My Domestic Disaster

Master Bedroom

2010-08-15T10:57:00.001-07:00

So it's been a year since we moved into this house. My decorating goals when we moved in were to do the main living area and our master bedroom first. I'm just now finishing up the master bedroom, but I am really loving it! It started out like this:

I really wanted to see the bed "front on" when I walked into the room. The only way to do that was to put it in front of the window. I also ordered this hotel bedding that my husband and I both loved. I thought this little nightstand would be cute, but it was way too small. I was definitely not loving it so far.

I thought I'd love it when I got the perfect nightstands and drapes.

So...this is what happened next:

Still wasn't feeling it. I like to mix styles, but this just wasn't the right mix of styles. After getting advice from friends and designers, I decided the bedding just wasn't working for the bed. AND, I needed to move the bed away from the window.

I started looking for bedding sets that had some grey/silver in them to tie in the mirrored nightstands. As they were, they weren't working with the bed either. About 6 bedding sets lateer (bought and returned), I decided upon this one and I LOVE it!

One of the colors in it is almost exactly the Glacier Blue by Pottery Barn. So I got these drapes to see if they looked good. I was in love!

The euro shams that I could order with the bedding set were the grey of the background on the comforter. I didn't want to go that dark, so I found these at Tuesday Morning.

Next on the slate was paint. I got some foam board at Michaels and painted it a shade darker and a shade lighter than the curtain fabric. I set them around the room in different places to see how I liked them.

I decided that darker was too dark and the lighter was too light! I thought I'd just match the curtains exactly when it was time to paint.

The next thing we did was intstall the chandelier that I bought on Overstock. Thanks so much to our friend Quinton for helping my husband intall it!

Now I bought this after searching Overstock for a long time. I loved that the drops were spherical and not teardrop crystals. After I bought it, I was searching the Pottery Barn website and found this:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/bellora-chandelier/?pkey=cchandeliers

Wow!!! Let me tell you - it is about 3 times more expensive than the one I bought on Overstock!

Anyway, while our friend was here helping install the chandelier, we roped him into helping us move the bed, too. What a difference it made!!!

Now that I had all that done, I decided to start painting. I did a little bit of the room first, just to see if I liked it.

Raymond was not too fond of it. He said I painted our bedroom Baby Blue. It is not Baby Blue. It is "Tradewind." :-)

I love it!

Next order of business - my lamps were too small. Found these at Homegoods. Oh my goodness, I love that store!

Yes, those are the tags - haven't cut them off yet. Had to be sure they worked first!

Then I needed some sort of seating in the open corner by the window. I found these at Homegoods, too and fell in love!!! Keep in mind - the table and lamp won't be staying. I just put them there to get an idea of an arrangement.

Now I just need to find all of the accessories and wall decor to add the finishing touches. I've been given a lot of great ideas, but I could always use more. Feel free to give me your opinions!

SEW fun!!!

2010-06-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

So...I've been sewing a lot lately! I'm going to say that's the reason that I haven't posted in ages. ;-) Earlier this year I made a decision to start sewing more of the girls' clothes. So, I bought a TON of patterns on etsy back at the beginning of Spring. I've been slowly working my way through making all of them. It takes a long time when you have to make 2 of everything!

I have taken pics of all of my projects. Some of them are on the girls and some are just on hangers. :-)

I think these were the first dresses I made this year. The girls wore them with cream turtlenecks and tights when it was still cold and they wore them as sundresses after it got hot. The versatility of a pillowcase dress can't be beat! I got the pattern for these at this etsy store - http://www.etsy.com/shop/froglegsandponytails

I loved these dresses because they were a little different. The pattern had the option to make short sleeves or 3/4 length sleeves. I made these 3/4 length so they could wear them in the early spring when it was still cool. Unfortunately, the etsy store from which I purchased these patterns is no longer available.

