How to Create a Personal Altar in Shared Spaces

Sometimes our spiritual practices might weird people out.  Why do you have all those rocks? people ask.  What's all this stuff on this table? they'll say.  Often as their picking items up and turning them over in their hands.  Keeping a discreet altar - whether in your home, office, or dorm room - can have an array of benefits with out having to explain things to curious folks.  Though, I am always down for it personally...it can be kind of distracting.

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Creating an altar in your personal space is important.  Whether it is for ritualistic practices or a place for peace and meditation, we often don't want to have our personal spaces invaded or feel odd for having them in the first place.  Keeping a discreet altar space can be perfect for those still in the broom closet or those who share a common space - like a shared apartment or dorm room, or for a more intimate office setting.  Personally, I have a big ol altar at home in my spare room that I don't care if anyone sees but when it comes to keeping somethings on my office desk - for personal power, calming vibes, and just all around comfort - I choose to do something discreetly that doesn't even seem like an altar at all!

Items to Include on your Altar

While everyone has different things on their altars here are a few key pieces to keep in mind:

The Elements 

You can represent the elements - fire, air, earth, water - in various ways.  Add plants for earth, an essential oil diffuser for air & water, etc.  You can also charge these things with your intentions as you set up your work space.  The great thing about a diffuser is that you can choose certain oils with certain correspondences but you can also charge the water with your intentions as you fill your diffuser for the day.

Deity Correspondences 

Different knick knacks on your desk can have different associations to certain deities if that is a part of your practice.  You don't need to have an all out dedicated statue that may seem out of place (we're attempting to be discreet here) but just a little tchotchke with your personal deities will add just a touch of reverence to your space.

Current/Relevant Spellwork

This may be something that might only apply if you're currently doing any spellwork around your place of business - maybe keeping a money spell present, etc.  Not something totally necessary but you may find a place for it.

Personal Power Objects

While a little woo woo for my office, I used to keep the current crystals I was working with on my desk.  These were visual reminders for me throughout the day for certain energies and emotions I was attempting to usher into my life.  Same with the essential oils I'd use.  You can also choose other tchotchke like items that have a certain personal power significance to you but that aren't necessarily woo woo.

Creating Your Altar, Discreetly

Like I mentioned, at home I go all out with what I've got on my altar - crystals, boxes, oils, incense, animal totems, sabbat decorations, I mean it's endless (and often a mess!).  But in smaller or more public spaces, we can be more choosy or specific.

 Work Space Altar

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Diffuser // Air Plant // Terrarium // Crystal Points // Essential Oils // Cat iPad holder // Gold Hippo 

Depending on where you work, your personal space may have very different types of decor.  The example above has a sleek look and features a lot of light.  This is a great little space to feel inspired!  I imagine the person in this office getting so much stuff done!

My personal desk space at work isn't as elegant as this so I choose to express my quirky fun side with some plant Shopkins (yes, I'm a 30 year old woman who thinks shopkins are the cutest), my diffuser, and other objects that remind me to lighten up.  My job can be kind of intense with a lot of frantic energy so fun little objects that lighten the mood and cheerful essential oils keep me in the good vibes category!

Dorm Room Altar

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Diffuser // Essential Oils // Balloon Dog // Balloon Piggy Bank // Succulent Collection // Crystal Collection // Fluorite Crystal Point

I think most of the time in a dorm room or shared apartment we're among like minded people so it might not be too weird to have some of these things around your space. But we still might not be ready for a ton of questions.  Creating a small altar space on your desk, night stand, or little shelf in your room can make our shared spaces seem a little more sacred.

When I was in college I loved to have small collections of inspiring nick knacks.  These little collections of things really made me fill at home and gave me a space to feel inspired.

Creating these personal altars bring a feeling of safety to our spaces.  We feel at home and we feel like we can still work on our personal goals.  Sometimes we are asked to be different people in different spaces - at work I'm not going to blabber on about chakras (unless someone asks) - so bringing elements of ourselves into these spaces can give us a sense of purpose.

If you'd like to learn more about crystals, essential oils, chakras, etc head on over to join the Live & Create Facebook group where we talk about mindful & creative living through productivity, planning, and personal growth!

