Pinteresting...

According to a Strengthsfinder tests, one of my strengths is “Input.” Here’s the description for quite a nondescript strength:

You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information, words, facts, books, and quotations, or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

This, in a nutshell, is completely, wholly, and entirely accurate as it applies to me—it explains my desire to see the world, go to museums, read books, find quotes…I want to know the why’s, who’s, and how’s of the world. It also, incidentally, provides pretty sound reasoning to legitimize the lifestyle of every hoarder. (I am not a hoarder. I am a collector. Of important ideas! Of things wonderful and valuable and necessary!)

And I think this might help you understand why I am so completely obsessed with a little website called Pinterest. Pinterest provides virtual pinboards on which to link (er, “pin”) whatever my little heart desires. With Pinterest, I can…

find amazing recipes that I have every intention of trying out (someday…), like these roasted pumpkin cupcakes with Mexican chocolate buttercream frosting.
I can find ideas for all of the fabulous parties that I intend on being famous for and throwing regularly in the future, like a Jane Austen-themed soiree.
I can link to instructions for unbelievable hairstyles that I’m waiting to try once my hair grows out, like this hair bow. (Unreal, right?!)

I can find inspiration for interior décor so that I can style my future Baroque castle in the opulent style that I plan to live in.

And, of course, I can start planning the vibe and organization of my future personal library.

But seriously, Pinterest is extremely useful. Although I am not a gourmet chef, interior designer, party planner, wedding coordinator, or crafty mom, I could be. I’ve actually gotten a lot of fashion ideas and inspired thoughts from the words, photos, and art I’ve found. And the great thing is, I don’t have to ever throw any of it away…cat carcasses and rodent feces will not be found in the bowels of my collections. They’re all safely organized on my virtual pinboards…on Pinterest.

If you’d like to see my pins, you can find them at www.pinterest.com/lisabirle.