Operation: Corral the Chaos

One of my unofficial resolutions for this year (and every year, really) is: Get Rid of All of Our Junk or at Least Organize it, But Actually, Yes, We Should Probably Just Get Rid of All of It

Sound familiar? Yes...for me a need/desire to clear out the clutter has been pretty much constant since...well, probably forever. I'm repeatedly astounded by the amount of stuff we've amassed, and constantly overwhelmed by the need for a better organizational system. And though the abundance of things isn't new news around here, surely the issues have multiplied since we added three children to the mix (no, they actually have nothing to do with most of my pack-rat ways, but they sure do have hoards of their own, so I feel entitled to shift at least some of the blame on them,)

We've gone through all kinds of mini-cleanups over the years, Kon-Mari'ing a closet here and there, purging a pantry or clearing out the garage...But the battle I'm currently losing? Toys. OH the toys. They're everything, and everywhere. Under beds, under furniture, underfoot...

Unfortunately, I didn't take any official "before" shots, but I trust you can imagine what it looks like to have stuff pretty much in shambles. Just in case you need a reference though, here are some throwback pics of some babies that might have grown up way too fast (oh...with some toy nonsense in the background): 

(This gratuitous baby shot illustrates except for how dang cute he was...)

Ok, you get it. We had a bins of toys overflowing with big items shoved behind them, strollers "parked" willy-nilly, and a bin of balls housed in the living room because we'd run out of floor space in the playroom perimeter. Not shown, are my children's beds, which each held approximately 26.4 stuffed animals a piece,

We needed a solution.

The good news is, I had an idea. The space between the wall and the cabinets in our playroom was perfect for our two bins of toys, but we were wasting precious vertical real estate. I thought if we could do some sort of hanging storage, we could take advantage of that space, and free up more room below to shuffle the toys around a bit into a system that made a bit more sense, and allowed a bit more wiggle room in the actual room.

I scoured Pinterest, sure that they'd have the answer, but didn't find anything that matched my vision. I wanted a hammock, but not the traditional triangle net type that I kept finding. I needed something a bit more custom to fit the exact spot we were working with. In my head, I imagined a simple system with rods and fabric, to form a sling. I figured some tension rods and a piece of fabric would do the trick, so after a quick pillowcase prototype assured me this idea was just simple enough to work, I whipped up the read deal. And low and behold, it worked...So now I pass on to you my latest organizational pride and craft joy- a DIY toy hammock:

Genius, yes? 

Ok..if not genius at least satisfyingly effective, right?

Because we had already cleared out as many stuffed "friends" as possible, this holds the core group of BFF's that our kids just couldn't bear to part with. We still have spots in beds reserved for the very special lovies, but this is a spot for the rest of the menagerie. And with them out of the way (but low enough that the girls can still reach them to play, and maybe even put them away!) we had room in the bins below to devote to dolls and balls (and whatever else these kids choose to amass).

And the best part is that the how-to couldn't be easier.
It just requires two tension rods, and one piece of fabric. The size of your fabric will depend on your space, but from side to side, it should be about 1" longer than the width of your space (to allow for hemming on both sides). The depth will vary too, based on where you're placing it, but with our 15" deep bookshelf, 19" of fabric worked well to allow enough swag to form a "pocket" for the animals without being so deep that little guys got lost. Whatever your "depth" is, double that, so you can make it one continuous loop. (so my piece was 39" total- 19"x 2 with an extra inch for seam allowance).


Once you have your piece cut, fold it in half lengthwise, and sew together to form the loop. Then make a 1/2" hem on each end to finish it off. Slide the tension rods in, and fit them to your space, adjusting the placement as needed. Done!

You do need to make sure the tension rods are tight, so the weight from the toys doesn't cause them to slip (this is part of the reason we chose to store stuffed animals here vs. dolls or something heavier). If you wanted to, you could use regular dowel rods with cup-hook brackets on each end, but I liked that this was a flexible solution. We can keep it as long as it works, and adjust it if needed. We could also add one on the other side of the cabinet (and park strollers underneath), or even do another level above this one (for toys they don't need to access constantly, but still can't live without? For top-tier stuffies?)

