The Dresser: Part Two.Two

Hello all!

***I need to start saying this before all of my posts really get started, make sure you go and check out my disclaimer tab and my credits tab so that you know that I am legit and that I am not trying to do anything crafty or bad. Just my opinions and thoughts. ***

So today, I wanted to share with you the look we achieved with some items in our guest room. This is a continuation of the dresser post from yesterday, of me refinishing the dresser. This is more of a "what is going in and on the dresser" post, so that is why is is in the Reduce, Reuse, Reorganize section of my blog. These are all things that I had in my house and I simply repurposed, aka, didn't use myself, even though that is what they were intended for. (Also, side note, you will notice that the leave in conditioner that I talk about is not actually a full size or a travel size bottle of the real conditioner. That is because the bottle is an emptied out Downy Wrinkle release spray bottle, from Walmart, that I washed out thoroughly and filled with my leave in conditioner. Just one more way this is a RRR post) 

 The last installment will be to show you the finished room, obviously, so for now, this is a post on some of the knick-nacks and decor we will be using as well as an update on the furniture situation. 

Here we go!

To start out, this is the dresser now:

These are all things I had in my house already to put into the guest room. 

The first thing is I put some of Ella's baby oil with aloe vera into one of the oil bottles from a set that I got from my great grandmother (on my mom's side). They are so beautiful and delicate and the set really reminds me of old world romance and sophistication, so I wanted to bring a little of that into the very bold, modern colors of the guest room. The second oil bottle I filled with Aromatherapy oil from Fruits and Passion. There was a lot left in the bottle because I only used this once. The scent is not my favorite, but it is pleasant, and I found it helped me go to sleep, so maybe my guests would enjoy a little tap of aromatherapy on their wrists before they sleep. 

The third container in the series is a squat, wide container that was probably used for powder back in the day, but I simply poured a whole bottle of back up lotion I had in my closet. It is lavender scented, which is calming, and I enjoy this Aveeno lotion because it is smooth and well scented. Again, something great to use before bed or before a cup of relaxing tea on the elbows, and knees. 

This next lotion is amazing. I got it from Winners and I have no idea what the brand is, I will try and find out for you guys! It is in the scent snow gardenia, and I am obsessed with gardenia at the moment. it is just so luxurious and lovely, and the bottle went with my white and gold with a hint of black theme. I just loved the packaging and the scent and the pump. Everything about it is perfect to me.

The next two items (pictured together) are two lavender mugs that I picked up at Winners for $4! 

Now, a little random background and info,when I started this project, I was thinking that the guest room would have that light and airy Martha's Vineyard, upper Vermont feel to it. I wanted it to be very light and refreshing and relaxing to be in, with a hint of subtle glamour and a huge helping of relaxation. I wound up going in a very different direction. The room is still very calming to me, but I did some fun things with the bedroom layout and even the mirrors and the hooks and the decor is very unique and very me. 

I have been told that when people are around me they feel very calm and relaxed, and that when I am working, I have this calm "zen' energy about me. I like that. And I wanted people to feel ME when they stayed in my home. I wanted little touches of my childhood and my passion and my laid back personality. So, I went to a very pretty grey for the walls, with royal purple accents, white furniture and hardware, and little tiny black accents throughout the room. 

These mugs really reflect where i wanted the room to be, back when we first started. And I still think that they are quite pretty, and I enjoy looking at them, so I figured I would keep them n the guest room, especially because I don't really have any other mugs that I want to put in there right now. Though, now that i think about it, I do have a really nice set of black mugs with coasters from David's Tea that I really don't use because I prefer my prettier mugs. So I will start another poll. If you want to help me decorate my guest room, vote on the sidebar! Black simple mugs, to bring a little more of that black into the theme, or keep the white and lavender mugs? Vote vote vote! (I will post pictures from the David's Tea website so you can see the black mugs, and the lavender mugs side by side after I publish this post!)

So these next two things are self explanatory. I found this lavender floral printed candle that smells like roses and peonies to me at Winners as well. Again, while I am telling you where I found these items, these were not bought for the guest room. these were things that caught my eye, and as I "shopped my stash" for houseware items, I found them again and they just happened to fit the theme. The other two items are a ring holder, that I received from my mother ages ago, and a bowl for whatever the guest wants to use it for that I received from my husband's aunt. Both are clear glass with a floral pattern on them. 

