my favorite non-design websites

i know, i know.

it's hard to imagine that i find any time to visit 
any sites besides design sites, 
shopping for design stuff, 
design blogs, and design magazine.

but i do.
(occasionally)

here are a few of my faves:

 tripadvisor.

i. love. you. tripadvisor.

sometimes, i get on this site just to look at

pictures of pretty resorts in pretty places.

this is just the pick-me-up i need 

 when there is a foot of snow in my driveway.
i have used tripadviser to plan every one of our
anniversary trips, and i have 
never, ever been disappointed in my selections.

allrecipes.

the name says it all...

it's my go-to site for all things realted to cooking. 
even if i have a recipe that i found in a magazine or on 
a cooking blog, or from a friend, i will always go 
to allrecipes and uh..."double check" the recipe.
i can't help it.
i have to know if there might be a
"better" recipe, or get inspiration
to add an ingredient that might
make that recipe EVEN better.
i love that i can sort a recipe by it's rating, 
and that it pulls up similar recipes in the sidebar.
i love to read the reviews. i will usually tweak
a recipe based on the reviews.



zappos.

lots, and lots and lots of shoes.
free shipping.
need i say more?


makeup by tiffany d.
like most girls, i started wearing makeup when i was
in my mid-teens. my mom didn't really ever wear makeup, 
and so everything i learned was from either trial and
error, or from seventeen magazine.
(speaking of "errors", remember the pink/blue eyeshadow 
craze form the late 80's? yikes.) 
i always admired how polished makeup could
 really transform someone, 
but personally struggled with how to achieve that perfect 
polished look, or how to pull off a smokey eye
without looking like a circus clown.
about a year ago, i was cruising
around youtube, when i spotted a makeup tutorial 
from tiffany. 
i was mesmerized. 

i think i spent like 3 hours, watching every single tutorial.
not only is she completely adorable and 
informative but her looks are so elegant and doable.
i also love all of her tips and product suggestions.
she sold me on urban decays primer potion,
and now i am pretty sure i can't live without it.
another good makeup goddess to check out 
is makeup geek.


hulu.
a great site with loads of free television shows
and movies. i watch "modern family" every time i 
fold socks...it's a chore that i detest doing,
so i treat myself by watching a great show while doing it.
it's the perfect place to catch an episode
of your favorite show that you missed...
i can spend hours on on hulu, looking at old 
 saturday night live videos, 
like this one:

dafont. 

this is my favorite site for downloading free fonts. i love
how well organized dafont is--sometimes i am going there with
a very specific idea of the type of font that i want,
and it is always so easy to find exactly what i am looking for.
not only that, but they have a huge variety to select from!

google earth.

c'mon, don't tell me you haven't gone to google earth

and used the "street view" option to look at your own home...

if you haven't, you need to.

it's a--mazing.

it's a total blast to look see aerial and street views

of literally the entire planet. since we are currently

looking for house #6, google earth really comes in handy

to see the location of houses that i spot online.

***

speaking of house #6...

it's GOING to happen this year.

for sure.

like, for sure, for sure.

i know i thought that we were going to pull the

trigger in 2010, but the timing didn't feel right to

us (and by "us", i mean my husband).

but, we (he) is finally ready.

we have decided to look in a 10 mile

radius from where we currently are...we were

really hoping to stay in the same neighborhood that

we are currently in, but we think that we might

miss out on a great opportunity if we don't

at least try to give other areas a look.

as before, the looking is slow and cautious,

but i am SO excited.

i will keep you updated on any developments.

*smiles,

autumn