These are the girls' Easter Dresses. I think they are one of my favorite things they have ever worn. Maybe I'm just really proud of all the effort I put into making them! The pattern for the dresses came from this etsy store - http://www.etsy.com/shop/KustomKidsBoutique. The pattern for the flower pins came from here - http://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricboutique

These little rompers are just to die for cute! I won't lie, they weren't a piece of cake to make, but they were well worth it! They were especially difficult because I wanted the patterns on the fabric to match up at the seam on the front, so that required a little more work. Thanks to my MOM, the ever-so-talented-seamstress, I figured it out. I ordered this pattern from this etsy store - http://www.etsy.com/shop/patternsbyfiggys

Pillowcase dresses have to be the easiest things to make that are SO cute!!! I ordered these true vintage pillowcases on ebay. It took about 1/2 hour to make one of them into a dress. I love them!

These cutie little dresses were a cinch to make. I ordered a DIY kit from this etsy store - http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmybugsOriginalStyle. The pieces were all cut out and numbered, ready to sew! I really hate all of the prep work that sewing requires, so this was so fun for me! And at $15 a dress, I thought they were a steal. Thanks to my friend Becky for letting me know about these!

These adorable little yo-yo flowers were enclosed and already made for me! All I had to do was sew them on the finished product.

My little turkeys!

2010-01-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Not long after the Gift Gallery, I became inspired to start doing some real sewing for my girls. In the past I've "made" them outfits by just embellishing already made clothing. I decided that I wanted them to have some "boutique" looking outfits for a fraction of the price. So, I ordered several patterns off of Etsy and got to work. These skirts were my first creation. I did applique the turkeys onto already made t-shirts, but I made the entirety of the skirts myself. I thought they were super cute! And, of course, so are the girls wearing them if I may say so myself. :-)

I'm collecting shirts and fabric so I can make these to sell in next year's Gift Gallery!

By the way, in case you didn't notice, I have another new post right under this one. Two posts in one day - CrAzY!!!

Hiatus

2010-01-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone has been devastated that I've been on an extremely long blogging hiatus. Well, prompted by my sweet cousin Ashley (I had no idea that she even read my blogs), I have decided to try and do it again! Maybe not too often, but more than never. :)

Ashley wanted me to do several catch-up posts to let the world (or my 3 readers) know what I've been up to. So, I'll try. They may not be in order - I'm just going to do them as they come to me.

The biggest thing that I've done since my last blog is move! Yep - we moved into a different house in the same town. I'm sure I'll have a lot of posts soliciting decorating advice really soon.

Anyway, shortly after we moved in, my mom, sister and I took it upon ourselves to host (in my new home) a holiday bazaar. We called it the Gift Gallery. It was so much fun! Lots and lots of work, but so fun! We had around 8 different vendors selling a variety of really neat items - most of them handmade. Here are some photos from the event:

We had so much fun and had a great turnout for our first time. We are already working on plans to do it again next year!

Stay tuned - I'll probably be posting several catch-up posts in the next couple days. And, by the way, if you actually read my blog, I'd love for you to leave a comment so I know you read it. Thanks!!!

A Fantastic Photo Giveaway!!!

2009-06-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

My wonderfully talented sister has recently started a blog for her photograpy/graphic design business. She's having a giveaway to help her get started. Visit her site to enter. Believe me - you'll want to win!

Also, here's a link to her business website - http://www.saras-studio.com/
Check it out! See if you can decide which pics are me and my kiddos!

5 Dollar Challenge

2009-03-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

Linday, from Living With Lindsay, is having a 5 dollar challenge! Click here to read all the rules. Basically, our challenge was to find something at a Dollar store, spend no more than 5 dollars, and make something cute! A winner will be chosen at random from all the participants. That's good for me, because I'm sure there will be people who create something a whole lot cuter than me! Anyway, here's what I made.

