Pages, Pucks and Pantry

My Pinterest Boards - Part 2

Please check out the I PIN THEREFORE I AM post here and the MY PINTEREST BOARDS PART 1 post here as this is the third in a series about me and Pinterest.

I warned you that I had way to many boards on Pinterest. The remainder of my boards are explained here:

JUST A GEEK AT HEART: I am a geek at heart, one who never learned to play video or role-playing games but one who watches sci-fi and can play Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock. This should really be divided out with separate boards for Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, and Dr. Who. And maybe one for Wil Wheaton because I have such a fan crush on him. I could probably spend all day pinning photos of him in his Wesley Crusher uniform, or those photos of him he posted when he went on a recent cruise, oh wait, there are all those photos of Wil he and his wife Anne sent to all us Twitter followers just last week when they were in Australia and...wait...did I just write all that? Ignore any stalking talk on any geek board, really, it's not what it seems, hahaha. No separate board for Wil, I'll just ahem, keep that one private. So yeah, this board has all the nerdy geeky comic book sci-fi kinda stuff in it.

JUST BECAUSE: Just because I refuse to put a board that's titled "miscellaneous". Where else would I pin Money Folding Techniques or a photo of the Statue of Liberty doing an Angelina Jolie Legbomb? Yes, some of these pins might work better in other boards but the whole point of Just Because is just because.

LAMB LIES DOWN: You'll only get the title if you are a Genesis fan. This has nothing to do with music or cute little cuddly animals but does have to do with all things regarding eating wonderful lamb dishes which there seems to be not many recipes floating around on blogs for. Thus a lack of pinning in this board. But not for lack of lamb recipe looking.

LAYOUT ENVY: A place where I pin all the scrapbooking layouts I want to scraplift or take inspiration from. If I actually scrapped. If I actually used the gazillion supplies I have in the entire room I have dedicated to scrapping that I rarely step foot in. Men have cars and electronics...I have scrap supplies. But with my Layout Envy board I now also have layouts that I can use for inspiration. Just ignore the pile of scrapbooking magazines in that corner that I also keep for inspiration. Or that box of scrap ideas I've pulled from scrap magazines that I plan to scraplift. I'll promise to create a layout. Tomorrow. Once I find space in my scraproom that looks nothing like any in the Creating Spaces board. Vicious circle I tell yah.

LET IT BEE: This board is strictly for my heart. It reminds me of my Grandfather who was an apiarist (beekeeper) at UCDavis. I do not collect bee things, I do not make bee things, but this board warms my heart with it's beeness.

LET ME ENTERTAIN THEM: Because in my soul I am the hostess with the mostest and if I had time, talent, money and a giant house, I would be entertaining my friends and family on a weekly basis. This board is full of ideas for when I finally invite folks over for dinner and drinks.

LET THEM EAT CAKE: Cakes I can actually make like simple bundt cakes or layer cakes and photos of cakes I wish people would have at weddings and parties I go to.

LET THEM EAT CUPCAKES: See above, just in smaller form.

MY BEDROOM: Ideas on how to decorate my bedroom. Which if I used all the ideas in one room would mean I probably couldn't find the bed and Mr. L would probably not set foot in. Which means I need at least a twenty bedroom house to decorate twenty different bedrooms.

MY DINING ROOM: See above but with dining room tables instead of beds.

NEED ON MY NIGHTSTAND: Though you would think this would be full of books that I'd like to read, it would be impossible to import the twenty-two page Amazon wish list I currently have or enter in the hundreds of books I have in stacks at home waiting to be read. This board has a few books I've pinned here and there but is mostly filled with beautiful libraries or book places I wish were available to me.

NEVER ENOUGH SHOES: Because one never has enough shoes. And because someday there will be a miracle and my foot will no longer be wide and will fit in cute little designer shoes that will miraculously cost only about $20.

NEW YEARS EVE and NEW YEARS: Not sure why I have two boards...I can see having a New Years Eve board because there are parties and decorations and drinks that could be pinned. I'm afraid the only thing to pin to the New Years Day board will be recipes for hangover cures and vomit buckets. Don't be surprised if that second board goes away.

OUTSIDE LIVING: All things that have to do with a back yard that is much much bigger than the postage stamp sized one I currently have. Pools. Backyard dining rooms. Backyard kitchens. Cute little areas to curl up and read a book amid the lush greenery. Waterfalls. Anything that gives me that "Calgon take me away" moment in my own back yard.

