Catchin' Up - Baltimore & Irene

I've been meaning to write this post for months!  Finally, I'm catching up and getting it out there. Just to warn you - there are tons of pictures in this one...

At the end of August, Chicken Little and I flew into the storm, literally. The weekend before she was supposed to start school, Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. I was concerned that our flights would be cancelled, so instead of being delayed, I was able to reschedule to leave a day early... Yes, you read that right.

We arrived on Friday night and the hurricane hit on Saturday night. I know that a lot of people were flooded and without power.  For us, thank goodness, the storm was inconvenient, but not too bad.

(This is the view from CL's window.)

Saturday it was a bit drizzly during the day, but we had tons to do. We had to move her into her new apartment - which meant painting, buying her a mattress and hitting the thrift stores to find a headboard. All started well: mattress - check, paint - check, Salvation Army....closing early because of the storm?!? It was 1:00, and it wasn't even raining yet! So we improvised. But first a trip to unload the van and check out her new digs.

This is her building - promising, but no parking.  (I ended up with a $75 parking ticket - grrr! - was NOT happy about that!)

But wait - a flight of stairs just to get into the building - a little of the luster wore off...

After unloading, we made a 4-hour detour through southern Pennsylvania! Oh. My. Goodness! That was some of the best thrifting - EVER!  We ended up finding an old wall-mounted magazine rack to use as a headboard ($25), a bench with storage (critical feature!) ($20), and a CUTE school desk and chair ($8!!) that she is using a night stand.  We also found several old suitcases (that I HAD TO HAVE), but that's for another post.



Finally, we made the trek back to her apartment and unloaded the van (in the rain).  Since the storm was really starting to come in, we decided to head straight to the hotel for the night.  BIG MISTAKE - all of the power at the hotel was out - ALL. NIGHT. LONG!  The apartment never lost power - hmmmm...

Relatively minor damage in her neighborhood, but they did lose one big tree which blocked the road. 

Back to the salt mines - painting, assembling and unpacking.  And a trip to the grocery store and Home Depot before I headed back to Texas. 



Lots of work to do!

Seriously - that's her closet!  Don't you just love old buildings with character?!  Needless to say, we had to go to Wally World and get her one of those self-contained closet thingys (see below) so she would have a place to hang her clothes.

I also noticed that there were a couple of spots on her ceiling that appeared to be darker  than the rest.  Apparently, the landlord still hasn't fixed this problem.  Hopefully, it was just because the storm was so strong, and it's not something that leaks every time it rains because the spot happens to be right over Chicken Little's bed.  The sky really could be falling - HA! HA! HA!!! Now, that would be a rude awakening!  (I crack myself up!)

On a positive note - look at those wood floors!  GORGEOUS!

CL's smiling because we've finished the painting and have started to assemble things, and she doesn't have anything else to carry up those darn stairs!  She's standing in front of a cute little mantel (no fireplace) in her room. 

OMG!  It was a loooooonnnnggg day of work. The only people third floor walk-up apartments are good for are college students who don't know any better!  EGAD!

So, we hadn't finished unpacking when I had to leave, but we had made a TON of progress.  Here's the almost finished room.

Magazine rack/headboard hung on the wall with about a gazillion screws (still, I told her not to weight it down too much).  Notice a pattern here?  It's perilous for the child to go to sleep!

She has a white matelasse spread on the bed because it will go with everything, and she has a couple of colorful quilts that she throws on top. 

Also, there's the desk as nightstand, and that ugly but practical closet thing. The cute light we bought this summer is one of a pair.  The other one is hanging on the other side of the room over her real work desk.

Her it is with her pink desk (a painted garage sale find from last year), and the dresser that she inherited from the previous tenant.  We painted the dresser and the magazine rack the same gray (found in the ooops! section at Wally World).  We also spray painted the shiny brass hardware a hammered nickel(?).

And we hung the sheers - I tried to convince her to get heavier curtains - but this is what she wanted.  They are pretty, but I hope she's not too cold in the winter - sleeping right there by the windows. 
The visitor on the bed belongs to one of her roommates.  His name is Christopher Robin - he made himself quite comfortable right away.
The rest of the apartment is cute, too.  It was already furnished because she has two roommates who have been there for a couple of years.  I'm sure we really disrupted their weekend.  Oh well - all in all, I think it was a successful trip.  We got her mostly settled and we didn't get washed away.  I did, however, have to take to my bed for two days afterwards just to recover!!


