My (not really) New Vice

I've been hitting Pinterest pretty hard for the last few months, actually, it's been one of my favorite pass times for the better part of this year, and frankly, it's probably why I haven't started blogging again more. Because with the ease of pinning straight to a pre-categorized pinboard, I have no need to make little categories here in the form of posts. If you use Pinterest, you already know how addictive it is. Especially the iPhone app. Oh the joy I get from pinning on my phone! It's so much better a fix than Facebook or Twitter and when there are new pins: it makes my heart skip ever so slightly.

So, here's what I love about it for the average person: It's a great way to remember all the semi-useful things we learn about on the internet. The type of bar soap someone recommended that would normally fall out of your head the moment it was digested, let's say. Or a flower arrangement for a party, or hell, even recipes if you are a super-visual-recipe-saver-type.

For a designer: It's crack. Pure and simple. I have categories I reference all the time for work. Down to windows and door, staircases, stove vent hoods, tile layouts. You name it. Whenever I need a little inspiration or clarification on something, I can reference all the photos of completed projects I love.

Try it, I really think it's life-changing (in an inflated, internet way) and if you're there, follow me. I've added a button right on the top of my page just to make it easy. And here are a few of the things I've been pinning lately:

I love a good before and after

One of my daily reads is Erin Gates' blog "Elements of Style," the companion to her thriving design business in Boston. If only I were in Boston, we would be friends perhaps (I also feel that way about Erika Powell, but I digress... blogs somehow make me feel as though I'm creepy without ever intending to be).

This morning, I had to share her kitchen remodel for a client. I can't tell you what a fan I am of marble and white in a kitchen. And I also have a hard time letting people do anything other than white on a cabinet (painted is always fine, but wood makes me really want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they drop the subject).

So get a load of this baby:


I love how clean it is, without losing any amount of prettiness. I think that's a hard combination to pull off so kudos to Erin.

These were the befores, by the way:

One more reason to hate my kitchen

Those floors.

I didn't cook tonight.

My kitchen drives me absolutely bonkers. If it weren't for junkfood and take-out, it might actually constitute as a weight loss plan. Instead of cooking, I ate cereal and looked through the soon-to-be-dead Domino photo gallery. I die for the marble slab backsplash in photo one and the windows in photo three.