Current Obsessions

It's been an official two month hiatus today.  My.  That's a rarity.  My husband would certainly argue that I've not had a dearth of things to say in that time period, but my bloggy muse needed a break.

Would you humor me for a diatribe regarding things I'm excited about currently?  Because in general, I find that my life is a series of things I'm excited about.  Nonetheless:

 Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference (#AWBU) at the Ozark Natural Science Center on June 10 - 12.  If you've been around me for even a minute, you know I'm fired up about this.  It's a treat to be focusing on women's events at ONSC (such as our upcoming Women's Yoga Retreat on June 3 - 5), but there is a particularly fun energy surrounding this small but mighty group of female voices in Arkansas.  Join us, or tell a bloggy friend if you like.  We're delighted by the addition of our presenting sponsor, Collective Bias, and their proprietary Social Fabric community - do read more about them.  Event details on our website or the Arkansas Women Bloggers site, which you should check out anyway (and list your blog)!  I realize this is sort of work-related, but it's that lovely intersection where work meets passion, so I hope you'll forgive.

The Chez Stephens Kitchen is capturing my energy and attention.  So far, we've removed about seven layers of wallpaper and various other debris.  After living under a wallpaper border featuring adorable bunnies, flowers and watering parts lo these many years since we moved into our 1905 house in 2004 (and yes, of course we had a centennial party - please!), it was time to break free.  The Handyman and I discovered early in our marriage that we were not fond of wallpaper and carpet, and we've been extracting them ever since enthusiastically.  Soon, soon I'll be able to share photos of our calm, mocha kitchen with popping red accents.  I can see it now.  I've just got to escape a few more bad judgment calls.  Sigh.

My new book club is a source of delight - and I say "my" rather loosely since I simply attend.  The lovely Jennifer Pratt of J. Pratt Books is our fearless leader, and I can honestly say I never previously thought a book club would be my bag.   I judged them by their covers, I suppose.  It turns out to be a great delight, and is certainly pushing me to pick up things that are outside of my normal genre.  Define that genre, you ask?  Ugh.  I think it sways toward travel or place-based (by this I mean Love in the Time of Cholera, not Under the Tuscan Sun), rather epic and overly-descriptive (i.e. Hemingway and Steinbeck) with a few oddly uncategorized greening and organizing books thrown in for good measure.  It's a sickness.  I enthusiastically recommend finding a book club, preferably one that centers around wine, as well as checking out Goodreads.

Pinterest has captured my heart.  Megan at Sorta Crunchy (whose blog you should visit regardless!) did a wonderful overview for the novice pinner, and I found myself immediately intrigued.  I'm still exploring it myself, but let me know if you'd like to connect.  The bottom line is that it is a lovely "catalog" site that creates visual display boards, with a social tie.  Sounds overly-basic, I know.  But it's so fun to see things I love from Remodelista or moments in time captured in one of my favorite blogs, Catherine et les fées, which speaks to the mommy, organic, green and francophile portions of my heart on a visually delightful pinboard.  That's all.  You must give it a whirl when you need some inspiration. 

What's your latest obsession?

Keys to a Well-Read Life

One of my favorite magazines is Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com/), because I find it to be outstanding in terms of pushing and expanding my thoughts, keeping me tech savvy and introducing me to non traditional approaches to management of both my personal life and business techniques.  I also like that it is as appropriate for entrepreneurs as for nonprofit executives and business owners from small to global in scale.

The May issue letter from the editor (which I often find to be the best spot for oft-overlooked and well-written musings in a magazine) by Jane Berentson caught my eye with its quip regarding the habit of article clipping by the editor's parents.

While not earth-shattering, I think this is an interesting trend among fantastic parents (obviously, mine did it and continue to do so into my thirties).  It indicates, obviously, that the parents are well-read, which is the best indicator that a child will develop a lifelong love of reading and learning.  There's an obvious degree of caring, as well, and well-intentioned involvement.  The clippings I received ranged from  investment advice to travel articles, not-so-subtle Dear Abby columns, gardening pointers and even a number related to interests of mine that my parents may not necessarily share, such as snippets on France or green living.

Regarding the point about well-read parents: I cite this as the most obvious reason my sister and I both possess above-average language and grammar skills.  I don't say this to be haughty - I'm simply struck by the number of our contemporaries who struggle with spelling and grammar.

I always laugh about how I "got away" with reading under the covers late into the night with a flashlight, far past my bedtime (as if my parents were't aware).  Dad's office was a virtual library of the classics, and I'm now more prone to pick up a classic than a modern release.  I'm prone to a number of melancholy greats (Hemingway, Steinbeck) as well as lighter, worldly fare (Peter Mayle, Isabel Allende).  The point being, I'm thankful every day for these assets and the treasure of a literary upbringing, and hope to instill the same in my growing family.

Incidentally, www.goodreads.com is an absolutely fantastic site for finding good book recommendations.  Unlike most social media tools, I don't connect with the world - just a handful of well-read friends whose judgement I trust (a significant number of whom are or are becoming librarians, not ironically).  Do give it a whirl, and I suspect, like me, you'll find your "to read" list far outnumbers your "read" list in short order.

http://www.fastcompany.com/