Estee Lauder

I get a call every year at Christmas time from the Estee Lauder counter at Macy's.   Before that,  the call came from Robinsons-May.    As I type this, I realize that I've been using this brand for over two decades.  Amazing.

I squeal with excitement when I finally get to open this up:

Two full size lipsticks, full-size mascara and a full-sized Advanced Eye Repair.  Along with eye-shadow, blush/bronzer/highlighter, a cleansing foam and some moisturizer.    Also a small fragrance.   And a train case to house all my goodies!

I'm squealing right now!

Organizing Food Storage Containers

The Christmas vacay from work, so far, has been glorious.  In total I will be off 13 days until I get back to work on January 3rd.   Initially I had every single day scheduled for some type of project around the house.  Then I discovered the Hallmark Movie Channel and the wonderful Christmas movies they show and that first plan was nixed for a more relaxing, uneventful one.  I'm not even joking. 

I did manage to tackle the food storage cabinet and I also got the Laundry Room organized.  The food storage cabinet has always been my nemesis.   I am constantly nesting containers and asking Sweetheart to nest, nest, nest -- which incidentally he claims he doesn't know how to do.   More times than not, anytime this cabinet door was opened something would come tumbling out.

So I took to Pinterest to find a solution.  I was in search of a realistic solution; not to mention a frugal one.   The best one I saw was one that utilized the cabinet doors.   I thought that would work for the small space I have designated for the food storage containers and I also thought it would be a cheap fix.   Well it was cheap alright, but getting those two letter holders was quite the chore.   I went to two office supply stores, Walmart, Target and Marshall's.   Just as I was on the verge of abandoning the idea,  I ran into these wire ones at Hobby Lobby.   At first I wasn't sure if I wanted wire ones but once I had them up I realized it was ideal:

I hung them with Command hooks so I can remove the hooks and not damage the cabinet when it's not needed anymore.   Also, the wire hook is more sturdy and won't snap off if someone is too rough when placing lids in the basket.   Also, it passed the "swing the door" test.   When i swung the door open/closed, it stayed in place!

I placed one on the door -- this one holds the more frequently used lids.   I placed one inside the cabinet for those lids that we don't use often and don't need to be up front and center.  Although they are both pretty accessible and taking them off the hooks and placing them back on the hooks is a snap!

Now, nothings tumbles out and I can easily find what I need!  

Operation Laundry Room

I'm not calling it a make-over because the laundry room was a hot mess and really just needed to be cleaned up and organized.  And also because I wasn't about to spend a ton of money on a room that I visit once a week.   I forgot to take a picture of it before I started hauling everything, and I mean everything, out.   But I probably would have been too embarrassed to post a picture of it even if I had. Trust me, a hot mess.

This is how it looked once I started moving everything out.

I actually moved everything thing out and put in on the dining table so I could sort:

The thing about having a disorganized laundry room is that duplicates happen.  Which to me is a complete waste of money.   And nothing bugs me more than wasting money.   But I digress.   After I sorted everything I placed it back into the laundry room: It was starting to look better but I thought this could easily turn messy because it needs more organization.   So I took a quick picture of the room and ran to Target to buy some bins.    Having a picture helps with knowing what size and how many bins to buy. 

And since I already had this glass jar for baking soda, I figured I would buy two more.  One for the laundry pods and one for the dryer sheets.   

I bought five large-sized bins and two medium-sized bins and it was a perfect:

Once I finished with the organization, I put some labels on everything because I just love labels!

I used chalkboard gift tags that I had on hand for the bins:

The gift tags are from the dollar section at Target  

And I added chalkboard labels to the soap and dryer sheets:

The labels are from the Dollar section at Target too

I moved my chalkboard notes board to the wall next to the washing machine because I thought it would be more useful there:

I made this about five years ago from a picture that I found next to a dumpster.