Do you personalize your spaces?  Do you have a personal altar at work?

xoxo, Moe

Make it Monday // Easy DIY Meditation Bolster Sewing Project

I'm in the middle of redoing the spare room downstairs with some bohemian inspired bedding I got for a super great deal from our local Meijer.  One of the key parts of the spare room downstairs is my sacred space!  This is where I go to meditate, journal, and all around connect with myself.  I love that this space of mine is separate from my actual bedroom because that means it is a place I can go to.  It is a place I can show up to when I need to. 

this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

Today I want to share with you how to make a comfortable meditation bolster.  This project was easy...yet annoying.  You'll totally love the results...but you may not ever want to make a pillow again.  Before I made this guy, I was using a small pillow.  Once I realized that pillow wasn't high enough and just wasn't supportive enough I went on to use one of the chairs from my craft table.  In the end, neither of these options had the right height or support for my booty.  So I thought to myself 'hey, you can make a bolster!'  and that's what I did.

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supplies // fabric (I used an extra sheet set to match the new bedding), sewing machine, matching thread, ruler/measuring tape, pins, bean bag chair beans, 1.5 inch button cover kit, doll needle

I started with 6 fabric peices - 2 14 x 20 inch pieces, 2 14 x 9 inch pieces, and 2 20 x 9 inch pieces.  This pillow will be stored in the bottom shelf of my meditation altar so I took these measurements to ensure it fits.  Feel free to make your pillow a different size, but this guy is the perfect height to elevate your bum enough so your legs don't fall asleep during mediation!

Pin the right sides of the 4 squat pieces together and sew up the short sides to create a long strip of fabric.  The seam allowance here is set to be .5 inches.  In hindsight, I would have used just a long, single piece of fabric as the sides of the bolster rather than sewing these 4 pieces together.  I also suggest using a zig zag stitch for strength.  I'm using some cheapo fabric so the zig zag stitch gives the seams a little more substance.  Leave an opening to add the beans

Pin the top and bottom pieces (the 20 x 15 pieces) to the top and bottom of the tube you've created - make sure you're pinning everything right sides together.  This is the tricky part & where the single long strip might have been better.  As you're sewing around and reach the corners be sure to pull the extra fabric out so that you're not sewing over the corners too much.

Turn the pillow inside out so the right side is now facing outward & fill it with beans.  This is going to be the messy & most annoying part.  The end result is so worth it though.  I used a paper funnel and measuring cup to funnel the beans into the pillow.  Once you get the pillow good and full, test it out.  If it feels overstuffed just shake out a nice chunk of the beans.  Hand or machine stitch the little opening closed.To finish the bolster, add a coordinating covered button.  You can pick up these covered button kits at your local sewing shop so this isn't something special you'll have to seek out.  Simply follow the directions on the back of the package.  Cut a circle to the required shape, place it over the form, push the button into the form.  Fold the extra fabric over, place the button backing on top, and push it down to secure.  Bam! Button.
Using the long doll needle and doubled over thread - you can even use two strands, doubled, for extra strength - attach the buttons to both sides.  Poke the needle through the center of once side to the center of the other side of the bolster.  This may take a few tries. Once you reach the other side, slip a button through then pass the needle back through to the first side.  Add the second button, pull taught, and secure with a few knots.

And you're done!  See, easy peasy. Though slightly annoying.

Using this bolster now relieves the pain on my hips, allows the blood to circulate, and gives me the right height to see my altar.  It also fits perfectly into the space under my altar table.  The altar table itself is a TV stand from either Walmart or Meijer, I can't remember. (Oh! Walmart is also a part of ebates!  Be sure to sign up here if you haven't started to use ebates yet!).  It has shelving space plus a little door with some shelve too - perfect for hiding away journals, etc.

I am in love with this little space.  Be sure to check back soon to see the whole room put together + some other decor DIY's!  If you'd like to check out some of the other rooms in my house I've got a living room tour + a craft room tour over on my YouTube channel.  You can check out the bedroom tour here on the blog.  Need more DIY decor inspiration? Click here!

Do you have a sacred space?  Where do you go to connect with yourself?