I don't know that Shark Tank is going to be breaking down my door wanting to finance my display of ingenuity, but I was pumped that a half hour of work and about eight dollars in supplies (the quilt fabric stash keeps on giving!) lead to something that so dramatically improves the function of this space.

And one project tackled means we're one step closer to total organization domination. Or at least one step further from being buried alive by our own possessions. I call that a win. Now...on to the basement. See you all in 3 years...

P.s. Let me know if you attempt a version of your own. While I still work to get our place in order, I'd love to live vicariously through the clean spaces of others!

--------------------------------

Psssst....Want to get all the Bowdenisms news delivered right to your inbox?

YES PLEASE! Subscribe via email and never miss an -ism.  xox.

The Quilts (are coming) Along

Ok, I know the Quilt-Along just started, but I jumped in fast and deep this time around, so it's already time for an update. I woke up on Saturday obsessed with the idea of making quilts, by afternoon I had bought my first round of fabric, by that night I had some layout ideas drafted, and by the next day I had them colored up and ready to roll. Last time the design process took for-ev-er, and while I do like that part, I also didn't want to over-complicate things this time. I'm working on being more decisive on things like this...trusting my gut and just figuring it out as I go. I'm probably way oversimplifying the entire quilting process, but I found it freeing to just go for it, and trust that it will work out.

So I went to the fabric store with a vague idea of what I wanted:
Coral, Yellow, and Black/White/Grey, in modern graphic prints...with maybe a bird or two mixed in there. (I haven't totally figured out the plan for the girls' room...which is another topic all together...but I do know I want to work in a lot of the stuff from Piper's nursery, so that's a least a starting point.)

Since I didn't have a quilt pattern in mind, I had no idea how much fabric I'd need, so I just winged it. (Is that the right past-tense of wing? I never know...I always want to say wung it. Anyway...) I put literally every appealing option in my cart, sorted by color, dragged them all up to the cutting counter, set aside anything that didn't seem to jive, and started ordering up. I followed an unscientific, and still totally unproven method of buying 1/4 yard of things I liked, 1/2 yard of things I really liked, and 1 yard of a couple I love. I'm sure that won't get the job done, but it was a decent start, and in the end, if I have some extra fabrics they can go back, and I can always (hopefully) find more of something if I need it.

So now for the hard part...Narrowing down all my quilt pin-spiration to my final choices. I decided even though I'm doing two quilts, I only want to do one design. This is partly so they match, but mostly because I think it'll be easier. I can do all the math/thinking one time vs. two. But- I do want the quilts to have a different front and back design, so that they can be switched up for different looks if the girls get sick of one side. So in the end I needed two designs: one for the fronts, one for the backs. And without too much agony, I landed on my favorite inspiration pieces:

Left // Center // Right

There were a ton of other options I liked and considered, but in the end.....Simplicity won out. I know no mater how simple I try to make things, it'll end more complicated than I mean it to be, so I figure let's start with something as basic as possible, knowing that will be plenty hard.

Next, I messed around in Illustrator, working towards a final design. I used the three inspiration quilts as a jumping off point, trying to incorporate what I like about each of them into a final design that works as one cohesive piece. You can see it got a little crazy there, and some of the layouts didn't end up quite as simple as I planned. In the end, I deemed the versions on the left the winners.

Final planning step- fabric layout. This was tough...and I could have belabored it forever, but since I already had my fabrics, I just sat in a heap of it all, playing with possibilities until something felt right. I decided I wanted each quilt to have a neutral side, and a more colorful side, so that they're more versatile. I also landed on doing one more coral dominant, and one more focused on yellow. That way they coordinate, but don't literally match.

I still have some doubts, so it will unfold (or unravel?) as I go, but it's a starting point, and I'm choosing to move forward, trusting that if it's not 100% perfect, it'll still all work out ok. (I mean, worst case I cut some pieces I hate and have to redo them. Or I hate the whole thing in the end...doubtful, but a risk I'm willing to take).