My sister mocks me because on laundry day this board will have a list of loads I need to complete.  She thinks it's silly and calls me a drama queen.   But for me, there's something about crossing off each item that is so fulfilling.   At the end of the day when all my loads are done and crossed off, it's complete euphoria.    

My after:  

It's nothing fancy that's for sure.  But it's organized and nothing makes me happier than some organization with a side of pretty!

Christmas Cheer

Some more Christmas cheer:

a gift from my sweet niece and grandniece 💕

I'm off to get ready for Christmas Eve mass and then our traditional Chinese Christmas eve dinner...just for the two of us.

Merry Christmas
Have a bless day!

Christmas Cards

Me:  I'm thinking this year instead of making our Christmas cards, I'll just buy them.

Sweetheart:  And break tradition???

Me:   I'll be back, I'm running to the craft store.

Apparently Sweetheart didn't get the quick and easy memo.  I don't want to say I was unmotivated this year, it was more of a lack of inspiration.   I had no idea what to do -- I generally plan my cards out months in advance of November and this year I had nothing.  

So I walked around Hobby Lobby and Joanne's for like three hours searching for inspiration.   And this is what I came up with:  green glittered Christmas trees with gold stars

I already had the cards, I just needed the green and gold paper and a tree paper punch.

I already had the stamps but I bought some green stamp ink:

It was that simple.  I started the cards during Monday Night Football and finished them during Thursday Night Football of that same week.   Right on schedule, I mailed them out on December 2nd.  

I made a couple extra to give to the maid and landscaper, along with these mini envelopes I got at HobLob to add a cash gift to their cards:

The Tree Skirt

Every year I struggle with a tree skirt that seems to be too small for our tree.  Every year I struggle even more with spending $60 for a bigger skirt.  This year, I decided to get crafty.   There was a post I read about a blogger that used a fabric table cloth as a base for her tree skirt and then just added some embellishments.   The first thought that came into my head was "that seems like it could be quick and easy".   And it was!

I bought a 60-inch, round table cloth from Target and 6 feet of white pom-pom ribbon from Joanne's:

I wasn't sure how much ribbon to buy but I figured if I centered the pom-pom ribbon in the middle (or front) of the fabric it would be an even distribution.   And if I came up short, I could either buy more ribbon or arrange the skirt so it wouldn't be obvious.

I used 'stichery-witchery' to fuse the ribbon to the fabric.

And it turns out I was about two feet too short.   But once I got the skirt around the tree, I thought I could easily conceal it.  

When I started getting the gifts around the tree, the back of the skirt was not visible so I left it alone:

This really was a quick and easy project and I love the way it looks!

It begins

It begins with the wreath.   I made this wreath 10 years ago -- my, how quickly time seems to pass.   This year I took it apart, fluffed it up and rearranged the picks and the bow.   The "Joy" ornament is from Target.   Old faithful, she is.

That dollar section at Target can really get me going.   I always run in there for just one thing and 15 minutes later I end up with a basket full of goodies from the dollar section.   I found this cute "Merry Christmas" felt banner for $3:

 I wasn't sure where to put it at first then I thought it would look perfect on the mirror in the entrance way:

This year, I hung our stockings in the entrance way.  It was quick and easy and this year I was all about the quick and easy.  Plus, I think they look pretty good there.

One for Sweetheart and the small one for Grievous

And one for me and the small for Naboo:

I tossed the Noel pillow on the bench and I'm all set.   Quick and easy.

This is really how it normally looks, it's a catch all for stuff --okay, usually my stuff.   But it's still pretty and merry!

I was setting up my MIL's new iPhone and I ran into this:

 My BFF's husbands birthday party a couple years ago.   Good times!

Christmas Tree 2016

Simply having a wonderful Christmas time and enjoying every moment of it! This year the tree got some love on it (last year I was recovering from an emergency surgery so it sat bare all December long).   The walls are painted and the drapes are up.  Things are good.  But that tree.  It's what makes me smile every time I walk into the room.....

My view every evening as I sit to watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.   Sigh...I love it!