Compass & Coffee Spoons

10 Days Clean and Sober

It's been 10 days since I read AT. It's hard some days, but I realize the benefits too. I've had more time to check other design and non-design blogs. I've also spent a lot less time at work reading things on the Web, thereby improving my productivity and making me feel better about myself. Wow, a clean life feels so great! :) Truth is, I went there so often because it was updated frequently and it was an easy way to waste time...so if at work when I was confronted with an unfun task (not that that happens at...work) or wanted to procrastinate, it was an easy fill in. I hadn't been liking it as much as I once had anyway...the insultingish comment was the last straw. Going cold turkey for me is the only way to go!

Blogging, 12-steps, and the Nature of Reality

One day at work this week, I was feeling a bit down in the mouth. I wondered why, but being the great student of self-help books that I am, I identified the reason and then felt immediately pathetic: I had one of my photos posted on ApartmentTherapy.com.

What could be awful about this you ask? I have been a self-professed obsessed fan of AT. Okay, it's like crack. I was addicted ever since I first found it by looking for something about apartments three or four years ago. I was practically in line at the bookstore when founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan's book came out. Well, this is what it said after my photo:

"Okay, the pics aren't great, but Christine in DC's back and has nice flowers for both weeks"

(see the original post on AT here).

Woah. What? "Nice flowers," but the "pics aren't great"? I may be dense at times but I'm pretty sure that's at least mildly insulting. I felt like Carrie (the one from the Stephen King novel) except, unfortunately, without the powers to set things on fire. Like I was asked to the prom by one of the cool kids only to then have pig's blood spilt on my dress or something. Maxwell broke my poor little heart.

I doubt it was with purposeful bad intentions (I'm not paranoid). Still, I don't really understand the objective there. Pointing out who's not cool enough? Not wanting anyone to think HE'D taken the low pixel photo? I'm no expert blogger or businessperson, but I do know insulting one of your fan/supporters isn't smart. Still, I don't know him, never met him, how could I possibly be offended?

I came to my answer thinking about the nature of internet "relationships." People talk a lot about the anonymity of communication on the web. But, in some ways, we create quick relationships without really knowing anything about the people. While somewhat anonymous, the relationships are anything but surface. Because of the somewhat anonymous aspect, we share more than we would with people at work or strangers on the street. We share interests with them, share our opinions, our embarrassments, and in this particular case, our homes. You'd think NBC's "Dateline: To Catch a Predator" would have warned me off of sharing too much and forming naive feelings, but it didn't.

So, I'm sort of starting my own therapy--like any good addict, I've realized when I've gone too far. I'm staging my own intervention. I'm going to go 12-step on AT. I'm still going to keep checking the blogs from the fun people I "met" through there, and doing my own home improvements, but I doubt I'll be frequenting AT as much as I used to. "Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable." Being insulted by a guy on a web site to the point where I write a blog entry? Uh, yeah, check, I think that qualifies as unmanageable!

Apologies to all those AT people who are visiting me here...I know I'm sort of flogging a dead horse!

Dinner Tonight: Tilapia and Roasted Veggies

Did you know that there is a Tilapia Association? There is...it lives on the Web here. I may have mentioned that part of AT's Cure is making dinner several times per week. I followed through today with a modified tilapia recipe from this site. I also roasted some baby squash, carrots, red peppers, and shallots. Yum!

Tilapia is a mild tasting fish and good for people who "hate fish." For this reason, chefs hate it, apparently. I like a good strong fish like salmon or tuna, but if you just want some fish or need to fool your kids or something, this is good. It's also relatively sustainable because of farming--choose US farmed fish, though, because it's less likely to be raised in polluted water. I looked on the Association's web site and chose the Tilapia Lemon Parmesan. Since I didn't have the cheese, I had to improvise.

1. Wash the fish and pat dry.

2. Sprinkle with some butter, lemon juice, and herbs (I used Herbes des Provence).

3. Broil for about 5 or 6 minutes until opaque and flaky. (Overcooking fish is a major reason people hate it--they think it's dry).

4. Mix some mayonaise with garlic or garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste, some more herbs, and lemon juice and coat the top of the fish with the mixture. Broil for another minute or 2 until the mayo mixture is bubbly.

Now, I realize that adding a bunch of saturated fat to a heart-healthy food doesn't make much sense. I bet omitting the butter and using spray and lemon juice and using a substitute (yogurt? light mayo?) would work just as well. But, this was yummy.

For more on sustainability, visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

Week 2 Flowers

Bought these blue irises at CRAZY CRAZY Whole Foods today for $6.99. They are gracing my nightstand in the bottom part of my cocktail shaker, since my Astroemeria are still livin' in my living room!

Cure Me: This week's flowers

Alstroemeria--$4 for the bunch at Harris Teeter. Pretty, cheaper,and longer lasting!

Cure Me!

I am, simply put, an Apartment Therapy addict (AT for short). It's a blog about home design and all stuff home, for those of you who don't know. I'm not sure of when I first started reading it, but it's been at least four years. It's a daily habit now. Sometimes, I have to "cut back"--it's that addictive.

Anyway, a new "cure" is starting and I've signed up. The "cure" is  based on AT founder Maxwell's book which provides an 8-step process to "cure" your home. For me, following every step to the letter is a bit much, but many of his ideas are brilliant.

One:

Buying flowers weekly. Almost like an "offering" for your home. It's true--when you buy flowers, the whole room lights up. It's an easy way to add color. Here are my flowers from last Saturday.

Pretty, but I won't be getting them often--around Wednesday, most of the little buds at the top started falling off. Yesterday, some of the blossoms started. I've had flowers last 2 weeks or more, so to get the biggest bang for my buck, I'll try to get longer lasting ones.

Two:

The "landing strip." This is an area you designate at your entrance with hooks for coats/bags, a place for keys, a place for mail--all the stuff you bring home and often dump at random places. Since my front door places you smack dab in the middle of my living area, I like to follow this idea but not right at my front door. I have a key holder in my kitchen, put my coats in my coat closet, and I open my mail and put it where it belongs (like on my file clips or by my shredder).

Three:

Having an "Outbox." This concept gives your stuff a temporary spot to exist in while you decide what to do with it. As you're decluttering, you put things you're unsure about in the Outbox. (Mine is a blue Rubbermaid box inside my living room closet that I've labeled with its contents.) Eventually, this stuff will either come back to a place in your home or be given away/thrown out. It takes the pressure off of making an immediate decision--often a stumbling point for people as they declutter.

Four:

Cooking at home. This is something I need to do more often. It makes you appreciate your home more and appreciate food more too--when you spend weeknights quickly inhaling whatever you can throw together (Lean Cuisines anyone?), it's sometimes hard to realize what truly good food is--nourishing and heartwarming.

Want to join the cure? Visit Apartment Therapy and buy your very own book. And, visit by here over the next 8 weeks to see my various projects! If you're curing, leave a comment!