Bloggers Helping Bloggers #14

Welcome to the fourteenth week of Bloggers Helping Bloggers - a link party of sorts where you review the blog of the week and get your blog reviewed in return.

NOTE: I decided to host Bloggers helping Bloggers every second Tuesday to have more time to promote the weeks blog and organize all the fantastic comments. (Just sign up for the e-mail reminder so you don't miss out)

If you have been here before you know how it works. If not everyone who links up spends10 minutes of your time to review the blog of the week and in return gets numerous reviews back by a collection of your peers instead of spending money to get your blog reviewed with only one opinion.

I was trying to think of a fair way to choose which site gets reviewed each week and decided to choose the blog based on a points system:

1. You will be given 5 points for linking up each week.

2. You will be rewarded 15 points for reviewing the blog of the week. (People who don't put in any effort will receive less points)

3. And a bonus 3 points for sharing on each different social media platforms every week. Please tag me so I can reward the points. Tag me @101thingstodo1, and +1 or share and comment on G+, share and comment on  facebook or leave a comment on Pinterest. A tie will be given to the first one in the link up.

So for example if someone links up, reviews the weeks blog and shares on Google+ and Pinterest they will receive - 5 + 15 + 3 + 3 =26 points for the week which will be added to last weeks points. 

Let me know if you have any questions???

Also I am currently looking for someone co-host with me as I currently found a full time job. Hmmm... If only blogging had medical benefits... If you are interested in hosting please contact me at KristenStevens [at] live.ca. 

And even if you had your blog reviewed don't forget to come back every week and link up: to be featured for social media boosts: where everyone who links up is required to follow you, getting specific blogging questions answered, or get another blog review after you implemented all the suggested changes.

One site will be chosen each week, and the review will be posted on my site Monday's beginning at 7:30 am EST. Because the review is so long I will be switching the link-up to Tuesdays at 7:30 am and the review will be posted Mondays at 7:30 am.

You can read last week`s review: Belle Brita or reviews from the previous weeks on my Pinterest board. You might gain some helpful tips that you can apply to your own blog.  

Follow Kristen @ Musings of An Average Mom's board Free Blog Reviews: From Bloggers Helping Bloggers on Pinterest.

Please review sites on:

- header
- sidebar (appearance and arrangement)
- how easy it is to follow on social media
- content
- how easy it is to read (fonts, etc.)
- how easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for.
- overall appearance
- other comments or suggestions

And the winner week is... Debra from NCBorn Congrats!

Please e-mail your review to kristenstevens@live.ca and I will review and organize/summarize them and post them next week. Along with the next blog to review.

And although it's not necessary I would love it if you followed me (I always follow back):

You can follow me on Pinterest, Google+, Facebook or Twitter 


And I would really appreciate it, if you could share this party on your sidebar or link party page. It will be better to get more reviews and opinions on your own blogs.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://musingsofanaveragemom.blogspot.ca/search/label/bloggers%20helping%20bloggers" title="Musings of an Average Mom"><img src="http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac106/kristensblog1/BloggersHelpingBloggersButton_zps4s1vjdxw.jpg" alt="Musings of an Average Mom" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please link up your main blog url-
And I will try to get to everyone in a fair and timely manner.

And please don't forget to review the blog of the week (this week is NC Born and bonus points are rewarded for promoting on social media. tag me on twitter @101thingstodo1,

Please subscribe to our Bloggers Helping Bloggers Link Party Reminders.

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

An InLinkz Link-up
 

Disclaimer: Musings of an Average Mom will use screenshots of your blog if you are chosen as the blog to be reviewed. And your comments will be copied and posted anonymously in the blog review.

Review of Moms Morning Coffee

This weeks FREE blog review from Bloggers Helping Bloggers is Mom's Morning Coffee.

Header

It is nice and clean, except the logo is blurry. It was probably stretched a little larger than the original size.
 
