Pin of the Week

Yep, I'm late again. This time it was for a good reason.

Exhaustion...

If all those celebs can check in the the hospital for "exhaustion" then I can too!

Yes, I've had a very busy week and it just so happened that I was too busy last night to write my post. I totally planned on it, but I spent most of the day baking and well, frankly, cursing.

If you are a baker or a perfectionist, you know how it feels when something not only doesn't go right, but goes terribly wrong. It ruins your whole day. That is what happened to me yesterday.


Shall we move along? I don't think any of want to hear about my baking troubles and I don't want to curse in this blog.


This week, I had found the pin of the week. It was definitely the pin of the day week month. It got over 89 repins and nearly 30 likes in less than an entire day.

I know I have said before that I can never tell what people will like. I thought this pin was a good idea, but it turned out to be a great one. Some pins I love never even get a like. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

So what is this amazing pin? A DIY Dog Bed. So simple it will make your head spin. It will make happy that you can make a custom dog bed for your wonderful pet. Please check it out! Your dog will thank you.


Next up is a product pin that I love. The AppleCore is going on my Christmas list and would make great stocking stuffers. So brillant and come it in a ton of colors. I pinned the medium AppleCore, but there is a smaller and a bigger one. All pretty cheap!


Now, you all know that I love fall and Halloween. I love caramel apples too, but I hate how big they are and how messy they are. When I found this pin for Mini Caramel Apples, I was thrilled! I've found a number of version, but this one uses pretzel sticks, so great!


Have you ever had Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies? Yeah, my brother loves them and I have tried a number of times to recreate them. I even have a pretty good version. They are great for kids, but sometimes you need something more adult. Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pies look so good! I love Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction. She makes the best treats and these creme pies are no exception.


Butterscotch is not really a FALL dessert, but this recipe caught my attention and I wanted to share it with you. I have never seen a recipe for Butterscotch Cupcakes and these even require a homemade Butterscotch. They just look so yummy and unique. Just beautiful!


This a short pin list this week. I didn't find that much that caught my attention. Plus, some just were not worth sharing. I'll keep looking and pinning. You never know when you will find the pin that takes off like crazy!

Revenge of the Crafts

Apparently, crafts still have a hold on me pinning-wise. Yeah, I have several craft pins to share with you all, a few food pins and one amazing product pin.

Let's start with the product pin. I am in love with King Arthur Flour! Their site, their products, blog, bloggers, and everything else are amazing! I found like $300 worth of stuff on first glance that I wanted on their site. My favorite and what I am asking for my birthday or for Christmas, is this set of 3 Cookie Scoops.
 

I am an avid cookie scooper. It makes your cookies the perfect size and ensures even baking. KAF gives you three cookie scoops in three great sizes. No more guessing on sizes! I am so getting this for some present, then I'll be back with for more products!


Moving onto crafting pins with made a major comeback this week. I found some great ideas, some were super simple.

Ever tried writing "Happy Birthday" or something else on a birthday cake? Yeah, I have. It sucks when you run out of room or write at an angle. Well, RealSimple.com solved that problem for all of us. Ready to say, "why didn't I think of that?"...

You use a toothpick to write the words in the frosting and then pipe over the lines. Brilliant...Simple...Real Simple!


If you've been on Pinterest, you have probably seen the pins that say you can write on porcelain dishes with a Sharpie and then bake the designs. Fun idea, but one blogger took it a step further. Tealandlime.com has a tutorial here that shows you how you can use Sharpies to decorate porcelain knobs. So cute and pretty easy too!


Another simple pin is a creative craft and a great gift. It is simple to make and wouldn't cost a ton of money. I have some teacher friends that I think would love this pin. Mom's with small children could make these as teacher gifts. Crayon Wreaths are so cute. I love them! You should check them out and make the for the teacher's in your life.


This pin for bowl covers was my most popular of the week and I totally agree! They take a little time to make, but are so customizable that they are worth the effort. Plus, they will last longer than regular plastic wrap! You could even make them fit the different size bowls you have! Endless ideas!

...Sorry for the exclamation overload...I get excited sometimes.


~It's time for food pins~

Fall is here so I thought I had better include a couple great fall-ish pins I found. First up is Crockpot Apple Butter. I love my grandma's applesauce and I am sure she could make this apple butter taste amazing. Can you imagine how good it would make your house smell? It would be so good on freshly baked biscuits, toast, and scones. Please make this...your taste buds will thank you!


