its been too long..

i spend so much time reading blogs that sometimes i forget that i'm neglecting my own blog. here i am, almost 6 months past my last post and there is so much i feel the need to say. over the next several days i'll be posting quite a few things (at least, that's the plan), lots of updates, lots of project photos and i'll be revealing a few changes along the way! i'm sure you'll notice the new layout but it feels a lot more like the direction my style has been changing over the last few months. i've changed positions at work and have begun to realize that, while i generally like having the things i use near me where i think i'll use them, it's really difficult to find things when people have put them where they think they'll use them the best and often results in a lot of clutter on the small surfaces we have available to use. did you follow me on that one? it basically boils down to me cleaning up after people all day long while trying to do my job. this is quickly translating to my home life because, as much as i once loved having multiples of things so that i could have just the right size and shape ready at hand, i'm realizing that i keep using the same things over and over again and the multiples are getting lost in the backs of really cluttered cabinets. i've begun to notice that all of the surfaces in my house are getting overly cluttered because i'm saving lots and lots of things 'just in case'. it's tiring to clean everything up because i keep putting things where i think i'll need them, my husband puts things where he thinks he'll need them and my dog puts things where she wants them and the cat moves things because they're not where he wants them... ugh! don't get me wrong, it's not like my house belongs on hoarders or anything, it's just that i'm realizing that it's too cluttered and i really feel accomplished when i've cleaned off the surfaces and everything looks more open. i'm on a mission to improve the clutter situation and, in the process, finish making my house into the home we've been wanting.

the first step was to pair down and get rid of all of the duplicates or excesses that we're not using. the hubs was great at cleaning out all of his excess computer equipment, electronics and miscellaneous cables and cords and even went as far as to sell the dvd collection he'd been building over the years because we don't watch dvds, we netflix! we also decided to pair down our bills and expenses (the main reason we netflix) so we ditched the premium cable and only kept the basic cable because it was only about $7 more than no cable when paired with internet so we know that we'll have HD local channels and we get a few other miscellaneous channels just in case there's nothing else to watch. now it's my turn to pair things down and, instead of taking things to the pawn shop like the hubs did, i'll end up having a yard sale later in the summer. i can only hope that i'll make some decent money for all the work it'll be... especially since the hubs made about $1,000 and didn't have to sort and price things and then sit in the sun waiting for people to paw through lots and lots of our belongings!

the next step was to finish the projects we've been working on around the house. you'll have to wait until later to see those projects but i promise they're worth coming back for! goodnight ya'll!

apparantly i'm a dynamic architect...

Dynamic Architect

according to an online profile i'm a dynamic architect, what does that mean?

You are an Architect

Your preference for concrete, visually pleasing things, combined with your confidence and your respect for order make you an ARCHITECT.

You are logical and detail-oriented, which allows you to get things done efficiently.

You are quite sure of yourself, so that you tend to know the best ways of doing things.

Your eye for aesthetic beauty and style indicates that you know a lot about design.

Having a routine and sticking to it is important to you; you find comfort in tradition and familiarity.

Self-reliance is something in which you take great pride—you are confident and down to earth.

You have a basic faith in yourself in many areas of your life, allowing you to be self-assured when facing challenges.

You have a strong sense of style and value your personal presentation - friends may even seek your style advice from time to time.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

You are Dynamic

As someone who is DYNAMIC, you do not have a hard time meeting new people, and you have a bunch of close friends.

You are not overly concerned with what others may think about you, which leaves you free to be thoroughly involved in the world around you.

There are those who find being around people exhausting—but not you! Interacting with others, whether at a party or in conversation, gives you energy.

You have a strong sense of what the world is like and how it should be.

You have enormous respect for those who have earned their success, and have little patience for those who try to bend the rules or ride on the coattails of others' hard work.

Believing in the importance of integrity and hard work doesn't stop you from believing that people will do the right thing—you know that people are good at heart.

You sometimes have trouble understanding why others feel the way they do, but it doesn't stop you from having faith and trust in those around you.

Part of what makes engaging with people so interesting for you is that you occasionally learn something new about yourself or about a problem you're having when discussing things with others.

Your strong worldview leads you to believe that people shouldn't rely on their emotions so much when making decisions.

well, there you have it in a very large nutshell... basically i'm stubborn and bossy and i already knew all that. but it is fun, feel free to click on the link and find out more about yourself!

organizing for a new year...

this project was done a few months ago but i apparantly failed to post it so here's the current pic (minus several necklaces and bracelets)
i've recently received some vintage coat hooks so i'll be hanging one of those to put rings on shortly with updated pics :) there are a couple of other organizing projects going on today but i'll wait to tell you about those until later!

as i recap i turn my thoughts to next year...

after looking back at our wonderful christmas and thinking about christmases past, i'm thinking i should make next year the year i make all (or almost all) of our gifts to other people, homemade. my seester and i are great bakers and pretty crafty so this year we made some monogrammed bags for her team and my managers and a few family members and they were very well received. maybe they were well received because they had homemade cookies, kiflis, cereal snack and chocolates in them and maybe it was just because we put time and love into them. either way they weren't that complicated (except the 21 dozen kiflis but its not like you can only make one or two dozen anyway). i know i said i'd blog a combined list of what we made, maybe more for us to have a bit of a memory of these things but if you want some ideas of what works for us in the mean time, here it is:

