Long time no Blog?!?!

Why no Blog?...Well a couple of reasons, I guess...with the first of those being that I was just really discouraged with my garden.  The last time I posted, I was super excited about everything that I planted.  Well, most of it died...my husband thinks it was too early....I think it was MIL's stupid dog.  Another reason I didn't blog for a while was because my nose was buried in books...I read the Hunger Games series....I wanted to get the books read before the movie came out....I could not put the books down....great story.....and now we saw the movie last night...the movie was excellent....but not nearly as excellent as the books...as usual they have to leave things out and and change things to keep it at a reasonable time....but it is always interesting to see how another person visualizes things.
Since then I did a bunch of replanting both indoors and out....and things doing much better than they were earlier in the month, and I'm really excited about the potatoes in the barrel finally sprouting.

potato barrel and garden...you can see some green now

tomato plants

mostly herbs in the pots

another view of the potatoes and garden

Notice the little fence?....I hope this keeps the dog out.  I added dirt to the potatoes, you can see some of the lettuce that's doing pretty good....I planted peas directly in the ground and those are coming up....also have garlic and onion looking pretty good....maybe the broccoli will make it this time as well as beets and carrots....all of which got transplanted today.  I need to keep Bill away from the miracle grow,....I've been showing him articles that explain why over fertilizing is bad....I'm pretty sure that is why we didn't have peaches or very many tomatoes last year....keep your fingers crossed on this one :-)

Now, remember the the built in and mantel that Bill was re-doing...it's done and he did a fabulous job...we also got a new painting for over the fireplace....which made the living room furniture look even more hideous.  Bill was not down with the slip covers...after he thought about it for a bit...so over spring break, one of our adventures was to find a new sofa, love seat and chair....but it's going to be a few more weeks until that is delivered.  But while we are waiting for the furniture...just look at how awesome the built in, mantel and new picture look...here is a before and a now.

Before

Now

Bill has also started re-doing a portion of the outdoor kitchen....the prior owners.didn't do something right and the tile starting coming up....Bill started looking at the inside and the framing wood was all rotten...so here is a picture of the work in progress.

It's not grouted yet....but I know it's going to be fabulous when it's done.

ME....let's see...I need to get busy with some of my creative projects....

How does your garden grow?

I know it's technically still winter....but the garden has started...mostly indoors, but started none the less.

We currently have tomatoes, broccoli, peas, beets, lettuce, beans and cilantro started.  I will get a few of these in the ground in the next week or 2.

I think a couple of post ago, I talked about a pinterest idea of growing potatoes in a barrel....well here is my barrel.  This weekend I put in about 6 inches of peat moss and then 6 inches of dirt and planted potatoes.  As they sprout and grow, I'm supposed to add more dirt...and according to Mother Earth News...you get a boat load of potatoes.  I'll let you know how it goes...I'm hoping we don't have as hot of a summer as last year....

Looks like the strawberries survived the mild winter....last year they did pretty good....the birds got to them before we did...but we did produce some berries.

Now to share what Bill has been up to.  In the downstairs living room is a built in entertainment center that is hideous, and to add insult to injury the white trash that had this house before us....did a crappy job of antique-ing it....then ripped out the TV mounting.  See below

Ugly with a capital UG.  Bill has stripped, sanded and stained....it's not done...but looks SOOOOO much better.

I'll share a picture when it;s all done, but I'm pretty excited about how it is looking so far......so now the wheels in my head are turning and thinking about re-decorating....my mother in-law's furniture is in this room....it's good quality...but horribly out dated...the floral sofa is a flashback to to 80's.  I had the brilliant idea of slip covers for the wing chairs and sofa .....so much cheaper than replacing....and Bill seems to be OK with it!  Once he finishes the entertainment center, he is going to attack the mantel.  I'll keep you posted on the progress.  Below is a picture of the ugly sofa.

Random Stuff

This site lets you spell a word, then gives you the HTML code to embed.....oh the possibilities!

http://metaatem.net/words/     Spell with flickr

The closet is done...mostly



before




after



















The closet is mostly done, I probably need do do 2 more boxes ....I found one when I was doing a little bit of organizing in my closet. So, I need one more and I ran out of modge podge.  But I have to say, I'm really pleased with the results.

My last blog post was the directions on covering shoe boxes with wrapping paper if you are inspired to try this at home.

Source: kimquilts55.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Time to move on to my next project.  I'm not really sure what that should be...keeping my closet and clothes organized seems to be an ongoing project....so I'll just work on that as I go.  I did try an idea from pinterest for my t-shirt drawer...I don't think I saved any space...but the fact that you can see them all is a good thing.

