Blog Layout Update

I fell down a rabbit hole over the weekend and spent more time than I should have messing around with the layout and look of my blog. I like parts of its new layout, but there's other parts I don't like.

Just as a reminder, here's what it used to look like:

Here's some thoughts I've had on the new template/look. I've done some customization, but not all the code I've used works like the author claims, so I need to find some other ways of customizing the things I don't like. I won't have time until next week at the earliest to mess with the blog again, so maybe it will grow on me in the meantime.

Like:
The post layout on the front page- a picture and the first paragraph of each post, which makes it easy to see the previous posts at a glance

Dislike:
The sidebar on the right has disappeared- it had my picture, contact info, etc. There's a streamlined sidebar, but you have to click on it to see the parts (my picture, contact info, etc). So it gives a cleaner look, I suppose.

Dislike:
I can't get the header bar to do what I want it to yet- I added the code to make the title hide behind the picture (the title is in gray), but it's not hiding. So I'll need to do some more research to figure out the proper code.

Dislike:
The header doesn't re-size with the window, so the title of my blog disappears when the window becomes smaller. I might be able to change this since I've already customized the header. If I can change one thing, I should be able to change more. I think. I'll have to research this one some more as well.

Like:
The search function and results display is easy to use and I like how the results displays on top of the window instead of taking you to a new window.

Like (I think):
When you click on a post title, it opens the post in a pop-up type window that allows you to navigate to posts that came before and after it. When you close out of the post window, the blog is still where you left it.

Not sure:
I'm not sure of the brown in the header bar. Maybe change it to blue like this? I didn't apply the changes to the template, so I only have a small portion of the page to compare. I think I like the all white background, and blue has always been one of my favorite colors. I think the blue and white is a cleaner look than the brown and cream.

So tell me: what do you like or dislike? Is there anything that bugs you that you'd change if it was up to you?

Thanks!