LINK LOVE with a TWIST, April 25, 2011

LINK LOVE with a TWIST, April 25, 2011

This week’s Link Love roundup will make you laugh, sing, gasp and cry.  Most of all, it will make you think.  The only other thing I’ll say is – hope you have some Kleenex handy!

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By Anika – Show Me What You’re Working With: Anika’s posts are becoming a staple of Link Love and it’s easy to see why.  She’s beautiful, talented and inspiring.  Just ask Jamillah of made-to-travel.  “This post made me profess my love out loud to the beautiful Anika,” says Jamillah.  “Such a fantastic message and her writing sparkles with so much life; I was literally nodding, smiling, and hearing Mystikal while reading.”

Center Sage – Fabulously Vegetarian and Unfaithfully Vegan: Sometimes it’s OK to give in to temptation. Stephanie of The-Loudmouth could relate to the struggle Brooke faced in changing her diet. “As a fellow vegetarian, I know how hard it is to cut out our favorite foods,” shared Stephanie.  “I find it admirable that she was honest with herself and with us in confessing how challenging it was to try converting to full veganism!”

Dressful – The battle of ultra-thin models and our sanity:  This submission by Yvonne of Fashion RECON focuses on one of the most talked about subjects in fashion.  “I really enjoyed reading this as I think it may signal the beginning of the “ship” turning. I think it would be wonderful to see models of Cindy Crawford’s and Claudia Schiffer’s body type return to the catwalk” shared Yvonne.

fashion over fifty – The Meaning of Life, er sort of: Heather of Style Confessions shared this post because she was inspired by Paula’s reasons for blogging.   “[Paula says the reason she writes is because] ‘I really want to inspire women my age to have fun dressing. So many of my friends have lost interest. I can’t blame them–it’s hard to shop at our age. There are a lot of things working against us–our bodies are changing, styles are catered to girls half our age, things don’t fit right–I could go on and on,'” shared Heather. “Even though [Paula’s] older than me by a little bit, I can totally relate to what she’s saying. It gets harder to be fashionable as you get older! I can’t wear short shorts anymore! I can’t wear a lot of the things I used to love when I was young. But that doesn’t mean we have to give up. I’d love to see more blogs like hers!”

grechen blogs – why I stopped reading fashion blogs:  If you follow more than a handful of blogs, you know how unwieldy a blogroll can get.  I wanted to include Grechen’s post this week because she inspired me to take the time to go through mine – something I have been putting off for months – and start making some much-needed cuts.  Check out her reasoning, and make sure you read the comments for some great discussion!

Grit and Glamour – On the Unexpected Beauty of Social Media: This post touched many hearts last week, so I will let the 4 ladies below tell you why they nominated Vahni’s words for inclusion this week.

“I was moved to tears reading Vahni’s honest and heartfelt post on the outpouring of love and support she received from her blogging family in response to the sad news that she lost her dearly beloved uncle. I can not even begin to describe the importance my blogging community plays in my life.  This is where blogging becomes anything but superficial. We are real, we connect, we need each other and we have each others back. We are a family.” – Anika of By Anika

“I second Anika! That was a wonderful article.” – Heather of Style Confessions

“I third(?) Anika, and I’m so glad that I’m not the only person who was touched by this post. I was so saddened to know that our darling V was having such a hard time dealing with such a terrible loss, but I love that in her time of need, she was able to turn to the largely faceless members of the blogging community and find that we were open and willing to support her. I commented on that post to express my condolences, and today, V visited my blog just to thank me for that small kindness. the fact that she would take the time to do that with everything else that she has going on just reinforces the reason why Vahni will ALWAYS have our support. she’s a pillar of the blogging community and a perfect example of the kind of grace that we should all have.” – Cate of inkblot*photography™

“I agree. Really the most beautiful post on blogging and social networks I have had the privilege to read. Tears. Tears. Tears.” – Jamillah of made-to-travel

the-loudmouth – personal(ity):  I decided to include Stephanie’s post this week as well because it addresses the importance of authenticity in blogging.  She illustrates her point by featuring some of the most authentic bloggers in the fashion-sphere today – women who have a real voice and a real personality.   They are women that have inspired her.  They are women that have inspired me.  And I’m willing to bet they have inspired many of you as well!

made-to-travel – Made by Voz: Empowering Women with Design: This submission by Marissa of The Well-Appointed Catwalk was one of my favorites this week.  “I’d like to nominate Jamillah for her post on Made by Voz,” shared Marissa.  “With all the tribal-inspired designs out right now, it’s nice to see a line that is actually authentic and benefiting the community behind the original designs!”  I agree completely!

Scientist Chic – Gil Elvgren’s girls:  For her second submission this week Jamillah chose a post by Lizzy of Scientist Chic – one of her favorite bloggers!  “I found this one by Lizzy so interesting. Her comparison on pinup paintings as the airbrush of yesteryear was an “a ha” moment for me,” shared Jamillah.  Check it out and have an “a ha” moment yourself – I did!

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit their favorite post of the week!

If you would like to submit a post for inclusion in the next edition of Link Love with a TWIST, please do so here.

If you would like to publish this post on your own blog, the code can be found here.