Monday, October 5, 2009

My Black and White Poll

The black and white poll is hard for me. Black and white is my aesthetic preference. I like the way my blog looks and by liking the way my blog looks, I am more inclined to devote myself to it. I also believe that by building a blog that I love, I am sure to be building a better blog.

Then people have suggested just the food be in color. This makes sense, sometimes, I guess.

So, what do you think of the black and white? For the record, I love it. But would this blog be more helpful if there was some color occasionally thrown in? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.


And Introducing...



No, I didn't have the baby yet.

I wanted to introduce my search bar and Frequently Asked Questions page. Some people have found them on their own. For people with questions, check the search bar first, as I may have answered it in an old post. If I haven't, ask me in the Frequently Asked Questions, which is my blog post to do list. It looks real pathetic now, as many questions are still unanswered, but I'm working on it.

34 comments:

MJ said...

I just stumbled upon your blog last night, but I am loving it. Thank you!

I just wanted to also add that I LOVE this black and white theme, almost chose it for my own. With that said, I had it set up to have the links jump out at you in a pink. I love the black, white, pink combo though.

Chelle said...

I just had a thought. I love the all black and white all the time, but I also think food pictures could be in color. This is one step more work, but what if you created, a Flickr account and uploaded the food photos in color there for people who wanted to see them and kept everything black and white here?

Marie said...

I read this in Google Reader so I only see your theme when I comment on something. It doesn't bother me. However, pictures in colour would be fun sometimes, but aren't absolutely needed.

Kristina said...

I like the b&w, but color pictures are always great (to see detail).

Jenny said...

I love b&w in general but I have to say- it's not working for you here at all. It's drab and not particularly inviting.

Are you at all familiar with this blog? I believe that you have a lot in common (to a certain degree) with this blog's author, but her blog is pretty, light and inviting. Aesthetically I just find something like this much more pleasing to the eye.

Jenny said...

Oops, forgot to include the link in my previous comment:

http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/

Anonymous said...

I like the black and white, and I think it ties in nicely with the theme of simple living! But I do find the background a little hard to look at because the pattern is so eye-catching. But it's your blog, so I say it's completely up to you!

Peggy said...

I like the background. It's the exact pattern of the velvet wallpaper we had floor to ceiling in our split-entry front entry growing up! Our wallpaper had a gold background though.

As for the pictures, my personal preference is colour. Details are very much diminished (IMO) with black and white.

Emily said...

Jennifer, I like the flickr idea, and I may try to do that.

Jenny, I'm wondering if you see the background. Maybe I should be thinking of how this all looks to those who don't see the background?

Anon, I find that the busier background forces your eye to find a place to rest, the blog post itself.

Diana said...

I love the black and white theme but I would like to see color in some photos!

Treva said...

Gotta say I'm in agreement with most -- it's the food pics that really need color in order to see the detail of what you've actually done.

MoeyMichele said...

I love this blog. I wish I had a longer time to sit down and read it. But I'm pretty busy right now -- will come back.

I do wish you'd put your food photos in color though; it's hard to make people believe frugal food is appealing in black, white and gray. :-)

crabcakes said...

I like black and white photos for kids and family but definitely color photos for the food. It just would be so much more helpful when considering trying your recipe.

I'm trying your tortilla recipe now, by the way...thanks!

Anonymous said...

I don't mind the black and white at all...but yes, food pictures should be in color...I think it would help your meals look more appealing.

Then again, I prefer colorful meals in general...when I prepare a dinner that is mostly yellow/brown I get a little sad, haha! I'm odd, I know :P

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of b&w, but I agree that the food pics would be nice in color. You can probably appreciate those b&w pics more because you know what they look like in real life. :)

Ryann

Jules said...

Black and white is great - easier to focus on the posts and such; color picts of food might be nice - but photographing food isn't easy :)

Troop Coordinator said...

