Thursday Things

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Here are this week’s Thursday Things:

1. Wanderlust Festival

Wanderlust festival North America Map

There are four festival locations (Vermont, California, Colorado, Whistler) filled with days of yoga, live music, nature, hikes, farm to dinner tables, and wine tastings.

And probably a whole lot of sweat, lack of showering, and patchouli going on.

Wanderlust festival events list, music and yoga and talks

I’d love to go to the California one in Tahoe/Squaw Valley. Or any of them. I bet the energy is fabulous.

Yoga meditation meet and music festival

2. How to Blog About Food: Useful Tips for New, Emerging and Aspiring Food Bloggers

Also included in that post are 100 links to other posts

Seriously, prepare to link hop and get sucked in.

If you’re a (food) blogger, writer, photographer, run a web-based business, have a website, the links are priceless.

3. The Honest Chocolate Box Guide

What you think you’re eating…

"map" of chocolates in a box

4. What it really is…

Honest version of "map" of chocolates in box

5. I went to San Diego Rustic Furniture. I can’t believe I’ve lived in San Diego since 2004 and I have never been there. It is truly mind-blowing the amount of old furniture (100+ years old) they have from around the world. China, India, Mexico, and more.

San Diego Rustic Furniture store outlook

Furniture was stacked against the walls, on pallets; pieces were stacked many layers high on top of other pieces. There were rows and rows of old furniture and there was furniture outdoors.

Furniture was literally hanging from the rafters.

Note the chairs hanging from the ceiling.

San Diego Rustic Furniture store outlook with chairs on ceiling

6. I went there because I decided that it’s time to stop taking pictures of cookies and bars, bent over my kitchen island, trying to maneuver weird angles, backgrounds, while working with the ever-changing lighting.

Cookies on baking sheets and bars in pan

7. I need a table. Novel concept, those things called tables.

I can’t use my dining room table because it’s black and the surface is too dark for pictures and some natural wood grain is nice in photos. Plus it’s in an under-exposed corner of the room rendering the lighting on it useless.

8. I bought this 140+ year old Chinese table used for writing by the Chinese.

It will be used for photography by me.

wooden Chinese writing table

There were so many tables, consoles, sidebars, writing tables, huge doors, wood and metal surfaces of all kinds, sizes, shapes. The selection blew my mind.

I could have spent days months comparing, debating, making trips back over many months, waiting to see what came in.

When I saw this piece, I knew the surface area of the tabletop was big enough for photos, but small enough to fit in our already fully-furnished urban condo. That’s code for no extra room to spare.

I love the surface of it and it has storage to hold some linens, fabrics, and a few photography props.

wooden Chinese writing table with drawers

9. After shopping, it’s good to take a break and eat something. Like cookies.

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF with vegan adaptation)

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

10. Thanks for the Purefit Nutrition BarGiveaway entries

What are your Thursday Things?

Feel free to link up anything noteworthy you’ve done, seen, eaten, or made.

What’s your taste in furniture? Rustic, antique, modern, clean, a mixture?

Most of my house is decorated and appointed with furniture from West Elm. I love the modern, crisp, and clean styles. The color palette is chocolates, slate grays, creams, and white.

However, I do love rustic finds and mixing in some rustic, antique, one-of-a-kind pieces amidst the more contemporary. It’s all about seeing what works, in what room, with what existing pieces, and without making things cluttered. I hate clutter and aim for the less-is-more approach. And less is more in an urban condo where every square foot counts.

Have you been to any outdoor festivals, concerts, art shows, or gatherings? Any plans to check any out this summer?

I love outdoor festivals; live music, fabulous people watching, grazing on the food and drinks, enjoying the weather, and taking it all in. Sounds like a perfect summer day to me.

It’s almost Friday!

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Comments

  1. This is a fantastic content, and I would like more details if you have any. I am interested with this subject and your publish has been one of the best I have read.

  2. Outdoor festival stuff starts this weekend! Tomorrow is “We Love Bikes Day” at the Farmer’s Market. Ride your bike there, get valet bike parking, coffee and a cookie, and a $2 voucher for any farmer’s market booth. I always ride my bike there anyway, so I deserve a coffee and cookie!
    Next Saturday is The Human Race. I volunteered to work the YMCA info booth at the adjoining health fair. I’ll be doing the set-up shift: 6:30am-9:00, then I’ll still have time to walk around and see all the other booths.

      1. Went this morning. The perks were top-notch: Fresh coffee dripped-to-order by Gaga Cafe, and a fantastic gluten-free cookie (BIG!) from Bliss Bakery. And the weather is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT today! Between the cookie and coffee and glorious bike riding and lots of sprints at boot-camp this morning, I think I am flooded with endorphins at the moment!

        By the way, nice table find! I’d have gone nuts in that store.

  3. All of my furniture came from Goodwill, Salvation Army and family. I spent less than $50 on all of the furniture in my living room, lol. So I’m not a good judge of these things!

  4. I love Flourless PB cookies, I make the all the time and bring them to work, they are such a big hit, gone in 10 minutes!!

  5. What an awesome store! I love antique furniture – The history and stories behind the pieces is incredible to me; they have so much character and craftmanship. I bought a wooden trunk with black metal reinforcements a few years back my local antique place, and I love it. Your new table has such a cool back story and it looks like it’ll be great for your work. Awesome find :)

  6. Wow, that table is gorgeous! I’m sure you’ll make creative use of it and produce some gorgeous photos with a wooden background. It’s nice to have a piece with history to it as well- I’d love to take a wander around that furniture shop!

    In terms of links to my Thursday things: My current workout routine and a post on trans fats and whether “lights spreads” are actually healthy!

    http://betterfitpersonaltraining.com/2012/04/27/foodie-friday-are-light-spreads-healthy-the-trans-fats-lowdown/

    It’s called Foodie Friday, but I wrote it on Thursday, did the workout on Thursday, and it was still Thursday in your timezone when I hit publish! :)

  7. Omg, I’m speechless, that is Furniture Heaven! I love exactly that sort of Oriental dark wood, carved furniture, paired with reds and browns and lots of plants, room dividers… Sad thing is my hubby is the exact opposite, he is into that minimalist Scandinavian look. Our home is a compromise, sort of like this: http://roomenvy.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/living-room.gif?w=450&h=450

    Your table is awesome, I’d love something like that in the living room. And I’d also love some of those cookies right now.

    1. your house is gorgeous! I am fortunate enough that my husband lets me have my way and defers to me on all matters of home decor. But I have to control myself or I could go nuts in that store!

  8. Great find on the table, how fun! And great list, Wunderlust looks like a blast and a tempting excuse for a trip to Squaw! I haven’t been to any festivals lately, my weekends have been packed with running and family events lately.

  9. Averie, thank you so much for your GF and Vegan options in your recipes. We are *trying* to be vegan, but at the very least we are eating non-dairy butter and ethical eggs. But, vegan options are very much appreciated, thank you!! I am going to try these cookies for sure!!

    1. I always try to give options and there are so many variables given people’s strictness, absolute requirements, can have it’s, ingredient variations, desire to get creative and think outside the box, etc…but I try to steer people in the right track. LMK what you end up making!

  10. Thanks for sharing the link to that amazing list of blogging articles! The articles on your site are a school in blogging on their own.