You may have noticed that we’ve been MIA for the past week or so.  We have some sad news to share . . .

Our dad passed away last Tuesday.  He was young.  too young.  He wasn’t healthy, but it all much too quick and unexpected.  The past week has been an emotional rollercoaster for us.  Immense sadness (obviously), some joy in remembering all the good times when looking back through pictures, and a renewed sense of close-ness with each other and our brother (and all our significant others . . . Chris, Matt, and Jess).  It’s hard to explain . . . and I’m not going to attempt to here . . . what it’s like to lose a parent.  In some ways it’s WAY harder than expected, but in others it’s, surprisingly easier.  Some day in the future maybe one or both of us will write a post about our feelings around our Dad’s passing.  Maybe we’ll write about the events of that day or of all the days following.  It’s too soon now.  There’s so much work ahead of us.

Just know that we’ll be back soon.  We’ll have new projects, new crafts, new recipes, and other thoughts to share . . .

Give your babies, your husband, your Mom or Dad, your dog, or anyone else in your life an extra hug today.

Our Dad’s obituary:

We love you, Dad!  And will think of you and miss you every day for the rest of our lives!

Life moves on slowly, though . . . need a smile after that (I know I do!):

 

Our latest ‘home improvement’? (hint:  Matt is WAY TOO  excited about this!)

A new toilet seat!  Seriously . . . that’s it.  His enthusiasm is hilarious to me:

Matt:  “Want to check out the new toilet seat?!?!?!”

Me:  “Okay, I guess . . . ”

Matt:  “Watch this!  It’s just like a robot.  I’ll ‘slam it’ and it will just slowly close . . . ”

 

As you can probably tell . . . this is not nearly as exciting for me as it is for him.  At.  All.

Glad you’re happy, though, honey! 

Seriously . . . we’ll be back eventually with better ideas (better than toilet seats, at least) . . . maybe some new perspectives, lessons learned, or ideas.  Thanks for stopping by today, and really . . . go hug your babies or someone close to you!)

Lots of love to all . . . (and especially those in Boston),

Katie and Steph

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I’m back with an update from over the weekend.  The big news in our house?  Charlie turned ONE!!  Wow how that past year flew by!!!  Seriously . . . how is my little baby ONE already??

On Saturday, we had a baseball themed birthday party to celebrate Charlie, the opening of baseball season, tulips, and all things spring!  The snow on Friday, however, was not in the plan!!!

Here’s a little recap of how the weekend, and party went down . . . (and when I say ‘little’ I don’t mean it . . . warning . . . long(ish) post!!!)

So, I’ve discovered Charlie doesn’t love parties.  Doesn’t really even like parties.  In fact, I’m pretty sure he hates them.  This is how Charlie looked the entire two hours of his party:

Actually, that was a good shot.  If he didn’t have a cupcake shoved in his face, he was SCREAMING and crying at the top of his lungs.  Awesome, right???  Not exactly what I was hoping for.

So, before I get into that . . . I’ll recap some happier Charlie moments this weekend.

All I can say is that nothing went exactly to plan, but we had a great and memorable weekend anyway!  Really, it was WONDERFUL . . . just not exactly as planned.

We started on Friday (which was his actual birthday) with a small cake.  Grandma came over in the morning (mostly to help me get ready).  I had to run an appointment early that morning, so she arrived (with a cake in hand) before, so I could go sans kiddos (which was a treat!).  During the 25 minutes I was gone, Molly managed to knock the cake off the counter and was frantically trying to open the package before my mom could stop her.  Good news?  She didn’t actually get into the container to eat the {chocolate . . . a.k.a. not good for dogs} cake.  Bad news?  The frosting, cute decorations, personalized message, and baseball emblems were beyond recognition.

I still love her.  I still love her.  I still love her.  I still love my very misbehaved dog.  Keep telling myself that . . .

