Today we are featuring Janna Asquith of Sparkly Love and Cris Stone of Kiss My Tulle. Janna lives in Connecticut with the husband, Eric, and their very spoiled puppy, Remy, and Cris resides in Texas with The Boy where she blogs and swears (usually at the same time).

Cris

Janna

How did you get started with blogging?

Janna: I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a pen. A few times, I’ve said “I should blog,” then created blogs about nothing and filled them with nothing more than the thoughts inside my head. I usually abandoned them after a week or two.

When I was planning my wedding, something happened to me. I found something that I wanted to write about forever. I love weddings and special events so much more than I ever realized. While I was searching for wedding inspiration online, I came across my first wedding blog, Big Day For 10k, and it was like I had finally found my calling. I started the SparklyLove blog that very day.

Cris: In 2007, I decided to give college one more try (after failing out twice before and being asked not come back). I wanted to learn HTML coding and started a blog as a class assignment. Shortly after, my good friends (and former roommates) Helen and Peabs got engaged and asked me to help plan their wedding. The easiest way to do this was via my blog – and I discovered that I was really, really good at helping people plan wedding projects and special moments. My readership grew and I’ve been doing it ever since (and even started another blog, At no. 64 which details The Boy and my God-awful attempts at remodeling our craptastic home).

What inspires you on a daily basis and how do you keep it flowing?
Janna: Things that inspire me:
• Love stories that give me goose bumps
• Pictures of people who are clearly in love
• Real wedding videos
• Music
• My husband (awww saaapppyyy!)

Cris: Realistic weddings on affordable budgets, pretty colors, George Clooney naked, fashion blogs, scrapbooking, and Pinterest all fuel my random need to look at something and try to figure out how it was made/done.

What’s your biggest blogging/social media peeve?
Janna: Biggest social media pet peeve: People who #FF hundreds of people all at once and fill my timeline. 1. That defeats the purpose of #FF and 2. I’m probably going to unfollow you if you insist on doing it every week.

Cris: I totes agree with Janna. Mindless lists of #FFs and #WWs do nothing for me. I’d rather you #FF or #WW one or two quality people and tell me why you like them than list names. Also, I hate random retweets. Again, take a second and tell me why you’re retweeting this information – share the joy of the discovery!

What do you do to get past creative or blogger’s block?
Janna: SURF PINTEREST! If you can’t find some inspiration on there, you should probably quit.

Cris: I agree with Janna – you cannot beat Pinterest for inspiration! Also, sometimes, I ask my Facebook Fans and Twitter followers for ideas or suggestions on what they’d like to read.

How/where did you and your husband get engaged?
Janna: We got engaged on the couch in our living room. Erik tied a red ribbon around our 10 week old puppy’s neck with the ring box attached. After a quick game of “OMG CATCH THE PUPPY BEFORE HE EATS THE RING,” Erik got down on one knee and said some things I can’t remember because I completely blacked out in happiness!

Cris: In bed. In the nude. Trust me – it was not the way that I had pictured it either.

Do you have any pets? What are their names and anything else you’d like to add about them?
Janna: We have a chocolate lab named Remy. He is almost 2 years old and he’s my baby. He’s our whole world and we love, love, love him. He even gets to sleep in our bed. We spoil him ROTTEN.

Cris: We are the proud owners of a 12 year-old black lab named Jill and are proudly owned by an 8 year-old cat named Caira. We were so the norm – I had the cat and he had the dog and now we’re one big, happy family (well, now that the cat has gotten used to being butt sniffed on a daily basis). We’re also looking to adopt a new black lab puppy within the next few months. Pfft – plan a wedding, remodel a house, and train a puppy all in less than 8 months – what could possibly go wrong?!?!

How do you take your coffee?
Janna: I’m one of those weird people who don’t drink coffee. True story.

Cris: OMG! Me, too! I was raised Mormon and never got used to coffee or the need to drink it. I am, however, completely addicted to drinking water (Seriously.).

How has the online community changed your life?
Janna: In the online community, I found camaraderie, a group of amazing people who are supportive, uplifting, inspiring, and so many other wonderful adjectives. I get excited to share my successes with the friends I’ve found there. I find comforted when I can reach out to them for help. I’m so happy to be a part of it all!

