Pinterest Project Three

I know. I know. I know. I have been lacking in blog posts lately and this Pinterest Project Three is like two weeks late. I have no good excuses at all and am sorry to report that this project is kind of meh for me. 

There are certainly some more challenging projects that I want to take on, but lately time and energy have both been lacking. I choose this pin because I have been wanting to find a good baked french toast recipe. I loved the idea of individual servings for each person. 

I also have this vision in my head of what I want breakfast to be like at my house, especially on a weekend. I really do see my whole family sitting down at a nicely set table enjoying a wide array of breakfast items, the smell of bacon in the air, a nice hot cup of coffee in my hands, everyone focused on family. 

The reality of course, is far different. Usually we have to open up a few windows after the bacon cooking sets off our incredibly sensitive fire alarms (well the smoke doesn't help), the Ladies are usually fighting over couch space after they have already rifled through the snack drawer and started their day by eating some Pirate's Booty or pretzel rods, or in the case of the Little Lady, a stick of butter. 

There is nothing like popping your head out into the living room after you hear the fridge open and seeing your kid eating a full on stick o' butter. "I'm just eating this mom" she told me as I removed the butter from her hand and tried to stop my gag reflex from kicking in. I love butter too, but even I have a line. 

Anyway, moving on---I usually buy at least one baguette a week. I like to make panini's with it. (Ohhhh maybe I will pin a panini recipe of mine, or in actuality the one I stole from my sister) It is super easy and a quick meal. If I have any left over, I will sometimes use it to make garlic bread for a pasta dish later in the week. Most of the time though, I find myself with leftover bread that I throw in the freezer and then never use again. I figured this french toast bake could help alleviate the unnatural amount of half eaten baguettes that shower down on me every time I open the freezer.

It is a super easy recipe. Click on the link below the picture to get the original recipe. I modified mine a bit because I didn't have the nutmeg or a real vanilla bean and I used Aunt Jemima's syrup because that is what I have in the house. Also, I used milk instead of the half-and-half.

 

Original Pin

Source: annies-eats.com via Aileen on Pinterest

5-6 cups of french bread cut into 1 inch cubes

Mix with 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1tbs vanilla, 1/4 cup maple syrup

Separate into individual bowls (I used two smaller ones for the Ladies), cover and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes

The finished product

Viola! French toast bake. The Ladies topped theirs off with a little bit of butter and some syrup.

I wasn't totally in love with the final project. First, I was out of powdered sugar. I think a little sprinkle would have made the final product prettier to eat. Second, it was a little dry. I did like that it wasn't overly sweet, but I will play around with the bread:egg mixture ratio a bit next time. Also, I was kind of jealous of those fancy blue, oven safe bowls--my little white ramekins weren't quite cutting it in the cute culinary container category.

I know that some of you are out there making Pinterest Projects. My cousin texted me a pic of a homemade travel seat she made for her little lady. Perhaps she would be interested in giving us a rundown on how her experience went? 

If anyone out there wants to guest blog their own Pinterest Project, just email me and let me know.

Pinterest Project One

I have to admit to being a bit anxious about committing to my little Pinterest Project. Sometimes, I type faster than my brain can comprehend things, which is why I have apparently given up chocolate for Lent and have vowed to turn all those pretty pins into a reality.

There really is nothing worse than staring at a half eaten bag of peanut M&Ms and knowing you will not get to finish them for 40 days. 

Anyway, I decided to go simple to start. No, I didn't just put iced coffee in ice cube trays and call it a day, although I will be buying a giant bag of Dunkies from Costco and starting that as soon as I transition back to daily iced coffees, but I figured I could do some of the practical or only slightly crafty projects first before I jump off the deep end into the Pinterest abyss.

Also, I wasn't sure of the timeline that I set up for myself. I know I said a project a week, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to post something by the end of last week. . . really, I am just confusing myself, so below are a few projects.

