Project: Pantry

The next project I tackled from the 21-Day Challenge was the Pantry! I had organized it once not too long ago, but it had gotten messy and cluttered (funny how my house seems to make a habit of that!). 

The before...

And after...

As a part of cleaning out the pantry I moved a bunch of dog treats (and her personal jar of peanut butter) over to the storage area on top of the kennel/bed/dog house. It is so much better to have all those smelly dog treats out of the pantry and over where they are more useful! 

So, no huge changes, but just a nice clean out and a little organization to our pantry. I'm hoping I have time for a little bigger task this weekend...

Loads of Fun in the Laundry Room

I'm late to the party, but I have discovered a 21-day get organized challenge over at A bowl full of lemons. Cute blog. Uber-organized! Makes me feel inspired yet messy. Anyways....

Since I discovered this late and haven't had tons of time to complete any of the challenges, I'm going to incorporate as many of the applicable challenges as I can into the remainder of January. 

I've done some work on several of the areas (especially since I was already feeling motivated to be more organized in 2011) but top to bottom completed projects, so far I just have the laundry room. I think it was easiest since it is so small, but at least it is a start. And it had gotten pretty messy. Ugh. 

We have a lot of laundry! There is actually a hamper under that mess of clothes, not that you can tell. (although I don't know why the vacuum is in there too) I save all the laundry for Saturdays, so whenever Friday rolls around dirty clothes are everywhere. And we are only two people. I don't even want to think about how much more laundry comes with kiddos. Yikes. 

Another view. Hangers, bags, placemats I washed two weeks ago that I haven't put away... lovely. But now....

That looks better! I cleaned out and reorganized all my little baskets up top. Put away all the clean laundry. Washed all the dirty laundry. Now I just want one of those signs to go over the washer: LAUNDRY ROOM: DROP YOUR PANTS HERE. Those crack me up. I think I might order the vinyl sticker kind. If I have to be in that tiny little room, I might as well get a chuckle while I'm at it :)

I feel so good about getting the laundry room all nice and organized! I'm almost done with the pantry, so that will be coming up next...

Purse Recycle, Part Two

Wow, I'm happy to report that I gave away five purses last week! Thanks Angelica, Karen & Renee - I hope you enjoy them! There are still a couple from the first go around, don't forget to take a peek at those too...

So far, I have come across three more...let me know if you see anything that catches your eye ; )

White Leather Gap Purse (with Matching Wallet!)

Sorry for the awkward photo, since it was white I had to take the photo on the floor... This is a really cute purse, I especially love it in the summer!

Black & Gold!

XOXO Shoulder Bag

Green & Brown Patterned Cotton/Linen (?) Bag

This was such a great find! I got it at Stein Mart but several people asked me if it was Vera Bradley. It is light weight with pockets on the outside (both sides). FYI no zipper or snap, but it is deep, so I never really had trouble with stuff falling out. 

I still have a LOOONNNGGG way to go to get where I want to be in terms of clutter & organization, but hey, it's a start! I would so rather have these cute purses being used by friends & family than sitting in a plastic tub in my basement. 

Enjoy! Hopefully more to report soon! 

A few of my favorite things...

Here in the first few days of a new year it is easy to get caught up in identifying all of things that we need to do/change/quit/fix/accomplish in the next 360+ days. So, I decided I would take a few minutes each week (or month or quarter or every other day, who knows) to share a few of the ordinary, day-to-day things that I love right now. 

Country Strong Soundtrack

The movie hasn't even come out yet, but I am loving the soundtrack! Gweneth Paltrow is actually really good...who would've guessed? I'm excited to see the movie too (and I'm not a movie person). Country Strong, the title song is my favorite, but the whole album is really good. Ask my Jeep, I sing it on the way to and from work every day! Photo from amazon.  

Scrabble on iPad

Scrabble has been among the top paid iPad apps for a while, but with the $9.99 price tag, I had never tried it.  Until, it went on sale a week or so ago for $.99! Let's just say, I don't know what I did without it. I love it. It is so fun. I usually just play against the computer, but you can also play facebook friends or pass it around to others. It is my version of "reading" before bed. Awesome. Best $.99 ever. Photo from here. 