Gingersnap-Pumpkin Dessert would be great for a Fall get-together or for Thanksgiving. It has a cake mix and gingersnap base with a cream cheese and pumpkin filling with some delicious topping. I plan on making this for a bake sale next week. It looks so good and again, imagine the smell!


Finally, this is a recipe from Picky-Palate.com that is a new innovation from the stuffed cookie queen. Jenny, who recently had a cookbook come out, was the first to make Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Now, she has made No-Bake Stuffed Cookie Dough Bites.

Um............who doesn't like cookie dough that you can eat with worry. No one, right? Well Jenny then decided to stuff some amazing things inside the cookie dough. I won't give away her great ideas, so please check them out!


So, that's it. Another fun week of pins and it's getting even closer to Halloween and...my birthday. Look forward to a lot of cake pins coming up soon...hint, hint...

Debate Time

Hi ya'll! I'm watched the VP debate tonight. I love election season because it signals that my birthday is getting very, very close! I also like learning about the candidates and deciding how I am going to vote. Half of my family are Democrats and half seem to be Republican. I'm not sure where I land, but it is interesting to really, objectively research the two sides.


Moving on, I know I missed my blog post yesterday, but I just was too tired. Tonight I'm baking for a bake sale: cupcakes and brownies. Baking gives me energy and I decided to go ahead and get my post done tonight.

Before I get into the main list of pins, I have a debate for you all. Does pumpkin and chocolate go together? I found a pin for a delicious Pumpkin Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting that sounded so good. But...chocolate...and pumpkin?! I'm just not sure if they work together and I can't think of any other good instances of the two working well together. I guess the only way to find out is to bake the cake and try it. I would love your opinions though!


One thing that I know goes well with chocolate is peanut butter. That is why I am so excited that I found Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches. They are like the ones from Disneyland. Having never been to Disneyland, I am intrigued by these decadent sandwiches. Yum! These I can make right away. Simple, but oh so good!


I mentioned above that I am baking for a bake sale. I found the most delicious looking and completely easy recipe for a bake sale. The recipe name is Simple Apple Cobbler, but I can't see it as being simple at all. Yes, it is easy to make, but it gorgeous! Caramel apple pie filling, butter, and a cake mix all come together is pure bliss. I will be making this next week for the bake sale. Can't wait!


For my last sweet pin, I found these great Black Velvet Whoopie Pies. I love the black and orange. Whoopie pies are so easy and fun to make. Plus, this recipe uses a German chocolate cake mix for the base. That makes it even easier. I also love that you are making your own frosting instead of buying one. Almost everything is better homemade.


I'm always surprised by how some pins go over based on others. I thought that Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Stew sounded and look freaking amazing! Pot pie stew served over biscuits?! Yeah, yum! How good does this sound on a cold fall or winter night? It's nothing crazy or extravagant, just good.


I just have a couple of pins left, but they are crafting ones. Of course, for me, they involve Halloween. The first are Free Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils. I love ideas on the site. I printed out the Good Bite Moon from Pumpkin Masters. I plan on carving my pumpkin tomorrow night. It looks relatively easy. There are so many good ideas. I wish I could try them all! Take a look and find some great ideas for your own pumpkins.


Finally, I found another fun idea from Martha Stewart. She calls them Shocking Silhouettes. They are so cute. I could try to explain them to you, but I suggest just going and looking at them and reading the directions. Cute and fun for Halloween night!


So, that's it. The VP debate is over, but the pumpkin-chocolate debate continues to wage on. Vote in my poll and tell me what you think! See you next week!

TV Overload and Another Great Week of Pins

So, I'm behind. Only a couple of weeks into the good fall TV season and I'm behind on several shows. Luckily, I have some shows On Demand, but it still takes an effort to watch TV.

Yeah, what a terrible effort to make to watch TV. I know, but I love fall TV shows and I don't want to get behind. So many shows, so little time.


Anyway, time for pins!

If you read this blog more than this one post, you know that I am obsessed with Halloween and pumpkins. I constantly see cute pumpkin decorating ideas that I love and want to pin. That's fine and all, but guess what? Pumpkins cost money...I know, shocking!


I'm thinking about just printing out big pictures of the pumpkin ideas I like and putting them on my porch and around my house. That way, I have the cute pumpkins, but don't have to buy all of the stuff that I would have   to have to make them. A Few of My Favorite Things has a post with a ton of cute pumpkin ideas. My favorite is the mummy pumpkin. Check it out!


