Little Magpie

chasing shiny objects

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My Ritual: Grown Up Vitamins

Note: this post contains affiliate links. I love Ritual vitamins and believe in them wholeheartedly. If you end up trying Ritual via my links, I receive a commission or fee. [dropcaps]I[/dropcaps] wrote recently about how I'm coping with my 40th birthday (hint: not well, but coming to terms). One of the most significant changes I've made? Seriously upgrading my daily multivitamin. Quick background: I've been on a little bit of a maniacal hunt for a great vitamin through the years. I ... View Post

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Facing Forty: A Reference Manual

[dropcaps]M[/dropcaps]ayday: my fortieth birthday is approaching. It somehow feels less affronting to spell out that number rather than type it out... like it isn't staring at me and reminding me of all the things I meant to do by now. But here I sit, T minus 7 days to the big day, with a sense that I need to run out and go all the places, do all the things and just generally have it far more together before... forty. And all of this from someone who is fairly laid back about life ... View Post

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Spring Wallpaper

Spring is here! If you're going to be staring at your laptop for hours instead of outside enjoying fresh air, you should at least have a desktop image and/or screen saver that makes you feel *almost* as though you're outside. Here are a couple of mine: This one is from an April 2016 trip to Bear Creek Log Cabins on the Buffalo National River in St. Joe, Arkansas. You can grab it here if you'd like: litlmagpi.co/BearCreekScreenSaver This is a photo of a May Apple on a rainy ... View Post

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A Kitchen Cue from the French: Mise en Place

Have you ever found yourself in the kitchen and suddenly realized that the heat has been turned up (more than figuratively)? One minute you’re sipping a glass of wine and casually chopping a few vegetables while some olive oil warms up on the flame, and suddenly you realize your timing is all off and everything needs to hit that oil rightthisminute and you’re completely unprepared. I’m not a fan of this sort of cooking-induced panic, but fortunately, the French have a solution! We all know ... View Post

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Shiny Object: Fluid App

I frequently find myself having conversations with people about simple tips and tricks for making life a little easier. A good example is keystroke shortcuts: I love being able to plow through my email without removing my hands from the keyboard to touch the mouse. However, not every life enhancement has to involve memorizing new habits and shortcuts. Some things are just simple in and of themselves. One of these is Fluid - a simple and FREE way to turn any website or browser tab into a ... View Post

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The Dumpster Roses

I come from a long line of rose raisers. This makes it sound as though there is an art to it - and there probably is - but I think rose raising is somewhat comparable to dough kneading and child rearing: the less over handling you do, the better things turn out. My maternal grandmother's roses were ramblers - they arched over the doorway of the old house and made their way to the edges of the windows as though to peek inside. Similarly, my grandmother was a little bit of a worry-wart, ... View Post