I love taking photos of the fresh flowers that I frequently put in my home. Here’s a new one:

How would you alter this photo to make it better?

Tags: flower, Photos, pictures

One of the sites that I particularly enjoy writing for is HubPages. I get to write about a lot of different topics here and to interact with a great community of writers through the site.

I like to see which articles do well through the site and which ones don’t. I think it provides a good overview of what people are reading on the web at any given time. If that’s something that interests you then maybe you’d like to know how my Hub articles did in August.

The ten articles that got the most traffic in August were:

1. Short Layered Haircuts and Styles
2. Calorie-Burners: Swimming vs. Running
3. How to Delete a Browser Cookie
4. Indoor Activities that Bring Couples Together
5. 25 Fun Things to Do at the Beach
6. Teacher’s Checklist for the First Week of School
7. How to Build a Treehouse
8. Can’t Find a Job: Make Sure You’ve Done These Things
9. How Do You Know when Mushrooms Go Bad?
10. Simple Trail Mix Recipes

What a range of topics people were reading? I’m not surprised to see that the articles on summer stuff and back-to-school stuff are popular right now. But what about the article on deleting browser cookies – isn’t that a strange one to be so popular? I guess it’s information that a lot of people need so I’m glad it’s been useful.

The ten hubs that got the least traffic in August were: Keep reading…

Tags: hubpages, hubs, kathryn vercillo, smartchick

I’m really having fun right now playing around with photography that captures reflections in windows and mirrors. This one is a storefront on Grant Street in San Francisco with the reflection of the building across the street included in it. What do you think?

Tags: clothing, photo, reflection, reflection photography, storefront

Sometimes if you look up onto the top of a house or a church or some other building what you’ll see there is a structural / artistic piece of ornamentation called a weather vane. Although you can probably picture what a weather vane looks like, you may not know what the point of it is. At least, that’s true if you’re anything like me because until I did some research into weather vanes In frequently passed by them and wondered what the heck they were for.

A weather vane is a tool that is designed to show you the direction that the wind is blowing. This may be something that you want to know for the purpose of gardening or for planning other outdoor activities. We don’t necessarily need this type of tool today since we have modern computer access that can tell us all about the wind patterns around us. For this reason, today’s weather vanes may serve the purpose of decoration instead of function although they do still reveal the direction that the wind is blowing.

A weather vane is typically designed with a simple cross symbol which indicates the four directions of the wind. It is then ornamented with a design that makes it aesthetically appealing to have on your home or building. A very common design is that of a chicken. Because of this, weather vanes are sometimes also called weathercocks. Today’s weather vanes may use this symbol or other animals to add decorative appeal to the piece.

A few interesting things that I learned about weather vanes while researching them include:

• They’re typically located at the tallest height of the building where they are placed.
• Weather vanes date back to ancient Athens.
• Some people combine the word and call the product a weathervane but it’s really supposed to be two words.
• The world’s largest weather vane is located in Spain.

So what’s the point of the weather vane? It’s mostly for decoration but it can tell you the direction that the wind is blowing as well. Now I know!

Tags: design, Technology, tools, weather, weather vane, weathervane

The photo of the day is back. I don’t know if other people are too interested in this Diary of a Smart Chick feature since nobody responded in the comments when I asked for feedback about it but I like posting photos so I’m going to keep it up for now. Would still love some feedback. Today’s photo is of the Rocketboat that I mentioned in the earlier post today.

Tags: images, Photos, rocketboat, san francisco boat tours, san francisco rocketboat

It’s been unusually sunny and warm here in San Francisco this week. It’s only in the high eighties but that’s close to record-breaking heat here for this time of year. Although I’m from Arizona, I’ve adjusted to the cooler temps in San Francisco and have to admit that it’s hard for me to take an interest in doing much of anything while it’s so hot here. I feel like eating popsicles and being lazy.

However, yesterday, I found the perfect activity for this kind of weather. Every time it gets warm here I wish that I owned a boat. Thinking about that I remembered the Rocketboat. It’s touted as “the fastest boat on the bay” and a real adventure ride for tourists. It’s a new thing that’s only been here maybe a year or so and I hadn’t been on it yet. Despite the fact that a lot of tourist stuff here is cheesy, I like to do it all at least once to get the experience of it. So, I decided to go on Rocketboat.

It was totally worth it! It’s a speedboat built for a big crowd of people.  It speeds out into the bay, beneath the Bay Bridge, and skids around a bit to make some waves and splash the riders. Silly fun. The weather was ideal – it wasn’t cold at all out on the water but there was a nice breeze on the fast boat. The skies were clear so I got to see stunning views of the city’s skyline and the two bridges. Beautiful.

I love living in a city where I can wake up in the morning and decide to do something like ride the Rocketboat!