Another great one I found was at Lowe's Creative Ideas. You spray paint the pumpkin black and then cut the face of the pumpkin out. It is super cute and I love the look of it. It would be so cool at night, all lit up. God, I freaking love pumpkins!


More Halloween fun! I found an adorable gift idea on AlderberryHill.com, Tin Can Mummy. It is a Pringles can made into a mummy. You can then put cookies or other things inside the can. Such a great gift. You could totally do this for Christmas too!


One of my favorite quick and easy candies that I make are Oreo Truffles. They are delish and so simple. When I found this pin for Edible Eyeballs, I knew I had found a great Halloween dessert pin. So cute and almost creepy. Some people are just plain smart!


Because it is fall, I feel like every dessert I make has to have some aspect of fall in it. Pumpkin Fluff is the perfect fall dessert! I'm not going to give the recipe away because the great blogger at Recipe Diaries deserves to have you go to her site and read the recipe and leave a comment. Do it! This recipe is light, low calorie and low in sugar! Make it!


I'm kinda in love with The Domestic Rebel. You have to check out her site! I found two amazing recipes of hers in like 20 minutes. I had to pin them. Chocolate Peanut Butter 7 Layer Bars look insane and decadent! Plus, they have Reeses' Pieces on them, which make them look like a fall dessert. Please make these like I plan to! I'm pretty sure we will be thanking Hayley for bringing these into our lives!


I don't know about you, but I love no-bake desserts. I love Nutter Butters. I love Butterfingers. So what did Hayley~The Domestic Rebel~ do? She combined all of these things together and produced the beautiful No-Bake Nutter Butter Butterfinger Bars. Wow, that is a lot of t's! Oh yeah, and they have peanut butter chips in them! Man, I so want to make these!


That's it ya'll! I actually did today's post on time. I also did this post while watching Parenthood on demand. Multitasking, gotta love it!

Have a good rest of the week and weekend. Enjoy fall!

Make-up Post and Extra Credit Pins

Hi everyone! This is Friday and I did not post on Wednesday. I hated to do it, but I couldn't even think long enough to string a sentence together. Now, I'm back and I decided to do a post today and then on Wednesday. I found so many good pins that I wanted to share with you all.


If you all read my tweets or check out my Pinterest boards, you know that I am obsessed with furniture. I mean...obsessed!

Lately though, I have lost some of the craziness. I still pin good furniture ideas, but I'm not as focused on them. Let me tell you why I think that is.


See, when I'm outside right now, I can feel Fall in my bones. The air is cool and crisp and I feel like a squirrel getting ready for winter. I don't want to paint furniture, do crafts, or rearrange my room...I wanna bake! And cook!

I am sure when we get out of winter and into spring, the desire instilled in me to craft, paint, renew, and everything else will come back, but for now, it is hibernating.


For my furniture pin, I have a new take on dressers. I constantly want to take old, fuddy-duddy dressers and make them useful and unique. This one takes out the top two drawers and then you put down burlap shelves and you can use the space for storing books or anything really! Love it and so far, so did 17 other people.

Craft pin time. We all love to take one thing that has a specific use and find a ton of other uses for them. Like, the condiment squeeze bottle turned into chocolate drizzling squeeze bottle I repinned that has 99 likes now! I found and repinned a great way to reuse shoeboxes. This Shoebox Cuteness involves wrapping shoeboxes in fabric and then hot gluing and taping the fabric to the box. Genius! A whole new way to use shoeboxes!


My general category pins are just some helpful links that I liked. First, HUGE NEWS everyone! Did you know that you can freeze cupcake batter?!?!

Not cupcake mix, but ready to bake batter!

You can! Thekitchn.com completely changed the way I bake cupcakes now with 3 Ways to Freeze Cupcake Batter. I mean, come on, how great is that!

Next, the good bloggers at CrumblyCookie.net did a chocolate cookie comparison. Yep, they baked, ate, and compared four versions of chocolate chip cookies including Alton Brown's Chewy version, the Cooks Illustrated version, the NY Times version, and the classic Toll House version. Check out the results and recipes here!

Finally, Lil' Luna has a huge collection of 50 Pumpkin Recipes. If you want to bake anything with pumpkin this fall, I suggest you go to here!


