How Much Do You Actually Use Pinterest?

No bake Nutella cheesecakes from My Baking Addiction

I love Pinterest.  I’ll sit down to check it and three hours later I’ve pinned 50+ things and accomplished nothing productive.  Sound familiar to anyone??  But last night while organizing my overwhelming “Recipes to Try” board into more manageable categories, I noticed that I hadn’t actually tried most of the recipes I had pinned.  So then, out of curiosity, I went through my pared down recipes board and counted all the dishes I had attempted.  Out of the 159 pins, which did not include drinks or desserts (I moved those to different boards), I had tried a grand total of 25.  Truth be told, that was actually more than I thought it would be, but it still came out to only 16% of my pins.

Which made me wonder…is Pinterest useful?  Sure, it’s fun to look at pictures of pretty homes, laugh at the newest some e-card, and fantasize about the perfect wedding, but what does that accomplish?  Food and drink recipes are probably the most useful category on Pinterest but if we never make 90% of the recipes we pin, what’s the point?  Is it just to look at pictures of drool-worthy cupcakes and cheesy enchiladas?

I’m wondering what you think about this subject.  When you have a couple minutes take a look at one of your boards.  Preferably a board with things you can actually make/accomplish, like recipes, craft projects, or cleaning tips.   Then count how many of the pins you have attempted.  Is it more than my measly 16%, or are you just as guilty as pinning but not doing?

Post your comments below, I’d love to hear them!

There could be some truth to this…

Cutting a Rug

On a whim I decided to browse Ebay for some Asian rugs.  I fell in love with the kilims from Turkey.  The geometric patterns are very modern yet tribal, and the colors are so brilliant and gorgeous!

Turkish Handwoven Kilim Rug

Turkish Antalya Handwoven Kilim Rug

Turkish Handwoven Kilim Rug

They tend to be very reasonably priced too.  For instance, the top rug is 60” x 127” and it is currently going for $269.99.  That is a lot cheaper than most new rugs you can find at retail stores, and these are much more interesting.  They would make such a fun statement in a room!

Etsy Explorer: Ron F#@*ing Swanson

Today I got an email from The Midland by AMC theater about their upcoming events, and I was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson from NBC’s Parks and Rec, will be performing in KC next month!  Parks and Rec is one of my favorite shows, and Ron Swanson is certainly one of its best characters. 

Apparently I’m not the only one that thinks so either.  Etsy is full of Swanson-themed merchandise, from posters to t-shirts to magnets and beyond.  Here are some of my favorites: 

“You had me at meat tornado”

                          DIY Ron Swanson cross-stich kit (because who wouldn’t want to            cross-stitch Ron Swanson’s face?)

“Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing”

The Swanson Pyramid of Greatness Tote

Cross-stitched tea towel, “Give me all the bacon and eggs you have”

Every single one of those items make me smile when I see it.  I think I have to go to Nick’s show.  Now I just need to convince the hubby to take me…

Blogger Meetup Recap

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first KC Blogger Meetup event.  It was held at The Glam Room Salon in River Market and it was so much fun! 

There were beautiful and yummy cookies,

Gorgeous jewelry from Stella & Dot for sale,

A great presentation from Sarah, a local graphic designer, with some really helpful tips for creating a better blog layout and design,

Mingling with other local bloggers whilst enjoying wine and snacks,

And other goodies including a trunk show of really cute eyeglasses by BonLook, a giveaway, and $5 eyebrow waxes.  Thanks to Megan from Chasing Davies for putting together this event! 

And if you’re looking for a new beauty salon I would recommend the Glam Room.  All the stylists were really sweet and cool, and the space itself is beautiful!  I’m obsessed with the light fixtures in the entryway (photo from The Glam Room Salon’s facebook page)

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

The Most Popular Lamp in School

I spotted this gorgeous Ralph Lauren lamp at Home Goods last week.  It still wasn’t exactly cheap at $99.99 but I’m sure that’s a great price for a Ralph Lauren piece.  Since then I’ve seen it on two of my favorite blogs:

First on a home tour of Irene and Evan’s house on Apartment Therapy.  I would recommend going through the whole tour, it’s a beautiful home! 

Then Michelle from Ten June showed off her new lamp for her office. 

Where do you think it will show up next?

Moroccan Bedroom

I’ve spent a lot of time this weekend researching Moroccan décor for an internship project and I’ve come across so many pictures of beautiful Moroccan bedrooms. 

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So I put together some of my favorite elements from each of these photos into a mood board for a Moroccan Bedroom.  I would love to have a room like this in my house!

 

 

This canopy bed from PB Teen would be beautiful with some simple white linen draped over it. 

This tapestry from Urban Outfitters has so many gorgeous vibrant colors in it.  You could use it as a wall hanging behind the bed or as a throw over the duvet. 

A lovely Moroccan bedroom needs a lovely Moroccan rug.  This one is from West Elm.

These pink leather poufs would be really cute at the end of the bed.

A mirrored night stand would bring some modern elegance to the room. 

This stencil is the same one used to create the ceiling in the third inspiration photo.  It would be gorgeous in red and pink! 