I mocked up the finals in Illustrator again, making quick stand-in versions of the prints, so they require a bit of imagination compared to the real fabrics, but it's enough to help me visualize how it'll all work. And here's where I landed:

Quilt 1: Piper
Front & Back

Piper watched some of the process (and "helped" by taking taking 47 camera phone pictures of my feet) and decided she liked the pink one the best...so that's hers. I still have my fears that she'll hate the whole thing and beg for something purple/covered in hideous characters, but I'm playing the long game on this and hoping I can convince her to value timeless design. Ha.

Quilt 2: Fin
Front & Back

I'm actually still struggling a little bit with Fin's. I'm shocked the grey side was the hardest for me to do! But again, I'm just trusting the process and figure it'll shake out to a good point somewhere along the line.

Up next...Measuring, cutting, and SO MUCH SEWING. Yep, it's all downhill (like a spiral) from here...


So did that glimpse into my madness scare you off from taking up quilting? Or maybe it's inspiring to watch someone with no clue go for it anyway? Join in! Share your project with #stitchittogether

-------------------------------------

Psssst....Want to get all the Bowdenisms news delivered right to your inbox? 
YES PLEASE! Subscribe via email and never miss an -ism.  xox.

Stitch-it-together (again)

Remember how I was just going on and on, sharing about how I'm an all-in person, for better or for worse...? Well, I've done done it again, and the project I'm diving into definitely falls into the better AND worse categories. Ready for it?

I'm quilting again!

I got bit by the quilting bug (not the quilting bee...I'm pretty sure that's a whole 'nother thing) a couple years ago, and my (relative) success with my first experiment lead me to attempt an even bigger challenge, and organize a Quilt-Along + make a full size (well...twin sized) quilt. As usual, I didn't let a little detail like- I have no idea what I'm doing- stop me from diving in/dragging people in with me...but I'm glad I went for it. It was fun to have some sewing solidarity, and I made a pretty sweet piece in the end (if I do say so. And I totally do).

So...why not do it again?

We're going to keep it real casual this time around...it probably doesn't even count as a real Quilt-Along due to the complete (and intentional) lack of organization, but who cares, it's just for fun, yes?
Here's the bottom line. I'm going to make two quilts. Yes, two. Because I'm crazy, and because I decided that as we transition the girls into a new big-girl shared bedroom (which we're also doing because I'm crazy) that they need special, one-of-a-kind, made-by-mama, big-girl quilts for their big girl beds. (For the record, Piper would be happy with a store bought anything as long as it was purple with sparkles...And Fin doesn't care if she sleeps with aluminum foil on, as long as she has Jelly. So this, as always, is a need/mess of my own making. P.s. Piper's quilt will not be purple or sparkly. It probably goes without saying that this undertaking is at least 98% about me).

Anyway- I'm making two quilts, and aiming to have them done...eh...sometime before Summer...of 2015...is over. And if you're up for it, I'd love to have you join! Make a quilt, or four, or a quilted potholder...finish a quilt you started last time I started this silliness, or just finally sew that button back on a pair of pants...Whatever your talent/time/interest/energy allows for. Because the better of this whole better or worse situation, and the reason I'm doing this is because I want to. It's more expensive, and more time consuming, than buying something, but I love the process of learning and experimenting, and know that I'll be so proud to give the finished products to the girls. So even with the worse parts (agonizing over details, making a mess of my house for months on end while I have pieces here there and everywhere...) it's worth it. And anything worth doing, is worth doing with a friend.

Oh, and if you're intrigued but confused about this whole thing, don't be intimidated by the term Quilt-along. Basically, it's a just group of people who all commit to making a quilt, sharing our progress and encouraging each other along the way. There are some groups where they all work on the same pattern or project etc, but that'll all a little too confining for me. I just wanna make cool stuff, and see your cool stuff, and share in the process of getting to said cool stuff. Let's do it. 
Details: 

• Anyone is welcome. Beginner to master. 
• If you're interested, leave a comment here, or post it on social media, or email me, or tell me in person, or really just do what you want. See how formal we're making this? I just want to know you're in, so I can check in and rave about how awesome you are. 
• Participants can share progress and pics on social media using the hashtag: #stitchittogether
• There's no real deadline...But if it's a helpful motivator for you we can make one up? How about June 20? (the last day of Spring). No promises.....
• And the more the merrier. Feel free to grab a button, post on your blog, pinterest, tweet it, instagram it, email your friends. Spread the word and let's make it a party!

I'll pop in later this week with some details on my quilt(s) so far. Spoiler alert- they're already shaping up quite nicely. I'm trying really hard to make this as stress free as any quilt/Courtney project can be, and so far, so good.

p.s. If you're interested, you can see where my quilt-love started, see my results of the last Quilt-Along or check out all my stitchittogether posts. 

-------------------------------------

Psssst....Want to get all the Bowdenisms news delivered right to your inbox? 
YES PLEASE! Subscribe via email and never miss an -ism.  xox.

Obsesspins

Happy Cyber Monday! And First day of Advent! And post-holiday return to the daily grind!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, filled with turkey/deals/rest/family/all things that are awesome about this holiday. We stayed home this year for the first time....ever. Seriously EVER. It was weird. And great.

And since we weren't traveling, and shuttling from place to place trying to pack in togetherness, we had plenty of time for...well...wasting time. So you know I spent a good portion of it pinning.

In no particular order, here are a few of my recent online loves.

Bags

Stripes. I'm in. (the gold is a bonus).

Wrapping

I always have big dreams of elaborately wrapped presents, and though I sometimes manage a little theme, I never quite get it together to this level. Bad news is- I still haven't adequately unpacked my wrapping supplies, so bags and bows are pretty much strewn about the basement. Good news is- I bought a couple of new rolls of paper from Target...one of them has Santa-hat wearing zebras. Aw, yeah.

Christmas Card Display

What do you do with your cards? I love to display them, but don't really have a great solve for where/how. I love the idea of this faux-tree! (P.s. I'm kind of worried we're not going to get any cards this year. So lame I know, but I have visions of all of our mail going to our old house, leaving my mailbox sad and empty. We moved! Ask me for my address! I want to see your cards!)

Bathroom

This layout is pretty much exactly like our bathroom...and the finishes are about 900% cooler than our current builder-grade situation. Someday, dream bathroom, someday. 

Painted Piano

We have a beautiful upright piano that plays surprisingly well despite its questionable craigslist origins...But all the woodwork isn't exactly in great shape, so I'm toying with the idea of painting it. I just can't land on a color I feel passionate about, and I'm too nervous to take on such a task until I'm confident about it.

Art

Ever just pin stuff with no plan...just becaue you like it? That's this one. I have no idea what this will inspire...But it's pretty, and makes me happy. So maybe that's good enough.

Your turn: What's showing up on your boards lately? 
P.s. Check out previous editions of Obsesspins. Or follow right at the source: Pinterest
 

-------------------------------------

Psssst....Want to get all the Bowdenisms news delivered right to your inbox? 
YES PLEASE! Subscribe via email and never miss an -ism.  xox. 

Obsesspins

If I was really going to share my latest pins with you, I'd have to post about 1,347 halloween costume ideas (I went on a pinning-spree the other night and may have saved all the costume pictures to my account. I kept them on my secret board though so I didn't 1: looks like a crazy person, and 2: give away all my ideas before settling on this year's costumes. Gotta keep up some mystery...) So instead, this round of Obsesspins is just a handfull of non-Halloween pretties. Enjoy!

Current Obsesspins

Ring

Can you have too many giant gold cocktail rings? Never. (This one is sold out, but that doesn't make it not beautiful.)

Quote

Ok, I know I probably pin way too many pretty, slightly cheesy quotes, but I'm a sucker for a sunset pic, and swirly type. Plus I really do like this sentiment- we're always just trying to keep things moving around here, even if we're not 100% sure where we're headed. We'll get there...somewhere...someday...

 Dream hair. 

There's about a million reasons my hair will never look like this, but hey- a girl can dream. (hence the name "dream hair").

 Dog Costume

Ok, I cheated and put a Halloween costume in here...but seriously, this Chia pet makes me laugh so hard. I almost want a dog just to dress him up. Maybe the neighbors will let me borrow one of theirs...

Flamingo print 

Still working (in theory) on designing the girls' bedrooms (or perhaps shared bedroom....someday?) Love this "mingo" for Piper. (And the rest of the picks in this great little round up of nursery art)

You have any Obsesspins worth sharing? Or are you saving things in secret Pin hoarding shame like me?

P.s. Check out previous editions of Obsesspins. And follow me on Pinterest!

Obsesspins

Fab little Friday roundup of stuff that’s caught my eye lately…

Current Obsesspins

Doormat

My HOA strictly forbids painting my door any color except for 3 pre-approved, nearly identical shades of black. (seriously), so if I’m going to have any entryway fun, I’m going to have to accessorize. Hoping I can make this happen with a homemade stencil + a plain ikea mat.

Kimono

I’m kind of obsessed with floral kimonos right now. Go ahead…imagine me saying that in my OMG Rachel-Zoe-inspired fashion girl voice…but I mean it. (P.s. Have you seen the Ascot and Hart collection? Bloggers turned Target shoppers, turned Fashion designers. It’s like they’re living my life in reverse. Only way, way better.)

 Bunny

Some days (all days) you just need a little dose of adorable. And for those situations, I have an entire board of images at the ready. (Bonus win: Keeping my furry obsessions contained to pinterest saves me from having to clean out any real-life cages).

Quilt

I don’t have a spot in mind for another quilt, but this design could convince me to go for it anyway. (Plus by the time I finished it 3.7 years from now, I’m sure I could find somewhere to put it!) I’m loving the idea of a color blocked design- it ends up looking like a large scale madras pattern. And you know I’d work some striped binding in there somehow….

Fried Gnocci

Because I obviously needed a way to make tiny carb nuggets even healthier. (Pro tip: alfredo sauce).

Marble floor

We’ve got big dreams for the master bath…which will likely come to fruition sometime in 2027, but still…it’s fun to dream.

Extra Mile

…And the view’s amazing.

What are your latest Obsesspin? Any boards I need to know about?

P.s. In case you missed the last round, or if you want to dive into all my Pin-related archives.
And feel free to follow my full file of fancies right here.

ObsessPins

My relationship with Pinterest goes through ebbs and flows, but currently we're in a stage of Deep Love. We just get each other, and lately have been staying up too late, dreaming and planning our life together.

Ok. Weird.

But really. Pinterest is awesome, and if you can wade through the cheesy quotes, excessive chevron use, and 99+ Toddler Activities to Make In Your Crockpot For Under 25 Cents articles, then it can be such an awesome resource for projects. And if you’re like me, and you have a million ideas floating around in your head (and at least half that many windows open in your iPhone browser) then it does really help to control the chaos. But- the hard truth of Pinterest is that it’s only useful if you use it. (Profound much? Let me make that into a graphic for you. You can pin it.) What I mean is, we all have a thousand pins (or 4.1K pins in my case) that we have unofficially flagged as “someday” ideas, but how often do you actually refer back to them? Let alone actually attempt/complete the project you had in mind? If you’re me? Not often.

But I want to change. I want to take those someday ideas, and make them someday soon ideas. And I want to take those “this makes me laugh” pins and…well…laugh at them. And share with others. I’ve actually forced Dustin into a semi-regular weekly routine, of Going Through My Pins, where I open up Pinterest and walk him through everything I’ve pinned that week. Some of it is him humoring me- knowing it’s not enough for my to amass a creative file…I have to talk it out. But some of it I think is helpful for him too. He can catch my vision for shared projects, and get inspired about joining in to make it happen. Last week he even emailed ME a pin for our bedroom!

So to share the love, I thought it would be fun to start a feature around here, that I’m calling:
ObsessPins

It’ll just be a few things that caught my attention recently. Hopefully sharing things here will inspire you and encourage me. That’s what we call a Pin/Win/Win.

Hoodrat T-shirt

It comes in adult sizes on this hilarious site, but I keep picturing Piper in the mini-size and it just cracks me up. (And if you don’t get the reference, check out the video that started it all.)

Bold Lipcolor

I’m so not a lipstick person. I’m more of a Dr. Pepper chapstick person at best.
But I’m a sucker for anything coral, so I’m working up the courage to give this a shot.
 

“Barn” door

Our laundry room is impossibly tight, so getting rid of the traditional door in favor of a sliding door would help a ton to free up some space. Plus it would help with the industrial vibe I’m trying to make happen in our kitchen (forging “industrial chic" out of a 2002 suburban plan home is an uphill battle for sure…but every bit helps.)

Big girl room

I’m kind of obsessed with kids' rooms in general right now, as we start to think about how to make Piper’s room more fun. (it’s currently a dingy off-white box). I’m halfway obsessed with the gold polka dots, and all the way obsessed with the two girls jumping on their side-by-side beds. Our girls don’t need to share a room…But if it ended up this cute, I might do it anyway. 

 

Stripey-stripes 

Because obviously. 

 If you’re not already following me on Pinterest, hop on over and see the other four thousand projects on my to-do list. Have a great weekend!

6 Recipes You Need to Know About

If you're anything like me, you've pinned about a hundred recipes, tried about a dozen, and actualy liked a handful. Pinterest is a great source for inspiration, but it’s not always reliable when it comes to the likelihood of success implementing all that inspiration. Just because something was repinned 800 times doesn’t mean it’s good; it just means the cover photo looks good. The constant “liking” and “repinning” doesn’t hold much weight when it comes down to what that craft will actually look like, or what the recipe truly tastes like. Sometimes (and maybe more often than not) those bright and shiny pins can be pretty unrealistic (check out Pinterest Fail for proof that everything’s isn’t always as easy or delicious as it seems) And I’d like to say that you could rely on the descriptions for real information, but does anyone ever update those? I know I don’t! Unless it says something really crazy, I pretty much just let the “mmmmmmm, sooo gooooood!/this sauce is totally addicting!!/pinner says “I made this for my boyfriend’s parents and now we’re engaged!!!” tagline roll.

My friend Rachel is a genius (for lots of reasons), and actually has a Pinterest board dedicated to ideas she has Tried/Attempted/Printed/Used (yes, that’s the official board name. She’s thorough, and literal). When she tries things from Pinterest, she moves them over to this board and updates the description with details on how it really went. It's like the #showyourreal of pinning!

I’d love to be that organized, or diligent, but.....well....I’m just not. BUT- I do have a mental list of things I’ve tried, and a few of them are what I consider to be “must shares”. And so I must share them with you:

6 Recipes You Have to Know About...
(5 because they’re that awesome, and 1 because it’s that bad)

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is one of the easiest recipes ever...I was able to make them before work, and just pop them in the oven that night. Changes I made: 

• I used 8oz of mushrooms- they came pre-sliced and packaged...not going to argue with that!
• We didn’t have butter, so I just used olive oil for saute-ing.
• I only used half and onion, because I’m a baby about onions and always think recipes have too much.
• Dustin said he thought the cheese was a little overpowering (I don’t even understand that as a concept) so next time he’d skip the piece of provolone on the bottom (and probably add it on top of mine!)

Butternut Bacon Spinach Feta Pizza

Pizza crust- we often buy the giant eagle brand, and have been pretty happy with it. But we also recently tried the whole wheat pillsbury (comes in the exploding cardboard tube) and were surprisingly impressed with it. We’ve only made this in the winter, so we’ve made it in the oven, but grilling it would be delicious too! Oh- and you know I didn’t use the entire red onion. You do you.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

This is one of those things where you don’t even really need the recipe (and you definitely don’t have to follow it exactly)...it’s more of an inspiration, and a reminder that “Yes. Taco salads are delicious! We should eat that tomorrow!” We make this all the time now, changing up what exactly is in it depending on what exactly we have. I’ve never made the dressing...Typically I either put a little bit of sour cream on the top, or a dash of Southwestern Ranch dressing. There’s so much going on with the ingredients it really doesn’t need much dressing.

