Welcome to another edition of the occasional series I call Tear Sheet Tuesday. We launched last Tuesday. If you want to catch up you can do that right here. In a nutshell, I tear what strikes my fancy throughout the week and I share that with you here. It could really be anything. It's all inspiration!

Perhaps today's tears will inspire you to cook, lounge by the pool or get busy creating an office you really want to work in! Let's get started. First off, my Cooking Light hit this week. I wanted to be good and feature this...

However, THIS is what really looks yummy to me. Both are super summer meal inspirations and can be found in the current May 2017 issue of Cooking Light.

In addition to recipe fantasies you can indulge in a little design dreaming this week if you happen to be in the Big Apple. NYC X Design is going on right now and it's open and free to the public through May 24th. This is the fifth year of this international event where you can attend talks, product launches, exhibitions and more all over NYC. For more info click here.

Needless to say I have plucked some coolness from the pages of The Official Guide to NYC X Design, from the Editors of Metropolis.

I guess I'm into the walnut wood finishes with a little lounging mixed in these days. Mark my words, beautiful stained wood grains will be the next big cabinet look, as soon as white Shaker runs its course (which could be never).

Last but not least, I know you didn't forget the furniture porn I promised you ;). I have been eyeing this incredibly beautiful burled wood console for a really long time. This week's sale catalog from Williams Sonoma came in the mail and BAM!! There it is on sale. Should I? I really love it.

So that's what I have for you this week. Please send me YOUR tears so that I can see what's inspiring you and feature it right here. Also, don't forget to leave a comment. I'm getting lots of emails and I'd love for you to share your kind words right here.

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This week's post in the series "Men in the Kitchen" features Graham, a twenty-something, Gen Y bachelor. Graham currently lives in a rental apartment, works full time as an "expert" for Apple and is pursuing his Master's degree at Florida International University. Admittedly, it doesn't give him much time to cook but he says it's something he'd like to do more of at some point. Here's what he has to say about cooking from his own unique perspective:KFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty?Graham: Pasta Bolognese, and I cook perhaps 2 times a week. Since I don't have a lot of time for meal planning and cooking, I like to cook things that will give me leftovers for the rest of the week. I enjoy pasta and it's perfect for that.

KFL: What are the top three tools you can't live without in the kitchen?Graham: Microwave oven, tongs, and a good knife. The microwave is a must for those leftovers I mentioned. Tongs are the perfect tool for so many things from serving salad to pasta to cooking bacon. Then a good knife is a no-brainer and I think that's going to make everyone's list! Another gadget I use a lot is my Sodastream. If you like bubbles, this allows you to make just about any drink into soda. It saves me money on beverages too. KFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?Graham: I would update it! Since I live in an apartment the style of the kitchen is a bit reminiscent of the 80's. Though I'm also a product of the 80s, it's not necessarily what I'd like as my kitchen. I can't update it but I add personal elements here and there to make it my own. When I buy my own home, hopefully in the next 5 years or so, it will be important to me to have an open plan kitchen so I can interact with the rest of the house while I'm cooking. My current apartment does have a pantry which I'm loving. My goal is to invest in some really nice containers so I can organize everything to keep food fresh. Since I'm usually cooking for one, I end up storing a lot of opened ingredients.

KFL: How did you learn to cook?

Graham: My parents and through video cookbooks. My dad was a great cook, very inventive and then when my parents divorced my mom got more into cooking so there were some things I got from her too. The biggest thing I remember my dad teaching me was to clean up as you cook! Great advice I will never forget. He also made the best chili which I am still trying to perfect. I find video cookbooks to be a great source of inspiration. Sometimes I follow them but I also use them as an incentive to come up with my own recipes. I use the Video Cookbook App on my ipad. Allrecipes.com also has a video cookbook app that you can get for free on the iphone.

Williams Sonoma offers a whole line of ipad compatible smart tools for the kitchen. You can read more about them here.

KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?

It can be both, but that depends how I feel at the time. If I am cooking for someone I enjoy it. It's fun to try new things and test the results but sometimes I wish a home cooked dinner was waiting for me when I get home. I still do get that from mom when I visit.

There you have it! Interesting how cooking is being influenced by technology and now the digital world. I guess it started with the microwave and today people are bringing their ipads into the kitchen!

Next up: Meet Barry, a man who's cooking Viva Las Vegas style!

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