Anything You Can Pin... I Can Try Too

This is me attempting a year of Pinterest projects. Recipes, crafts, interior decorations, even hairstyles, if I've pinned it then I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll also do some children's activities with my children which will give me an excuse to talk about them and let's face it, they're awesome.
February 18
Chalkboard paint rocks my socks off! Also, I’m obsessed with initials. I bought these two “G”s for my boys. I painted them with lots of layers of Martha’s chalkboard paint. So many layers that I lost count. Once they “cured”, 24 hours after the last coat, I gave them to the boys with some chalk and let them go to town. I used Velcro tape to put them on their doors, that way they come off easily so they can be “redecorated” often without any hassle of having to re-hang them. I got a little crazy with the chalkboard paint. See that bottom pic? Yeah, I used chalkboard paint on the chalk jar. Some other things I was tempted to paint with chalkboard paint: -my iPhone case -the entire front of my fridge -the boys’ little table -my fingernails -every picture frame we own Some other things I actually did paint with chalkboard paint: -various jars & tins so that I could label what is inside. The fridge could totally work! But my husband will read this and say no. Sad.

Chalkboard paint rocks my socks off!
Also, I’m obsessed with initials.
I bought these two “G”s for my boys. I painted them with lots of layers of Martha’s chalkboard paint. So many layers that I lost count. Once they “cured”, 24 hours after the last coat, I gave them to the boys with some chalk and let them go to town. I used Velcro tape to put them on their doors, that way they come off easily so they can be “redecorated” often without any hassle of having to re-hang them.
I got a little crazy with the chalkboard paint. See that bottom pic? Yeah, I used chalkboard paint on the chalk jar.
Some other things I was tempted to paint with chalkboard paint:
-my iPhone case
-the entire front of my fridge
-the boys’ little table
-my fingernails
-every picture frame we own
Some other things I actually did paint with chalkboard paint:
-various jars & tins so that I could label what is inside.

The fridge could totally work! But my husband will read this and say no. Sad.

February 13
My older son is a hockey fan & an even bigger St. Louis Blues fan. This weekend my husband made him a hat rack out of an old Brett Hull hockey stick that belonged to him when he was a kid. :) The G-man is thrilled!! This wasn’t actually a Pinterest project, we just sort of came up with it. I was like, ‘This kid has so many hats, he needs a hat rack’ & then Paul was like, ‘I have this hockey stick.’ & boom. There we had it.

My older son is a hockey fan & an even bigger St. Louis Blues fan. This weekend my husband made him a hat rack out of an old Brett Hull hockey stick that belonged to him when he was a kid. :) The G-man is thrilled!!
This wasn’t actually a Pinterest project, we just sort of came up with it. I was like, ‘This kid has so many hats, he needs a hat rack’ & then Paul was like, ‘I have this hockey stick.’ & boom. There we had it.

January 28
Hawaiian BBQ chicken. Super yum. Super easy. Served over brown rice. Following the pin led me here http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/06/crock-pot-hawaiian-bbq-chicken.html?m=1 Also, it looks pretty dang fancy. :)

Hawaiian BBQ chicken. Super yum. Super easy. Served over brown rice. Following the pin led me here http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/06/crock-pot-hawaiian-bbq-chicken.html?m=1
Also, it looks pretty dang fancy. :)

January 14
I have not been slacking off. I haven’t! I’ve been on vacation. Or holiday as I’ve begun to call it because I like to act British. Saw this photo idea on Pinterest and made a mental note to replicate it while we were at the beach this year. Let me just say, it is hard to find good sand. It’s gotta be clean & soft enough to put your hand down in & you want the color to be just right & you don’t want to be too close to the tide because you, you know, LIKE your wedding ring and don’t want it to be lost at sea. Also, you have to watch your children while trying to get the handprints just right. Because one of them wants to chase the sea gulls and the other is losing his shorts because they’re wet and keep falling down. Ah… Vacation. :) So… It turned out pretty cute considering the sand I was working with (gah!) & also the fact that I took the pic with my phone & instagram-ed it, like the pros.

