Summer Plans

Our family is having a unique summer experience.

Europe.

8 weeks.

It's completely thrilling and exciting and slightly terrifying all at the same time.

I'm dying to see the architecture and taste the food and hang with the kids and do nothing.

But it's daunting to be together for so long and what if they fight and please don't let us lose anyone.

June has been a whirlwind.  

Since we don't get back till August 23, I've packed 

summer into one month along with end of school.  

And now I do need a vacation.

We've been to the dentist and optometrist.  Haircuts are done.

School supplies bought.

A pile for each kid with a list of what we need to add in fall.

Our itinerary has been booked for quite awhile.  It's hard to be spontaneous with a family of 6 when it comes to sleeping arrangements.  We can be pretty easy going about our activities though.

We will be packing carry on luggage only.

A challenge, but fun.  The kids are all backpacking,

and I am suitcasing.

We will be staying in:

Palermo

Rome

a village north of Florence

a village south of Lake Garda

the Cinque Terre

Paris

London

Northern Ireland

Ireland

The first time they flew they were pretty excited.

And that was just on the bus to the airport...

They've flown once since but not on a big plane and not across an ocean.  

I can't wait to watch them experience everything!

The countdown is on...we leave in ONE WEEK TODAY!

I will be blogging as much as I can and instagramming even more.

If you'd like to follow along you can find me on instagram at:

prettyorganizedhome

More Red Barn Finds

It's that time of year again!  

Red Barn sale, spring 2016...here's what I found.

Let's have a look.

1.  London book...I liked the cover and thought it

was fun since we'll be seeing London this summer.

$2

2.  Fishing rods...I have a little collection going.  

They need a new corner so they're more visible.

$2 each

 3.  Canteen...it's cute and fits my look!

$4

  

4.  Flour sac...it says Lake of the Woods on it.  

(I'm not convinced this is my LotW but still...)

Sold!!

$8

5.Squirrel and acorn salt and pepper...seriously?  

Cause they're hilarious and made me laugh. 

$3

 6. Sewing basket...a few years ago I searched for weeks to find Sofi a sewing basket.  They were all ugly and plastic and $60.  I finally found her something but when I saw this one I decided to put it away for the day Cate wants to sew.

$7

7.  Filing cabinet...I hemmed and hawed a bit here.  I love it, but I didn't want to pay full price and they wouldn't haggle.  It is just one of those pieces that you don't see often though. 

And it's insides are all working so I can file stuff in here for real.

I'm not sure I'll get it filled before our trip but I will show it to you once I get organized.

$40

Pop in next week and I'll tell you where I'll be hanging out this summer!!

Sarah's Room

Well it's really not fair to blog Sarah's room ahead of her sister Maddie's, but since Sarah had to wait awhile...and since my photo issues continue...here goes.

Lucky me, I got to come in and arrange a basically empty slate.  The walls were freshly painted and Sarah had purged and sorted her things.

My first task was to figure this wardrobe out.  I really wanted to use it as a bit of a room divider.  Sometimes standing a piece of furniture in an unconventional way makes a room a bit more fun!

Before

After

By sticking this unit out of the wall rather than flat against it, it gives Sarah a nice little private spot and also provides some extra wall space that's perfect for hanging her special mementos.

And on the other side it gives a hallway vibe to her entry which feels unique.

On the inside there's plenty of storage including things she needs close at hand to grab and run with...purses, scarves, cheer gear...all that fabulous 15 year old loot.

On the end of the wardrobe, I was able to use these adorable hooks for hanging Sarah's jewellery.  

  

And as an added bonus, I used the top of the wardrobe to store pretty stacks of books.

Talk about a lot of bang for your buck!

Sarah's make up table got located by the window to take advantage of the natural light.

Before

After

Her sewing drawer collection was hung to store sweet treasures.

Before

After

Love these!!

(And love her dad for hanging everything!!)

Her desk nook got filled and organized all tidy.

Before

After

 And there you have it.

A pretty room for a lovely girl!!