Like most twenty-somethings these days I probably have a slightly unhealthy interest in Pinterest. In college I could waste hours on Facebook and apparently I have traded that time-wasting-scrolling-activity-of-choice in for Pinterest instead. I think it's a pretty safe assumption with 50+ boards and over 2000 pins. Eek. With that tally you'd think I would be endlessly inspired... well, unfortunately, that's not exactly how it works.
Aside from my recent stint on night shift, I've actually been trying to spend less time online looking for inspiration and turning to the real world instead. I've been noticing that tangible experiences are way more inspiring and likely to jump start a project or spark an idea for me than screen time. I've been haunting my local thrift store, taking walks and getting outside more, slowly making my way through my stack of magazines. Any of those activities or a brainstorming session at a coffee shop with notebook in hand seem to work well. So does unburying my desk or trying to find things around the house to donate.
One thing I've been working on this year has been cooking more. I'm count myself really fortunate that Joe has traditionally been the cook at our house - I'm the baker! But since we are both working full time again, I've been trying to do a little more. We have a few go-to recipes that I've gotten pretty good out, so I've started branching out a little. My favorite place for new recipes these days is our Bon Appetit and Sunset magazines. There is just something about a shiny new magazine that makes me want to bring the food to life. I've found some keepers recently, so I thought I'd pass them along to you guys!
Salmon with Snap Peas, Bacon and Mint from the last issue of Sunset. This was really good, the bacon adds some extra deliciousness! It's really nice for a spring evening, Joe said it was worth a repeat!
And this quino salad was inspired by an article in Bon Appetit called 'Lunch al Desko'. It had a bunch of good ideas for spicing up brown bag lunches. I used quinoa, added the spicy garlic chickpeas and roasted cherry tomatos. Then I added some young greens, mozarella cheese, basil and lemony vinegrette. I'm looking forward to trying more lunch bowl variations and some of their other ideas! Take the Bon Appetit quiz to find your perfect lunch bowl!