We made the best of it.  I did my best to re-decorate it with a tube of icing I happened to have on hand.  We lit his candle, sang to him, and he LOVED it!  Seriously, never seen him so excited as he was about that frosting!

Quick family picture . . .

And the verdict?

I love my birthday so far, Mom!  Never mind the snow coming down in huge, wet flakes outside!!

Now, onto the actual party . . .

The evite invites . . .

Baseball (MN Twins, to be exact) inspired ‘Welcome’ wreath (this was one thing that DID go to plan . . . I actually like how it turned out!):

I wanted a ‘ballpark’ themed party.  Baseball makes me think of summer, green grass, and warm weather.  Speaking of green grass, there’s none outside, so we decided to bring some in!!!  My mom bought some wheat grass from the grocery store (it’s much cheaper than buying it at say, Bachman’s (Garden Center)).  We put it in a wooden create from Michael’s, surrounded it with a piece of burlap, added some {purchased} baseball lollipops, and had a quick and easy centerpiece for the table.  That with a couple buckets of in-shell peanuts (which I’m pretty sure no one ate) was it for the table decor.

Oh, and the best part about the wheat grass?  We can juice it this week for a healthy drink!!

I was trying to brainstorm some entertainment for the other kids at the party.  Keeping with the baseball theme, I thought bats and balls would provide some entertainment.  Our porch (indoor, four season front porch) is pretty much kid proof.   There are a lot of windows out there (including a set original to the 1860’s era house), so I figured inflatable bats and balls were the way to go (can’t cause too much damage with those, right?).

Problem is . . . I forgot to send these home with the kids.  Now we have a bunch of inflatable bats and balls that we Do. Not. Need.  (or want).  If you were at the party, and you’re reading this, come back and claim your bats and balls.  Seriously, I’m not joking!!! 

Next, I thought I’d make some cupcakes to eat (in addition to the cake for some variety).  Back to pinterest for my inspiration . . .

Thought I’d make 12 vanilla cupcakes with white frosting and red M&Ms similar to these:

And 12 chocolate cupcakes with green frosting to resemble grass similar to these:

Easy enough, right?  Yep, I’m not a baker.  Here’s my final product (not quite like those above . . . ):

So . . . as for that cake . . . just another thing that didn’t go quite as planned.  I had all these great cake designs pinned.  All these great intentions.  And then I realized #1.  I am not Martha  #2.  My abilities are not even close to Martha’s  #3.  Everything I bake (for the most part) doesn’t turn out well (at least it doesn’t look nice)  #4.  I was out of time.

Here were my great ideas . . .

Cute baseball diamond cake from JustCake:

Or this one on Wilton’s website (I should have known a cake pictured on a ‘cake supply’ website was way too ambitious):

Or this baseball jersey (modified to be a MN Twins jersey) from Little Apron Baking Co:

Aren’t they so cute and creative?  Yeah, I thought so, too.

Slightly panicked Friday night, I went out and bought an already frosted plain round white cake (from Lund’s which has a good bakery, right?).  I had plans to add white and red M&Ms to resemble a baseball.  That sounded like something even I could handle!!

Just like this one I found on pinterest:

Problem is, white M&Ms are hard to come by at 8pm on Friday night.  After hunting around in Lund’s and Cub, I discovered coconut M&Ms, hooray!  Thought they contained all white M&Ms, got home and found out most were brown and green (obviously).  So . . . I didn’t have quite enough.  Here’s how it turned out (again, not quite like I envisioned . . . notice the sides missing M&Ms??):

And because I must have sounded panicked . . . my mom also brought some desserts to share Saturday morning (thank you, Mom!!!)  . . .

Store bought cupcakes (way cuter than mine!):

Big giant cookie . . . which I can’t stop eating (not good for my gluten-free / dairy free diet I’m trying to be on):

So, in summary, we had quite the array of desserts (and still have quite the array of desserts left over):

As for the rest of the food . . . back to the ballpark theme (not the healthiest options . . . sorry guests):

Rented a hot dog steamer (see it there on the left?):

Guess what?  That also did not go as planned, either.  We couldn’t figure out how to work it.  No labels, no directions.  Therefore, the steamer was a bust.  We ended up boiling the hot dogs.  After everyone left, we figured it out.  Good timing, huh?

