hello halloween

Not so long ago my years were split into 2 categories: School and Vacation. It was as easy as that, I went to school and while everyone else was checking their syllabus for test dates and project deadlines, I would open my brand new school issued planner and begin my countdown until summer vacation, writing numbers on each day of the week and setting earmarks on holidays like Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter.  

These days my calendar is far less interesting, the only thing separating this week from last and next week from 5 weeks from now are work trips and expense reports. Gone are the days of my planner and the summer vacation countdown. Unfortunately, unless we get a corporate day off for a holiday, I have no idea it exists. I have the receptionist's bowl of candy and Pinterest updates to thank for reminding me of the current holiday season. After all, I live in Florida, our seasons are as simple: Hot and Warm. So while the rest of the world welcomes fall and Halloween with tall boots and pumpkin spice lattes, I have styrofoam pumpkins and acrylic paint to help put me in the holiday spirit. 

My friend Ellie found this project in the most recent issue of Country Living, and being the die-hard magazine junkie that I am (it comes with the territory), I figured it was good enough for the pages of print, it was good enough for my doorstep .... and also the perfect way to add some Halloween spirit to the front of my crib without the mess of carving a pumpkin:

Pumpkin Painting 101

Need: Acrylic paint, pumpkins (real of fake), 

paint brush, and finishing spray

Who doesn't love a chevron striped pumpkin. 

I'm sure my mailman will appreciate it :)

These probably would have turned out much better 

with some painters tape, but I didn't have any so I 

decided to freehand everything.

Once your paint dries, spray on finishing spray 

and let set overnight. 

Follow me on Instagram for project sneak peeks: magmay1010

my love / hate with pinterest

I have a love / hate relationship with Pinterest. 

On the one hand, I love Pinterest because it continues to expose me to a plethora of new blogs and websites that I would have never stumbled across on my own. But mostly I love it because the people geniuses that created Pinterest totally respect and understand my affinity for organization! 

I used to say that I only used Mac computers because I was too dumb to use a PC, when in all honesty, Mac computers / phone / tablets just work the same way that my brain works (I'm a product of the "Drag and Drop" generation). 

Pinterest is the social media equivalent to my Mac computer. It's trendy, it's creative, it's relevant, it's easy to use, and it's exclusive all at the same time. While I'm pretty sure that just about everyone and their mother can create a Pinterest account, I love the fact that Pinterest still makes you request an invite before you can "join" their exclusive club of creative geniuses. It's basically the same as having a Mac, while you don't exactly have to be invited to join their cult of trendiness, you still have to pay your dues by dropping a paycheck worth of cash on their equipment in exchange for access to their infamous Genius Bar, space on "The Cloud", and the mandatory Apple ID that makes spending your own money as easy as pressing button. 

On the other hand, I hate Pinterest because ever since I joined the world of "Pinning" I am continually reminded how creatively retarded I am. I have to think that even if I didn't have a full time job, got a masters degree in Martha Stewart, and spent all my pennies in the crafts aisle of Michaels, I STILL would have never thought to put pre-made pancake mix in an empty ketchup squeeze bottle for batter controlled pancakes. But some genius on Pinterest did - and they're probably the same people that thought to put a headlamp around a jug of water for ambient lighting in your camping tent. 

Most of the time the stuff I find myself "Pinning" is not  even creative genius, it's common sense. I was literally pissed the day I found out that I could grow scallions in a cup of water using the base of old scallops. I felt like this should have been something I learned in my 2nd grade science class. I immediately called my mom questioning the curriculum of my elementary school education. 

My only suggestion for Pinterest would be to sub-catagorize their craft / recipe / DIY sections into levels of difficulty. There is nothing more disappointing than pinning an "easy to make coffee table" only to find out that in order to make said coffee table I needed to have graduated from furniture engineering school and own a drill! But every now and then I come across a craft or a recipe that even this creative-retard can do ..... 

I'm re-naming them: 

The Egg Mag-Muffins

Pre-heat over to 350º

Ingredients: 

Eggs (avg 1 per muffin) 

Scallons (if you want)

Sausage Crumbles (if you want)

Grated Cheese (if cheese if your thing)

Bread (avg 2 circles per piece)

Milk

Use the lid of something in your spice cabinet to cut out circles in your bread. 

You will need one circle per muffin

Crack eggs (1 egg per muffin.

Add 1 teaspoon of milk per egg. 

Stir.

Put your bread circles at the bottom of your muffin tray

Assemble.

Pour in egg mixture on top of the bread circles, the egg should fill up half of the muffin cup.

Once your egg is in, add anything else you want. I chose to include cheese, sausage, and scallions.

Bake for 20-25 mins.

Enjoy.

With all that said, follow me on Pinterest: pinterest.com/maggie_strassel