Day 31: Last Day of Doing a Pinterest Project Everyday

I made it!
31 days of doing something I learned on Pinterest!!  Now I just have to do something once a week.  It will be harder for work to get in my way!
It's be a long month, lots of food, random crafts and good times with friends.  I'll probably never make another headband out of old tee shirts again, but will hopefully be able to maintain my ridiculously organized dresser!
The last project is filed under "gifts to buy."  The website allows you to type in a city and then you can zoom in or out accordingly.  The image starts in water colors which is pretty darn cool, but then to can switch to terrain or toner (black and white).  I checked out a few cities and towns and it's pretty cool and would definitely make a pretty unique gift!
Here's the link:
http://maps.stamen.com/#watercolor/12/40.4336/-79.9951
Pittsburgh is the city that conveniently shows up...
Well, time to enjoy the rest of Labor Day Weekend and start thinking on the ONE project I will do this week!

Day 29/30: Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls

Work is seriously interfering with my Pinterest activities.   Yet I have managed to get some stuff done.  

Day 29: magnets.
I bought tons of magnets from Micheal's because according to Pinterest there are a lot of things to do with magnets!  I have a dry erase board in the front of my classroom and each day (along with the date and what to do) I write the topic for the day and the skills we'll be focusing on.  Now, while it's not exactly challenging to write "skills" and "topic" on the board, I decided I needed magnets that have these words on them.... So, I made magnets (I know, super exciting, try to control yourself).

Day 30: cooking.
I haven't made any Pinterest recipes lately so I decided to do one today, but I had two requirements 1) no oven/stove. 2) I need to have all of the ingredients.   Then I found this:
http://aspottedpony.com/recipies/no-bake-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-balls/5782/
The woman who blogged this recipe doubled it.  I cut it in half because I'm pretty sure I don't need that much crap in my system (and half the recipe is still too much).  They were pretty easy to make and I added a tablespoon of peanut butter, because peanut butter with chocolate is delicious.
The result?  They're not bad, but really not worth it.  There is about 90 calories in each one and they're pretty tiny.  I won't be making them again and may consider never eating cookies because of the amount of crap in them... Ha!  That's not true.  I have 15 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer!

Day 27/28: Teaching, Teaching, Teaching

So, the past couple of days have been spent doing three things:
1) trying not to hit snooze too many times before I wake up for work .
2) going to work and planning.
3) trying to convince my body that summer is indeed over and that bedtime needs to be before midnight (this is always a tough one).
As far as the snooze button goes I have three "settings." I hit it once or twice and I can still walk to work.  Three times I should probably take a bus.  Four or more and I need to take a cab.   It's been a mix of walking and bus thus far...

So, what have I been doing as far as Pinterest goes?  Pretty much sorting through teaching ideas on my "school ideas" board.
First up?  Where the hell did all the erasers go for my Expo markers?!  Problem solved:

http://prayersandpurpleelephants.blogspot.com/2012/07/pom-pom-erasers.html

Pom Poms hot glued onto the end of dry erase markers!  No more lost erasers (at least until the dry erase marker also disappears....).

Today's activity?
Trying to develop strategies to help improve the students reading skills and comprehension.  I teach high school, but the entire school is for students with learning disabilities, so many strategies need to be taught, re-taught and other strategies need to be tried:
http://middleschoolteachertoliteracycoach.blogspot.com/2013/01/some-more-anchor-charts.html
Luckily our school has a web page where we keep resources the students can access, so that way they can pull these strategies up at home when they're reading and hopefully get them stuck in their head!

Day 26: Things I've Learned From Miley Cyrus

Nothing.  I've learned nothing from Miley Cyrus.  I just happened to be lucky that my parents didn't decide to make me a child star (especially with my killer Cookie Monster impressions and my desire to constantly be the center of attention).

