Friday, January 24, 2014

Pins of the Week.

Happy Friday! I'm not sure about you, but it feels like this week has gone by extremely slow. But hallelujah, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I look forward to some R&R this weekend (since last weekend never really came).

Today is the first day of "Pins of the Week," so I'll elaborate on my scheme a little bit. I've broken it down into categories that I've found are my top searches--the things that I look for the most. What I have thus far: Recipes, DIYs, Nifty, Printables, and a Bonus pin of whatever theme.

DIY 

http://www.adailysomething.com/2013/09/diy-concrete-cheeseboard.html

This week I found some pins and links that have me almost obsessed with concrete. I never really thought of that as a crafting material before...but boy, oh, boy, is it. I haven't gotten to try this yet, but it looks really simple and there are so many things to make with it! Plus, the link for this "Concrete Cheeseboard" comes from a really cool blog: A Daily Something. You should definitely check out the rest of her blog, I was greatly inspired by what she had to share.



http://www.startrecipes.com/2013/12/french-toast-roll-ups.html






Recipe

With the weekend, comes a little splurge here and there. And this was one of ours last weekend. On Saturdays we have breakfast night...it can be whatever in the breakfast category. Typically we go with home fries, eggs, and bacon or pancakes but this time I wanted something a bit more exciting. I have a massive pin board of breakfast items, so it's mostly close your eyes and point. But what I love about this recipe is that it's really easy, exceptionally tasty (more so on the sweet side), and consists of a few standard ingredients.






Nifty

Nifty pins are those that when you see them, you typically respond by "how did I not know or think of that" and proceed to question the rest of your existence. Pinterest is full of handy tips and tricks that either pertain to organization, decorating, cooking, you name it. I currently have a fascination with painting things gold or gold leafing. I was also in the market for some cheap, but cute magnets. I even distinctly remember walking by the utensils aisle in Walmart and seeing those primary-colored, alphabet magnets for .99 and wishing that they sported better colors. Of course that same night I stumbled across this pin and had one of those aforementioned moments...I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it, it was so simple. And aren't those the best DIY's? The link for this picture is actually for Monogram jewelry,  but I got the idea from someone who previously pinned it and wrote underneath, 

"buy alpha magnets and spray paint them."

What's even more fun is that you can leave messages for your special someone and maintain a mature color palette at the same time. It's good to mix in some things from our youth with the present. Plus, the feeling of whipping out your spray paint is irreplaceable.

Printables

"Hi, my name is Cheryl and I am a printable addict." I love finding things online that I can print for FREE. There is truly no limit to these findings. Of course you have to dodge the rather expensive ones, but if you simply type in "free printables" on Pinterest, they will come to you. What's nice is that you can choose your paper...cardstock or printer, ivory or white...based on your current budget. You can print things for your walls, coloring pages for your kids, and menu plans for next week. I have a plethora of printables to share this week based on "organizing your life for the new year." For myself, I am a LIST person. Otherwise my mind runs rampant with everything that I could or should be doing and I drive myself crazy.

With this new blog, I've been searching for lists and calendars that I won't mind if I have to make another or worry about wasting money. What better way than printables! They're easy to mark up and print off if need be.

http://www.elli.com/blog/2014-printable-calendar/There are literally hundreds of printable calendars that you can choose from, but this was my favorite from The Elli Blog (also an avid follower of her things). This particular calendar is large enough to write in all the plans that you have for the future (and in my case, future blog posting ideas) along with a space for notes on the side (without being obnoxiously large). Not to mention that it's simple and will go with pretty much anything. It's never too late to print off some pages...unless it's 2015, so you've got 11 months. I used a clip to hold mine together, but I've seen the pages taped to a wall with washi tape--how fun!

http://ashleeproffitt.com/2013/01/organization-is-key/
Also in line with the blogging are actual pages designed for planning your blog. There are several of these as well, but this was my favorite...I like more simplistic and modern. Ashlee Proffitt also features a pink to-do list that matches this blog page, and it's also free. I tried out a few other planning page but prefer this in the end because it's straightforward and forces you write out the steps of the process so that things are planned and organized.

This is mainly for fellow bloggers, but if you want a similar to-do list, and just so happen to like pink, check out the link!



http://www.elli.com/blog/diy-spring-grocery-list-pad/Another organization strategy is using a pre-made grocery list, complete with blank spots to add in your own stuff. This is great for people like me that think, "oh, I need to get that next time I'm at the store" but forget what it was by the time you get near a pen and paper. Granted there are things listed that you won't need, but I simply cross them out and they are no more. This is a very extensive list, and it's especially great if you live 45 minutes away from the nearest grocery store and need to plan a bit more when you go (no one is bitter). Plus, the cute design at the top doesn't hurt. Why not make grocery shopping more of an enjoyable experience.

http://www.frenchpressmornings.com/2013/06/organizing-my-home.html
And last but not least, a cleaning chart. That is insanely cute, so you can hang it on your fridge and it only make things look nicer. But also helps you to feel better about your cleaning escapades. Cleaning is clearly the never-ending story, especially if you have a husband that likes to "decompose" as he walks through the house...shoes there, wallet here, keys there, dirty clothes littering my bedroom...and we don't even have kids yet. That scares me. Needless to say, I constantly feel the need to clean. I'll admit that I can be a little OCD about it, but if I just cleaned it, I want it to stay that way. For me finding this list was great help, because it helps me to categorize when to do certain cleaning...as in the bigger chores (we only 4 bowls and plates so...dishes are a necessity). And I found that Andrew looks at that and knows what I'm working on each day, so he's more prone to help out.

Bonus Pin

The bonus pin today is another printable that I saw and immediately wanted to get to a printer so that I could have it for myself. I think you'll love it, too!

http://www.elli.com/blog/free-printable-chalkboard-quote-print/



With that, I'll wish you a happy weekend and I'll see you Monday bright and early for my first post on DIY weddings!

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