Do you like it? I know some readers hate change and I changed the way From Scratch looks just a couple months ago, but this re-design was necessary to make the blog more usable. I decided to keep using magazine-style excerpts on the front page for all but the most recent posts, but they shorten the page and made the sidebar way too long. Scrolling, scrolling. I had two choices: move the Blogroll to its own page like the Useful Links page — which I don’t want to do — or add another sidebar and move a few things over to it. I chose the latter and while I was at it, I made the navigation bar easier to see and use and freshened the graphics and colors.
So this ought to be the last major change for a while and I hope you like it. I admit the width was startling at first but I soon came to like it and I think the white space I’m using opens it up a little. For good or ill, it’s my handiwork.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I like it a lot, even though I generally prefer both sidebars to be just on one side.
However, your header is still a bit too big [although, this could just be my FF browser again!] and your Amazon link image is also a little bit too big.
As an aside, have you ever made a red wine cake?
Hi, Cat. I’m glad you like it! I prefer them on one side too, but the multimedia box above the sidebar on the right re-sizes automatically and it was crazy huge when it was as wide as 2 sidebars, even when one is narrower like the one on the left. And I don’t want to ditch the box.
It is your browser, actually your browser with Vista. Is the Amazon image jutting out from the sidebar? Looks fine in most other browsers/configurations. (There’s one Opera version that doesn’t play nice but I’m not going to worry about that.)
But oooh…I’ve never even heard of red wine cake. What’s it like? Is it heavy and dense like fruitcakes with booze?
No, actually. It’s a really nice, fluffy all mixed together kind of dough.
I’m planning on posting the recipe this week, but it’s in German and I’ll need to translate the specific terms I don’t know in English, like the description of the cake where I can’t find a clear definition in the dictionary for!
I don’t suppose you happen to know of any food specific dictionaries online?
Also, how come Commentluv doesn’t show my latest post?!
Hi, Cat – The Food Lover’s Dictionary is on line. It’s a standard and I link to it often.
You know who could help you with that? Ian in Hamburg. He bakes and has mentioned an American cookbook he uses, so I’ll bet he’s got the lingo in German too. Then there’s the difference between American English and British English for many ingredients, but I can help you there. I’m “bilingual” that way.
My reply about CommentLuv doesn’t want to nest in the right place, so please see my reply in blue down below.
Thanks for mentioning it, I think I will go and ask Ian!
The whole page is a bit too wide for my screen; I have to pan to the right to see the sidebar there.
Kathy G’s last blog post..It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Thanks for the feedback Kathy, and good to see you as always. I’m curious what your resolution is? Browser?
I think this looks great. I wish I could do this. I have serious blog envy now. This is exactly the layout I want for mine.
robin steele’s last blog post..My Kindle 2…I Think I’ll Name It…
Hi, Robin, and welcome! I have Kindle envy, so I guess we’re even.
Thank you for the kind words. Most of the CSS resources I use are those linked to in the forum stickies, although some of what you see here can’t be achieved on a .com blog or with CSS alone. But you probably knew that….
When you need content for your Kindle, I’d appreciate it beyond words if you’d head over to Amazon from my store link here; once you’re there via my link, anything you buy I get credit for. It’s only pennies but nowadays every penny counts.
I’m glad you stopped by!
In fact could you recommend some reading material to help me learn CSS and how to design something this great.
robin steele’s last blog post..My Kindle 2…I Think I’ll Name It…
Looks good: nice and colorful without being distracting because the white keeps it readable. I like it.
You might inspire me to learn CSS to at least change the look of my blog. I’m so tired of looking at it. (in all my spare time…)
Did you mean to leave the link underlines in the category cloud to distinguish it from the tag cloud?
tess’s last blog post..Passover’s Over!
Thank you, tess! Insomnia has its benefits.
I love white space as a design element.
The cat cloud is an old plugin and has always had underlined links. I’d sort of prefer them not to be there, but I’m not annoyed enough by them to hack the plugin code or even contact the author. Cat clouds aren’t standard with an org install and I think that’s the only one I’ve ever seen. Do you have a fix with HTML?
Gosh, no!!! CSS is too scary for me, I think.
I only do the HTML stuff that does not involve a code that includes “body” LOL
I’m older than you think, I think. My tiny bit of HTML knowledge was once modern! in wp.com, putting stuff into div sometimes works, but not always.
tess’s last blog post..Five-Color Sushi
I’m not a 30-something either, Tess. I learned a bit of HTML about 10 yrs ago and you’re right, it was the shizz, but I think in CSS now. It’s not scary. What’s scary is .php and I’m almost a total illiterate. I did look at that widget’s code and saw useful things such as not displaying empty cats and then I saw the word “explode.” No fooling. I backed out of there real fast.
I love your site Ella! It’s obvious how much time, sweat and love you’ve put into it, and it SHOWS! I could spend half my day here, but I have to put a lid on my fooling-around hours online
Keep up the good work, my friend. To me it looks perfecto!
Sunny
Thank you, {{{Sunny}}}. It’s always a delight to see you here. It is amazing how quickly a few minutes online turn into a few hours, isn’t it?
BTW, I have a yummy recipe coming up this week that should fit into your food plan quite well. Stay tuned!
I like two sidebars because, as you say, you can get more information higher on the page.
HAHA re: “explode”! I know what you mean, when one doesn’t understand the code it’s best to back away…
I maintain a couple of self-hosted for other people, but I like .com for mine because all the updates are always there, and I’m not all that visually oriented.
Having said that, I do like your brown paper header, which you’ve had for a while, and the post-its are way cool. I haven’t seen many blogs which put the excerpts into two columns. Good work! I know a tiny amount of CSS, and some HTML, and yikes php, and I know how time consuming it all is. Happy tweaking!
MusEditions’s last blog post..Where does my brain stop and my computer begin?
Thanks, Muse! That if then else stuff makes my hair hurt. I’m far more visually-oriented than if then oriented.
I love the sticky notes too and the brown paper, which I had to keep after scanning a bazillion bags to find one that scanned well enough to use. But I did flip it; when the nav bar was above the header, I had the straight edge of the bag on top and the torn edge L-R from top to bottom. I’ve decided having a blog is like having a Barbie doll again — the new outfits and accessories never stop.
Cat, this is baffling. I don’t know, even though I’ve done the following: tried it logged out with one of my .com blogs as the url (worked), removed the / from the end of your url in this comment (no show), used your feed address in the previous comment, since it pulls from your feed, still no show. I called up your comments and the last one comment luv showed a post for was Dec or Jan — and after that time you show a totally different IP, I mean starting with the first 2 numbers.
So I’m stumped. I know your feed is working, although I had to go to the browser bar icon to see it. Did you used to have it in the sidebar too? Or with feedburner?
I did notice it a while back and I think they only ever showed up for that Jamie Oliver magazine post anyway. Assumed it was just a glitch, but everone else has theirs!
I’ve made no changes to the feed, it’s the standard wordpress one. I did go up to North Germany in late Dec where I still am now which could explain different IP’s, however I’ve used the internet from different places.
Odd!
Truly perplexing, Cat. I even changed the icon on the off chance it might unstick something that might have gotten stuck.
I have to stop finding errors on your blog, don’t I?!
Ian will know.
And I appreciate knowing about display problems — I don’t think I’d call them errors — but it’s frustrating when others with the same setup don’t see them and browsershots doesn’t show them. I wish it weren’t happening for you, but I also wish people stiill weren’t using IE6 and seeing a whole Internet the way nobody intended.