25 Days of Christmas

17.  Do you take neighbor gifts/treats to anyone, everyone, a select few?

Most years, we take cookies to the neighbors we talk to on a regular basis.  But since I've decided that I'm only baking a couple of batches, we will probably be a little Scroogey with them this year.

Creativity is Messy

Remember my office/craft room make-over? 

It was so pretty and clean and crisp and ORGANIZED!

Today, it looks like this.

Yes, that is a make-shift paint palette (aka plastic plate) sitting on my laptop.  It'll be fine.

Oh my goodness!!! How did this happen??

So, two things:

1. I am knee deep in unfinished projects (literally).  They've been piling up since before Christmas, and I just keep starting more, and
2. I've decided to reorganize based on color.

Remember, I was inspired by The.Art.Room. at camp. The paint, ribbon, fabric and paper were all organized by color.  Here's the paper...

And here is my newly re-organized paper stash

How can you not love that?!  It's pretty awesome, the only problem is that I still have to contend with the rest of the mess. 

I'm looking at it as a positive that I prefer to step over the piles and actually work on (AND FINISH) something instead of letting the cleaning up distract me so that I never really work on anything.

That's gotta be progress, right?  Just sayin'...

Breathing Room...

It seems like lately there are so many To Do's hanging over my head.  When I get home from work, I just don't know where to start and it's overwhelming.  So, instead of doing, I sit and I read blogs and lament having too much to do.  Ha!

Last night and this evening, instead of sitting, I decided to DO. 

Most people have a junk drawer or two.  I was starting to feel like all of the drawers in my kitchen and laundry room were junk drawers.  I tackled 6 drawers in the kitchen and two in the laundry room (I only have two in the laundry).  Here are the before and afters:

Laundry Room

 Two drawers in a welsh cupboard in the kitchen.

OMG! Look at this one!  This was/is the TRUE junk drawer - getting excited, yet?  I saved the best for last...

Three more drawers in the kitchen.  Don't ask about the batteries - they are one of those things that we never can find when we need 'em - now they are all in one place!  AND I HAVE AN EMPTY DRAWER!!! 

Breathing room!!!


How exciting is this?!  Hmmmm..... maybe I need to get out a bit more.


Even though it's just a small start, I feel so much better.  I feel like I have a little bit of breathing room.  I've finished SOMETHING - accomplished SOMETHING!  Whew - it's a little victory, but it is a victory. 


Now, I'm off to take down the Christmas decorations - finally.  :-)

I'm linking up over at Frugal Friday at Shabby Nest, Domestically Speaking, Funky Junk Interiors and Show and Tell Saturday:


     

What a Dump!

I'm feeling a little "less-than" today.  I've been reading all the blogs that are chock-a-block full of organizing, and cleaning, and simplifying, and resolutioning, and, and, and...

...And I. AM. TIRED.  I'm really, really bone-weary tired. 

My house is a mess!  Not one single Christmas decoration has been taken down and put away - NOT ONE.  I made a comment earlier, wondering why the decorations are beautiful and festive in December, but magically on January 1st they become messy and in the way.

Things seem to be only half-finished lately.  The pans get washed and then sit drying for days (we'll use them again eventually, what's the point of putting them up?)

The kitchen table hasn't been used for a meal in two weeks because it's become a drop zone (along with the kitchen counter) and a temporary work space. Notice the computer battling the Christmas decorations for space.

And it has taken me F-I-V-E days to get the laundry done for only T-H-R-E-E people.  And none of it has been put away yet.

When my space is a mess, my mind is a mess.  I cannot concentrate when these To Do's keep interrupting me, pointing and laughing. 

Anyone else out there still have their Christmas stuff up?  Anyone else need a holiday to recover from the holidays?  Anyone? Anyone?  Beuhler? Beuhler? Beuhler?   Hello?  Is this thing working???

Organizing Jewelry

After reading this post by The Nester, I thought maybe I had something helpful to offer when it came to organizing jewelry. 

I tried different storage methods:  throwing it all in a box (tangled mess), the compartmentalized things that hang in the closet (too hard to get stuff out and no good for necklaces), a tool box (ugly), plastic bead holders (inconvenient), and I even considered downsizing (I came to my senses before anything too tragic happened).

If I don't see it, or can't get to it quickly, I won't wear it.  So, here's the solution I came up with when we moved into our house, and it's been working really well for me.

The things I wear everyday (wedding ring and watch) or that I'm going to wear the next day sit in these dishes on my bathroom counter.  (Yes, I do put out what I'm going to wear the night before - don't judge.)

I know, this is a bead holder, but I took the top off for easy access, and it fits perfectly inside a bathroom drawer.  I keep all my earrings in it, somewhat organized by color/style.