Trend Tuesday // Dollar Tree Home Essentials

Saving money is an important thing to me.  I like to spend money but I like to spend it wisely!  The Dollar Tree has become essential store for me & my budget.  Finding affordable solutions for various areas of the home is sometimes hard to do.  I know the Dollar Tree hasn't always been my first choice for anything but recently I've found affordable and attractive decor & storage solutions as well as quality everyday essentials.  Not to mention you find something new nearly every time you walk in!  Here are my home essentials from the Dollar Tree.

(this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.)

Kitchen Utensils

I break a lot of things in the kitchen.  I can't tell you how many times I've broken a glass just by looking at it.  So I buy a lot of my kitchen essentials from the Dollar Tree.  The main thing I purchase from the Dollar Tree are wooden spoons and various other serving style utensils.  Wooden spoons aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher (this is why I try not to have wooden handled knives as well).  I was everything in the dishwasher.  If it isn't dishwasher safe, I don't buy it.  So I purchase a lot of my serving utensils from the Dollar Tree because I'm only out a few bucks when they eventually crap out on me, I break the, or they just don't make it through the dishwasher one last time.  The Dollar Tree has a great array of kitchen utensils to choose from (some even name brand like Betty Crocker!)

Organizing Essentials

In this post about creating various cleaning caddies with Dollar Tree products, I used some super cute plastic bins.  I also mention how those caddies help me with the 3 Waves Cleaning Method here.I love the Dollar Tree for the various storage solutions they offer.  If you want the best selection of storage containers in store, I've found the best time to go is at the beginning of the year.   If you're looking for a specific color I'd suggest looking during a holiday that color would be more common.  For example - pastel durring Spring/Easter, brown during Fall/Thanksgiving, purple during Halloween, red during Christmas, etc. They do offer an array of colors in general but shopping for storage solutions seasonally will give you the best chance to match any existing colors you my already have going on in the space you need storage for.

Seasonal Decor

Fall is nearly here and Halloween will be around the corner.  Dollar Tree is my favorite place to go for some essential crafting supplies.  While sometimes the supplies may not be as full - like a bundle of flowers, for example - I love picking up smaller filler pieces and wreath bases.  These more affordable starting points and accents are great to add more to a project you may have started from the craft store.  I love to purchase things like wreaths to use as a base to make a fuller wreathe because I'm paying $1 for a base rather than upwards of $3-$5 to start my project.  Their Fall selection of decor is warm & inviting while the Halloween offerings are creatively frightening.  If you haven't checked out the Dollar Tree blog for creative inspiration you should check that out as well.  They've got quite a few fund projects to try using their seasonal products!

The bulk buying option also means you'll always have what you need on hand.  While that may not be the best for kitchen utensils, it is great for gifts & decor as you get more bang for your buck!

Do you frequent the Dollar Tree?  What are your money saving must haves?

xoxo, Moe

Make it Monday // DIY Hexagon Popsicle Stick Shelves

I am willing to bet you at least $5 that the first craft you ever made was using Popsicle sticks.  Today I want to share with you a really cool upgrade to popsicle stick crafts - one that I think is resourceful and also great for a crafty room.  It pays homage to our paper and paste days of crafting.  When we were young, free, and glued colored macaroni to various object.  This project upgrades the traditional popsicle stick to something a bit more classy.

(this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.)

I present to you the popsicle stick hexagon shelf project!  I had a blast making this and it whipped up super quick.  This is perfect decor for a craft room - in my opinion!

supplies :: various popsicle sticks - I used 90 (3 total packs) of Super Jumbo Popsicle Sticks for the larger hexagon & 75 - 150 (1-2 packs) Jumbo Popsicle Sticks for each of the smaller hexagons, adhesive - E6000 is stronger but hot glue is faster (I used hot glue for this), painter's tape, spray paint of your choice (I used a rose gold paint), optional hexagon template, nails & hammer

To easily make an even hexagon I suggest starting off with a template.  I used my Cricut Explore to cut out an 11 inch wide hexagon from some unused scrapbook paper.  I love my Cricut Explore for paper crafting - I love that if I have an idea I can whip it up in a matter of seconds.  This is a simple shape for the Cricut but it would take me forever to come up with the correct shape.  (If you haven't thought about a digital die cutting machine - I suggest the Cricut for all your paper crafting needs).

