Personal Blog Redesign

Hey!

I'm looking to get some critique on a complete redesign of my current website, and would really appreciate it if you could comment your thoughts! I'm a novice designer, but please don't hold back! Also, please say which design you prefer, the original or the alt.

Real pixels:

Original: http://d.pr/i/IjEz
Alt: http://d.pr/i/cKOY