I love the header! I'm even impressed at the ad placement. It's unobtrusive and still on-topic. The SumoMe floating social media icons overlap with the navigation bar, though. Can they be smaller?

I like the simple and clean lines of the header.  There is a large ad in the upper right corner that I find a bit bothersome.  It seems like the ad is more important than the blog header itself.

I liked the logo. However, in mobile there is no divider to set it off and I thought that caused it to look a little lonely up there. In Desktop I noticed that there was a divider/menu bar...I would suggest a new color for the menu bar because it didn't quite match the color scheme and it also was not an appealing color either.

I love the picture, font and color in the header.  However, I think the ad is distracting and might be better placed elsewhere.  The header is great so I would put it front and center.

Sidebar (appearance and arrangement) 

The pictures look large and uncluttered.  I didn't see how to follow them on social media sites though. There was a small broadcast icon as part of their menu in the upper right and you can get updates via e-mail but to me it seems buried.  I don't like pop-up follow ads.
clean and easy to read. I like that the popular posts are large images. However, your pop-up does cover the sidebar.

I found the sidebar easy to navigate in mobile and desktop. I like the popular posts feature with the unified theme.

I really like that your picture/about me is right at the top of the header.  You might want to add a little blurb like "click here to learn more about me" (or worded how you like) because it's not immediately obvious that you can click the picture to get to the "about" page.  I also like seeing your popular posts.

Love the branded photos linking to popular posts. Can you add a short bio or blog description under the photo? I like to know who a blogger is or what a blog is about on the home page, without needing to go to the about page.

How easy it is to follow on Social Media

Easy once I found the bar to the left. I instinctively usually look for those are the top of the page or in the right sidebar.

This is probably my biggest suggestion for this site. They have a very large floating social share bar that obscures the left side of the screen in both mobile and desktop. They also picked a rather large one at that, so the colors of it are very jarring compared to the subdued color scheme of the site.

I also could not find their social share icons anywhere. People usually aren't willing to spend that much time searching for how to follow.

I could not find any icon to follow you.  I did see the share icons but if I want to just follow you on FB (but not share the article), there's no way to do so.  If you do have the follow icons, I couldn't find them so you might need to put them in a more prominent place (but I really looked).

The SumoMe buttons are share buttons, not follow buttons. I don't see a way to follow you on the home page.   

As I mentioned above, I couldn't easily find it.  You can easily share the post on social media but not easily follow them.

Content 

the content is good, though I wish there was a little more "teaser text" on the homepage for each post.

I thought it was great!

I enjoyed your content.  I related to many of your posts and found them easy to read. I also thought it was smart that you always added some kind of interactive statement at the end of your posts.

SumoMe bar overlaps with the content, making it difficult to read.

I like the Questionable Movie Night suggestion. It definitely differs from some conservative Christian perspectives that think shielding your teens from everything will somehow keep them safe in the real world. I think the idea and the guidelines would appeal to all families, religious or otherwise.

I don't have kids yet, but my husband and I have discussed the potential of homeschooling depending on what schools will be available when we do have kids. I appreciate the post on electives for HS students. I've seen tons of homeschooling resources for kids, but not really the same for HS students. I know families with kids in private school or homeschool often transition to a public school because of greater options. I think homeschooling families will find your resources helpful to realize their kids can still have greater options with homeschooling.

I like the contents.  I generally love food posts and they have other interesting subjects too.

How easy it is to read (fonts, etc.)

the general fonts are easy to read, though the popular posts images are a little harder to read.

Again, the floating social bar was annoying. Also, the large social share icons that appear over the images as you scroll down are not appealing.

I found the fonts easy to read and love that you used the same fonts in all of your edited images.  It gives you a unique and recognizable look.

 

Very easy to read!

 

Fonts are large and easy to read.

How easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for.

very simple. I would suggest adding in a search bar.

I thought the navigation worked fine...maybe a little more specific than I would want, but then I guess a person can go directly to what they are interested in. The About tab almost seems hidden at the very bottom of the site. Since it explains their heart and the reasoning behind their site I think it could have a more prominent position.

