Friday Things
Happy Friday!
I’m not sure where this week went, but I can’t seem to find it in the rearview mirror. It totally sped by. To get the weekend off to an early start, I have some updates and general fun stuff I thought I’d share…
1. I spent some time last weekend reorganizing my Pinterest boards so that the food is easier to find. It took awhile but, ahhh, so good to have them organized! If you haven’t done a “Follow All”, be sure to check out my boards page to make sure you don’t miss any goodies because I added a ton of food-specific boards!
2. Since Instagram is now available to the Android users of the world, you can find me there! I’m under “thebrowneyedbaker” – give me a follow and you’ll probably see a lot of pictures of food and my dog. Case in point – my massive banana waffle breakfast last week:
…aaaaaand Einstein eating his Easter treat:
3. Speaking of Einstein, I had some fun with him the other night. We propped a cookbook under his paws and threw some reading glasses on his mug. He stayed still for approximately 5 seconds, which was long enough for me to snap a couple of photos, including this one where he looks utterly annoyed with me:
Sorry bud!
4. Social media! I have some exciting contests and giveaways that I’m planning in the near future, and many of them will include an element of social media. If you are active on those mediums, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest so you don’t miss any of the fun!
5. I’m helping my mom plan a garden for this year – she’s getting some raised beds built for vegetable growing. Yum! We’ve been brainstorming what to plant – peppers, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, some greens for salad. What are some of your favorite things to grow in your garden? I’d love some inspiration!
6. I had my first shopping experience at Anthropologie last week, and wow, how addicting is that store?! I managed to walk out without buying anything, but easily could have bought everything. Dangerous, dangerous store! Items that immediately went to the top of my wishlist:
Color Tab Measuring Spoons:
Cucina Measuring Cups:
Milk Bottle Measuring Cups:
A Real Hoot Canister (love that wink!):
There are a million other things I wanted to buy, and I didn’t even really get a chance to check out the clothes! A return trip is definitely going to be in order.
7. If you’ve been following me for awhile you probably know by now that I’m a hockey nut, and a huge Penguins fan. My sister sent this to me last week, and really, it couldn’t be more appropriate… anyone else??
8. My mom, my sister, my Chief Culinary Consultant and I have been playing a ton of cards lately. Our moms both belonged to card clubs growing up, so we learned to play when we were young. Our game of choice is 500 Bid, which we have discovered seems to be a very regional game, mostly in the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio region. Have you heard of it? Any other card players out there? What’s your favorite game?
9. I am obsessed with Essie nail polish. I just picked up two new shades from their spring line…
“a crewed interest”:
“tour de finance”:
10. It’s a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh. LET’S GO PENS!
Nothing like a Golden!!
Love your boards!
i loveee anthropology. i get a lot of my kitchen stuff there and find some great clothes in the sales section. i love that hockey ecard. i’m a big blackhawks fan so pretty much all studying will end today as soon as the game is on tonight! haha
In Missouri we play Rummy and Pinochle – but if I’m playing with friends my age it’s usually Presidents.
And Anthro is aaammmmaaaazzzziiiinnngggg.
I love this mash-up of your other interests. You should do this every week! :)
i get that reading look from my doggy sometimes. lol
Love love love the teaspoons! And for my garden I’m a new gardener this year so I have only planted basil and peppers
you had me at Einstein!…I just have to pin him to my “too stinkin’ cute” board!
Never heard of 500 but I play bridge every week with a group of friends. I used to think of it as only an “old ladies” game but boy was I wrong! You certainly have to concentrate on what has been played & there is a ton of strategy involved. Hopefully it will keep dementia at bay as I become an “old lady”! What are the basics of 500?
Hi Debbie, 500 bid is a trump-based game. You don’t play with 2’s or 3’s and use only 1 joker. You play with 4 people, two teams. You each get 10 cards, 5 in the “widow” (or blind). The jacks of one color are high (along with joker) and you bid on how many tricks you think you can take (minimum is 7). It’s a really fun (and addicting!) game. First team to 500 points wins. I’ve never played bridge; you make me want to learn!
Lets go PENS!