Lay out your popsicle sticks along the edges of the hexagon template.  Adhere them together - in this case with hot glue - so that you are able to stack them against each other in a Licoln Log style.  You should have three popsicle sticks on the 'bottom' and the other three layered on the the 'top'.  This way you can alternate where the sticks are placed to get a 'woven' type of pattern.  So in the picture above the last popsicle stick is glued right on top of the the ends of the two beside it.  Continue gluing the sticks in this manner until you get the depth you'd like.  Repeat for as many little shelves as you like - odd numbers always look best, so I went with 3.

Using painter's tape, mask off where you want to paint your mini shelves.  It may help to arrange them on a table in the manner they will be on the wall to visualize where to paint.  Be sure to tape the inside as well so that you don't get spray paint in places you don't want it.

I also found it helpful to use a pencil to mark the up position so I'd know how I was hanging these once they were dry.  When they are dry, remove the painters tape and hang with two nails on either side of one side of the hexagon.

These shelves aren't going to be the strongest things in the world, but for little knick knacks I think these shelves are perfect.  Every time I look at them I have a little chuckle - I think they look super neat, but they are totally made out of a kids craft supply!!

Do you have any memories of crafting as a kid?  What is your earliest one?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // Cozy + Happy Holidays

There hasn't been a serious Wednesday Decor post on the blog in ages...but since it's the holidays it is high time to bust one out.  I am loving the coziness of the last few months of the year.  Once we get out of the holiday season though (January - March), I'm ready for the cold weather to be over!  October - December is the most wonderful time of the year, honestly.  And if it weren't for the holidays, I don't know if I could make it through the winter!  

Here are my six must haves for cozy, wintry decor:

find this set on Polyvore here.

this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

Mistletoe Candle

This is the scent of the season for me.  I have a candle in every room.  It is so pine-y and so Christmas-y that I can't just have one.  This is the only scent I consistently burn and would burn it all year round too!

Tart/Candle Warmer

Since I like to have this candle in every room, I have assorted candle warmers so that I can have a house filled with scent, but isn't on fire.  You can find these any old place for $20 or less (here is one on Amazon).  Some come with dishes and some come with just the flat surface for the candle.  I find it's better to use a candle near the end of it's life for the most scent throw.  (Or tarts, of course).

Cozy Throws

Crochet throw, fleece throw, tartan throw, any throw...give them all to me.  If I'm not walking around I'm under a blanket on the couch.  Bonus points if it is a heated blanket.  Oh yea.

Comfy Slippers

I can not stand when my feet are cold.  I can not stand when my feet are hot.  And that's why I like slippers over socks.  Socks are way too hard to take off when I suddenly decide my feet are too hot.  Slippers are extremely easy to slip on when I decide my feet are too cold.  Bonus points if they are cute as hell!

Christmas Decor

Our Christmas decor fits in 4 total boxes...one of which is the tree.  And I like it that way.  Not only is there not too much to store but everything is important.  Everything was chosen with care.  I will however continue to collect Christmas ornaments until my tree topples over.  My favorite decor items are the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball ornament, the Kim K 'break the internet' ornament, & the Gnome Gnativity set.  

Crochet Stockings

I know this is part of the decor part above but I'm keeping this separate because I crocheted our Christmas stockings.  We don't have a fireplace so they hang off the bookshelf.  The way they look on our bookshelf next to the tree just gives me all the feels!

These are just a few of my favorite (Christmas) things.  I honestly love this time of year.  Everyone thinks it is so hectic and stressful but I just see it as full of cheer.  Even when I worked retail - I didn't like working Christmas eve - but I also liked all the Christmas decor, all the last minute shoppers, etc.  No one was ever overly ridiculous to me, it was a pleasant experience.  Around this time of year I am always a little more patient and a little more helpful.  But it is my favorite time.