The tab was set up well and made your site easy to navigate.  I also loved how you had a search button as well as a category list.

Love how organized the navigation bar is

The search box is easy to find in the upper portion of the side bar and they have lots of menus with different subject material.

Overall Appearance

overall I like it. The one other suggestion I have is to shorten how much is in your right side bar (or lengthen the teaser text) on the homepage. Right now it goes way past the content of the page.

 I really liked the content of the site. I think the color scheme works, but could benefit from one more secondary color. The ad space at the top really takes away from the scheme in mobile mode because the green color clashes so much with the site colors (not quite as bad in desktop because it is set apart).

I like the overall look of your blog.  The only change I might make would be to move the ad from the very top to right under your navigation bar.

Color scheme is warm and inviting. Graphics are beautiful and Pinterest-friendly.

  I like the overall appearance of the site.  It doesn't take long to load like some other sites do.

 

 Other Comments or Suggestions

Mom's Morning Coffee looks like a nice blog with a good future.
 

If you want your own FREE blog review don't forget to link up at Bloggers Helping Bloggers - beginning Tuesdays at 7:30 am and running until Sunday evening.

 

   
 

 

 

My Do It Yourself - Blog Review

 Header

Why do you repeat the blog title three times? That's unnecessary. I like the mint background. I'm not crazy about the header font. The light green on the black is hard to read. The welcome is nice, but add spaces after the punctuation.

 

The header is really eye catching.  At first I was unsure of the title appearing 3xs, but then I   decided it went really well with the overall theme.

I like the header font but think it could me more streamlined - have the title appearing once, with larger text and maybe a short subheading explaining what the blog is about.

Sidebar (appearance and arrangement)

 

The sidebars are crowded. I would delete the traffic monitoring parts. You have two options for all the buttons. Move them to their own separate page that's linked from a tab, or use HTML to center all the buttons <center> </center> and to add space between the buttons <br>

 

I like the calendar and placement of your Pinterest follow.  However, it would be really helpful to have a separate menu page at the top for all the great link parties :D

I find the sidebars to be very cluttered and unorganized and distract from the blogs content. I personally do not like double sidebars and prefer one sidebar on the right, as it's a more common layout.

Would like to see an about me at the top of the sidebar, and might put all the link parties on their own separate page - except Bloggers helping Bloggers because it rocks ;) and would probably get rid of the live traffic feed all together - it serves no benefit to visitors and you can find your own stats under Google analytics.

Had some ads that began playing loudly and startled me - I am not opposed to advertisements but prefer them to be silent as I was searching to turn down my volume so it wouldn't wake my sleeping babies.

How easy it is to follow on social media

 

I only found Pinterest. Consider adding buttons above-the-fold (that is, the area that is viewed when a user is scrolled to the top of your page).

 

VERY easy to follow

Would like to see social media icons at the top of the sidebar, and like the Pinterest widget.

Content

 

Gorgeous photos! Nice branding in the corner of each photo.

 

 

I actually took German in college so I understood most of it!  The content was helpful, inspiring, and displayed the heart of DIY.  I love the abundance of pictures so that even if someone can't read the German, there is still an obvious idea of what you are doing.

Although I have no idea what your posts say, I still enjoyed looking through all the before and after pictures - you are obviously a talented DIYer.

How easy it is to read (fonts, etc.)

 

Light font on dark background is very hard to read.

 

content was easy to read/follow

I find the black background somewhat off putting, and would probably prefer a dark text on a light background as its generally easier to read.

How easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for

 

The tags and archives tab are great. The search button in the left sidebar is good.

 

very simple and easy to navigate

Tags and archives make it easier to find things but didn't actually see a search bar unless I missed it?

Overall appearance

 

I like the color scheme, but all the animation makes the blog look unprofessional. Consider deleting any animated parts from your sidebars. Also maybe invert your colors, like have a light gray or mint as the body background with a black or dark gray as the text. You can still have the main patterned background.

