If you are like me, your Pinterest board is a mess and you can’t find things when you want to add pins.
After three weeks in Europe, I have a lot to add to my travel boards, but I was despairing of how to easily access boards and also to clean up duplicates.
I discovered this Chrome extension and it works magically. I can’t believe I never did this before.
How to Arrange Your Pinterest Boards in One Easy Step
Try it. It’s a life changer.
I spent the morning wandering around Pier One, Pottery Barn, and Crate and Barrel. I figured that if anything could perk up my dormant writing mojo, it would be Easter bunnies and pastel dishes.
Click into photo for source.
Maybe I have some sort of seasonal affective disorder. Or maybe I’m just sick of Chicago’s whiplash weather. One minute it is 60 degrees and my tulips are coming up and the next minute there’s seven inches of heavy snow to be shoveled. Welcome to winters in the Midwest, I hear you saying. Get over it. Continue reading
Recently a young friend commented on her frustration with Facebook constantly changing its formats, making choosing the way we interface with its programming difficult. She wants better control over whose posts she sees and the frequency that she sees them. I agree with her that it’s annoying to be faced with “suggested posts” and “sponsored posts” in addition to have people’s posts hidden from me because I didn’t comment enough. Annoying. Obviously, Facebook isn’t interested in what we want it to do for us; Mr. Zuckerberg and his staff want to make money. I get that and I’m happy that Facebook is still free.
Click into photo for source.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve really been struggling with writing for my blog.
The combination of the everlasting winter and the everlasting knee replacement rehab certainly contributes to my Debby-downerism, but it’s more than that.
On one hand, all the SEO tips and blogging experts tell me that I need to focus on one area and write compelling content about that area.
On the other hand, the reason I started blogging was to write about what was on my mind and to share information and visuals that I thought people might be interested to see. Continue reading
As a writer and photographer, as well as being a retired teacher, it has been instilled in me that reflection is important to the artistic process and to personal growth. With this in mind, I watch my stats carefully, although not religiously, and I try not to be driven by what others think. It’s always good at the end of the year to examine what worked and what didn’t in all parts of one’s life — and especially in what one puts out into the universe.
So here goes — my top posts of 2013 and my opinions as to why they got as much traffic as they did. Click into the red title to see the full post. Continue reading
I really struggled with the title of this post. I feel as though it should be Adventures in Food Styling rather than highlighting the Seafood Cobb Salad that I remixed and then photographed twice for my home kitchen. Whatever the title, I’m baring it all today in the hopes of helping you to be a better food stylist by learning from my mistakes.
Seafood Cobb Salad Remixed and Rephotographed
We are always looking for what we call “Joe’s Fish” when we travel — the local seafood restaurant that offers wonderful seafood at reasonable prices that only the locals know about. Recently on our trip home from Ohio, we were determined to take the time to find a good lunch place near Indianapolis. By using my Yelp app on my phone, I found Mitchell’s Fish Market in Carmel, Indiana, and we were in luck! While not exactly Joe’s Fish, Mitchell’s is a supper-club style chain with excellent seafood and meat options on the menu.
My out-of-focus photo shows you how Mitchell’s styled this Seafood Cobb Salad.
I ordered the special salad of the day, a Seafood Cobb Salad, and a lobster tail. As I do, I took a photo of the plate, but my iPhone seems to be having some issues with focusing. Maybe I’m doing it too quickly; I only include it to show you the original styling of this presentation.
Once home, I was determined to remake this delicious salad. I gathered together the makings of the original salad — two lobster tails, a can of crab, one pound of shrimp, two hard-boiled eggs, and a pound of bacon. Yes, the ingredients were expensive, but I made enough of the meat mixture to separate into frozen packets for at least four more servings. I spent a long time looking for the right recipe, but finally just created my own. I cooked the bacon until it was crisp but not crunchy, boiled the lobster tails for seven minutes and then immediately put them in ice to stop the cooking. I opened the can of crab, and thawed the precooked shrimp and pulled off the tails. I chopped it all into bite-size pieces. Pretty darn easy.
