Weekend: Closet Cleanup

One of my goals for this year was to clean out our upper walk-in closet.  It was fairly organized right after we moved in (around a year and a half ago) but has since deteriorated...

Before: The horror!

Okay, so it doesn't actually look that bad (...right?).  But hubby and I had gotten into the bad habit (well, I had gotten into the habit, I don't think he paid much attention in the first place...) of just plopping whatever we needed to put away in whatever spot we found without really caring about where it went or what it looked like. Like that precarious blue suitcase...what's up with that???

So I loaded up with copious amounts of coffee and decided that this was the weekend.

After:  You can actually walk inside without tripping!

Basically this involved taking (almost) everything out and putting (almost) everything back in again.  I cleaned out a bunch of boxes (kept only the ones we will want to use to move again) and condensed some things down.  My biggest tip for storage is just keeping like things together.

Wedding china, re-organized together.

Perfect niche for suitcases.  No more precarious balancing act.

Wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, tissue and bows.  Stored better and more easily accessible.  Also got rid of a bunch of bags/tissue paper that wasn't worth holding onto.

Games, spare wedding stuff (envelopes, paper, extra invites, etc.), wedding cards...

Going through some of these things was fun, mostly the wedding stuff.  I put our wedding cards into a different, more sturdy box, and it was fun to read through them as I sorted everything out.  I hadn't looked at them since we got married 2 1/2 years ago, so it was kind of a strange feeling to see cards from people who have since passed on.  It was fun to read through all of the well-wishes from that day though, and even more fun to read the hilarious notes from our friends.  Like the one who gave us a sympathy card reading "So sorry for your loss...of the single life!"

Bedroom Updates

Made some updates to our bedroom recently.  We don't have a headboard, so I've been contemplating what to do with the wall behind our bed.  I'm not saying that this is the most innovative idea, but I really like how it turned out, especially the white frames against the blue wall.

Before I just had the wreath hanging above the bed (tied up with a ribbon), but it looked too small and kind of lost.  Once I found the white frames on super sale at Target (I don't think I paid more than $1.50 for each of them), I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  There's also room for it to expand and add more photos or whatever in the future.  Right now I'm on the lookout for a small round mirror or interesting clock to add to the upper right corner, to mimic the shape of the wreath.  And arranging things randomly means you don't have to worry about edges and corners lining up-a huge time saver that also looks much more interesting.

The way I did it was pretty simple.  1) Hang the largest object first (in this case the wreath).  Off-center is way easier (and again more interesting) to work with than centered.  2) Cut rectangles out of paper the size of your frames.  Use tape to attach them to the wall and move them around until you get the right arrangement.  3) Mark on the pieces of paper where the nail should be driven through.  It helps to measure where the hanger is on the back of your frames and then measure it out on the piece of paper-especially with cheap frames like these where the hanger was in a different spot on each one.  4) Pound in nails and hang frames.  Simple enough.  Again, not very innovative, but it works every time.

We also got some new sheets.  Well, courtesy of my parents as a Christmas gift, but I finally got around to washing them and putting them on the bed.  They're from JC Penney's, of all places, and they are super comfortable and soft and warm.  Even better than the flannel sheets we had bought for winter-which turned out to be scratchy and rough.

They have the coolest paisley pattern, too.  It's subtle-you see the detail just in the right light-and so pretty.

Here's an enhanced photo to help see the detail.  

Sunny (Purse) Day

It may be a snow-y day (although not a snow day from work...*sigh*), but I did get a little ray of sunshine today.

Behold.

(Seriously, how cute is this tissue paper?)

(And a charming card with a delightful saying?  In pink?!?  I haven't even gotten to the part that I've paid for yet...)

(Another delightful saying?  On the dust bag??  Of course, kate spade, of course. )

(Ah, here we are...)

(Adorable polka dot lining and all.)

Yes, after waiting and waiting and agonizing and attempting to purchase, and failing to purchase, and multiple emails about final sales...this sunshine-y beauty is mine.  Add in the card, the dustbag, the sayings, and the tissue paper, and it was worth every penny.  I savored opening the package.  I am such a sucker for details.  And the pink card is on this nice, heavy paper and printed with gold lettering...I just have to decide what place of honor it should occupy in our apartment.  I love it all.