Pinterested

Pin

I had heard wonderful things about Pinterest, but I had also heard it is addictive so I put off joining as long as I could stand it. And now I feel like I'm late to the party, but I know there are others who might want a primer.  I recently went to a baby shower for my pal Lauren where they served cupcakes topped with mini cupcakes (frosted mini Reese's cups), an idea the organizers had gotten from Pinterest.  Such a cute idea!  And especially when you're planning an event like a wedding or baby shower it helps to browse all these great ideas pinned by other people instead of feeling like you're reinventing the wheel.

Pin

In the ensuing Pinterest discussion at the shower I realized that it's not just a bulletin board to corral pictures of your favorite things.  Each picture also has a caption that will often include a brief synopsis that another pinner has added.  And if you click on the pin again it will take you back to its source on the internet, which may be a blog or a recipe site or a home decorating catalog or whatever.

So I gave in and joined Pinterest and it's every bit as awesome as I expected. So many great ideas for simple household fixes and stuff to do with toddlers.  And the recipe ideas!!  I try to be descriptive in my captions, and later add a comment to let my friends know that I tried a recipe and how it turned out.  (Mine never look like the beautiful photos, but I have gotten quite a few keeper recipes.) 

Here are a few of my pinboards:
What's for dinner? I've been cooking healthier lately and there are tons of recipes along with beautiful photos that make you want to try them.  And then there's the stuff that looks awesome but isn't necessarily healthy, like ooey gooey cheesy chicken enchiladas. 

Yummy  This is for non-dinner food, from good-for-you baked oatmeal to brownie-batter dip.  I could bookmark these recipes in my browser for later use, but Pinterest is like the difference between "dessert menu" and "dessert tray."  You can see how it will might turn out.  (And for the things that don't, there are blogs like Pinstrosity where you can report your failures.)

Take me here  I have a bucket list of places I want to go, and now you can see why I want to go to these places.

I also have boards for Christmas, Fall, and Spring decor and recipes.

An integral part of Pinterest is finding people to follow so when you log in the main page will be filled with neat ideas. You can start with your FaceBook crowd because, if you're like me, Pinterest has become more interesting than Facebook anyway. And they'll be repinning stuff from other people you don't even (need to) know, and if you like those things you can follow those people to see what interesting things they pin in the future. But don't limit your pins to repinning what people have already pinned. You can pin stuff from almost anywhere on the web using the "pinmarklet," a little gadget you add to your toolbar that snags the picture and source and adds it to your pinboard.

I was joking with some of my girlfriends about how we have lots of yummy looking recipes pinned that would never fly for dinner, so we need to have a party so we have an excuse to try them.  So we had a Pinterest Party tonight, complete with Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip (pictured), Loaded Baked Potato Dip with waffle fries, Fast Cinnamon Rolls, and Lemonade Layer Cake.  Yes, when my friends and I go totally wild you'd better lock your windows because we're having Dessert For Dinner.  Woo hoo!  Cuh-ray-zee!!!

Join the fun!  Let me know (with your email address) if you need an invitation; it's faster than waiting for one through Pinterest.  Be warned that Pinterest can be addictive.