What are your holiday decor favorites?  Anything you put up or pull out year after year?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // 3 Home Projects I Hope to Try

Back in February I posted my Home Organization plan for 2014 - well I kind stayed on top of it!  Yay for the word focus for this year, right?  Since I've been on an organizing kick lately I decided to add a few more things to the list of home stuff I want to complete this year.  Maybe this is part two of the organization plan...who knows!

Fridge Mat / Organization

From what I read from this post on I Heart Organizing, these are actual Fridge Coaster brand fridge coasters....redundant much?  But I've also seen using placemats as fridge coasters & since I found 12 bright yellow chevron placemats at Meijer for $0.50 each, I think I'm going to use those!  How fun would it be to have a gussied up fridge?  Weird but awesome right?

Laundry Room Baskets / Organization

Just like this little laundry area, our laundry closet has wire shelving and is just a plain mess.  Hopefully in the next renovation my laundry room dreams come true.  What, you don't have laundry room dreams?  I've been searching everywhere for wire baskets that weren't $16 a pop and finally found $5 baskets from Dollar General.  They were bright colors so I got some Rustoleum Metallic spray paint & had at it.  I can't wait to get the laundry closet all organized.

Bill / Finance / Etc Command Station

If there's one thing that is the biggest annoyance in my life - it's how I have the bills organized.  Pretty much when mail comes in the door I stand between our two desks and divide it up.  I get my stuff & Zach gets his stuff and bills.  So that means it gets misplaced or covered up and I forget when they are due.  The image above is from this post & that blog is where I got inspiration for my bills tracker in my planner.  The one provided in the post was 8.5x11 and I needed 8.5x5.5 for my half sized planner.  But I really want to get a central place for bills and our past bills because those are upstairs when bills are paid downstairs!

So here's to another 4 months of organizing!

What do you want to accomplish in your home during the rest of the year?

xoxo, Moe

I've been playing around with the app Wtrite365 from an awesome blogger Kam of Campfire Chic.  One of the prompts was 'DIY projects to try'.  So I skimmed my Pins to see exactly what I could do to stay on track with my Home Organization Plan this year.

Wednesday Decor // How to Make a Cleaning List for your Home

Back in June, one of my monthly goals (oh yeah, remember those?) was to clean something every night.  Well let me give you a big ol yeah right because that did not happen.  I always have good intentions with keeping the house clean but it never seems to work out.  It always ends up as a one weekend a month cleaning spree that I hate.  Why can't I just pick shit up after myself?  No idea...did it for a while then I got lazy.  I hate that I'm so lazy.  When I get home from a busy day from work I pretty much do nothing.  I wish I had the energy after work to actually feel productive.

Anyway - another part of finding a cleaning schedule for your home is that the millions you can find on Pinterest aren't really catered to your needs.  At least thats what I've found.  I either have too many rooms, not enough rooms, not enough time, will not do something in the morning, or just plain don't like the way the chart looks.  If you're a list maker & planner like me the biggest step is getting the break down the way you want it.  Here's how I created my cleaning schedule - we'll see if I will stick to it.

When do you want to clean? - That's the first question I asked myself because I really hate waking up on a Saturday knowing that I'll be cleaning for a good chunk of the day.  Most of the time I want to do what I do best - lay on the couch and do nothing!  So I thought about the days I'd actually want to clean - Monday through Friday.  For me, Monday through Friday after work is the best time to think about cleaning because we're often gone on weekends & currently it's summer so we want to do a lot of stuff on Saturday & Sunday.

What do you want to clean? - This seems obvious...the house, right?  Well tackling your big ass house in one unorganized go can cause you to get frazzled.  I decided since I have only 5 days I wanted to clean on to divid the house into five places.  Now, if you have a bigger house (or kids or any other extraneous things that I don't have) this five day thing may not work for you.  But thats the point of these tips - to help you think of the way you can divide up your house/apartment/etc.  So I decided to divide my areas like this - Downstairs, Bathrooms (we have two), Kitchen/Dining area, & Bedrooms.  That leaves me with one day free of cleaning!  Hooray!!