Today's activity?  Well, now that I'm back at work I had a friend ask if I was going to be able to maintain all the organizing and cleaning that I've done.  The answer?  Probably not, until I found this on Pinterest:
http://kidtokid.com/cleaning-calendar/

I feel like with cleaning I (like many people) tend to try and do it all at once and then end up freaked out over the hours of cleaning that need to take place.   Half the time I think "oh, wait, I need to clean __________  out," I'm at work at not near anything that needs to be done (same thing happens in reverse when I'm at home... I constantly remember work things that need to be done.).  This calendar seems pretty doable and today I would say I spent about 30 minutes total following The plan.  Clearly there are a couple tweaks that need to be made since I live in an apartment, but I'm excited for the plan!   I'm thinking "clean/sweep garage" should be changed to "book a spa day."

Day 25: Cupcakes and Splits Update

1) I may actually be able to do the splits in one week vs. two.... I'll keep you posted, but the first day was torment and today, well, I'm getting pretty good!
2) today is a quote day:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/944669_10151645544798945_808726249_n.jpg
I helped at Kicky's Kitchen again and sold a record number of cupcakes!  While I know Christie has been working her butt off (baking in a kitchen in the middle of no where in the middle of the night), it's fun to get out there and help her sell her delicious cupcakes! Today we discovered (a secret that I've known for awhile) that people will indeed buy a cupcake frosted with something that has "avocado" in its name.  We also discovered that banana cake topped with strawberry frosting is AMAZING!!!
She has so many exciting things come up and I'm looking forward to watching my friends business grow!
Work starts tomorrow, so I'm running out of hours to do random Pinterest activities, but I will keep going!!

Day 24: Mini Apple Pies!!

I started the day by stretching to help me be able to do the splits based on yesterday's post... This stuff is painful, painful!

I decided to cook today and went with this recipe:
http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/628903842/mini-apple-pies/
I love the fall, I love apples and I love pie!  My big problem with pie is the mess it can sometimes create when trying to cut slices and get them out of the pie plate.  This clearly solves these problems as it creates a cupcake size mini pie.  I only made 4 mini pies (because I learned a valuable lesson after making 24 crab rangoons!) and it just took one large apple.  Once I put the cross cross on the top of the pie I sprinkled on a little more sugar and cinnamon.
The outcome was delicious!!!!  They were very easy to make and I bringing one to go for a picnic dinner tonight!
I may have to make these again for my students/co-workers in the fall!
Also, there's a great shop in Georgetown, Washington, DC that makes mini pies: http://piesisters.com/

Pre-oven

YUMMY!

Day 23: Wonder if This Will Work?

So, I was wondering what activity to do today.  I've had a lot to eat the past few days and I've spent a lot of money on arts and crafts so I was looking for something for free and I found this:

http://followpics.net/how-to-learn-to-do-the-splits-in-2-weeks/

I keep saying I'm going to be able to do the splits, but then I never follow through... Never again!!  Why do I want to be able to do the splits?  Well.... I use to be able to do the splits and stretching is good for you, but I'm mainly doing it to say "I can do the splits."  After going to so many America's Got Talent tapings I'm annoyed that I have no talent and after looking into "juggling fire knives while    on a tightrope," I realized the splits were much safer.
I'll update you in two weeks.  However, I easily ditch plans if I get bored, but hopefully that won't happen!

Day 22: Sangria for Beer Drinkers (yup.... You read that correctly)

Today was full of rain and thunderstorms, but luckily my friends Sarah and Christine were able to make it downtown to help with some Pinterest activities!
Being the proper hostess that I am, I greeted them with a drink, strawberry beer lemonade!!
http://thebeeroness.com/2012/05/15/strawberry-beer-lemonade/
This drink was amazing! I was neat to watch the strawberry juice come out once it was mixed with the sugar and lemon juice.  For the beer I used a hefeweizen and yum! It was super tasty, refreshing and, well, it was basically a sangria for beer drinkers.  I highly recommend it for an end of summer party!  You can add more sugar/lemon to taste once you mix the ingredients.

