slanted spaces

In our quest to find a house,

we've looked at tons of cute little 

capes with slanted upstairs spaces.

While the diagonal lines are cool,

they typically make it kinda tricky

to use the space well.

 As usual, pinterest to the rescue.

In the last few days, I've seen lots of

cool uses of slanted spaces.  

Currently, my favorites are the closets;

 such practical and helpful solutions.

This bright cheery bathroom is pretty

cool too, though.  I like the idea of turning 

wasted space into something so nice.

 Any brilliant solutions to share?

Who knows what kind of a house 

we'll end up with, but I'm always 

open to suggestions! 

*more home dreaming

I might have a problem.

I can't stop finding recipes on Pinterest 

to fuel my buffalo chicken obsession.

And yes, it is an obsession.  :) 

First up: Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

Seriously.  Take something delicious and 

squeeze it between bread.  Great idea!

Or how about this: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Perhaps even better than a sandwhich,

and with more cheese!  Yes, please.

Finally: Buffalo Chicken Beer Cheese Dip

 I know - the title had me drooling too.

Yummy food plus beer...genius!

Anyone else feeling hungry now?

a month of thanks

My pinterest feed is full of enticing

holiday ideas these days: recipes, decorations,

crafty DIY gifts...the ideas are never ending. 

But my current favorite is this simple

thankful banner - a way to celebrate all the little

things that you are grateful for.   Just add one leaf 

every day in November, and by Thanksgiving,

you have a whole banner of thanks!

What are you feeling thankful for today?

*via

dear pinterest

Dear Pinterest,
We need to talk about all
of these enticing animal photos...

These whiskers make me want 

to fill my pockets with carrots and

 go love on a horse.  I can almost

 feel the warm breath and velvety

 nose snuffling my palm.

And this smile.  Ah, dog joy!

It makes me so tempted to break

all the rules and go adopt a pup.

But I'm not ready for a dog, ok? 

Then there's this sheep.

Just look at him...leaning against

that post with his soulful eyes.

I don't even remotely want a sheep, 

but this fuzzy face has me daydreaming 

about idyllic pastures and fuzzy faces.

Oh no.  A snugly pooch that perfectly

matches the bed.  Now that's just stooping

to a new level.  A cuddle buddy that will 

look adorable next to all my stuff!

And finally, this baby giraffe.

The combo of those eyelashes

and that chin fuzz slays me.  But I

think it's his serious (skeptical?)

expression that really melts me.

Not fair.  How's a girl
supposed to fight cuteness
like that?  Not fair.

xoxo,
me

*cuteness

frivolous

Pinterest allows me to dream up 

the most ridiculous amazing parties.

(frozen fruit & champagne,

pretty floral ice cubes)

For instance, this over-the-top

ladies night with plenty of pretty.

It makes me want to go home
to find a party dress immediately!

(blackberry-mint margarita,

 raspberry-champagne cupcakes,

chocolate-champagne truffles,

 glitter jar for straws)

dear pinterest

 

Thanks to you, Pinterest, 

my closet is demanding a pretty, 

feminine skirt like these ones...

Please be awesome and drop 

one of these onto the nearest 

clearance rack so that I can

stick with my clothing budget. 

Love,

me.

*images

a theme...

I was browsing through my recent

pins on pinterest the other night,

and noticed a definite theme...

...lots of black & white!

I'm a sucker for the simplicity 

and elegance that black &

white can bring to an outfit, 

space or photo. 

 

Happy Friday!

Hope you get to enjoy

some beautiful things too.  :)

*1, 2, 3, 

4, 5, 6, 7, 

8, 9, 10, 11,

12, 13, 14, 15

 

 

diy polaroid magnets

Right after moving into our cute apartment,

I made a whole bunch of these sweet little 

magnets to decorate our blank fridge.  

Since everyone who walks through my kitchen 

stops to look at them, I figured I should post 

about them!  (Plus - they still make me smile 

every time I open the fridge...aka all the time.)

I was initially inspired by a photo on pinterest, 

loosely followed these directions here, 

but did plenty of improvising along the way...

...like skipping the download and heading over 

to picnik to stick my photos into their free

polaroid frame.  (Plus free editing, yippie!)

...or gluing my photos to white foam-core

scraps so that I wouldn't have to color

the edges.  (total laziness)

I'd love to know if you've made any 

for your fridge!  (Or as cute little stocking

stuffers perhaps??)  How did you cheat

to make it easier / cheaper?  :)

mmm bacon

I made this fun little appetizer for the hubs the

other night, and we both loved it.  Try it soon, 

and I promise you will be a hero to the 

bacon lovers in your life.  :)

WARNING:  This recipe involves a vegetable,

but is definitely a danger to your arteries!

 

you'll  need:

1 lb. fresh green beans

5 strips of bacon

3 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic (or garlic powder)

1/8 tsp soy sauce

Cook halved green beans until tender,

then drain and set aside.  (Add a pat of 

butter if you like, because if you're like

me, you'll have extra & will eat them later.) 

 

Cut bacon slices in half, fry over med-low 

heat until soft, then cool on a paper towel.

 

Wrap the little bean bundles in bacon

and place in a 13x9 pan.  (You can use a

toothpick to hold them together, or just

wrap tightly and place carefully.)

Melt the 3 tbsp of butter on med-high, 

then stir in brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce.

Once everything is melted together, brush 

or spoon the mixture over the bundles.

Bake for 10-15 mins at 400 degrees...

or until it smells so good that you 

cannot resist pulling them out to try!

 

*found, recipe

52 Things...

 

Even though it feels like we just got married 

yesterday, the hubs and I celebrated our 

6 month anniversary a couple of weeks ago.

(And yes, we actually celebrated,
which was totally dorky but really fun!)

I wanted to do something sweet to love on 

my handsome guy, so I decided to tackle 

this project I saw on Pinterest.  

I used these more detailed directions 

to start, but mostly just figured it out 

as I went along, which was fine. 

I was really excited with how it came out, 

but more importantly, he loved it.  He seemed

pleased that I took time to express some of 

the little things I adore about him.  And that

makes me a happy girl - mission accomplished!

*Want to see more cool Pinterest inspired projects?

Check out others from the Pinterest Challenge!

pinterest inspiration

 Anyone else love playing around with Pinterest? 

There are so many good ideas, pretty pictures, 

and yummy recipes - it's a little addicting.

I noticed a common theme today on one of 

my boards...fun wrapping ideas!  Which if you 

have ever seen my giant bin of wrapping 

paper & ribbons, isn't really all that shocking.  :)

How lovely are all these little beauties in 

brown paper?  The top one is just a strip of

glue with confetti - which I think is genius!

I also love this one with the balloons - 

so cute and cheerful! 

Are you on Pinterest?  

What fun things are you finding?