Guest Closet Clean Out

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been working on the decor in our guest bedroom, but knew that ultimately, I'd need to tackle the guest room closet as well.  Since the very definition of guest room is a room where your guests stay, it stands to reason that they should have a space to store their stuff when they come to visit.  Not so in the previous state of our guest room closet.

Icky.  Not to mention, unsafe.  Those long metal poles were from when we disassembled the guest bed and they just need to be disposed of.  Quick.

I completely cleared the closet.  To my dismay, I found:

Seriously?!  And these aren't including the pillows that are on the beds!  

So much better now!

So, where did all the stuff go?  Some bedding was given to my sister-in-law, the sewing stuff and fabric was relocated to my office (which means I had to rearrange my office too!), our luggage went to our media/storage room, and now I'm in the process of cleaning out our hall closet.  

Some major spring cleaning happening here!  

  

Dinner at Our House

Oftentimes dinner at our house is as simple as pizza and a salad.  Lately, I've been throwing together a simple tomato and avocado salad that my cousin-in-law showed me how to assemble.  (He and his sweet wife came and cooked dinner at our house when our family member was sick back in December- how nice is that?!)  They made chili, cornbread, and this salad, and I've been eating it regularly ever since.



The salad is simply a combination of diced tomato, avocado, red onion, a bit of light ranch dressing and a dash of creole seasoning (which I leave out sometimes).  Super easy and delicious.  The only problem I have with this dish is using the avocados before they go bad!

That same night, I made James a pepperoni pizza- one of his favorites.  I use the Boboli pre-made crust, add some jarred marinara, shredded mozzarella, and slices of pepperoni.  I previously bought him an Earth's Best whole grain pizza from their Sesame Street line, so now he always asks for "Elmo Pizza."  

(I also love to order pizza from our favorite pizza place).

Is it weird that James likes pepperoni at two?  He always goes for it first.  But he won't eat the things I associate with most kids, like hot dogs, burgers, or chicken nuggets.

One happy customer!

Mama also ate the leftover pizza.  p.s. my husband didn't starve- he was out of town!  

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P.S.  I've gotten so many wonderful comments and questions from you about my pregnancy weight loss journey that I plan to write a follow-up post soon to share my progress with you and how I've been able to (finally) reach my goal!  Thank you so much for sharing your stories in the comments and emails to me.  It makes me feel so much better knowing that we can relate to and encourage each other.  If you are still struggling, you can do it.

Our Mudroom Gets an Update (Envelope Pillows)

Hi friends!  Thank you for checking in on this blog- I really appreciate that you take the time to read about what's been going on over here:)  I hope you had a good weekend.  My weekend was productive.  I fell back in love with . . . . my sewing machine!

I almost gave up on her, swearing she was broken and had failed me forever- even though she was practically new- only to realize that operator error was to blame.  I was trying my hand at sewing envelope pillows for the first time, but my machine wasn't cooperating.  My thread kept pulling and getting stuck, so I gave up and made a couple of no-sew pillows with hem tape (Stich Witchery).  

But I knew I could do better.   I googled some sewing video tutorials and found my sewing angel:  Crafty Gemini.  She has a super easy beginner sewing tutorial, in which I realized that I had been threading my bobbin improperly, thus, my problems with my machine.  

And her envelope pillow tutorial ROCKED!  I ended up making several on Saturday night!

One of the most-used areas of our home is the mudroom.  It's where I enter and exit our home, and use it every. single. day.  James sits on the bench to get his shoes on in the morning.  My purse and keys live here, and countless bags and various collections are stored here during our hectic days.  Shoes live in the woven Target baskets below for easy access. 

Only now, the area has been made prettier with the addition of my home-sewn pillows!  I made the bench cushion back in January with Dwell Studio fabric, but needed to add some decorative pillows to complete the look.  

I bought two more Dwell Studio fabrics over the Easter weekend, Vintage Blossom Dove (the light blue with birds and branches) and botch brindle (the white with tan and light blue paisleys).  Turns out, I had already sewn some brown and light brown pillows for our previous mudroom bench seat, and those pillows went perfectly with my new fabrics.

Here's my pretty envelope pillow, thanks to Crafty Gemini's Video Tutorial!

Our Pillowless Mudroom "BEFORE" 

And Mudroom "AFTER"

Isn't it amazing what a few pillows can do to add visual interest to a space?!  And thanks to Crafty Gemini, I've already sewn accent pillows for our master bedroom, and plan to make some for the guest room soon!

Are you sewing your own pillow covers yet?! 

Linking up with Beth!

Pretty Trays for the Kitchen

I might be a little tray crazy (and basket crazy) for that matter.  I've never counted, but if I was forced to do so, I'm sure I could count at least 50 baskets and trays in our home.  In my defense, things look tidier and more collected when contained on a tray or in a basket.