Source: simpleorganizedliving.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

 
This blog also has other great ideas for closets....I need to re-read for more ideas.
My craft/sewing room is also a disaster...really too much to take on at once...so I try to do just one little organizing project in there every weekend in the hopes that by the end of the year I will be good.  I cleaned and and organized the party supplies and and gift bags this past weekend....and looked around trying to decide what to tackle next...I decided finishing a few half finished sewing projects would be good.  Below you can see what kind of mess I'm dealing with...really it's a miracle I get anything done in here!

Last but not least....the garden plans have started,  I found this site where you create a login, it's free.  You put in your zipcode and select the vegetables you would like to grow and it tells you when to start indoors and plant outside. 

Source: sproutrobot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

We went to the garden store and bought some seeds so this week I'm starting my spring veggies indoors.  Last year our garden didn't do that good....it was just too dang hot.  I'm hoping for a better year this year with better timing.

Another idea I got from pinterest was to grow potatoes in a barrel...so we also got a big wiskey barrel (half barrel really) plus some peat moss and potatoes....I'm excited about this project.

Source: motherearthnews.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

That's all for now.  Need to get to work so I can pay for all my projects.

Cheap Storage - a tutorial

I was looking for a cheap and pretty way to coral some junk in a closet I was organizing.  I had used bins and baskets in other areas as I'm working my way through the house; but I wanted something different...I just wasn't sure what.  I took a trip to The Container Store and was inspired by the wrapping paper, then the idea hit me: I can cover some old shoe boxes with paper!  I pondered just exactly what the best method would be as I was driving home....WARNING: DISTRACTED DRIVER ON THE ROAD!  And what I decided is that I would use Mod Podge, that would make the boxes a little more sturdy.  I will start with a picture of the finished boxes.

After selecting your paper and boxes, you will need to loosely measure your paper so there is enough overlap to go over the edges by a few inches. 

Then place the box in the center of the paper and trace around the box so you know where to start applying the Mod Podge.

Apply the Mod Podge inside of your drawn area going over just a little, a place the box on top.  Flip and smooth out any major bubbles.  This was the point I learned that the thicker papers were easier to work with...less crinkling. 

The next step is to cut a diagonal line from the corner of the paper to the corner of the box...I just eye balled it and it worked out fine.  If you are more "type A" than me...you could first draw a straight line from corner to corner, then cut.

Since the paper was on a roll...I had paper curling up everywhere...I grabbed anything nearby to weigh it down as I was working on this next step.  One side at a time, apply the Mod Podge.  Then roll the box onto the sticky paper...this seemed to be the best method for avoiding bubbles...there will still be some, so work those out.   

The next step is to smooth the flaps around the sides, you are working with wet, sticky paper so work fast.

You now have the edge standing up over the box...you will need to cut straight down at the corner to the top of the box.

I couldn't hold the camera and scissors to get a good shot of that step, so I hope you get the idea. Next roll the paper over to the inside of the box.

Smooth it all out.  Repeat for all sides, doing opposite sides first.

Next I wanted a hole in one end so I could tie a cute tag with cute ribbon.  Once dry, it was too hard to use a paper hole punch.  I asked my husband if he could drill a hole...he said that wouldn't work with card board...went out to his domain, aka "the garage" and came back with a punch set used for leather...and basically hammered a hole.  If you don't have something like that handy, I guess you could use a big nail...or not use a tied tag.  If I was going to use these as a gift, I would also line the inside...but since these are just to organize a closet so the side of the box is just fine the way it is.

Plugging along

My organization and diet missions hit a big ole speed bump recently. A good friend and co-worker passed away on Jan 17...part of our ITS team went to see her in the hospital on Jan 13 and we were told she would be going home for Hospice in a few days...she went home on Monday and passed on Tuesday...she was diagnosed with cancer this summer and the treament did not help...she was only 50. So the grieving process was sort of rough, complicated by the total insensitivity of some of the leaders at work; but the service was nice...a celebration of her short life and that has kind of helped us move on.

That week, I was on a total comfort food binge; but I'm back on track now. We started our 100 day challenge at work and I lost what I had gained plus a little more. I really like having this challenge thing to keep me focused, even though the tools from the website we use are not as good as those from sites like Spark People...it's OK...it's the fact that we are doing it together with close friends.

And if it is OK with you...let's not even talk about exercise...I'm only managing to get on the eliptical one day a week...I'm pondering that problem and trying to come up with a solution.

