Neat Things: Sunset Magazine

With the recent downfall of a handful of fun magazines (Domino, Cottage Living, et. al.), I am thankful that one of my all time favorites--Sunset--is still going strong. Recently I received a note from Cottage Living informing me of their demise, and that I would receive Sunset for the remainder of my 2-year subscription. Of course, I was delighted to accept this as a more-than-suitable substitute!

Touted as THE magazine about 'living in the west', Sunset has been publishing for more than 100 years (wow?!). Here are the highlights just from my recent issue, January 2009:

Northwest Weekends--day trips to Portland, Seattle and Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.

Volcano Vacation--a visit to the Big Island's Kilauea!



Color Therapy--paint a room to lift your winter spirits.



Get Organized--creative ways to integrate new storage in small spaces.



Tea Houses--the new, healthy wave of bar life from Seattle to Santa Fe.

Natural Home--four ways to catch and store winter rainwater to fortify your garden.



Fast & Fresh--delicious dishes in 30 minutes or less, including watercress salad, oatmeal waffles, and three whole-wheat pasta dinners (Rachel Ray, eat your heart out!)



Wine in the West--tips on pairing wines with vegetables, plus the perfect match for seafood choucroute.

Chances are if you live in Oregon, Washington, California, Vancouver BC, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado or New Mexico, you have probably already enjoyed Sunset. If you live east of The Rockies and have visited or have an interest in the west, you might want to check it out.

Oh, and yes, they do have a BLOG!

All photos displayed in this post are copyright Sunset Magazine, January 2009.

Tagged by Kim

Well, I got tagged again...this time by Kim! It was only last week but I'm just now catching up with posting my seven random things so here goes.

Random Thing One:

Before I was into photography, I used to do collage. Before that, I was a rubber stamp artist. I read the magazines, went to conventions, shopped, swapped, joined online groups and yes, I made plenty of art with rubber stamps. For 15 years I shared this hobby with my Mom, who now houses almost all of the collection we amassed. We stopped counting how many we had when we passed the 20,000 mark...and that was only the wood-mounted stamps (we also had unmounted rubber stored in binders).

Random Thing Two:

One of my favorite things to eat is sour cream. Besides potatoes, I like it on all sorts of cooked veggies, in recipes and as a base for a fruit salad from my Mom's recipe--so good!

Random Thing Three:

I have yet to visit The Grand Canyon. This is one place I would like to see, and it is on my short list along with any other of the National Parks in the USA of places I would love to photograph.

Random Thing Four:

I enjoy short stories. I am amazed at the ability some writers possess to create a coheasive story with well-developed characters--start, middle and finish--in such a limited format. Only drawback is I always want the stories to keep on going...which rather misses the point.

Random Thing Five:

I used to write poetry. Mostly in my high school days and I kept it in albums. I wrote over 200 poems, sometimes two or three per day. I still have the albums in a box in my garage.

Random Thing Six:

I love Paris! The city, not the celebrity. From the time I was old enough to know where it was, I've harbored a desire to experience Paris and perhaps even live there for awhile. I am sure that I, like many, may over-romanticize it but I feel an affinity to The City of Lights--even more so since I've been studying Art History as my major in college.

Random Thing Seven:

I have a fear of deep water. For some it's spiders, others it's heights. For me, it's deep water. The ocean is inspiring and beautiful but I have no desire to be out on (or in) it. Give me a river, lake or pond anytime and as long as I can see land on at least one side of it, I am good to go.

So, there's my seven. Here are the folks I have chosen to tag to share their seven:

Cheryl at Al Ain Notebook
Dennice, author of fringe

Pam of housemartin
Chelsey over at Paper Lady Invites
Lupe of Art Garden

Char who posts her Ramblins...
Emmy Lou aka the Pointless Nostalgic

The Tagging Game "Official" Rules:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog; some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name and a link to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

The photos displayed in this post are from sellers of handmade goods and art on Etsy. Visit their shops at the links listed below and enjoy!

Camera Buttons by Barrel of Monkeys

Simply Scrumptious Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Retro Art Chick

Angel's Landing fine art print by Lee Everett Robinson Photography

Plain Spoke, vol 1, no 1 by Life on Europa

Obsolete by The La La Theory

Burgandy Paris Blues beeswax collage from Jack & Cat Curio

Surf by Tina of Pfeiffer Photos

Surf photo and text for this post copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved.