Planners + Happy Birthday.

I know we are already into the second week of January, but let's talk planners . . . 

There was a period of time when I didn't use a written planner -- I just put everything into my Outlook calendar at work.  And since I always had a blackberry or iphone with me, I would just refer to my electronic calendar for everything.  But there were a couple of issues with that method that didn't work the best for me:  (1) my assistant can see my calendar, which is awesome for work stuff, but not so cool for personal things (I don't need her knowing who I'm going to dinner with on the weekend or when I need to go to the store or pick up a prescription); and (2) I found myself making tons of lists on paper for stuff that didn't "fit" nicely in a calendar appointment that would just get lost in my purse.

So last year, I got an Erin Condren planner.  This was the one I got for 2012 (it had my name though, not the hollinger's, but I'm sure they're a lovely family).     

(here)

I really liked how colorful it was and the thick pages were super nice.  But my biggest beef with it was it's size.  At least for me, it was just too bulky to throw in my purse.  If I was just leaving it at home all day on my desk, it would be perfect.  But I like to take my planner to work everyday and to carry it with me in my purse on the go, so if something comes up, I can immediately write it down (rather than trying to remember later what it was I needed to add).  I carry enough other crap in my purse, so I didn't have a extra room for a big planner (and my shoulder appreciates a lighter load).

When we were in Paris in September (which I am planning to recap shortly), I came across a more compact planner at merci (aka the best store ever). 

The merci planner is much lighter and tucks easily into my purse/work bag everyday.  While I miss the brightness of my other planner, pulling out this planner always reminds me of the great time we had in Paris, which is more fun than any bright colors can provide.

The downsides are that it doesn't include the US holidays, but I could easily add them myself.  The paper is also thinner, which is my biggest complaint.  But it works out -- I just use pencil instead of pen, which prevents any bleeding through to the other side.  And now when I tell someone I'll pencil them in, I really mean it.  Ok, I'm done with the cheesy jokes.     

I like that, in addition to little pockets in the front and back flaps, it has a zipper pouch in the cover, so I can easily store lose papers/paper clips/etc. in there.  I still make notes on paper, but I can easily store them in the planner.  (Side note: This was my errand list from this past weekend -- let the organizing commence!  I'll share some of those projects!)      

So I'm curious, do you use a paper planner or are you solely electronic?  

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And most importantly today, I want to wish my mom a very happy birthday.  She's such a wonderful person and I'm so blessed to have her has a mom and a friend.  I love you, mom!

Source: weddingchicks.com via Emily on Pinterest

Ikea Finds.

When we moved to our apartment, we knew we would have to get a few things for storage.  For starters, our kitchen had no pantry.  Ikea's Besta cabinet ended up being the perfect size for the space and worked really well with the kitchen cabinets.

Thankfully, Riley and Zoey "helped" with the assembling.

Voila!  After a little assembling (and getting the dogs out of the way), we now have a new pantry!  It's excellent because it doesn't cover up the light switch on the wall and still gives us some space for our trashcan. 

There's also enough room on the other side for a little hook to hold my apron.  It's nice because it's almost hidden over there.

In case you're curious about the inside of the pantry, it's nothing too exciting. 

Here's a shot of the cabinets in the kitchen so you can see what we're working with.  The one from Ikea goes perfectly! 

Those of you with an eagle eye may have spied a new rug in the kitchen.  I picked up this ikat rug from Urban Outfitters, which works well in there (and didn't break the bank).  Our kitchen has slate tile in it and I hated the way it felt on my feet.  So I wanted something that would cover most of the floor.  I think the dogs are also happier with something a little softer to beg from when we are in the kitchen.   

In addition to the pantry, Ikea also came through for some shoe storage.  The master closet in our old home had amazing built-ins that were perfect for shoes.  Not surprisingly, the closet in our apartment does not.  We had the perfect little space in our new closet though for some shoe storage.  The Billy bookcase from Ikea with some additional shelves just happened to fit perfectly!  I still have to store some of my shoes under my clothes and poor Justin doesn't even get a shelf, but he's ok with that.   

For those of you following along with our house hunt, we went to see 2 homes today in our favorite neighborhood.  One was out of our budget, but we wanted to see it anyway for comparison purposes.  Thankfully, the bedrooms were oddly laid out upstairs so we didn't fall in love with it (but the first floor was perfection).  The other house was pretty decent, but was built about 20 years ago and we would definitely need to do some renovations (i.e., new kitchen, new bathroom).  Property Brothers, anyone?  It totally gives us something to think about though.  The inventory has been super low here, but our realtor thinks things will pick up in the next month.  We are keeping our fingers crossed!  I am tired driving through the neighborhood yelling "come on people, sell your house!"   

Last but not least, in the last week, I've come across 2 amazing Craigslist finds.  One of them starts with a "camp" and ends with an "aign."  I will be back with pictures!

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend! 

Organized Kitchen Pantry.

