5 P.E.I. blogs to read now
From gardening and decorating to home schooling and heritage, P.E.I. bloggers write about it all
With people turning away from negativity of Facebook and Twitter, reading blogs about your favourite subjects — anything from from cooking to DIY projects, fitness, relationships and politics — might just be the way to go.
Here are five P.E.I. blogs suggested by you, our CBC readers.
Ladies That Life
Heather McIver-Ellis and Janna Goodwin launched their blog LadiesThatLife, "a blog about health, wellness, love, lust, & life," last October.
"When we were younger we always joked about writing a book on 'how to life' and so we thought a blog would be a natural way to share our thoughts with readers across the globe and finally make our decade-long goal materialize," the pair said in an email.
It is so rewarding to get a message from someone saying that they were also able to relate to our article or were inspired by our health tips.— LadiesThatLife
The women call the blog an opportunity to have a creative outlet that Heather, an Island-based registered dietitian and a busy mom of a toddler and Janna, a primary school teacher in Yellowknife, don't necessarily find in their day-to-day lives.
They love connecting to other people, especially Islanders.
"When we're writing about difficult topics such as grief, death and parenthood we find strength in our readers," they said.
"It is so rewarding to get a message from someone saying that they were also able to relate to our article or were inspired by our health tips. It's an amazing feeling. Our biggest goal for ourselves and the blog is to continue to grow," they say.
The two enjoy reading P.E.I. food blog myislandbistrokitchen, but warn "don't scroll through if you're hungry!"
Aiken House & Gardens
Carolyn Aiken is a seasoned blogger, starting her blog Aiken House & Gardens nine years ago, chronicling her adventures in gardening and decorating her heritage home and large property in Warren Grove, P.E.I. The blog boasts almost 4,000 followers, averaging about 7,000 hits per day, Aiken shares.
"My youngest son encouraged me to start a blog and in fact one evening when I came home he surprised me by having it all set up for me and even gave it the name Aiken House & Gardens. I think he knew I would procrastinate!" Aiken said.
Aiken shares remarkable photos of her lush gardens, riotous with colourful perennial flowers like peony, lilac and roses and punctuated with romantic Greek-style statuary.
Through her blog, Aiken has met gardeners from as far away as Europe, Brazil and the U.S., and her photos have been featured in magazines and books around the world.
"My hope is that I provide a few moments of pleasure to those who stop by," she said.
"Also, because of my blog, my long-time dream of having our garden featured in the Victoria magazine will be realized this spring, the May/June issue," Aiken said.
Besides blogging, Aiken welcomes hundreds of visitors from Japan every summer for organized garden tours. She enjoys reading fellow P.E.I. blog Rose Chintz Cottage at sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.ca.
My Island Bistro Kitchen
My Island Bistro Kitchen just celebrated its five-year anniversary, counting foodies from around the planet among its followers.
"I was already sharing my cooking adventures with a limited audience on my personal Facebook page," shares blogger Barbara Mayhew, adding she didn't want it to be just another website of recipes.
"I wanted to showcase the great food produced on P.E.I., the producers, where food comes from, and what home chefs can do with our Island foods," she said.
Her blog allows Mayhew to combine her passions for cooking, photography, and writing along with, her love for great food, she said.
I wanted to showcase the great food produced on P.E.I., the producers, where food comes from.— Barbara Mayhew, MyIslandBistroKitchen
"I now find myself developing and testing new recipes from scratch so it's a continuous learning and growth experience," she enthused, noting she's now coming up with some gluten-free recipes. It's especially gratifying when readers share their success with her original recipes, she said.
Besides recipes, Mayhew shows her inspiration for creative table settings, afternoon teas and picnics, and writes about Island culinary events such as Fall Flavours, Savour Food and Wine Show and new restaurant openings. She also visits farms and fishing operations.
"I like to also blog about vintage recipes and the nostalgic old family favourites that are still considered 'comfort' foods today. I find those recipes are often the ones that resonate most with my followers because they evoke fond memories of their own childhood," she shared.
By day, Mayhew is a public servant. When she's not developing and testing recipes, styling and photographing food, or writing and editing her blog, she "is planning a trip somewhere that will generally involve some kind of culinary adventure."
Life on a Canadian Island
Alexandra Dekerf started blogging Life on a Canadian Island in December 2007 to record her family's homeschool adventures. Her blog then grew to a lifestyle blog and a little bit of a travel once she moved to Prince Edward Island.
She shares everything from how she journals to her favourite books, recipes and snowshoe trails, along with beautiful photographs of her activities.
"I only get personal satisfaction!" Dekerf said, noting she works part-time outside her home and the blog doesn't create income. "It is a creative outlet, something I enjoy doing."
"I spend a lot of time in nature, bullet journalling, reading, writing, doing yoga and taking care of my family," she shared.
Dekerf enjoys reading Islander arlenegiddings.com, "her blog is full of wonderful inspiration and things that I enjoy."
P.E.I. Heritage Buildings
Home designer and heritage enthusiast Carter Jeffery has been publishing his blog P.E.I. Heritage Buildings since 2011, winning a PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation in the process.
The blog's main purpose, he said, is to create a public record of the Island's historic buildings, especially ones that are being torn down.
"There's a lot of buildings disappearing," he said wistfully, adding "I try not to make my blog too negative — 'this has been demolished, that's been demolished.'"
Jeffery grew up in Alberton, so he visits the western P.E.I. town at least twice a week, taking note of changes to buildings in his travels, snapping photos of old barns or cheering on renovations to heritage homes.
Jeffery has also published a book of designs of P.E.I. heritage homes.
"I love sharing the information — what's the sense of collecting it if you can't share it?" he said.
Jeffery hosts three other blogs, too: one for his brother Kerras Jeffery, backroadfolkart.blogspot.ca, one for the church he belongs to, albertonolearyparish.blogspot.com and one on community history in the western P.E.I. communities of Alma and Lauretta, AlmaLauretta.blogspot.com.
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