Close up of the hot dog steamer.  Notice the steam on the glass in this picture?  This appeared about a half hour after everyone was gone.  Fabulous!

We also had some candy.  Big hit with the kids.  Not so much the parents.  Sorry about that!

more candy . . .

And favors . . . these were a creation because the ‘snack bowls’ I bought didn’t turn out as planned (surprise, right?):

I bought a bunch of these mini helmets thinking everyone could eat their cake and ice cream out of them (like the kind they serve at the ballpark . . . or ours at least).  Then they arrived and they were really mini.  Thus, they turned into the party favors (that I forgot to hand out to the first half of guests to leave . . . sorry about that!).

And just because I LOVE tulips (probably my favorite flower), we incorporated those into the party, too.

But, back to the birthday boy and his love of his first birthday party . . .

This is how we partied (the entire two hours).  I was covered in frosting by the end . . .

You know how every one-year old has that cute picture with the cake that they’re about to smash and the birthday hat?  Yeah, we didn’t get one.  Not one single picture.  Why???  Because the photographer (that’d be me) was held hostage by the birthday boy’s death grip.  So . . . we re-enacted it (with fruit) after everyone went home . . .

Charlie got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa after everyone left, and he was very happy!

Happy Charlie . . .

As for his gifts . . . he just LOVES his new sheets (those one’s I mentioned back in this nursery design post).  Thanks Grandma!:

And his vintage doorknob repurposed for a wall ‘hook’:

And, he got quite the assortment of cards . . . love all the cute homemade cards!!!

On Sunday, Charlie woke up happy as can be, and . . . with a new front tooth (see it poking through in the picture below?):

That may have explained part of his grumpy mood the day before.

Here he is loving his other gifts from Grandma and Grandpa!  Nice shades, Charlie!

It really was a fun weekend!  We’re so happy and thankful to everyone that stopped by.  I meant a lot to us (and to Charlie, too . . . someday he’ll realize it), that everyone took a little time to stop by.  Grandma and Grandpa even drove four hours up and back (in the same day) to be here to celebrate with Charlie.  We’re so fortunate to have such a great family and wonderful friends and neighbors!

Thank you again, everyone!  You made us feel very loved this weekend!

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I tried these Powerballs a few months ago at a neighborhood gathering, and they were love at first bite.  They are a delicious mix of chocolate, peanut butter, some healthy stuff, and lots of yummy textures.  I got the recipe from my neighbor… thanks, Jen!!

First off, I assembled my ingredients for a double batch.

Before I did anything else, I toasted my coconut.  I just spread the specified amount (1-1/3 cups) onto a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.  Be really careful when you do this… it goes from white to black in a few seconds (ask me how I know).  Here’s a picture of the flakes before toasting…

And here they are after…

Next prep step… grinding my flaxseed.  I only had whole flaxseed on hand, so I tossed the required amount (1 cup) into my blender.  This worked pretty well – although, there were still some whole seeds leftover.  I crossed my fingers and hoped my balls would still turn out okay.

Just assemble all of your ingredients into a large-ish bowl.

Stir using a stiff spoon.  I started using a spatula and it was worthless… you need some leverage here, people!

All mixed up and ready for the fridge.  You’ll need to refrigerate these guys for at least 30 minutes so the peanut butter and honey have a chance to set-up and hold all the deliciousness together.

After 30ish minutes, I removed the mixture from the fridge and starting forming the balls.

Sidebar… the chia seeds and flaxseed (and heck, probably the oatmeal, too!) were a bit tough on my hands!  I felt like I was getting an exfoliating treatment the whole time… which is pretty disgusting since we are planning on eating these at some point.  Oh well – a little more protein never hurt anyone, right?  Gross.  In all honesty – I wore plastic gloves for most of the “forming balls” process.

