Friday Favorites – 9/16/16
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My new bowl from Alisa Burke. I’m not sure where I’m going to display it permanently. For now, it’s hanging out on my kitchen island, and I love seeing it there every day. Also, if you haven’t checked out her free coloring pages, go check them out now. She’s still releasing a new page weekly. Alisa also recently released a new set of for purchase coloring books, which are available over here.
The same day Lindsey Stirling’s new album, Brave Enough, released (obviously, it’s awesome, go check it out), I also started listening to Every Open Eye by Chvrches and Fishing Blues by Atmosphere, both of which are fabulous. I don’t even really know what to say about them, hence I’m mentioning them in a favorites post and not a music-specific post. All of these albums are streaming on Prime so have a listen for yourself.
Dan O’Donnell is my single favorite person to listen to on the radio right now. In addition to news reporting, he fills in regularly for several local shows I listen to, and he also recently got his own podcast. Not surprisingly, he’s had great coverage of the recent Milwaukee rioting (which now has its own Wikipedia page…).
Pexels.com. I am always on the look out for image sites with high quality, free creative commons or other commercial use licensing for my own articles and for clients who want images with articles. For the past four years or so, my go-to sites have been Flickr and Morguefile. Pexels kind of blows everything else I’ve ever found out of the water for both quantity and quality. Recently, I used some of their photos for this new article and this newly overhauled article.
Grammarly. I can’t believe I just started using Grammarly this summer. I should have started using it ages ago. When you write 30,000 words per week, it’s really easy for little mistakes to slip through the cracks. Grammarly helps me correct mistakes on everything from emails to blog posts to client articles. Plus, you get a weekly report with activity, accuracy, and vocabulary with your own stats and a comparison to other Grammarly users (i.e. you were more accurate than 80% of other users). So amazing for grammar nerds like me.
Back in my July favorites post, I mentioned wanting to try making Asian Ramen Noodle Salad and Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad With Chicken and Walnuts for weekday lunches. Since then, I have made both dishes. The Ramen salad is awesome. The prep is quick, and the flavor just gets better over a few days. The Brussel sprouts salad is solid. The dressing is awesome, delicious and really different. The prep is a little involved. Don’t wait until you’re hungry to start making it. I like Brussel sprouts a lot, but the Brussel sprouts flavor is really strong, even when you cook the sprouts and add the dressing. I think in the future, I would substitute half the Brussel sprouts for cabbage or another vegetable with good crunch and more subtle flavor. Next up, I want to try Lindsay’s garlic herb chicken salad, and I think Heidi’s slow cooker Thai chicken soup will be perfect as the weather gets a little cooler.
For my fellow photo geeks. Hilarious.
Finally, now that we’re back from Montana, we’re planning our next trip: New Orleans! We’ll be there for a short stint this fall for a conference, exclusively or nearly exclusively in the Lower Garden District, Central Business District, and French Quarter. I want your personal recommendations for restaurants, tours, jazz, etc.
What have you been loving lately?
Feel free to leave links in the comments!
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