These next products are all ones that I had bought for traveling and not used at all, so they are going into my guestroom now. I just feel like baggage prices are so freaking high right now that the less my guests have to pack, the better. And God forbid one of my guests has their luggage lost in transit, they can rest well knowing that they will have fresh breath and a clean body, as well as a little something to get rid of their headache and settle their stomach. I have added a few more things, but you will have to see those next week! 

Here we have Tresemme's Moisture Shampoo and conditioner (all of these items are travel size), a Softsoap Coconut Body Cleansing Scrub, a bottle of sexyhealthyhair Leave In Conditioner, Extra Strength Tylenol, Pepto, and Beano. As well as Crest Toothpaste with Scope and Glide Floss. I have added a few extras to this first aid/get well soon/beauty drawer, but you will have to see those next week.  

The last item on my list is this Tassimo. yes, I know you are all thinking, there is no way you had a perfectly unused Tassimo coffee maker in your hall closet waiting to be used. But, I actually did. I had this because it was our house warming present from our realtors. We have an identical black one in our kitchen, and I love it, so I am going to be putting some Earl Grey tassimo discs in there and it will be ready to go for my guests.  

So, that is what we will be putting on and in the dresser. 

Come back next week to see everything that I added and see the entire layout of the room as well as the other furniture we refinished and the extras we added. 

Warm wishes! 

What I pack for.... four days

Coming soon to a blog near you... what I pack for a three to four day trip (though honestly, I could have worn these outfits in different styles and rotations for proably... eight days and I still would have looks cute and stylish.) It's coming, I promise! You'll see!

What's In My Purse

Hello loves, 

Today I wanted to share with you what is in my purse. A lot of beauty people do these posts, and I just wanted to share with you how I not only keep my purse clean, but also keep it organized and at the same time, be prepared for most situations. 

Note: This is not my baby bag, this is just my purse. While my hubby is home, he carries the baby bag, because he is my hero, and I will do a baby bag post in two weeks' time, keep a lookout for it. 

For now, this is what is in my purse:

First off, my purse is an American Eagle by Payless bag. It is camel, white and navy, and I saw it and fell in love with it. It has a detachable shoulder strap and brass hardware. It just felt like summer to me when I saw it. The most important feature of this bag is that it has a lot of pocket and pouches to put things into so I can keep my items organized. Everything has a place. 


 

This is my Jessica Simpson wallet in brown and forest green with gold hardware. 

I have a Revlon by Marchesa manicure kit in here, just in case I break a nail while I'm out. 

These are my keys. 

I have a small bottle that I keep my pills in, stuff like Gravol, Tylenol, and Gas-X. Hey, you never know! I also keep a personal pack of tissues, just in case. 

Next are my George (ooo) brand sunglasses. I have yet to get nice ones, so for now, these are it. 

Next, I have my lipstick case. In here, I keep two mint flossers, a neutral coloured hair tie, and my Hurraw Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm. And, I also keep blotting paper in my purse for when I am wearing make-up. 

Next is a big nerd one for me, but I keep a sewing kit in my purse. Yes, a full sewing kit. I got it from Micheal's for $1.50 and it has never let me down. It has all the things you need in an emergency in it, and I love it dearly. It doesn't take up much room, as you can see, it is smaller than a cell phone or a deck of cards. It doesn't pop open on me, and it fit perfectly into my little zipper pouch. 

 

And last, but not least, I always have a bottle of water in my purse. Always. I have been drinking a lot more water lately, and this helps me. This is not the water bottle I use, I have reusable ones that save the earth and are pretty, but this is the one I DID have at the time from a baby shower I went to last weekend. 







Well, that's everything. I know I didn't go a lot into all of the organization, but you can think of this as a mashup of Reduce, Reuse, Reorganize and Beauty is on the Inside. 

I hope this helped you a little. I am not a make-up re-applier, so I never carry any make-up, other than my lip colour in my hand bag because I feel like that is a waste of time, and I'm a mom, when will I have time to re-apply my make-up throughout the day? Answer: I don't, so why am I going to weight my purse down with useless things? I don't. I keep my bag minimal, which means I can easily find everything and I don't have to do a huge purse clean sweep at the end of every week. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope to see you soon. 

