A Preview of What's to Come

I know this whole blog is supposed to be about what I do in 2012, but I have an early post! We had a Tacky Christmas Sweater party last week, and Pinterest came to the rescue for a few appetizers. I forgot to take pictures of everything, but below are a couple pictures of my creations from the evening.

This is the Cheese & Olive appetizer tree I made (you can find the recipe here). It was a fun appetizer, and surprisingly easy to make! It does take a little time though. I also made spinach bites and pretzel hugs. Everything was pretty simple, but very yummy! I'm quickly learning that sometimes the simplest recipes can be the tastiest.

I didn't keep my creativity to the food. I also made my tacky sweater. Brian's was actually a sweater I bought at Kmart last year for myself for our party. If you notice the wrapping paper on the wall next to our head, that's courtesy of Michael and Meredith, the hosts of the party; both infinitely more creative than I am. They had wrapping paper all over the house. It was a perfect backdrop for pictures!

I had a lot of fun making my sweater and the appetizers for the party, but I also had a lot of time to make it all since I've been on Christmas break. We'll see how it goes once school starts back next week.

Happy New Year!

A NEW New Year's Resolution

Every year around this time I start thinking about my New Year's resolution, and every year it is the same. Work out more, eat healthier, lose weight, blah, blah, blah. I always start the year with a great attitude, and actually stick to my resolution for a few weeks. Then life takes over, and I lose all my resolve. Then the whole thing starts over the following January. This year I'm trying something new. I'm not going to make a resolution to get back to my pre-college weight (which is impossible, by the way!).

This year my New Year's resolution is inspired by my new obsession: Pinterest. I spend a LOT of my time on Pinterest browsing my friends' boards, repinning great ideas, and getting excited about crafting, cooking, and creating. The problem is, I have tons of great ideas on my boards, but that's as far as they get. Everytime I pin a new recipe or craft idea I say to myself, "I'm definitely doing that!" or "That would be perfect for dinner," but I rarely follow through. So , in 2012 I am going to cook, craft, and create something new every week.

This may be a crazy idea for someone like me who is not the most artistic or creative person you'll meet. I enjoy cooking and crafting though, so at least trying will have me doing something I like! Every week I'll post my creations; successes and miserable failures alike. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll have some great new decorations in my house, and an arsenal of delicious recipes in my back pocket.

P.S. Feel free to leave suggestions. I'm sure I'll run out of ideas from my boards fairly quickly.