Thinking back on it, I should have taken before pics, but I didn't. Here's what I did. I bought the flowers (they were on long stems - see this post) and a decorative broomstick at Dollar Tree. I cut up the broomstick, gathered the pieces into chunks, tied them together with ribbon that I had in my ribbon stash and spray painted it white (with the very, very last drops of my spray paint). Then I tied pretty ribbons from my stash around each section and hot glued the blooms to the top. I used some more ribbon I already had to hang it on my door. And that's that! I only spent $4 and used supplies I already had at home.

I can't wait to see everyone else's ideas! I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of $ at Dollar Tree after tomorrow!

Mmmm, Baby Powder!

2009-03-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

There's just something about the smell of a baby, isn't there? When I pick up a baby, I instinctively smell its head. Am I weird? I love the smell of a baby's head. It's the smell of pure innocence.

However, there's nothing innocent about their poop. It's bad. Newborn all the way up to toddler - it stinks. I don't know about you, but no matter what I do, sometimes the smell lingers in the nursery. Even if I wrap the diaper in a bag and put it in the Diaper Champ. Even if I take it to the garage. If it was a bad one, I can still smell it. Well, I've found my solution.

Baby Powder candles! I found these oh, so sweet candles on etsy and ordered one last week. I love it! Even if there hasn't been a shooey incident, I still light it once a day just to make the room smell "babyish." And isn't it cute? It's decorative, too! Perched atop the armoire, it looks AND smells pretty!

Skyline Candle Company makes these little darlings (plus many more scents). Their candles are made with clean-burning, all-natural soy wax. The have an average 60 hour burn time. I didn't know this, but soy candles burn clean and are a healthy choice for your family! I should have known - soy is great for so many things! And of course, the most important detail - all candles have a cute ribbon tied around the neck!

Now do you want one for you? Go to this etsy shop and order one today!

Blog Design Giveaway!!!

2009-03-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Like my beeeeeeeautiful blog design? Well, you can win one for yourself for FREE just by commenting on Kristi's blog. She does awesome work, doesn't she??? Now go on over and give her a comment!

A Prayer for Today

2009-03-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

Lord, help me be a person who speaks words that build up and not tear down. Help me to speak life into the situations and people around me, and not death. Fill my heart afresh each day with Your Holy Spirit, so that Your love and goodness overflow from my heart and my mouth. Help me to speak only about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Keep my mouth from speaking any evil or anything that is not true. May every word I speak reflect Your purity and love.

Fill my heart with love, peace and joy so that it will flow from my mouth. Convict me when I complain or speak negatively. Help me not to speak too quickly or too much. Help me not to speak words that miscommunicate. I pray You would give me the words to say every time I speak. Show me when to speak and when not to.

Help me to be a woman who speaks wisely, graciously and clearly, never foolishly, rudely or insensitively. Give me words that speak of the hope that is within me so I can explain my faith in a persuasive and compelling way. May the words I speak bring others in to a fuller knowledge of You.

from The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian

Toile Y'all!

2009-03-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

I love toile. Love. It. I think I might have a slight obsession with it. After taking pictures of all the toile in my house, I think it's safe to say I have too much. What do you think? (Just so you know - even if you tell me I have too much, I'm not taking any away!!!)

I have to start with my FAVE toile pieces - my kitchen cabinet knobs and drawer pulls. Are they not the cutest things ever? (The pics aren't great - the toile is blue and white)

Next, the inside of my china cabinet/hutch/thingy is lined with toile wallpaper. Of course, I got this idea from The Nester.

My dining room chairs that were a hideous plaid, but I recovered in toile myself. Don't look too closely - you might see the plaid through the toile. I was too lazy to remove the original fabric. But hey - the beauty is in the imperfections, right?

My new little end table that had a glass inset that is now covered in the same wallpaper that lines the hutch. Wow - I don't think that sentence was grammatically correct!

Oh, these are another of my favorite things in my whole house - the toile lampshades on my flea market chandelier!

The bench I got at HobLob for like 75% off because it had dirt on it. Came right out with spot remover at home.