Warm wishes. 

My Linen Closet

Hey all, 

I wanted to give you a little peak of how I want to run this page. I want to show you how I organize my house little by little. Sometimes I have to buy new organizers, sometimes I re-purpose old organizers and boxes. it all depends on what I need. Though, I guess the biggest the thing to take away from these posts is that I don't spend a lot of money on organizers because I don't have it to spend. I slowly get the organizers that I do buy. Also, you don't need to completely remodel your kitchen or buy thousands of dollars worth of closet and cabinet organizers to be organized and have all of your products at your fingertips. 

So, I hope you enjoy this little little organizational blog. 

This is my upstairs closet, it was a mess before, but I forgot to take pictures of before, so you just get the lovely after. 

This is a multi-purpose closet for us. It holds our travel toiletries, our cleaning supplies, our bulk toiletries, our spare electronics, our vacuum, our extra towels and linens. 

To start at the top shelf, and work our way down....

Our top shelf has our box of toiletries, this was a hat box that I bought a long time ago for about $20.00 from Target. I have used it for a thousand different things and now it holds Ziploc bags of toiletries and my toiletries travel bags. Next, is the doggy travel bag that we have for Khaleesi. We have some dog travel bowls and poop bags in there right now, just to keep them out of the way and organized. Next we have an extra sheet, the other ones are in the laundry right now, and a small pile of bibs for the baby. 

The next shelf is the most used things in our family, so we put it at eye level, making sure that we can see and find everything quickly and efficiently, but also ensuring that the little grabby one doesn't get any ideas. 

As you can see, we have our stash of bulk toilet paper, and then to the right, we have an old utensil organizer that hold our air fresheners, our unique soaps, our light bulbs, our extra scrubby sponges, and extra travel tissue packs. Here is a closer look at that organizer:

To the right of that I used an old paper/magazine organizer to hold my husband's extra toiletries. I have his bodywash, and extra bottle of shampoo and an extra tube of deoderant.  Here is a closer look at that organizer. 

To the right of that is a huge row of lotions. I try a thousand different types of lotions, and there are all ones that aren't my favorite, but they're okay, so I will use them up to ensure I'm not wasting money. Then I have an old tote that has miscellaneous lotions, toners, oils and facial cleansers in it. Again, these are ones that aren't my favorite, but I keep them on hand in case a friend needs to wash their face or for when I run out of my good ones and I need to order more. Basically I will use them again sometime, but they aren't my favorite, but again, not wanting to waste money. Next, I have a huge pile of tissue boxes. And my bulk mouthwash. I have a little bottle in my bathroom, so we keep the big ones out here. 

On the next shelf down, I have several large totes, again, they are all mixed because I have collected them throughout the years. This first one has house cleaning supplies, stuff like Goo Gone or Goof Off, carpet powder, that orange cleaner for hands, and stove-top cleaner. 

Next is a box full of shampoos, conditioners, razor replacements, excess hair products, and my feminine pads, sorry if that is weird, but this is what is in my closet. 

Next is a tote full of sunscreen, Proactive, shaving cream and bug spray. Note: All of the green totes that you see here, I bought at Dollarama. Yes, 1.50 for a green tote that you can use anywhere. Great, I know. 

Next, I have this huge container of batteries. We have a little one, obviously, and so many of her toys are battery operated, not to mention my toothbrush, my face scrubber, Ty's flashlights, our remotes, and so many other devices in our home that are battery powered that it was just reasonable for us to have a ton of batteries on hand. This is actually an old milk jug, we had to buy a new one because every time we washed this one in the dishwasher it would deform more than it had before. This is the old milk jug without the lid on . Then next row is just my extra cleaning supplies. 

The next shelf down is a huge box full of dog equipment. Khaleesi went into heat last month, so in order to save us from having to buy another diaper for her so she could have a fresh diaper everyday, we bought some maxi pads and cut them in half and put them in her diaper, which is why the maxi pads are in there. This could be considered a RLH. If you want it to. But, this also holds the grooming supplies and diapers and poop bags. 

