Friday Link Roundup: Our Favorite Food Blogs

We wanted to share some of our favorite food and cooking blogs with you! All of our employees share a love of cooking and entertaining, and here are some of our favorite places to get recipes to try.

CHOCOLATE & ZUCCHINI

One of the oldest, most famous food blogs. We love the beautiful food photography here and the interesting recipes Clotilde comes up with in her Montmartre home. Recent posts have included "45 Things to Do With Sage," a recipe for "Chicken and Radish Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing," and highlights from her interesting trip to Japan.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/

CHOW

A serious food blog with sometimes whimsical posts. Currently discussing bringing back bitters, spicing up your food, how to make skillet cornbread, and how to make rice pudding. We especially enjoy the "Table Manners" blog.

http://www.chow.com/

COCKTAILS

The About.com Cocktails page is updated frequently, bringing seasonal cocktail recipes, plus sharing liquor news and recent alcoholic beverage trends.

http://cocktails.about.com/

COOKING LIGHT

One of our favorite cooking magazines has a pretty substantial website with lots you can read for free online. Great vegetarian and vegan recipes, as well as tips for making lighter, healthier fare that's still delicious.

http://www.cookinglight.com/

CUPCAKES TAKE THE CAKE

Sometimes you just want to look at a pretty picture of a cupcake!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

THE DAILY SPUD

This blog's posts aren't necessarily centered around potatoes. It's a fun blog written in Ireland.

http://www.thedailyspud.com/

EPICURIOUS

The mother lode of all cooking information on the web. This is the place to go for practically any recipe you desire. It's also the home of "Bon Appetit" magazine (and the former home of "Gourmet.") Updated throughout the day, it's worth visiting daily.

http://www.epicurious.com/

FOOD REFERENCE

A sort of almanac of cooking related trivia, facts, and history. Plus food-related book reviews.

http://www.foodreference.com/

THE GOOD MOOD FOOD BLOG

Another blog based in Ireland. Currently featuring recipes for chocolate caramel slices, white chocolate cheesecake with summer fruit, beef pho, and purple potato salad.

http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/

101 COOKBOOKS

This blogger is making their way through their cookbook collection, sharing their successes along the way. They focus on healthy cooking. Current posts include pappardelle with spiced butter, quinoa cookies, a turnip green tart, and strawberry rhubarb crumble.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/

THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS

This blogger lives in the country, and shares not just cooking tips, but homemaking, homeschooling and photography advice.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

SIMPLY RECIPES

We like this straightforward, no-frills blog. Currently it's sharing Sea Scallops with Asparagus Sauce, Cinnamon Ice Cream, Spanish Tortillas, and Oil-Poached Artichoke Heart Salad.

http://simplyrecipes.com/

TEA MUSE

Everything here is about tea. There's tea news, articles on Japanese tea ceremonies, reviews of Japanese tea gardens, and a huge list of teahouses in the US.

http://www.teamuse.com/

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Friday Link Roundup: Our 8 Favorite Design Blogs

Today we'd love to share some of our favorite home decor and design blogs with you. We love to visit these blogs for inspiration, beautiful photographs, and current home decor trends. Enjoy your browsing!

APARTMENT THERAPY: "Saving the World, One Room at a Time"

Probably the most popular design inspiration blog on the net, Apartment Therapy is updated daily with many interesting finds.

Besides the main page, there are subsections for New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, DC and Boston. (What, no Wenatchee?!)

One of their features is a HouseTour, spotlighting interesting interior decor from different couples every week. We love snooping around vicariously through the beautiful photographs.

Recent posts include "5 Ways to Organize by Color," "Vintage Containers for Spring Flowers," "Nature-Inspired Tablescapes," and a feature on cork for tabletops, furnishings and accessories.

This blog is a great way to waste time goofing off when you should be working (oops) and provides an up-to-the-minute look at current home decor trends.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

BELLE MAISON: Inspirational Finds for Creating a Beautiful Home

An interior designer shares her fabulous finds, photographs, articles and inspirations. Recent finds include painted stairs with stenciled letters, the Gardenhouse website, a DIY home office makeover, and a slideshow of beautiful dining rooms.

http://www.bellemaison23.com/

CASASUGAR: "Home Sweet Home"

This site is part of a large network of blogs, including Popsugar, Lil Sugar and Bellasugar. It's a fun quick read every day, with just a couple interesting posts on home and garden topics.

Recent interesting posts have included a set tour of "Sex and the City 2", "Stylish Chairs to Dress Up Your Patio," a tour of Meg Ryan's home on Martha's Vineyard, and a recommendation of a French country kitchen island.

http://www.casasugar.com/

COMPLETELY COASTAL: An Inspiration and Shopping Blog for People Who Love the Sea

This blog is an inspirational read on rainy or cloudy days. It features coastal homes, sea-themed crafts, shells and sealife decor, tablescapes, shops carrying sea-themed merchandise, and movies set by the sea. Pour a cup of tea (whether hot or iced) and enjoy scrolling through the beautiful photographs here.

http://www.completely-coastal.com

DECOR8: Fresh Finds for Hip Spaces

This blogger is currently enjoying a trip to London. Meanwhile we can enjoy browsing her past entries, including an article on e-magazines about design, a beautiful shop named Sweet William, a graphic design business called Eight Hour Day with funky retro graphics, and an article on Scandinavian and Japanese lifestyle in Canada. We love that this design blog isn't completely product-centered like so many other "design finds" blogs.

http://decor8blog.com/

DESIGN*SPONGE

Our favorite part of this blog is the "Before & After" feature, where various decor problems are solved. For example, a woman named Anastasia shares before and after pictures of her kitchen she just renovated.

This blog also features sneak peeks, mini trends, city guides, product guides, and DIY tips.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

FRESHOME: Interior Design and Architecture

This blog is heavy on the architecture, but also showcases fascinating ideas for bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms and furniture. Right now you can read about wooden decorative name plaques, 15 Amazing Pavillions from Shanghai Expo 2010, innovative radiators, a Star-Wars themed rug, and other home decor posts.

http://freshome.com/

THE PARIS APARTMENT

This is actually not a blog by someone living in Paris. The author owns a lovely boutique in South Florida. We love her excellent taste and the beautiful things she finds.

http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/

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