Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Small Moments

Recipe for a Great Day:

Close the curtains. This is essential for creating that cozy feel. Even better if you can hear the sound of rain outside the window... but we can't control this :)


Favorite mug of coffee with a little French Vanilla creamer.


Snuggly quilt... high school grad present from Mom!


A pile 'o pillows


GREAT jazz: Standards/Vocal Jazz on Pandora


A great book. For book club, we're reading "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez... SO good!!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

How To: Mail Station and Memo Board

Okay, here's a close up of that mail station from the previous post... and some actual, functional tips!
Why a mail station?

Confession: I'm terrible at mail.

Here's my current mail station: I read all the interesting cards. Everything else I shove into the back of my cubby... until I find it months later when I do my annual cubby clean.

Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. Otherwise my bills would never get paid.

BUT I saw this great mail station idea and thought: I could be more efficient with my mail management. I could learn to recycle things from the back of my cubby. I could keep my cubby tidier so there's room for, you know, food.

So, here we go: Mail Station!

I modified the mail station idea a little and put my own low-budget twist on it. Buy something from Pottery Barn? No, thank you!

Buy something from Target that's equally cute and functional - in addition to budget-friendly? Yes, please!
To make a Mail Station:
  • Get 1 letter organizer for your desk - I got one from Target that's like a little box so my mail won't tumble out the sides
  • Grab some Command strips
  • Stick your letter organizer to the wall
  • Optional: Write "Mail Station" on an address label and stick it to the front of your mail station. In case you forget what it is...

It's great 'cuz the large slot in the back is where I put the incoming mail:


The tiny slot in the front is for the Memo Board pens and eraser:


And the medium slot in the front is for outgoing mail and for my 12-pocket receipt organizer - one pocket per month!


Pretty nifty, handy, functional, cute, and cost-efficient!

Except I still want to decoupage it with some scrapbook paper (Target, $1 for 8 sheets... yay!) because the color doesn't really go with my color scheme. I know: picky, picky!

To Make a Memo Board:
  • Get a picture frame (Target, $1.50 for a 2-pack... yay for clearance!!)
  • Remember that 8-pack of scrapbook paper? Grab a sheet of that.
  • Put the scrapbook paper in the picture frame (behind the glass, of course).

And what do you have? A handy dandy Memo Board! Write with white board pens. Erase with anything. A washcloth. A sock. A rock.

(Maybe not a rock...)

There you go!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Just a Taste...

You can all thank my coworker Sara for this blog. Yes, she is the one who coerced me into chronicling my adventures in... life, I guess! Well, mostly just crafties and great ideas from my new fav site: pinterest :)

That was also Sara's fault.

So here's a little treat for today:


That's the back of my door!

This is gonna be an exciting blog, no?

But... for reals. Cute clothespins on ribbon for notes? Check! Mail organization system? Check! Inexpensive, functional, and adorable homemade memo board? Check!

Stay tuned for all of this plus much more! Sewing! Cooking! Organizing! Baby clothes! (Not for my babies... for my friends' babies...) Good books! Other stuff!

It's gonna be great! Or at least practical. And cute. We're all about that.