PIN ALL THE THINGS!!

Work will be busy again soon. It had been fairly uneventful until this past week or so because we're starting up our regional print cycle again. When I walked in one morning last week, I was greeted with a 2.5-inch stack of ads (yes, I measured them), and before I could get through them all, the designers brought another pile to be proofed. And that marks the beginning of it all.

So, ads and text have been coming in almost non-stop. Another Bump book successfully uploaded to the printer and approved. A few marketing spec sheets needed fresh information. Now begins the waiting game until the first book.

Next week I'll flip my calendar to April, and the schedule goes from a few books a month to two or three each week. I'm actually looking forward to it.

We have long periods of down time, usually lasting a couple months twice a year, and it's great for the first week. Take some vacation days, do some archiving, all without deadlines. But then I just want something to do. This week is probably my last chance of real down time until summer. As much as I'm dreading the constant stacks of magazine pages being brought to my desk, it's time to do something productive. So,what got me through the previous couple of months? Pinning stuff.

With several nudges from my co-workers and future sister-in-law, I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, quickly finding joy in corralling my wants, needs and things to potentially DIY or cook--all in one place. It started out pretty modestly: I added a board for some of my favorite recipes Devin or I have made in the past, a board for wine-related items and a space for some of the decor I've always wanted to incorporate into various rooms of our apartment.

And that's where I am now. It's ridiculous. I follow the boards of co-workers, friends, popular interior designers and people who just simply have good taste. Why? So I can pin all the cool stuff that they think is cool. PIN ALL THE THINGS!!

I now have a wedding board (I work at a New York-based wedding magazine; I have to visualize the more realistic ideas somewhere), a board of things I want to wear (because I could rock that $300 dress if I had the money and an occasion to wear it) and a board of cocktail recipes (because, well, some days are like that).

Parmesan kale chips

I've already made a few of the newly discovered recipes, like smoked mozzarella and penne spinach salad, which was just ok; eggs with bell peppers (easy and yum!); and quinoa cakes with poached egg and parsley, which turned out to be rock-awesome.

Most recently, I got brave and made some Parmesan kale chips.

Verdict: Devin and I agree it must be an acquired taste. I tried to like them, I really did. The kale became so delicate after baking and practically shattered as soon as it met my mouth. And the flavor just didn't wow us enough to want them again. Unfortunate but I'm glad I tried it. Only 493 more recipe pins (and counting) left to try...

Here's to productively killing time, keeping upcoming-wedding thoughts in the forefront (hey, it's work-related!) and trying that popular recipe that's been repinned thousands of times in the last three days. It has to be amazing, right? Happy pinning! *Cheers*