My first food pin also involves pumpkin.  It updated the classic snickerdoodle. Pumpkin Snickerdoodles! Yeah, pumpkin and snickerdoodles, I match made in the heaven! I cannot wait to try this cookie and it looks so easy!


Speaking of easy, I am sure everyone has heard of, made, or tried the Oreo Truffles that involve cream cheese and Oreo crumbs. Well, the other day, a friend gave me some containers of Philadelphia Indulgence Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread. Delicious!

But, I wanted to find some ways to use it. Well, you can use it instead of regular cream cheese for the Oreo Truffles. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Truffles are so easy to make and I am only imagine how good they must taste! Indulgent!


Next, S'mores Cupcakes. I know...nothing really original about these. I mean...everyone has done a S'more Cupcake. Nope! These cupcakes have a graham cracker buttercream on top. I have never heard of such things! Oh, did I mention they have a marshmallow cream center? No? Well, shame on me because they do! So yeah, a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow cream centers and then a graham cracker crumb frosting topped with mini marshmallow bits and chocolate drizzle! OMG!


Finally, I had never heard of or seen Gelatin Pinwheels before, but I am very interested in them. Not only are they pretty and unique, but they could be done in a ton of flavors! I could describe them to you, but you really need to look at them yourself. Go on! Look! Yeah, good right!


Okay, so that's it! Sorry about not posting on Wednesday, but hopefully these pins have made up for it.


Have a great weekend!

Baking Buy-Out

Have you all been to Wal-Mart lately? I hadn't been in forever. You know one of the worst times to go to Wal-Mart? Yeah...around Halloween!

So. Many. Cute. Things!

I could have bought out the entire baking sections! I did manage to limit my buying, but just barely. I got 18 Halloween Cookie Cutters and a selection of Halloween sanding sugars.

Then I moved on and got ingredients to make three things that I pinned recently. I'm going to make Halloween Oreo Truffles with a piece of candy corn on top, Biscoff Toffee Cookies, and...Biscoff Scones from King Arthur Flour.

I can't wait to get started on them!


Okay times for pins...

A pinned the secret to perfect chocolate drizzles. The secret can be found here. It is so simple and brilliant and a lot of people seemed to like this pin.

Onto crafts I'll probably never finish, but really want to.

The air is getting cooler and it makes me want a warm cozy blanket. I could go and buy one, but what I really want to do is learn to crochet a throw. That is why I pinned this 5-1/2 Hour Throw from Michaels.com. It looks so easy and I love the color. It makes me want to crochet so bad!


Next is a great idea from Martha Stewart. Shelves can get so disorganized, so good ole' Martha has you put wooden shelf brackets on the shelf to divide it. Check it out here. Martha is so smart!


I get so tired of thinking about what to have for supper. It really can be so annoying! That is why I pinned a DIY Menu Board I found. Aside for being adorable, it is functional and makes deciding what to have for supper so easy. Plus, I love the vintage feel to it.


Speaking of vintage...I absolutely love this Pillowcase hamper. There are so many options for this craft. It doesn't even have to be a vintage pillowcase. Any nice pillowcase that you like would work. They are so much cuter and more versatile than the pop-up hampers.


Food pin time...


First up, Apple Fritter Cake. Yeah...how fall-licious does that sound? It seems pretty straightforward and yummy. It even has a powdered sugar glaze! A not-fried apple fritter? Yes, please!


So, I'm obsessed with Biscoff Spread! I also tried Nutella and I am over-the-moon in love with both. I pinned Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream. Yum, yum, yum! Can't beat Nutella. Make this cupcake right away!


One great Biscoff recipe coming at you. Chocolate Biscoff Cupcakes make me happy. Just looking at that swirl of Biscoff frosting on top...swoon. All you need with these bad boys is a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.


Sticking with a fall theme, I pinned a new take on cinnamon rolls. These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting look divine. I can only imagine how good your house will smell when you bake them on a Sunday morning. I mean pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice...perfect fall smell.


Finally, we have a Strawberry Cheesecake Salad. Now, I don't like strawberries, but I am sure there are a ton of other flavors that would work for this salad. It uses fruit, flavored yogurt, and cheesecake jello among other ingredients. You could do pineapple, bananas, and coconut yogurt or some other combo to achieve a pina colada type salad. Your imagination is the only limit.



