Five on Friday

Sorry, I didn't mean to post this on this blog! EEK! Please head over to my new blog - Carry Grace!
We had a great week!

Cade left for Camp on Sunday and it was just me the H-man during the day. He really missed his brother, so I tried to do a few special things to keep him busy.

1. Monday, we had a mostly chill day and then headed to the pool for a little bit.

2. Tuesday, the weather was pretty yucky so we worked on a few projects. Henry was quite the Project Manager! We cleaned out and organized the fridge and freezer, and then re-organized a few problem kitchen cabinets and drawers.

3. Wednesday was such a success that I decided to tackle another project with Henry's help. We completely rearranged our master closet. (This will be in a future blog post/youtube video.) Before we could start the project I needed to pick up a few things, so we headed out for a quick trip to ROss and Target. On the way to Ross we spotted a helicopter that was about to land, so we parked in the hospital parking lot so Henry could watch it up close. He thought it was pretty cool. He also got a snack at Target.

4. Thursday was the day Cade came home from camp. He is still super sleepy, but we are thrilled to have him back.







5. I managed to get a few videos up on my YouTube channel. I am working on more videos that are not beauty related, so be on the look out for those. In the mean time, check these from this week out.

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! See you next week.

I'm linking up with linking up with High Five for Friday, Oh Hey, Friday, 5 on Friday, & Diary of a Real Housewife.

The New Blog

Hi everyone!

The new blog is still pretty sparse looking, but it is up and running. You can now find me at
http://www.carrygrace.com/

It's Over

It's over, sounds so dramatic!

I have been mostly silent on the blog this year. I have gone from having big plans for the blog, to being done with blogging.

I was set on being done, but instead am creating a new blog.

There is a good story, and a lot more work to be done before I am up and running, so please stay tuned.

Weekly Meal Plan #17

This weeks meal plan is all about keeping it simple!

Sunday Lunch - Turkey Sandwiches and Potato Salad
Sunday Dinner - Chicken and Veggie Alfredo (from the freezer section)
Monday - Chicken Fajitas, Chips and Salsa
Tuesday - Roasted Chicken Legs and Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday - Soup and Grilled Cheese
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Pizza
Saturday -  Chili and Rice

Jewelry Organization

I have been trying to come up with a good way to organize and store my jewelry for a really long time! I have been through so many different jewelry boxes, in all shapes and sizes, but nothing was working for me.

My Dilemmas

- I was trying to store my jewelry in our master bedroom.
- Our bathroom is tiny, so I shower in our bathroom, throw on some clothes, and then head downstairs to do my hair and makeup in the bigger bathroom.
- Once I am downstairs, I never make it back upstairs.
- I usually end up taking my earrings and bracelets off at some point in the afternoon or early evening, so they end up scattered throughout the downstairs.

My Jewelry Storage Requirements

- Must to be able to hang up all of my necklaces
- Must to be able to store all jewelry in one place
- Must to be closed storage, not out in the open
- Must be in the downstairs bathroom


I was putting some things away in the down stairs bathroom the other day, and I realized that I had a lot of wasted space in the cabinets. It just kind of hit me, that with a little bit of rearranging, I had the perfect spot.

I picked out a shelf and then got to work. I knew I wanted something to hang my necklaces across the back of the cabinet. My first thought was to cut a piece of scrap wood and then add some type of hooks or nails. I waited a few days and realized that I could make it even simpler. I grabbed a piece foam core board that I had on hand and then covered it in a piece of scrap fabric from my stash using duck tape.

Once my board was all cute, I add clear pushpins across the back. I put the board in the cabinet and then put all of my jewelry in.

I had plenty of room to hang all of my necklaces. I added a few ceramic egg crates that I already had for earrings, and then a small jewelry box that I already had for bracelets. I just placed my watches on the shelf and then added a small tray for a few more earrings that didn't quite fit in the egg crates. The little white elephant (Roll Tide) hold my wedding rings when I am not wearing them.

I have been using this system since the first of the year, and it is working beautifully! I no longer have to hunt for wear I last put my gold hoops or my watch.

I should have taken the time to repaint the inside of this cabinet, but I just didn't have it in me. I did  clean out and organize the rest of the cabinet, so it really is a WIN!

Where to you store your jewelry?

Five on Friday

Happy First Friday of 2015! I trust you all had a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

1. Asher and I celebrated 17 years of marriage on New Year's Eve. I love that we always have a special date night each and every year. There is no other way I would rather ring in the new year. This year my in-laws kept the kids overnight, so we had a nice Japanese dinner out and then went to a late movie. It was a nice treat. 

2. I am looking forward to a new year of blogging. Last year during the month of Oct. I posted for (almost) 30 days in a row on one particular subject. I learned that with a little bit of planning and structure, I can post pretty often. I am not looking to post everyday, but I am going to start planning ahead a little bit more.

