Buy.

I don't even want to wait until 2011. To bad I have graduated to a smart phone calendar because I love the calendar book/planner, but I think the desk calendar will brighten up my office nicely.

2011 Linnea Design Calendar




I love, love, love July, August and October.

Live.

It's Friday and several weeks ago I institued Friday night wine and cheese on our patio for me and JC.

This decree accomplished several things:

1-Before Friday Wine and Cheese a typical Friday at home would be scrounging for dinner and aimlessly flipping the TV channels. Did it take brain power--no; did it get a little stale--yes.

2-It slowed us down just a bit and got outside for just a few hours, even during allergy season.

3-It has been a great time for uninterrupted chatting with the hubby. It's amazing what you talk about when the conversation doesn't revolve around which DVRed show to watch next.

4-It creates ready-made, pre-planned, easy dinners. I have zero modivation for Friday night cooking, and I like to cook. Wine and cheese for dinner means just a little advanced planning and prep, then lots of pouring and snacking. (Honestly this one is probably my favorite).

So here are the rules:

1-Choose an evening that you want to claim for yourself (or at least mostly for yourself). I picked Friday for a number of reasons.

2-Choose 1 easy, standard menu that you can enjoy each week (beverages optional). Try to pick a meal that doesn't involved lots of shopping for random items, major prep work and can be eaten whenever every you want. It's patio wine and cheese for us through the summer, but I am thinking make your own pizza and a movie (also with wine) this winter.

3-Choose a spot that is not where you normally eat or spend your at home time. So probably some where other than the kitchen table or couch. Picnic outside or eat in the dining room, just because it's your day and it's a little special.

3-Be flexible. The idea is to create a ready made plan of relaxation to fill up an otherwise uneventful evening. If social plans or work get in the way every once in a while, no worries there is always next week.

Read.

For anyone who wants a bi-monthly reminder about all of the culture, design, architecture, food, liturature, and people that make up the New South.

The most recent issue highlighted several small southern towns for live, work and play; a beautifully written article by Tom Brokaw about his beloved lab bird dogs; and something for specifically for you NYC folks.

If you are not quite up for another magizine subscription, at least wander through the website.

Disclaimer: There are sporting, often hunting, realted articles, which is not exactly my cup of tea, but the rest of the magazine is worth it.

Eat.

Simple summer grill menu. Few ingredients, quick prep, easy clean up.

1.Grilled Garlic Shrimp Skewers-Use fresh garlic. It's totally what makes this work.
2.Grilled Pork Skewers-Pre-slice the tenderloin before tossing it in the marinade. Skewer the slices just like the shrimp. This also makes a great sandwich.
3.Basmati Rice and Black-Eyed Peas-Get the rice cooked even before the grill goes on, then add the peas, lemon and onion. Everything will stay warm (an require no attention from you) while your meat is cooking.
4. Grilled tortillas with hummus-We actually had a baked version, but I think if you brush a little Olive Oil on a flour tortilla and toss it (both sides) on the grill for a few minutes, the top hummus it would be awesome.

Buy.

I am loving this update to my accessory wardrobe this summer.

Following the boyfriend watch trend, I have been wearing this one as a watch/bracelet for a few months now to try and "trend up" my work wardrobe. At $14.99 it goes in the trendy, cheap and functional categories. Plus is makes me feel just a little bit fancy. So not a bad impulse buy.

See. Do. Eat. Read. Live. Buy. Write.

So I mentioned a gimmick in my last post, with the title as a hint. I hope that I came up with something that will keeping me writing on a diverse group of topics and keep blogger block away for at least a while.

Here is the plan. I have picked 7 fairly broad verbs that pretty much explain how I spend my non-work life. 7 verbs for 7 days of the week, with the idea that each day gets "assigned" as topic to blog about. Here is what you have to look forward to...





See: Notes about my actual travel, plans to travel, or hopes to travel.


Do: I'm thinking this stays a fairly broad topic and notes things to do (of that I did) because they are cool, nice, good.


Eat: Pretty self-explanatory. Good food, beverage, recipe ect. that I want to share.


Read: Suggested reading lists and reviews of what I have read or am reading.


Live: Another broad topic focusing on general life stuff that doesn't fit in any other category.


Buy: Products with reviews or purchases to share.


Write: I challenge myself to add one semi-creative, hopefully entertaining writing post per week.





Now two disclaimers:


1-I reserve the right to add or take away a verb as it fits what I want to post about. We all need a little excitement to look forward to, right?


2-With this new format comes the end of corny post titles. All you are getting is the verb title to give you a clue where I am heading--you can make up the rest.





Stick with me, comment often.

Revise

103 posts later (this makes 104) and several busy months off I have come to several conclusions.

1)I really enjoy blogging, but sticking with just home decor stuff is not really keeping the pages full.
2)I need a gimmick, something to keep the blogger block away--even in the busy months.
3)I may have found my gimmick, so stick with me to see where this all goes. Hint: it involves me not having to come up with post titles, yay!!
4)I make no promises about pictures on lengths of posts. Let's just shoot for new, diverse content each day.
5)I am not a tech person, but for the last 12 hours have been obsessing over the new Droid Incredible by Verizon, that and actually having Internet on my phone. Really, am I that girl?

So stay tuned for some revision, a new look, and regular posting--at least through the summer. I promise to try to keep you entertained.