Memory Foam Bathmats

We have three of these bathmats in our master bathroom right now. Greg had actually been wanting them for a while, but I thought they were too expensive since we already had rugs and a bath mat that I liked just fine. Thanks to our inability to say no and an endless supply of coupons for Bed Bath & Beyond we finally bought them. They are fabulous. Not only are they as soft & comfy as you would imagine, but they soak up water better than any regular towel-like bath mat ever could. We don't just have one in front of the shower, but also one in front of each of our sinks. We're spoiled princesses, I know. We have chocolate right now, but I'm planning on getting a lighter color for spring. Maybe cream or khaki or teal...or all three!

Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt

Not a great photo, but oh-so-yummy nonetheless! It sounds impossible, but it really does taste exactly like strawberry cheesecake! I love it. While I would of course love to eat a real cheesecake, the 170 calories in this little Yoplait cup does the trick. I don't just eat it for breakfast, sometimes I save them for a mid-afternoon  treat! (My willpower is no match for my sweet-tooth!) Yummy! 

Sharpie Pens

I admit that I am a geek about pens and writing and fonts. No question. I have the regular Sharpies in all sizes and colors. At home and at work. Seriously. So, it should really mean something when I say that the new Sharpie pens are fantastic. I love them. I won't let people borrow them because I like them so much. Sorry, co-workers. But I have plenty of regular pens you can have, because I likely won't be writing with anything else. They are super fine, which is perfect for regular writing, with the classic Sharpie flow, but they won't bleed though ordinary paper. I make lists with them, I make notes with them, I heart them. I just hope the Sharpie people hurry up and make more colors. I have only found them in the all-too-standard red, blue and black. 

Those are just a few of my favorite things today. I hope you will try them too and let me know what you think!

PS - Husbands & kitty cats are not eligible to be named to my favorite "things" lists. : )   

Highlights of 2010

With 2011 just a few hours down the road, I thought I should look back and remember what all took place in 2010...

We went snowboarding for the first time. Ouch, I hurt just thinking about it! The lodge and the shops are really as close to the slopes as I need to be.  Coordination and balance apparently got left out of my genes!

Greg had back surgery in April. Although he still isn't fully recovered and just got the nerves "lasered" a couple of weeks ago, he is definitely doing better. We're hoping 2011 will be kinder to the ol' back. I know he'd LOVE to get to go skiing & play golf this year! 

Kel graduated from Mines (undergrad) in May. It started out chilly and we were worried it would rain (it had for days) but it turned out to be beautiful! Read more about Kel's graduation here. 

As a Valentine's Day gift for hubby I got us tickets to the Senior PGA event that took place in Parker at the end of May. Even though I'm not really a golf fan, I'll admit it was a fun day! Again, we totally lucked out and the weather was fabulous! 

Right after the golf tournament, Greg's mom & dad came out for their annual Colorado visit. We always have a great time with them! This trip we took them down to Colorado Springs to see Garden of the Gods and the Broadmoor. (In general, I don't really like Colorado Springs, but both of these are MUST SEE sites!) 

In July, to celebrate Kel's graduation and  turning 21, we took a little trip to Vegas. Fun! In August we took Greg's new Denali up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a high, unpaved drive, but so worth it! We went high enough to see snow in August! 

Labor day weekend we went up to Oregon to see the Jones family. Now that Kevin & Jaci live in Medford, we get to see everyone at once! It was the weekend of the Southern Oregon, so we got to see Kevin play for a couple of days and also got to see the other out-of-towners. I can't wait until we get to watch Henry & Theo play in all the RVCC touraments! It gets really busy, but we love getting to see so many people! Gary & Carol had a fabulous big dinner party for us. Unfortunately, Greg was getting super sick and ended up being ill the whole next week...

On my birthday weekend we went to see Brad Paisley in concert (it's becoming an annual tradition!). The show was fantastic and he even sang a couple songs right next to us! Awesome. 

My mom joined us for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk in downtown Denver. Not only was it really fun to participate in but we were overwhelmed and inspired by all the people! Over 50,000 people walked in the Denver event alone! 

Our big vacation of the year was to Maui in October with Gary & Carol. It. Was. Fabulous. After Maui and our honeymoon trip to Waikiki, we're hooked on Hawaiian vacations for life! I love the beach. And relaxing. And the sound of the ocean. And the sand. And the sunsets. And the palm trees. And the shaved ice. All of it, really! 