Now for some Organization. I've started with the closet outside of our bedroom. I even remembered to take some before pictures! For containers to coral "the stuff" I came up with a great idea....I went to the Container Store for inspiration...the plan was to come up with ideas...then buy on the cheap at either WalMart or Target. While at the store, I fell in love with some wrapping paper and bought 3 different rolls in coordinating colors...with the idea that I would cover some shoe boxes...the girl who checked me out asked what I was going to do with the paper...I guess it was obvious I was not wrapping gifts...I gave her my idea and she thought it was great and suggested when I get it done I should post it to their website...and I might just do that. As I was covering the boxes...I thought this would make a great "How to" post; so I took pictures of each step...but that will be a post all by itself. Stay tuned! The other issue I ran into was....I didn't have enough shoeboxes for my project...during some recent clean up sprees, several got thrown away since I didn't have a specific plan for them at the time...I guess I could always go buy more shoes :-). So let me share the pictures of the messy closet before I started.

As you can see, I have my work cut out, stay tuned for the results. Right now that Hallway is a hot mess, with stuff everywhere.

Now on to share the laundry room...this was a small easy project that did not take alot of work. My machines are red...but I couldn't find everything I wanted in red so I also used a sort of tourquoise shade of blue, which is one of the colors in the valance. In hind sight I think this worked well...because if I had gone all red, it would have been too much.

The red and blue bins are from Walmart...less than $2 each...score! Then I had some extra tags from the last project.

The second picture is just a view of the laundry room from the door.

And the third picture shows the $5 milk crate, also from Walmart that is now holding all of the reusable shopping bags...the idea is I grab the crate when I go shopping.

Last but not least for the laundry room...I got this lettering from UpperCase living when we first bought the house...2008...but just now got it done. Bill made me a plaque and I applied the letters....it says "Laundry Room Loads of fun" We still need to hang it up, but it's done.

Let the organization begin

I'm not off to a rip roaring start with my goals....but I've started none the less.  I got this little bug last week...wasn't super sick...but it zapped my energy, appetite...and created a bit of a speed bump in my enthusiasm.

1. Diet report...started off pretty good...lost 2 lbs the first day...I knew it was water...but I always say...you gotta get through the extra water to get to the fat...then the second day I started feeling lousy...at first I thought I was detoxing...then quickly realized it was a bug...I lost a few more...because I just didn't eat...then gained those two back was I started eating again...still that is a 2 pound net loss for the week.  I'll take it!  Today I'm going to have my husband take pictures....as much as I hate too...the pictures about every three weeks last time I did these were really motivating.  On Monday we got an email from the district nurse with some tools to help meet New Years resolutions...the one that peaked my interest was "Live Healthy North Texas"...our district is in this...last spring quite a few participated...This time it's a 100 day challenge...you put together a team...2-10 people...there is a cost...so we have a team, The F(ITS).  There are 7 of us and our goal is just weight loss...you can do fitness too....but we decided we didn't want track that.  Anyway I'm pretty excited about this tool for added motivation and I have some fun ideas to help us all.
2.  Exercise.....ah...not so much!  I did do 15 minutes on the elliptical on Monday.......but with being sick...that's it.  I am hopping on as soon as I finish this blog and shoot for a better week this week...the only way I can do worse is to not get on at all.
3.  Organization was probably my best accomplishment of the week.  Following the Declutter calendar is pretty easy.  My spice cabinet and tupperware cabinet are de-cluttered and Bill de-clutter the cabinets with odds and ends of small appliances and the kids (plastic) dishes we use for grandkids. But I wish I would have taken a before picture of this closet...it's the downstairs closet by the half bath.  Tiffany can vouch, it was a hot mess.  I took everything out...filled a trash bag and re-organized....I had a few bins, but needed more..got some baskets at Wal-mart for $6...I love the Container store..but we are cutting back on spending too...so I;ll only go there if I can't get it at Target or Wal-mart.

Here the Pinterest pin that I used for the tags on the baskets...they are from Better Homes and Garden website....there are several different kinds of tags and labels for various organizing projects...and they are super cute.

Source: bhg.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

another idea that I got from Pinterest is this:

Source: beforeispendit.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Except I used it to organize all the junk from
around my sink.

and then this idea.

Source: rayandjen.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

In January you turn all your hangers this way...then as you wear items ...you hang them back correctly...in June..anything that is still backwards...gets donated...pure genius!

4.  and last but not least...curb spending and save...this one will see slow results...but Bill and I had the annual Money talk...so we are more or less on the same page and I set up a new system for bill paying...again an idea from pinterest!  I can't find the pin...but it's basically a notebook with a calendar and some pocket folders..when the bills come in...write down the due date, then on Fridays pay the bills that are due the next week...one pocket for unpaid and another for paid...then at the end of the month, file the paid bills for the month...so far it seems to be working fine.