There you have it… 50 Powerballs ready for eating!  PS – I think they kind of look like meatballs.  Just me?

A few on a plate.  I shoved one down my hubby’s throat as he was running out the door for basketball… he said they’re the best thing he’s ever tried.  Probably an exaggeration (and actually has me wondering what he’s done wrong or what he wants from me).  But – nonetheless… they are a success and a hit with the fam!  Yeah!

It’s been a few days since I made these, and my kids and hubby all like taking them for an on-the-go breakfast or snack.  Very handy and relatively healthy!

Here’s all the information for making these Powerballs!

Ingredients:

2 cups dry oatmeal
1-1/3 cups toasted coconut flakes
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup honey or 100% pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients into a large bowl.
Refrigerate for 25-30 minutes.
Remove from fridge and shape into balls.
Keep in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze to preserve the goodness a bit longer!

I also took the time to roughly figure out how many calories and fat are in each ball…

Each Powerball contains approximately:
75 calories
5 grams of fat

I know there is fiber and protein in there too… but I was too lazy to figure it out. 

I also know that the calorie content could be reduced by using unsweetened coconut… honestly, there is enough sweetness with the honey, chocolate chips, and peanut butter (even though I used all natural, unsweetened PB).

Next time I make these – I’ll probably try to work in the unsweetened coconut flakes (if I can find them) and most likely, I’ll reduce the chocolate chips.  Or maybe I’ll throw 1/2 the amount into the ol’ blender and see what happens.  Basically, I think the lesson here is that these are delicious and can probably be modified several different ways!  Speak of modifications (and additions)… what would you add?  Subtract?  Dried fruit anyone?

 

 

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Our living room is currently a work-in-process. So far . . . bookcases are painted and the room is re-layed out. NOTE: TV is hooked up (hooray!!), but cords are not hidden yet (forgive the black cords and green frog tape).

Though I’m not sure if we’re completely sold on this layout . . . we’re trying it out for a bit. There is still a lot to do in this room! Here’s the checklist as of today:

1. Remove huge old TV from build in
2. Remove built in and patch large hole
3. Purchase new TV
4. Mount new TV above fireplace, hide cords
5. Paint bookcases
6. Paint fireplace and mantel
7. Artwork for wall (where hole was)
8. Plant for corner
9. Storage bench
10. Get new rug
11. New light fixture
12. New ottoman
13. New sectional
14. Accent chair
15. Paint trim white
16. Paint French doors a ‘fun’ color
17. Build bookcases up around TV
18. New Windows
19. New Window treatments
20. New fireplace surround and hearth (and insert?)

The adjoining room, which we believe was originally meant to be a formal dining room, has quite a list, too (and notice nothing is crossed off)!

1. Get ‘formal’ dining room table (love the farmhouse ‘chunky’ table look . . . ideas here)
2. Sell black book shelves and replace with shorter buffet
3. Hang Room & Board art above buffet
4. Sell chair in corner and replace with??
5. Paint French doors to office same ‘fun’ color as doors to porch
6. Paint trim and walls white
7. Rug for under table
8. Replace light fixture

What do these lists have in common?

Okay dumb question because they have several items in common, but one happens to be NEW LIGHT FIXTURES!

Here are the current fixtures:

They’re okay. They are bright (two 100W bulbs each). They match each other. They’re relatively easy to change bulbs and clean . . . .but we’re not in love with them. And they collect A LOT of dead bugs. Ick.

We’ve been looking into what we’d like, and have found quite a price range (as with everything else, basically). Today’s ‘Thrifty Thursday’ is focused on just that, light fixture possibilities for our rooms.

We LOVE these pendants from Room and Board:

We would love to have one of these in the living room. They’re big (24” diameter), perfect colors, and we love the fabric. Aren’t they fun??? They’re $500, however, which makes them NOT in our budget right now (or probably ever).