Chesecake Brownies with Raspberries 

Cheesecake swirl brownies have been a staple of mine since long before the pinterest era. But for my birthday I wanted to do something special, so I searched for a new recipe and found this pretty picture:

Trouble is...the website is in Polish, and the measurements are in grams. SO- I improvised. 

I made a box of ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies, and then whipped up some cheesecake topping using my old tried and true recipe from Food.com (I found this back when they were RecipeZaar. Does anyone- besides Sarah, my college roommate- remember that?) It’s from 2001 and has 6 reviews...so I’m sure it’s not taking the pinterest world by storm, but it’s so easy, and so good (heavenly, in fact). 

Typically I swirl the two together, but for this I just let it go. Then I threw on some raspberries, and put it in the oven. Done!

Tip: Make sure your cream cheese is all the way softened or it will be lumpy. I microwave it on about 20% power for a minute or two to speed it up.

Bonus tip: Eat them for breakfast. Heavenly!

Winter Sangria

I’ve made this twice now, and I love it, but it needs some adjustments. The amount of fruit they call for is completely overwhelming (It’s like a fruit cup with a dash of liquid) so I cut that in half, and I double the rosemary to give it a boost of flavor. Also- I don’t bother rolling the rosemary in sugar...It looks pretty, but comes off the minute you mix it, so it’s not worth it. And I had enough on hand to double the liquid ingredients, which still worked with the original amount of fruit. It’s easy to freshen it up after people have been serving it for a while. 

Adapted recipe: 

• 1 apple
• 1/2c cranberries (I buy it in a small bag...and still don’t use the whole thing.)
• 1/2c white grape juice
• 12oz club soda
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1/4c sugar (go a little light on this if you’re using non-alcoholic wine, which is much sweeter to start with)
• 1 bottle Pinot Grigio (you can sub sparkling juice- white grape or apple...still delish)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

In life, there are a few sure things. Things I’ve come to trust in. The sun will rise every morning (kind of a technicality in Pittsburgh because we can’t always see it...but it does rise!) If I forget my umbrella, it will definitely rain. And pumpkin + cream cheese is always awesome.

AND THEN!? Something like this recipe comes around and shakes the foundation of everything I hold dear. I’m choosing not to link to pinterest here, because there about a hundred similar pins, that all point to the same thing: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Failure. How to recognize if you’re headed down the dark path of lies: the description mentions weight watchers points (ok...I should have maybe seen this coming), and the ingredients include angel food cake mix. If you see either of those things....just turn the other way.  It was practically foaming......

---------------

If you’re interested in seeing what other random things I’m pinning, you can follow me here....(or click the handy “P” logo on the right sidebar)

Very Pinteresting

You are all familiar with the Innovation/Adoption Curve, right?

Wait...no? You're not a giant loser that still remembers charts from your college marketing classes? Good news...I am! Let me refresh your memory:

See that grey chunk on the right? That's me. Well, at least when it comes to technology. I manage to weasel myself into the early majority, or even an early adopter (I hesitate to call myself an innovator...) in a lot of things, like fashion, decorating trends...nail polish!...But for some reason I've always been slow to jump on the new technology bandwagon. More accurately, I wait until the bandwagon is barreling towards me, and I pretty much have no choice but to climb aboard or get flattened. I held on to the flip phone until the bitter end (which was still before Dustin gave it up), I resisted Facebook for years, and genuinely debated returning a new xbox 360 (with Kinect!) because "we already have a nintendo!"

But my most recent hold out- and subsequent cave in- is Pinterest.

For those of you not familiar with Pinterest. Thank you. You've made this laggard feel slightly better about herself. (seriously, all my friends are on it, and two have even blogged about it already.) Basically, it's an online space where you can "organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web." Rather than dealing with webpage bookmarks (which inevitably get all mixed up, or lost on multiple computers), or trying to save images to your desktop (which makes it hard to impossible to recall the original sources), Pinterest gives you a spot to save everything, keeps it organized, and embeds the links so you can remember where you found things.

