A New Year, and a New Look

Happy 2008! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and joyous holiday.

I used some of the downtime to pimp the blog a bit, and to add some cool new bells and whistles. Please let me know what you think. (Don'tcha just love how my avatar got skinny all of the sudden? If only that were true in real life ... )

Anyway, please take a minute to check out some of the new stuff I've added:

* At right, there are expanded Bay Area shopping listings, plus new sections on great stores to visit if you find yourself in L.A. or Portland, Oregon; I'm going to include other cities soon as well.

* I've added Etsy (at left) and eBay (below) widgets to show off more of the great things I'm eying.

* At left again, check out the funky real-time world map showing where blog visitors are hailing from.

* You can now get More Ways to Waste Time as an email digest. Just enter your email address in the subscription form at left.

* Finally, I'm accepting ads from stores and companies with products or services that I think will be of interest to my readers. Email me for info and ad rates.

That's about it for now, though I'll continue tweaking, experimenting, and (hopefully) improving this blog throughout the year.

Speaking of improvements, two things that you asked for via the More Ways to Waste Time reader survey -- and a big thanks to everyone who took time to share their thoughts -- are more House Voyeur visits, and more How Tos.

I'll do my best to bring those to you, but need your help: If you're interested in giving readers a virtual tour of your home (or even sharing a single room or a completed project you're proud of) -- or if you know someone whose home shows a lot of creative flair and whom you'd like to nominate for a tour -- please let me know.

And if you've tackled a simple craft or decorating project and are keen to share a snapshot or two of the finished product along with instructions (or again, want to nominate a friend who might be), drop me a line and tell me about it.

Thanks so much, and here's to all the design inspiration to be discovered together in 2008!