Spa Birthday Party

I had the privilege of playing a small part in a spectacular Spa Birthday Party this weekend.

 My extremely talented  friend Emily,

 planned and designed a Spa Retreat that would give any high end salon a run for their money.

  It was quite the event and truly every 12 year old girls dream day.

 

A delicious dinner, making lip gloss, and receiving hair treatments,

 were just the beginning highlights.

 

 

 

 

 Emily's mother-in-law and husband whipped up these amazing head wraps for each girl.

- Yes ladies, I said husband. Who knew we had such talent in the neighborhood?

 

 

The girls enjoyed a chocolate fountain buffet bar

 while making visits to three separate spa treatment stations.

 

A massage station, a foot soak station, and a manicure station.

 



 

 

 

 

 

The girls were a delight to have in the salon!

 

After they finished up with the stations they headed off to a relaxing evening in the hot tub.

 

At the end of the night,

 each girl received a darling gift box

 filled with all the necessary items to pamper herself at home.



 

 

 Happy Birthday Paige!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day.

 



Valentine Past

 

While out running errands today I picked up a few Valentine things.

I love to carouse the holiday aisles when new seasonal merchandise first comes out.
It gets all my creative juices flowing and makes me want to plan parties.

  With my bag full of pink and red goodies,
 and my mind reeling with an abundance of lovely ideas, I headed home to brainstorm.
After sorting through my new purchases,
I took a look at our last years Valentine's Dinner pictures, and thought I'd share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Two goofy mustache men ~

~ Pucker Up ~

~ Just a couple pair of Love Birds ~

 

~ Mwah Mwah ~

Cleaning Checklists

 

  To ensure the job gets done right the first time - make a checklist!

Right now I am working on creating one for each room in the house.

The kids earn a point for each box they check off
 and then have a parent approve the work they did.

Their points add up and they can use them for things such as,

 Dollar Store trips or ice cream cones.

 

I'm hoping these lists will help the chores get done efficiently and happily.

 

My lists were inspired by this pin -

Check her version out Here

 

 

Organization Binders

Some time ago,while browsing through Pinterest  looking for organizing inspiration,

 I found this awesome pin.

simple-dimples.com

I utilized many of her great ideas and printables to make some binders of my own.

I couldn't find the darling binders she used, so I used clear ones and embellished them with coordinating colors to match the office.

Here are mine.



 

I made two binders, a finances one and a family one,

 and filled them with the Printables that fit my families situation.

What a great project.

I feel so organized now!

 

Don't you just love Pinterest!

You can follow my 'Organize Life' board Here



Lists

There is something about the process of making a list and checking things off that just gets me going.

I love the feeling you get when you get to cross something of a long list of To Dos.

Even better - making a list on a cute notepad that has fun check mark boxes!

My sister got me hooked on these tablets a couple years ago.

They are now in the top ten on my 'Favorite Things List'.

 

I picked up a few to help with my Organizing projects.

 

You can find them Here

 

Update my blog

and

Share my favorite notepads with my friends

Check

 



Starting Small - Laundry Room

 To begin my 'Operation Clean and Organize Entire House' project,

  I choose to start with one of the smallest rooms in the house.

It didn't take too long,

 and it boosted my confidence in tackling some of the more monsterous tasks ahead.

 

 

The shelf of sorting baskets.

 Someday I have visions of  fantastic 'Restoration Hardware' lined baskets,

 but until then - these shall work.

 

On top of the sorting shelf, sits this vintage cookie jar filled with clothespins.

 Next to it we have the money jar, for all the loose change we find in the bottom of the dryer.

- It was recently emptied to help the boys fund a few Christmas gifts.

 The little ramekin holds all the boys 'pocket treasures', buttons, odds and ends.

 I found this drying rack at Gardner Village,

 and the old vintage hanger at an Antique store.



 

While treasure hunting at Desert Industries awhile back,

 I came across these two beauties.

 

I love this rusty old worn file cabinet.

 It houses all the necessary laundry items and of course the long lost sock pile.



 

 

I'm not sure what this was in its prior life,

 but after a little makeover, it performs the job of laundry hamper very well.



This corkboard holds all the pertinent information.

 I found the chore list Here.

 

 

The cabinet on the back wall is home to these items.

 

My Dad gave me these great vintage spools.

Aren't they fantastic!

 

I finished off the laundry baskets with simple tags to remind the children - and dad,

  just exactly what goes were.

 

I used the ideas from here to deep clean the washer.

Check it out

 

 

 

 

 One room down, many to go!



Naked

I spent New Years day taking down all of my Christmas decorations

 and boxing them up for hibernation.

 I love the feel they bring with them and I'm always sad to see them go. 

My house looks naked, I think it even feels a little self conscious.

 The space seems bare and undressed, but also fresh and uncluttered.
 

This time of year always makes me want to deep clean and organize my entire house.

 I have grand visions of gutting every drawer, closet, nook and cranny.

 I dream of loading up the car and taking boxes of unnecessary items and rubble

 to the nearest donation center.

 I fantasize about making beautiful calendars, fancy lists and labeling everything in site. 

And of course I desire to redecorate each and every room in the house!

 

In reality, I know I don't have enough time, energy or money to accomplish all of that,

 but it isn't going to stop me from trying to get a good portion of it done!

 

Here are a few of my favorite ideas...

 
I have this hanging in my laundry room.

pairofpears.com

 

 

I wish these were lined up beautifully on my pantry shelves.

 fabnfree.com

 

I plan on attempting this!

home-storage-solutions-101.com

 

And

I wish my craft room looked like this!

thefancyfarmgirl.com

 

I'll let you know how it's going.

 

If you'd like to follow my Organize Life Board on Pinterest go Here