Accessorizing

I love when I can find a piece for my home that not only matches, but brings together two previously unmatching pieces. You know, that little piece that ties everything together. Like my sterling silver dishwasher and my burgundy themed kitchen. I found these great hand towels on clearance at Target, and suddenly everything makes sense in the world.

Please excuse my dogs. They insisted on being in the picture.

So cute. And so perfectly coordinated.

MPM : Jan 31 - Feb 6th

Monday: PW's Quiche
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Pizza
Wednesday: Mini Meatball Sandwiches
Thursday: Honey Glazed Ham
Friday: Tuna Melts
Saturday: Double Chocolate Waffles with Berry Sauce
Sunday: Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

There are hundreds more menu plans from other bloggers over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

The Best Laid Plans.

I had high hopes of waking up this morning and making big, puffy omelets with sharp cheddar, onions, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers..... but sometimes, something better comes along.

Meet something better.

Mmmm. Sometimes the best stuff, is the kids stuff.

My Second Favorite Drink

The White Peach Sangria
from Slainte Irish Pub

*       2 ounces of white zinfandel wine
*       2 ounces of peach schnapps
*       1 ounce of Pomegranate Vodka
*       3 ounces of 7-up or carbonated lemon-lime beverage
*       1 cherry
*       1 orange
*       martini glass


I may or may not have drank three at the pub Saturday night. They were so good I kept ordering them. Forget the fact I was with two men, I out-drank them both. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Getting Organized : One Step at a Time

I just love a good play on words. You see this post is all about shoes. This is what our shoe situation looked like prior to Saturday:

It made my head hurt everytime I looked at it. The bucket didn't match the house, nor was it big enough to hold all the shoes. As you can see having shoes on the ground also leaves them within reach of the puppy,  the teething puppy. No good. Saturday Morning I set out to fix this mess. I bought one of each of these:

 I built the drawers (ALL BY MYSELF!) and loaded them up with flip flops:

Then we left to go watch the Bears/Packers game. Packers won. I may or may not have left 15 minutes before the game ended to run across the street to get cupcakes before the bakery closed at 6 pm. When we returned home I set right back to work and built (MOSTLY BY MYSELF!) the 15 compartment shelf. My husband hammered in the last few nails because I had already hammered my thumb twice and was getting very upset. Our shoe storage now looks like this:

MUCH better. I am a much saner person when I walk by it. So to keep myself up to date my 2011 organizational list now looks like this:

The Garage.
The Dogs
My Cookbooks  
Shoe Storage
The Desk/Office area
The Closets

In February I plan to tackle the dog issue. One thing at a time.

MPM : Jan 24 - 30th

Monday: lettuce wraps with fruit salad
Tuesday: thai honey peanut chicken with mixed veggies
Wednesday: tacos with rice and beans
Thursday: BLTs with macaroni salad
Friday: fish tacos with corn and rice
Saturday: Omelets
Sunday: Tip Roast with carrots and potatoes

The Goal.

Ask my husband, I love goals.

The Goal in 2009 was to buy a house.

The Goal in 2010 was to plan an elegant, fun, beach-side wedding for our families and friends to enjoy.

Moving on to our Goal for 2011. And no, it's not to get pregnant. Maybe we'll attempt that in 2012.

In 2011 we want to get organized and get out of debt. 

Some major areas I want to organize this year include:
The Garage - it's a disaster zone.
The Dogs - their bowls, food, toys, etc.
My Cookbooks - which are currently cluttering up a corner of my dining room
Shoe Storage - our current situation makes my head hurt every time I look at it.
The Desk/Office area - which is going to have to include an eventual new desk purchase
The Closets - Bedroom, Linen, Coat, Pantry, etc.

Our Plan for getting out of debt includes:
Making no new purchases on credit cards
Using Dave Ramsey's Debt snowball to pay off as much as we can each month
Keeping the food budget in check with menu planning and coupons
Limiting going out to eat, the movies, and frivolous purchases as much as we can :)