But . . . below are some similar options for purchase. Can you guess which is the ‘splurge’ and which is the ‘steal’?

Left to right, top to bottom:

1. White Ikea Pendant Light $39.99 for 18″ diameter drum . . . OUR STEAL!!
2. Spade Drum Pendant from Dform. OUR SPLURGE at $964!!!
3. Young House Love’s collection on Shades of Light’ $99 for 18″ fixture
4. Resortation Hardware Pendant $395 for 25″ diameter shade
5. Retro Honeycomb Drum Shade $149 for 16″ diameter shade
6. Oversized Equator Shade $199 from cb2 34″ diameter!!
7. Land of Nod Dark Blue Shade $99 for 20″ diameter shade

For the formal dining room that will exist someday, I love the Sputnik fixtures from Jonathan Adler:

Isn’t it fun? I am envisioning a big, chunky farmhouse table with this ultra-modern sputnik fixture above it. A good mix of old school and new. But . . . you guessed it, it’s a bit out of our price range at $1425

There are a couple less expensive options out there:

1. Wholesale Living fixture; 23” for $265 and 38” (that would make quite a statement, huh?) for $395

2. 25” diameter fixture for $299 at highfashionhome.com

3. Target Fixture for $378 (I saw it in Home Depot, too, for a similar price)

4. Restoration Hardware $595 for the 21” diameter fixture.

I was originally inspired by this dining room posted a couple weeks back on YoungHouseLove’s site:

 

Don’t you just love it?? And the bit Sherry mentions about ‘unbreakable glamour’ is so true!! Nothing this fancy can be anywhere within arm’s reach of C & O (though, I suppose flying balls could cause some harm).

Any votes on the light fixture options above?

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Last week, I shared my inexpensive paint chip art project for our newly created downstairs bathroom.  The art part was completely free… thanks to Home Depot and their paint chips.  The frame cost me around $10 from Ikea.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I got the idea for this project from Sherry and John Petersik’s (over at Young House Love) book.

Here’s a picture of Tip #120 (on pages 172 & 173) where my inspiration came from.

I LOVE the colors they chose and how they even give a gentle reminder about returning unused paint ships… or at least not hoarding tons of them.  After all – they are free… but probably as long as people don’t abuse the supply.

So, I once again, headed to my paint chip stash and came up with my color palate.  I wanted the colors to coordinate with my girls’ bedroom… lots of teal/turquoise, lime green, coral.  Even some purple!

Here’s a close-up of the fabric on their bedspreads.

I’ll spare you all the gory details (you can get the how-to information on this project from last week’s post) and skip right to the finished product!

The wood in our house is primarily unstained maple… as is the dresser and several other frames in the girls’ room.  Ikea used to sell their RIBBA frame in maple – but apparently they don’t anymore because I couldn’t find it online or in the store.  Womp, womp.   I wanted to stick with the same frame… both for the price ($10!!!) and the clean straight edges.  So, I moved to Plan B.  I bought the RIBBA in white and planned to spray paint it to match the nightstand in the room.  Here’s a pic of it…

But – this is Minnesota folks… and the day I wanted to spray paint and frame this sucker it was 6 degrees (not great for spray painting)… and we don’t have a heated garage.  And I don’t wait well.  Delayed gratification?  Nosomuch.  So, on to Plan C… paper tape from Target!

I cut pieces of tape 3-4 inches long, removed the glass and the matting, and just wrapped the frame randomly.  This was my first time working with paper tape – so I really just made it up as I went… no real plan.  The best part about this tape is that it is totally forgiving.  If you don’t like the way you place a piece, just remove it and restick it.  Easy peasy!

At most, it took me 10 minutes to wrap the frame.  And here’s the finished product!

Another shot of it on the girls’ nightstand…

Eventually, I will hang it above the nightstand, but for now – it looks great leaning up against the wall.  I have big plans for this blank wall.  Just need some time and the weather to warm up.  Can anyone say 60 degrees?  Please??

