Etcetera | minor housekeeping

While some major features posts are in the works, I just wanted to run down some minor housekeeping tweaks I've made to Four Tines and a Napkin (all good, of course) to help communicate more effectively to my readers and followers. I'm trying my best to stick to the resolutions I made at the beginning of this year, and hopefully, with all of this in tow, I'll be able to maintain readership and interest as well as attract some new visitors!

{1} new favicon

I thought a new "favicon" for Four Tines would be a great initial start to the new year -- it's a blue rounded square with illustrated image of a fork (for four tines, haha).

{2} new photo albums on Facebook

I've added two new photo albums to Four Tines' Facebook page: (a) 2012: Things I Ate and the Places Where I Ate Them and (b) 2012: Things I Cooked. Self-explanatory, of course. Plus, who doesn't love some additional food porn coming their way? ;]

{3} new Tumblr, an "abridged" ode to gourmandise and epicurean delights

To deliver more short-term content (photographs, articles, reads, etc.) to you, I've created a Tumblr for Four Tines. Check it out when you get a chance -- you'll find the latest foodie news that I'm reading!

{4} new Flickr, consolidated

I've also created a Flickr just for all things Four Tines, starting with all of the 2012-related content that I've blogged about so far. I've been trying really hard to showcase some decent food photographs, so hopefully this will help me get it out there! :)

{5} new widget on toolbar, "Personal Highlights"

There's a new section on the side bar of Four Tines, where I just wanted to highlight the posts that I found my food writing/reporting/photography at its best.

{6} return of Food for Thought quotations

Revived are biweekly inspiring quotations (under the category, Food for Thought), now with photographs!

{7} return of Fresh Finds

Also returned is a regular, biweekly report of gadgets, gizmos, goods, and the like that fascinate me and/or have changed the way I conduct myself in the world of cookery, gastronomy, etc.

{8} return of Q&A

I figured since I talk about certain individuals in my life quite a bit on this blog (i.e., my dining/cooking/adventure-seeking companions), you all should get to know them, too, which is why I've decided to bring back the Q&A sessions, now on a monthly basis, featuring the foodies in my lives (beginning with Lisa) -- those who keep me in lovely company and who inspire me daily to be a better friend and writer.

{9} more Toasts

. . . for remembering the important events in my life -- birthdays, anniversaries, dedications, and holidays.

{10} coming soon

Hoping to have by mid-2012:

- a visual, Google map of the current page "Eaten & Conquered" (i.e., places at which I've eaten, explored, visited, etc.)

- a feature page featuring "Where to Go" (currently, Wanderlust posts), a rundown of my favorite spots to hit up in different cities

I know there has been a heavy focus on "dinner" meals as of late, but bear with me -- I've been especially embracing the "bean counter" part of my occupational title the last few months, therefore only really allowing me to go out to dinner during the latter part of restaurant service. Hopefully, once the weather warms up (aka, when busy season concludes itself), the "desserts," "snacks," and "lunches" will return with more frequency!