When I graduated last month, my dad presented me with the most technologically savvy thing I've ever owned: an iPad.
I, lover of paper-and-ink tangibility, own an iPad.
Before Addie was born, I thought of iPads as just another instrument trying to take my books--my friends--away from my bookshelves. I thought they were trying to replace the smell of a used bookstore, the smell of a new textbook as you fan through the pages, the smell of ink warm off the press.
Because of this, I vowed never to own an iPad.
And then I had a baby and spent multiple hours in a row just sitting on my bed, either trying to soothe an infant or not wanting to move for fear of that recently soothed infant waking up.
I have always loved my stacks of things. When I plan to be sitting for a while, I gather every possible thing I would want to read, write in, or look at and place them around me.
I don't ever want to lose this love of stacks,
but there are times when a pile of books is just not realistic.
Enter: iPad.
I browse blogs, I gather and record ideas, I take pictures, I schedule, I to-do list.
Since I became a mother, my iPad is the best thing that happened to me.
Because it's all right there. I don't have to lose an innovative thought just because I don't have the right journal at my side. (Am I the only one whose greatest thoughts come in the shower or on a walk or when I'm somewhere I can't write it down?)
The point of all this is to introduce a little side project I've been doing...and, I'll admit, explain why the pictures on this blog have been so point-and-shoot lately.
Owning an iPad has opened me up to the world of Instagram.
I'm obsessed.
It's become so easy to track every meal I eat and share those meals with you.
So here's the idea: I take a picture of and briefly explain most (let's be realistic) meals I eat, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get a new idea to add to your dinner rotation or to have for breakfast tomorrow morning. Since this is a food blog, I'll follow up here with the recipes I made. All of these posts will be tagged "Instagram" for easy access.
The idea gets even better when you start doing the same.
We all follow each other and, before long, we have a whole slew of meal ideas for spring, summer, whatever season it happens to be.
And, unlike many recipes we've posted to Pinterest, we've actually made the recipes!
It's collaboration at its finest.
After all, we might as well embrace branches of social media and use them to our advantage.
Use them for creativity and inspiration.
Use them for good.
For those of you who don't have access to Instagram, feel free to post your ideas on your own blog and leave us a link in a comment here.
If you have already joined the ranks of Instagram, leave us your username in a comment so we can see what you're making.
What do you think?
Will you join me?
@clairedannals