Next up was lunch!  We decided to make spinach artichoke pasta:
http://www.heatovento350.com/2011/05/spin-art-pasta.html
There is a lot of dairy in this dish, but spinach is healthy.... You can use reduced fat items (and we got stuck using vegan cream cheese... But it worked out well!)
Sarah did most of the cooking and it turned out really well (come over for leftovers!).  It was quite tasty and I also recommend this dish (especially if you like spinach and artichoke dip!).
One more day of summer vacation left and 9 days left of daily Pinterest Projects!!

Strawberry Beer Lemonade!

Spinach Artichoke Pasta!

Day 20/21: Crab Meat is Delicious!

,Yesterday was somehow jam packed as a result of another trip to view America's Got Talent:)
Today I decided to do two projects to make up for missing yesterday.   The first one was a food project:
http://www.myveryeducatedmother.com/2011/10/recipe-baked-crab-rangoons.html
Crab meat and cream cheese in wonton wrappers.  The recipe was pretty easy to make and baking was definitely easier with the help of a mini muffin pan (which had come I quite handy this August!).       I did the math and each piece is about 75 calories and the recipe makes about 24 (great party dish!).   I tried some soy sauce with a few and, well, I'm just not a fan of soy sauce.  So for the leftovers I have I may try to make a new dipping sauce (which is definitely needed).

My second project was art and craft related:
http://www.diyandcrafttutorials.com/kitchen-tablet-holder/
With all the recipe following I've been doing I need something to hold my iPad.  I got the chopping board for a couple of dollars from IKEA.  It came with the most extensive set of directions I've even seen.  One whole page on how to treat the board (if using it as a cutting board) and then rewritten in over 20 languages!!!   Instead of making mine look weathered I painted it which chalkboard pain and used corkboard for the shelf to hold the iPad.  I figured that when I wasn't cooking I could write Pinterest grocery lists in chalk.  It was pretty easy and the chalkboard paint looks pretty nice.
Tomorrow is another guest day!  Two friends are coming over to make some food!

Day 19: Everything Should Have Avocados

One week until work starts so I need to get back to some healthier eating and a somewhat normal sleep schedule.
Coney Island on Saturday resulted in popcorn, a pretzel and a funnel cake... Not necessarily the recipe for a healthy meal but DAMN that funnel cake was yummy!
Today I decided to make this recipe:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/zesty-lime-shrimp-and-avocado-salad.html

The whole recipe took about 10-15 minutes and there were only two bowls involved so clean-up was easy.  I made half of this recipe because it was just for me (and I wasn't sure how long the avocado would hold up for multiple leftovers).  I also left out the cilantro and jalapeños (because I don't do spicy!).   After I followed the two steps and then mixed everything together I decided to refrigerate the whole dish for about 10 minutes in order or let all the flavors mix together.
The end result?  Deliciousness!!

I should mention that I'm allergic to avocados (related to seasonal allergies), but if my mouth isn't itching in the next 10 minutes I may have to have the second serving!!

Day 18: So, If I Haven't Worn It In A Year....

Every fashion magazine blog, link, alien signal, etc. tells you to get rid of a clothing article if you have not worn it in a year.   This sounds like a fabulous idea, except... How the heck do I know if I didn't wear it?  There are over 300 days in a year and you want me to keep track?!  On some days I'm lucky if I know my name and I don't even have kids!
I made up my own Pinterest idea this time (I should totally patent these and quit my job!).  As I go about cleaning and organizing my clothing, I realize that Whole Foods has provided me with an abundance of rubber bands for no reason.  I take the rubber bands and wrap them around the hanger of the outfits I'm pretty sure have not seen the light of day (these are probably my vampire slaying clothes).
The rule?  Once you wear that piece of clothing, the rubber band comes off.  Any clothes after 2-3 months with the rubber band.... Well, they need to be given away!  I can finally remember what I wore!!  I'm excited to see how may rubber bands are left I'm a few weeks!
Not only can this apply to random outfits, I can also apply to outfits that you're trying to "fit into.!"