Okay guys, so those are some of my favorite weekly pins. I will tell you all how my three pins that I am trying this week go next week.

Also, if you watch Big Brother, I just watched the finale. I am so Team IAN!!!!

More Epic Fails and Superb Pins

Ok, so I have an aversion to change. I hate it. When my mom and I moved into our house, we didn't plan on being here forever. Long story, but four years, here we still. All this time, I never wanted to change my room because I didn't want to get too comfortable here. Finally, we have decided its time for some change.

Pinterest has inspired this change and while I love Pinterest, I kinda hate it too. You find all of these great things to do or make, but not all of them are realistic for you.

I may be able to learn to knit or crochet someday, but I doubt I will be able to make some of the wonderful things I want to make. Also, baking pins...

These pins drive me crazy. You find a dessert you want to make and you actually do it...and...it is an epic fail!

You not only put money into it, but time and a little shot of hope. When all is said is done, you wasted the money and have no hope in the pin.


Yesterday, I didn't spend any money, but I did have a lot of hope in a pin. I found this pin for an updated dresser. I loved the color, but I loved the shape more. BTW, I used Sherwin Williams Chip It feature that generated their paint colors for a picture.


Anyway, I searched for four months to find a dresser like that one. Last week...I found it! Not an exact replica, but dang close! Anyway, I arranged to pick it up yesterday and as I was looking at it more closely. The right front leg was actually a board that was holding it up. That didn't go over so well and the person selling it didn't tell me until I asked.



So, my perfect pin project got ruined and it joins my other epic pin fails in the Pinterest Graveyard.

In the spirit of this post, I have included some pins that, despite my fails, I really like and want to make. Some are ones that I know I can complete and others...well...we will see.


First up is something so simple that a toddler could do it and it's useful. This iPad hanger got quite a few repins and likes because of its simplistic brilliance. I could tell you how to make the hanger, but you need to check it out for yourself.

P.S. You only really need your hands and a wire hanger to make this pin.


Next is an adorable blanket that I actually want to make for myself and anyone with kids...and my librarians...and my mailman...and my dogs. Okay, so it is a super simple blanket that uses Minky fabric.

The official title for it is a Cotton Print and Minky Fabric Baby Blanket. Long name...I just call it soft and cuddly. Plus, it seems incredibly easy and quick to make, thus the many incarnations I plan on making...as soon as I get a sewing machine.


Now onto easy food pins that seem like they would actually work. These No-Bake Chocolate PB Corn Flake Bars appear to be an amazing version of something I have been making for awhile. I first made a cookie like these in my Home Ec class way back in 2002. They can be slightly tricky to make because you have to scoop them all out... scratch that. These are bars and are 10 times easier than what I made and...they also have chocolate on them.

Yeah, a much better version.


Next, Layered Peanut Butter Brittle Ice Cream Pops. These seem like something I could accomplish and would enjoy making. What could go wrong with ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter sauces, PB cups, and peanuts? Nothing that's what!

My last seemingly easy food pin is a candy. Usually chocolate-covered candies provide me with some trouble, but I don't care. I will be making these No Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles.

Come on! Cake batter truffles...how good does that sound? These are so easy and very versatile. I can only imagine all the different combos you can make with these cake batter truffles.


Now we move on to the pins that are little more complicated or likely to go awry. I have had a lot people loving my repin of Crochet Top Towels. They wrap around your oven handle and secure with a button. I found another version of them here.

You will have to click the link to see how it works, but you don't crochet the actual towel. The handle and button are the same, but you put the towel through a crocheted ring. Cute, but probably a little impossible for me right now.

Next, I have two semi-complicated food pins. Glazed Pumpkin Buttermilk Donuts sound so stinking good and look just amazing! I have never had any luck with making donuts, but I so want to!!! All I can say is YUM!

Finally, I love a good cheesecake, but they are kinda complicated to make and perfect. These Butterfinger Mousse Cheesecakes are so cute and I love butterfingers. They have an Oreo crust, a butterfinger cheesecake filling, with a peanut butter chip and butterfinger mousse on top. So many layers, but so delicious! I love all the different layers of great flavors. If I get brave, I might make these one day.


That's it for this really long post! I continue to search for my beautiful dresser that seems to not exist. I also keep pinning the fun pins I find. Some may be possible to accomplish and others are just dreams. But then again, why is that any different than the single girls that plan their own weddings or apartment dwellers that decorate their non-existent houses?