I have not been slacking off. I haven’t! I’ve been on vacation. Or holiday as I’ve begun to call it because I like to act British.
Saw this photo idea on Pinterest and made a mental note to replicate it while we were at the beach this year.
Let me just say, it is hard to find good sand. It’s gotta be clean & soft enough to put your hand down in & you want the color to be just right & you don’t want to be too close to the tide because you, you know, LIKE your wedding ring and don’t want it to be lost at sea. Also, you have to watch your children while trying to get the handprints just right. Because one of them wants to chase the sea gulls and the other is losing his shorts because they’re wet and keep falling down. Ah… Vacation. :)
So… It turned out pretty cute considering the sand I was working with (gah!) & also the fact that I took the pic with my phone & instagram-ed it, like the pros.

December 26
You know that one recipe that’s been floating around Pinterest with the eggs in the muffin tin? The one I have pinned not once, but twice? Yeah, apparently I *really* wanted to make those. So I did. Christmas morning. I bought a package of frozen shredded type hash browns and put some in just the bottom of my muffin cups and stuck them in the oven (yes, toaster oven.) while it preheated to 375* for about 10 minutes. Then I pulled it out and poured my egg mixture (I used 5 eggs wisked with a bit of milk) and added some chopped ham and topped with shredded cheddar. They cooked for about 15 minutes, but everything cooks fast in my magic toaster oven. They were very tasty and even reheated well this morning. If you follow the pin it takes you here: http://britmorin.com/ but the directions were already given and I was too lazy to actually find this recipe on the blog. Adding the hash browns was my idea. You can congratulate me after you’ve tried these egg muffins.

You know that one recipe that’s been floating around Pinterest with the eggs in the muffin tin? The one I have pinned not once, but twice? Yeah, apparently I *really* wanted to make those. So I did. Christmas morning. I bought a package of frozen shredded type hash browns and put some in just the bottom of my muffin cups and stuck them in the oven (yes, toaster oven.) while it preheated to 375* for about 10 minutes. Then I pulled it out and poured my egg mixture (I used 5 eggs wisked with a bit of milk) and added some chopped ham and topped with shredded cheddar. They cooked for about 15 minutes, but everything cooks fast in my magic toaster oven.
They were very tasty and even reheated well this morning.
If you follow the pin it takes you here: http://britmorin.com/ but the directions were already given and I was too lazy to actually find this recipe on the blog. Adding the hash browns was my idea. You can congratulate me after you’ve tried these egg muffins.

December 24
Crockpot italian chicken. So good! http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html I added peas because I felt it was lacking in color. Next time I’ll add shredded carrots too, more color & extra “pizzazz”. Yes, carrots = pizzazz.

Crockpot italian chicken. So good!
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html
I added peas because I felt it was lacking in color. Next time I’ll add shredded carrots too, more color & extra “pizzazz”. Yes, carrots = pizzazz.

December 22
Today I made baked potato soup. The pin I followed lead me here http://www.mamalovesfood.com/2009/06/baked-potato-soup-slow-cooker-style.html First let me explain my photos, that’s me in my apron. You know it’s serious when I wear that apron. It’s vintage and has a hole in the pocket and makes me feel like a glamourous 1950s homemaker when I wear it. I feel like I want to pull a June Cleaver and wear it with pearls and go vacuum. Second, oh, the chopping of vegetables, how I detest it. I am the slowest vegetable chopper EVER. My son was watching Beauty & The Beast and I seriously chopped from the part where Belle tells Gaston she won’t marry him to the part where the Beast gives Belle the library. There were even commercials but still that’s like 5 musical numbers. That’s how slow I am. It was 5 lbs of potatoes but the moral of the story is always to have Paul (my husband) chop any and all vegetables. So I really loved the way this turned out, but I must confess I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I actually did mine on the stove because I felt it wasn’t cooking fast enough. If I’d done the recommended 10 hours on the low setting in the crock pot it probably would have been great but I opted for the 6 hours on high and then I got nervous because we were having people over for dinner and I just knew that they’d see me in my fancy apron and be expecting a gourmet dish… So I put it on the stove and cranked up the heat which boiled most of my liquid so I ended up adding a bit more chicken stock but I don’t think it altered it much. The taste of this soup is just delish. Easy, easy, easy comfort food. Try it!