Day 17: I Need a Pinterest Expense Account, and a Maid

Well, I've continued to clean and gut my apartment.   As a result of this, I now have a space for all the Pinterest craft items I have collected (Yes, because when you think of a single woman living in Manhattan everyone's first thought is "I bet she has a box of crafting supplies!").
I woke up early-ish to start some cleaning because tonight I'm heading to Coney Island for some roller coasters and baseball!!
My first activity involved trying to make those damn bell pepper eggs for breakfast....once again, it did not work.  Second activity was to attack my air conditioner (don't think the people who sublet cleaned the filter and it's quite icky and probably not good for my asthma...).
I found this on Pinterest:http://www.ehow.com/how_5105292_clean-air-conditioner-filters.html

Now, when I've washed my filter I just never felt like it's clean enough, but vacuuming it out first (after unplugging it of course) did WONDERS!   If you have a window unit you should DEFINITELY use this to clean your filters.  I can already tell that my AC is running better!!

Day 16: Creative ATTEMPT at Eggs

I found this idea for eggs on Pinterest:

http://keepitskinny.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/red-pepper-egg-in-a-whole/

The basic concept is to cook an egg in a ring made out of a bell pepper.  I used eggs whites, because that's usually what I eat.  I tried it twice to see where I went wrong.  The egg came out from the bottoms of the pepper ring so the second time I pushed the pepper down with a spatula and the egg still crept over the edges.  Luckily it still tasted good, it just didn't look pretty at all.
I'll probably attempt it again for breakfast tomorrow, but I don't have a lot of hope.

Day 14/15: Backstreet Boys and Watermelon Gazpacho

I willingly ate my first tomato at 26.... 3 years after my first Backstreet Boys concert.  Yes,  these two  things have nothing in common.
Day 14: my friend Amy (of cannoli and t-shirt headband fame) scored us tickets to a live taping of America's Got Talent, and the Backstreet Boys were performing!  Now, the Backstreet Boys are not up there on my "musician" list. They're more in the "entertainers" category for me.  I went to see them years ago in VA with my roommate at the time Katy (Kristin, Katy and I had decided that decorating our townhouse with Backstreet Boy posters and magnets was hilarious.. And it kind of was). It was the first concert where, when everyone stood up, I cold still see over their heads because everyone else was 8 years old.  Anyway, last night was fun seeing them perform, but it was even more fun seeing Heidi Klum and Mel B (I've been in the same line getting hot chocolate as Howard Stern before and Howie Mandel is skinnier than my pinky finger....ew).   So I pinned an America's Got Talent pic on my Pinterest board and that was yesterday's activity.
Today?  Well Amy and I were going to make lunch, but the weather was so nice that we headed downtown to the Seaport to eat some yummy grilled cheese instead!
So my Pinterest project for tonight?  Well, back to tomatoes, I freakin' LOVE gazpacho!  Hate tomato sauce, love gazpacho.   I have yet to make gazpacho this year so I decided to make watermelon gazpacho following this recipe:
http://www.ahouseinthehills.com/ahouseinthehills/2013/8/5/watermelon-gazpacho-from-a-couple-cooks.html
Ridiculously easy, but I substituted the white wine vinegar for sherry vinegar (which is much much better and what a true gazpacho should use) and tossed in some olive oil (same thing.  You want Spanish food?  There had better be olive oil in it).   Really delicious, no ingredient outdoing another and perfect for a summer day.  Highly recommend (add the vinegar and olive oil to taste once you've blended the other ingredients).

Day 13: End of Summer Clothes Organizing...

