What Inspires Me- An sfgirlbybay Project
When sfgirlbybay asked the general internet if she should put together a tour of blogs talking about what inspired them, the internet answered yet. Blog it Forward was born. For my post today, here’s a handy-dandy list of what inspires me…
- Colors- the brighter the better, featuring crazy geometric patterns is best. See also: kelly green, orange, gray, navy blue, sparkles.
- Observing the world around me- When I’m stumped by a project, it’s amazing how frequently the solution will appear just by looking around
- The Internet- which features makers and doers of the world who share their work and inspiration in thousands of blog posts a day. (See also: Blog I Love)
- My CSA box, the farmers’ market and Rainbow Grocery- hurrah for bugs, taking 20 minutes to wash one bag of spinach and having someone else send you a box of edibles every week. Also hurrah for other people’s carefully grown heirloom produce. Veggie boner.
- Cookbooks- the pretty pictures, the idea of using a big, fat combination of ingredients with separate preparations making something wholly delicious, BAKING. Oh lord, put me in the kitchen with a good cookbook and I’m set for days. (See also: a collection of favorites featured in a tacky Amazon affiliate page, my General Store)
- The area around San Francisco- you can drive anywhere from 1-4 hours out of the city and reach some amazing terrain. Driving up the 1 on the coast feels like you’re on the edge of the world. Field, road, car, cow, cliff, ocean.


(All of a sudden, I noticed my week-old Valentine’s day flowers. Stunning in the light.)

Thanks to The Goode Life for passing on the spirit stick. Tag, you’re it living well!
What inspires you?

Warning: Declaration of Social_Walker_Comment::start_lvl(&$output, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Comment::start_lvl(&$output, $depth = 0, $args = Array) in /home/mnha5re7g0ey/domains/thehipsterho.me/html/wp-content/plugins/social/lib/social/walker/comment.php on line 0
Warning: Declaration of Social_Walker_Comment::end_lvl(&$output, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Comment::end_lvl(&$output, $depth = 0, $args = Array) in /home/mnha5re7g0ey/domains/thehipsterho.me/html/wp-content/plugins/social/lib/social/walker/comment.php on line 0
nice post, as always!
had to answer this on a panel last saturday, though i think the question was “who” rather than “what”
inspires me. i answered everyone in my twitter stream (or anywhere else i digest the web, be it tumblr, facebook, email, rss, etc).
as for “what”…questions, people, music, the cosmos, and nature. i think? 🙂
huh, asking WHO would’ve transformed this post quite a bit. Way to make re-think this, Ty! (haha, thanks)
Great list! Your CSA shout-out reminded me of some friends of ours who can never identify the crazy things in their CSA boxes.
I’m so glad my CSA gives me a newsletter every week. They use a VERY helpful categorization process. They list the veggies/fruit in order of what should be consumed first, and also include little thumbnails of the produce and how to store and wash it. They taught me to never refrigerate tomatoes!
ahhh, wonderful inspiration and ideas for getting away from it all. we are so lucky to live in such close proximity to nature – the great escape! thanks for sharing!
So glad you decided to put Blog it Forward together. Thanks for organizing!
wonderful post. san francisco is a beautiful city. need to consider the CSA box. just so worried my menu planning process would go awry with the surprise finds. but could be a food adventure? tempted. very fun blog for which i need to make a return visit – your site is a great blog it forward! discovery.
Thanks Allyn!
Personally I love the curveballs my csa throws to me. But it’s not a complete surprise if I don’t want it to be. My csa puts up a list of what to look for in my box every week. So even though I get my box Thursday, I basically know what’s in it that Monday.
http://eatwell.com/community/thisweeksbox.htm
I also love the challenge of cooking with the season. Nothing like an onslaught of tomatoes in the summer and winter squash in the winter to get the creative cooking juices going. Good luck to you 🙂
How much do I miss driving up the 1 to San Francisco (when I lived in Santa Cruz). Gotta be the most beautiful drive ever, any time of year! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hello, I’m your life twin, Gretta. I love all of the same colors, my favorite day of the month is CSA day, driving up and down the 1 is my second favorite activity. Second to baking. Reading this felt like reading a page out of my diary. That picture of all your veggies makes me want to go to the farmer’s market right now. I love the pomegranates~ what a great time of year it is for food! I like summer with all the grilling and tomatoes and strawberries, but nothing beats a roasted sweet potato with apple compote. MMMMMM…winter.