A Maude Love Affair With Coffee

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

We all learned at an early age that coffee is necessary to everyday life. Most people now view coffee as a way to fuel their lives rather than an enjoyable experience. I personally drink coffee maybe once or twice a week and I often view it as a treat. If I'm on the go and want to reward myself for a hard days work, I usually find myself at the Starbucks on campus. But when it's been a long week, which it often has, and I want to unwind, I grab whatever book I'm currently reading along with my sketchpad and I head to Maude's Classic Cafe. When I go with friends, we'll often pick a game to play from Maude's eclectic assortment of board games. Located in downtown Gainesville, it's an easy getaway from campus and the perfect way to enjoy a Sunday. The laid back, hipster vibe of Maude's makes it easy to forget all your worries. They have food, but I normally just stick to the drink menu. I usually order a bengal spice tea, cappuccino, or cafe au lait and snag myself a table outside under the warm sun. On chilly days, I resort to sitting inside, which is still nice but there's just something about sitting outside at Maude's. I think it reminds me a bit of coffee shops in Europe because at Maude's, people come and stay for hours. It's just wonderful to witness strangers enjoying the company of their friends or even just their own company. No one is in a rush, and that's a rare and beautiful thing.

If you love beverages as much as I do, then check out my post on a Gainesville local winery.

Until my next adventure ✌️

Silver Springs State Park

Silver Springs is a beautiful state park located in Ocala, about 50 minutes outside of the University of Florida. I was able to tell the story of this Silver Springs transformation into a state park for WUFT First At 5. I'm excited to share this video with you guys not only because I was able to report on it, but also because it's yet another thing to do outside of the 'ville. This state park showcases just how beautiful nature is and offers so many attractions including hiking, biking, and camping. It's the perfect getaway for just a day, or if you have more time to spare, a week or two. Check out my video to learn more!

Until my next adventure ✌️

Book Review: Don’t Make Me Think Revisited

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

I came across this book through one of my classes as an assigned text. Like many others, I’m sure, I never enjoy books that I’m being forced to read. But as I’ve delved further into core classes for my major, I have actually enjoyed some of texts that have been forced my way. I think it’s because a lot of them are written very conversationally, that it makes you forget you’re reading them because you have to. Don’t Make Me Think Revisited by Steve Krug is easily on of these books. In a nutshell, this book is key to understanding what makes a good website, well, good! For a blogger like myself, there were a few key things Krug talks about in his book that caught my eye.

Using It
It’s easy to see why “Don’t Make Me Think” is the title of Krug’s book, it is arguably the most important aspect of a website. Technology and I aren’t the best of friends. Yes, I use camera equipment and editing software for my major, but ultimately I’m not crazy about technology. So one thing that frustrates me most is when I’m on a website that should be relatively easy to navigate and it’s not! For example, just earlier today I was checking out a website that my friend writes for and I remembered an article she wrote a couple months ago that I wanted to revisit. I spent at least 5 minutes trying to figure out where the archives were located because I couldn’t find a button to click or a box to search for things anywhere. I was thinking, something I’m not supposed to be doing! We are multitasking human beings with little patience when it comes to the Internet. If I can’t find what I’m looking for within two clicks of being on a website, I’m calling it quits. Because chances are, there’s another website out there, with exactly what I’m looking for, that is way easier to use than the formerly mentioned one. Just remember, make the site simple and user friendly. Make it easy to search for things, and always have a site ID that people can click on to get back to the homepage. The site ID will also help them know that they’re still on your site.
What to take away from all this- “When you’re creating a site, your job is to get rid of the question marks” (Krug 13).