PAGES PUCKS AND PANTRY: Where I am slowly entering some of the old recipes I've made. Yes, I pin stuff that I've posted on my blog. I love when others do that (and I love those that have named theirs something like "shameless personal promotion"). Pinterest is almost like my RSS feed these days...helps me know when those I follow have posted something new to their blog by them pinning it, so please, feel free to pin your posts and toot your own horn. There are those of us out there that get it and like it.

PAPERCRAFTING ENVY: Paper crafts that don't fit in Card Envy or Layout Envy.

PASTA MY HEART: All things pasta.

PEARLS SPARKLE BLING: Jewelry both affordable and that I can't even afford to look at along with things that don't necessarily sparkle and bling. This board is an equal opportunity board so things like rubies and emeralds can be found here, not just pearls. Watches too.

PIE, PIE, PIE AND TARTS: All things pies, hand pies, tarts etc. I'm slowly migrating pies and tarts from the dessert boards here.

PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD: All cute little ideas transforming food into shapes and things that would make kids eat them. I need to borrow your kids so I can make some of these things, though I think Mr. L would get a kick out of me making his pancakes in the shapes of animals and not blobs.

PORKAPALOOZA: About five years ago I planned on having a food blog event where everyone would send me links to their blog posts about the most important food group, pork, and it was going to be a yearly Porkapalooza event. The name has stuck to mean pretty much any drool worthy dish that is made from pork. We have Porkapalooza events quite regularly in my house even if it's just Mr. L and I. See also BACON-EVERYTHINGS BETTER WITH.

POULTRY: All things chicken, turkey, partridge, dove, pheasant or pretty much anything that flys and can be eaten. Don't freak, I have no dove recipes pinned. Though I have eaten dove and quite liked it so now you can freak out.

PRODUCTS I LOVE: Items I wish I owned or currently own and can't live without. This is where row upon row of bacon items would be pinned if bacon didn't have it's own board.

PROJECT LIFE SCRAPBOOK: Because I've started Project Life at least three times and have never finished. I'm hoping this board gets me going and gives me ideas.

PURSES...I DIE: Feel free to use this as my Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday/Just Because You Love Me wish list.

RED WHITE AND BLUE: All things patriotic and that have to do with Independence Day aka The 4th of July.

ROMANTICALLY SHABBY: Because someday I will figure out how to make things look shabby and romantic and cool and not look like they are old and used and broken and like they should be in the dump and not decorating my home.

SECRET GARDEN: At some point I do hope I live somewhere that has Gods Green Earth for me to plant and kill some plants. I do not have a green thumb. Not even close. Nor do I currently have any earth to plant anything. All I have is a brick patio. Where I tend to plants that die. I want a nice garden so that when I find snails I can fling them over the fence into someone elses yard. And a spot where I can dump all the plants I've killed and make them into mulch.

SOUPS SANDWICHES AND PIZZAS: Another board that needs to be divided. Who knew I would find so many recipes for pizza's to pin, a food I have never actually made myself?

ST. PATRICK'S DAY: There are a whole lotta foods that shouldn't be green that are made green for this holiday and I must pin them all.

STEAMPUNK: In my mind I live in a Steampunk world and I dress Steampunk. And I look hot. In the real world I just pin Steampunk stuff. Because it's hot. And it's an obsession. Though if truth be told I own not one item of clothing or piece of jewelry or artifact that would be considered Steampunk. At least nothing I would admit to anyway.

TABLESCAPES: For all those dinner parties I don't have.

THANKSGIVING AND FALL: Lots of turkey stuff in here. Lots of brown too.

THE KITCHEN IS THE HEART: Which is under 'T' because that's the way Pinterest rolls. Word to those assigning board names...leave out "the". Anyway this is where I put photos of all those gourmet kitchens I wish I had to cook in along with some great ideas for storage, aprons and anything kitcheny.

THE LADIES ROOM: Bathroom. John. Commode. Water closet. Head. The Loo. Restroom. The Can. Lavatory. Crapper. Washroom. What they are commonly called. But I don't pin those types....I pin LADIES ROOMS. There is a difference. Trust me.

VALENTINES DAY: Anything to do with the holiday, foods in the shape of hearts, pink or red foods and ideas to make Mr. L smile since he always treats me well on Valentines Day and I need to give some of that love back.

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING: Because we all have a bit of a "Joan Ranger" in us and there are celebrities out there that really just don't look at themselves in a mirror before they walk out the door. Or they have the worst stylists ever. And yes, posting these photos makes me feel better about my fat pant days. Because wearing a pair of black fat pants is heads and tails better than these outfits!

WORTH A 1000 WORDS: Photos that I find interesting along with some camera and photography information.