And of course, the toile curtains. Which I do realize I hung too low. I didn't have the energy to re-hang the rod that came with the house. I really need to do that.

I think that about covers it. I think I'm a little toile'd out - how about you? If you aren't, and you'd love to see how other people use toile in their homes, jump on over to Pretty Organized Palace for her Toile Party! It'll be fun!

Slow-cooker Monday - Crockpot Lasagna

2009-03-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

So I missed last Monday - sorry! It totally slipped my mind because it was Spring Break and we had no dance class. I made this Shrimp Fried Rice with Edamame and it was so yummy!!! Thanks to my friend Kristi for posting it on her blog!

Anyway, we are back to dance class on Mondays, so here's tonight's crockpot meal. This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe and is really yummy!

Crockpot Lasagna

1 lb lean ground beef (95%/5%)
1/2 Medium Onion
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
12 oz light cottage cheese (or low-fat ricotta)
12 oz Lasagna noodles (I used the whole wheat)
16 oz W/W's Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (or any other brand that is reduced fat)

Brown beef with onion. Add spaghetti sauce and cook until warm. Spoon a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of a sprayed crockpot. Add a double layer of uncooked noodles (break to fit) and top with the cheeses. Repeat with the sauce, noodles and cheeses until used up. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours - depending on your crockpot it could be done in less time, just check on it!

Serves 6-10

1/6 of the pot - 10 points
1/8 of the pot - 8 points
1/10 of the pot - 6 points

Treasure Box

2009-03-19T11:29:00.001-07:00

Isn't this beautiful? I found this box at Tuesday Morning for $3.99.

I got 2 packs of these mini "tupperware" thingys at Dollar Tree, put them in the box and filled them with water. Now that I think about it, I totally could have used some of the 500 empty baby food containers that I have. Oops! At least if any of you want to do this, you can use those if you want!

Bought a few packs of flowers at Wal-Mart, trimmed the blooms off the stems, and VOILA!

A beautiful, different floral arrangement. I only wish I'd had this done in time for the Spring Fluffing party yesterday! By the way, Rhoda featured my Bradford Pear Egg Tree on her blog today as one of her favorite things from her fluffing party. Thanks Rhoda!

Fluffing for Spring!

2009-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Rhoda, from Southern Hospitality, is hosting a linky party today. The theme? It's a Spring Fluffing Party! Woohoo! I'm so ready for Spring! And I love linky parties. It's so much fun to see what everyone has done. I always get tons of ideas!

The mission? To find a few areas in our homes and "fluff" them for Spring. Here's what I did.

This is the dining room. I clipped some branches off of my Bradford Pears in the back yard and stuck them in a vase. They are pretty just by themselves.

Or with Easter egg ornaments.

Some Gerbs I found at Dollar Tree. (I think the child proof edge around the hearth adds a nice touch, don't you?)

My SLAH Astoria Canisters

My entry table.

End table. I'm working on repainting the bird that came with this (got it at a garage sale.). I'll put it in or next to the cage when it's done.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I can't wait to see everyone else's!!! Be sure to visit Rhoda's blog for all the links.

Sharing the Wealth!

2009-03-14T21:50:00.001-07:00

I feel like it's not fair for me to keep all of these wonderful things I find all to myself! So on a regular basis, (I might even choose a day of the week!), I'm going to share some of my favorite new blogs or posts from my already well-loved blogs. My favorite one right now is this. The Pretty Organized Palace is one of the newest blogs I have found that I love. Ever since reading this post 2 days ago, that fairy has been saying, "touch it once," over and over in my head. You know what? It has worked! I'm not saying I'm a totally reformed woman who will never leave something out of place again. I'm just saying it has helped me (for 2 days at least) realize that is just not that hard to put something where it goes! For now, "touch it once," is my new mantra. Thanks Pretty Organizer!!!