Cris: A moment of truth, ya’ll. Without an online community to talk to and share things with I would not have any friends. I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder about 8 years ago (and how funny is this – the doctor that diagnosed me? The (then future) father-in-law of Brian of The Groom Says!). As a result I have a really, really tough time meeting people and talking to them… which makes meeting people and creating friendships a bitch. But for some reason, I can do this online. Plus, the incredible outpouring of love, support, and help that I got when I found out about my dad’s cancer was so amazing (I’m actually tearing up writing about it…) that it still blows my mind.

Where do you write your blog?
Janna: One of my favorite places to blog when it’s nice out is our screen porch. After our wedding, I added lots of little things from our wedding – including our Thank You sign!

Cris: I have my own desk (the Expedit bookcase/desk combo from Ikea) and it was one of the best purchases I have ever made. It’s in a corner of our living room because I am addicted to writing/coding while watching TV and hanging out with my husband (he likes watching all those reality shows on Alaska and I like recognizing people that I grew up with [including a few ex-boyfriends.]). My desk is great because my resources and reference books are within arm’s reach and it’s big enough for me, my laptop, and a sprawled-out cat to comfortably share.

What’s one thing about you we do not know?
Janna: I’m double-jointed at the elbow.

Cris: I have a shockingly good singing voice. And none of this “American Idol” good voice crap either – I’m talking a full on Broadway/Judy/Liza/Linda/Babs thing. Seriously, get me in a good mood and I will rock your eardrum’s world.

Who’s your celebrity crush?
Janna: I have a thing for musicians. I love me some Joshua Radin, Gavin DeGraw, Mat Kearney. I also love professional sports players but when did they start being so much younger than me? Ugh, this is getting awkward.

Cris: Hands down Jason Varitek (Captain and Catcher for the Boston Red Sox). I love him. I am his future wife. The Boy is fine with it (and so is Tek’s wife – I just know it).

What’s the one thing in life that can put an instant smile on your face?

Janna: My puppy or my friends’ babies. My friends make awesome looking babies.

Cris: Wow. My answer is so much more self-involved than yours. I was thinking of purses.

What do you think makes a good blog?
Janna: I think it’s a mixture. I think you need to give helpful advice, share really inspiring ideas that most people wouldn’t think of without you, and you need to be relatable to your audience.

Cris: A good blog makes me think that I’m friends with the person writing it (even though we’ve never met)… it has also been proofread (seriously, y’all – grammar is your friend).

If you were blogging your own wedding, what would the title be?
Janna: I’m in Love with the Life We are About to Start Together

Cris: I already did this! Wedding Wednesday: Holy Crapballs, The Boy and I are Getting Married on Friday!!!

PC or Mac?
Janna: I have one of each. I have problems with both. I think I’m the issue! If I had to choose to have only one forever, I’d probably go Mac. But I like having one of each.

Cris: I’m a PC. Hands down PC all the way – I get a new one every two years.

What would you say is the profile of your reader?
Janna: I’d say female, 18-35, in a relationship, budget-conscious.

Cris: Same here (though lately, I’ve been attracting a lot of budget-conscious wedding vendor, too, which is so cool!).

How would you describe your blog in 140 characters or less?
Janna: Budget-friendly inspiration, advice, and DIY projects for future brides and party planners who want events that sparkle.

Cris: Wedding planning with an informative, practical, irreverent voice. Super funny and a supermodel – WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!?!

Featured image courtesy of Full House.

Janna Asquith is passionate about all things sparkly, being lazy, sloppy puppy kisses, and bread. She and her new little family are loving life in their Connecticut home where her amazing guy puts up with Janna with a smile on his face and she talks to her dog in a baby voice (and won’t apologize for it!). You can find her at Cris Stone was unexpectedly married in July of this year (though she’s still planning her May 2012 wedding) and has recently relocated to the Texas Hill Country where she lives with The Boy, a dog, and a cat. Currently, this little crew is trying to remodel their 1,200 square foot home (aka Casa de Crap) without killing each other.