Really cool websites, blogs, and photography make me happy and serve as a nice pause from the daily grind of updating the often really boring (yet well designed and informative!) websites I manage for various clients. Let’s face it, how much fun can you have posting articles for a termite company (Termite Droppings Will Lead You To the Source) or coming up with the Top 10 Reasons to Retire in a Gated Community?

So in order to stay productive and still engaged in what I do (know everything I can about the Internet) I often browse StumbleUpon to find the www’s that spark my interest. I can update my account with the types of sites I like (photography, quotes, yoga, cooking, decorating, fashion, technology, etc) and stumble through the most “liked” sites out there within my chosen categories.

Here’s what I found and liked today…

A super cool site showcasing compilations of inspirational decorating and design. Some of the top posts of the day that I liked include:

• 50 Ideas To Decorate Walls With Pictures

• 169 So Cool Headboard Ideas That You Won’t Need More

• 33 Cool Makeup Storage Ideas

It also introduces a bunch of other sites selling really cool gifts… Which lead me to explore (another favorite site) Etsy as an alternative to Bed Bath & Beyond for Wedding Gift ideas. Check out this person’s super cool state cut-out cutting boards! What a great idea- especially if you’re really big on your state…

Etsy.com- AHeirloom

I then stumbled upon yet another tee-shirt shop with great quotes… I never actually order these b/c the quality of the material is really half the battle when finding a great tee-shirt- but maybe one day I’ll break down and give em a try. You have to admit they’re awfully funny…

MentalFloss.com

And then on to a pretty nice cooking blog (TheHazelBloom.com) with a great recipe that I would definitely be making for book club tonight if I weren’t on a “first part of the week diet” (which means on Sunday-Wednesday I eat right and workout so that Thursday-Saturday I can binge drink and eat out every meal…)

I would definitely recommend checking out her actual post b/’c it includes pictures and makes you want this way more than just reading the caloric ingredients and instructions…

The Best Macaroni and Cheese Ever

Adapted from the Bev’s Macaroni and Cheese recipe on Recipezaar

Serves 5 – 6
Ingredients

8 oz. to 10 oz. macaroni or other pasta (like conchiglie!)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika plus more for sprinkling on top
2 1/2 cups milk
3 cups cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, and return to the pan you boiled it in. Set aside. (Mix in a little butter to keep the noodles from sticking if it’s going to be awhile before you make the sauce)
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Over medium heat, melt the butter.
4. Add the flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir constantly over medium heat for about three minutes.
5. Stir in the milk.
6. Keeping on medium heat, whisk constantly for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
7. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cups of the cheese, stirring until melted.
8. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and toss gently until all noodles are covered.
9. Add half the noodles to a two quart casserole dish.
10. Sprinkle on half the cheese.
11. Add the rest of the noodles.
12. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, and dust lightly with the smoked paprika.
13. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until it starts getting a slightly dry and a tiny bit brown on top (here’s the photo again!)
    Serving suggestion: Top with bacon pieces!

DEARPHOTOGRAPH.COM is my next favorite of the day and another really cool idea for a website/blog; People taking pictures of old photographs in the same location of where they were taken long ago- and then adding really interesting quotes to them…

I wish I had the kind of time or motivation to be this creative…

Dear Photograph, I fell in love with a woman. I’m not ready to let go…but she is. McKenzie Dillingham

Dear Photograph, Oh to put on daddy’s hat and go for the big fish all over again! Deb Wheaton

And finally… my strangely ironic stumble of the day was upon this particular synonymy of the word “break”…

Main Entry:     break
Part of Speech:     noun
Definition:     change from friendly to unfriendly relationship
Synonyms:     alienation, altercation, breach, clash, difference of opinion, disaffection, dispute, divergence, estrangement, fight, misunderstanding, rift, rupture, schism, separation, split, trouble

It gave me chills to read it, and of course made my heart a little sad. Breaks are never fun- and I don’t know why they always have to end in unfriendliness… Either way, this was the perfect ending to my hour long diversion (or “break”) from work’s routine. Except I did have one final stumble which was just a simple image…

Dammit…