Thursday, May 31, 2012

Clutter Free: Kitchen Cabinets

Do you ever have those moments where you just can't take anymore? You know something has to be done. Right. That. Minute. That's how I felt this weekend and it was due to my train wreck kitchen cabinets. Somehow over the 20 months of living in our home they became a complete mess. Actually, to be honest, ever since day one they have been a mess. I've made it work. Moved things around. Moved things around again. And again. Until I gave up - until this weekend!

My biggest problem? I have to much storage. I know what you're thinking, you can NEVER have to much storage!! Coming from apartment living where we usually only had three to four kitchen cabinets, my current kitchen is a huge change. In total, I have 12 upper cabinets, 11 lower cabinets (including the island) and 8 drawers (including the island). And I'm constantly trying to figure out the best place to put all of my kitchen items like dishes, coffee cups, vases, pots & pans, etc.

I have a long wish list of items I want in my kitchen, mostly accessories as I have all of the main appliances and tools I need. But, one of the most important items on my wish list: DISHES! Somehow, in the almost 7 years that the hubs and I have been married we have lost/broken more than half of our dishes. I blame this on the 7 moves :). We went from a set that served 8 to 5 plates in total (and that's only after you combine dinner and dessert plates!). Add on the fact that neither one of us liked our dishes anymore, we were ready for a change. Our goal: find classic white dishes that we will never outgrow. The budget: find a serving of 8 under $100 (including plates, bowls, coffee mugs).

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Day Weekend Catch Up

Memorial Day weekend is over already? I don't know where the time the going, but I can't believe it is almost June!!! Last week our computer crashed which caused me to have a mini meltdown. Thankfully, I have a wonderfully awesome brother-in-law that loves to be our own personal Geek Squad. So, he had our computer since last week up until last night. I will had to admit, without internet, I was a lot more productive :)

Our Memorial Day went by crazy fast - it didn't help that Brian had to work Friday - Sunday from 4am to 9pm. The Indianapolis 500 was this weekend and he had to pull long days since he works for the Indiana State Police. So needless to say, when Monday rolled around he didn't want to do much of anything. However, I was thankful I was able to spend Memorial Day with the best Marine I know - my husband! We took sometime to remember close friends and loved ones who served in the military, some we lost in war, some we lost in old age but all remain close to our hearts.

While he was working Saturday and Sunday I had a cook out to go to, a girls luncheon to attend and some major house cleaning/organizing. So I have a few projects to share this week.

Did you do anything for Memorial Weekend? If you have young children, did you explain the importance of Memorial Day?

I'll be back soon with some projects - hope you stick around!

Monday, May 21, 2012

When Life Gives You Bananas...

You make bread!! :)

This past weekend the Mr had to work all weekend, which is not normal for us. But, it was kinda nice to have the house to myself for one day, by Sunday I was ready to have him back :). I was cleaning the kitchen when I noticed these two lonely and extremely ripe bananas staring at me. I instantly thought of my moms banana bread recipe. Growing up to the smell of something baking in the oven was a staple in my childhood home. We had banana bread at least once a month in my house because my family loved it. So I did what any lonely woman would do...started baking! This is an extremely easy recipe.

Momma's Banana Bread Recipe

You will need the following:


I'm Still Here..

It's been a little over a week since I've posted anything and I just wanted to pop in and say I'm still here. I have a few post I am trying to finish up, I hope to get back to posting several times a week.

The past week and half has been a difficult time for me personally. Mother's Day seems to always put me in a very down/mad/sad/crazy person mood. For several reasons, but the biggest reason is the fact that my mother passed away in 2008. Even though its been several years, I'm still not 100% to the point where I can talk about it without rambling and turning into a puddle of makeup. Maybe one day. Maybe never. We shall see.

So, needless say last the past two weeks has been pretty boring in my world. The Mr tries his best to keep me busy during these days so I don't just stay in bed. But, I have a few post planned for this week so I hope you check back later to check them out!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Better Late Than Never


Hey y'all! Happy Monday Wednesday! This post is a little late but I've been busy doing nothing. Literally. And it's felt ahh-mazing :) Monday I took a personal day off from work since I had off Tuesday for Election Day {one perk of being a State employee - the random state "holidays"}. Monday I had lunch with a close friend and did nothing the rest of the day, it was pure bliss. Tuesday the hubby and I both had off, since we're both state employees, and we spent the day window shopping. Love days like that!

So needless to say, the menu plan is a little late! I did a quick trip to the grocery store today after work and I forgot my coupons so I was fully planning on blowing my self imposed $60 budget, but I am glad to say I came out only spending $56.28 {after saving $12.10 with my Kroger card}. So, this is what we have planned for this week!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Living Room Reveal

Last time we discussed the living room it looked like this. Before I started Twenty63 we completed a few changes so I am finally adding some updated picture of our downstairs living room and kitchen area. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer. At all. I am using a camera B bought me five years ago and it's nothing fancy. But, it does what I need it to do right now so it keeps me happy. It would probably help if I read the manual and found out everything it actually did but that doesn't interest me I don't have time for that.

We knew we wanted this room to be cozy and since the room gets so much natural light we didn't want to do a really light or bright color. We wanted it to be warm and lived in. Like I've said before and will probably repeat a million times, we are very neutral people. Well, let me say B is a very neutral person. I would love to play with color and textures, but we like for both of us to agree on big changes and purchases. It keeps a happy home :)

 Let's get to the good part.....

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Bathroom Update

This weekend has been a busy one in our household. B hurt his neck somehow on Friday so he has been moving a little slow. I hate to see him in pain, I would much rather be the one sick, in pain, sad, etc than to see him go through it. Are you like that with your husband or boyfriend?

In between the million errands we made a stop at my sister in law's to deliver her bathroom art. I managed to take a few pictures just for you! This is a small bathroom so its hard to take a decent picture plus I was using the good old phone camera :)

Friday, May 4, 2012

Living Room Progress - Part 1

When we first walked through our home we fell in love with the open layout downstairs. We loved how the kitchen and downstairs living room were open to each other.

Kitchen as of August 2010 (Realtor Picture)

Living Room as of August 2010 (Realtor Picture)
We weren't a fan of the yellow color on the wall when we walked through. We weren't a fan of the honeycomb blinds which were a cream color. But, we knew we could make it work. We moved our stuff in and lived with it for a few weeks.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

One Fish, Two Fish

Happy Tuesday y'all! I hope you had a great weekend. It feels like B and I have hardly been home the last week, which is why I haven't posted since last Monday (yikes). This past weekend wasn't any different. We helped B's sister move into a new apartment. She is a single mother of two, soon to be three, kids and we spent all day Saturday helping her move and setting up her new place. Like most single mother's she is on a tight budget, so we did everything we could to help her out.

She was determined to give her kids a bathroom of their own in this apartment. We headed to Target with a mission. With two kids and a strict $30 budget we headed straight to the clearance section. We were able to find some great deals.