With all the fabulous and inspiring bloggers out there, it's no surprise that some of them have jumped out of the digital world and have compiled some of their best work and advice into some truly beautiful analog books.
I currently have a number of them on my wish list and here are my Top Five:
Young House Love. Sherry and John Peterisk from Young House Love have compiled some of their best tips, tricks, and techniques in this book of 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home. I just got it in the mail and am excited to sit down with a nice cup of tea (lets be real, right now it's all about sea salt hot chocolate for me) and start shuffling through.
Joy The Baker Cookbook. Truth be told, me and baking have never been friends. It might be because my mom's mantra was always that when it came to baking she had two left hands, so I probably do too. Or possibly I'm afraid that with all the baked goodies lying around the house I'd be in a constant battle with myself to not make cake and cookies the primary food group at each meal. Or maybe it's that there are so many delicious single serving sized treats out there in the world just waiting for me when I need them that what's the point of making my own?
Well, even though there is truth in all the above I have had the yearning desire as of late to be able to whip up some Limonocello Macaroons at a moment's notice. Or throw together a Honey Almond Butter Chocolate Tart for an impromptu gathering. Or make small sweet little Blue Cheese and Irish Cheddar Gougeres for a pot luck. So who better to learn from than Joy The Baker. Besides, I have a slight addiction with her Podcast with the talented Tracy Benjamin from shutterbean where they discus 'totally important unimportant things' and feel that I will be in just the kind of warm, funny, and quirky hands that I will learn from best.
The Handbuilt Home. Ana White, the extraordinary self taught furniture maker, has put together an inspirational tutorial idea book chock full of new furniture plans that range from a simple weekend project for the novice to lofty and extensive builds for the advanced. She gives great tips on tools and supplies as well as extremely helpful building techniques. She is very inspirational and really helps build confidence for every aspiring furniture maker out there. I have always wanted to be a really great furniture maker and have never been trained, so a step-by-step manual like this is just what I need to get going.
Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. A good number of enthusiastic home cooks out there know of the best recipe blogs on the internet these days, and Smitten Kitchen is among one of the most revered. I have been following it for years, albeit mostly just drooling and bookmarking, but nonetheless with dreams of future fabulous meals. I go through waves of intense desire to be a great home cook, and I try new meals each night for a good amount of time, but then it seems to pitter out into leftovers and cottage cheese. Well, now that I have a kitchen that I really adore it has definitely hiked up my interest in cooking. It's fun to cook somewhere you enjoy being in; who would've thunk it!?
Anyway, back to the book. I have been wanting to cook my way through a book in order to learn a lot in a short amount of time. I like the idea of having my menu laid out for me for months and just following along. I think it will be kind of relaxing and meditative. I have chosen Smitten Kitchen to be that cookbook for me. I'm not sure when I'm gonna start, but I'll let you know how it plays out. Wish me luck!
Design *Sponge at Home. Well, anyone who stays up on home design and decor most likely has spent a number of hours over at Design *Sponge. Grace Bonney is one of the forefront leaders of the online Home, Design & DIY blog movement. She came out with her debut book last year of the best of the best from her blog. It includes Home Tours, DIY Projects, Before & Afters, and Step-By-Step Tutorials. It's a plethora of information all gathered in one big beautiful book.
