Have a very Berry Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas Eve. Hopefully, all your presents are bought and wrapped, your cookies are baked and decorated, your halls are fully decked and you are set to enjoy the magic of Christmas.
If not, well... I wish you the very best. :)
I know for me, Christmas Eve means watching 'A Christmas Story' at least 3 or 4 times and enjoying tasty cookies and snacks. Growing up though, this day meant something very different. As a kid, my siblings and I would spend the day planning out our Christmas morning adventure. Usually this included trying to find all the booby traps my father set in his attempts to catch us in the act of extra early morning spying. Over the years, my old man had gotten pretty clever. Once he lifted the carpet on the stairs and installed an alarm button, that when we stepped on it, triggered a warning in their bedroom. Another year, he hid a microphone in the tree so he could hear us whispering when we snuck out to it. Needless to say, no matter how well we planned, we always got busted. But it was fun to draw our maps & plan our attack anyway. And it killed time until we went to our family Christmas party. This was always a good time. Lots of delicious food, hanging with the family that we only saw a few times a year and singing carols around the piano. The night always ended with reading "The Night Before Christmas" and on the drive home, my dad would say we needed to hurry and get to bed before Santa came or he would have to skip our house. To prove his point and speed up the program, he would point at the red light on one of the towers and say "Uh oh, that's Rudolph right there, we'd better hurry." Of course, we didn't know that it wasn't really Rudolph and Santa, so we got to bed lickety split. But it was a short term fix. Within an hour, we were all piled into one of our bedrooms, maps in hand, ready to outwit our dad. Thus insued a night long mission to catch Santa in the act and of course get the first glimpse of our gifts. These are the memories I treasure the most. Looking back, I realize the magic wasn't the actual gifts (although, don't get me wrong, getting the Strawberry Cafe was quite exciting) it was more the traditions and spending time together that has stayed with me all these years. But times have changed, and so have my traditions. I still miss the old ones, but I treasure the new ones I've made with my own family and look forward still to new ones in the future. Christmas may change as we grow older, but the magic doesn't have to. We can still enjoy time spent with loved ones and even sing a carol or two, even if it's just while you're alone in the car. The point is, Christmas is what you make of it, so make it magical.
Hug your loved ones, play with the kids, donate to charity, sing carols at the top of your lungs and rock that fabulous holiday sweater. It only comes once a year, so make it count.
I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful, very Berry Christmas. XOXO

Trash to Treasure!!

BEFORE

An old cabinet door that I rescued from the trash.



AFTER

Now a beautiful cork board/key holder for my entryway.

Let's Get Organized!

The new year is coming, so if one of your resolutions is to get organized, here are some easy ways to get started today.

Is the cabinet in your bathroom overflowing with hair dryers, curling irons, sprays, gels and more? Have to dig just to find the toilet paper? Well, not anymore! This is a great way to save space in a bathroom or any room for that matter. Over the door shoe holders work great for organizing bathrooms, laundry rooms, pantries, kids rooms, garages and more. The pockets are sturdy canvas (Mine has some mesh pockets at the top, also.) and clean up easily. They come in a wide variety of colors and styles and make getting organized a snap. If you live in an apartment or small home, you may not have a lot of closet or cabinet space, so these can be a real life saver.

 

If you are a girl, or have girls in your home, you know how hair ties and clips can turn up everywhere or nowhere. Save toilet paper & paper towel rolls and use them to hold all your ponies & barrettes. If you have the space behind a door or under a cabinet, hang a paper towel holder to hang them on for easy reach. If not, the rolls will fit nicely into the pockets of your over the door shoe holder as well. Organize them by size and colors to make finding what you need a snap.

Do you love jewelry? If so, then you are probably like me and have so much, that you sometimes forget what you have. For all that inexpensive costume jewelry (I recommend keeping your heirloom & high end pieces in a safe place.) that we women get to match each of our outfits, this is a great solution for storing it. Use mug hooks in a closet or behind a door to hang all of your necklaces from. This keeps them from getting tangled up and makes finding the right one quick and easy. Organize them by style, color or popularity. This works great for scarves, also. Hang one scarf per hook so that you can easily spot the one you are looking for.

Ice cube trays make great little organizers for any room in your home. One of my favorites is to use them for seperating my earrings. I put each pair in its own spot and I always know right where they both are. No more missing earrings. I also store rings, pins, charms and pendants in them as well. Again, organize by style or color and stack the trays on top of one another.
Do you do crafts? Ice cube trays are great for seperating beads, buttons, stones and little odds and ends that otherwise get lost. They are great for holding paint colors (the deep slots are nice for mixing) and much more. Use them in a garage to sort nails, screws, nuts and bolts. Trays slip easily into drawers for quick access and easy viewing. Don't have any ice cube trays at home? You can pick up a 2 or 3 pack at any dollar store.

These are just a few ways to start getting organized, that are easy to do but will make your life a whole lot simpler. If that big closet or junk drawer seems daunting, just take it one step at a time. Imagine how great it will be once it's done & suddenly it doesn't seem so bad. Every home and life can benefit from a little simplicity and order. Chaos in even the smallest places can add unnecessary stress to our lives. So why wait for the new year? Start uncluttering your life today! XOXO

Going Green Gift Wrap!

Run out of wrapping paper at the last minute? Or maybe gift wrap just isn't in your budget. Well here are a few ways to wrap beautiful gifts using things found around your home.