While most people usually do "Spring Cleaning," I have two cleaning schedules, end of summer and midwinter.  These fit into my work schedule much more effectively.  Over the next couple of weeks as I get ready to go back to work it's time to clean and organize.  First things first, sorting old clothing that I don't need (partially to clean and partially to make room for new clothes!).
Living in a small apartment means that the space is quite limited, but if you ask my old roommate Leah, I am quite good when it comes to creating storage!
When I found this link to help organize my 5 million tee shirts I got pretty excited:
http://www.bforbel.com/2013/06/how-to-fold-and-organize-your-t-shirts-to-save-closet-space.html

I was able to successfully fit two doors worth of tee shirts and running shorts into one drawer!
One of my concerns was that I'd mess up all the organization once I pulled one shirt out, so I bought these drawer organizers from IKEA:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60192633/

Now I have an extra drawer to move some clothing from my closet.  The whole process took about 30 minutes (whilst watching reruns of Castle).  While I could have gotten rid of some tees, I'd done that at the beginning of the summer and not having a washer in my building means I need to keep them in stock!

Bad picture of drawer number one before:

After (two drawers worth of tees and shorts):

Day 12: Strawberry Iced Tea

I love having beautiful weather and being able to go read outside along the water (benefits of what I like to call "island living.".   Smce the weather was nice but a bit hot in the sun, I figured I should make a drink today!
Yesterday I bought a whole bunch of strawberries and decided I need to do something with them today, hence the following recipe:
http://cookbook-recipes.org/strawberry-iced-tea/

I used green tea, because that's what I happened to have (any I get the health benefits tha come along with it).  I also used all fresh strawberries for the same reason.
The recipe was really easy, food processor puréed those strawberries quite well.  Straining was a bit of a pain because I wanted something with small holes and my only option was a tea diffuser which made the process take a little longer than planned.   The other problem was that I just wanted to drink the purée......
I don't put any sugar in my tea, but I decided to put in a couple of table spoons with this (which is still under the recommended amount).  The drink is pretty refreshing, but I think I may add some of the mint simple sugar (from watermelon mojito pops) to add some mint and a hint more sugar.
Any suggestions for tomorrow?

Day 10/11: Cupcakes Galore!!

You know what's better than eating cupcakes?  Eating cupcakes while helping your friend start a cake/cupcake business and watching her earn her first dollar!
Yesterday (the 10th was a quote day):
http://crazyphotosdaily.blogspot.com/2013/07/when-something-goes-wrong-in-your-life.html#!/2013/07/when-something-goes-wrong-in-your-life.html
We started setting up at Long Island City Flea at 8am.  Now, there were a few hiccups (hence the quote), but things ended going really well for her and people were really impressed with her cupcakes (which are delicious!).  Check out her Facebook page Kicky's Kitchen!
It was long day, but she was able to get a lot of people interested in her business.  I can't wait to see what happens next and watch her company grow!

Today I decided to try this cleaning tip:
http://www.make-it-do.com/clean-it/spring-clean-your-mattress/
Instead of using a sifter to spread the baking soda on the mattress I used a mason jar with holes which resulted in zero mess.  Now, my mattress does smell nice, and I vacuumed up dust mites of course, but....  The author of the blog had pets, so maybe she noticed more of a difference when she did this.  My mattress smelled fine before this, so maybe I need a dog to roll around my furniture?  Or maybe a miniature pig....

Day 9: Quinoa Coated Shrimp

My dad and I just got back from a trip to Peru.  Lots of delicious food was had (guinea pig, alpaca....) including some amazing shrimp battered in quinoa.  They were absolutely delicious and so, today, when I realized it was pouring cats and dogs outside I needed to check the ingredients I had on stock. Luckily I had some shrimp and quinoa on hand!!
Pinterest had some recipes and I decided to try this one http://www.simplyorganic.com/store.php?Screen=recipe&recipe=702&title=Peruvian+Quinoa+Shrimp+Chicharrones+with+Aji+Sauce

