Five on Friday. . . Pinterest Edition

I'm still spending large amounts of time on Pinterest. . . anyone else there with me?!  The iphone app makes it accessible at all times.  I know that 95% of what I like or pin on Pinterest I will never do, but I just enjoy the creative ideas and cute photos.  I've actually found a few good recipes from Pinterest, so that's not time totally wasted.  The one issue I have with Pinterest is that people write "Brilliant" on every single pin.  I'm thinking, "NO!! Not EVERYTHING on Pinterest is brilliant".  Anyways!

Here are some of my new pins.

Crispy Edemame - I love edemame and this sounds delicious.  The directions say: 1 (12 ounce) package frozen shelled edamame, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste. 15 min. in a 400 oven.  I'll let you know if I try this and if it's good.

Ladder Garden - This was not a good idea for me to pin this.  I am terrible at keeping plants alive so this would just be a waste of money and time for me, but I can't help but like this. It would look so perfect on my front porch!

DIY Bracelets - This pic was pinned by Lauren Conrad.  I like her style and her clothes at Kohls.  I think these bracelets are so cute.  I like how skinny they are. She gives instructions on how to make these.

Christmas Tin - This is cute (but not brilliant).  Take the cheap tins from the dollar store, spray paint and re-purpose them.  Now I just need to think of something to make to put in them and give to my friends.  I have some time.  ;)

Smells Good - Someone wrote that this is the scent that Williams Sonoma burns in their store.  I've actually used this in my house and it does smell really good, but it makes me nervous to leave my gas stove on for that long.

Directions:  Fill pot 2/3 full of water, add one sliced lemon, and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary (I used dried rosemary from the spices aisle), then add 1-2 tsp of vanilla.  Then just simmer it on the stove. 


Complimentary Pic of the Post:
Micah loves to "read" his books.  He's gotten really good at flipping the pages super fast.  So fast that I can't really read them to him. Books are my best friend right now.  I take them every where with us to help keep him occupied and quiet.  :)

Five on Friday - Pinterest

Hey friends!  I can't believe Christmas is like a week away.  How has this year gone by so fast?!  Oh I know!  I've spent half of it caring for a new baby.  Time flies when you experience major life changes.  :)  Just for the record, the last half of the year has been the bomb dot com!

So, what have I been up too?  Well a little bit of everything and yet nothing at all.  I've had a lot of family and friends time lately, which has been awesome, but it feels like I haven't been able to get much done around the house, but I think I'm managing ok. 

Speaking of not getting much done around the house - I have discovered Pinterest.  I have been hearing about Pinterest for awhile now and didn't understand it.  It also sounded like a huge time hog (which it is, but it's awesome).  My friend invited me to join and at first I didn't get what was so great about it.  Then I spent some time searching and finding friends and OH my goodness, there are some amazing things on there!  People are just so clever. 

For those who don't know, members can 'pin' pictures, recipes, ideas, etc. onto their page and then other people can re-pin them.  You can create categories on your page so, for example, if you're planning a birthday party you can search and collect ideas for it.  It's a really cool way to share creative ideas.  So, I'll share with you.  Here are 5 of my favorite pins.

1) Style.  I have no idea what polyvore.com is but people have been pinning these 'styles' from that site and I'm really loving them.  My favorite combo is this:

2) Crafts.  I've also found some really cool craft ideas on Pinterest.  One of my favorite is mixing food coloring or dye into bubbles and painting with them like this. . . .

3) Baby.  I have pinned a few baby related ideas.  For Micah or for the future, someday baby #2. How CUTE is this idea?!

4) Recipes.  OH my goodness, the recipes.  I have found some delicious looking recipes on Pinterest.  I've tried one of them but there are SO many others I want to try.  Like this one!

Broccoli and cheese soup is one of my all time favorite meals.  The recipe for this one can be found here - http://www.food.com/recipe/broccoli-cheese-soup-for-the-crock-pot-348190

5) Home Decor.  There are tons of awesome ideas for home decor.  This one is genius!  Buy a rubber doormat, spray paint it and hang it on the wall.  How simple and affordable is this!

So, in conclusion, Pinterest does take up time, but it is a fun way to relax and get inspiration where you may be lacking.  You can also pin ideas you have.  I've pinned my wreaths.  You need an invitation to join so if you'd like to join, just email me at stefstallings [at] gmail [dot] com with your email address and I'll send you an invite.

Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy you're weekend!

xoxo,
Stef

P.S.  Complimentary Pic of the Post
OMG This boy!  There are no words!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you're enjoying your day and looking forward to the weekend.  I know I am!  We've been so busy over the last two week (thus the lack of posts) that I'm so looking forward to a weekend of relaxing.  Here's some of what's been going on and other random thoughts.

1.  I got my haircut this week.  See:

Before

After

2.  My brother in law came over last weekend and built a custom media cabinet for the inset in our living room.  Here is a picture of it 95% done.  We'll finish painting this weekend and I'll post an updated pic then.  Didn't he do and awesome job?  SO much better than the random hole we had there before!

3.  Blogger is driving me crazy.  It takes me FOREVER to upload pics to this blog.  And once they do upload them it uploads them sideways.  So then I go back to the pic, turn it the opposite way, re-upload and it still uploads it sideways.  So then I have to go back to the pic and turn in right side up and try uploading it again. This goes on for hours.  It is more than frustrating.  I need help!  Blogger - do something or I may have to leave this platform!  This is why Micah's three month post is not up yet - pictures!  Ugh!

4.  I've been reading several books lately.  I just finished Three Weeks With My Brother - by Nicholas Sparks.  I love all his books and this one is not a novel but a book about this trip around the world he took with his brother.  Pretty good book.  His new book is coming out next week and I've already pre-ordered it from Amazon - can't wait to get it!

5.  Every day we take a picture and send it to daddy so he'll have a good day at work.  Here's yesterdays picture from hanging out at my cousins house. Micah says, "what up!"

Hopefully I'll get the 3 month pictures up very soon.  Toodles!

Five on Friday. . . again

Hey!  It's Friday again!  Whoooo-hoooo!  I have been wanting to blog about all kinds of things but life has been pretty busy lately.  I'm hoping to catch up on my blog posts soon but this weekend is also very busy so we'll see.  So, I apologize for posting Five on Fridays two weeks in a row, but it's my blog and you have to deal with it.  ;)

1.  I watched the wedding of William and Kate!  Don't get me wrong, I most certainly DID NOT wake up at 3am to watch it, but I did DVR it and fast forward 90% of it this morning, which takes longer than you think.  I can't imagine what it must have felt like to get married in front of the whole world.  I am a little sad that their wedding was so incredibly formal and not very personal but what can you expect from the British Royalty, right?!  I thought Kate's dress was very beautiful and she looked amazing but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a little bit more 'princess-ey'.  I didn't really expect the grandeur of Princess Diana but I expected a little bit more.  Either way - still beautiful!

2.  I get to see my mommy and daddy this weekend.  Whenever I'm missing them I call them mommy and daddy.  They are going to come visit Sunday afternoon. . . Yay!

3.  I led a client meeting this week, which happens often, but this time my account manager was on the phone.  Afterwards she told me I said "ya'll" too much.  This is a bummer because I didn't realize I did that AND I'm born and raised in Texas. . . how can I not say Ya'll?!  Guess I will try.  I made a note and put it on my keyboard. 

4.  I want to show ya'll (catch that?) this website that I visit often.  It's called Cheap Chic Daily.  It's the cutest blog.  They post all kinds of fashion items that they've found for good prices.  I especially love the posts where they show you the cheap, cheaper, cheapest version of a shoe or a bag or whatever.  Very helpful in making a fashionista wish list - cause if I bought everything I liked, I'd be broke.  Check them out!

5.  I'm attending my first 'mom' event today.  Our Sunday school class has a moms group and they schedule events for the moms to do.  This is a working moms lunch close to my office so I can actually attend. 

I hope you (not ya'll) have a great weekend!

Take Care,

Stef 

Five on Friday

Happy Good Friday Everybody!  Guess what - I have to work today. . . do you?  I bet you don't - I think I'm the only one.  Oh well.  Today's post is Five on Friday. . . this really has nothing to do with Ten on Tuesday, it's just that I'm - you know - THAT creative and witty.  ;)

1.  It's Easter! Yay. I love this holiday because it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what is better than that?! NOTHING. And without his resurrection - he would be just a prophet or a man of 'the church'. . . . but because he rose from the dead that makes him GOD! And it makes him our saviour. And that is an un-measurable gift - free to you and me and it's worth celebrating! FYI - Easter is SO not about the candy and the Easter bunny. Just sayin'

2.  We took a infant CPR and safety class last night.  I'm really glad we did because we felt totally unprepared if we ever had an emergency in the future.  I'm glad that the steps aren't that hard.  I was afraid it'd be really complicated or something I couldn't remember.  We also learned how to deal with chocking and how to install the car seat properly.  Maybe we'll be good parents after all.  ;)

3.  I actually want to watch the wedding of William and Kate.  I mean who doesn't want to see a princess in her wedding dress?!  Plus, my mom always told me I should marry Prince William (don't worry Curtis - that was before she met you) and so I have to see what my wedding would have looked like.  Haha - just kidding.  I do like celebrity gossip and nonsense so I think this is the perfect event to waste some time on.  ;)  I hope her dress is amazing AND I really want that blue dress from when they announced their engagement.