The next box is an extra electronics box. While my husband is home we share a computer, but when he leaves, he takes this white laptop with him. The rest is extra usb cables and internet cables and chargers and old cell phones that we have yet to sell or recycle. This just helps us keep all of our odds n ends electronics in one spot. 

Next is just my extra towels and my trusty Dyson vacuum cleaner. Note: If you want me to start doing reviews on household products I can start doing that. I love trying out new household cleaners and seeing if they work or not, so just let me know and I can try and help you out. 

The only two things that I don't have pictured are my plunger and my toilet brush. My hubby and I give the toilets a good scrub every Sunday to keep everything from getting too gross. We have found the best way to keep our space clean is to do little micro cleans between big ones. It turns a whole day of cleaning into two to three hours. 

That's it. This is my linen closet that was organized with odds n ends of totes and old boxes. it isn't the prettiest, but it works for our family. Maybe we will have the money to get more totes late on, but until then, we will be using this system because it works for us. Check back next Friday for more reduce, Reuse, Reorganize. 

Warm wishes. 

Rub A Dub Dub This is the Baby's Tub

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share how we organize the baby's bath to maximize fun and minimize accidents and mess.

So the first thing that everyone who has a child knows about is that their reach seems endless, especially the more they grow. 

In our bathroom, the showers had shelves built in, but if you don't have this you can do one of two things:

1. Invest in shower organizers. You can do this in several different way. You can buy these organizers that attach to the shower head to hold all of your little one's products out of arms' reach. You can also get each family member a tote. Write your loved ones' names on a 3"x 3" piece of construction paper. Take some laminating paper, or even more accessible, some clear packing tape, and "laminate" the construction paper. Use a hole punch and punch one of the corners. Use a thin 6" piece of  ribbon, and tie the name tag to the tote. Store under the sink or on a shelf so that the name tags are facing outwards. This way, each family member can grab their own tote when it is shower time. This eliminates the toddlers getting into the razors and Nair and shaving cream, or whatever you have in your shower normally, and prevents your shower being packed with a thousand different products, hence leading to that shampoo bottle on your foot.

2. Go to the store and buy another tension shower curtain rod. This only works if you have a shower with square corners, not rounded corners. Put your tension rod along the back wall. Hang shower organizers with each person's name on them. You can use permanent marker for this, and it will last through the water in the shower.  This is only goo if your shower is a little wider otherwise you will be knocking your shoulders against the bins. This is a good idea if you have children though, because even when they start taking showers, they will still be lower than the totes, meaning you can just bring their toiletries down for them and then to clean up, just put the items back in the tote. 

For us, we have shelves in our bathroom, so this is how we organize Ella's bathtub. 

First, we have everything on the highest shelves we can put them on. We have the main shampoos/ bubble-bath mixed on one shelf. 

Next, we got this adorable little luffa for the baby. She loves it! She loves washing herself with it, and it does double duty as a toy and a washing tool. 

Next, we have a cup for rinsing her off and we have a large bucket of toys right next to the tub. This lets her play for a little bit before we wash up, and gives us a waterproof place to put her toys in. 

Having everything in it's place is the perfect way to feel great about your space and your home. 

I hope these suggestions helped you a little, let me know if you try anything. 

Leave any suggestion you'd like. 

Warm wishes. 

Organize Yourself

Hey there!

This page is new, so if there isn't anything here for a bit, just give it time. 

I have a new found passion for organizing my home. It takes time, but if you take that 30 minutes while the baby is asleep, or while you were on Facebook, you can organize your make-up, your jewelry box, your face cleansers, a cabinet, or a closet. I don't use fancy organizers for everything, and the ones I do use, I have accumulated over time, or they were a gift. I re-purpose old totes and shoe boxes, re-organize drawers and closets to make things fit neater, and use new organizers to help with those odd projects. 

I'm not saying you have to go out and buy a bunch or shoes, or go to Canadian Tire and buy a bunch or organizers. If this is what you want to do, by all means, I love shopping. But if you are a shoe box keeper, or your linen closet looks like a mess, then you can follow my simple tricks to help organize your house, your room, your child's room, and your life. 

Happy organizing. 

Warm wishes.