Tags: boat rides san francisco, rocketboat, San Francisco, san francisco attractions

I was recently reviewing all of the ways that using a food dehydrator can save you money. You’d be surprised at just how many ways there are! Some of these are more important than others though so I thought I’d share here what I consider to be the Top 5 Ways that a food dehydrator will save you money:

1. Facilitates buying in bulk. One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to buy bulk items at a discount. However, this doesn’t work if the food goes bad before you can eat it. If you use a food dehydrator to dry the food then it won’t go bad which means that you can more efficiently buy affordable food in bulk.
2. Reduces spending on costly items. You can use a food dehydrator to make your own herbs, spices, dried fruits and camping food. All of these are expensive items when you buy them in the store but you end up paying just a fraction of the cost when you dehydrate them yourself.
3. Increases the likelihood that you’ll make healthy food choices. A lot of people use their food dehydrator to make healthy foods, support raw food diets and go vegetarian. If you do this then you’ll be healthier which reduces the money you spend on medical care. That’s a big savings – and an important step for your life!
4. Gives you a gift you can always give. You can save a lot of money on gifts for others by using your food dehydrator to make homemade foods for people. I love homemade gifts so I especially love this point!
5. Can even be a money maker. A smart person will further increase the savings of a food dehydrator by actually using it to make money. This can be done by selling dried foods, offering classes in food dehydrator use or writing articles about your dehydrator.

So, what do you think – can you save money with a food dehydrator?

Tags: Food, food dehydrator, Frugal Living, save money

I recently had a reason to do some research into firewood racks. As their name suggests, these products are racks that are designed to hold your firewood. If you’ve never bought this type of product before then you may be wondering what you would look for when choosing such an item. My research has turned up the answer to exactly that question.

Here are ten things that you want to look for when selecting a firewood rack:

1. Size. What size firewood rack do you need? Do you burn wood every day of the year and need a rack that can hold a whole winter’s worth of wood? Or do you just need a small firewood rack that can hold enough wood for a few cold nights?
2. Shape. There are different shapes available for firewood racks. The shapes are mostly decorative but you should still choose what you like.
3. Other decorative features. In addition to the shape of the firewood rack you should look at its general design. Choose one that compliments your other outdoor furniture.
4. Material. You want to get a firewood rack that is durable so that it lasts through the winter even when it’s stacked with heavy wood. Look for steel or some other material that’s designed to last.
5. Cover. You want to make sure that your firewood stays dry or else it won’t be very useful to you. Get a rack with a built-in or add-on cover to make sure the wood doesn’t get wet.
6. Mold-Resistant. Look for a rack and cover that are both resistant to mold.
7. Portability. Do you need a firewood rack that you can move from one place to another throughout the season? If so then you need to get a portable one that has wheels which make it easy to move.
8. Ease of Assembly. If you get a firewood rack that needs to be assembled then you want to make sure it’s one that’s simple to put together!
9. Easy to Access. You want to make sure that the design of your firewood rack makes it so that it’s really simple to access the wood that you need when you want it. Sure, it’s great to have it stacked and covered but what good is that if it’s hard to get to when you need it?
10. Cost. Finally, take a look at cost. Do some shopping around to choose a firewood rack that’s within your budget.

That’s what I would look for if I wanted to buy a firewood rack.

Tags: firewood, firewood rack, shopping, tips

People who read this blog regularly know that I tend to update it multiple times daily. Therefore it seems really quiet around here when I go a day or two without posting. I just thought that I’d give a brief update to let you know what’s been going on.

I’m sad to say that I’ve been dealing with some health issues. The good news is that none of them are serious and I’m starting to get them under control. However, appointments to deal with the issues have taken up a lot of my time lately. As a result I’ve fallen a bit behind on my work. I’m catching on on everything for my clients first and then I’ll be back here and active on the blog.

Expect one or two posts to trickle in over the next couple of days and then things should be back to normal. Thanks for your patience!

Tags: blog update, illness

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, I’ve been putting together ideabooks on different home decor topics over at Houzz.com. I thought I’d share the links to some of my favorite ideabooks in case you have an interest in this topic.

Links to the best ideabooks I’ve written:

• Sophisticated and Fun: Good Design Can Be Both
• How to Add a Jacuzzi to your Home
• Home Design for the TwentySomething Person
• Save Old Furniture with Bohemian Chic Decor
• Awesome Stairway Ideas

Links to some of the best ideabooks by other Houzz authors:

• Not Exactly Roughing It: Fancy Camping by Kit Pollard
• Workspaces that Stimulate Creativity by txranchgirl
• Favorite Front Porches by Becky
• Decorative Bedding Done Right by Rachel_M
• Warm Up to Fireplaces by jerrifarris

Does anyone else use Houzz? Share your Houzz URL in the comments.

Tags: home, houzz, Interior Design, Link Love