Yesterday, I showed you how I cleaned out our "junk drawer" which then inspired me to deep clean our countertops.   I admit to getting anxious when our counters get too cluttered and my OCD side takes over and just clears everything off to start fresh.  I wipe all the surfaces down really well and only put back the minimum to keep the kitchen looking clean and simple.  Ahhh, I can breathe again:)



This time, I put my white Container Store tray near the kitchen sink to hold our dish soap, hand soap, and the little faux potted plant I made.  It instantly make the countertop look neater.

The dish soap is decanted in a glass bottle from Home Goods probably meant for olive oil.  But it looks so much prettier than my plastic bottle of Dawn.  

I also really enjoy keeping a small votive of live flowers or something like this tree clipping from our backyard at the kitchen sink.  It seems to make doing dishes a little happier.  

I'm also smitten with this wooden, square tray from Crate & Barrel that holds my most often-used cooking utensils and salt and pepper shakers.  

I added a little DIY framed art as a backdrop.  It's a calendar page framed in a Target frame.  

And since I've been on a cleaning/organizing kick lately, I wanted to share this older post with you about my TOP 3 things you can do to make you feel more organized.  

Whenever I need to feel organized quickly, I do at least one of these things.  Hope it helps you too! 

Have a great weekend!

Kitchen Drawer Reorganization

Spring, the warmer temperatures, a desire to live a less cluttered and more centered, simple life always gets me in the mood to deep clean and organize!

One quick place to start with is the kitchen "junk" drawer.  Sometimes tackling an entire room can seem daunting, so if you just pick one small portion of a room, it makes the task more bearable.  I don't claim to have a junk drawer, but the far right drawer in my kitchen begs to differ.  The drawer is actually for things we reach for regularly, like pens, hand lotion, mailing supplies, tape and tape measure, and my beloved post-it notes.

The kitchen drawer is just dying to be a Junk Drawer.   

A year ago, the drawer was squeaky clean and organized, just like I like it.  I even had all of my favorite Papermate ball point pens in one spot.

But lately, the drawer has been winning.

Big time.

Before this weekend, it was looking like this:

But after taking everything out, sorting, throwing out, and reorganizing, look who's winning now!

Take that!  I need more of my favorite pens but I can't always find them!  

I also organized the drawer next door.  That drawer is for my larger notepads and my go-to electronics (camera charger and external camera card reader).  I use these all the time, so I like to keep them in the kitchen drawers. 

I used a simple clothespin to hold our earbuds.

Seems like the kitchen drawer needs a thorough cleaning about every 6 months to keep the "junk" at bay. 

New Addition to the Guest Room

Last week I shared with you my first attempts at decorating our guest room.  I'm using a bright, colorful color palette of orange and aqua in an effort to inject some life and energy into the space.  And because lamps and bedding in those colors is what I already had! :)





If you missed it, the room started like this:

And so far, with the furniture rearranged and nightstands moved from the master.

I popped in to Z Gallerie during the week and brought home a few goodies for the room.  A shiny, aqua decorative shell is a great accent for the bedside table.

And a funky aqua garden stool now adds more of the aqua color I wanted to incorporate. 

Since the room has lots of shiny, lacquered pieces (the stool, lamp, and decorative elephant), I wanted to add some texture and warmth, so I brought in this basket from West Elm.  I actually like relaxing in this room now, so it's nice to have some magazines on hand.  

I still have art (also a Z Gallerie find) and drapes to hang (I bought white, but now I'm thinking of an aqua and white patterned fabric), and a mirror for over the dresser.  I keep checking Home Goods for mirrors, but nothing yet.  

Fiddle Leaf Fig FEVER

Like many other "pinners" on Pinterest, I have fallen hard for the Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree. And after browsing through my new blog crush's home and seeing all the leafy green plants that add such life to her rooms, I finally ordered my beloved tree.

I browsed the internet to find a retailer that sells the popular plant in my area and came across Houston Interior Plants.  I decided to order one for my office (at work) first and when it arrived, I knew I needed one for our house.

Houston Interior Plants sells them for $129 and delivers them for free in the Houston area. I reasoned that even if I could find one cheaper somewhere else, I don't know how I'd get it home, so I think the price is worth it. Also, Gloria, the owner is a delight to work with! I found out when I called to order the plant for my office that they service our firm (supplying and caring for the plants at our office)- small world!  

I wanted to put the tree in our living room, in this little corner that's been taken over by the toys of a certain 2-year old. 

Bye, Bye Brobee!

Hello Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree!

The tree needs a lot of light, so I might have to move it occasionally.  And you're supposed to keep the soil moist, but not overwater.  I was told to check it once a week and it may need about a quart of water.  We'll see, fingers crossed!