Everything Potatoes and TFT #381

Welcome to another Thursday Favorite Things link party!  (TFT)   My features this week are all about potatoes.  Yes, you read that right --They are all about potatoes.  I love potatoes.  Do you?

Potatoes get a bit of a bad rap sometimes.  I had quit eating a lot of them for a while, due to concerns about the carbs, insulin resistance, etc. etc. etc.  Really, though, potatoes have some great qualities, including Vitamin C, Potassium, Vitamin B6, fiber, magnesium, and antioxidants.  Plus, if you eat them with protein, (better yet, after the protein), your glucose levels won't rise as much.  (I'm not a dietician, nutritionist, or doctor, so take this with a grain of salt -- or a potato.)  And, you can even play games about potatoes.  Read on...

Here are my features from last week's party:

These tasty looking potato patties from Irene at My Slice of Mexico remind me of the ones my mom used to make.  Thanks for the memory, Irene, and I'm looking forward to making these.

Daylight Saving Time Joy and TFT #380

Daylight Saving Time is here!  Daylight Saving Time is here!  Am I the only one who gets giddy with joy over Daylight Saving Time?  Shouldn't we be doing celebratory dances in the evening, shouting, "It's not dark yet!  It's not dark yet!"??  (Yes, I know the first few days of it are hard. And, it's actually not good for us physically.  So... I am all for year round Daylight Saving Time!)

In my opinion, the worst part of winter isn't the cold.  It's the darkness.  When that darkness shows hope of giving way to more daylight, I'm one happy girl. Woman. Old woman. Whatever!  I'm just really glad that spring is almost here with all its light (and yes, warmth and flowers!)

So, with that little rant, I'll share some of my favorite photos from springs past, in honor of what is just ahead!

Now, on with Thursday Favorite Things, one of the best link parties on the web.  I'm glad you're here, and I can't wait to see what you have to share.  If you missed the last one, click here to see what you missed.

Photography Tips for Using Natural Light Indoors

Have you wondered how to use natural light indoors to get great photos?

Light was one of the things I often overlooked when I started getting serious about photography.  I was learning about composition, how to shoot manually, and all of the little details.  But I was often shooting in less than perfect light, (even when there was better light within a few feet of me or just by changing the angle a bit!)

Photography is all about the light.  Literally!  Did you know the Greek roots of the word photography are photo and graph?  Photo means light. Graph means write or draw. So photography is literally drawing with light!

Good light will make or break a photo.  The whole mood, clarity, and quality of a photo are affected by light.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase through them.

Here are some tips for using natural light for your photography indoors:

• Try to find a big window or glass door.  Experiment with different angles. Front lighting, back lighting  and side lighting will all give different effects.  For portraits, make sure you are getting catch lights in the eyes. Re-position your subject until you see catch lights.

Thursday Favorite Things #379

Happy Thursday!  Time for Thursday Favorite Things. If you're new here, TFT is a link party for blog writers and blog readers alike.  It's a wonderful way for bloggers to share their content and for readers to get inspiration.  I'm glad you're here!

Please pin from the original blogs, but I would love for you to pin my feature collage!  Thank you!

Here are my features from last week's party:

Some lovely words and photos from Michele at Hello Lovely.  And helpful orchid information!  Beautiful.

Thursday Favorite Things #378

Hello!  I'm glad you're here for another Thursday Favorite Things link party today.  Link up your posts, meet other bloggers, and get your great content seen by our wonderful readers.

Features from last week's party:

(My features don't have a theme this time.  Just a hodgepodge of fun and useful posts.)

Have you wondered what the difference is between a bullet journal and an art journal?  Here's a great post from Mama's Brush that explains it.

My Amazon Fun and Favorite Orders

I always like a good recommendation, especially from like-minded people. I keep a tight budget, so I like to see products that others have loved.  Plus, I like getting a little glimpse into the person that bought the product.  Do you feel like that?  I hope so, because I want to share some of my recent Amazon picks with you.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.

Here we go!  These have all been purchases I love.

Faith & Lettering: An Inspirational Guide to Creative Lettering & Journaling
I have several books on lettering, but I picked this one up for several reasons. It has several styles of lettering, I like the faith applications, and  I like that it shows you how to draw different embellishments to use with your lettering (banners, wreaths, frames, florals, etc.)  Plus layout techniques and lettering with a purpose. It packs a lot into one volume.

Organizing Your Life with Shelves and TFT #377

It's time for another Thursday Favorite Things weekly link up today. Welcome to new contributors and to our faithful regulars.  I'm looking forward to all of your wonderful posts!   I'm glad you're here today.

Given the time of year and all of the great organization and decluttering posts I've been enjoying, I'm in the mood to purge and organize. We recently emptied a storage unit we were renting and deposited all of the stuff into our basement.  Most of that stuff was my kids' old toys that they couldn't bear to part with, some furniture that didn't fit into our previous, smaller house, and various sentimental old knick-knacks.

Dealing with all of the STUFF has brought out my minimalist side.  Well, and also, Marie Kondo. (I haven't actually even watched the show -- I just like the idea...)

While I want to discard things, I also want to find ways to display the things I do want to keep.  I've often thought, "If I just had shelves."  Lots of shelves.

So, for my features from last week's party,  I was hyperfocused on the posts about decluttering, organizing, and well, shelves.

Features From Last Week's Party:

I love the simple open shelving in the kitchen at My Wee Abode.