Gift Ideas

I thought I would give you a few gift suggestions in case you are going to do some shopping this week.
I have tried to include both some online and local options.

Gift Ideas for work or neighbors: Bath and Body Winter Candle (add a nice lighter or snuffer), Tea Towels and Hand Soap, A homemade basket of goodies 

Weddings or House Warming 

A nice cookbook (The Pioneer Woman, Magnolia, Taste of Home, Calling all Cooks), Kitchen Timer, Aprons (Athropologie, William Sonoma) Recipe Cards (include one of your favorite recipes), Huggable Hangers  

Girls/Girlfriends

Stabilo Pens (Amazon or Michaels), Personalized May Designs Book (maydesigns.com), Leather Journal, Personalized items (Frecklebox), Make-up Eraser (Sweet Pineapple or Amazon), Capri-Blue Volcano Candle (Sweet Pineapple, Anthropologie, Nordstrom), Embossed Personalized Stationery (thestationerystudio.com), Teleties Hair Ties (Sweet Pineapple) 

Teachers Restock their Sticker Stash, Gift Cards to places that will deliver Lunch to the school, Bath and Body hand sanitizers, Barefoot Dreams Socks (Sweet Pineapple, Nordstrom), Experience Gift Card (Spa, Top Golf, Dave and Busters), Letterboards (Hobby Lobby, Letterfolk) 

Gentleman and boys Duke Cannon Soaps (Sweet Pineapple, Art & Soul) Sticky Wallets for their phone, Leather Luggage Tags, Nike or Stance Socks, Joke/Riddle/Weird Fact Books (Amazon), Aura Cacia Eucalyptus Shower Tablets (Earth Fare, Sprouts, Whole Foods)

I will be officially off from blogging on Friday, however, if I find some really good things while we are out and about I will post them on Instagram......make sure and follow me there.

Have the best Thanksgiving!!!

Thinking of Thanks

Here we are at the week we all think about all we have to be thankful for.....and it really is a lot.  I hope in the midst of planning menus and table settings and shopping trips and naps and all the things that will go on in the week you will have some time to sit, reflect and be thankful.

I wanted to pop in today and just share with you a few of the things I will be offering thanks for

I am so very thankful for My People.....those who get me, those who know the good and the bad and still take my calls and answer my texts, the tried and true, solid people in my life.

I am so very thankful for Praying Friends - I have some faithful, praying people in my life.  Sometimes I text them and ask for prayer for specific things.  Sometimes they know what's going on in my life and they just pray on their own.  And I know several of them just pray without any prompting at all.  They sometimes ask me to pray and it is a privilege that I don't take lightly. I am thankful for that.

I am so very thankful for Kind Words....it just absolutely means so much when someone takes the time to speak encouragement.  It doesn't have to be much.  A quick text, a simple email, a direct message on Facebook or Instagram can be all it takes.  How often do you think of someone during the day, for whatever reason they cross your mind? Well occasionally those sweet people will take a minute or two and send a message that says "thinking of you", "hope all is well", "hang in there", etc.  It is just what I need at times and I am thankful for it.

Of course, there are so many other things like my family, friends, health, jobs, provision, safety, opportunity, comfort, contentment, experiences that have made me more wise, a great Bible Study, down time, busyness, choices, rest.....and so much more.

Of course, everything is not perfect.  There are always things that I wish were different.  I think we all have those.  But THIS week in particular, I want to stay focused on all the things that are right.

This week, in particular,  I want to Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.


I am so thankful for You meeting me here to chat, to share.....I will definitely be thinking of you this week.

I hope you find time to sit alone.....to feel thankful.....to experience thankfulness to your very core.....to soak in it.....to be refreshed by it.

Talk to you Wednesday!

Thanksgiving Dressing

If you clicked on this looking for a recipe for dressing, I am sorry.  I am talking about what to wear on Thanksgiving Day....but maybe you will still find something you like.  I know the food is important but we have to give a little thought about what we will be wearing too.

I spent a little time online scoping out a few fall items you might want to consider when putting together your turkey day ensemble.


How about this sweater in this beautiful Cider color

Madewell Sweater

The color is so suitable for the day and it looks warm and cozy.  Plus, I do like Madewell clothing and this one is on a good sale.
However, if you are eating in a home where the heat is often cranked up or several people are gathered, you may need something lighter weight, try this

Essentials Turtleneck

Pair this with a nice dark wash or black jean and you will be stylishly casual for the day.