I have the owl cookie jar and it is so cute. Makes me happy everytime I see it on my kitchen counter. I can never leave Anthropologie empty handed.
My favorite things to grow are heirloom tomatoes in different colors and shapes, herbs (mainly different kinds of basil), and different strengths of chiles. I try to find the most obscure chiles to grow. I also love to grow broccoli rabe and Bright Lights Swiss Chard, which has different neon colored stalks. So much fun to grow.
I am also obsessed with nail polish, but not Essie (which I find chips too easily for me). I am obsessed with O.P.I. for Sephora. Every time I go in there, I buy 2-4 colors at a time. I also love their Quick Drying Oil and the Spray that is similar. The colors are so wonderful and there are so many. My latest favorites are the Betsey Johnson colors XXX Betsey, Too Too Turq and Alley Cat.
Hi Risa, So funny you should say that about OPI, because I used to be a die hard OPI fan, but kept having chipping issues. I switched to Essie and found that it didn’t chip at all. I wonder if individual nails have something to do with it? In any case, new nail polish is always fun! :)
I am in a card club with 7 other ladies. We play 500 bid once a month – we take turns hosting dinner and then play. It’s a blast. Our family is now addicted to a rummy game called Five Crowns. It can be played with 2-6 people. It’s easy and a ton of fun.
Go Pens!!!
Hi,
Your banana waffles reminded me of a dish my husband had recently at the Polo Lounge when we were in LA for our 12th anniversary. (We went for brunch since it is much cheaper than dinner). It was craisin/pecan bread French toast, with Meyer rum-caramelized bananas, toasted pecans, cinnamon whipped cream, banana creme anglaise, and warm maple syrup. To die!!
Our favorite card game is Canasta, which we play every week. My sister and I used to play it at the lake when we were kids. Great fun!
For anyone in the London I just got those teaspoons half price for £5 at the Anthropologie section at Selfridge’s.
We play a lot of cards too. If you know how to play 500 (or any trump game) you have to try WIZARD. You can get the deck at game stores. It is great because you only need three people but can play with up to six. This allows for more flexible card parties!
Hi Bridge, Thanks for that tip! I am definitely going to look for it, sometimes we only have 3 and would love to play! Awesome!
GO PENS! and we play euchre in the southern Indiana world, now that I’ve moved to Mississippi people look at me like I’m a nut when I ask if anyone knows euchre. We have a very small herb garden this year, it’s taking off like a rocket. I have no idea what to do with them though, we planted them just to look pretty and take up a very small empty space, it worked, but now what to do with all of them?
I’m a rabid hockey fan as well, it’s the sport with the largest female fan base!
Go Blackhawks!
Those Anthropologie items are literally ALL the same things I’ve been coveting. I may break down and buy the Milk Bottle Measuring Cups. Even if I don’t actually use them as measuring cups, they would be such a cute addition to the kitchen!
I LOVE growing basil in the summer. It is so nice to be able to go out and pick basil to make pesto or pair it with some fresh tomatoes from the garden.
How have you not been to Anthropologie before? ;-) And hooray for Instagram for Android users…I am totally addicted now too!!
7. I am a huge Canucks fan (despite them being the most hated team in the league right now) and it was so good to see both my Nucks and your Pens come back to destroy any possiblity of being swept last Wednesday. This year I picked Canucks-Pens for the final…it would be a miracle but you never know! I have to admit, your series has been infinitely more entertaining than Canucks-LA. 12 and 13 goal games, are you kidding?! That’s what happens though when your team is big on goal scoring and lacking in defense and goaltending. It’ll be interesting to see how Philly or Pittsburgh fares in the next series with teams with more defensive depth.
My husband grew up in Iowa and they have always played 500. I have yet to learn and I’ve been with him for 25 years.
