Paula Deen, Living Rooms & Ripple Afghans: Listening To Local Voices

1. Paula Deen has diabetes and now she's an "ambassador" for the disease.

Well, Dr. Barbara Berkeley -- the medical director of obesity programs at Lake Health -- doesn't think it's appropriate for someone who pushed donut burgers on the populace to be an ambassador for an obesity-related disease.

"Turns out, Deen has been diabetic for three years during which time she has continued to encourage Americans to eat some of the worst food on the planet," Berkeley writes. "Of course, she intended her viewers to eat this food "in moderation" (these two words make me see red dear readers)... as SHE herself does!"

Reade more of Berkeley's thoughts .

2. And now for something completely different...

I love . Her affection for handmade projects from tye-dye T-shirts to ripple afghans is infectious.

In her latest post, she talks about the .

3. Over the years we have seen housing trends such as pink tile in bathrooms, shag carpeting, olive green appliances, and many more.

In Nolan Andersky's latest post, he talks about another dying trend in home design: the living room.

"How many of you have a formal living room?" he asks. "That room right off of the entry in which you have a nice couch and chair, perhaps some ornate pieces of art, a piano, etc.

"You know, that room that you never use, but vacuum every once in a while to make the lines in the carpet visible again. Yes, that room. Trends are moving homeowners away from that, and replacing it with something people will use."

See .