This scarf would be a great add to amp up the simple top above

Floral Leaf Scarf

It has all the perfect colors and the fall leaves are perfect to set the right mood

or if plaid is more your thing give this one a try

Zando Plaid Scarf

Now if you dress up a bit for the big meal, how about this dress from Old Navy

Sweater Dress

while they have it styled with the shorter bootie, I think a knee boot would also be super cute with it.

or this one has even more pizazz

Tassel-Tie Boho

I will be wearing this 

Karen Kane Top

with some stretchy black leggings that will graciously expand thru the day.

Whatever you choose, I hope it is cute and most importantly comfortable.

Now I better go google some dressing recipes.

Have a great weekend.

Christmas Craft - Part 2

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Craft idea from Monday.  If you missed it click here.  But just in case sewing is not your thing......you might enjoy what I have for you today.

Here is the thing.....I love Christmas EVERYTHING.  But you have to store all this stuff somewhere, so it is just not practical to buy everything Christmas.  However, that doesn't have to stop us from going all out.

For instance, when I shop for Christmas pillows I try to find the Pillow covers rather than actual pillows.  All year long I have 20 inch throw pillows on my couch.  So when it comes to Christmas I just zip off their cover and replace it with a Christmas cover.

Pottery Barn has a great selection.  Here are a few of the ones I have

Car and Tree pillow cover

Lumbar Pillow

Plaid Cover

Now if you like a good Homegoods shopping trip as much as I do, you can still shop there.  I search for the pillows that have a cover with a zipper.  I just donate the pillow insert and use my own pillow insert in these as well.

So essentially, I only have to store these pillow covers

which saves a lot of storage space.

Now I also have this bench on my landing

I  didn't want to have to buy a whole new cushion for it, but the bright yellow wasn't giving me a warm holiday feel.

So I went to JoAnn's and picked up this 

Minky Fleece in a bright red that would be perfect for Christmas.

I simply laid my bench cushion right down the center of the fabric

and I literally pinned it in place

We don't sit on this bench.  So I am not worried about the pins.

But now the cushion is covered in a more festive fabric and I just have to remove the fabric and store it for the off season......which will take a lot less storage space than having a whole different cushion

I added some simple pillows and now the bench is all dressed for Christmas.

Think of ways you can use what you already have.  Think about how to just give your regular things a more festive look.  You will save yourself some storage space and some money.

See you back here on Friday.

Christmas Craft

Welcome to Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend.

Ok, I have just a few Christmas Crafts to show you this week......just in case you want to whip up a few over the next few weeks.

Today, I want to share this custom fabric I found at JoAnn's.  They have everything from Disney to Super Heroes to Christmas prints.  I, of course, chose Christmas prints.

Honestly, look at how cute these are

Once you select your print, you get to choose what type fabric you want....fleece, poplin, knit or even a canvas.

I selected the poplin.  I was originally going to make these little nieces and nephews pillowcases they could enjoy during the holidays.  But then I decided I would make them each a giant gift bag.  This way they can gather all their goodies at all the grandparent's homes and family parties.

The poplin fabric is 58 inches wide so I only bought one yard. The first thing I did was fold the edges under and sew all the way around every edge.  I wanted it to have a nice finished edge everywhere so I didn't have to worry about raveling.

Then I bought  this bias tape.  Make sure you get the wide single fold

I simply laid it all the way across the fabric and pinned it in place

Then I sewed it in place keeping super close to each edge

This made the perfect little casing to feed some regular ribbon through to make the drawstring

All that was left to do was to sew up each side to make the bag.

Here are the finished products

Once I threaded the ribbon through, I simply tied a little jingle bell on to each ribbon

I think they turned out super cute

There are pages and pages of personalized fabric to choose from and the possibilities are endless.  

These were very easy and only took about an hour to complete all three bags.

Personalize some fabric today and make something cute for someone!

Have a wonderful week!!!!

Closet update - continued

Finishing up my closet update for you today. If you missed the first part, click here to get caught up.

Today I am going to show you a few of the items I got to help keep things organized and tidy.

These are two of the large sweater drawers from The Container Store.  Focus on the two on the lower shelf.  I am going to cover them first

These drawers will slide right open and are the perfect size to hold all my scarfs.

I used one for all my fashion type scarfs.  I just rolled each of them and now I can see them all in one glance.