Full disclosure – I’m not totally thrilled with the paper-taped frame.  I think it is a good idea… but in this case, I think it distracts from the actual art work. I might like it better if I had done it less randomly… like stripes?  Or solid teal/turquoise?  What do you think?

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Today was the first weekday of my Spring Break.  Unfortunately, I have no plans of traveling to some exotic location.  Heck, I probably won’t even make it to the 651 area code for the next week (that’s the St. Paul suburbs for you out-of-towners)!  Since I’ll be holding down the home front for the next 120 hours, I figured I should attempt some projects around the house.  First on the list – organizing!  There are a few spots around the house that I want to address in the next 4 days.

1.  Clean out my girls’ dresser drawers.  They have way too many pants, leggings, socks, underwear, and pajamas… we can hardly close the drawers.  It is hard for me to get rid of Samantha’s stuff because I’d love to eventually hand it down to Carolina.  But – the truth of the matter is… Carolina’s got a stubborn mind of her own.  She has a definite sense of “style”, and sadly, it doesn’t jive with all of the things we’ve purchased for Samantha over the years.  Time to purge!  I need to stop hanging on to the 2-piece pjs in hopes that she’ll change her mind from her obsession with night gowns.  It’s never going to happen, so I should just GET RID OF THEM!

2.  Organize the kids’ bathroom.  There is a lot of storage in there that is currently being occupied by JUNK we don’t use.  Potty seat – done.  Humidifier – done.  Dora bath toys – done.  Gigantic princess jewelry box – done.  BTW – can I bring a potty seat to the Good Will?  JK.  Gross.

3.  Organize my wrapping paper.  With 3 kids and a pretty large family, we get invited to lots of parties with lots of presents.  I’m not complaining at all – but I would like to make my life easier.  I’ve pinned some pretty spectacular wrapping paper stations on Pinterest… but I have my eye on this one from Hi Sugarplum!

Gift Wrap Station from Hi Sugarplum!

 

Added bonus – I have a Kindergarten parent this year who works for The Container Store!  This generous family has given me 2 gift cards that I plan to spend on an Elfa Storage System!  Can’t. Wait.

4.  Clean out and organize my closet.  I take several bags to the Good Will each month… this month, those bags will be filled with my clothes.  Plus, I have several bins on the shelves that house some different sets of things.  Presently, I have bins for: hats, leggings, leg warmers, bracelets, belts, and scarves.  The scarf basket is a tangled disaster.

Which brings me to… today’s project – my NEW scarf organizer!

First of all, I live in Minnesota where winter seems to last forever.  Forever.  Especially this year.  Hasn’t it just dddrrraaaggggggeeeddd on?  And on?  Because of this endless season, I am always cold.  I own many scarves and wear one most days to keep the old neck nice and toasty. 

As I mentioned above, I have been keeping my “collection” in a bin in my closet.  The bin works well to contain everything, but the rest of the story isn’t working that well for me.  I find myself wearing the same scarves over and over – and they’re wrinkly!  Ha!  Can you imagine anything worse?  This is a first world problem!

So, on a recent trip to The Container Store… I spied this handy gal for only $5.99.  I couldn’t resist.

I started emptying out my scarves and laid them down in groups by color.  I see I’m lacking orange, yellow, and purple.  And I call myself a Vikings’ Fan!

Here’s a shot of my hanger before I loaded it up.  I love it!  What else can I hang on this fantastic invention?

Then I just started loading them on.  It helped to keep the longer ones on the bottom so that they didn’t cover up the shorter scarves on top.  I also made sure to fill up the entire bottom row and then work up.  I didn’t want my new friend to be too weighted down and lopsided.  Life’s all about balance, people!

And here’s the finished product!  A full length shot…

And a view from closer up.

What do you think of my inexpensive way to give all my scarves some love?  What other stuff could I organize with this miracle product?  I was thinking belts would probably work.  What else?