Another blog that I love is Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Jen has 5 kids and a husband - a family of 7. She has a $500/month grocery budget. She's awesome. She's great with coupons and freebies. What I really love, though, is how she "balances the mealtime mountain." This guest post she did on A Soft Place to Land was inspirational for me. I'm not great at meal planning. I'm not great at buying groceries for the week/s ahead of time. This wastes a lot of time and money. I'm taking baby steps here. What I plan to start doing is buy my meat in bulk and set aside intentional time to cook it and freeze it. Then, even if I haven't planned ahead well, I have meat already cooked and I can throw a decent meal together in very little time. I also plan to stock up on staples for the old standby dishes. Hopefully this can eliminate running to Wal-Mart at 4:30 in time to get dinner on the table!

One of the really crafty blogs I love to read is Imperfectly Beautiful. Maybe it's because her name is Amanda! While she does have a great name, she also has oodles of talent and creativity. Look at this tutorial. How fun and easy! I actually attempted this myself with a composition book I got at Dollar Tree. I happen to think this might just be the cutest scrapbook paper ever! Whadya think?

This is before I added the ribbon, but aren't the birdies so cute up close???

This is the inside of the cover. The paper was already made to look distressed like that. Too cute!

Enjoy browsing these great blogs - I know I sure do!

The Easiest Window Mistreatment EVER!!!

2009-03-13T14:30:00.001-07:00

Seriously. I would totally have this hanging in my son's room right now. If I had a son. How cute is this???

My mom was at a friend's baby shower, and while taking a tour of the home, saw this and thought it was to die for! She whipped out her camera and took a pic. I'm so glad she did - what a FAB idea!!!

I could be totally behind here. I mean everyone in the blogoshpere has probably seen this done already like a million times. The Nester probably already has this on her blog. I sure think she'd love it!

What do you think?

Easter Applique

2009-03-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have a TON of t-shirts and jeans that I bought on clearance a couple years ago when I was making these outfits.

When I had Miss Priss I sorta stopped making them and I'm a little burned out now. I still want to use those shirts and jeans, though, so I bought some cute fabric at Hobby Lobby and made this for the Big Girl yesterday.

I have pink, turquoise and lavender shirts and I bought coordinating fabric for all the colors. This is the only "Easter" print I bought. All the rest is just "springy." Here, I'll just show you! (just realized these pics came out really dark - oops!)

I'm thinking maybe a tulip instead of an Easter egg would be cute. Any other suggestions? The designs have to be pretty simple, though, because I am no applique expert!

So after I get these made, I'm going to have to find someone to buy them! If you know of anyone who might like one, send them my way will you? They will be a very reasonable price (I'm thinking maybe around $15???). Thanks a MILLION!

Slow-Cooker Monday

2009-03-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Jennifer got a cookbook for her wedding titled "Recipes for the Slow-Cooker." She thought, "That's kinda rude! I may not be great, but I'm not slow!" Then she realized that "slow-cooker" was referring to a crock-pot, not inferring that she was not a good cook! So, I just thought I'd clarify my title. This is, in fact, a recipe for a crock-pot/slow-cooker.

Every Monday evening, my 3 year old has dance class from 6:00-6:45 pm. The one year old goes to bed at 7:00, so my husband either stays home with her or stops by the dance studio and picks her up to take her home. In order for the 3 year old to eat before dance and the hubby and baby to eat when they get home, I decided to make something in the crock-pot every Monday.

I'll be posting these recipes every Monday and if they are new I'll let you know how we rated them! This one is one of my personal faves. It makes 4 servings, and each serving is 8 Weight Watchers points. I usually serve it over rice (a few additional points) because it is a little soupy.

San Fransisco Chops

4 pork chops, 1 inch thick (with or without the bone - I've used both)
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C red wine (or chicken broth)
2 TBSP unpacked brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP water

Heat oil in a skillet. Add pork chops and brown. Remove chops and place in slow-cooker. Using drippings, saute garlic just until aromatic. Add wine, sugar and pepper flakes. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 30 minutes before serving remove chops. Mix cornstarch and water until dissolved. Mix into sauce in the slow-cooker. Add chops. (I usually break up the meat into small pieces at this point. It just falls apart and gets juicier this way.) Cook for 30 more minutes. Serve by itself or over rice.