This package was wrapped in paper grocery bags. Cut along the seams and turn inside out. Use stamps or stickers to decorate, or just leave it plain. I wrapped this one with some yarn I had in my craft box and hot glued candy canes on to look like a heart. But you can use string, twine or strips of fabric or paper. Add leaves, twigs, pinecones, nuts or flowers for a nature theme. Is the gift for a golfer? Glue on a golf ball & tee for a personalized theme. Wrap with wire & glue on screws & bolts for the handyman in your life. This isn't just for the holidays, either. Great idea for birthdays, too.

I wrapped this one with aluminum foil. I then took a long piece of wax paper & folded in into a narrow strip and wrapped it around. Then I took more strips of wax paper, stacked them at angles, twisted a piece around the middle, glued it on and cut the ends into points. I used some hot glue (regular glue doesn't like to dry on wax paper) and added some designs, sprinkled them with glitter and that's it. Who knew tin foil & wax paper could look so classy? Gift wrap doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful. Just use your imagination and get creative! I know you have it in you! XOXO

Budget Bedroom Make-Over (Around $100)

I was getting tired of the look of my bedroom and wanted something brighter and more fun, but I didn't have a lot of money to spend. I love my furniture, so that wasn't an issue, but I really wanted to change everything else.
I started with my bedspread which I got for a steal for about $10. Thank you Kohl's clearance and coupons.
Next I found the art/mirror for over the bed. ($20 at Big Lots) The deco tiles I had purchased for $1 for the set at a garage sale. They were a hideous gold color, so I painted them white and they look amazing. The other wall decor was repurposed from other rooms, or that I had in storage and wasn't currently using.

The sheer curtains on the bed, I already owned (I am getting more for all the way around the bed, but one of the bed posts was under repair at the time.) so those didn't cost anything. The tiebacks are scraps of fabric from an old t-shirt that I used to make the smaller throw pillow. Again, no cost. The 3 sheers on the windows were $5 each and the woven rug was $3. (more Big Lots finds) The hanging candelabra was a sidewalk sale find that I paid $1.50 for. It is so pretty lit and adds a touch of romance to the room. The wall paint was on sale, for $10/gallon and we used about a gallon and a half. (The color looks much brighter in person than it does in the pictures.)

My chair was on sale at Meijer for $20 and it is so soft and comfy. The throw on the chair was another steal for $3 at Big Lots and the pillow I made myself. The top of the dresser is draped with a scarf that I loved the color of, but rarely wore. The larger throw pillow on the bed was a clearance find (Meijer) for $6.
The room is my favorite place in my home and my husband calls it our Gypsy Room. Whenever guests come over, they are instantly drawn to it & often hang out in there.
I love color and this room has plenty of it. Each morning I wake up and smile. It's hard to be down in a room this happy. If you are looking to redecorate, but don't have a lot of money, don't worry. Just use your imagination and think outside the box. Do you have things you aren't using that can be repurposed? Check clearance sales, thrift stores and garage/sidewalk sales for inspiration. It's your home, so don't worry about what others might think and never be afraid to experiment. Plain white walls are for hospitals, not homes. So let your creative juices go wild and see what happens. You just might be surprised at the designer in you...

Holiday Tips!

Do you give the gift of baked goods for the holidays? If so, recycle your old jars for things like Chex mix & candies. Pringles cans make great cookie tubes. They seal tight for freshness and stacks the cookies so they don't move around and break. Cover with wrapping paper, add a bow and you're done. No expensive tins, trays or boxes needed. (Also a great method for shipping cookies.) If you do buy trays, skip the seasonal ones and go for solid colors instead. That way the recipient can use it all year. (These can be a great deal cheaper as well.)
Having a Holiday party? Use dry erase markers to write guests names on wine glasses, this eliminates the "Which glass is mine again?" confusion and wipes off easily after the party.

Knit stockings make great, decorative wine bottle holders & look adorable while sitting on the table.
Don't want to buy seasonal serving trays? Just cut pieces of wrapping paper to fit inside the ones you already have. Bonus, clean up is a snap. Just throw the paper away after the party.
Need a festive table centerpiece? Why not fill a large jar or vase with colorful ornaments, toss in a string of battery operated lights and viola! Don't have any lights? Weave some garland or ribbons through the ornaments instead.

Need an inexpensive craft to keep the kids busy? Collect pinecones from the yard and let the kids turn them into adorable ornaments. Glue on glitter, buttons, ribbons, or anything you have laying around, tie on a piece of string and you have a beautiful ornament that adds charm to any tree. To decorate long, buffet style tables, place various candles down the length of the table, wind garland around candles, place ornaments or silk flowers throughout and you're done. Once lit, the candles will make the garland shimmer and you have instant elegance.
The most important thing to remember when it comes to holiday celebrations is that it's not about being perfect, it's about spending time with the people you love. No one will care if your tablecloth is wrinkled or if your glasses don't match. Spend less time worrying about the details and more time laughing, eating and making lifelong memories. The greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones is a stress free, enjoyable holiday. So sit back, pour a fresh glass of eggnog and be merry. XOXO

Ultimate Kitchen Helper!

OK, so anyone who knows me, knows I love to eat, but hate to cook. I am all for shortcuts and quick meals. As we all know, the prep work can be the biggest time consumer. This is a great product & it makes cooking a snap.

Kroger brand All Natural Recipe Beginnings. They come in many varieties (these are my faves) and are chopped, cut and ready to go. No time, no tears! (Insert angels singing here) They are inexpensive and so delicious. I use them in the skillet, oven and crock pot and they make any meal better. Try them today!