Eat your heart out

Since we have been on the topic of food lately, let’s just continue the trend today in preparation for Friday’s food photography workshop. I find the greatest culinary inspiration online from some of the most talented and innovative food bloggers. Who are some of these people? Well, I’m glad you asked or at least wondered in your head. Below is my next list of 30 cooking/food blogs that will whet your appetite.

30 Cooking/Food Blogs to Whet Your Appetite

1.   Steamy Kitchen
2.   Good Life Eats
3.   Our Best Bites
4.   They Draw and Cook
5.   Life's Ambrosia
6.   Good Cheap Eats
7.   Sunday Suppers
8.   Joy the Baker
9.   101 Cookbooks
10. Buns In My Oven
11. Everybody Likes Sandwiches
12. Picky Palate
13. Taste Spotting
14. New Asian Cuisine
15. Canelle et Vanille
16. Smitten Kitchen
17. The Girl Who Ate Everything
18. Snappy Gourmet
19. Elana's Pantry
20. Italian Dish Blog
21. Baked Bree
22. Passionate About Baking
23. Bakers Royale
24. Simply Recipes
25. Matt Bites
26. Serious Eats
27. Pioneer Woman Cooks
28. The Kitchn
29. Tartelette
30. Pinch My Salt

{They Draw And Cook} Source: creaturecomfortsblog.com via Teresa on Pinterest

Wed to perfection

It’s here and gone. Royal Wedding Day 2011. I wasn’t one of the billions of sleep-deprived people to wake up and watch it live, but I did catch most of the highlights and saw the kiss live this morning. In my opinion, the best moment, which I actually caught live while at work (thanks boss for being as excited about the wedding as me), was seeing William and Kate in their getaway convertible, elated and somewhat amused that they surprised everyone by driving off by themselves. With foil balloons trailing behind, plastic bows firmly affixed and a JU5T WED license plate, they managed to incorporate a fun element into the staunchly formal affair. They looked like a couple of kids having fun with daddy’s fancy car, and that made them relatable, human, like a couple of really cool friends of mine just got married, albeit the getaway car was some kind of vintage Aston Martin.

{via Pinterest}

Of course, what I was most eager to see was THE wedding dress, which ended up not really being about the dress at all. Sure, the dress was absolutely flawless, but it was an adorning embellishment to the bride and merely highlighted and enhanced her natural beauty. Unlike Princess Diana, where the yards of silk taffeta and tulle swallowed her up and weighed her down, Kate seemed comfortable in a dress that flowed effortlessly with her. She looked breathtakingly beautiful, radiant and oh-so-elegant, as well as modest. The simple satin, classic lace, timeless silhouette. She looked the part of a modern-day fairytale princess bride and did it in her own style, which exuded classic elegance, likely to stand the test of time. This leads me to my next installment in the list series.

30 Timeless Fashion Staples/Trends that I LOVE:
1.    Pearls
2.    Ruffles
3.    Lace
4.    Silk
5.    Diamonds
6.    Bows
7.    Satin
8.    Feathers
9.    Ribbon/Sashes
10.   Pumps
11.   Cardigans
12.   Ballet flats
13.   Scarf/Pashmina shawl
14.   Little Black Dress
15.   Pencil skirt
16.   Trench coat
17.   Denim jeans
18.   Plain white fitted t-shirt
19.   Collared button-down shirts
20.   Capri pants
21.   Sunglasses (oversized & aviator)
22.   Jean jacket
23.   Designer leather purse (Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc.)
24.   Wrap dress
25.   Fitted blazer
26.   Hoop earrings (gold or silver)
27.   Turtleneck
28.   Classic watch
29.   Pea coat
30.   Flowers

One British trend that I haven’t quite embraced are those over-the-top hats that all the women wore at the Royal Wedding. They look really fun, but I’m just not quite sure I could pull that off anywhere here. Check out the interesting styles…http://abcnews.go.com/International/slideshow/royal-wedding-crazy-hats-13488833

Did you miss out on the wedding and want to know the play-by-play of the ceremony? Here is the official program of the Royal Wedding… http://ph1.cerosmedia.com/1B4db9637e64402583.cde

Around the…country

This will be somewhat of a continuation of my last post. If you haven’t read it, scroll down or read it here. The travel bug can hit at a moment’s notice, so here’s my list of places to visit that are a little closer to home.

30 American Cities I Hope to Visit (“Again,” if I’ve already been there before):

1. San Diego
2. Seattle
3. New York City
4. Boston
5. Chicago
6. San Francisco
7. Las Vegas
8. Orlando
9. Atlanta
10. Grand Canyon
11. San Antonio
12. Portland, OR
13. Washington D.C.
14. Philadelphia
15. Nashville
16. Los Angeles
17. Baltimore
18. Providence
19. Portland, ME
20. Minneapolis
21. Denver
22. Phoenix
23. Kansas City
24. Charleston
25. Myrtle Beach
26. Tampa
27. Indianapolis
28. Savannah
29. Phoenix
30. Key West

For some design eye candy, here are a couple city poster series that caught my attention…one with geometric shapes and bold colors and the other with interesting typographic placement. 

