Hi Adanna - I just opened your site, and my first impression is that it looks clean and professional. Your tagline tells me about your blog enough for me to know whether it's a place for me. I like to see a photo of the blogger as soon as I arrive - it would be nice to see one on your sidebar. However, my next stop is your "About" tab, and there's an awesome photo there, so I think between that and your cartoon in the header, new readers can get a feel pretty quickly.
Your menu is clear and easy to navigate. You do have the same menu above and below your header; I think you could eliminate the top one. You could consider adding a footer menu, so when readers get to the end of your post they are tempted to stick around. I like the links in your About page - that will help readers stay awhile as well. A "popular posts" widget may be helpful too.
I checked out your blog on my phone and my iPad - looks good on mobile devices. Your blog title is a bit small on mobile, but nothing worth worrying about if you can't change that on your own.
I'm going to get really nit picky here - you asked for it!
I'm not crazy about your wallpaper. It just doesn't seem to reflect your personality (or at least the personality I've assumed you have based on my first impressions). Maybe you could play around with different backgrounds. What I do like, though, is that it's relatively benign, and doesn't distract from your content.
So to answer your questions: your site is appealing and memorable. It's easy to navigate and I come away with the impression that you know what you are doing. I'm going to keep your tab open today, and if anything else hits me, I'll let you know.
Dana
Thank you so much for your feedback Dana! I will change the menus ASAP. I really appreciate your time and advice.