Restoring Order to a SMALL Linen Closet

As most of you know I am working on our upstairs bathroom (if you don't check it out here and here). Before I write about the last steps of the shower redo I had to accept a challenge. You see while I was reviewing my New Years Resolutions on Monday, I realized that I have not done any work on organizing our house. Zip. Nada. Then it hit me...accept the Pinterest Challenge!



Katie from the Bower Power and Sherry from Young House Love started doing the pinterest challenge last year and its a great way for people to own up to their obsessive pinning and actually do one of the projects. This time they also included Cassie from Hi Sugarplum and Erin in from The Great Indoors.

I decided to knock out three things in one: Work on the bathroom, Organize a part of the house and Participate in the challenge. And all with a small, shallow linen closet!

Oh did I forget to mention that it is covered in grout dust! That goes to show you that just because there is a door, doesn't mean that they won't get grout on them.

Well this is our messy and disorganized closet. I knew I wanted a prettier system and a little more color. I looked to pinterest for some inspiration and I found some great closets.

This closet from BHG.com has great color, organization and style.

This closet from beneathmyheart.net proved that a small space was no excuse!



Finally I loved the baskets in this closet at diydesignfanatic.blogspot.com.

I started this project by tackling the grout dust and the clutter. I removed everything from the closet and wiped it down.

This doesn't even include towels! It was good to go through and find expired medicines and whatnot but we also found some random treasures like this very outdated digital camera that is about 8 years old.  

I also found a great pumice stone...granted it's shaped like a Christmas tree and has probably been in there longer than I care to admit but it's still in the packaging so don't judge me- I am going to use it now.

Finally I was left with a bare closet.

And a few coats later, using the paint from our downstairs bathroom, it was looking better already.

Next came the shelving. Since I was on a budget, we kept the same white shelves but I hit Walmart for some cheap affordable baskets to help organize everything and make room for some towels for the hubby and I.

A little organizing and a little rearranging later and Presto Chango, we have a more organized and prettier closet!

I still have to make some pretty labels but I loved how it came out. We have my hubby's stuff in the top basket. Then the middle basket are our health and wellness items (such as vitamins, medicines and first aid) and then the last basket is just for me! I haven't had a chance to really use it since our bathroom is still under construction but I may have been sitting on the floor admiring it last night.

Here is a little side by side action:

 BEFORE                                                                    AFTER

It feels so good to get this organizing project done! I feel better already and I can't wait to use the bathroom in all its beauty. Have you completed any projects lately? Did you rise to the Pinterest Challenge?

Also linked up to:



Quarterly Resolution Check In

While the seal is drying on the grout I thought it would be a good idea to look back on my resolutions post in January and see how I am doing so far. New Years resolutions are often left behind after the first few months...at least they are with me... so I wanted to own up to it and see how I am doing so far.

First off, I committed to getting in shape and staying healthy. I am proud to admit that I am definitely in better shape than I was in January but not without a few roadblocks. I have noticed over the past few months that my body is not responding the way it usually does when I work out and watch my calories. In fact, I gained weight! I soon realized that I was only partially committed to getting in shape. Sure I went to the gym but I wouldn't really push myself there. Getting to the gym is half the battle. The next hurdle is actually doing something meaningful while you are there. It took me awhile to admit that so now I am finally pushing myself. I started with intervals sprints and inclined walking but I have since started running 5Ks or more to really kick it into gear. It helps that the weather is getting nicer and the days are getting longer. :)

Yes, I now realize those ear muff speakers look ridiculous

It also helps that my hubby has been kicking it up a notch. He has lost over 10 pounds and I couldn't be more proud of him for staying focused and committed...which in turns helps me to do so as well.

My second resolution has been to get more organized. Well I am sad to report that I have done nothing to help this cause...until this week. :) I always say how I want a mail/bills/important document system but never really come through. We also have very limited space in our 1,000 square foot house so we really need to get our closets in order as well. As part of Katie and Sherry's Pinterest Challenge, I will be tackling this resolution this week and I hope to report back some great ways I helped us get a little more organized.