I've already told Greg that for my 30th I want to go to the Big Island! 

After talking about it forever, just before Thanksgiving we got our kitchen updated! New countertops (we picked out the exact piece of granite ourselves), new sink, tile backsplash, new dishwasher and new refrigerator. 

It turned out better than we even imagined! Kyle at VIP Remodeling did spectacular work! I told him he needed a facebook page so I could add a glowing review! Oh, and I'm pretty sure Paige Elizabeth had a little crush on him :) She was stay by him all day and "talk" to him. 

I know I'm missing a lot of birthdays and holidays and everyday adventures, but those are a few of the highlights from 2010. We are looking forward to an even better 2011 full of fun, family and friends!

Purse Recycle, Part One

Ok, in the early spirit of spring cleaning and in hopes of a less cluttered 2011, I'm on a mission to reduce the number of purses I have (as well as many other things to come, so stay tuned!). It is not an easy mission. I got two more for christmas. One I bought for myself. I know, it is a bit of an obsession. Help me. Please!

So, I'm only planning to keep my favorites. But I hate to see all the others go into a ratty old bin at Goodwill to mix amongst the masses of junk. If anyone wants one (or two or three, don't be shy) they are yours! I'll gladly give/send/bring/ship them to you, just let me know what you like.

Brown/Bronze Kathy Van Zeeland Purse

12"W x 6"H x 4"D

Natural & Black(shiny) Guess Purse
(with removable shoulder strap)

12"W x 8"H x 3"D

Navy J Crew Bucket Purse

11"W x 8"H x 3"D

Black Leather (super soft!) Gap Bag with light purple lining

15"H x 14.5"W x 4"D

Light Green Ralph Lauren Purse

11"W x 7"H x 2.5"D

There you have it. There are more, but I haven't had a chance to take photos and measure them yet. Baby steps. Please feel free to pass along and share with friends!

Let me know if you see something you want!

Las Vegas!

In mid-June, in celebration of Kel's 21st birthday, we headed down to fabulous Las Vegas! The lights, the sounds, the massive-ness of everything - Vegas never disappoints!

The newly-legal gambler spent all night playing Poker and all day sleeping, so I have virtually no photos that he was even there....but he was.  The rest of us, however, did all sorts of shamelessly touristy things. Mom & I saw the one, the only, the fabulous, CHER! Unfortunately, no photos were allowed at all (and they were serious!) so I don't have any photos of the actual show. 

These were some of the costumes from her last tour. Trust me (I was on the 3rd row, so I know!) her costumes this time were just as amazing! She is flawless! Totally worth the price for such great seats.

And of course, we had to make it over for some yummies at In-N-Out Burger. I'm pretty sure the double-double is the only thing that got Greg through his all nighter on the strip with Kel! Yum, oh what I wouldn't do for one of their cheeseburgers and fries....

One of Greg & my favorite shows is Pawn Stars on the History Channel. Love it! Yes, we stood in line to go in the Pawn Shop...I really wanted to buy something, but yeah, we were a couple of grand short for anything in there! I settled on a totally tacky & completely fabulous pink Gold & Silver Pawn Shop t-shirt with a giant diamond ring on the front. It is my new favorite thing to wear.

My adorable husband waiting in line. We were told they were filming when we got there and they had just asked everyone to go wait outside. We're watching for an episode with a Rosa Parks letter and a cowboy hat, those were the items from that morning! 

Other highlights from the trip include: getting to meet up with my all-time-favorite boss Dan, exploring the new City Center complex & Aria Hotel, outlet shopping at Tommy Bahama (don't think the girls forced Greg to go with us, he was all over it!), exploring the wonderful Bellagio and having dinner with Uncle Billy & Aunt Coleen. Such a fun trip! I want to go back...this weekend. Or next. Seriously, again soon!

At the Bellagio Conservatory

World's Largest Chocolate Fountain

Chocolate literally comes out of the ceiling! Yum!

I think the Wynn & Encore are so beautiful. I'd really love to stay there next time...*hint, hint* : ) 

Thanks for a great time Vegas! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!