Most lobster roll recipes call for a mayonnaise-heavy dressing, but I tried lightening it up a little by adding a fat-free raspberry vinaigrette to some mayo. That worked nicely, giving the dressing a slightly sweet taste that was not overpowering. I put the salad on a bed of red-leaf lettuce and started taking photos.
This is where we get into the food styling fail. This is actually the BEST photo I got of the bunch.
So what’s a girl to do? Remake the salad and buy a new lens.
With purchased lobster roll salad and more carefully thought-out styling, I rephotographed the salad with my new 50mm/f1.4 lens. What a difference!
First I tried it in a clear bowl a la Rachael Ray. My new Monet tea towel made a nice backdrop.
Then I tried it in the white bowl again. It’s amazing what a good lens and some careful food styling will do to essentially the same photo, isn’t it?
What’s the moral to this story?
Both salads were very tasty; it’s pretty hard to screw up lobster. The bottom line is that in food photography, good equipment makes a difference, but it’s important to thoughtfully style the photograph before you use that fancy lens!
To Visit:
Mitchell’s Fish Market, 14311 Clay Terrace Blv., Suite 100, Carmel, IN 317-848-FISH
I’m linking up today at Open House Party Thursdays sponsored by No Minimalist Here. Be sure to stop by and visit some of the creative bloggers sharing their work!
Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”
Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)
I said it. I said “Uncle.”
I have spent my day in a funk after visiting my orthopedist and coming to a decision about my arthritic knee. He told me that I have to say “uncle” before he’ll consider doing knee replacement.
I’ve been suffering from what I call marching band knees for many years — my knees are shot from too many years of abuse and too many years of being overweight. I had arthroscopic knee surgery in 2002 and my doctor told me I’d be begging him for a knee replacement in five years. Well, it’s been eleven years, and I have been determined not to wimp out. Everyone said that it would become clear — that I would know when it was time for a knee replacement.
Sometimes life’s lemons are sweetened with sugar.
I still don’t know about the knee replacement, but I do know that I was in a bad place today. And then along came this wonderful post from my friend, Alycia Nichols of Tablescapes at Table Twenty- One.
Click into the photo to see Alycia’s amazing tablescape!
In February, when we were putting the final touches on our April 2013 trip to France, I posted about these cute placements I saw online. Then I dragged my traveling companions all over Paris trying to find these pink and green ones because my blogging buddy Alycia liked them. For those of you who don’t know Alycia, she is the kindest commenter out there in the blogging universe, and I wanted to thank her for her generosity with her time for other bloggers.
Click into the photo to see the full post.
What she created with a silly quartet of plastic placements is truly amazing and I am thankful once again for her thoughtfulness. Sometimes people outside of the blogging community don’t understand the sense of community and friendship that develops in the blog world among people who may never meet each other in person, and my friendship with Alycia is one of those connections that surpasses reason.
So, if a knee replacement will get me back to Paris, and London, and Rome, and Venice, and Florence, and Berlin, and Prague, and Istanbul, I’d better buck up and do it. My travel bucket list goes on and on… and Alycia and I need more stuff for our tablescaping stashes!
Please visit Alycia’s beautiful tribute to Paris. You won’t be disappointed.
One thing I’ve learned since I’ve started stalking following tablescaping blogs is that when I see a wonderful piece at a good price, I should grab it.
That was the case with this beautiful 60″ x 120″ Indian cotton tablecloth from April Cornell that I got at Home Goods for $24.99. The blue and green paisley with yellow accents was just the shot of spring I needed in my dining room — it’s unclear here in Chicagoland whether it’s winter or spring, so I voted for spring! The tablecloth has mitered corners with a sewn-in border and is stunning. Although it’s actually a traditional Indian paisley, to me it says country French and that was where I went with it.
I got to work gathering up pieces from around the house that would complement the colors of the bold tablecloth but not necessarily compete with it. I started with these very bold placemats. Nope. Too much.
I went back to my trusty pewter chargers from last week (sending a quick thank you to my mother-in-law’s memory) and layered my mom’s sweet china (Claridge from Four Crown China) with the World Market Indian cotton napkin. I like how the clear salad plate shows off the beautiful blue and grey stripes of the napkin.
