a few things: like my column widths, and the space allotted for my page tabs, and my three little ole social icons (when I really needed twice that many). And frankly, because of my inexperience in designing blog pages (namely my previous header, which I made at the now defunct Picnic.com, and will always treasure, by the way), I simply didn't have the tech nor design skills to do what needed to be done (while keeping the previous design in tact).

♫♪ Make new blog header, but save the old (in a digital scrapbook). Some are silver and the others, gold.♫♪
(Gone, but to be forever treasured.☺)

That, and I've evolved as a writer (aka oft-ridiculous, pet-centric weblog article engineer?) and I really, really needed the design scheme (header/colors/tagline) to reflect where I draw inspiration today - and in the foreseeable future.

What the heck does that mean, Elizabeth?

Oh frell, I don't know! I was just trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about up there! But if you're wondering whether I'm about to change up what I do here, NOPE! Not gonna do that. But dang it, I have a bunch* of cats (*six one way, half-a-dozen the other, really), and if I wanna let people know about their fuzzy butts right off the bat, then I will! And if the mood strikes, I'll write about 'em, too. (Just the way it's always been. humph.)

Oh, and you haven't expressly asked me this, but I'm gonna tell you: Here's what I told the brilliant Debbie G. at Glogirly Design that I wanted my blog to "look like": "Retro" I Love Lucy with warm, Panera (or coffee house) colors. And the vintage TV (from my previous background) had to remain prominent. And a kitty (Maddox) MUST be somewhere where people can see him. And, doggone it, DIDN'T SHE DO A KNOCK-OUT JOB?! But wait! She even worked in some design/mood elements that I was thinking, but never told her (how did she do that?), like: Veggie Tales (yes, really!) and Bewitched (graphics) with a dash of The Benny Hill Show thrown in to taste! Yum! (Uh, never mind about Benny Hill. I might have imagined that part. Or, secretly wished it. ;)

And, most importantly, MY NEW DIGS MAKE ME SMILE AND WANT TO WRITE EVEN MORE OFT-RIDICULOUS, PET-CENTRIC WEBLOG ARTICLES! Yay!

So, there you go. Class dismissed. Thanks for attending.

Oh, next time? I'm gonna get a critter (or two, three...) to teach, which means absolutely NO food or drinks allowed in the classroom. No exceptions. ☺

Have you recently updated your blog design, or are you thinking about it? If you don't have a blog, is design/layout a factor in whether you choose to regularly visit a blog or not? Do you like me? Yes or no. ;)

**Psst. Even if it's true (for the sake of my emotional stability), please refrain from telling me you never noticed my previous blog design, and therefore, have no idea why I made a big deal about people coming over here to "notice" the new.  Also, I'm too young at heart to have "white streaks." (Which is why hair dye was invented. duh.)