Now, I didn't have the ingredients for the aji sauce, but I decided to try the shrimp recipe anyway.   I used frozen and not fresh (once again, just decided to use what I had on hand).
The most time consuming part was waiting for the quinoa to dry after it was cooked, but that really didn't take too long (during which time the fire department and EMS arrive in my building.... Although they said nothing was wrong and left by the time the quinoa dried... For those that know me well, you know I'm a little antsy when the fire department is anywhere new my apartment).
Battering the shrimp was super simple and the time to cook was just about 10 minutes.
Overall, the shrimp were pretty darn good. Good texture.  The shrimp I'd had in Lima were a bit sweet and I didn't get that taste with this recipe, so I may try a few tweaks down the road.
Highly recommend making them.  Pretty healthy because of the quinoa and because they're baked not fried.
Now to think about tomorrow's plan... any suggestion?

Drying quinoa

Crunchy shrimp

Day 8: My Medical Qualifications Are Based on Watching ER

Well, I had to go into work today which really have a negative impact on my ability to do random things off of Pinterest in order to help humanity progress...
However, I have been doing something on Pinterest for the past few days I can write about....
I, like many asthma suffers, am currently going through one of those awesome times of the year when nighttime asthma kicks in and I constantly wake up coughing.  If you haven't experienced this, well, you're missing out on something AWESOME...not.
I found this on Pinterest and did some research:
http://aseedinspired.com/2012/02/25/eucalyptus-oil-or-how-to-get-everyone-to-sleep/

For the past several nights I've been mixing a drop or two of eucalyptus oil into lotion and rubbing it on my feet and then putting socks on.... Guess what.... No coughing!!!  I purposely didn't try it and last night (bad life choice) and was of course coughing.
Now, I read all over and the oil definitely needs to be diluted with something and you only need a couple of drops.  Before you trust my medical knowledge (please read the title to see where I got it), check with a doctor if you have other medical issues.  Eucalyptus is one of the ingredients in Vicks, but Vicks is messy and has all sorts of unhealthy chemicals in it.   Another suggestion was putting some drops in the humidifier.
So, I'm content with this Pinterest project because I don't feel like I'm going to die in the middle of the night, and that's a good thing.

Day 7: Cannoli's, Mojito Popsicles and Headbands

Today was quite a big day!
Three Pinterest projects and two girlfriends (Amy and Sarah) to help out!

We started with watermelon mojito Popsicles:
http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2011/06/08/endless-poptails-watermelon-mojito-popsicles/
I only made 1/4 of a batch and it made 5 Popsicles using this Popsicle maker from IKEA.  There's less than half an ounce of rum in each, but they still deliver a punch!   Everything was pretty easy to make.

Next we moved on to mini Cannoli's:
http://www.cookingwithsugar.com/mini-cannoli-cream-cups-recipe-how-to-make-cannolis-the-easy-way/
 We made the filling (definitely do not use skim or fat free ricotta, it doesn't get as creamy) first and then the shells.  We only ended up needing one pie shell.

While we waited for the shells to bake we moved on to arts and crafts time!
Headbands out of old tee shirts!
http://www.duitang.com/people/mblog/23497218/detail/
The directions left out the part where one of the materials is an 8 year old girl who goes to summer camp and knows how to make friendship bracelets.   These things were pretty hard so Amy and Sarah decided to only braid 3 pieces of shirt and I stuck with 5 (3 would have been a better choice). We also avoided sewing and decided to break out the hot glue gun!  I don't recall any episode of Sex in the City or Girls where the women were making crafts and using hot glue guns.... This is the real NYC!

After we finished the headbands it was time to eat mini Cannoli's!   We added some chocolate chips (they didn't have mini chips at Whole Foods so these are huge) and ate away.... Delicious!
It was also a super easy recipe to follow!  Now I have 12 mini Cannoli's left, feel free to stop by (unless you're a stranger, please don't come over).
Amy and Sarah will be joining me again in the next few weeks to try some lunch recipes!  