WRAPPING AND PACKAGING IDEAS: Because some day I'm actually going to get birthday and Christmas packages wrapped before the actual day and time they need to be opened. So I'll have time to wrap things in all these pretty packaging ideas instead of stuffing them in gift bags with a piece of tissue paper. And because I truly wish to channel Martha Stewart at times.

Herein ends my Pinterest Board list. Which will change within weeks as I add more boards. Because Pinterest is an addiction. And I just shared mine so feel free to share yours. And because years from now I'll probably not remember why I started these boards so I'll need something to reference. Be calm and Pin on....

 

 

 

 

Sautéed Shrimp with Chardonnay-Dijon Cream Sauce

This Sauteed Shrimp with Chardonnay-Dijon Cream Sauce is one of the first dishes that I pinned that I actually made. I needed something quick last summer to make while we were on vacation, something that was tasty but wouldn't require too much effort (I mean really, after sleeping in, sitting on the deck all day reading, and watching movies I was just too tired to want to cook LOL).

I have no idea how I came across this recipe but I found it on a blog (that no longer seems active) called Cook By Your Wits. The recipe though, comes from Wolfgang Puck and has been written up in newspapers and such since 2006 (to coincide with the 78th Annual Oscars back then).

Mr. L and I really liked the sauce in this dish. Quick to put together, this makes a great weeknight meal and is a good way to use up any leftover Chardonnay you might have. Though the sauce is awesome, there really wasn't enough for us, especially since we had this as a main dish. We ended up with too much pasta (I used angel hair). Next time I would double the sauce.

 

SAUTEED SHRIMP WITH CHARDONNAY-DIJON CREAM SAUCE
(Wolfgang Puck)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and White Pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Chardonnay
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Italian parsley, chopped
Pasta or rice, cooked

Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add oil. Add shrimp to pan in single layer. Let cook for about 2 minutes on one side. Turn over and cook about 2 minutes more. Do not overcook. Remove from pan and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm.

Raise heat under pan to high. Add wine and let reduce by half. Reduce heat and add cream. Reduce slightly and add mustard. Simmer about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Add the shrimp and parsley to the sauce and simmer briefly to heat up the shrimp. Serve with rice or pasta as entree, or by itself as a starter.

Serves 4.

Note: I of course used Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard.

Note: I didn't add the parsley to the sauce. It didn't state how much parsley so I didn't want to use too much and then completely forgot to put some in.

Note: We served this over angel hair pasta.

Note: To cut down calories in this dish, make the shrimp and sauce and then serve it over a bed of wilted spinach.

Again, loved the taste of the dish, but wished there had been more sauce. We plan on making this often. We tend not to be big white wine drinkers so there is usually some leftover Chardonnay when we open a bottle which will gladly be put to use in this dish.

This recipe came from my I SEAFOOD I EAT IT Pinterest Board.

 

Guess Where We Were

Guess Where We Were?

Ah. Maze. Ing.

Hockey - Sharks/Blues Game 5

And Again...

5th Wedding Anniversary

We became Mr. and Mrs. L five years ago today.

Photo taken on our honeymoon. Sunset in Tahiti.

Hockey - Sharks/Blues Game 4

Even it up boys!

Hockey - Sharks/Blues Game 3

My Pinterest Boards - Part 1

Please check out the I PIN THEREFORE I AM post here as this is the second in a series about me and Pinterest.

I did wait quite a  while before setting up my boards on Pinterest. I was a bit intimidated and didn't want to start pinning things to boards until I figured out exactly what boards I wanted to set up. I went through my hobbies, the foods I ate, anything I could think of that I might want to pin and created boards. Like a lot of folks, I got cute when I named my Pinterest boards. Not such a good idea.

My boards are arranged by "type" (all food boards together, all scrapbook related boards together) on my main Pinterest site. The Pinterest drop down menu lists everything alphabetically...which means "I Seafood I Eat It" is filed by the "I" on the drop down menu while I file it under "S" for seafood. Only makes a difference to the one pinning which would be me. And some of the creative names don't necessarily mean anything to anyone but me. So my one hint to anyone starting out and setting up boards on Pinterest, is to check out many different pinners to see what boards they may have and make as many boards as you can! And if you want folks to be able to find things on your board, don't get cutesy, tell them exactly what it is you're pinning.

NOTE: If I make a new board (say split Halloween into three boards) and you followed the original Halloween board, it will not automatically have you following those spin off boards...you'll have to know that there is a new board and follow it too.

NOTE: I am slowing dividing my "holiday" boards into decorations and food. Halloween will be also include costumes.