I plan to use my new Erin Condren Monthly calendar that I received as a Christmas gift as a dedicated blog planner. I am already enjoying have my blog editorial calendar being separate from my regular Life Planner. (See my side bar if you are a new Erin Condren customer. You can use my referral link to receive a discount on your first purchase, and I will receive a credit at no extra expense to you.)

3. My friend Alana took a blogging break over the last several months, but has just recently launched her new blog, 31 Grace Lane,  in Dec. I am really excited to see that she is back. She has such a sweet heart.

4. This is my project today. Christmas is still currently all over my house, but it must come down today.

5. Be sure to check out the round up of my Top 10 Posts from 2014.

Have a great weekend!

Top 10 Posts of 2014

It's been a great year, and I am looking for to many great things for 2015!

I thought I would take a look back, and highlight my Top 10 Posts from 2014.

1. Plum Paper Planner Review - I was not surprised at all, that this was my top viewed post this year. Check out the review, but the coupon code is no longer valid.

I thoroughly enjoyed my planner last year. They have also added some new optional add-ons this year that look very useful.

I had a credit for EC, so I am using the Erin Condren Life Planner for 2015. I'm sure there will be a review in the near future.

2. The Office Nook Reveal - This was a fun little reveal. We have done some major rearranging, and this area is completely different. I'm still not finished, but it will make an appearance on the blog early in 2015.

3. New Dining Room Table - Made from Oak Flooring - I am so glad that our table made the top 3. This was my personal favorite project from last year. It is still my favorite piece of furniture. My husband did such a great job building this for me.

4. Let's Gather - A Thanksgiving Mantlescape - This was a fun project I put together for a Bloghop that Amanda, from Cultivate Create hosted.

5. 31 Days of Simple Painted Projects - I shared 31 Days of Simple Painted Projects during the month of October.

6. Dining Room/Homeschool Room Lightened Up - We use our Dining Room everyday during school. I decided that it would work better for us if I lighted it up. The room is still a work in progress, but we are enjoying the new color. 

7. Refresh Sad, Plastic Pots with Wood Stain

8. Home Sweet Home - Free Printable (Available in 2 colors)

9. 7 Things About Me

10. Breakfast Room Updates

Thank you to all of you that come here each each week and take the time to read and comment. Anything particular you would like to see here in the new year?

Linking this post to:
Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer

Our December 2014 Recap

The whole month of December seems to have just whizzed by this year.  I have only logged a few posts this month, so I want to recap a few things.

Earlier this month, I had a fun girl's trip to Disney World!

I got a new camera lens for Christmas. Asher gave it to me early so that I could play with it and actually use it for Christmas. I was playing with it one night, and this was as serious as I could get Henry to be.

Cade got a new race track at a Christmas Party, and spent a lot of time in deep concentration. His face was cracking me up!

Henry's preschool class at church sang 2 Christmas songs to the entire congregation. They were all so cute. Henry sang all the words, but was very serious about it.

We had Christmas with Asher's extended family the Saturday before Christmas. Henry got a new Color Wonder puzzle. He went from this excited face to really bummed that there was not a gray or black marker in the set. How was he going to color the minion's goggles or gloves without a gray or black marker?

Cade was excited to get another Lego set to put together.

I painted a few Family Christmas Canvases. One for us, and a couple to give as gifts to a few of my friends. (These were the ONLY crafty thing I did this Christmas.)

We spent Christmas Eve driving around looking at Christmas lights. The boys had fun, but were ready to get home and go to bed. I took a quick picture of them in front of the tree right before they went to bed.

We woke up Christmas morning and piled on our bed to read the Christmas story before we opened any gifts. This is one thing we have done every single year since Cade was a baby.

I didn't get many pictures, but we spent the rest of the day at our house with both of our families. It was a wonderful Christmas.

The day after Christmas we spent the day in the woods at a shooting range, riding 4 wheelers, and and fishing! It was the perfect way to spend the day as a family.

Christmas Home Tour 2014

I sure wasn't expecting to get my 2014 Christmas Home Tour up AFTER Christmas, but I just couldn't seem to get my junk together and get it done. I'm still going to post it because I really enjoy looking back at our home each year.

I did one tiny new Christmas painting, and we have a new to us tree, but everything else is the same Christmas decor that we use every year.

I hope you enjoy our very simple 2014 Christmas Home Tour.

Living Room 

Den - We did have lights on our tree, but 2 sections went out the day before I took these pictures, so I didn't turn them on. We did finally fix them on Christmas Eve.

Kitchen

Dining Room (See Full Post HERE.)

Playroom

And this is the Christmas card I made, but never had printed or mailed out!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!


Linking this post up to:
It's Overflowing