A little drippy because I used fat free ricotta, but still yummy!

May actually be the first headband that stays on my head!

We are very serious about our glue gunning!

No circle cookie cutter?  This glass cut the PERFECT size for the mini cupcake pan!

Day 6: What To Do With Mason Jars?

I'm not sure why, but mason jars and the seven million things you can potentially do with them are all the rage on Pinterest.
Turn mason jars into candles, mason jars into spice holders, mason jars into lights, mason jars into flower holders, mason jars to drink out of (not sure why that is a craft!). You can even put all the ingredients for pasta salad or brownies or cookies into a mason jar and give it as a gift.
However, do know what was missing?!?!  The best gift EVER!  A mojito in a mason jar! No, not pouring a mojito into a mason jar, but filling a mason jar with fresh mint, a tiny bottle of rum, a drink umbrella, a recipe and some sugar cubes.  I even fit a small lime in there!  All you have to do is muddle the sugar and mint, squeeze the lime and add some club soda!
By far the most practical mason jar recipe gift (unless the gift is for a child, then it's completely inappropriate).
I didn't get around to it this time, but in the future I could also monogram the jar which could be a nice touch!
Tomorrow.... Watermelon mojito Popsicles, mini cannolis and refurbishing old t-shirts with two of my friends!

Day Five: Food Update and Curtain Hanging....

First, a food update.
Yesterday's strawberry granita turned out AMAZING!  So delicious!  In the future I can definitely use even less sugar that I did yesterday.  Even without the sugar if you're strawberries are good it'd most likely still work and be even healthier!
Also, the whipped feta I made Friday?  Decided to see how it would do a few days later.  It still tasted delicious, but really wasn't spreadable.  After just a bit of olive oil and 30 seconds in the food processor it was good as new!  Yum yum yum.
Today's project was not as yummy as previous days.  I decided to use this pin to help hang curtains:
http://www.amazon.com/Command-Forever-Classic-Antique-Bronze/dp/B000GKTWSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361322131&sr=8-1&keywords=brass+command+hook

The idea is to use 3M hooks to hang curtain rods. Renting in NYC means moving a lot and not always being able to hammer things into the walls.  My ceilings are high and hanging official rods wouldn't have been worth the effort/money/time.  I didn't buy copper or silver ones, I just bought a box of 9 small white ones for about $6-7.  I got out the step ladder and the whole thing (4 hooks, two windows) took about 5 minutes and appear to be holding up well.

Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but Wednesday I have two friends coming over to make some Pinterest recipes and to try some arts and crafts with old t-shirts!

Granita:

Faking the curtain rods:

Day Four: Two Pinterest Activities... Both food!

 I decided I need to make more food (because I love food and cleaning is not fun).  However, I probably need to include some healthy food (at least that's what I'm telling myself today).
This morning I started with this recipe for a blueberry and spinach smoothie:
http://mainebelle.com/2012/03/23/paleo-diet-blueberry-spinach-smoothie

The goal was to find something easy, yummy and healthy, not necessarily something from the paleo-diet, so I left out the whey protein and flax seed.  I used fresh blueberries so I added in a few ice cubes.  It was very easy to make (my handful of spinach was pretty big...) and the clean-up was also quite simple.  The smoothie was delicious!   I probably ended up with 3-4 servings of fruit/veggies which was a good deal.  This is something that could easily be made for breakfast each morning!

I also decided to try another recipe today for strawberry granita:
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/strawberry-granitas-recipe/1/
The recipe is completely vegan (little bro.... You'd like it) and really easy to make.  I used two tablespoons of lemon juice and just under 1/4 cup of sugar (which was more than enough!).  I also added about 1/4 cup water in order to get more of an ice consistency.  In all honesty, I could have poured this in a cup straight out of the blender and chugged it down!  Yummy!!
It's still in the freezer, but I'm sure it's going to be delicious!  I'll have to share tomorrow.