How long do you want to clean? - This is the other thing, how long you want to spend on one area or one part of your divided out list.  I would say I really want to spend only about an hour a night on one area - and I plan on setting a timer!  No, that's not getting into deep cleaning but I am keeping things cleaner & tidier.  I include vacuuming in this hour as well in the places that need to be vacuumed.  Side note, my favorite chore is to vacuum!  And our dog literally sheds another whole dog in less than a day I'm pretty sure.  So this hour means that I'm not cleaning a weeks worth of shit up if I need to deep clean something sometime.  And hey, I can always deep clean on that spare day right?  (Not gonna happen!)

What do you want to do in each area? - This also helps you tackle the space in an organized manner.  Instead of just haphazardly tackling the zone you know what you need to do in each zone.  It's organized & you're not stressing out about all the shit you have to do after work.  I decided to list 5 things under each zone to make sure I get through what needs to be done in the area I'm working on.

If you're a thinking & planner like me, I hope this post helped.  I'm going to share a how-to on making a cleaning list based on these little tips using PicMonkey for your planner, fridge, home binder, etc.  Because PicMonkey has some cool new features!

xoxo, Moe

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Wednesday Decor // Spare Bedroom Construction

I was looking through some photos on my computer & found some old (old, ooolllddd) pictures of our construction on the spare room down stairs.  We worked on the whole down stairs in one swoop but for some reason the spare bedroom didn't ever make it to the blog.  It's almost, maybe, sorta done so I thought I'd just share these pictures of our spare room bare bones & in progress!  Just to give you some reference if you check out this post we're in the part of the map labeled Spare Room - also these are bad iPhone photos!

From the outside, the spare room had a weird window separating it from the garage.  The garage wasn't a fully finished room, just a garage...so I'm not sure why there would be a window anyway.  There are boards on the walls to act as studs to attach the drywall to & we ended up just boarding up the window inside the wall.  Surprise for someone who finds that I guess.

When you entered the room, there was only one door on this side of the wall.  That door lead to a bathroom/utility room.  There wasn't a closet & that set up wasn't really great for a functional spare room.  So we added walls and doors.  The white door leads to the utility room & under the stairs.  The next space over now has a door leading to the world's smallest closet.  And to the left of that (and in the picture below) is a door to the bathroom.  We moved the original wall on that side about a foot or so into the room to accommodate a sink in the bathroom.

A better view of the bathroom.  You can see where the original tile ends - thats where we took the wall from & moved it into the room.  We took the sink - which originally was at the back of where the closet is when that was all one bathroom/utility room - and put it in front of the toilette.  The bathroom was drywalled and we left the original standing shower.

From left to right - bathroom, closet, utility room, entrance to the room

 Finally the doors installed make this room look like a nightmare out of Monsters Inc.  Four doors in this spare room!  Terrifying right??  Now, of course, we have it all carpeted, drywalled, and painted (except for one door!) and it's coming together.  The bathroom is nearly complete & the spare room keeps collecting random junk...how do I stop this??  I can't believe I didn't share with you an in depth look at the progress of this room.  Hopefully later in the Summer I can give you a tour of the fully finished spare room!

xoxo, Moe 

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Wednesday Decor // Deck Decor Inspiration

Well after the most god awful winter...it's finally getting warmer up north.  In fact, right now I'm sitting at our little table on our little deck typing away.  The chilly Spring weather is here but the snow is (hopefully!) out the window.  There are no longer little patches of snow here & there and those giant snow piles in the parking lots have all melted.  It is wonderful!  Zach, Em, & I have been enjoying a lot of time outside on the deck:

Right now I can't wait to get our little outside oasis all fixed up!  We have a little table set with two chairs & have already had our first dinner out side - it was delicious by the way.  Next is to clean up from winter - leaves, cobwebs, etc - to get the porch good to go for the Spring & Summer.  Here's my deck decor inspiration:

New Melamine Dinnerware - Last year we had nothing on out porch all Spring & Summer long.  We'd sit on the porch outside our front door but never on the deck off the kitchen.  I'm thinking of extending (and fully developing) the colors from the kitchen to the deck.  There's a soft sage & brick red color pattern going on in the kitchen so extending that to the deck will be nice.  These melamine dishes & acrylic cups are great for this!  I love the pattern on them & the won't break when dropped.  Added bonus.