I had loved Pinterest too, but now I’m not feeling so sure about it. According to someone I know who is an expert in Terms of Service, Pinterest says they own your images even if you delete them; you can’t ever delete a pin (because they save it even if you delete it); and many people are re-pinning without explicit permission (e.g. they don’t have a “pin it” button) of the person who owns the image (thereby violating copyright and essentially “stealing” images. I’m not really sure what to think. I have a food (sort of) blog, and I take all of my own images. I was pinning photos of recipes I wanted to try. But not all of those places had a pin-it button, and I’m also not sure I want Pinterest owning my images. What do you think?
see http://www.blogher.com/if-emily-posted-pinterests-new-terms and http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/2012/03/19/pinterests-terms-of-service-word-by-terrifying-word/ among others …
The spoons, the cups and the dog picture are my favorite!! I have the ‘a crewed interest” color and I love it!!
That picture of Einstein just made my day~what a cutie ;)
I want the measuring sppons and cups! Boy oh boy they are the cutest I have ever seen. thank you for sharing
I went to Anthro this week too…but couldn’t resist picking up a few things. So cute! I love playing Rummy. Can’t wait to see more about your garden!
I am from Newfoundland, Canada and we do play 500’s …friends in other provinces did not know the game. I have no idea where it originated in this province, but I have neen playing it since I was a teenager, some decades ago. I do know that played men vs woman, it can become quite addictive and requires immense stat keeping, as some men seem to be quite able to easily exaggerate how often they actually do win :). I am a hockey fan by virtue of the fact that my other half finds it impossible to miss a game, any game.
Anthropologie might be the best store ever! I hate that it’s so pricey, but they do have some inexpensive finds and good sales. And Essie nail polish = yesss! Love the colors and love the names! To me, the names are half the fun :)
Try growing leeks in the garden. We use them all the time and it’s great to have them in the backyard, they can get pricey out of season at stores!
I am a huge cards fan, my family as been playing for years as well. I am addicted to Gin Rummy on my andrioid now. We also play a game called “shoot the moon” with my inlaws. It is sort of a spin on euchre. It is a lot of fun.
Those spoons and cups are so cute. I find west elm sometimes has cool sets as well.
I have wanted that milk bottle measuring cup set for a bit now! It’s so adorable!
Cute post! I have not been in an anthropologie store yet! A lot of bloggers love it, I’m afraid to go in because I’ll probably find it way to addicting!! I had my first garden last year and this weekend I am planting it!! I love tomatoes, just be sure to read the size. Last year my tomato plant got 6′ x 6′. I’m not exaggerating either! it was a Big Boy! I highly, highly recommend planting Italian Peppers! There shaped like Anaheim peppers, but are sweet, almost like a bell. They are the best peppers ever! There just the right size and easy to grow. There great stuffed with cheese and than grilled. I am going to look for them today. The plant doesn’t get that big but you get a lot of peppers off of one plant. I plan on planting three this year, along with jalapenos! Cucumbers are nice and easy. I grow those on a trellis.
This post is getting long, and I have to do my blog today! Have a wonderful weekend and have fun in the garden.
We just got our first Anthropologie in the West Michigan area. Before that, I had to get my fix on shopping trips to Chicago or Detroit. While talking to a gentleman at a social event, he commented he just didn’t get it. “I walked in there to buy my wife a surprise gift, and I don’t understand….There’s clothes, furniture, cooking utensils, lingerie, dishes….what kind of store is that?” I laughed, thinking….”the perfect store”. ;)
And, don’t forget the basil in your garden!
I found magnetic measuring spoons and cups, I haven’t bought yet but can’t wait, I hate that ring that holds them all together.
I too am a hockey fan…Bruins.
The first thing I do in the morning is make my coffee and head to the computer and check out what’s going at Browneyed Baker. There’s always something new to learn. You make my mornings. Love the Pinterest.
Love those polish colors, so fun and summery!
I can’t believe you had enough self-control to walk out of Anthropologie with nothing. And I’ve already bookmarked all those things above as well.
As for the garden, basil is a must!
And the picture with Einstein – freaking adorable! He doesn’t look annoyed at all. He looks, well… like a super nerd, which is, well Einstein! :)
1. Love your pinterest. 2. Mmmm…waffles. 3. Anthropologie mangles and demolishes checkbooks. 4. I’m a cribbage fan!
I’ve been lurking in the corner, following your blog for months and am just now deciding to comment. I’m a fan!
I want those milk bottle measuring cups! Too cool! Oh…and I also want that banana waffle breakfast..like… now :)