New Clothes

There's a special feeling I associate with new clothes. Not quite the same as new school supplies, the feeling of freshness and renewal a new school term would bring (along with some vague terror), but close enough. New clothes make everything new. They smell different. They haven't be tainted by sweat or detergent after many washings. Their colors are bright and shiny. The fit, if sized properly, can give you a sense of purpose.

Old clothes, though, become comfortable and familiar, even safe, even when they get ratty. They become a part of you, sometimes in a frighteningly short time, seemingly molding to your body as if a part of you, moving with you, breathing with you.

New clothes can keep you alert, aware, energized. When I wear a new outfit I think looks good, I wonder if people are watching and admiring the coolness of me. When I wear old clothes, I worry that I've got a hole somewhere unwanted and people are watching and snickering behind my back.

I'm thinking a new outfit for my blog is similar. Though I had the old template for Cyber Chocolate for only a mere year, it had become familiar and comfortable. Sure, I swapped out backgrounds, aiming for a seasonal approach to my changes of color and pattern. I moved things around a bit, filled up the sidebar with chocolicious goodness. But at its heart, Cyber Chocolate remained pretty much the same, a worn brown and black loafer.

And now I've got a spiffy new ensemble for my chocolicious blog. I've been tweaking a bit, moving things around the sidebar, adding things back, taking things out. But the design is what it is and will remain until or unless I decide to get a new template. No more background changes (I'm pretty sure about that; I'm not even sure if or how I would do that with this template, and anyway, it wouldn't look right). No more playing here when I'm bored.

I can't seem to be able to stop looking at this blog, marvelling over Cat's wonderful design, revelling in the newness of it, its crisp beauty, its chocolicious yumminess. I feel like the belle of the ball, all of a sudden, eager to go out and show off the new party dress.

I'm sure, however, that the time will come, sooner probably than later, when this look will become familiar, when Cyber Chocolate's pretty dress will be comfortably worn. When the novelty of its difference will fade. I might get bored and want another new look. Or I might decide to keep it on til all the threads fall apart as newer browsers can no longer read its code.

Til then, here be Cyber Chocolate. I hope you're enjoying your visit, and the view. Hmmmm.... time to surf on BlogExplosion and get some extra hits. And those of you on Bloglines, please click on over and let me know what you think. I want to show off Cat's (she of BlogTogs) marvelous design.