The first one is my own version of this original pin:

Source: thegoodstuffguide.com via Aileen on Pinterest

Here is my version of the important dates in my life:

I am thinking of actually matting it so that there is a different layer between the text and the frame. Also, I might print it out on a cream colored paper, the white might be too bright. I chose to highlight our wedding date in red, because without it we wouldn't have the three dates beneath it. This was super easy to make, word processing site, color printer, frame from Target.

So, that leads me on to my next project, which isn't actually based on anything that I have pinned but rather a cross between some of the inspirational quotes I have seen and my desire to actually personalize my kids room.

Please note: None of these will actually hang on the wall in our current home because we just repainted it and are still hoping for a quick sell. Also, sorry, for the quality of the photos, I think it would have been easier to photograph if they were actually hanging up.

So for this project, I took some song lyrics that are meaningful to me and prettified them and then framed them. I used PowerPoint and I think they look pretty good. Might go back and add the name of the group or singer at the bottom, not sure yet.

"City of Blinding Lights" by U2. This was the song that was playing on my iPod when I held the Lady for the first time.

Ignore that little patch of dust behind the frame. Clearly, I didn't wipe the entire surface down. My wedding song.

For the Little Lady, who came out so fast, I have no recollection of what song was on in the background, but I do know she has beautiful brown eyes and she loves to dance. 

I didn't include the one I made for QT because it has his name on it, then I realized that was pretty ridiculous. His name starts with a Q. There aren't that many out there and most of them, if shortened, are actually pretty much the same, but whatever. I am sure you can figure it out.

As I type my crock pot is going full steam with this pin:

Source: chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com via Aileen on Pinterest

Will let you know how it turns out.

Also, I am constantly amazed at all the little things out there that are great for organizing. Since the Ladies go through about 100 rolls of toilet paper and paper towels a week (even more now that the Little Lady is potty training), we usually end up with a recycling bag stuffed with the tubes. However there are only so many things the Ladies can do with these things. Beyond hitting each other, yelling into or using as a musical instrument, there is also this great little idea--just cut the roll down the side and use to secure your wrapping paper. Super simple and easy to do.

I will admit that the Ladies and I spent entirely too much money and too much time in Michael's this weekend. I am not sure what I am going to do with the aerosol cans of magnetic paint and chalkboard paint, but I will figure it out.

Oh, and to the woman at Michael's who was locking up the all the aerosol cans behind a wire cabinet (I guess there is a lot of huffing of art supplies going on out there), it might not hurt for you to actually take a peek into that cabinet every once and a while, so that when, for example, a woman and her two daughters come up to you and ask if you carry the chalkboard aerosol spray and you say, without a moments hesitation, "No, we don't" and then that same woman says "What about that right there?" and points it out to you, you might not feel like such a jerk when you have to unlock that same cabinet and hand it over. Just sayin.

The Pinterest Project

I am addicted people, addicted.

I see you out there. I am following you. You are following me. We are part of a big, beautiful, glossy world of ideas and inspiration.

The Ladies are pinterested. We have looked at every single pin that has anything to do with nail polish or fancy manicures.

We have planned the Lady's Angry Birds birthday party (yes, this is a departure for her, I thought we would be doing a fairy themed party this year, but alas, I was mistaken). Yesterday, she flipped through a few pins and decided what goody bags, what party hats and what cake she would like. Good thing I have until September to figure out how to make it all.

And that my friends, is what I am here to talk about. I love to pin. I love to look at all those things, like them, repin them and put them on my boards, but what I haven't actually done is make anything. I haven't taken those ideas off my virtual bulletin board and tried any of them.

That ends today.

I am starting my own Pinterest Project.

potterybarnkids.com

I am giving up chocolate for Lent and putting all my emotional eating efforts towards making  something that I find on Pinterest. I even have a few ideas of my own that I am going to try to create and pin.

For the next six weeks, I will post one Pinterest project per week.

In my mind this ends up with me doing one out of sight Easter celebration with glitter eggs and live baby chicks, but I am nothing if not a realist and can see this easily turn into me trying to get QT to stop eating fake, plastic Easter basket grass, while I dye eggs with kit I bought at the gas station and the Ladies get sugared-up on pastel colored M&Ms.

Either way, you will be able to read about it all here.

Wish me luck.