NOTE: You can now choose what photo you want to be on the cover of your boards. You can change this daily, weekly, or leave it be. I change mine periodically. In a perfect world, the cover of the Get In My Closet board would have the cover of the next outfit I plan on buying. The cover of the Pasta My Heart board would have the next dish I plan on making for dinner. I don't live in a perfect world.

For those interested in my boards, what they contain, why I pin to them, here is a quick rundown (but don't be surprised if they change in the next month as I try to diversify my boards). Hopefully it might help anyone trying to set up boards of their own. I arrange my boards in kind of an order on my Pinterest page, that way if I'm trying to find scrapbooking stuff, all the boards that deal with scrapbooking are near each other. All food boards are together, scrapbooking together, hockey together, holidays together, clothing together etc. Of course I do have some boards that are stand alone...they either are in the top row of my boards (things that are near and dear to my heart) or at the end of all my boards (things that don't really go together). Here, in alphabetical order, are my current boards (the first half of the gazzillion I have, the next half will come later):

ADVENTURES IN DRINK: A mixture of alcoholic drinks, summer floats, milkshakes, coffee, tea, hot chocolate recipes and sayings that pertain to drinking of any sort. Don't be surprised to find bottles of tequila pictured. This board will probably get divided into alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks at some point.

ANIMAL KINGDOM: Because gosh darn, animals are so cute! And it's much better to look at pictures of them being cute than having to clean up their poop.

ARE WE THERE YET?: Incredible photos of places I'd love to visit in my lifetime that don't show the expensive cost of flying there, finding a decent hotel room without bedbugs, getting taken for a ride by some unscrupulous taxi driver, nor killing my feet trying to walk around the entire area to see everything in the one day I'm actually there. Still, places I'd like to visit.

BACON-EVERYTHINGS BETTER WITH: Because it's bacon!

BEACHY KEEN: No I do not have a beach house, nor do I ever plan on buying one. Nor is my current home in any way shape or form "beachy". But I do have one small bathroom that is kinda beach colored with some shell decorations here and there so of course there has to be an entire Pinterest board devoted to that small bathroom I may or may not ever get around to decorating "beachy".

BEEF - IT'S WHATS FOR DINNER: I thought about separating this out by types of beef (hamburger, roasts etc), but at this time, I'm just gonna leave it as is with everything beef included.

BEEN TO GO AGAIN: Basically just places I've been to that I want to go back and visit again. I need to be careful that I don't pin a thousand photos of Bora Bora as I wish I was there daily. I will not be pinning that place near the boarder where we got sick and feared for our lives as I'm trying to erase that from my memory.

BREAKFAST: All things breakfast or brunch that includes pancakes, eggs, toasts and pretty much anything that you'd eat in the morning. Except bacon...because it has it's own board. And pizza...because I'm too old to eat leftover pizza for breakfast any more so I don't. Honest. Well not on a regular basis anyway so you won't find it here.

CARD ENVY: All things about scrapbooking your own cards and using Copic markers. I really should pin Copic stuff into their own board as I own an obscene amount of Copic pens...which I bought to make cards...which I rarely do...thus devoting a whole Pinterest board to cards that I will probably never make. It's a vicious circle but I'm hoping it squashes the guilt from buying more Copic markers.

CATAHOLIC: Because cats are IT. And because it's much safer to Pin cats that it is to rescue yet another cat and become that cat lady people are always talking about.

CHRISTMAS and CHRISTMAS-FOOD: Still migrating the food out of the basic Christmas board which will just be decorations. This board also contains all things snow and winter. I promise to stop pinning food that is served in the shape of Christmas trees.

CLOSETS WORTHY OF CARRIE BRADSHAW: Because every girl deserves a huge closet so they can see all the clothes that they have and plenty of space for all those shoes and purses and a special jewelry cabinet and a space to hang your dogs clothes because if you had a closet that big you'd have a cute little doggy that you would need to dress for every occasion.

COLORTASTIC: Color combinations I might want to paint rooms with, scrapbook with, or just use for inspiration. Amazingly colorful photos (that have usually been photo-shopped) of things are also pinned here. This is just a basic color inspiration board.

COMPLETED PINS-FOOD: Yes I actually do cook or create from the pins I've pinned, though I seriously doubt this pin happy cook will ever get through even an iota of the stuff I've pinned. But if I've cooked it and found the pin on Pinterest, I'll post it here along with comments. That's if I liked said dish. If the item completely sucked it will probably just disappear from my boards hopefully never to be seen again.

COOKIES, CANDIES, BROWNIES OH MY: I thought I was being so smart by separating these desserts from my regular dessert board. Oh fool me. I will eventually separate out all three to their own individual boards...I may even have to make a separate board just for marshmallows.