 

 

It's unique, eye catching, and flows together quite well

I like the blog, love the mint colour but would probably try to unclutter it and lighten the background, the projects are amazing though!

 

Want your own free blog review??? Link up at Bloggers Helping Bloggers.

Beautifully Bohemian Review

If you would like your own FREE blog review link up at Bloggers Helping Bloggers - beginning every Tuesday at 7:30 am EST and running until Sunday evening.

This week's review was Randi for Beautifully Bohemian.

 

Header: 

LOVE the header!  The font and design are so pretty and it's laid out nicely.

Love the header! Original. Easy to read.

I like the header it's original, beautiful and conveys the theme of your blog. I might crop it slightly so I can see your popular posts at the same time but, I have a small screen.

Sidebar:

Randi maintains a simple sidebar. Most of her relevant information can instead be found in the header bar, which includes tabs called home, about, blog, videos, explore and shop. There is also a nice, easy-to-use search bar in this area. The sidebar itself is used primarily for ad display.

The square photo is jarring. Could it be a circle or an oval? 

Social Media: 

It was really hard to find your SM and I had to scroll all the way to the bottom.  The icons themselves are cute and they stand out but I would put them closer to the top of the page.

 Randi offers three options for following on social media. These buttons are located at the bottom and require a bit of scrolling, but are otherwise easy to use. 

I prefer social media links to be higher on the page. They should be really easy to find. Maybe make them part of the static nav bar or add them to the sidebar.

Would probably prefer to find your social media icons under the about me, but I think your icons are adorable!

 

Content:

I am not very "bohemian" so the content wasn't personally relevant to me.  However, I do think your posts are well written and would be enjoyed by others that live that same lifestyle.

Randi is a clear writer and chooses nice, crisp images for her blog. While I do not endorse all her views, she is a cohesive communicator, striving to add value to discussion on a variety of topics, which she covers in depth. 

I'm not vegan, but I am interested in home births, doulas, midwives, birthing centers, basically all birth stuff outside of a traditional hospital. So from the most recent posts, I decided to read the one on home births. The post is thorough, interesting, and informative. I did notice at least one typo, a missed word.

How Easy To Read:

I liked your fonts and found them easy to read.  It might look good if you changed the category colors at the very top to the same one you have in the main header.  I didn't like the black & white quite as much, but that could just be my own personal preference.

Some people might have trouble with the curly fonts, but the main text is fine.

She uses a consistent font throughout. Headers and creative use of bold text make the blog simple to read and further enhance its overall lovely appearance.

Navigation:

I felt like your blog was well laid out and easy to navigate.

Easy, but I would add drop-down boxes from the stickied nav bar.

Overall Appearance:

I felt like overall, you have a really good blog.  I liked your fonts, the layout, and the assortment of different things thrown in the mix (a few ads, recent posts and recipes on the sidebar) and I felt that your posts were well written.

Matches the theme of the content

Randi's blog, Beautifully Bohemian is a visual treat. From her delightfully simple header featuring beautiful fonts to the changing, high-quality images just below, her blog commands the reader's attention.

And don't forget to link up at Bloggers helping Bloggers for the chance to get your own blog review!

 

BloggersHelping Bloggers #9

Welcome to the eighth week of Bloggers Helping Bloggers - a link party of sorts where you review the blog of the week and get your blog reviewed in return.

If you have been here before you know how it works. If not everyone who links up spends10 minutes of your time to review the blog of the week and in return gets numerous reviews back by a collection of your peers instead of spending money to get your blog reviewed with only one opinion.

I was trying to think of a fair way to choose which site gets reviewed each week and decided to choose the blog based on a points system:

1. You will be given 5 points for linking up each week.

2. You will be rewarded 15 points for reviewing the blog of the week. (People who don't put in any effort will receive less points)

3. And a bonus 3 points for sharing on each different social media platforms every week. Please tag me so I can reward the points. Tag me @101thingstodo1, and +1 or share and comment on G+, share and comment on  facebook or leave a comment on Pinterest. A tie will be given to the first one in the link up.