4.  I am SUPER excited about a creative project I'm working on with one of my friends.  I think this endeavor will be successful and a lot of fun.  We're in the setup / trial stages so I'll tell you more about it in the coming weeks.  I'll aslo make an announcement when we're ready.  YES - It does have something to do with Etsy - of course!!!

5.  Bummer News - I think I mentioned this for a moment but our car was broken into last week.  They busted out the back drivers side window and took a bag I had of personal papers.  To-do lists, journal, bible study book, research on different things, and probably bills of some sort.  This was at Fudruckkers by the way - and they don't have video cameras in their parking lot.  So, please, next time you go somewhere, park where you (or someone) could see your car from the restaurant.  Since I couldn't remember exactly what was in the bag we had to replace all our credit cards, put a watch on our credit and I'm still trying to update all of our accounts / auto-drafts with the new credit card info. . . such a pain in the . . . um . . . neck!

6.  Ok I had to add a #6 because I can't end a Friday (especially GOOOOD Friday) talking about our car being broken into.  Maybe I should call this post Six on Saturday and post it tomorrow. . . but I won't.  Um . . let's see. . . Oh yeah.  I'm meeting with a photographer tonight to talk about an infant, 6 month, 1 year photo shoot for our baby boy.  I really love the newborn photos with them all curled up in a ball and sleeping - so cute!

I hope you all have a great weekend, enjoy some time with friends and family and take some time to think about what Easter and the resurrection of Christ means to you.

Love ya!
Stef

Five on Friday - Favorite TV Shows

I could probably go on for days about all of the TV shows I like to watch, it's really becoming a bad habit.  I should take a hint from my friends who discontinued their cable TV.  I'm not sure my  husband would come home anymore if I did that.  ;)   Anyway, here is a list of my current Top 5 Favorite TV Shows.

1.  How I Met Your Mother - Number one on my list!  We love this show.  I know I've mentioned it several times but it's legen. . . wait for it. . . dary!  The best part about this show is how the story spans across seasons.  The show next week might reference an episode from a year ago or give you a glimpse into the next 20 years.  There are a million little things that are funny about this show, so many catch phrases, it provides hours of entertainment for us even when we're not watching the show.  I could link to 10,000 (no really) videos on YouTube that are awesome examples of why you should love HIMYM, but I'll just pick one.



..AND I have a special dance I do to the catchy theme song - which you will NEVER see. Sorry to disappoint.

2.  The Big Bang Theory - This is another great show.  It's funny because it's a show about a group of very smart scientists who speak in terminology that no one understands (hopefully it's not just me), which provides a comedic element to the show.  The character that carries the show is Sheldon Cooper, who is SO smart that he cannot carry on a normal relationship with anyone.  He only understands the actual meaning of phrases which causes a lot of mis-communication with those around him and laughter on my part.

3. Brothers and Sisters - This show is SO dramatic. Not in a hold your breath - really awesome - kind of way but in a - "SAY WHAT?!!" - kind of way. It should be categorized in the daytime soap opera category, but it's not quit that crazy.  People don't come back from the dead or anything... at least not yet.  I don't really know how I got started watching it. I hear the beginning seasons where even more crazy than they are now, but I can't stay away from finding out what's going to happen next! I want to rent the seasons so I'll know what happened from the beginning.

4.  Rules of Engagement - This show has David Spade and Patrick Warburton (Who plays 'Kronk' on 'The Emporers New Groove' - The best movie EVER)  It's a show about a couple who have been married for awhile, an engage couple, and 'Russell'  - the single guy.  David Spade provides a lot of the comedy through the off-color comments he makes.  Patrick Warburton plays the married guy and his 'typical husband' comments are hilarious.

5.  The Mentalist - Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, who is a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation.  He helps solves crimes by using his amazing observation skills.  He is not part of the bureau so he always 'breaks the rules'.  We really like this show but "Jane's" lack of respect kind of bothers me sometimes, but he sure does know how to solve those crimes.

What's your favorite show and what do you love about it?


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