Cultivate your curves; they may be dangerous but they won't be avoided.

- Miss Mae West -

Sunday, January 20, 2013

January Cure Day 9-13...Catchin up is hard to do

Playing catch up is not easy!  So apologies now....this is gonna be a long one!


And Here We Go!(Say it in The Joker voice for maximum impact(RIP Heath Ledger))

Sunday, January 13, 2013

January Cure Day 8!

Weekend Chores::
Flowers, Kitchen Cleaning, and Make Yourself a Meal.

So first...From Apartment Therapy

This Weekend's Assignment:
• Buy your Weekly Flowers (and enjoy them!)
• Clean Your Kitchen and Declutter/Organize as You Go
To help you organize your time and your tasks, here are some excerpts from Maxwell's kitchen cleaning plan from The Eight Step Home Cure:
1. Clean all surfaces, inside and out, with a good earth-friendly surface cleaner.
a. Counters (and sink)
b. Cabinets
c. Refrigerator
d. Floor (if it needs it again)
e. Stove
f. Other appliances
Remove shelf liners and replace or wash and replace. Moving everything in order to do the washing will allow you to reach bottles, jars, and boxes that you may not have seen in a long time. The foods we keep in our kitchens should be fresh and replenished frequently.
2. Remove all food:
a. past its expiration date
b. Unused for more than twelve months
c. In containers that are nearly empty
Look hard an your own kitchen. If a food item in old, throw it away; if it is unopened and you will never eat it, give it away. Aim to reduce the mass of your stored foods by at least 25 percent.
3. Remove all cups, glasses, and dishes that are
a. Chipped, stained or unmatching - unless the unmatching is intentional :)
b. Extra or unused
Seriously edit down the odds and ends in your glasses, dishware and servingware. If you notice that you are short on certain items, add a note to replace them to your list of projects.
4. Remove cookware you don't use.
• Find a Recipe and Make Yourself a Simple, Enjoyable Meal
Maxwell notes that "using your kitchen regularly is the only way to keep it in good shape" and is central to the well-being of a home. Whether cooking at home is something you normally do daily OR rarely, be sure give it a go this weekend - you'll be more connected to your kitchen, more empowered to keep it clean and organized and you'll be well fed - not a bad deal!
1. Find a simple-sounding, new, delicious-to-you recipe and give it a try. If you are looking for some inspiration, our sister site, The Kitchn, has a whole archive of them to choose from.
2. Make a quick shopping list, and pick up any ingredients you need for the preparation (maybe at the same time as doing your flower shopping?).
3. Relax and enjoy the preparation process and your meal
4. Be sure to clean up after yourself

Simple enough....BUT it's Playoff Time and the Ravens had a HUGE game.  So in full honesty all I got done this weekend was the flowers :-) Gonna bump the kitchen cleaning to tomorrow!

Oh and they won the game. GO RAVENS!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

January Cure Day 7

Get your get-together together

So this is from Apartment Therapy::

Choose a date and time for a get-together at your home on the weekend of February 1 - 3 (or whatever date is best for your schedule near the start of February). Make up a guest list and send out the invites - paper or electronic is fine, just make sure you get going on the invites TODAY and get them out ASAP.

Now I'm really horrible at planning things.  So I'm leaning towards a virtual get-together(LOL)  If I do have one its definitely gonna take me more than a day to plan.

To be continued....

January Cure Day 6!!!

Day 6!

Choose a piece of artwork and get to framing it....Well I've wanted some new art in the room so this is perfect timing.  

From Apartment Therapy
Today's Assignment:
Having some artwork around the house that you've been meaning to frame and hang is a very common situation. It just seems to be one of those tasks that feels wonderful once its complete, but is very easy to put off. So, most of us probably can very easily think of some piece of artwork we have that needs framing - It can be a painting, a drawing, a photograph, a print, a poster, a card - big or small, expensive or free - made by you, a friend, a local artist, or even your kids - from a gallery, a secondhand shop, a craft fair or found online. Non-traditional things can be wonderful as decorative art, too - when framed and elevated to an object of honor - a menu, a silk scarf, tickets, a note from a loved one.
Think about which item would truly make you happy to display in this way in your home. The origin and the artist is less important than how it makes you feel. The important part is that you should love it and really want to use it to add some warmth, beauty and individuality to your space.
Now that you've given it some thought and made a choice it's time to get this taken care of - don't put it off any longer - let's get the process underway. (Lots of helpful links below!)
If you are planning to DIY the framing, you'll want to measure, decide if you want a mat, and figure out what size frame you'll need. If the dimensions of the artwork allows for you to pick up a standard size mat and frame, great! Add that to your shopping list. If you need a custom size (and have DIY skills!) pick up or order your supplies. Either way, get busy and keep in mind that we'll behanging artwork on the 29th, so it should be ready by then.
If you are going to go pro - drop it off today (or ASAP) and be sure to let them know you'll need it by 1/29.
If you already have a piece of framed artwork set aside that you can hang on the 29th with the rest of us, consider today a free day to catch up or put some time in on working on your project that you got started on yesterday.