I know recipes are always better with pictures, but I didn't get pictures taken this time. Try it, though, it's yummy!!!

And the winner is.....

2009-03-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

ANNIE from The Young Life!!!

Thanks everyone for participating and getting the word out. I hope that you'll keep checking in for new posts and more giveaways!

I have to apologize for not getting the winner sooner. Since Thursday night I have had houseguests for 3 nights, hosted my daughter's first birthday party, had 2 photo shoots in my house, hosted a baby shower and had my church small group in my home. I've been a little bit overwhelmed!

I'd love to share some pics from the birthday party with you all! We had the party at our church in a "living room." It was great to not have to clean my house (um, I mean, the house was in pristine condition) and the kids got to run wild in the gym attached to it. It was a perfect place for the party.

The banner and tissue paper p0m poms I made.

The photo display.

The cake/cupcakes.

The birthday girl!!!

Does your cake pedestal need a boost?

2009-03-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

So Miss Priss is about to have her 1st birthday and my friend Becky suggested I make her one of those cool fabric banners. Well, Becky's ideas are always great, so of course I made one! Turned out cute, dontcha think???

Anyway, I bought a little too much fabric and wanted to do something with the excess. There wasn't enough for a tablecloth. I thought about piecing together a table runner, but honestly didn't want to take the time to actually SEW something. Then I thought I could just "scrunch" up the fabric around the bottom of the cake pedestal. That would be cute - I guess. I just started messing around with the strips of fabric I already had cut. I was literally just making things up and had no clue what I was trying to make. I felt like Chandler in that Friends episode where he's supposed to make Monica's Valentines Day present. Anyway, here's what I came up with and I was really pleased with it!

Here's what I did:

Cut a longish strip of fabric to tie the pieces on.

Cut my fabric into random sized large pieces (approx. 7 "x20" give or take several inches) and arranged it in a random order that I liked.

Started tying.

Just minutes later I finished tying and squished all the knots close together.

Tied the ends of the long piece around the bottom of the pedestal.

Fluffed to my heart's content.

Took pics of the beautiful finished product!!!

Seriously took me about 10 minutes. My kind of project!
I think it's so cute that I might just make a blue one and a pink one and use them at the bajillion baby showers that I hostess!

Am I crazy or is it cute? What do you think? I can take it. Maybe. Just let me down gently. :-)

*****Don't forget to enter my fabulous GIVEAWAY*****

"M"onogram Giveaway!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

In celebration of my new blog, I'm doing a fabulous giveaway! I know how all of you out there love monograms. So...Tricia, from Tricia's Timeless Treasures is graciously donating some lovely monogrammed items. She is not a blogger, but does fabulous embroidery work that she sells on etsy and ebay.

First, this oh so cute and functional thermal mug with your very own initial embroidered in it!

For your bedroom OR a kid's bedroom, a gorgeous pillowcase!

And to keep your feet warm while you are cuddled up on your new pillow, these fuzzy slippers!

Last, but definitely not least, your choice of ONE of the following precious aprons for your favorite kid!

Edited to add: Of course, you get to choose what initial is emboidered on your lovely prizes!!!

You can do several things to be entered.

1.) Comment on this post.

2.) Post about this giveaway on your blog. Let me know you posted in a comment.

3.) Go to Tricia's etsy or ebay store, come back here and leave me another comment about what you'd like to have from one of her stores.

So you can be entered in the giveaway a total of 3 times! Now go spread the word! The deadline for entering is Friday night at Midnight.

Giveaway!