I’ll be checking back later in the week with progress on my other organizing goals.  I’m thinking the kids’ bathroom is next on the list!  Happy April, everyone!

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Welcome to April!  Woo Hoo!!!  I love this month . . . mostly because it means winter is OVER (or so I hope)!!!  I hope everyone had a great weekend and had great success with their Easter Egg hunting   On to organizing . . .

Last month, Steph and I took on Iheartorganizing’s Kitchen Challenge.  Read about those projects here, here, here, and here.  This month, the challenge is on ‘Linens and Loo’.

Our Loo could use some work, but our ‘linen’ closet could use A. LOT.  MORE.  Any bit of organization here would be a HUGE improvement!  This closet currently acts as the linen closet, storage for ‘outside items’ (beach towels, picnic blankets, life jackets, sunscreen, etc), Molly items (leash, collar, harness, ear cleaning ‘stuff’, toys, treats, poo bags, etc), Molly food, a bunch of light bulbs, batteries, extension cords, extra hardware, and a lot of bags (reusable grocery bags, plastic bags, paper ‘handled’ bags).  So, in short, . . . challenge accepted!

Here’s the before . . . (seriously, this is bad):

A step back . . . (in case you needed another view):

It’s a good thing we can slide that big barn door shut . . .

And here it is now (note I did not say ‘after’, as it has quite a ways to go):

One more view . . .

I purchased the three canvas bins and two sets of shelf dividers, but everything else was made from things already on hand.  Also, it was a fairly quick and painless project!

Here’s a quick summary of what we did:

1. Emptied space and sorted through what REALLY needed to be there (Picnic blanket and Molly’s leash, for example, were kicked out to the garage).
2. Covered the shelves in white shelf paper (I am on a white kick.  I love white.)
3. Installed shelf dividers to help keep items in place:
   

   Shelf dividers

4. Removed random particle board box that held nothing (see it in those before pics??  what is this?)
5. And updated some bins . . . more on those below.  This was probably my favorite part.

 

Bins, Bins, Bins:

I bought these wire bins from Target a couple weeks back thinking they’d be good ‘egg gathering’ baskets for Easter:

They were in that super cheap dollar-ish section right when you walk in . . . know which one I’m talking about?!?  Anyway, I thought they could also be used for storage after Easter.  Problem was, however, everything kept falling through them.  Sunscreen, for example (re-enactment below):

I had some burlap (thanks Mom), and ribbon on hand.  I just weaved two pieces of burlap through the top and bottom, one piece of ribbon at the top.  Tied a bow, and  . . . problem solved!

On to the next set of bins.  We had these Halloween candy bins from last Halloween that we’ve been using to hold batteries and extra hardware:

Free paper pack from Archiver’s (they randomly give these away with purchase from time to time) and Mod podge to the rescue:

And again:

Oh, and how could I forget . . . I labeled ‘em with some shelf paper, cardboard, and circle punch (and dry erase marker):

 

Three useful bins . . . still useful, now just a bit prettier:

 

And, finally, I saw this idea on pinterest recently, and love the idea!  Great idea for all the hotel samples you accumulate . . . put ‘em in a glass jar, and set them out for overnight guest to use as needed!  LOVE it!  Your guests will have the hotel experience at your house, AND you have a new use for all those tiny bottles.

My mom had chalkboard contact paper, and had her friend cut out a fun shape with her Silhouette machine:

Using a chalkboard ‘pen’ (did not know these existed until this weekend, thanks again, Tina):

Mission Accomplished!!

We have quite a bit more that needs to be done to this closet, but we’re making baby steps (I feel like I say this with all our projects).  It’s MUCH, MUCH better.  Next on the list??  Get an airtight dog food container for Molly’s food.  Since this closet is right by the front door, I feel like our house smells like dog food right when you walk in the door . . . not a great way to greet our guests.

One last look comparison:

Thanks for stopping by!  Check out all the other ‘Linens and Loo’ projects on iheartorganizing later today!

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