“It’s the thought that counts,” I thought as I first laid eyes on LoriLoo, almost two years ago. Bryan created the blog as a way for me to keep in touch with friends, a way to relate my adventures, as I lived my new life in Korea. The site really was ugly. You can still see the first iteration here. But I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It was a gift, after all, and a very thoughtful one at that. How long had he spent choosing the colors, creating the fonts, making everything just so? I couldn’t change it. Over time I grew fond of the abominable orange, the way the corners didn’t meet just so. I grew to love LoriLoo.

It was only quite recently, over quite a few cocktails, that he asked me, “Why the hell haven’t you changed that ugly template I set up for your blog?”

I was stunned.

“I, well, I… well, I thought it was ugly too, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I thought you spent a lot of time creating it.”

He burst into laughter. “It was the first template I saw. I figured you’d have a lot of free time in Korea and you’d create something really cool.”

Finally having the creator’s blessing, I meant to create a really cool design. I really did. But just never got around to it. Until he sent me this email… “I’m ready.”

Ready to change the ugly template. Of which I had surprisingly grown so fond.

We spent a while reviewing the options, talking about what could be altered and what couldn’t. I like the new look. It’s calming. It’s simple. The only problem was that it didn’t have orange. The color which I’ve come to associate with LoriLoo.

He gave me a crash course on web colors. I saw it. #FF9900. LoriLoo Orange. “The titles have to be this color. Just for old time’s sake.”