Are You Pinning?

I have a new love.  No, let's call it what it is.  I have a new obsession...and it's all Trish Milburn's fault!  (read her recent blog at Romance Bandits here)  I had heard of Pinterest though I wasn't exactly sure what it was.  Several friends had recommended I give it a try but I resisted.  Frankly, I have a hard enough time already fitting everything I need to do into my daily schedule.  The last thing I needed was to add something new - something that looked like it had the potential to become a huge consumer of my precious time.  But then I read Trish's blog and my intrigue level ratcheted up a few notches.  I decided to ask my facebook friends who were already "pinning" what they thought of Pinterest.  The responses came fast and furious:

"It's fun!" 

                                                                 "Like window shopping.  You see some fabulous things." 

"It's addicting!" (I was a little fearful of this one)

"It's a great place to find recipes!" (This last one from a long-time friend who knows me well.  It was the one that tipped me over the edge.)

So, with enthusiastic recommendations - and an invitation from a friend - in hand, off I went to explore the wonderful world of Pinterest.  The first pages I visited had fewer than five boards on them and a mere smattering of photo "pins."  This reinforced my conviction that I could control the time spent on this new venture.  Then I visited Buffie's (she with the mad scrapbooking skills) page...and the aforementioned conviction was blown to smithereens.  Clearly, I had not thought this through.  Not only did this new online neighborhood have the potential to absorb countless hours of my time but just surfing Buffie's gloriously populated boards would fill an entire day on its own.  The crafts!  The food!  The photos!  The food!  Donuts and cookies and cupcakes, oh my!  Not to mention Cherry Stuffed Pork Chops, Quick Apple Dumplings, Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken and Miniature Monte Criscos.  Forget the time!  Clearly, this was someplace I needed to be.

I have now been an official Pinterest member for two whole days and, in that time, I've discovered that, yes, it can consume your time...if you let it.  But I've discovered a flip side.  It can also save time!  No more searching through closets and drawers looking for that elusive recipe I wrote on the back of an envelope.  I just pin it to my Food board and it's right there waiting for me anytime I'm in the mood to make that particular dish.  It's a great place to house all those interesting photos I see on the internet (so many cute dogs!) that I might want to use in a blog someday (but can never find again when I need them).  I'm redecorating my bedroom and looking at oodles of curtains, comforters, rugs and other accessories.  How convenient to have photos of all of them on my Home board to help me make decisions!

Of course, I've also set up boards on my page for those all-important books we love to read.  I have one for books I've reviewed, one for books I recommend and another for books I want to read (like the Paris memoir from Eloisa James on the left).  I'll slowly be adding more titles to those boards as well as the other boards I've started.

All in all, I think I like this new neighborhood.  The residents seem friendly, it's easy to find my way around and exploring the diverse and fascinating boards makes me happy.  Click here to see my page, but remember, it's still a work in progress! :)

Are you on Pinterest?  What boards do you have (or would you put) on your page?  I have a "Books Worth Reading" board on my page.  If you had one of those, what books would you put on it?   




Let's dish about "Pinning" on Pinterest.  I have a book from my prize stash for one random person who leaves a comment on today's blog!

~PJ