I mentioned a while back that Megan from Honey We're Home came over to help me get my mess of a pantry in order.  I have no excuse on why it took me so long to post the after-pictures, other than I just flat out forgot to!  But I'm happy to report that the pantry looks the same today as it does in the after-photos below! 

I think the pictures speak for themselves on what an amazing job she did!  Sadly, I never knew how bad it really was until looking at these before pictures.  {Shudder}  Prepare yourselves. 

And after Megan worked her magic . . . 

Seriously, what a difference!  Through the organizing process, I learned that I have a problem buying canned pumpkin (I won't disclose how many cans I had; but there was a time when there was a pumpkin shortage and I felt that I needed to "stock up").  Megan probably thinks I'm a little loony!  I also learned that Justin has a problem buying baggies in bulk in various sizes, freezer bags, non-freezer bags, etc.  Now that we can actually see what all we have, it's a lot easier not to buy things that we don't need. 

Look at all of that empty space!  We threw some things away and there were some things that did not belong in the pantry, but it's amazing how having things organized gives you some more usable space that you never knew you had.  (Perfect for storing more Trader Joe's goodies that I will get on our upcoming San Diego trip!)  It really is nice now that everything has its place.  Before, that was clearly not the case -- as the pictures above demonstrate! 

We were able to add some additional wine storage in our pantry, which was greatly needed.  It also freed up some space for us to put a recycle bin in there.

Now that things are organized, it's so much easier to keep it nice and neat.  So a big thanks to Megan for being so sweet and helping me tackle the pantry! 

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!  We headed to Austin.  I'll be back with a recap!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Did you celebrate Valentine's Day over the weekend or do you have big plans for Monday night?  We are generally pretty low-key when it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day.  (For the record, we aren't unromantic, we just don't need a special day to remember to tell each other how much we love them.)   

In honor of the "holiday," here are some rooms that are Valentinesy (yep, just made up that word).

(all photos: decorpad)

And I've seen this image pop up on a few blogs recently and love it.  It just screams Valentine's Day to me!

(photo: ban.do)

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

P.S. Megan from Honey We're Home came over this weekend to help me organize our pantry.  I was so thrilled to meet her!  She is so sweet, was a pleasure to work with, and did a wonderful job getting our mess of a pantry in order.  If you need some help getting things organized at your house, definitely contact Megan.      

January Guest Posting Recap.

As Justin recently asked me, can you believe 1/12th of the year is already over?  January was the month of guest blogging for me.  In case you missed it, I guest posted over at Honey We're Home about how I keep my magazines organized. 

I also shared our bedroom wallpaper panels and living room bookshelves over at hi sugarplum!  Cassie showed Riley and Zoey some love too (they are letting the fame go to their heads).

And last but not least, I shared my thoughts on design trends at Modern Jane. 

 

If you don't already read Honey We're Home, Hi Sugarplum!, and Modern Jane, you should definitely add them to your daily rotation!

 

Guest Blogging.

I am guest blogging today at one of my favorite blogs, Honey We're Home, as part of Megan's Getting Organized for the New Year Series!  Come check out how I keep my magazine inspiration photos organized. 

Getting Organized in the New Year.

Getting better organized is always on my to do list, but I tend to tackle more "major" organization projects at the beginning of the year.  Thankfully, Container Store always puts their elfa on sale this time of year.  I got Justin on board, and we headed over to Container Store on New Year's Day -- nothing like getting the New Year started off on the right foot!  Here is the back of Justin's car loaded up with our goodies.

We went back to Container Store a couple days later to pick up some additional things.  Stay tuned for what all we've organized around here!  

And you don't know how excited I was when I walked into the kitchen the other day and saw that Justin had made a list!  He is not much of a list person (gasp!).  I love lists and am thrilled that my husband finally got in on the list-action!  Of course, I couldn't resist adding a few items myself. 

(excuse the blackberry pics)

I'm happy to report that he has crossed off almost all of the items on the list! 

While I'm telling stories about Justin, we were on our way home from grabbing dinner tonight and the song Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys came on.  Since we were almost home, he proceeded to drive around longer just so that he could rap/sing all of the lyrics.  Very impressive!  :)

Closet Crush.

Check out these amazing closets . . . 

Heels as far as the eye can see!  Um, yes please.

 

(photos above: decorpad)

(photo: apartment therapy)

But my favorite closet of all belongs to Megan of Honey We're Home.  If you don't read her blog, you're definitely missing out.  Seriously, check out how fabulous her closet is here and here.  (And yes, it's her closet that she doesn't have to share with her hubby).    

Does it get any better than a chandy in the closet (and especially one that looks like this!)? 

Every part of her closet is so well thought out.  For example, having a bigger top shelf for her boots -- genius!  We have similar shelves in our closet, but the height of each is pretty tall so there's way too much unused space between them (my heels aren't that high!).  I have always wanted to move the shelves closer together and make room for more shelves (more shelves = more shoes). 

And I love the creative way she hangs/displays her necklaces.  She used clear Command adhesive hooks.  I love the idea because it keeps things tangle-free and you can easily see what you have all in one place. 

Such an inspiring space!