Blueberry/spinach smoothie:

Day Three: Ugh, cleaning

There are ridiculous amounts of cleaning tips on Pinterest.  Tips for things that I don't even think exist and tips for things I haven't owned in over 4 years (dishwasher or microwave).

I decided today was a day to try a cleaning tip.
Now, for those of you that rent, this story may be familiar.  For those that have never rented in the city, well, you may be grossed out...
I've lived in 4 different apartments in the city.  The first one had no bedroom doors and was painted mint green.  Almost all of these apartments have had something in common though... mold along the bathtub caulking.  Ugh.    In my second apartment I just pulled all the caulking out and redid it.  This resulted in not being able or shower for two days and lots of labor I didn't feel like doing.
So, when I stumbled across this nifty trick for removing the mold, I clearly had to try it!
http://www.thisblessedlife.net/2012/02/getting-mold-out-of-showerbefore-after.html
I was even more excited when it worked!  I didn't use the cotton rolls this woman did because I didn't really have a purpose for the leftovers, so I used cotton balls.  You need to make sure that the bathroom is properly ventilated because the bleach smell is STRONG, very, very STRONG.
I put some bleach on the cotton balls and then pushed them into the caulking.  I waited an hour and.... magic!
Tomorrow I'm going for another food recipe because eating is much more fun than cleaning!

Before and after:

Ew.......

Much, much better....

Day Two: Cheese is Yummy

I started today with the "100 Calorie" workout I started yesterday.  Still no long jumps.

The cooking portion of the Pinterest Productivity Project was suppose to commence next week, but then my cousin came into the picture.  My cousin is quite lovely, but if you dare get between her and food, she will cut you.   So she commented on yesterday's post about how she wanted to see more food and less exercise.  I concur.

This afternoon I went with this pin for whipped feta:

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/02/how-to-make-amazing-whipped-feta/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+howsweeteats/smSp+(How+Sweet+It+Is)&utm_content=Google+Reader

I made half a batch because I'm pretty sure I don't need to eat that much cheese (I WANT to eat that much cheese, but I'm due for my annual physical and don't want my cholesterol to look like it did after a whole summer in New Orleans!). Now if you love feta, you will love this recipe.  If you don't love feta, 1) what the heck is wrong with you? 2) you will still love this recipe.

It was very easy to make, took just under 10 minutes which included cutting the bread and sauteing  tomatoes.

I could eat this ALL DAY.   There is no "serving size" or anything with the recipe, so I'm just going to assume the whole recipe equals one serving, because I can eat the whole thing myself.

On that note, guess I should go do a few rounds of "100 calorie" workout so I can keep eating cheese!

Here's a picture of today's project:

Day 1: Exercise?

I decided the first Pinterest project to jump start my journey would be related to exercise, something I could do all 31 days.  I went through my "exercise" board (it's pathetic) and decided to give this one a try (eventually I'll put up pics).
http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/post/15432672640
It claimed that by doing each of the reasonable things on the list I could burn 100 calories.  Seemed reasonable.   So, I started marching in place for a minute and moved on to jogging in place for a minute.  Next up was a minute of jumping jacks and then a minute of long jumps.....
WHAT?!  Where the hell does this tumblr workout plan think I live?! I'm CLEARLY doing these in my apartment because it's raining.   Doing the long jump in my tiny NYC apartment could result in some serious bodily harm and damage to my Pinterest craft space. This is ridiculous!
I substituted "long jump" for some more jumping jacks (however, my building is quite old and I may be slightly afraid jumping jacks could make it implode...).
There were a few more "minute activities" and I was a little winded at the end.  The goal is to continue everyday for the rest of the month.  Maybe I'll work my way up to long jumps.... Or maybe not.
This is what I really wanted to do today because of the rain though:
http://themetapicture.com/sloth-running-team/

Tomorrow's plan.....  You'll have to wait and see!