putting Pinterest to good use

I don't know if you have all discovered it or not, but not quite a year ago i joined the crazy addiction called

 .

for the first several months after discovering pinterest, i spent my evening hours "winding down" for bed, happily and rather obsessively "pinning" things on my pinterest boards. if you aren't familiar with pinterest, it is basically and online filing system. if you find a picture or article or idea that you like and think that you would like to remember in the future then you can "pin it" or file it away for later use. it is fun though because you can see what other people have "pinned" so you can "pin" their ideas as well. 

when i first heard about pinterest i didn't think that it would be something that i would really like that much. i mean, i have plenty of my own ideas, and i have google when i can't be quite creative enough... but once i finally decided to venture into this strange new craze called pinterest, i had a hard time finding my way back out of it. 

in fact, i spent SO much time "pinning" that i rarely found time to actually do any of the projects or make any of the recipes that i had pinned. after weeks and weeks of my online hoarding, i managed to get things into perspective and i started putting my pins to good use.

i followed this necklace tutorial:

pom-pom necklace tutorial

mine looked like this:

i made a bracelet out of an old t-shirt following this tutorial... {kind of}

braided t-shirt bracelet

this winter my husband and i had soup night on wednesday nights, so i was able to use many of the soup recipes that i had pinned. i blogged several of our favorites... though i have to admit that i inherited my mother's habit of changing every recipe before ever trying it the original way. we did find a couple new favorites on pinterest that didn't make the blog though.

italian wedding soup

buffalo chicken soup

 i found pinterest to be incredibly useful when i threw my very first Thirty-One

party 2 weeks ago.

If you haven't heard of thirty-one gifts, it is a company that has lots of really cute, very practical and affordable bags and organizing containers.
you can check them out here:
thirty-one catalog

i wanted to try some new appetizers and desserts for my party. i feel like i tend to fall back on the same familiar recipes for every event that comes along, so it was great to be able to just look through the recipes that i had "pinned" over the past few months and have lots of fun new options.

here are some of the fun recipes that i made for my party:

chicken wonton tacos

cheesy sausage wonton stars

antipasto kabobs

this recipe has been one of my favorites that my mom has made for years:

double decadent brownie torte

for christmas i received a williams-sonoma mini tart pan from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. i had been waiting for an opportunity to use it, so i was very excited to try it out for the party.

i used the williams-sonoma crust recipe:

mini tart crust recipe

i made my very first lemon curd for in the tarts and i was really disappointed that it didn't set up right... so i will admit, i cheated and bought lemon curd.

and i have to admit that i was most excited to try out this punch recipe:

raspberry-pina colada punch

this claimed to be the only punch recipe that you will ever need.

it was very good, but i think that i will collect a few more. ;)

the party was SO much fun! and everyone seemed to enjoy the new snacks as much as i enjoyed making them (and i am once again indebted to my sweet mother for showing up early to help assemble the appetizers before the guests arrived. she is my hero when it comes to entertaining).

and finally, i have to share my very favorite pinterest moment.

my husband and i went to the beach to celebrate our first anniversary 2 weekends ago.

one afternoon it was rather cloudy, so we decided to do a little shopping. we walked past an adorable dress boutique. i glanced in the window and i stopped immediately!

i saw this dress:

  i had it pinned on pinterest about 3 months ago. i had tried to buy it then and it was out of stock, so i actually had determined that i was going to try to make it. i had thought about it many times in the last few weeks, so i was probably a little too excited to find it in that little boutique. 

my sweet husband insisted that i get it, and i was more than willing to comply. :)

hope that if you haven't yet discovered this fun little world called pinterest that you will check it out soon. and feel free to start following me. 

pinterest

happy fall y'all!

it's been a while since i posted, but that doesn't mean that i haven't been busily cooking, baking and creating, but simply that life has gotten in the way of my blogging.

 that and the fact that i tend to forget that i have a blog; pioneer woman i am not. ;)

as the weather has been getting cooler and i have been transitioning my wardrobe and my decor towards fall, i have been craving all of the traditional fall foods (some of them making me curious why they are considered "fall foods", but things that i don't really crave in the spring and summer months). i had my first Starbucks PSL (pumpkin spice latte),

a splurge that will most likely not happen again this season as they are now a whopping $4.91. YIKES!! but it was delicious none-the-less.

 i wore my boots and leggings for the first time, and now feel as though i need several more pairs of boots as i had forgotten how comfortable and warm they are. here are a few of my current favs:

steven by steve madden bolerro

nine west kedan

lucky aida

jessica simpson tustiny

and these adorable desert bootie wedges:

dolce vita pura

and pulled out several jackets and sweatshirts. 

i had very mixed emotions, because i will be honest, i DETEST being cold. but the thought of "new" (stored away) clothes, new foods,  and an approach to thanksgiving and Christmas (my all-time FAV!!!) could not make me happier. therefore, i have decided to embrace fall.

topher (my husband) made the most incredible suggestion that we have soup night every week. i was so excited since i have been pinning soup recipes on pinterest (which if you have not yet discovered pinterest you need to stop everything and head right over there).

*warning*- it is very addictive!

wednesday night has been deemed soup night at our home and

i selfishly decided to start our soup night tradition with my favorite soup- french onion!!! and it was, as always, absolutely heavenly.

Here is the recipe that i concocted up for ours:

French Onion Soup

3 pounds yellow onions, cut into 1/8" pieces

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine)

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 Tablespoons sugar

8 cups chicken broth

2 Tablespoons flour

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 2 tsp. fresh), ground finely

1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

8 ounces Gruyere (or cheese of your choice. i also like it with provolone or swiss) cheese, sliced or grated.

1 crusty baguette

It is a little difficult to slice the onion to 1/8" slices, so i will show you how my mother, who is the best cook that i know, taught me how to slice onions many years ago... it's the best method that i have ever seen.

 begin by cutting off both ends of the onion (the "root" and the "stem ends)

 cut through one of the onion "layers" and peel that layer off with the "skin"

cut the onion in half down the center

turn each half on it's side and starting at one side cut into 1/8" slices. the "rings of the onions will then fall apart into thin strips.

like this.

and just a little hint, if you store the onions in the refrigerator and cut them while they are cold, your eyes won't water much, if at all.

melt the butter at medium heat in dutch oven (or a large pot)
*if i haven't yet mentioned it, i am loving every opportunity to use my Le Creuset 'french oven'.

add the onions to the melted butter

 add the salt and sugar

toss to coat onions evenly with butter, salt and sugar. cover and cook for 10 minutes.

remove cover and cook, stirring frequently, for an hour and 1/2. onions will caramelize and turn a lovely brown color. make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the dark "caramel" that is forming

once onions are an even brown color add flour and stir for 2 minutes

it will look something like this (although possibly without that eerie looking smokey haze)

add the chicken broth 

add the thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes

[if adding wine, add and simmer 10 more minutes.

add more salt if needed.]

and your soup is ready!!!

at this point ladle soup into oven-safe bowls or small crocks. 

if you like your onion soup with the bread floating on top (which i don't), place a slice of the crusty bread on top of the soup and then grate or place a slice of cheese on top of the soup.

place in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is browned slightly and bubbly.

 enjoy!!!!

happy fall y'all!!!