{via http://theheadsofstate.myshopify.com/collections/travel-series}

{via http://www.orkposters.com/}

Around the world

As a child, I remember my parents would subscribe to National Geographic magazine. The glossy, colorful covers, framed with distinct yellow borders, were irresistibly enticing and magically mesmerizing. Even the smell of the ink and the weight and texture of the paper between your fingers would evoke a sense of adventure. The photographs practically came to life and sucked me into this mysterious world that I knew existed somewhere out there, but I’d yet to see. 

My fascination with travel and exploration began at an early age, and even awarded me a first place trophy in my fifth grade geography bee. I actually remember that a National Geographic Kids magazine subscription was included in my winnings, and I also remember the winning answer – glaciers! It happened to be just my luck that my last family vacation had been to Glacier National Park in Montana. To this day, traveling is one of the things that most excites and inspires me, except now I realize that plane tickets aren’t cheap and now my husband and I have to fund these adventures somehow. Even though traveling can be somewhat expensive, I tend to value the time and experience much more than the investment. This brings me to the second installment of my list series – 30 places I would like to see in my lifetime…

wordle.net

30 Places I Hope to Visit (in no particular order):

1.   Alaska

2.   Hawaii

3.   Greece

4.   Italy

5.   Costa Rica

6.   New Zealand

7.   Fiji

8.   Great Britain

9.   France

10. Spain

11. Virgin Islands

12. Israel

13. Egypt

14. Australia

15. Great Barrier Reef

16. Bahamas

17. Rio de Janeiro

18. South Africa

19. Tahiti

20. Hong Kong

21. Germany

22. Thailand

23. Turkey

24. Puerto Rico

25. Manchu Picchu

26. Ireland

27. Dubai

28. Switzerland 

29. Japan

30. St. Lucia

Source: flickr.com via Teresa on Pinterest

Source: travel.nationalgeographic.com via Teresa on Pinterest

List mania

If you can’t already tell, I love lists…making lists, reading lists, checking things off lists. So to feed this obsession, I’ve decided to start a series of lists featuring different topics about anything and everything. You’ll just have to check back to see what list I’ve conjured up next. For the inaugural list – a list of 30 catchy, upbeat and uplifting songs that you can work out or dance to. Okay, I know that’s really not a good title and it ends in a preposition. However, the inspiration for this list stemmed from my Zumba classes. If you’ve ever been to a Zumba class, were you ever a little put off by some of the lyrics to the songs that were played? Really, I would rather not have to listen to songs about drinking, clubbing or something related to the female anatomy. Sure, the beats and tunes are kind of catchy, but I’m also left with an uneasy feeling. So, without further ado, the first list. Some of these songs are also ones that I’d like to choreograph for Zumba, whenever I become an instructor.

30 Uplifting Workout Songs:

1.      Hold Me Together {Royal Tailor}

2.      Search My Heart {Hillsong United}

3.      Tonight {Toby Mac}

4.      Something in Your Eyes {Shonlock}

5.      Don’t Wait {Addison Road}

6.      Outcast {Kerrie Roberts}

7.      Healing in Your Arms {Luminate}

8.      No Plan B {Manafest}

9.      Life {Beckah Shae}

10.  Hold Me {Jamie Grace}

11.  NY2LA {Press Play}

12.  Catchafire {Toby Mac}

13.  No More {Beckah Shae}

14.  Can't Shut Up {Anthem Lights}

15.  A Whisper & A Clamor {Anberlin}

16.  Let's Dance {Hawk Nelson}

17.  Here In This Moment {Beckah Shae}

18.  Let's Dance {Press Play}

19.  Put Your Love Glasses On {Beckah Shae}

20.  Gold {Beckah Shae}

21.  Under Fire {Abandon}

22.  Straight To Your Heart {Mikeschair}

23.  Tango {Jaci Valesquez}

24.  Sound of Love {Press Play}

25.  Get Back Up {Toby Mac}

26.  Funky Jesus Music {Toby Mac}

27.  Sticking With You {Addison Road}

28.  I Do {Colbie Caillat}

29.  Reggaeton del Rey {Trinity Takeover}

30.  Trinity Takeover - Latin Dance Collection, Vol. 1 (awesome for Zumba)

Also, just for fun...have you seen Rebecca Black's "Friday" video yet? It's one of the more recent Internet sensations, with more than 100 million hits on YouTube and more than 2 million dislikes. Yes, it's almost unbearably painful to watch, but then you realize the tune is stuck in your head and you start singing it in the shower. You can thank me later when you find yourself singing along with these deplorable lyrics. Here it is in all its teeny-bopper glory.


As a result of this Internet craze, there have been a surprising number of parodies. One of these is the Christian remake of it by Christian Community Church, called "Sunday."