Stuff I’m Into….

If you’re on Twitter, then you know that Friday is the day to give shout-outs to the people you think are cool, noteworthy, or worth following. This is done by tweeting their Twitter handle and the hashtag #followfriday. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it means that you post something like this on Twitter: “@indiebizchicks #followfriday” …. But you really don’t need to speak that lingo to read this blog post…

I just brought all of that up because I’m using this post to tell you about some of the stuff I’m into! So it’s kind of like a Follow Friday, but just a bit different:

I like to read….  I always have. I do read books. I’m totally cultured and all that jazz, but I also love magazines. If you read Sassy in high school (remember those good ol’ days?), then you probably love Venus Zine and Bust as much as I do. The magazines are focused on indie / DIY culture, feature well-written articles, music reviews, and cool stuff. So if you don’t already read ’em, give ’em a whirl.

I don’t watch a ton of TV. I’ve never sat down to watch Lost, American Idol, Survivor, or any of those other uber popular shows. But I will tell you that I cannot wait for Season 2 of Mad Men to be released.

I had heard all the buzz about the show and rented the first season in January. I loved it!! I’m on a mission to watch Season 2 before Season 3 starts airing this summer!

Another favorite is HBO’s Big Love. I haven’t watched Season 3 yet… and I cannot wait for it to be out on DVD. Don’t tell me anything. I don’t want to know. (and yeah, I can probably find bits and pieces of episodes online but I want to watch it on my TV).

Speaking of Big Love, that show is set  in Utah. Well, you know what’s big in Utah? Scrapbooking. From what I hear, the LDS Church is keen on keeping a family history and so forth. I’m not LDS, but I do love photography and scrapbooking. One of my favorite magazines (other than the ones mentioned above) is Creating Keepsakes. That magazine was founded in Utah, by the way.

One of the columnists, Ali Edwards, has a fantastic blog. You should read it. She is a master at design – and I am not referring to just scrapbooking. She’s got a killer eye and I find inspiration for websites and all kinds of stuff, just by reading her blog.

You know what else I love? Cooking. A lot. I wish I had some enameled cast iron from Le Creuset. In red. Or a stand-up Kitchen Aid mixer. Again, in red.

If I were a (straight) boy, I would want to marry Nigella Lawson. She writes about food, has shows about food, and has managed to author a few cookbooks, too. Oh, by the way, she’s gorgeous and she’s from England so she has a fantastic accent.

I cannot write about cooking without mentioning Rachael Ray. She will always be a shero of mine. One day, I want to go on her show. For now, I’ll just say that I admire her work ethic and think she is pretty darn swell. If you ever need some business motivation, look in her direction.

Before she was on The Food Network, she was doing cooking demos in her local supermarket, which led to a spot on the weekly news. You know how she got her 1st book published? By picking up the phone and calling publishers! That led to a spot on The Today Show (and she drove 6 hours in a blizzard to that interview), which led to an interview with the aforementioned Food Network. And well, you know the rest. But she’s never stopped working and is always finding new ways to monetize her brand. Way to go, Rach!

And I cannot wait for The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, which will be September 12 + 13, 2009. I will most definitely be there!!