So for example if someone links up, reviews the weeks blog and shares on Google+ and Pinterest they will receive - 5 + 15 + 3 + 3 =26 points for the week which will be added to last weeks points. 

Let me know if you have any questions???

And even if you had your blog reviewed don't forget to come back every week and link up: to be featured for social media boosts: where everyone who links up is required to follow you, getting specific blogging questions answered, or get another blog review after you implemented all the suggested changes.

One site will be chosen each week, and the review will be posted on my site Monday's beginning at 7:30 am EST. Because the review is so long I will be switching the link-up to Tuesdays at 7:30 am and the review will be posted Mondays at 7:30 am.

You can read last week`s review:  Fun Money Mom. You might gain some helpful tips that you can apply to your own blog.  

Please review sites on:

- header
- sidebar (appearance and arrangement)
- how easy it is to follow on social media
- content
- how easy it is to read (fonts, etc.)
- how easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for.
- overall appearance
- other comments or suggestions

And the winner week is... Randi from Beautifully Bohemian

Please e-mail your review to kristenstevens@live.ca and I will review and organize/summarize them and post them next week. Along with the next blog to review.

And although it's not necessary I would love it if you followed me (I always follow back):

You can follow me on Pinterest, Google+, Facebook or Twitter 

And I would really appreciate it, if you could share this party on your sidebar or link party page. It will be better to get more reviews and opinions on your own blogs.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://musingsofanaveragemom.blogspot.ca/search/label/bloggers%20helping%20bloggers" title="Musings of an Average Mom"><img src="http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac106/kristensblog1/BloggersHelpingBloggersButton_zps4s1vjdxw.jpg" alt="Musings of an Average Mom" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please link up your main blog - and make sure you're email is correct as I will use this to contact the winner. And I will try to get to everyone in a fair and timely manner.

And please don't forget to review the blog of the week (this week is Beautifully Bohemian) and bonus points are rewarded for promoting on social media. tag me on twitter @101thingstodo1,

Please subscribe to our Bloggers Helping Bloggers Link Party Reminders.

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

An InLinkz Link-up
 

Disclaimer: Musings of an Average Mom will use screenshots of your blog if you are chosen as the blog to be reviewed. And your comments will be copied and posted anonymously in the blog review.

Bloggers Helping Bloggers #8

Welcome to the eighth week of Bloggers Helping Bloggers - a link party of sorts where you review the blog of the week and get your blog reviewed in return.

If you have been here before you know how it works. If not everyone who links up spends10 minutes of your time to review the blog of the week and in return gets numerous reviews back by a collection of your peers instead of spending money to get your blog reviewed with only one opinion.

And you might also be interested in learning how you can make money blogging with Sverve - they are a social networking site which offers sponsorship and paid to tweet opportunities. And even if you are a member you can join the Sverve Link Party to gain more endorsements.

I was trying to think of a fair way to choose which site gets reviewed each week and decided to choose the blog based on a points system:

1. You will be given 5 points for linking up each week.

2. You will be rewarded 15 points for reviewing the blog of the week. (People who don't put in any effort will receive less points)

3. And a bonus 3 points for sharing on each different social media platforms every week. Please tag me so I can reward the points. Tag me @101thingstodo1, and +1 or share and comment on G+, share and comment on  facebook or leave a comment on Pinterest. A tie will be given to the first one in the link up.

So for example if someone links up, reviews the weeks blog and shares on Google+ and Pinterest they will receive - 5 + 15 + 3 + 3 =26 points for the week which will be added to last weeks points. 

Let me know if you have any questions???
 

And even if you had your blog reviewed don't forget to come back every week and link up: to be featured for social media boosts: where everyone who links up is required to follow you, getting specific blogging questions answered, or get another blog review after you implemented all the suggested changes.

