Hello Winter

We had our first snowfall on Monday. Nothing accumulated, but it was pure magic. I was in the master bedroom closet trying to organize (arduous task) and came down and saw the big fluffy flakes pouring from the sky and got excited. So, abandoning my closet (I know, I know), I started putting away my Christmas stuff and adding little touches of winter to my home.

Bringing in pine and holly is the perfect way to add that magic, and it smells heavenly. Little sprigs are everywhere.

This is a leftover vignette from Christmas, but I think it looks more like winter than Christmas so, I'm keeping it up.

My mantle in winter white with antique frames, shabby candle holders...hmm, looks a little too white, maybe some more pine sprigs?

These snowflakes stay up all winter. If the real thing isn't there, at least I can still look out the window and see "snow."

On the kitchen table, I use the inside of an old toolbox and change it with the seasons -- in the fall, it's filled with mini pumpkins, gourds and in the winter, pine cones. 

Okay, back to the closet.
Linking to:
Common Ground
French Country Cottage

Eye-Candy for the Organized Soul

 (Source) -Seriously, wouldn't this be awesome?

I'm facing a huge task...organizing my master bedroom closet and laundry room.  It's huge -- 22 feet long by 8 feet wide. In fact, it's every women's dream. Except- it isn't. It's a cluttered mess. A hall of shame. And every day for the past 5 or 6 years I have had to face it.
It's actually more than a closet, though. It's a storage area for my etsy shops, photographs, keepsakes, my husband's closet, my closet and my laundry room. We don't have dressers in our bedroom, so it houses all of our clothes -- in season and out of season. Those are my excuses, however, I need to do something about it. Really.
Once I am finished, I'll show you the before and after pictures, but for now, feast your eyes on all these lovely examples of organized closets and laundry rooms I found at Pinterest and MarthaStewart.com. My motivation...and maybe yours?

(Source)-love the colors in this room.

(Source) - simple, but easy way to control clutter.

(Source)-so clean and crisp.

(Source) - I love this idea --using your pillow cases to keep your linens together! Simple and brilliant. I'm going to go upstairs right now and do this in my linen closet.

(Source) Hmm, using a pegboard is a good idea.

Hope this inspires you. I'm heading upstairs. Linking to:
 

Valentine's Day Heart Wreath

I made this sweet wreath a while back and totally forgot about it! It's a rag wreath, which is relatively easy to create. However, it takes a little time...great project to do while watching TV. Anyway, I wanted to update it for Valentine's Day, but I also wanted it be be able to be used all year long.

Solution: I cut little burlap hearts and attached them with red pearlized straight pins. The red plays off the red felt rose and adds a bit of pizzaz. After Valentine's Day, you can just remove the hearts if you wish...a win, win!

To create a Rag Wreath:

• Purchase a wire or straw wreath form (I used straw).
• Grab some cotton or muslin fabric --I used muslin and a waffle-style fabric to create texture and interest. Snip and rip the fabric into strips. (I played around until I found a size that would work best for my size wreath.)
• Attach it to the wreath form by tying on each strip -- the more fabric, the fuller the wreath. Twist them in different directions.

You can add any embellishments that you want -- felt flowers, pretty brooches, and maybe even burlap hearts?!
Linking to:

Easy Does it: First, Organizing the Linen Closet

Organizing does work if you do it the right way. Case in point: My pantry is STILL clean. Read about that project here. It took one whole day, but it was so worth it.

Now, I need to do organize the rest of my home -- my four worst areas are my giant walk-in closet, my mud room, my garage, and my basement storage area.


Baby steps, though...
I thought I would start out with a somewhat easy organization project for my first attempt -- my linen closet--because once you accomplish something, it feels good and allows you to tackle bigger projects, right?

My linen closet is kind of my medicine cabinet, too, since I don't really have one in my bathroom. It's a mess. Here are the BEFORE pics (although, I think it looks messier in person):

Here are the AFTER pictures:

A. I used an over-the-door organizer for items that tend to get out of hand: paper towel rolls, travel size toiletries, razors, cotton balls, etc. It helps to control the clutter and provides more room inside the actual closet.

B. I purchased matching and colorful bins at the dollar store (I really didn't want to spend a ton on this since no one but my family sees this). I have one bin for hair products, one for moisturizers and lotions, one for nail products, and one for soaps.


I think I may have to purchase those shelf dividers for wire shelves to keep the towels and sheets looking neat, but for now, it's okay. Hmm, maybe I need more towels, too.

Linking to:

Home Again, Home Again and JDRF Fundraiser

Just a quick post to say I'm back. Had a wonderful Christmas, an awesome time visiting family and friends and a great New Years Day. My wonderful Mother and Father-in-Law decided to hold a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (my nephew has juvenile diabetes). All of the Zemanski family (who were in town) and many friends joined together for two hours of bowling fun and managed to raise over $500 (pretty decent in that short amount of time) for this worthy cause. Here are some scenes from the action:

My guys in their "alias" attire...

Celebrity guest, Ben Zemanski -my nephew, a professional soccer player for Chivas USA, who graciously signed autographs and donated autographed Chivas collectibles for a raffle:

The entire gang (minus "pappy"-my father-in-law who was busy with the finances):

My three sons:

Hope you had a wonderful holiday! See you soon.

What 2012 Will Bring

I'll be taking a blog break until next year (ha, ha, hee, hee...that's in a few days)! Seriously, taking some time off to relax with family and friends.
See you back in 2012 with:
+decorating ideas
+projects
+estate sale finds
+and some serious organization tips -- this is the year I really go out with the old and in with the new (on a limited basis)!

A heartfelt thanks to all my followers and anyone who reads this blog. And only best wishes for the new year!

Christmas Eve Traditions

In a Polish household, Christmas Eve is the big night ... as is in our household. The Christmas Eve dinner or Wigilia, pronounced "Veleeya" is a meatless meal so it usually consists of seafood, soups, and pierogies and it is usually an odd number of courses -- five, seven or eleven. I go for five or seven. Before sitting down at the table, everyone breaks the traditional wafer, (Oplatek) and exchanges good wishes for health, wealth, and happiness in the New Year. The Oplatek is a thin, unleavened wafer similar to the host in the Catholic Church. My mom usually brings it with her if my parents come for Christmas Eve (they alternate between my sister's and my family). This year they will be with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

After dinner, my family exchanges some gifts. The boys exchange their presents for each other and we give each  of our boys a Christmas book. As the boys have grown, I've continued this tradition -- sometimes giving them "grown-up" Christmas books such as "A Christmas Story" and sometimes giving them picture books (Last year my 19-year old received "Merry Christmas Curious George"). The idea is that they will receive books on Christmas Eve until they have families of their own and then they will have their own collection to read to their children.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a blessed new year! See you all in January!!