21 dozen kiflis (the only thing we bother to count)
macaroons
oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
cutouts
oreo truffles
buckeyes
white trash (white chocolate and peanut butter covered pretzels and cheerios)
peppermint bark
spritz cookies
peanut butter blossoms
thumbprints
brownies
chocolate crackle tops
cereal snack (modified chex mix)

the only thing i haven't made yet is the round pretzel with either a kiss or rolo smushed down by an m&m and chocolate covered peanut butter cracker sandwiches but those will get made for my new year's cocoa party. i've also made home made marshmallos for the cocoa party but i'll blog about that next week.

as for a handcrafted christmas next year i'm not thinking that i'll just bake, i'm thinking that in the coming months i should plan a craft project or two to give as gifts. since i generally shop for everyone all year long anyway, maybe crafting all year long is the way to go. i've seen a few projects that might be just right so hopefully i can keep you posted as i handcraft my christmas :)

an amazing christmas...

first we had lunch and presents with my husband's family but i didn't take pictures so you'll get the pics from dinner at my grandma's. i got a really good picture of the girls with grandma, perfect for her calendar next year

and the hubs and i looked adorable, hopefully next year he won't be in this old navy fleece, it's made an apperance two years in a row in photos and that's a big no no for methe girls looked adorable in their sweater dressesand grandma's tree (decorated by me) looked great with all of our presents underneath, i'm pretty sure everyone got most of what they wanted and, best of all, we got to spend a great day with each other, and we didn't have to fight the snow because the streets are clear clear clearrockne even got what she wanted, something to chew on that she wasn't going to get in trouble for eating merry christmas everyone, i'll be posting a post-holiday baking list and some photos just to show ya'll what fun we've been having but for now, i'm going to relax with the hubs and watch some tv - we've become highly addicted to 'white collar' and can't get enough, looks like a white collar marathon will be happening every evening until we're caught up!

update for paige's class...

tonight we finished the crayons for paige's kindergarten class. you can see my tutorial here or read the original from Diary of a Preppy Mom here. from 5 boxes of 64 crayons acquired at the dollar store we ended up with enough crayons so that each of the 25 students could have 4 crayons and there were 6 or 7 left over. we sorted the crayons by color so that there wouldn't be duplicates in each package and then put them in favor bags found in the dollar section at target (love the target!)


i cut pieces of carstock just a bit larger than a couple of my christmas stamps, wrote each child's name on the front under the stamp and then had paige write 'from paige' on the backs of the cards at 5 years old she's not really used to writing that much and, being in kindergarten she's still figuring out how to write in a straight line and making the letters the right direction (as you can see, the 'g' in paige is backwards but that's what makes it adorable) then we punched a hole in the card, put a ribbon through it and tied it around the bag. even though there was quite a bit of time involved, around 45 minutes per dozen including peeling wrappers, baking and cooling which had to be completed before the next batch could start, they end up pretty easy and give a lot of bang for the buck. Here's the final break down on cost (so crazy cheap)

5 boxes of 64 crayons from dollar tree - $5
one wilton silicone mini tree pan from michaels - $6 ($10-40% off with coupon)
2 bags of 20 celophane favor bags from target's dollar section -$2
ribbon left over from presents last christmas -$0
stamped gift tags from cardstock on hand - $0

grand total -$13 or just under 50 cents per kid

here are some tips and ideas in closing:

• you could easily use the same amount of supplies but only give each child 2 crayons and give twice as many kids presents if your child has a bigger class.
• i made a couple of crayons from only two crayons instead of 3 and they turned out a bit thinner than i wanted but still thick enough to be usable and i would imagine that your kid's crayon box/bucket/can/etc has enough broken and partial crayons that you may not have to purchase as many but i wouldn't mix brands within each tree just in case for some reason they don't reharden consistently
• i would highly reccomend two silicone pans if you're going to be making a bigger batch but if you're doing things around the house it's pretty easy to switch them around and get it taken care of
• make sure you have two cookie sheets so that when you take the melted crayons out of the oven you can transfer them to a different pan and put them in the fridge to lessen the cooling time
• you could easily print some coloring pages, even resize them to 1/2 or quarter page in something easy like ms word and give them with the crayons (i think they'd be super cute with full size coloring sheets rolled into a tube (like a diploma), tied with the ribbon before it's tied around the bag of crayons, it could be a super cute stocking stuffer too
• peeling wrappers off of cheap crayons is super easy if you loosen the whole seam of the wrapper before trying to peel the rest off
• little bits of crayon wax flake when breaking crayons, be sure to clean your cookie sheets really weel and if you wipe it off the top of the stove before it has a chance to cool it's not messy

that's all for tonight, happy crafting!!

christmas cards and calendars...

so, shutterfly is doing this awesome promotion for bloggers that want to write about shutterfly. they’re giving away 50 free holiday cards to bloggers just for writing 150+ little words. this is almost too easy for me since, as i’m sure you know, i use shutterfly every year for my christmas cards and to make an awesome calendar for my grandmother with the past year’s photos and everyone’s birthdays listed to make things easier for her. i usually start my cards and calendar way in advance and, thanks to shutterfly, I can save my work, go back to it, change layouts 100 times, adjust the size of the photos as many times as I want. I’m trying to decide between these cards, anyone have a preference?

the white bar between the two photos will have our names and the year

grandma's calendar is still in progress but you can check out their calendars here and get ideas for your own christmas cards here. i hope you get some great ideas for your holiday gift-giving!