One site will be chosen each week, and the review will be posted on my site Monday's beginning at 7:30 am EST. Because the review is so long I will be switching the link-up to Tuesdays at 7:30 am and the review will be posted Mondays at 7:30 am.

You can read last week`s review:  Desert Meandering. You might gain some helpful tips that you can apply to your own blog.  

 

Please review sites on:

- header
- sidebar (appearance and arrangement)
- how easy it is to follow on social media
- content
- how easy it is to read (fonts, etc.)
- how easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for.
- overall appearance
- other comments or suggestions

And the winner week is... Lisa from Fun Money Mom

 

Please e-mail your review to kristenstevens@live.ca and I will review and organize/summarize them and post them next week. Along with the next blog to review.

And although it's not necessary I would love it if you followed me (I always follow back):

You can follow me on Pinterest, Google+, Facebook or Twitter 

And I would really appreciate it, if you could share this party on your sidebar or link party page. It will be better to get more reviews and opinions on your own blogs.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://musingsofanaveragemom.blogspot.ca/search/label/bloggers%20helping%20bloggers" title="Musings of an Average Mom"><img src="http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac106/kristensblog1/BloggersHelpingBloggersButton_zps4s1vjdxw.jpg" alt="Musings of an Average Mom" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please link up your main blog - and make sure you're email is correct as I will use this to contact the winner. And I will try to get to everyone in a fair and timely manner.

And please don't forget to review the blog of the week (this week is Fun Money Mom) and bonus points are rewarded for promoting on social media. tag me on twitter @101thingstodo1,

 

Please subscribe to our Bloggers Helping Bloggers Link Party Reminders.

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

An InLinkz Link-up

Disclaimer: Musings of an Average Mom will use screenshots of your blog if you are chosen as the blog to be reviewed. And your comments will be copied and posted anonymously in the blog review.

Desert Meandering Review

This week's blog review from the Bloggers Helping Bloggers link party is Desert Meanderings.

 

Header

You might want to make it a little wider so that it stands out more.  The tagline might also be easier to see if it were in a darker shade or in color.

The header is very small and simple but it works - I like it. I might make it a fraction bigger to make it a little easier to notice.

Sidebar

I hadn't seen a double sidebar before so found that interesting.  It might be just a little bit too busy and detract from your main content.

 Also, I got distracted by your widget bars- since they are on both sides it almost makes it hard to focus on the content you WANT us to see. I would cut back as much as possible and have one sidebar- two is just too much on the eye.

I would love to see an image of you under your about me blurb - a picture of a camel seems a little comical.

I think you should have one sidebar on the right - there is not even very much information in the left sidebar.

How easy to follow on Social Media

I was originally looking for social media icons but didn't see any.  I then realized that that's what the large boxes in the sidebar were for.  Once I realized that it made more sense.  It is easy to share posts using the buttons at the bottom.

Super easy to follow on twitter and like on Facebook but have trouble finding any more ways to follow you on social media. Did you have a Pinterest or Google+  account?

Also I like Pinterest widgets to see what other people are pinning and might switch Twitter to Pinterest if lacking room as I find Pinterest drives a lot more traffic to my blog then Twitter but that's just my personal opinion.

Content

 It's not the type of blog I would normally search out because my religion is slightly different.  However, I think others that might be more interested in the subject matter would find it relevant and interesting.

Eva, although I don't share the same faith, I actually enjoyed reading your blog. You have a unique outlook, and your blog posts, for the most part, were real and coated with bits of wisdom. 

When I first came to your blog though, the first post on the slideshow was a paid book review-
personally I'm not a fan of paid reviews, because it's not the first thing I think readers should see. 

How Easy To Read:

The fonts were all very easy to read.

I like the font choices, and it's generally dark enough to read against the white background except in some cases like the date for instance I find is too light.

Navigation:

The categories were easy to understand and navigate through.  

