I've Been Pinned

I realized I have been on Pinterest for almost three years now.  When I first got the beta invite I was instantly hooked (or pinned?). The first thing I pinned and made was Lemon Crinkle Cookies. I baked a batch and took them to work and told the guys about my new obsession, Pinterest.

The guys had no idea what Pinterest was, but the cookies were a hit.

Some of the things I have learned on Pinterest:

1.      Re-finish a dresser. I gave a 1950’s Danish modern blonde oak chest of drawers a sleek espresso finish.

2.      Make my own shaving lotion. Just buy the cheap shampoo and conditioner, add some hand lotion, put it in a re-purposed hand soap pump bottle and you have the best, cheapest shaving lotion ever.

3.      How to make my own laundry detergent. This one was a pin fail for me, I couldn’t get the consistency right so it was more like laundry paste.

4.      Bake macaroons.

5.      Sneak a bottle of alcohol on a cruise ship. I haven’t been on a cruise yet but it will come in handy someday.

6.       Hem jeans and keep the original hem. I’m not quite tall enough for a 34” inseam.

7.       Clean a Clarisonic.

There was a recent article about wedding boards on Pinterest. The article discussed how women who aren’t engaged or in relationships have pin boards dedicated to weddings, and whether that is a little odd, or even offensive.

One of the first boards I created was a wedding board (it’s called “Someday”). I created it, put a few pins on it, then felt a little weird creating it. I was not then, and am not now, in a relationship, so would my followers who know me think I was getting secretly married, (the first pins on the wedding board I put on the caption “Don’t get excited, I just like it” just in case someone took it the wrong way) or would they just think I’m a sad and pathetic singleton? I would add to the board now and then, but always with a twinge of not feeling quite right.

However, I have been planning my wedding since I have been five, (it’s amazing how my tastes have changed with the times) and I have bought bridal magazines before, why was this any different? Is it no different than me paging through travel magazines, dreaming of the trip of a lifetime to Europe, or me subscribing to Southern Living when I live nowhere remotely south? Or how about going to the auto show to sit in a Ferrari? No, it’s dreaming, it’s finding a visual of something that you find appealing.  The only difference is Pinterest is out there, for friends and strangers to view your dreams (and some pretty good hot dish recipes). There is the option to create “secret boards” only you can see, and make them public. I do have one secret board, I would tell you what it was, but then it wouldn’t be a secret!

My new obsession is no longer new, with almost 5,000 pins and 122 followers, so it is just an obsession at this point, and the ultimate time waster. But I love it.