I think that getting married ruined me, in more ways than one. I never take out the garbage or have to venture out with the dog in the middle of the night, and I certainly won’t settle for anything less than custom jewelry.

I had costume jewelry before I got married, but nothing worth more than a few hundred dollars. It’s hard to go back to department store jewelry once you’ve had a piece with real gold and diamonds made especially for you. It doesn’t help my new love of fine jewelry that whatever style or piece I can dream up, You Design We Create can make a reality.

From rings and necklaces to pins and chains, the jewelers at You Design We Create work with me to develop my idea into a beautiful piece of jewelry. They will sketch and design, offer ideas and recommendations, create 3D designs and renderings, and guarantee that the finished product meets my expectations. If you see something in a fashion magazine or on the red carpet, they can replicate that, too! With more than 20 years of custom design experience, their fine jewelers take pride in creating pieces that really mean something to their customers.

Their website shows just a sampling of the jewelery they have created. It’s not a flashy site, but that’s because they spend all their time creating sparkling jewelry and attending to their customers! One look at their jewelry, and that’s all the convincing you need to order online or visit their store in NY.

Ever wonder how I find some of the cool sites that I blog about? Where I come up with all these new products that you feel the urge to buy.right.now? They are blog ads. That’s right. Advertisers pay me to talk about products, services, and websites that they think my readers and I will enjoy. And we do. I know because of all the comments my posts receive and the extra paycheck that is flowing into our budget that doesn’t feel like work!

Two years ago this month, I teamed up with PayPerPost and began getting paid a few dollars here and there to write about TV shows, concert events, housewares, clothing, and more. Since then, IZEA has been born, which is the umbrella company responsible for PayPerPost and SocialSpark. I’ve continually blogged about a wider range of topics, earned more money, and have gained readership along the way.

I’ve purchased many of the items I’ve blogged about, been lucky enough to try some products out for free thanks to advertisers teaming up with IZEA for product samplings, and receive loads of feedback from readers that have tried products thanks to my recommendations.

My readers trust my recommendations, and I trust other bloggers for the same recommendations, reviews, and insight into products and services I never would have heard about had it not been for IZEA’s innovative social media marketing services.

I think it is an understatement to say that I cannot live without Air Conditioners. From the minute the outside temperature hits 70 degrees, I have the AC on in the house, car, and office. I’ve even been known to install an extra window unit, like the ones available at www.onlinesplits.com.au, in my bedroom to keep the temperature super cool while I sleep! If you’re an Aussie and you’re looking for quality AC units and service, you’re going to want to have their website bookmarked and their phone number on speed dial. I know I would!

Everyone is talking about Wordle, which creates word clouds from frequently used words on websites or provided text. I checked it out a few weeks ago and it was pretty lame at producing a word cloud for my blog because it didn’t accept URLs. The new and improved Wordle does accept URLs and here’s what mine looks like…

I wish it pulled words from all blog entries, instead of just the front page, but it’s pretty creative nonetheless.

Tie on your apron, because it’s time for Four Foods on Friday, and this edition is quite chefy!

1. Name one cookbook, cooking website or food blog that you frequently use.

I wouldn’t say I use Smitten Kitchen often, but I refer to it. The recipes usually too involved for my liking, but I enjoy the layout and photography.

2. Do you watch any cooking shows on tv? Which ones?

Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen, Good Eats, Paul’s Home Cooking, Semi-Homemade, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Unwrapped.

3. Are you in a cooking rut? Name a food or dish that you’d like to find a recipe for.

I’d love some recipes to get Mike to eat more fish and seafood! My goal was to replace two meals a week with fish, but I can’t find anything that he’ll actually eat.

4. Share a recipe created by somebody else that you haven’t tried but would like to.

One of the many recipes the Chef I work with developed that has gotten rave reviews.

Peppermint Pesto Chicken Kabobs

Kabobs

• 6 wooden skewers
• 3 pounds chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pesto

• 1 cup basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 2 small roasted garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup light olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 375. Coat pan with non-stick spray. Skewer chicken and place in pan. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes, turning halfway.

Prepare ice water in medium bowl. Boil three cups water in saucepan. Place basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds, remove, and place in ice water for 5 seconds. Remove from ice water and squeeze out excess water. Place basil in food processor with remaining ingredients and process until well blended.

Serve skewers with pesto on the side.