My last resolution was to work on this blog. Well I am happy to report that I am actually doing pretty well with staying consistent on the number of posts I make a week. This has actually helped me to get things completed faster (or just in general). Plus I love that it has been a way for my friends and family to keep up with our little adventures and projects. This blog has also been theraputic and I look forward to documenting all the fun projects we have planned now that the weather is getting warmer and warmer by the minute!

So thats it. I probably give myself a B+. I have definitely made some strides in staying healthy and working on this blog but the organization has been basically nonexistent. I leave you with your weekly dose of our pup James as he unwinds from a busy day of chasing the ball, laying in the sun and chewing on bones.

Did you make any new years resolutions? More importantly, have you been sticking to them? It's definitely tough but it is nice when you actually work on them.

ps: my dog has it made. 

Flashback Friday: Thrifty Flowers

Happy Friday Everyone! As I explained last week, in honor of our 2nd anniversary, I will be talking about how we made our special day extra special by saving a few bucks where we could and DIYing the heck out of our wedding.

With that said, I want to talk about my flowers.

Gorgeous, right?
I knew when I got married that I wanted bright, colorful flowers. Although we got married in March, it was right around the early signs of Spring and I wanted to celebrate it! After searching theknot.com and other websites I saw Gerber Daisies and I fell in love with them. I knew I wanted those all over our wedding. The only trouble was our budget. Florists range depending on where you are but we were quoted anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 dollars!!! There was no way we could do it.

Then a colleague of mine was telling me about his wedding and when he showed me pictures I noticed that they had Gerber Daisies as well. I asked him where they got their flowers and I was surprised when they said Sam's Club. You heard me: Sam's Club! For those of you who don't know what that it, it is a similar to a Bjs or a Costco. Items you can get for bulk. So I did some searching and sure enough, you could order bouquets and free standing flowers online. I read all the reviews and about 85% of them were positive. I was so excited so I ordered 6 bouquets and a bunch of free standing ones for centerpieces, boutonnieres and corsages.

They came in on Thursday before our wedding and the directions said to keep them in a cool, damp place so we kept them in the garage. On Friday my godmother and mom got to work wrapping the bouquets in green ribbon (my main color) and forming the boutonnieres and corsages for the groomsmen and family.

They were looking great! They weren't fully bloomed when they arrived but once we put them in water (mixed with plant food) they opened right up.

I couldn't get enough of them. They were everything I wanted. Bright, colorful and a big hit with the bridal party.

I also used them for centerpieces. Since we made them ourselves, we kept it simple. My mother in law and I collected various glass vases from thrift stores in the area. Not all of them were the same but I'm not always a matchy matchy kind of gal. :) 

 Oh and don't forget about the cake topper of fresh flowers.

Did I mention the best part about the flowers? They cost me a total of $350! That's right. Tim and I saved at least $700-$1,000 by ordering them at Sam's Club and coercing begging some family members to assemble them. And everybody was none the wiser.

But my flowers didn't stop there. I also used fake flowers in our wedding. Our Flower girl was adorable but she wasn't about to toss flowers down the aisle. She was too busy being downright adorable and keeping her little brother (our ring bearer) in line so I saved a few bucks by snagging these fake ones at the dollar store and sticking them in her basket.

No one noticed but with those faces, could you blame them?

We also grabbed some last minute fake flowers at Walmart for my hair. While I was getting my hair done, everyone agreed that it was beautiful but it needed a little something. So my maid of honor stepped up to the plate and ran to Walmart to grab this.

Yes- its a funeral wreath. Its wrong on so many levels but those little white flowers were perfect for my hair and this was all they had. My mom got a kick out of it and all of us agreed that it was definitely a story we would always remember. Gotta love Walmart coming through in a pinch!



So that was one way we saved money. I have to admit it felt so good to save close to $1,000 on flowers. We decided to put some of that money towards our venue and our photographer since those things were more important to us.

Do you guys have any fun tips on saving a buck or two on your wedding?  Did it fall right into place? Or end up being more trouble than it was worth.