Since every party at my house always starts with appetizers as people gather, I envisioned the dinner beginning with Basil – Lemon Sorbet as a palate cleanser. It would look beautiful in my inherited sorbet glasses. My mother-in-law loved these swirl dishes; does anyone know what the pattern is?
I grabbed the antique etched glass goblets and simple water glasses for beverages. The combination of complex and simple helps to balance the table.
For my centerpiece, I started with a crystal cake plate and put a large hurricane on it with the bright blue candle. Again, too much and too tall. Then I turned the cake plate upside down and put another of my glass plates as a candle bobeche. Perfect proportions.
As the pieces started to come together, I knew I didn’t even have to get fresh flowers for this table. The silk flowers and vines that I already had were perfect for the setting. The “white” flower ring from Partylite turned out to actually have a complementary yellow cast, and the ivy sets off the beauty of the Chinese and Delft teapots.
Finally, I knew that I had to have some pops of yellow to complement the yellow in the tablecloth, so I pulled out a few pieces of French Quimper pottery from my (mother-in-law’s) collection. They are not usable for eating as they are old and likely have lead in their glazes, but putting four small plates on stands completed the centerpiece.
After I arranged the fake ivy, I realized there was room for another set of candlesticks at each end, so on the table went more Quimper with votives set on top. (You’ve probably figured out by now that I hate getting wax on my tablecloths and almost always use bobeches and votives.)
If my table could talk, it would say, “Passez une bonne journée!”
We were privileged to be a part of beautiful baby Lindsay’s baptism and celebratory party. Lindsay’s flowers and her adorable photo served as the inspiration for today’s baby shower tablescape. I tucked Lindsay’s photo from her baptism invitation into a cranberry glass box.
Of course, Lindsay’s party needed to be centered around PINK so I created a floral centerpiece in my favorite hobnailed cranberry glass bowl. Everything looks good in this vase.
When planning this centerpiece, I grabbed the wood carving that my father created for my children of a stork delivering a baby.
When my mother and father visited the Netherlands, my father became intrigued with the rooftops and chimneys in the lovely cities.
Pewter chargers laid on a cream lace tablecloth and cream and pink floral placements set the stage for the place settings.
Every hostess should own at least twenty plain white plates to use as a base for table settings. Mine are Pfaltzgraff Filigree and can go from the most formal table to an outside party on the patio.
On top of the white service plate, I layered a rimmed soup bowl (Claridge from Four Crown China); this was my mom’s china and these bowls work well for salad or soup.
We received eighteen Cristal d’Arques wine and water glasses for our wedding thirty years ago. We assumed some would break along the way — we still have all thirty-six glasses! Our swirly champagne glasses would certainly be filled with pink champagne for this event.
To add a little pink flair, each place setting is topped by a cranberry juice glass with a sparkly daisy.
Setting this table was special for me, as it features both my family heirlooms and the darling grandchild of my heart. Every time I see my dad’s stork carving, I want to visit the Netherlands and find out what inspired him. He’s not here with us any longer to tell me, so I’ll have to see it for myself.
Travel plus movies. Fun and funner.
As soon as we planned our trip to Austria, I knew I wanted to take the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. Yes, I was the subject of ridicule among my friends, and Music Man barely tolerated the idea. But how could I go to Austria without seeing where Julie Andrews made cinematic history?
Today’s photo tour takes us to the Mirabell Palace and Gardens where some of the Do Re Mi sequences were filmed.
Remember these steps? I was there, too.
Remember when the children run around the garden and mimic the attitudes of the dwarves? You can do that too!
The Dwarf Garden has a bunch of interesting creatures made of white marble and they date back to the time of Archbishop Franz Anton Harrach in the early 1700s. I think I took photos of every darn dwarf — I knew I would use them someday and here we are.
We also went to Schloss Hellbrunn where the gazebo in which Liesl and Rolf sing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” has been moved to protect it from trespassers. The interior shots were actually done on a set in Hollywood, but you can get your picture taken from the outside, as I did on a rainy day.
I enjoy seeing the movie locations when I am touring; it makes the fake world of movies seem a little bit more real. If you’re going to Salzburg, don’t let anyone talk you out of the Sound of Music tour. You’ll love it!
I’m linked up today with Our World Tuesday. Please stop by to see the travel stories of other bloggers and share the comment love!
