Are You Pinterested?

Have you ever been on a remarkable website that shows a creative crocheting project that you want to try, or a decadent dessert that is calling your name, or a book that you want to read when you get time? We all have, right? The common reaction is to "bookmark" the webpage so that you can go back to it in the future.

Later, you look at your bookmarks and try to remember which of them hosted the recipe for that peanut butter chocolate chip cheeseball that you wanted to try.  If you're like me, you can't remember under which bookmark you filed it, and you say to yourself, "If only I could have posted a picture next to the bookmark, I could locate it easier."

Wish no more, homies. Pinterest has arrived.

Pinterest is an online bulletin board, onto which you "pin" pictures that you like/want to come back to/want to share with others. The user can create categories, or "boards", for easier filing. For example, I have a board called "My Favorite Color," onto which I "pin" purple items that I have seen on various websites.  The photo is automatically attached to the original website, so the creator of the piece gets full credit. I also have boards set up for other things that mean something to me: My Dream Backyard; Right Said Fred (for my favorite quotes;) Fashionista Fun, and others.

If you would like to join the ever-growing group of Pinterest aficionados, simply do the following:
1. Go to the Pinterest website.
2. Click on the button labeled "Request an Invite."
3. Wait for the Pinterest geniuses to email you instructions.

When you get an account set up, you will install a small icon on your toolbar that says, "Pin it."  This allows you to select the item you wish to save and will take you directly to the list of boards you have created. If you find someone else's "pin" fascinating, you can "re-pin" it to your own board. Some Pinterest "curators" have quite a large following.

I found a refreshment idea for Weston's birthday party on Pinterest. A rainbow fruit kebob caught my eye, and here is my version:

Give Pinterest a try, but be prepared to stay up late. It's that addicting.


Cheesy government-required disclaimer: The happy Pinterest people did not pay me to say any of these things, nor did I get any sort of t-shirts, koozie cups, or Pinterest logo'd  mousepads. Hard to believe as it is, sometimes I just express my opinion without any promise of reward. I did receive an unquantifiable bit of emotional satisfaction, the kind you get when you say to your friends, "You have got to see this cool website that I found," after which they think you are the hippest person they know.