There was an unusable section of my closet where I decided to hang my necklaces. I found a few towel hooks we had laying around, and bought the longer 6-hook bar in the bath section at Target (maybe $9.99).  I mounted them at various heights to accommodate the different chain lengths, and then hung all my necklaces on them.  WAA-LAA! I can see everything and no more tangles! 

All of the "good" jewelry is neatly stored in those little boxes down below (little boxes because there's not that much). 

And, one more thing...purses!  I hate it when they get dusty, so for those that didn't have dust bags, I used old pillowcases, cut them to fit, and sewed some of my own.  I took a picture of each purse, laminated it, and tied it on the appropriate dust bag.  I put shower curtain rings on the lower closet bar, and hung the bags from those rings. Now, it's so easy to switch out my purse - and they're protected and off the floor. 

Have I gone overboard?  Maybe, but it's so nice to know where everything is and to be able to get to it easily.  What are some of your best tips for organizing accessories?

I'm linking up over at The Shabby Nest and Funky Junk Interiors.  See ya there!

Christmas Decor 2009

To get everyone in the spirit and start those creative juices flowing, Beth at The Stories of A2Z is hosting a linky party of last year's Christmas mantle.  I'll be linking up.  Check it out - lots of great inspiration.

Here are some of my terrible pictures from last year. It's my goal to do much better with the decorations and the photo taking this year!  I'm hoping that Chicken Little will help me get everything decorated while she is home for Thanksgiving. 

Here's the tree, the beast, and the mantle in the background.  Our mantle is only about 6" wide, so I'm somewhat limited on what I can put up there.  I'd like to figure out a way to expand it a bit.  I also made that big letter "C" last year - it could stand for Christmas, but really it stands for "Cash" our last name.

And another view of the tree, taken from the catwalk upstairs.  Yes, that is a big pink peacock on the top of my tree.  It's not traditional, but I like it.  It's showy just like my tree.  I know you're jealous of it's fabulosity.  ;-) I've got quite the collection of ornaments - and I use EVERY single one!  More is more! 

This is the little silver tree I set up in the dining room.  I wish I could find the other pictures of the table.  It was all in silver and gold - really pretty and sparkly!

The kitchen sideboard - this was my "other" favorite.  :-)  I also had a little tree in the kitchen and we decorated it with sugar cookies.  I kept having to redecorate that one. 

And, finally we had the hall tree in the entryway last year.  I decided to hang the stockings here since the mantle is so skinny. 

I have been dreading decorating for Christmas, but now I'm starting to get excited about it.  We have to get a new tree since I threw our old one out last year - very happy about that!  How about you?  Are you planning to decorate the same way you always have, or are you planning to change things up a bit this year?

Cinderelly, Cinderelly...

I would just like to know who is supposed to do all the chores around here now that Chicken Little has moved away?

This is how I spent my Sunday:

Making pancakes - if CL were home, I feel certain that someone would have made breakfast for the fams before I got out of bed. (BTW - the trick to a perfect pancake is waiting to flip them until those bubbles pop.)

Unloading the dishwasher... really?? Where does this stuff go? I don't remember how to do this. At least since she's gone, it takes several days before it's full enough to run.

Oh, the glamorous life! Poop-scoopin' duty! Jealous?? (just keepin' it real, folks)

A little Fall decorating outside...



...and a little decorating inside. This part was fun, but why bother? No one is here to appreciate it. heavy *sigh* and mopey face

Somewhere in here I also went to the grocery store, paid a couple of bills, folded a load of laundry and cut back/cleaned out the back yard flower beds and 1/2 of the beds in the front. Oh woe and weariness, poor, poor, pitiful me... ;-)



Finally, Prince Charming rode in, took a little pity on my Cinderella soul... and cooked dinner. Yes, that is THREE roasted chickens you see. PC's traveling quite a bit, and he's trying to make sure I eat something other than cereal for the next couple of weeks. I can cook, but I don't like to - especially when it's only me. Besides, the man is a professional, so it's better for everyone to just stay out of his way and be appreciative!

Anyway, PC made enough for our dinner (just the two of us even though there are three plates out - it's a habit), and enough left over for salads and sandwiches and maybe even chicken salad later this week. YEA!

CRASH! Back to reality.... did you see those dirty pans? Who do you think did the dishes?

Chicken Little, my sky is falling!!!

Just to be clear - this post is not about implying PC did nothing - he did! In addition to dinner, he did the man-stuff: mowed, edged and weed-eated (is that a word?). This is simply my angst around the loss of the live-in child-labor I used to have.