Sweet Toothed

As I've said before, this is not a food blog.

I'm not a recipe creator by any means. 

But I just really like food. 

(Is there such a thing as simply a food lover's blog?

Nothing ingenious, just adoration?)

Anyways, I also suffer from a major sweet tooth. 

So while I might have come across as all nice and healthy with my farro shout out last time, 

it's not exactly an authentic representation of all my culinary cravings. 

So even as I read Meg Fee's recent posts about going sugar free 

and even as this idea resonate so deeply with me

and my current dietary dilemmas, 

and even as I attempt to start figuring and mapping out 

how I'll remove sugar from my daily diet, 

I find myself making raspberry jam swirl blondies the other night at 9 pm 

for my even more stronger sweet-toothed father for father's day.

As I stood over the stove top, I came to the conclusion 

that the smell of brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, 

is absolutely pure heaven.

I want to bottle it up 
and surround myself with this scent 24/7.

And of course, I couldn't help 

but cut off a little corner piece, 

for sampling sake, 

and it just melted in my mouth.

The raspberry seeds added an ever so subtle texture 

to the smooth, creamy blondie,

and as I wrapped up the individual pieces

I knew, somewhat discouragedly, 

but with really no effort to fight it,

that blondies and their various accoutrements will be a new

repeating recipe in my slowly but surely growing repertoire.

So thank you Joy the Baker for refusing to let me go completely sugar free.

The recipe for these blondies can be viewed here

photos via my iPhone

Essentials

Podcasts save me from driving off the road on my daily commute into the city. 

Since discovering Joy the Baker's podcast last summer, I have listened to all of the past episodes and look forward to downloading a new one each week. 
But there are 5 days in my work week and so there are 5 days in which I curse the traffic gods and go numb from listening to the same few songs over and over and over.

So I decided to give another show in the Homefries Podcast family a try (I've already listened to all of the We're About To Be Friends episodes)....and so that is how I found myself, a 27 year old young professional who thinks about bikinis and bellinis not babies, listening to The Simple Mom podcast the other morning.

And guess what? I'm quickly getting addicted. 

Sure, I don't really connect with a portion of the conversations, but there is plenty that I do connect with, children at home or not (do cats count?) Organizing my time and my home? Healthy cooking ideas? Finding time to relax? Bring on the advice.

And so, I've started downloading past episodes to fill my morning hours and today, when listening to the first episode of The Simple Mom, led by a lovely lady by the name of Tsh, she discussed the question "What is essential?" and the habit of asking yourself this when deciding what to do, or how to proceed. Not in some larger context of what is essential to your life and long term, but more so, what is essential now, today, at this moment. Sometimes it is cooking a healthy dinner for your family, sometimes that may be going for a run for yourself, sometimes it is just paying the bills right then and now. 

And sometimes it is dropping everything and collapsing on the couch with the remote and watching ridiculously silly, mind-numbing television.

I like this theory, I like this question.

And so, for right now, tonight at 11:15 pm, what is essential for me, is to finally close this computer after a long day of staring at the screen, and taking some deep breaths as I let this day slip on by, slide into bed to read one of my magazines. 

I'll keep you posted on my new mom-focused material in the mornings. Who knows what this never-a-nanny individual might learn.

Pinterest Delivers Once Again

Last Friday arrived, with my alarm all set and ready to log on and purchase a ticket to Alt Summit NYC. I learned of Alt Summit awhile back, and eagerly follow their newsletters and site, full of blogging and design advice, class offerings and recaps from past Summits that they’ve hosted. With this upcoming event in NYC, at the Martha Stewart headquarters no less, I was excited to have the opportunity to actually attend myself, network, learn and get inspired. 

And then, due to the lovely nature that is technology, servers failed and tickets sold out, and I was left disappointed and frustrated.

Then...due to fantastic customer service and an email that absolutely made my day, I registered last night and will now be attending the Summit in NYC this June. 

But before I received this fabulous news, I spent a large part of Sunday evening hungry for design and style inspiration, feeling as dreary as this grey March weather. I scrolled through Pinterest, clicking one photo then another and anther, and started to reignite my creativity a little.

And so, in honor of Alt Summit NYC, here are some of the images that captured my attention this past weekend. I plan on doing this more often, spending more time exposing myself to everything that is available, pushing myself to push my own creativity on a daily basis. Whether it be food or fashion, home decor or stationery, flowers or art, there is so much around us waiting to be looked at, beautifully/oddly/in a new way.

A special shout out to the following stylish sources 

that I love exploring

 and can always rely on 

to give me a dose of design inspiration: 

Glitter Guide, Dallas Shaw, 

Joy the Baker, Camille Styles

all photos via Pinterest

Foodie Blog Crushes

As I spend this glorious week between Christmas and New Years 

lounging at my family’s home in snowy upstate New York, 

I’m finally having the time to catch up with the many blogs 

that I so thoroughly enjoy, 

yet fell behind with reading during the past few crazy weeks.

And as I do so, 

I’m reminded of just how deeply these blogs inspire and influence me. 

As I work on creating my own little space in the blogosphere, 

these sites that I enjoy are my constant sources of inspiration; 

for my personal blog, 

for my home, for the clothes I wear, 

the food I eat, and more.

So as we wrap up 2012, 

I’d like to give some little shout outs to the blogs that helped to make my year 

more fantastic and fabulous, 

starting with the food blogs that get me excited to create in the kitchen

...and make me think I too can make something 

so deliciously good (looking):

Joy the Baker, 

for her witty, relatable writing 

and for aiding in the growth of my sweet tooth

Sara, at the Sprouted Kitchen, 

with her wise, beautiful words 

and for helping me feel better 

after I’ve indulged in too many of Joy’s cookies

Clara from Channeling Contessa, 

for giving me that middle ground between Joy and Sara 

 (the two gorgeous pasta shots probably aren’t the best representation but I love my carbs) 

and making everything seem doable for someone like me 

all photos from their respective sites