A turquoise glass lamp brings out the blue from the tapestry.  As do…

These Moroccan print pillows. 

A gold Moroccan lantern would look so fab hanging from the canopy bed. 

Another Visit to HG

Classes started Monday.  I think I’m really going to like my classes this semester and I’ve actually started working on a couple of my projects already!  Pretty impressive for a procrastinator like me.  Of course, most of the work I’ve done so far has been on Pinterest, but it still counts! 

I had a three hour break between my classes on Monday so after a short stop at Starbucks I visited one of my favorite stores: HomeGoods!  Obviously I spotted a plethora of wonderful items, such as…

These well priced knock-offs of some high end tables.  I love gold but these may be a bit on the 80’s shiny brass side.  Still pretty though.

This pretty gray table could be perfect in an entryway. 

This beautiful set of notecards that I really just wanted for the tin box they came in.

You might remember that I bought some coffee sacks from The Roasterie last summer.  Wouldn’t an ottoman like this be the perfect DIY project for them?  Although, this one was only $19.99 so it may be worth just buying the finished product when it looks this good. 

I love this pillow by Cynthia Rowley.  Those blues are just gorgeous against the white background and little bits of purple.  I think it costs $16.99.

These are the cutest blue chevron lamps ever!  I would love to see these in a kid’s room.  $59.99 each

Speaking of cute, this little footstool is adorable.  I think it was $24.99

I love the colors in this pillow.  It would be a great inspiration piece for a living room; it has so many lovely colors you could pull from it to use as your color scheme. 

If you want to add some color to a room via accessories, this pretty teal lantern would do the trick. 

I wrote about my love of Chinoiserie last week, and these pieces are great examples of inexpensive new pieces.  I love this red lacquer box, which is available in several sizes as well as in black. 

I adore foo dogs; I have one set and I’d love to build a collection someday.  HomeGoods had a pair of generously sized red foo dogs for only $9.99 each. 

HomeGoods seems to always has some awesome Cynthia Rowley chairs, but I pretty much swooned when I saw the greek key pattern on the back of these black and white chairs. 

I wish I could have bought everything pictured above but since I’m working for free right now I saved my pennies.  The only thing I bought was from the Marshall’s side of the store: a pair of Calvin Klein burgundy courdoroy skinnies that were marked down from $69.50 to $14.99! Score!

Oh hey there Leo, nice to see you! (Sorry, I just had to share it.  He’s such a handsome guy)

Pretties for Monday

I start back to class today which means I don’t have a lot of time for a blog post.  I do have lovely images I want to share with you though.

What a lovely little office! It’s the perfect amount of girliness; it’s what I’d imagine working inside a Tiffany’s box would feel like.  Via House of Turquoise

You know I love Emily Henderson, and her office is exactly what I would expect from her.  My favorite part though is that light fixture!  I absolutely love it!

What a killer bar cart! It’s an art deco reproduction that she bought at Target!  I’m so jealous.  Via Chinoiserie Chic

A beautiful dining space.  The vintage chandelier, gallery wall, lucite chair…just gorgeous.  Via Houzz

Well that’s all for today my loves.  Have a good week!

Chinoiserie Love

Chinoiserie is a decorating style that I can totally get behind.  For those who may not be familiar with the term, Apartment Therapy defines it as “a French term meaning "Chinese-esque," the name for a style that emerged alongside Rococo in the 17th and 18th centuries.”  Chinoiserie style includes the use of nature motifs, lacquer finishes, and porcelain decorative objects, just to name a few.  Here are some beautiful inspiration pictures. 

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Chinoiserie can be beautiful but a bit overwhelming for some if used as the predominate style throughout the whole space. In my opinion it’s better to mix in a few Chinese-style furniture pieces or decorative elements within a more contemporary or traditional space. You can go new or vintage with this route. Etsy, Ebay, and Craigslist are all great sources for used pieces, and new pieces can be found inexpensively at stores like Pier1 or World Market, or you can find beautiful, more high-end styles at stores like Horchow.

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Well Hello, 2013

Hello dear readers!  I’m back from a nice little holiday break which included four Christmas celebrations (two here and two back in IL) and a super fun NYE out with friends.

I have some great projects in the works but for now I just want to share some pictures of a few of my favorite Christmas gifts. 

My parents gave us this lovely painting that they bought on Ebay.  Isn’t it pretty?!  To me it looks like it could be in a museum.  And all of those blues!  Oh I love it.  I have it hanging behind the desk in our office, which by the way, I also just repositioned and accessorized to make it more effective.  Previously the desk was flipped so that it was sitting in the corner along the walls.  Now it faces out to the rest of the room and it is much more pleasant to work at.  I also added a lamp, picture frame, and some office accessories I had at my old job. 

I also got a very pretty paperweight that is displayed on a bookshelf with my Anthro vase and Christmas books from Ben.

We also got another fun painting from my parents.  I love the super ornate gold frame!

Other notable gifts included a Keurig coffee maker, the book Life of Pi (which I read in just a few days and highly recommend), and lots of Starbucks gift cards.  Thank you to all of our parents for the wonderful presents!  2013 is already off to a wonderful (and well caffeinated!) start!