Photo Ideas, Cute Kids Stuff and Yummy Recipes.....Thank You Pinterest!

have you REALLY tried any of the 

of recipes, projects and ideas you've found on

Pinterest?

okay, okay.......i'll go first.

YES, i've tried some.

a few.

okay.

maybe ONE:)

haha........ i've tried recipes.

the most FATTENING ones i could find, most likely:)

and they have ALL been

Y

U

M

M

Y

but still.......i have over 5,000 pins.

GEEZ!  

i could recreate my entire home, body and LIFE at that rate!

(you'd think, wouldn't ya?:)

well, there was a day i jumped all over new things.

but i am proud to say that torch has been passed

to my creative nieces.

all six of them.  

but today, here are a few things from 2 of them.
they inspire me to get creative, for sure!

first up, my niece Jennifer.

now, i should say that all of my nieces are young mothers.

meaning they are BUSY ladies,

who still find time to try new things.

Jen saw something on my blog that i found on Pinterest.

i thought it was such a COOL thing to do,

 and the blog post was about ideas i wish 

i had known about when my girls were young.

She has a SWEET little girl named Tori and just look

 at what she did for a scrapbook page.

isn't that so COOL?

i love it!

she has also become quite the photographer as I am discovering,

mainly by snooping around the web:)

(of course, it must be easy with such a pretty girl to photograph:)

i love how she didn't just select the obvious,

smiling photo.

i need to remember that.

and i saw that she pinned this apron from Redneck Girl Aprons.....

 YES, i want one too:)
Thanks for the cute ideas Jen!

next up, my niece Kristin.
Kristin is a very busy mom of three ADORABLE little boys,

but she manages to try new recipes and create cool stuff in her 

very precious free time:)

i would have LOVED something like this to document my girls growth.

she found it on pinterest, followed the instructions and

 this is what she came up with...

now, that is so CLEVER!

Baby Dawson approves of his giant ruler")

(and here i thought the only options were making marks on the wall!!!)
show's what i know!

and when she saw a pegboard with photos, she painted some frames
stapled ribbon on the back and this is what she came up with.....

lastly, she saw an idea for Bird in a Nest cupcakes,

via pinterest and Martha Stewart.

she decided to make them in pink and blue for a baby shower.

she didn't think they turned out but she had to bring them anyway:)

GOOD THING.....because i don't know about you but

I think they are AMAZING!

Kris.....you did Martha proud!:)

a few other recipes she's tried are;

Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce

Olive Garden Salad Dressing from The Country Cook and 

Yummy Carmelitas from Lulu the Baker:)

here are a few recipes:

file://localhost/Users/phildutcher/Desktop/www.thecountrycook.net:.webloc

Olive GardenSalad Dressing

Ingredients:
1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing
(Ingredients needed to make dressing; oil, water, vinegar)
½ tsp. dried Italian Seasoning
½ tsp. table salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tbsp. mayonnaise (no Miracle Whip, please)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbs. white vinegar
1 ½ tbs. water

Directions:
Prepare Good Seasonings Italian Seasonings Dressing as it states on back of package. Once prepared pour it in a medium bowl, then add additional ingredients listed above (starting with dried Italian Seasoning).

Using a whisk, mix all ingredients until mixed thoroughly combined. Serve with your favorite salad fixings.

Store unused dressing in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Be sure to give the bottle a good shake before using.
www.thecountrycook.net

she has TONS of great recipes on her site!

one of the other recipes Kris HIGHLY recommended are Carmelitas. 

before i pass on the recipe, here is what Lulu
has to say about them.  Hilarious:)

"See, a Carmelita is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill treat. Rather, it is like a buttery oatmeal cookie that swallowed a caramel-filled chocolate bar and then got bibitty-bobitty-booed by the dessert fairy godmother and received an extra dose of deliciousness."
now you KNOW you want the recipe so here you go.....


Carmelitas

32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
**To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts.


Thanks Kris and Jen for showing us how cool some of the stuff you find on pinterest can be!

how about you.....

confession time!

have you tried anything from Pinterest yet?

linking up with.......