Last night, I made HG Tremendous Turkey Burgers and roasted cauliflower.  It was delicious, pretty to look at, and I forgot to take a picture of it.  See people, this is why I need a good camera.  Maybe if I had a fun toy I wouldn’t forget so often.  Doi.

Bloggers need a lot of things to make their blogs successful.  Good cameras, unique web set-ups, intriguing things to talk about.  If you cook like me, you need recipes that other people will want to try.  If you run, you gotta run hard.  You have to make whatever you are passionate about entertaining for other people.  And it’s not always easy.

So here are a few of my essentials for Chocolate & Wine:

1.  My iPhone – yeah, whatevs.  It’ll suffice for now as a camera.  I have this thing with nice cameras…. I break ’em.

2.  My cookbooks.  I’m gathering quite a collection.  Everything from my mom’s checkered Better Homes “New Cookbook” to Giada and Rachael to Hungry Girl to a whole book dedicated to fondue (not kidding).  I could spend hours in a bookstore flipping through the pages of a good cookbook, getting ideas for new recipes and staring at the beautiful professional pictures.  If I was good at photography, can you guess which profession I would choose?

3. Word of mouth.  When I hear about a new restaurant that other people rave about, I write the name down in my daily planner (yes, I have a not-fancy, middle-school-style planner. It’s fine.)  Later, when boyfriend and I want to try something new, I flip to the list.  Lately my list looks like this: The Antique Table, Petrillo’s, The Blue Ox, The Beverly Depot, Victoria’s Station.  Just to name a few. (I could always use more in the Boston area… hint hint.)

4. My Kitchen/The Gym:  So these are kind of self-explanatory.  I cook in my kitchen, I work out/run/dance at the gym.  I’m in both once a day (usually…I try.)  I suppose if I didn’t have a gym or a kitchen I could still work out and cook and deal with it, but I like my structure.  Sorry I’m not sorry.

5. Twitter/Facebook.  2 words: Free Publicity.  I’ve had Facebook since my senior year of high school when it was created but I was totally against Twitter until recently.  Now I’m obsessed.  Follow me @ChocoAndWine or Like Me on Facebook!

6. YOUR blogs!  Yup, that’s right.  I have about a billion of your blog sites favorited on my computer.  I spend my down time clicking through them, scoping out recipes, running tips, photos of the new baby.  I love them and can’t get enough.  You all inspire me to cook, run, write.  It’s the best feeling in the world to know that someone other than you is reading your blog.  If you have one, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The thrill of each new comment, the regular checking of your site stats, the first time you realize people are listening.  Thanks for listening.  Really, I love you guys.

Got a blog I should check out?  Shoot me an e-mail… I’ll gladly read along!

Blogger friends, what are your essentials?  Your cookbooks?  Garmins?  Adorable new babies?  Worldly views? What makes your blog tick?

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