Office Makeover Progress

Since the girls and I arrived back home I've been giving my office(which resides in our bedroom) a budget makeover in preparation of reopening my etsy shop. Miss G is almost 4 months old and Miss L starts kindergarten soon so it's about time Mama got back to work. The first step was getting Evie moved into what is now the girl's room. Second step is getting Mama moved back into her own room without pushing the husband out. Here's a few sneak peaks of the progress that you will see when it all comes together.

I finally found a place for a handmade wedding gift we received. Almost 9 years later it finally has a safe home where I can see it!

Am I crazy that I can't wait to get back to work?

Ta-Da! Baby Storage!

Whew! We made it through putting the Sauder cabinet together without arguing. Nick does not like to put things together like this and I actually kind of enjoy seeing something come together but I read the instructions and Nick did all the hard work and ta-da we have baby storage! Here it is in it's place where my old dresser used to be. I can't really change my mind about where it goes now since Nick already anchored it to the wall.

Here is all the of the glorious storage it has! Yes, glorious. When you live in an old house, extra storage is a glorious thing!

I have rearranged the adjustable shelves so many times and probably will again. I went to Big Lots again looking for some storage baskets with no such luck. Their selection of storage and organizational items was lacking. While I was there though I picked up a small tension rod that I'm hoping will be able to handle a few hanging baby clothes. Even with the rod installed, I was able to space the shelves out to allow ample storage on the shelves. Now comes the fun part. I'm off to fill it up with baby things!

Calendar and Menu Planning: Complete!

Ta-Da! My completed calendar and meal planning board!

Look at yesterday's post if you missed my before shot of the side of the fridge. Since our wall space is so limited the side of the fridge was perfect. I applied the 20"x24" piece of chalkboard vinyl right to the side of the fridge so I can also put magnets on top of the chalkboard. The white rectangles on the menu are made from a sheet of printable magnet that has been sitting in the file cabinet for who knows how long. I just printed some of our favorite meals on it and cut them out. The meal magnets are definitely a work in progress because I know I'll be constantly adding to them. I found chalk markers at Hobby Lobby today and I am in LOVE! They are so much nicer and not as messy as real chalk. Plus who doesn't love the vibrant colors they make. I'm not completely sure about the grey I made the calendar from but it will do for now, I might end up changing it to something brighter.

Calendar and Menu Organization

Since I still can't put baby things out being in limbo between waiting for the house to sell and not having a new place to go to yet I needed to do some sort of organization or decorating of something since I'm going crazy not doing baby decorating. I have been looking at all these great ideas for different calendars and menu planning boards but since we don't have much extra space in our little 866 sq ft, I figured whatever I made needed to serve a dual purpose. This is the "before" of the side of the fridge.

And this is what it looked like this afternoon when the warm sunshine was still streaming into the house. Can't wait to show you the "After" photo tomorrow!

Weeding the Recipe Box

Does anyone else out there have a recipe box overflowing with recipes that you thought sounded good and had every intention of trying... someday? Or recipes you've asked for from parties but never actually made? I'm guilty of it and it needs to change! I want a recipe box I can go to that's filled with dishes I've made, have liked and will make again. I did a quick sort of recipes that I knew were staying but I had an even bigger stack that I don't know if I've ever made before or even like! I'm going to keep a stack at the back of the box that I can slowly go through and to see if they'll make the cut to the good part of the box or to the trash.

I also have TONS of recipes we've printed from the internet that are on 8.5x11" paper that I want to convert to recipe cards if they are a favorite. Tonight I made one of those recipes that I knew we liked but had forgotten about - Layered Meatball Bake from Kraft Foods. And you'll be proud to hear that I've already copied the recipe onto a card and put it into the box!

 And have I mentioned lately how much I love my marigold Fiesta bowls?