PS: All this beautiful photography from the post is from our wedding photographer, Dave Direntis. He was wonderful and really knew how to capture our day perfectly. If you check him out, you might even see our mugs on the home page. :)



PPS: Anyone wondering where exactly on the Sams Club website the flowers are? Check out here for the bulk flowers I bought.  Also, try not to fall for the "Wedding labeling". That means they bump the price up. Shop around. And dont forget that buying some green filler or babies breath is a great way to beef up your bouquets!



You know its makes me want to...Grout!

Kick my heels up and Grout! Throw my hands up and Grout! Throw my head back and Grout! Come on now!!

Did I get it in your head? Am I the only one who thinks of Sister Act when they hear that song?

Anyway, I am sitting here covered in grout and my back aching to tell you how the grout is going. I say "how its going" and not "how it went" because we are still working on it. It is tough to do this at night after dinner and hitting the gym. Still I wanted to let you know how it was going and give you some play by play.

First, here are the materials we bought for this project.

Unsanded Grout- this will depend on how wide your lines are. If they are less than 1/8" they recommend unsanded but do the research before you buy.
Sponge
Unsanded caulk for bath and tube- I used the same brand as the grout so the color would match
Cheese cloths
Grout Sealer
Grout float

So the first thing we had to do was mix the grout. There are many opinions of what the grout should look like but Tim focused on the consistency of peanut butter. We didn't want to mix the whole bag at once since it dries quickly and they recommend doing small sections at a time, we "winged" it.

Action Shot!

Follow your directions on the bag. Ours said to mix for 3-4 minutes and then let it sit for 10 minutes. Then mix for another minute or two and then put on the wall.

I should probably mention that we bought the mixing tool that attaches to your drill. It was less than 10 dollars and in our opinion, worth every penny. And it beats having sore arms.

Research said to start in a corner and work diagonally to make sure you get in all the cracks. I used the small side to push the grout farther in the lines and then the longer side to swipe away the excess, first at a 45 degree angle and then at a 90 degree angle. Tim tried to take some action shots so you can get an idea of how it looks.

I"m smiling because the tiles were looking better already! Nothing beats seeing results fast. After I finished grouting and the lines were dry to the touch, Tim took a rung out sponge and went over the tiles in a circular motion. Here he is excited to do that.

I'm not sure if you can tell but there is a haze over the tiles. Thats normal. After he did the first round of sponging, he washed it out, made sure it was rung out completely, and then went through the tiles again- this time focusing on cleaning the lines. Make sure the sponge is rung out fully or the grout will be weaker.

Look at it shining already! After that the direction said to wait 60 minutes and then go over the tiles with a cheese cloth so we waited and then went over it with a cheese cloth. What a even bigger difference! To give you an idea here are the tiles pre cheese cloth.

And here they are post cheese cloth.

So there we are. We still have another wall and the floor to do and hopefully that will be finished this week and then we can seal it this weekend and finally use it again. I can't wait.

Is anyone else working on bathroom projects? Am I the only one who loves instant results?

Bathroom Refresh

Did you ever put something off because you know it wouldn't be fun? Like taking out the trash or power washing the deck? Well we did that with our upstairs shower.

I always liked this bathroom. I especially liked the paint color they chose. But it needed to be refreshed. Badly. And I hate cleaning bathrooms. Sure I did the basic cleaning like scrubbing and sanitizing but it just wasn't cutting it. Finally I decided that this bathroom needed a face lift. The paint, although I love it, has been stained and chipping. It also needed a fresh coat of white paint on the ceiling, doors and trim. But first- We needed to start with the shower.

Although I used all sorts of shower cleaners I couldn't get the grout clean. And I kept putting off re grouting. I shouldn't have but I did.

It's embarrassing but I'm putting it out there. So we finally got to work on re grouting the shower. First we took everything out of the shower and took down the curtain. Then I did a quick wipe down of the tiles and then covered the drain with a drop cloth and painters tape to prevent the dust from going down the drain.

After we did some research on the best way to remove unsanded grout (smooth) , Tim went and bought a Dremel and then he bought a 1/16th bit to take our grout out. We could use the dremel for other projects so we didn't mind the investment. After everything was cleared out we began to remove it all. Line. By. Line.