The other one is holding my cold weather scarfs

Now the two drawers on the upper shelf are holding my leggings and exercise/lounging tops.

Two small shoe drawers stack nicely on one sweater box for extra storage

I used two shirt drawers to hold my belts (right) and my travel packing cubes (left).  Again I stacked two small shoe drawers on top of the one on the right to hold miscellaneous watches and gloves.

I bought these shelf dividers to keep all my purses standing nice and tall and organized.

And, of course,  my closet is full of my favorite  hangers

Honestly, these are so slim and don't get all tangled.  They really are life changing hangers.

Now here is a round up of all the organizing items

Small shoe drawer

Remember you can use these for things other than shoes like I am using them above.
It is a great size for sports bras, hats and gloves.

I have two of these stacked on top of one of these

Stackable Sweater Drawer

I also used this shirt size of the stackable drawers

Shirt/Accessory Drawer

This was the perfect size for my belts.

And here are the shelf dividers I am using on the tippy top shelf to organize my purses

Chrome Shelf Divider

I also used them in my husband's closet for his sweaters.

I have talked about Huggable Hangers enough on here but you can't have too many of a good thing

Huggable Hangers

I am wearing all kinds of things that I haven't worn in ages.  I am accessorizing like crazy.  So far it has been very easy to keep everything tidy.  I think that is when you know you have a system that is going to work.  Everything has a place......it makes me very happy.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you back on Monday.

A New Closet

I told you this summer I was working on a big project this summer.....oh my goodness we just completed it.  We decided to redo our closets....new flooring, repainting, removing the wire shelving and getting a custom closet system.  It was a big task.  The flooring was the easy part.  A couple of years ago we took the carpet out of our bedroom and replaced it with wood.  We knew we would use the same wood floor in the closets.  OK, one decision DONE.  Then I started trying to get estimates for the closet system.  We have had several put in.  We were so happy with the company we used but for the life of me I could not find their name.  We dug back thru old emails and old business cards.  Could not find them.  So I just started calling companies that came up in my google search of "Closet Organizers".  I got four different quotes.  They were all very expensive.  Then for the first time in about 3 years we up and decided to go the Home and Garden show.......and there they were.  My closet people were right there.  We immediately set up an appointment to get a quote.  Thank goodness we found them.  They were about $1500 less than my other quotes!

In prep for this redo I have been purging like crazy.  I put my hands on every piece of clothing, shoes, accessories and all matter of other things a person keeps in her closet.  I had a yard sale.  I donated a ton of stuff.  And I even took some things to consignment.

Want to see some pictures......

Well here is the sad little carpet I started with

and here are a few before pictures of the closet wire racks with all my goodies

I had the one section that I could hang long items and a self-installed wire rack for my scarfs

Then I had two walls of double hanging, another self-installed wire rack for belts and several shelves for shoes.  Oh and the wicker hamper I found at Target was wedged in the only spot I could find for it.

and a couple more views from different angles

I had to completely empty EVERYTHING and the new wood floors went down

Then the painter came in and patched all the holes and gave it a new coat of paint

And then Classic Closets came in and installed the new system.  We wanted the additional shelf on the top for extra storage

Tons of shelves for shoes and STUFF. 

Plus we got built in hampers!!!!

And still lots of space for hanging everything.

Literally when we got to this point.  I would just walk in there and stand and admire it all.  It was so nice to have everything look so nice and fresh.

Then it was time to reload

I brought back my little storage ottoman.  It is great place to sit and put on my shoes.  Plus it is just another great place to sit and pray.

My whole married life I have always had just one season of clothes in my closet at a time.  I have always packed up my off season stuff and stored it in under bed storage bags, bins, baskets or wherever.  Then when the seasons would change I would unpack all of those clothes and switch out my closet.  Let me just say.  I owned way too many clothes and shoes.  I didn't wear half of it.  I couldn't even fit in half of it.  And here is what would happen.....I would see a cute yellow sweater and think how I would love it in the summer......then I would unpack my summer stuff and discover I already owned two cute yellow sweaters.  Now I have everything I own in the closet at one time.  It is a glorious feeling.  I can actually see everything.  I am wearing more of it because I can actually see it now. A couple of the ladies at work accused me of going on a shopping spree.  I had to confess I was just wearing stuff I "found" in my very own closet.

Come back on Friday and I am going to show you my purchases that I made to help organize my new space.