Wednesday, February 23, 2011

It All Started Here

Remember that Brady Bunch episode where Marcia got hit in the nose with a football? Of course you do, what a classic! But do you remember the subplot? Carol and Mike were redecorating their bedroom and couldn't decide on a wallpaper. In the end, they went with paint and the episode ends with Carol telling Mike that the whole rest of the house will need to be painted since each room is connected. Such pearls of wisdom from that show.

Well it all started in our bedroom too. Our bedroom furniture that was purchased two houses ago has never looked good in our room. It's a very odd shape with one long wall where all the furniture is lined up along. I even had an interior designer come over to rearrange the room and she shrugged her shoulders-apparently she was not up for the job. LOL. So it was decided last summer to update our room with pieces that fit better. That was last summer and nothing has changed. You'd think most people would have run down to their local furniture and checked that task off their list. But I'm stuck. I don't know what I want.

I do know what I don't want and that is a lot of furniture for clothing. In fact, my idea was to get all of Chris' clothes out of the bedroom.
  1. He gets up and dressed at the crack of dawn.
  2. He cannot be bothered to close the drawers-ever!
So the first step was to our closet organized and utilize the space better. Initially we called a closet company and they came out and showed us all the bells and whistles and got us pretty excited for what could be. And then they sent their price.

THUD!

So another couple months go by and Chris keeps nudging me to make a decision. And my decision was to call a cabinet guy we've worked with several times before. He came up with a realistic plan, but needed to get started on it before Christmas. So a week with all of our clothes in our room




and a carpet guy out to patch the carpet
and a paint guy out to repaint and patch the walls
purging and organizing clothing
a shopping trip to IKEA to pick up baskets (which btw smell like hay :-( ) and here is what we ended up with.


Those are the smelly IKEA baskets. As you can see, they fit perfectly so I can't exactly just replace them. I just hope the smell goes away.


I'm kind of going through a chalkboard phase lately (as you'll see later). Pottery Barn sold some cute little chalkboard labels, but I needed 10 and really didn't want to spend $40.00 So I found these at Cost Plus-$16! Score!

Those drawers are where all the clothes from Chris' dresser went. They are super roomy and deep and he even had a leftover one for me.


Onto my side of the closet. That cabinet on the very left side of the picture is a hamper. It's huge and there's a second one on the other side of the closet. I don't need to do laundry for weeks. Kidding! But it probably is my favorite addition in the closet.

And a few more smelly baskets.

So there you have the closet reorganization, but like Carol Brady-it doesn't stop there.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Pictures (or lack of)

So when the first of the year came around I decided not to do Project 365 again. After two years I needed a break. I also forgot to take pictures on the 12th so I thought I figured out something I could do as an alternative this year. But when it came time to put together the collage, I realized I couldn't come up with 12 good pictures. I've seriously been slacking in the picture taking department this year. I definitely need to challenge myself to try harder.

Today when I was in the waiting room for Garrett's dentist appointment I scrolled through the pictures on my iPhone. What an odd assortment of pictures! I usually take them and email to Chris so he can get a peek at our day. Here's a few to share.


*Finally (and I mean FINALLY) got to go with my friend to the Alameda Antique Fair. This was one of my finds that needed a little TLC.
*Just a pretty sky.
*Back at the gym and no that's not Morgan, it's Garrett!! He and a friend attended a clinic to learn out to do a flip throw in for soccer. Let's just say he has a new appreciation for his sister's sport.
*Jack after a haircut, this is the shortest it's ever been cut. He looked adorable!

*Any guesses about this? This is Garrett's soccer jersey, pulled out of his bag, oh, I don't know, 1 month after the last time he wore it. All those black spots? Mold. And this is post wash and bleach!
*Another Christmas project. Seriously, what was I thinking?
*Jack at his dentist appointment. The first time he went they just "counted" his teeth. This time he got the full treatment. He was so good, I think it shocked the staff, he just chatted away the entire time.

*Morgan turned 12! Went out to her restaurant of choice-Red Robin.
*Got tracks? We do. And they are often set up and can make a track around our family room.
*Why did the turkey cross the road? To get to the mall, silly!
*Words With Friends...been playing since early summer I think. I always have at least a few games going. I may or may not show my kids mercy :-P. This was a screenshot of my biggest word (117 points)*. No, I did not play "ghazi" (I don't have a clue what that is). But I played "spiv" and the "s" landed on a triple word tile. That made my day!


*Morgan at her jazz class. She really loves it.
*And the little guy getting his papers from his mailbox at school.

And there you have some terrible pictures of the goings on from the last couple months.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Valentine's Party

Yesterday I was at the park with a fellow preschool mom and said, "I totally forgot their class party is tomorrow (Thursday). I guess I know what I'll be doing at naptime."
She looked at me like I probably had some kind of writing handicap because she informed me that they picked up some Valentines at Target and it certainly wouldn't take her more than 5 minutes to sign her kid's name.

So you're going to tell me that other moms don't scour the internet searching for Valentine ideas?
And I don't suppose other moms enlist other moms to track down shovels?


Or make their tags?

Or reuse an idea from last year for the teacher?



Okay Jack, we must check out this Target. I hear there's some good stuff there.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Cheap Banners from ShindigZ are Back

Last year just before Jack's birthday, Shindigz had a great offer for a personalized banner for only a penny. I shared the deal here. We were very pleased with the banner, it's now rolled up and ready to use for another party.
Well if you missed out or like me are going to order another one, now is the time-the same deal is back.

Today through this Friday, you can purchase one 18x54-inch personalized horizontal vinyl banner from ShindigZ.com for ONE PENNY using coupon code VSTEH6 at checkout.

To order your banner for one cent, follow these steps:
1. Click on the blue "Banner" tab at the top of the ShindigZ.com home page
2. Select a banner design theme from those listed on the right side of the page
3. Select a design style from the many examples images that are shown
4. Look for the large yellow oval button that reads, "Add to Cart" - and under that, click on the small circle for option "18 x 54 Horizontal Vinyl Banner.... Item: B1118 $14.79 each" (Make sure it is a $14.79 banner and that it is horizontal.)
5. After you've selected the $14.79 banner size, click, "Add to Cart" yellow oval button and here you can add your own wording, edit colors, text and more.
6. Proofread and click the "Add to cart" green oval button.
7. Add other party supplies items to your cart or click the "Check Out" green button in the upper right.
8. During checkout, enter Promotion Code VSTEH6 when prompted to apply the $14.78 credit to make your banner purchase just one penny.
9. Shipping is only $6.95
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