I like color. To me, the black and white seems stark and sterile. And the white background is so bright that I find myself squinting sometimes to read...but that's just my personal opinion.

Sarah said...

I personally voted for all color. However, I just wanted to add that I still believe your blog should be how you want it. I just gave my personal opinion. =)

Kimber said...

I think you need to stop worrying about what others think so much! You obviously are doing something right as you already have so many followers! You have to remember this is your blog and those who want to share with you & your family need to respect your likes & dislikes also. Learn & grow with your blog but stop trying to make all of them happy. Also, your blog is great! You are a breath of fresh air! Keep to who you are not who they want you to be!!!!

Lyn said...

Emily, I voted for "it's your blog" because honestly, I wouldn't want people telling me how to design or plan my blog! We all have different tastes. I go to so many blogs where there's a ton of ads and blinking things, and I don't enjoy it, so I usually don't go back. Maybe food pics in color are more aesthetically pleasing, but it's not such a big deal, really it's not. Do what you want to do.

Thanks for the FAQ page. I think it's great and will probably save you tons of time answering questions!

Melissa said...

I've been reading for a while, but I haven't ever commented. I really like the black and white damask, it's beautiful! I also really like black and white pictures. . . but with food, I think they should be colored, it makes it seem more appetizing. Good luck!

Aubrey said...

The black & white is nice, but it is definitely hard to see what is really going on in the recipe photos. The occasional splash of color would look great against all this black and white anyway, in my opinion.

Emily said...

I tried the Flickr suggestion, so if you click on a photo, for recipes, you can see the color version. It will take a while to go back and get them all done, but it will streamline the process for future. I've got one done so far.

http://under1000permonth.blogspot.com/2009/08/taco-night-335.html

Pam said...

I think the simplicity of the black and white is consistant with your simple life, and it is easy to read. The food pictures do not bother me, and have not stopped me from trying your recipes!

Mary Ann said...

I love the black and white color scheme but some pictures, especially food and decor, need to be in color to really see what it is. I like the taco night pictures that you did in color. I couldn't really tell before what some of the pictures were. Your homemade tortillas look like mine! Your pizza also looks really good!

It is your blog and most certainly, you should do what you like. This is just my opinion about food pictures.

Emily said...

Mary Ann, I like the pizza in color too. I had forgotten how pretty rainbow peppers were on top of pizza.

It's fun going back through and updating with flickr, but I'm glad that the blog looks the same here to me. Flickr was an excellent suggestion!

K said...

Emily - It's your blog! :)
But I would like to see the food in color. I see you added the flickr option though. I still think it would be nice to see the food in color in the text, but I agree that you need to love your blog.

Anonymous said...

I prefer pictures in color. You don't really post that many to begin with. Keep your wallpaper the same though - it's nice.

-Leah

Stacy said...

I agree--black and white is okay, but I think all of the photos should be in color. I find the pictures to be kind of drab and uninspiring. The ideas are interesting, but the food doesn't LOOK very good in b&w.

Emily said...

I prefer the food pics to be in color. But I like the template of your blog.
~Emily

Stacy said...

Also, it would be great to see more pictures--things you're talking about, you and your husband, maybe places you visit, etc. Color pictures and plenty of them are really nice to see.

Unknown said...

Hi, Emliy! I feel you should leave it just the way it is. I love color , but this won't be your blog, anymore if you do.Actually a friend of mine 's sister has her myspace page with lots of black & white & it is so impressive.That's why we read your blog because it's unique. I made my blog in color & people say it's too hard on the eyes, but if noone looks at it, it's still mine, the way I like it.Please don't change anything, even the food pics. Lisa

Heather said...

i really love the black and white theme, even with the pictures. it's unique and looks good.

i voted in the poll. really though you should keep doing what you want to do-it's your blog!

but i hope that regardless of your poll results that you will keep it as is.

Sondra Rose said...

I sure do miss the Black & white! This blog design doesn't seem as unique or "you" as the original...

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