My dear hubby and I both got bad chest colds over the holidays, if you can believe our terrible luck. Too sick to stray far from the living room couch on Christmas Day, we passed the day watching old movies and napping like children.
The turkey I had bought languished in the fridge- neither of us felt up to big-deal-type-cooking. Instead, we had a simple, and very untraditional omelette stuffed with onions, red pepper and cheddar cheese for our Christmas dinner.
My son and daughter-in-law rescued us on Boxing Day with turkey left-overs from her parent's home. I was feeling a bit better by then, so I whipped up buttery mashed potatoes and roasted some vegetables in the oven to go with the left-over turkey slices. That night we enjoyed a proper Christmas feast- if only a day late.
To start this brand new year, I thought I would begin with a quick glance backwards over my shoulder and down that windy garden path that has brought us all to this point.
I was originally thinking of entitling this series of posts "trends", but the things I have noted here are in some cases more general observations than trends. Other phenomena are just as likely "trends?" with a question mark. These are recurring themes that have sometimes left me puzzled and wondering: is this the direction in which things are headed?
Let's plunge in with the first item on my Seen and Noted in 2012 list:
The Rise of Pinterest (and the decline of Blogs?)
It has been an interesting exercise to put together my first boards on Pinterest this past year.
I see myself-my tastes, my interests reflected back to me in the images I have selected. It is a bit like looking around a room I have decorated, a garden I made or into a closet full of my clothes.
There I am! Spelled out in the series of choices I have made.
To be honest, that reflection in the Pinterest mirror has surprised me just a little. There are none of the usual reality checks and balances, and no budget constraints to restrict my selection. I can pin as grand a room, as vast a garden and expensive a dress as I dare to dream.
That my boards are a riot of color is not unexpected.
But the degree to which that bright, happy color has spilled over into my interior design boards has caught me off-guard. I guess I like color as much on the inside as the outside.
I am not a romantic by nature, but I sure seen to love soft, pretty romantic things.
Most of it is pie-in-the-sky daydreams. I mean really, where would I ever wear that dress on the lower right (that is if I could ever fit into it in the first place)?
Chances are excellent that I will never get around to making those cute, crochet strawberries or organizing my wool into little canning jars.
But it is fun to dream about being that crafty and organized, isn't it?
For those of you who may yet to have discovered Pinterest, it is a one-stop internet shop for ideas in the form of pictures.
Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Pinterest is sure to have lots to inspire you!
So where do all these Pinterest images come from?
Blogs, among other sources, feed Pinterest boards. The great thing about a good picture is that it is universal. Language is not the barrier it can be on a blog.
Does that mean internet users now spend time searching around on Pinterest instead of reading traditional blogs?
Quite possibly.
You also have to wonder about Pinterest's effect on magazine and book sales. Why buy a cookbook when you can find a delicious, creamy-looking dessert online?
Everyone seems to be jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon including the afore mentioned magazines. It is no longer enough to have a website, traditional companies now adding Pinterest boards.
Take this Kraft Pinterest page for example.
My own feelings about Pinterest are mixed. It is certainly a great place to waste time!
On the upside of things, pins are just pictures. You still need the recipe, the how-to instructions or that plant name for that matter.
Pinterest may take traffic from blogs, but it sends it back too, and for that, I guess I am grateful.
I am launching some Pinterest Posts today as well. These are mostly older images from my archives. Feel free to pin anything you may like to your boards.
More "Seen and Noted" posts up next, as well as winners for the Christmas book draws. In the coming weeks, there are also the winning essays for my November writing contest to look forward to. Baring unforeseen circumstances, I hope to publish the first winning essay this Sunday.