Today I made baked potato soup. The pin I followed lead me here http://www.mamalovesfood.com/2009/06/baked-potato-soup-slow-cooker-style.html
First let me explain my photos, that’s me in my apron. You know it’s serious when I wear that apron. It’s vintage and has a hole in the pocket and makes me feel like a glamourous 1950s homemaker when I wear it. I feel like I want to pull a June Cleaver and wear it with pearls and go vacuum.
Second, oh, the chopping of vegetables, how I detest it. I am the slowest vegetable chopper EVER. My son was watching Beauty & The Beast and I seriously chopped from the part where Belle tells Gaston she won’t marry him to the part where the Beast gives Belle the library. There were even commercials but still that’s like 5 musical numbers. That’s how slow I am. It was 5 lbs of potatoes but the moral of the story is always to have Paul (my husband) chop any and all vegetables.
So I really loved the way this turned out, but I must confess I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I actually did mine on the stove because I felt it wasn’t cooking fast enough. If I’d done the recommended 10 hours on the low setting in the crock pot it probably would have been great but I opted for the 6 hours on high and then I got nervous because we were having people over for dinner and I just knew that they’d see me in my fancy apron and be expecting a gourmet dish… So I put it on the stove and cranked up the heat which boiled most of my liquid so I ended up adding a bit more chicken stock but I don’t think it altered it much.
The taste of this soup is just delish. Easy, easy, easy comfort food. Try it!

December 21
This glorious, majestic creation was made by my sister in law, Rach and her fiancé-ish, Pat. It’s a rice crispy treat twist on a gingerbread house. Much better than a gingerbread house in my opinion because it’s cute AND tasty. Way to go guys!!

This glorious, majestic creation was made by my sister in law, Rach and her fiancé-ish, Pat. It’s a rice crispy treat twist on a gingerbread house. Much better than a gingerbread house in my opinion because it’s cute AND tasty.
Way to go guys!!

December 20
This is my BFF’s kitchen cabinet. She used a wide Christmas ribbon and some clothes pins to display the Christmas cards they’ve received. I love it, it’s so festive and a fun way to display your popularity for all to see. She’s totally popular because this isn’t the only cabinet she’s done this way. :) Way to get crackin’ on some Pinterest projects, T! I’m so proud.

This is my BFF’s kitchen cabinet. She used a wide Christmas ribbon and some clothes pins to display the Christmas cards they’ve received. I love it, it’s so festive and a fun way to display your popularity for all to see. She’s totally popular because this isn’t the only cabinet she’s done this way. :)
Way to get crackin’ on some Pinterest projects, T! I’m so proud.

December 15
Pretzels, Kisses & M&Ms (or just “Ms” as they are affectionately known by the under 4 crowd at our house). Heat your oven or even your toaster oven (shhh, that’s what I used! It still counts because I wore my apron!) to 275* and put the pretzels topped with kisses in for 1-3 minutes. Take them out and press on your M’s. I used peanut M&Ms, I’m thinking peanut butter would be great too. There are various recipes all over pinterest for these. Some use circle pretzels, some use rolos topped with a walnut. You use what floats your boat. This particular recipe came from http://foodgawker.com/popular/favorites/page/20/. They have lots of delightful looking recipes that I’m dying to try. If you get these from me wrapped all cute in a little bag act impressed. I wore my apron after all.

Pretzels, Kisses & M&Ms (or just “Ms” as they are affectionately known by the under 4 crowd at our house). Heat your oven or even your toaster oven (shhh, that’s what I used! It still counts because I wore my apron!) to 275* and put the pretzels topped with kisses in for 1-3 minutes. Take them out and press on your M’s. I used peanut M&Ms, I’m thinking peanut butter would be great too. There are various recipes all over pinterest for these. Some use circle pretzels, some use rolos topped with a walnut. You use what floats your boat.
This particular recipe came from http://foodgawker.com/popular/favorites/page/20/. They have lots of delightful looking recipes that I’m dying to try.
If you get these from me wrapped all cute in a little bag act impressed. I wore my apron after all.