As for the layout, I noticed you didn't have a home button which made it hard when I wanted to go back to the homepage after surfing around.

I find the pages seem to get lost at the top. I might make the font a little darker and possible place them underneath your 'red preview bar' - I like the drop down menus though.

Overall Appearance:

At first glance, the maroon part looks like the header.  That's why I suggested the actual header might be better if it were a little bigger.  I also personally would prefer just one sidebar but that's just me.  You might also want to put a picture of yourself where the camel is...it helps us feel like we know you better.  I do like the social share buttons at the bottom of each post.

I like how you have your popular posts cycling in the maroon space but think that it's too large and prominent and would like to see it smaller especially when you have summaries of your posts on the home page not the full articles which I prefer and need to change on my own blog.

Comments:

I wish you the best and hope these reviews help!


If you want to have a free blog review of your own blog just make sure to link up every Tuesday beginning at 7:30 am EST at Bloggers Helping Bloggers.

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Review of Granny Fabulosa

 This week's free blog review from the Bloggers Helping Bloggers Link Party (which runs Tues 7:30 am EST to Sunday evening) was Granny Fabulosa!

Header

Clear and concise. I like the blues. I would swap the photo and the blurb about Grannies or put the blurb at the bottom of the header.

nice, but it takes up too much space above the fold!  I think she could shorten the height a bit and then offer ad placement there (720 X 90)

I llove the "prologue" (for lack of a better word) at the left...very cute!

I really like the image of you and your grandchild, and I also like the blurb about grannies but i think I would change the layout of the header. I might make the title Granny Fabulosa larger and have the quote underneath the image and title.

Sidebar (appearance and arrangement) 

Sidebar could be shorter - and the alignment should all be the same - as the Find me here is left aligned.

I like the prominence of the social media buttons at the top but I always look for an "about me" there as well.  I was a little disappointed not to see that, although I can always look at the tab on top.  

I think the right sidebar is a bit too wide; there's lots of dead space around the ads, space which could be added to the main content column (an easy fix!)

I did not see a subscription opt in, only the Atom RSS on the bottom. Maybe she will make a nice subscription opt in with a freebie...this just in case she wants to bring more subscribers :).

how easy it is to follow on social media

Social Media buttons are large, easy to find at the top of the right sidebar.  Follow via e-mail should be easier to find.

easy-peasy, but I'd suggest she change her FB page from personal to a business page if she's using it for her website...

Social media icons are clear and easy to find.

content 

 

I like recipe posts, so I like the subject.  The post kind of rambles on but that's okay.

love her writing style!  Especially in this recipe:  http://grannyfab.blogspot.ca/2015/07/i-cooked-ribs-in-pressure-cooker-and-no.html#more she intersperses her own comments and thoughts to really personalize it!

how easy it is to read (fonts, etc.) 

There are a lot of different fonts and color being used and I don't think it adds anything to the posts.

 font type and size is excellent...very easy to read (which reminds me to increase the size on my own blog!)

how easy it is to navigate, and find what you are looking for 

The site is easy to navigate and there are several pages indexing posts.

 I found the "Hear it" tab a little confusing... Really liked the index-format of the "Cook it" "Paint it" and "Try it" tabs, although I might have waited a bit longer till I had more content to include there...  

And on a personal note, I appreciated her "CSA" tab, as I'm looking into them in my own community!

also blog navigation is easy. Website tabs good organized!!! This is a big +! 

overall appearance 

Website is looking good, but if I wanted to change something -the blue text on the header and the blue backround is not very clear...I think is not matching to well...I think a gold dusted handwrite will bring more spark to "first impresion".

Clean and simple, love the blue color, I'd just cut down on the dead space.

The overall appearance is pleasing.

other comments or suggestions 

 

 

The page seems to be too wide.  I don't like to have to scroll to the right to see the right sidebar.

Love the bright colours of the social media icons, maybe you could incorporate it more into your blog -  like in your menu tabs. But, thats just me.