Downscaling.net

Of all the social media network sites, I think Pinterest is my favorite. I think I love it more than the delectable goodies on my “Cocktails” and “Guilty Pleasure Food” boards.

If you haven’t a clue what I am talking about, Pinterest is like your own personal Internet corkboard, and you have unlimited space and unlimited cyber thumbtacks to hang as many funny, attractive, interesting things you can find on the web. Most folks put them on boards as a way to keep them organized, but if you dig chaos you can certainly have just one big board of random inspiration.

When you pin a photo, the link to the original website should follow (not always, though) so it’s a great way to save links to recipes and articles. It’s also a great way to spend money, so you might want to leave the credit card in another room while pinning. Experience speaking.

It’s also a MAJOR TIME SUCK! I can easily waste invest hours in pinning and repinning. But I love it. Hard core.

My other new fascination is Polyvore, which is like playing paper dolls, for those of you old enough to remember that archaic girly pasttime. It’s like one-dimensional Barbie’s dream closet for the younger generation.

You make sets of outfits with clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry and design them like magazine spreads and it’s also a MAJOR TIME SUCK but I can justify this one because I am making sets of outfits I actually wear and ones I would want to wear, which is making me more conscious of my appearance.

Instead of heading to the grocery in a hoodie and yoga pants (secretly hoping everyone thought I just came from the gym) I try to pull together a more.. well…pulled-together look. It might sound conceited– at least how that’s my internal critic would characterize it– but it’s helping my self-esteem if I feel like I look my best, even if it’s just for a run to Kroger or Starbucks.

I am trying to see myself as worth the effort to look as good as I can. I am worth the time to put on mascara, to style my hair instead of throwing it in a ponytail, and putting on fitted, rather than frumpy, clothes. I have nice jewelry and every day should be the special occasion to wear it.

Pinterest and Polyvore are also helping to motivate me to eat better, which is what this blog is really supposed to be about. Because I really would like to wear the cute outfits I can put on a Polyvore set, and I would like try the recipes on my “Healthy Food” board.

Of course, I still want to keep my “Cocktails” and “Guilty Pleasure” boards. There is, after all, no calories in photos.