2009-03-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

My giveaway is coming very soon. However, this is about a giveaway on another blog. Kimm, at Reinvented, is giving away a subscription to Do It Yourself magazine. Who couldn't use that? All you have to do is go leave her a comment and you'll be entered. And while you are there, check out her posts. She has some awesome ideas - I love her blog!!!

I Heart Dollar Tree!

2009-03-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, Dollar Tree has some questionable stuff. Junk, if you will. But...if you hit just the right shipment, you can find some awesome deals! Like the other day when I found these long stemmed beauties for $1 a piece!

Well, they WERE long stemmed. I cut a few to put in these Target Dollar Spot buckets filled with jelly beans. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest. I'm thinking maybe a tall skinny galvanized tub or something? Any ideas? I'm embarrassed to say how many I bought! The first time I only bought a few. Then I went to Hobby Lobby to price the EXACT same type of flower and they were $5.99. Even if you got them half price they'd be about $3! So...I went back to Dollar Tree and bought a lot more. I did leave several for any other customers. You are welcome!
I also picked up these bad boys while at a different Dollar Tree. You know they have different stuff at different locations? Anyway, I thought they'd make a nice something round for my tablescape. Again, I wanted to buy more, but showed some restraint this time.

What's your favorite treasure you've found at Dollar Tree?

For starters...

2009-03-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

My main goal for this blog is for it to help me (and anyone else who may need help) become better domestically. One of the main areas where I need work is organization. I got this idea from my friend's blog and did it last summer. I have to say that it has helped me TREMENDOUSLY!!! I posted this on my other blog last summer and it still looks like this. Well, mostly. :) I think that the reason it has worked so well is that everything has its place and there is nowhere else for it to go. I can't get lazy and just toss a box of granola bars wherever. I can declutter and organize, but then in a couple days it looked just like it did before. This was a fabulous solution to that problem. Here's the original post:

Well, any of you who know me AT ALL know that I am far from anything close to being organized. My house is always a wreck. Sometimes even a person like me can get tired of being messy, though. I'd been frustrated with the state of my house for awhile and then I saw something amazing that my friend Kristi did with her pantry. She actually got the idea from her friend's blog. Anyway, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try to be *somewhat* organized in at least one area of my life! So, while Bethany was at the grandparents' this week, I tackled my pantry. Kristi lent me her label maker (by the way, I will be purchasing one just like it for myself) and I made several trips so Dollar Tree and Walmart. This is the end result. Tadah!!!
It even has it's own special shaft of light!!!

What is This All About???

2009-02-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

I've never been one of those people who has it all together. I've been disorganized since I was a little kid. With every stage of life I think maybe I'll change. Like when I went to college and had my own dorm room. Or my own apartment. Or my office at work. Or my first house to own. But now I've been married for 7 years, have 2 kids and I still haven't changed!

It's not just that I have a messy house. My car is a mess. I don't plan meals ahead of time. I don't "schedule" time for my kids to do learning activities at home. I'm terrible with a budget. So many times I just feel incompetent and wonder why I can't be like those other people who DO have it all together. My family deserves better!

Now, in my defense, I do realize that I have some good qualities. I do have a crafty gene (thanks Mom!). I'm laid back and don't get upset when my kids make a mess. I'm a great friend. I love to be going and doing things - a lot of times for other people.

I've been really convicted lately to use my good qualities to improve my not so good ones. Thus, the quote at the top of my blog - "Embracing my imperfections and making them beautiful."

I've found so many great blogs out there in the blogosphere that have fabulous tips, advice, tutorials, etc. Decorating, scheduling, teaching, and crafting are the ones that have drawn most of my attention. So I thought, hey, what better way to become more accountable to be better than to be a part of this blog-mania! More than anything I'd love to post my questions, needs and areas of weakness and get helpful hints. I would also love to share the things I have found to work for me.

I'd love for YOU to check my blog every now and then and give me your opinon, advice, etc. Thank you for visiting! And be sure to come back soon because I'm going to celebrate my new blog with a GIVEAWAY!!! Think monograms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!