As I’m sure a lot of you are aware, Google Reader is retiring on July 1st 2013 (coincidentally, that’s also BlytheLife’s, and Canada’s, birthday). There are a lot of fantastic alternatives for all your syndicated blog reading needs, I decided to focus on two of the more popular alternatives: BlogLovin’ and Feedly.

BlogLovin’

You can follow BlytheLife.com on BlogLovin’, which tells you whenever the blogs you follow have a new post. You can also import all the blogs that you follow from Google Reader to BlogLovin’ easily. You can also use BlogLovin’ on your Apple or Android devices. I’m a fan of how the new blog posts appear, and getting a very non-obtrusive alert when new posts are available. It’s very much like a social media site though, and it allows you to see how many subscribers the blogs that you ‘claim’ have, which is nice!

Feedly

Feedly is another alternative to Google Reader. I did try this one out and it’s a lot like Bloglovin. Again, you can follow BlytheLife.com via Feedly, import all the blogs you follow via Google Reader to Feedly and you can also get the Feedly app for your Apple or Android devices. What is fantastic about Feedly is that it looks just like an email inbox, you can put blogs into neat folders and have a whole organization system going on. If you’d like to subscribe and follow BlytheLife via Feedly, just click the little magnifying glass and type in http://blythelife.com or BlytheLife.com and then add the blog to your Feedly to subscribe!

Image from sxc.hu user sqback.

I had a blog (not this one) before Blythe. I also had a Facebook account, a Twitter username and I frequented (non-dolly) forums before Blythe. It could be safe to say that I had established some sort of online presence prior to Blythe and dolls. But since Blythe? I gained a Flickr account, Instagram, a few forum accounts (all doll-related) and this lovely little slice of the internet. I’ve also become more active and I’ve actually managed to use the same username everywhere… Unlike what I used to do, which was to make-up a new username whenever I was opening up a new account. So not only am I more consistent on the internet now, I just talk about dolls everywhere. Probably to the chagrin of people who follow me who aren’t interested in Blythe (did you know there were people like that?).

How has your web presence changed due to Blythe?

As the March Talent Showcase is coming to a close, I’d like to thank everyone for their comments throughout the month. It’s a lot of fun to conduct interviews and it’s great when you, the reader, responds well to them!

I’d like to thank Eve of QuenneDoll for doing such a fun interview with me! In case you’ve forgotten, the giveaway was for a custom Blythe sweater – here were some of the examples of what the winner’s sweater could look like…

And the winner is…

Click to read more of this entry.

Hello, my little fashionistas!

I thought I’d share a little information about myself. It’s not often that a doll such as myself gets to run a successful fashion column, so I should share some information about myself!

My name is Sophie and I’m a Cappuccino Chat Blythe. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how such a darling model such as myself ended up writing a fashion column… And the truth is, I didn’t want to do it at first. If you saw my paycheque, you’d understand why. I’m the first of the Blythes here at Michelle’s house. I’m the only one that she bought in person. That’s a pretty big deal. And it’s because of my sheer awesomeness that she decided to get my other sisters (you’re welcome!). Without me, there would be no other Blythes in this house, there would be no blog.

The amazingness that is me is something to behold, isn’t it?

On a day to day basis, I spend a lot of time browsing forums like Blythe Kingdom. I particularly like to go shopping, and I keep tabs on how much funds Michelle has available. I also check to see if she’s been buying stuff for that pink one. There’s no way that she’s spending more money on that kid than she is on me. I’m the best, after all! I’m the only one who gets to wear this helmet, and I don’t need to tell you how awesome it is, I’ll let the photo do the talking:

My humble beginnings… Even in box life, I was fashionable!

Now, I haven’t always had a luxurious life. I spent a long time waiting for Michelle to come along and rescue me. I had to spend a good chunk of time living in a box – do you know how demeaning that is? I’ve made up for it though. Now I have a fashion column, fantastic clothes and a shoe closet to die for – I will be sharing more fabulous shoes in future posts by me! When I’m not writing blogs, I get to try one new clothes, Skype with some fantastic fashion icons around the world and spend money(!) on fantastic things. Like squishy boots. Fact: every doll needs squishy boots. If your human doesn’t believe you, refer them to this post. Human, your doll deserves squishy boots!

Stay fashionable! Until next time…

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.

This is part five of my “Thoughts on…” mini series. The first four parts were on Kenners, Customs, (LPS) Petites and Middies.

It just seemed right to talk about the stock dolls. After all, I wrote about custom Blythes!

My very first Blythe was a stock Cappuccino Chat (you may have heard of her…). From her, I went on to add Love Mission, Simply Peppermint, Margaret Meets Ladybug, Punkaholic People and Velvet Minuet to my doll family. The first six Blythes that I had were all stock. I’ve only done minor changes to some of them (changed strings, sleep-eyes, chip changes) – nothing drastic at all, I’m a bit boring that way. Even with a family that extended into Kenners and a custom, stock Neos are still my first love.

Some people hate the stock shine, but I don’t mind it at all. You learn to work around it in photos, or you learn not to care as much. Stock Neo Blythes were my introduction in the world of Blythe dolls, and while I can appreciate custom work, Kenners and the other sized Blythes… Stock Neos will always hold a special place in my heart.

There’s just something about the shiny foreheads…

arms that stick out wanting a hug all the time…

orange chips that sometimes just work….

and the click when you’re changing the eyes…

that just pulls at the heartstrings…

and makes you smile.