Some tips we learned and want to share for everyone since this is our first time doing this:

1) Make sure you wear a face mask and protective goggles. It gets really dusty real quick and you do not want to inhale any of it in. Moms everywhere will thank me for recommending it.

2) Allow yourself some time. It took a lot of time and precision. Tim was such a trooper and did all of this work. It took him hours to do each wall since it is tiled from the ceiling to the floor. It also took awhile since we never did it before and the gap was so small between the tiles.

3) Vacuum between walls. This is in correlation with the first tip. It gets really dusty and hard to see what lines you just did so vacuuming keeps it at bay and helps you to work easier.

4) Buy more than 1 bit. The bit gets really hot. Sometimes it sticks in certain grout spots. So because of those reasons the bit broke on Tim a couple of times and he had to stop and go out to Lowes to buy another one. So buying two or more doesn't hurt. If you don't use them, you can always return them. 

5) Take everything out of the bathroom. And I mean everything. We have a small linen closet in there and when we finished removing the grout, I opened it up and saw that the dust was over everything in the closet. I should have taken everything out. Instead, I am going to be doing loads of laundry and some serious dusting.

We are tackling grouting now and I will write a post on Wednesday about how that all went down and hopefully some more tips as well.



Anybody else working on their bathroom? Anyone hate cleaning showers as much as I do?

Flashback Fridays

Happy March Everyone! This month is pretty special.Yes, it's St. Patty's month. It is also the month daylight savings comes. But it is also really important to us because this was the month we got married.

That's right. On March 20th, 2010 we got married. It was one of the best days of my life. We had beautiful weather. People still talk about it. 72 degrees and sunny in the middle of March! We couldn't have asked for a better day. We were worried too because that year brought some crazy snow in the beginning.

source

In honor of our anniversary, every Friday this month we will be having Flashback Fridays! I will share some ways we saved some serious dough and also some other great tips and tricks we used. The first tip I'm going to share is how we got this great location.

This is Aldi Mansion in Doylestown, PA. It's a beautiful space. We fell in love with it the minute we found it. Although we got married in a church we wanted a reception place where we felt like things were very open and historic. We didn't want to be in a hall.We wanted sunlight!!

This place was perfect...but out of our budget. I was crushed. We went and looked at other places but this was always in the back of my mind. So how did we make this work in our budget? Here are a few tips that we used:

1. Pick a month that is not that common.
Many couples are catching on to this tip already with the economy being the way it is. Some months are considering "prime wedding months". These usually fall April-June and Sept-Oct. There is a reason- the weather is so beautiful! So the first way we got things cut was by getting married in March. There is always a risk with the winter because of snow and whatnot but we figured that if it wasn't snow it would be rain. And if it wasn't rain it would be a heat wave. So we took our chances. And we were blessed with awesome weather. They gave us a great percentage off for getting married that month.

2. Find a place that cuts you a deal if you book more things with them.
Aldi required that you went with their caterer (which was fine with me since it was one less thing to worry about) but they also worked with us on adding other options. But we were able to choose a buffet which was more cost effective and we also chose a very pretty basic cake which worked for us since all we topped it with was simple flowers (more on those this month). Since we got married in March, the caterer also gave us a percentage off!! Double duty savings.

We also had them throw in the linens and a wedding planner for that day so she could keep us on track the day of which meant Tim and I could have more fun!

3. Don't settle until you are both happy.
This doesn't really have to do with budget saving but Tim and I spent way too much time trying to find another place that was more cost efficient and still gave us that open and airy feeling without being outside. We tried to convince ourselves that we would be happy anywhere else but we finally realized that we were meant to have that space and we were determined to make it work. If that meant getting married in a possible blizzard, so be it. Do what makes you happy. If you spend more somewhere, then spend less somewhere else.

As long as you are both surrounded with great family and friends (and with our group- certain beverages.haha)  then you will have fun. So I hope you enjoy the next few Fridays reliving our awesome wedding and feel free to drop a great memory or tip from your big day! Its a regular ol' love fest in here. :)