Top Ten

David Letterman did it best. Oprah made it personal. In a busy, unfocused world, we can't read more then a few lines before we move on to the next bright, shiny object. Marketing professionals know this. If you can't convey your message in a few succinct lines you've lost them. It's sad, but with so much information overload, we don't have time to filter through all of the data on the web. That's why "Top Ten" lists or "My Fav's" are so popular. There's even a website called Top10.com where you can add to existing Top 10 lists or create your own. Here's mine. So, to keep you all engaged, here is my Top Ten list of favorite websites that I visit everyday for either recipes, design inspiration or just plain fun...

1. Pinterest - A place to categorize and share your favorite images.
2. Herman Miller's Lifework - The famous furniture manufacturer's design blog.
3. Geninne Art Blog - Who I wish I were.
4. Design Seeds - A woman who knows her color. 
5. Design Traveller - No words, just beautiful interiors...color coded.
6. Cute Overload - Prepare to be overwhelmed with cuteness.
7. Houzz - As an Interior Designer, I can not get enough of these images.
8. Blissful Thinking - Yoga for the mind.
9. Photojojo - If you love photography, you'll love this site.
10. My Fridge Food - If all you have is bacon, peanut butter and frozen fries...

Looky what I found...

It was so close to home, too. {smile}

The name's Koda...Ko-da.

Sadly, our 11 year old border collie, Bandit passed away a few weeks ago. I haven't cried that much in quite awhile. Such an awful feeling, losing a pet. 

Our house just isn't complete without a dog, and as luck would have it, a border collie breeder was just up the road with one pup left. Was that destiny, irony, coincidence? I'm not sure, but we welcomed Koda into our family. We needed his energy, his curiosity, his sweetness, his...puppiness. As my son quite correctly said, "He stole our hearts."

So watch for more posts on this little one. He's very smart, and has already discovered he can herd our cats. This is going to be interesting. 

Have a great week, everyone!

Say Cheese!

For lunch today, I had Baked Caprese Salad. Now, you may look at this and say "That's not salad." But just go with it...I think it's an Italian thing. The bread is just a big crouton, right? Riiiight....Anyway, this is what Giada De Laurentiis calls it and so am I. 

Photographing our food is so popular these days. We all do it. We go to a fancy restaurant, and when our flaming Baked Alaska comes we say "Hold on! Let me get my camera!" - while the waiter is suffering from third degree burns. 

I do think it's an art form and photog's like Catherine Murray at Photo Kitchen do it amazingly well. Catherine contributes regularly to Edible Columbus, and she was recently featured in one of my favorite blogs Design Sponge. Check out her portfolio here. Her garlic scapes are gorgeous. 

So, how did I do? Are you hungry? Good, because I've got baked alaska for dessert.

Just Peachy

Yes, peaches come in a can, but not in this house, not this year. 

My son and I LOVE peaches and since my blackberry jam turned out okay I thought I would try canning peaches for us to enjoy throughout the rest of the year. 

I saw a post on one of my favorite blogs about peaches here. For some reason this inspired me into craziness so I bought a half bushel of seconds for $13 at my local fruit farm. She said seconds are usually better for canning because they're cheaper and you can always cut around the worm holes (hope I got them all - wink). That's about 50 peaches. Yeah, 50. 

I think I must have been delirious...I mean, who am I kidding? Sure, the blackberries turned out okay, but I'm "not martha" (actual blog!) I needed help, and I needed it fast. So, I enlisted my Mom. All knowing, all seeing, experienced in all things canning...except Peaches. But we're smart girls, how difficult can it be? With peach pits flying, peach juice running down my arm and an occasional peach ninja (Dom) coming in to steal a bite, we didn't do too bad (no one lost a finger - always good). We filled (5) 1-quart jars and (7) 1-pint freezer bags. 

Now to find recipes for all of these peaches. Hmmm...peach schnapps, anyone?

{heart}

What I love:

Looking and truly seeing the beauty around me.

What I love more: 

When my children see it too.

Morning, Sunshine

I love these cool, sunny mornings. Anything seems possible. 
I feel I can get so many things done on mornings like this. 
But of course, I don't, because I'm overwhelmed by said possibilities.
So, I think I'll just enjoy the morning.