Organizing Photos

This past weekend I finally tackled a job that has been on my to do list for over 2 years.  

I know.  

Not very organizy of me.

But we all have those little projects that we dread and they linger around until eventually we bite the bullet and just get it done.

For me, it was photos.  Since February of 2012 I have intended to send our pictures in to be developed, but just never did.  The longer I waited, the more overwhelming it seemed.

Now, I am quite certain that there are some brilliant ways to organize your family photos digitally.  However, I'm not there yet, so what I do is develop what we have, ordering 4 of any shots that all the kids are in.  Each of my children have their own set of albums and when we get the pictures home, I make a pile for each child, sharing out the shots more or less equally.

My goal is that when they leave home they will each have a visual record of their childhood which they can take with them and that is already organized for them.

Cate's albums

As it turned out, it was not a terrible job at all.  

It was fun to look back at our pictures and remember the past 2 years.

And it was not at all as huge an oder as I'd imagined.

I sent the shots in over 9 small orders.

I found out that I am great at taking photos on road trips but not so great at the day to day.

I'll work on that.

So be inspired.  Get your photos in order.  

Or tackle any job you've been dreading.  

It feels so great when you are done!

In other news, the blog will be undergoing a bit of construction shortly so I will disappear for awhile.

Enjoy your holidays!!

Pretty

 I function best in pretty.  

Which doesn't have to be about buying stuff.  Pretty can come from re-arranging what you have or picking some wild flowers.  

The point is, I know this about myself so the other day when I saw that my friend had her dishwasher detergent in a cute jar, I decided to do the same.  

Is it more practical than this?

Nope.  

Just prettier.

And that's okay.

Now to deal with this...

New Bedroom

Surprise!

My 9 year old goddaughter came home to a new room this week. 

The goals for her redo were:

~give her a space to create

~organize her books and special items

~give everything a "place"

~update her look

A fresh coat of paint and several shopping trips later, ta-da! 

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

 Pretty much everything came from Ikea.  Whether you're a fan or not, they really do have an amazing variety of items for a great price.  

Emma Kate chose the bedding and the turquoise accent colour and from there I made a list of items I thought we could use in the room.  

Along the way Darla and I decided to add orange into the mix as well.

Let's look at some details.

These bins are a great way to keep art supplies tidy and your work space clear.  

Ikea has several cute sets of prints and of course, loads of frames.  

We chose a coloured chair to keep the space fun.

The shelf has lots of space for organizing books and art supplies and treasures.

You know I love this little kitchen cart!  It makes a perfect bedside table.

This little stool was a last minute addition but it's one of my favourite parts of the room.

The tray keeps the colour theme consistent.  

Plants at Ikea are a great buy and the pots were .99!  How can you go wrong?

Of course no room is complete without a closet purge and organize.

Before

After

I LOVE my job!

Galavanting

Perhaps you've come around here looking for some inspiring decorating and organizing tips.

I'm afraid I've been off galavanting...can you guess where?

We joined our besties for an amazing week in Vegas to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

Check out the amazing room upgrade we both had!

Yes, that is a walk in closet.

But the best part was hanging out together, as we have been doing for all these 20 years.  

Happy Anniversary Mike and Darla!!

Thank- you for sharing it with us.

Farewell city of lights.  

Back to the home decor soon...

A Lovely Day of Antiquing

What a fabulous day I've had!

I got to go to the Red Barn Antique Sale with some lovely ladies. 

Here we are with all of our finds.

Except, in fact, all 7 items purchased, were purchased by me.  

So really, these gals are perfect antiquing companions.  They were happy to carry stuff and help load the van...but there was no competition for the merchandise.  

Divine.

Let's have a closer look.

I got a cute and very functional plant stand.

As well, an odd wire-ish box.  For what I know not but I like it.

This basket is in great shape, very useful and could go in pretty much any room.

I think you know I love a good tray.  

This one is melamine which is not only indestructible but also holds fond memories for me from my Bible camp days.

Plus it is a great colour.

Everything I purchased was very reasonably priced but the score of the day was this super cute side table for $4.  

STEAL.

The white table was a great deal too and could be a sofa table, potting table, desk...it is such a great style and really nicely aged. 

My favourite find is this hat box.  

It is perfect for the look that I'm planning for our renovated living room. 

I even haggled for it!  

We had lunch at the amazing bakery in Niverville.  

It was so good.  

These buns found there way home with me.

But the star of the show was my little bunny.  

She was so well behaved and fun to have with us.  

I am so grateful for her...and here we go making myself cry at the thought of her going to Kindergarten next year!!!!!

Love you Cate.

Dwell

 I like to have little messages around the house.

Some are for me,

others are for the kids,

and of course most are for all of us.

Our Family Motto

There are some words and sayings that get to be sort of "in" to have in your home.

Awhile back, "dwell" was one of them.  

I even had a print of it.

Jones Design Company

But somehow it didn't resonate with me, so it never made the cut.

Then a few weeks back I was on a Silence and Solitude retreat and we were focussing on Psalm 27 and that idea - to dwell in the Lord - became important.  And the very next week in my daytime Bible study, there it was again in Psalm 84.

So I got out my fab frame that I'd been saving for something great,

cut some of my favourite fabric as a mat because the print did not quite fit the frame,

and put up a pretty reminder to DWELL.

It's okay to say no thanks to "hip" sayings if they don't mean anything to you and  

it's good to change your reminders and keep them fresh and relevant

 to what you and your family need to focus on.

Plant Update

Remember my dying plant?  

He hung on.  

That's him to the left.

Obviously I'm no green thumb, but I'm pretty sure he hung on because of fancy pants here.

I bought 2 of these perky gals because I thought I was gonna lose original fern and they are quite happy.  Perhaps they have been flirting.

I also got 3 herbs.  

Mostly because I wanted to use these fun picks from Target.  

Over here on the other side of the porch, the other perky fern and 5 of my original 10 geraniums.

There were actually 3 other geraniums alive but I forgot to repot them.  

Maybe they are not alive anymore.

Anyway, all in all, I think the greens are doing well.  

I was even so kind as to drag them in last night when there was a frost warning.

Arg.

And look at this baby!  Isn't it gorgeous?  I bought it for myself at Mother's Day.  

I get to wake up to it every morning.  

So, so lovely.

What's happening with your garden??