Pinterest, I Wish I Could Quit You

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. Remember that douchey high school boy/girlfriend that you constantly fought with at lunch only to frantically make out with him/her right after school? Yeah, Pinterest is that guy. I can't get enough. I can't stand him, and yet I find myself drawn back in. But instead of the draw of chapped lips and the exciting chance of getting felt up, Pinterest draws me in with the possibilities. The constant flow of gorgeous photos, and amazing extravagant meals, shoes I can't afford and would never actually wear, mason jars filled peonies grown in my own raised garden bed built with recycled railroad ties, handcrafted sugar cookies iced and cut to look like Star Wars characters or The Royal Tennebaum siblings, wedding centerpieces wrapped with twinkly lights, kid friendly crafts made out of old t-shirts or buckets of yarn, and architecturally ridiculous libraries and on and on and on. I get sucked into the options, the ideas, the illusion.

I use it in bursts. Hours spent pinning all of these ideas. These future plans. These perfectly decorated rooms filled with light and art and books. These elaborate recipes that I will serve at dinner parties worthy of Truman Capote or Martha Stewart with strange black and white only themes. Things I will likely never bake or eat or paint or whip up or invite you to. And then I shut myself off. I take a deep breath. I pull myself away. I stop myself and I ignore Pinterest for weeks at a time. I go on with my life. I date other websites. But, but, but....then it calls me back, somehow it draws me in again. I need a new recipe. Or a gift idea for a friend, or I feel like losing three hours of my evening to wishes and dreams.

Except occasionally, let me say this again, occasionally, I actually make a few things I've pinned on the arguably irritating and alluring Pinterest. Oh, these pinned items are all the reasonable and completely do-able ideas. Those things that take at most 3 hours and supplies can be procured at the grocery store or Lowe's. They tend to be less exciting to pin. But they are more likely to actually happen. I actually do them. So here is a brief collection of things I've actually made, when madly in love with Pinterest, and not ignoring it because it talked to another girl. (I may have taken this douchey boy/girlfriend metaphor too far.)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders - Sage, bacon, chicken, that's it. Ok, salt and pepper, but that's all. Served along with roasted Brussel sprouts (cooked with a little of the bacon fat) this was delicious and juicy and super easy to whip up on a week night.

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti - Another tasty weeknight meal, which of course Pinterest brought to me just when I was craving pasta. I tweaked it a bit. I roasted the pine nuts because roasted nuts always taste better. I added white wine to the sauce because I had some and I add shrimp, because much like bacon, shrimp is always invited to the party. I want to eat this right now. It was even better the next day all cold from the fridge for lunch. (See what I mean? All of these things are easy.)

Fish Tacos - We had a couple of ripe avocados and some random Tilapia fillets that had been hanging out in the freezer for almost too long. Pinterest to the rescue. The tangy cabbage slaw, scallions, lime, and cilantro made these light and delicious and tasty on a very random 85 degree day in April. They tasted like summer. They reminded me of the fish tacos we had when we visited friends in San Diego a few years ago. Again, week night easy. And paired with a Dark and Stormy, I could almost trick myself into thinking it was Friday instead of a Tuesday.

Baby Signage - My adorable niece was baptized a couple of months ago. But what kind of baptism gift do you get for the baby who has everything? I perused my sister in law's Pinterest boards, like some crafty stalker, and settled on this adorable photo name sign. Spray paint, a piece of wood from Lowe's, some picture frames, and little photo letter editing from the husband, and we got this sweet little present. (I cannot find the link to this craft, but I think you can figure out how to make it without my help. Lowe's was really nice by the way, they gave me a piece of scrap board, gave it two cuts and only charged me a quarter. Thanks, Lowe's!)

Perpetual Calendar/Journal - I cannot maintain a real journal. I only feel compelled to write in my journal when troubled or cranky or working through a problem, leaving my journal entries to only reflect the turmoil and struggles of my life. So this perpetual calendar idea was perfect. Capture just a quick glimpse of the day, everyday, for years, and watch your life stack up, all pretty and simple and special, even the small stuff, like tonight's entry "worked late, grilled salmon for dinner, week 4 of Couch to 5K and blogging, not a bad Thursday." I love this thing, and an actual use for all the vintage postcards I have.

SCALLIONS FOREVER! I will never buy scallions again. Ok, I probably will, but how cool is it that you can regrow green onions as long as you keep the white rooty looking part and leave it in water with plenty of sun? Pinterest, you won me back again with scallions. Not flowers, not candy, not a romantic date, scallions.

So have you been won over by the charms of pinning yet or are you resisting the urge? Are you making out in the back seat with Pinterest at least once a week like me or is it everyday, you harlot?