Party Time

It's been awhile since my last post...I've been extremely busy at work with standardized testing....ugh....there is nothing I hate more than those two words!!!!!!

BUT....I've also been busy planning my little man's 1st birthday......

 Tate's 1st birthday is fast approaching...time really does go fast!

Here's what I've put together so far.......

cupcake toppers and goodie bags with labels

 Here are some pics of my work in progress and the materials that were used

I am very happy about how these turned out...check back for a full party post and recap soon!

Linen Closet Remix

Our linen closet had been on my to-do list for quite sometime. When I first moved into the house, I bought a few cloth bins in very blah colors, whipped up some quick (and not so cute) labels on my label maker and I was on my way.  

This being the only linen closet in the house, the storage and organization just wasn't working for us and needed a face lift.  

A quick trip to the dollar store and some much needed purging.......here is the linen  closet remix.

The before isn't "that" bad but like I said it was kind of blah and wasn't working.

I bought some aqua bins from the dollar store and these Martha Stewart Chalkboard Labels 

I grouped all "like" items and products together....soap...teeth...hair.......you get the picture.

I put our bath towels, wash cloths and hygiene products at eye level because those are the items we reach for the most.

I remembered I had these two glass jars with lids just lying around the house so I decided to put cotton balls and q-tips in them.

I was most excited to put all of my nail products and polishes in one place.  I do have another small basket of "in use" polishes in my bedroom but now I can swap them in and out as my polish and mood changes.

So that's it....the finished product of the linen closet remix.

Did anyone else take on the iheart organizing linen and loo challenge?

Date Night

Me and the Mr. headed out for date night....dinner for two...no baby!!.....just wanted to share because making date night a priority is one of our many goals for this year and we're right on track!

Home Tour

Our home is a 3-bed, 2-bath ranch style home. I purchased this home in 2007 as a single girl, since then I've gotten married, had a baby and quickly ran out of closet space.

Here is a peek into our home.....some....okay...most rooms are a constant work in progress.

I had to move all of my decor from around the fireplace so I am in search of something cute, fun and baby safe to replace those items.

We also got rid of our coffee table and purchased this ottoman.....when "they" say a baby changes everything..."they" were right

These are two bookshelves serving as a buffet and extra storage in our small kitchen.

Bathroom is on the to-do list.....what color to paint next???

My little man's room....and my little man

To be continued.......any suggestions?

Organizing for Mom

I'm sure my gift of cleaning came from my mother but I have no clue where I got my gift of organizing.  It.did.not.come.from.her.

 A few weeks back, she asked if I could clean and organize some of her closets while on my Spring Break. After several long days at her house, I finally finished up two closets and her kitchen cabinets. 

This first closet is a utility closet in her kitchen....somewhat of a catch-all for everything that didn't have a designated place.

We made a trip to the dollar store and purchased every red container they had.

(red is her fave color and the color of her kitchen)

After A LOT of purging, I grouped all like-items together in the plastic bins (tools, nails, plastic bags, cleaning supplies etc). This will make it easy to keep things organized and to find things when needed.

This next closet is her linen closet.....you can see how badly my services were needed.

My mom is blessed to have a ton of storage space in her home that often times her linen closet (and other closets) becomes just that...storage for random things and not utilized for its intended purpose.

Again, I purged a lot and got rid of all non-matching linens such as towels, wash cloths, sheets and comforters.

My mother was motivated to start fresh so she went out and bought all new towel sets.

As with the utility closet, I used storage containers/bins from the dollar store.

Total project cost: $113 and some change!!

(includes new linens & items purchased for the kitchen cabinets...to be continued.........)

Quick and Healthy

As a new mom, some days I feel like I barely have enough time to think. On these very regular occurrences I want to make a quick meal. As we all know, quick sometimes does not equal healthy.

I decided to do a salad bar with grilled chicken. I bought the pre-cooked chicken strips, tossed them in a skillet with a little seasoning and olive oil and while they were simmering, I chopped all my veggies....20 minutes later....voila!

2013 Monthly Organizing Challenge: Kitchen

I am joining the monthly challenge hosted by iheart organizing.  This month's challenge is tackling the kitchen...the heart of the home.  

I decided to start with my kitchen drawers....they were out.of.control.  So many utensils and tools and so little space.  

I started by taking everything out of the drawers.  I then grouped like items together and purged some things that I never used or hadn't used in awhile.  Once I had everything sorted and grouped, I ended up with a drawer for baking tools and a drawer for eating/cooking/serving tools. I used three small containers I bought awhile back at the Target $1 spot for all of my measuring spoons, cookie cutters and small misc. items.

Before placing everything in its specific drawer, I lined each drawer with a pretty drawer liner I found at the dollar tree....pretty and inexpensive, the best combination! 

I just love when things are organized and pretty!