Decorative String Lights - These string lights are super cool!  I love the shape of the bulb - they are called Edison Bulbs - and I think they will look really neat all lit up at night.  The cord is brown so it will blend in with our deck which is also painted brown.  I was thinking about searching for cool Christmas lights at the end of the season but I didn't want to deal with the green cord looking all funky against the brown color.

Plants, Plants, Plants- I want to try my hand at an herb garden again since it didn't quite work out last year.  My plan in to make a large tiered pot sculpture, if you will, with three tiers & put it in the corner that will get the most sun.  I also want some window baskets hanging off the railings.  Maybe some hanging planters too? Who knows.  This year I'm hoping my potted plant path will go better than what I did last year!

Decorative Pillows - Not that our chairs really need pillows but adding that touch can't hurt.  I'm sort of digging an old world vibe and the pattern on these pillows really says it for me.  Plus I need to find some sort of outside doggie bed for Emrys....he'll never lay on it but it will look pretty, right?

I can't wait to get started on this little space.  I'm slowly realizing that it's ok to have your home be a work in progress.  I'm so envious of others who seem to have a fully decorated home all the time!  The only place in our house that is fully done is probably our bedroom!  We had a clear plan with that one.  I am hoping to have this all prettied up (along with my other Four Simple Goals!) by the end of May.  Just enough time to enjoy it!

What are your outdoor decor plans this season?  Anything you're dreaming of?

xoxo, Moe

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Wednesday Decor // Home Organization Plan for 2014

What is up 2014?  I'm taking total control of you lately!  I know it's only the 2nd month of the year - which means I'm sure to burn out on my new year momentum soon.  So far I think I've been owning 2014 with my Three Great Things project as well as setting my Four Simple Goals each month (and sort of sticking to them!).  But I want to focus on a greater theme this year which is Organization.  Since focus is my word for this year I want to take time to actually make a plan of attack instead of just say 'I want to do this _________'.  Planning will help me focus on what needs to be done in order to complete the task!  There are several home related organization things I want to tackle this year & here they are:

Clean out the closets

This goes for the bedroom & the guest closets.  They have both become catch alls for everything under the sun.  Clothes need to get donated & things just need to get moved around.  I need something to organize my shoes (oh god, my shoes!) & just plain need to get rid of clothes.  This was part of the February goals - but I think it's getting pushed back unless it stops snowing.  I also want to add mirrored doors to the bedroom closet to make it look bigger!

Kitchen Organization - Under the Sink

Um, under the sink is a plastic bag graveyard & also some dish soap, etc.  Pretty much it's not a fun place to look & I know I'm not using it very well.  I am pretty sure I don't know half of whats under there.  Yikes!  What needs to live under there are sponges & cleaning supplies, and maybe some plastic bags.  We have a lot of shelves under there but nothing is being utilized properly.

Kitchen Organization - Cabinets

One thing I looooove about this house is the amount of cabinet space we have.  It's unreal.  I also love that because of all these cabinets we have so much counter space!  There are quite a few cabinets that just have random junk in them.  I need to make better use of the space we have.  We also have a little cart that is becoming a catch all - I don't know how many times a week I clean junk off of the top of it!  I also want to designate some of this cabinet space for Zach to organize some of his paperwork & our paperwork for the house.  

The Garage

Oh, god the garage.  So this was supposed to be a January goal but it was way too cold to pull out all the junk & organize it.  This is going to be something for the spring.  Oh god, we need to get the garage under control.  Seriously, I don't even like to look in there!  We need to create space for both of us to work - it's already designated, just covered in random things.

Under the Bathroom Sink

Both the upstairs bathroom & the guest bathroom sink storage need to be organized like woah.  Again, I just shove any bathroom related items in the cabinets & shut the door.  Out of sight out of mind - until I need more shampoo.  I've seen at Dollar Store & Big Lots little stackable bins - the remind me of kindergarten classrooms but they look so helpful!

I've gotten a lot organized so far though.  The living room has a pretty good organization thing going on:  baskets under the shelves for board games, candles, game systems, and wires, the coffee table drawers just got organized, there's a basket under the coffee table for a blanket, heating pad, & laptop storage, and a coat rack & storage box by the side door.  Our bedroom is also pretty much organized, though there's always room for improvement in there & I always organize my make up at the end of the week.  The office area is pretty organized, too.

