As Karen, Robin, Amanda, and I were deciding which blogs each of us was going to highlight this year, I looked back over the list from years past and realized that we’d not yet talked about Liz Burns’ broadly useful, always thoughtful A Chair, A Fireplace, & A Tea Cozy. Maybe it’s because we figured everyone already knows how great it is? In any case, Liz Burns’ blog is one that I can always count on for it’s insight, pointed opinions balanced with diplomacy, and palpable love for her subject matter.

Liz is an eloquent writer, and her ability to slalom effortlessly between personal connections and impressions and more academic, broader societal implications as she analyzes and discusses pop culture and media is admirable. I appreciate her unwavering defense of childhood as important, and of girlhood in particular, as valid and worthy of respect. I’ve appreciated Liz’s work for a long time and I’ve been remiss in not saying so till now.