Getting It
You may have not noticed, but my blog looks different. The blog title and tagline are still going strong, but my background design and color are wildly different. After reading Chapter 7 of Krug’s book I realized that my readers probably understand what my blog is all about, but they might not fully be getting it. My blog deals with traveling to and exploring local places in Gainesville. The background design of my blog is now a map, which I think better embodies the purpose of my blog. It is so important for site visitors to quickly grasp the concept and vibe of your blog. “The first few seconds you spend on a new Web site or Web page are critical” (Krug 89). Essentially, your homepage can make it or break it for many people. Your site should have a clear title, a catchy but informative tagline, and a quick blurb describing what your page is all about. This ties into making your site easy to use. When it comes to your site, if people “get it” they should have no problem using it.
What to take away from all this- “If it’s not clear what I’m looking at in the first few seconds, interpreting everything else on the page is harder, and the chances are greater that I’ll misinterpret something and get frustrated. (Krug 89).

Mobilizing 
Also a new addition to Krug’s book, and highly important in this day and age, is to have a great mobile version of your site. A lot of times, we end up using the Internet on our phones rather than computers, so this is highly important!
What to take away from all this- "Create a mobile site that is a subset of the full site" (Krug 147).

Overall, great websites are user-friendly. They don’t leave you guessing about what type of site you’re on, they make it easy to navigate throughout the site, and they are easily accessible on your phone. Krug delves into more tips and necessities for creating/having a great website, so if you want more be sure to check out his book here!

Until my next adventure ✌️

Show Me The Monet

I'm going to let a lot of you in on a well kept secret. It's so well kept that I hadn't heard about it until this semester... and just to remind you, I'm a senior graduating in the Spring. So you know the Harn Museum that so many of us have never been to unless we were forced to go for a class? Well it's actually pretty cool! That's not the secret though, the secret is that if you're a UF student you can become a member for free! If you don't appreciate art, like I do, there's one event that will still grab your attention. Once a semester the Harn puts on an event for members only where you can drink bottomless wine and feast on endless, delicious appetizers FOR FREE! Art, wine, and food all for free? What more could a person want! A few friends and I went to the Harn to enjoy this student privilege and admire the museums temporary Monet exhibit. Seeing that my friends and I were practically the only people under the age of 40, I would say not many students know about this. I'm always looking for exciting things to do with my friends other than hitting up midtown like we normally do. Don't get me wrong I still love Mid, but if the Harn did this weekly, Midtown would sure get a run for it's Monet.

Until my next adventure ✌️

When The Clock Strikes Midnight

So you want to explore some of Gainesville's classics, but you're feeling a bit lazy. What do you do? Order an obnoxious amount of Midnight Cookies of course! Feeling a little sick and not up for a night of drinking, I decided to stay in, but I also didn't want to let one of my precious senior spring college nights go to waste. So I quickly called up one of my best friends, who was also staying in, to come over for a movie night. Once together it suddenly dawned on us that we needed to order midnight cookies since I had never had them before. We pulled up their website and I actually got overwhelmed by the mouth watering cookie descriptions. After a lot of thought we finally picked 6 cookies to order: The Midnight, Cookies n' Cream, Peanut Butter and Banana, Red Velvet, and 2 Bananas Foster. My favorites were definitely Cookies n' Cream and Bananas Foster. These cookies are crazy yummy. They're filling so order them on a somewhat empty stomach, and while they aren't cheap per say, they definitely lived up to the hype!

Until my next adventure ✌️

I'm Feeling Lucky's

It's all about the little things, and who said that grocery shopping can't be the highlight of your day. Well Luckys, Gainesville's new market, turns the tedious task of grocery shopping into an experience. With a warehouse look and a rustic 1920's vibe, Lucky's offered a different atmosphere to shop in than most grocery stores. For me, my love lied in the amount of organic products they offered and how holistic their selection was. Similar to Nature's Food Patch, they not only had your expected groceries, but an in-store butcher, and loads of vitamins and medicine too. I do my best to shop organic and Lucky's had such a wide variety of items that I felt like I could spice up my traditional meals, while not breaking my bank. A huge plus! Oh, and did I mention that you can drink wine and beer as you shop!? I told you this place was fun. Anyways, I'm actually about to head to Lucky's in a couple hours to stock up some more so...

Until my next adventure ✌️