My plan is to incorporate these into my Four Simple Goals for each month & tackle one a weekend since a lot of it is going to be purchasing organization stuff for our house.  I'm also keeping this list pretty low (& full of the big things that need to get done) because completing a lot of things is not something I'm great at.  So with a smaller list I'm pretty sure I'll get through all of it!

What is one of your greater goals this year?  Have you been tackling it like you own 2014?

xoxo, Moe

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Wednesday Decor // Our Total Basement Redo

You probably know if you've been reading this blog for a while that we undertook a total basement redo when we moved into the house.  I've shared it here before, but for Homevember I thought I would corral all the pictures into one big post for posterity.  When we moved in, the first floor of our house - sort of like a basement if you will, was a two bay garage with a bedroom.  Now we have a smaller garage & great big living room/office area!

Here's what our idea was when we first started talking about it.  It's changes a whole lot!  For reference, the long part in the front with the lving room & work area was the first long bay of the garage.  The dotted line at the top of the living room area was open - no wall - and went into the second smaller bay of the garage.  I don't think I have pictures of this part but we tore out a huge closet that was to the left of the stairs where that door is crossed out there by the desk.  Here's what the downstairs looks like now:

As you can see a lot has changed!  We put up 5 walls - one to divide the garage from the living area, one to replace the garage door at the end of the living area, moved the one in the spare room to make the bathroom, utility closet, & closet bigger, and walls to separate those!  Here are some in progress photos:

I don't think I have the original image before I added the text for this post! 

So here's what separated the bays of the garage.  We put the wall there.

Above is the wall that had a closet on it.  We ripped out the closet to give more space & we ripped out another doorway by the closet into the garage so the space would be open.

Below starts a peak at the spare bedroom & the bathroom/closet/utility room.  We split up the long bathroom into utility room that was there before in order to give the bedroom a closet.  I believe in order to be considered a bedroom it had to have a closet - so we made the tiniest closet on the face of the earth!

Those are all the in progress pictures of the spare bedroom! We're still not totally done with the spare bedroom so no photos this Homevember go round - but keep a look out next year as we keep on updating!

Also, next week will be pictures of out Living Room & how it's styled etc.  Then the week after will be pictures of the office area.  It's not totally done yet either - we've got some adding & styling to do but you can get a peak at it!

This basement redo was exhausting & fun and I'm so glad we have more room in the house now.  I would have felt like I was living in an apartment if we'd just kept the upstairs.

xoxo, Moe 

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Wednesday Decor // Our Bedroom & My Vanity

There are two rooms I'm very proud of in our house, whoops there are three - our bedroom, the living room, & our office.  These are the three main rooms I'm going to highlight this Homevember with bits from other rooms thrown in.  The first room is our bedroom! I really like our room - at first it was very hard to decide on how to decorate since we both have very, very different tastes, styles, ideas, etc.  But I think we did a good compromise - I hope Zach thinks so too, even though a lot of my things seem to spill onto is night stand - but the Make it Monday from this week is supposed to fix that!  On to the pictures of our bedroom & my vanity!

 View from standing in the doorway facing into the room

 View from the left corner of the room, the door is to the right

 DIY from Monday, check it out here

 Bird's eye view from the left corner

 Bird's eye view from the door way

View from standing by my vanity

Our room, if you can't tell, is very tiny.  And actually when I'm not lazy the bedroom often looks like this though I have been lazy lately.  Often the overflow of make up ends up on Zach's night stand - but those new decor boxes are supposed to prevent that!  We haven't added any artwork yet and I'd like to add mirrored doors to the closet, but I'd say it's pretty nice.  Here's where everything is from:

Bedspread - Walmart.com // Sheets - Amazon.com // Standing mirror - yard sale, painted // Dressers - mattress place Virginia // Nightstands - Big Lot's (I almost missed out on a matching one for Zach, phew!) // Vanity (comes with the mirror propped up on the tall dresser) - Amazon.com // Mirror over vanity - Big Lot's // Lamps - brought from our own places before we met

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