It's a great site, but I was hesitant to embrace it for a while, mostly because I wasn't sure I wanted all my business on online "front street" (yes, this coming from someone who publishes a blog...I see the irony). Finding and compiling inspiration is a big part of my job, and the thought of all my work and ideas being common knowledge kind of freaked me out. (For what it's worth, this is actually a pretty common Pinterest complaint. No one likes everyone knowing where all their ideas come from. I'm all for sharing, but it'd be nice to keep a few things private, lest all our parties, homes, closets and dinner tables start to look identical.) But eventually the convenience factor outweighed my desire for creative secrecy, and I gave in.

Since then, I've been a pinnin' fool, and I now have 48 boards and 609 pins. Here's a snapshot of some of my stuff...

My (p)interests span a pretty wide range, but my main foci (yep. foci. told you I was a nerd.) are party ideas, recipes, home decor inspiration, and some photography tutorials. I pretty much pin anything that catches my eye, but I do try to narrow it to ideas that I might actually try one day. No, I'm not going to be able to recreate every picture I pin (nor should I...) but one of my Pinterest Pet Peeves is people who pin all day long, but you know never bother to actually do any of those projects. Maybe there are people out there who just like to collect pretty pictures, but I want my boards to have a purpose. Some ideas I'll rip off directly (no shame...that's what it's for!) some I'll use as a jumping off point for similar projects, but for the most part, everything I pin has a fighting chance of actually coming to life...my life.

So with all my spare time (ha!) I've been trying to make good on my Pin Promises, and turn some of my inspiration into reality. I've done a few crafts, and taken a whole lot of photos, but my most notable pinterest success stories are in the kitchen. Rather than clipping recipes, filing them away (or letting them pile up) and forgetting to do anything with them, I'm using pinterest to motivate me to follow through on my culinary dreams.

To help inspire you...here are a few things I've tried so far:

Potato Soup
I've finally fallen in love with crockpot cooking (I'm really behind the times on that one!) And love a good "dump everything in the pot" type recipe. This one turned out great (so good that we just started eating it, and forgot to take pictures...). And just to show I went the extra mile to make it my own- here are my modifications: I did two cans of cream of chicken soup (10oz each), and added 4 strips of bacon (I cooked it in the microwave first and then chopped and added to the crockpot). The recipe doesn't say how much cheese, but it's just used for a topping when you serve so you can do whatever feels right. I topped it with the cheese, sour cream, and chopped scallions, and served it with salad and sourdough bread. Yum.

Pulled Pork

This is probably a lot of people's go-to meal, but I had never tried it. This photo convinced me it was easy enough to try...4 ingredients? Can do! I used Coke Zero instead of diet pepsi. (because of course I did!) and doubled the recipe. (not really on purpose...that's just the size of pork butt that was available. heehee...pork butt.)

Here's mine, simmering away....Delish.

Baked Apples

And in non-crockpot news, I gave this sweet treat a try, for an Apps and Zerts party in my honor (if you do nothing else, please click on that link. I don't even watch Parks and Rec, and that clip still kills me.)

Again, I got a little caught up in the process and forgot to take a photo of the final product, but they weren't half bad. I used pie crust instead of puff pastry (because apparently my reading comprehension isn't what it used to be) and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on top before baking, because, well...that sounded delicious. I had to cook them much longer than the recipe said, but that might have been due to my substitution of pretty much the only ingredient it calls for. If you attempt this one, may I suggest investing in an apple corer (de-corer?). I've heard it's faster...and maybe safer...than my steak knife solution. Equipment and ingredient challenges aside, they turned out great.


(And just to illustrate my Pinterest Point [no, I don't know why I've taken to capitalizing things into formal categories. I think it's the alliteration. Too Tempting!] about too much sharing, the aforementioned Apps and Zerts party nearly ended in a Pinterest Pitfall, when a friend brought an app that I was thisclose to making. We discussed how one of us had pinned it from the other, but we don't remember who's Pinterest Property it was, so we agreed to touch base before future parties, to avoid overlap. Crisis averted!)

So if you haven't already gotten your Pin on...get going, you laggards! And if you need a kick start- you can follow me. I'm not promising it'll always be pretty, but it at least be Pinteresting. (Pinterest Pun. Perfect.)