CREATING SPACES: Pins of scrap or craft rooms or items that I wish to get ideas from. Either that or this board was just made as a reminder that I really really need to get my scrap room organized.

DAY OF THE DEAD: Currently empty as I need to migrate Day Of The Dead stuff from my Halloween boards into this board.

DESSERT IS MY DOWNFALL: This is one of the two boards that drive me crazy. I had no idea that I would be pinning so many desserts considering how rarely I make them. But bloggers out there seem to find great joy in cooking and then pinning their concoctions that I drool over so my dessert board is overloaded. I figured I'd put anything that wasn't in the Cookies, Candies, Brownies or Let Them Eat Cake/Cupcakes board into this dessert board. I now need this separated into a board for Pies, one for Ice Cream, one for anything S'mores (there really seems to be a plethora of desserts that you can make taste like S'mores!) and one for Nutella (which seems to be a favorite of mine). I was also thinking I need to make one for fruit desserts. Never ending. Peruse this board at your own risk.

DREAMY DRESSES: Somewhere inside me is a 1950's Grace Kelly in the movie Rear Window. There is a body inside me that can pull off a Badgley Mischka gown. There is an attitude inside me that can wear an Alexander McQueen couture dress without fear. And somewhere there is a pocketbook that can afford all these expensive dreamy dresses. So I dream.

EASTER AND SPRING: All things Easter and Spring though this will be divided at some point for decorations and food.

EATS FOR ME: Pretty much a catch all for food or food related pins I had no idea what to do with.

EATS TO START THE FEAST: Appetizers. Contains salads too. Finger foods. Soups have their own board. Lots of fried stuff for some reason.

FISH FOOD: Probably will be the least populated food board, but anything made with fishies.

FOOD ON THE SIDE:  What was supposed to be simply veggies and salads really needs to be divided into Salads; Potatoes; Rice and Grains, Breads, among others. I had no idea that I'd find so many side dishes so interesting. I'm a complete idiot for not realizing my love of potatoes would quickly get out of hand.

FOR MY HOME: Sort of a catch all for home items that don't fit in the Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen etc boards. Also contains photos of houses with twenty rooms, twenty two bathrooms, 65,000 square feet of living space that I wish I could afford. So there would be a place for you to stay when you visit. And so I'd have room to buy all the things I pin to the For My Home board.

GET IN MY CLOSET: Well yes I would love to wear all the clothes I pin to this board. Of course they more than likely would only fit and be appropriate for my 20 year old self...so no I will never fit into about 90% of the outfits I've pinned, but that's not the point. I do get inspiration from this board, as much as I do from reading Vogue or InStyle. It may be the color combination or the shape of a skirt etc. I know you are looking at my butt and saying that clothing item I pinned will never work on my body, but in my mind, at some point, maybe it will. Don't judge, we all have dreams.

HALLOWEEN IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY; HALLOWEEN-COSTUMES, CLOTHES AND MAKEUP; HALLOWEEN FOOD: My favorite holiday and if you've read my blog over the years, you know that I go Halloween crazy during October. These boards will absolutely be my inspiration for my annual Halloween countdown and I love love love that I have a place to keep all the great ideas I come across. Currently migrating items to the correct boards.

I BLEED TEAL: A mixture of all things hockey, San Jose Sharks, sharks in general and my favorite hockey color-teal. Though a teal bowl might not seem hockey related, I remember the days when finding anything in my hockey teams color was difficult. Please note: Just because I pin a hockey related item that might have, say, a Detroit Red Wings logo on it in no way shape or form means I root for said team, only that the item would be awesome should it contain a San Jose Sharks logo. I would probably be tarred and feathered should I own and display Red Wings stuff.

I SEAFOOD I EAT IT:  Ah yes, me trying to be cute while naming this board. You find it alphabetically under seafood in the food section of my boards. All things shrimp, crab, and lobster though I admit lobster dishes are woefully underrepresented on food blogs.

ICE CREAM AND SORBET: I own several different types of ice cream making machines. I need to use them. I now have recipes. Which really isn't an excuse because I own entire cookbooks dealing with making ice cream. I've always had recipes. But I now have pins. So ice cream making machines must be dug out of their hiding place in the garage and put to use this summer. Because there are recipes that need to be pinned to the Completed Pins board. It's a challenge now.

That concludes Part 1 of my Pinterest boards rundown and the fact that Mrs. L has way to much time on her hands and spends time she should be cooking pinning recipes and such on Pinterest. The addiction continues in Part 2, coming to a theater near you. Or this blog depending on what I find out there to pin....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hockey - Sharks/Blues Game 2