Thinking about doing two pieces. One in the living room one in my room.  Actually have a piece for the living room just need to get it framed

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/choose-a-piece-of-art-to-frame-apartment-therapy-january-cure---day-6-181831

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

January Cure Day 5!

Day 5!!!!!!


Today's Assignment:
Review your list and and choose a project that fits the below criteria:
A project that can be completed this month, in a few hours. Remember, you'll be very busy with the rest of your Cure assignments, so don't get overly ambitious in your choice - stay practical on the time commitment required.
A project that will make a noticeable difference in either how you use your home (organizing, flow), how something works (repairs) or how things look (decluttering, decorating).
A project that you'll be proud to share with the rest of us!
Once you've made your choice, do the following:
Take a few before photos. You'll want a record of how great a job you'll do AND we'd love it if you share it with us as a before and after down the road a bit.
Tell us exactly what single project you've decided to tackle in the comments below. It's a good idea to make a commitment to the whole group on what your goal project is - the more of us that participate fully, the more strength we all have as a group to really get the work done!
Do your basic prep work. Some examples on what you can get done on the project tonight, online: do some online research on how to do best do your project, ditto on the research for materials and items needed, create a shopping list for supplies, find inspiration photos.

So I'm going with Organize the cupboards in the kitchen...this will also help with setting up my room more efficiently! More to come!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/apartment-therapy-january-cure---day-5-181810

January Cure Day 4!

So technically day four was yesterday but I didn't get around to the actual work until around midnight last night.

So day 4:  Get a fresh perspective in just 10 minutes

Pretty simple, the task asked you to sit in a spot in a room that you're not generally in and quietly observe the room for 10 minutes; no tv, no radio; just you and your thoughts

From Apartment Therapy::
1. Look around the room and try to imagine what it would look like empty. Recall what it was like when you moved in.
2. Once you have done that, focus on whatever part of the room that you feel is the most problematic and imagine removing the "stuff" from that area - furniture, belongings, everything. Now, start rebuilding that area, adding back in only what feels right and looks good in your minds eye.
3. Make note of what changes you envision and move forward with some additional clarity about how you truly want your home to be; what you need and what you can move forward without..

So I chose my new room....it's partly set up how I want it but there's definitely some tweaking to be done.

  • Curtain panels..nothing too heavy just to add a little more color to the room
  • Some inexpensive frames to frame this map and two burlap designs I have
  • Move my dresser to the window wall
  • Shift my bed over a couple inches
  • 4 cube stacker for extra storage by the door
  • "Bar cart" to give it a fun classy vibe
  • Switch up the desk layout to give myself more open work space
  • Re-organize my hair and body stuff to one area instead of three- I'm really bad about that
  • Need Bookends to hold up the dvd stack
  • Repaint dresser- time for a facelift..thinking black with silver and  white detailing 
  • Need a loungey type chair to complete the "lounge" vibe 
Here's what the room looks like currently

 Happy De-cluttering!


Sunday, January 6, 2013

Gym Mode!

First time back in the gym since Christmas...colds are NOT my friend.  Luckily I got a good combination of a workout and the last half of the Ravens game(yeah its serious)!  Hour and a half workout, 20 ounces of water....a sweat soaked shirt and I feel AMAZING!!!

No Guts no Glory, No Sweat No Sexyback LOL!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Closet Updatings

Well while were on the subject of clearing out the house and de-cluttering...might as well also work on the matters of the wardrobe as well.

So with a quick glance through the drawers and hangers here's what we have so far


  • Flat black boots-preferably leather so they can be multi-weather
  • Black leggings-need like 3 more pairs
  • Sweaters-just like 1 more long one
  • Black flats-mine are dying on me
  • Flat brown boots-more a want than a need...hey a girls gotta dress
  • Slouchy hats!!!

Friday, January 4, 2013

January Cure Day 3

Day 3:  Weekend Chores


Day 3 of the Apartment Therapy January Cure is the first weekend of this clean out process.  So starting today through Saturday there's a good list of chores to get done by Monday.

1.  Buy Flowers.  Simple and as they put it may seem "skippable" but I love having flowers in the house and having a new room I think a splash of some nice bright colored flowers would do the trick.  Some for the room some for the living room; great!

2. Vacuum and Mop.  Heavy duty vacuum time; living room, bedroom, halls and the rugs.  Mop the kitchen and the bathroom shouldn't take more than an hour and a half(depending on this cold I caught LOL)

3. Stock up on Green Cleaners.  Break away from the heavies and go for some Earth-friendly cleaners- less heavy smells left in the air and great doing a part to save the World.

4. Use the "Outbox".  Something catch your eye to toss, go ahead and drop it in the outbox.


Link to Apartment Therapy Jan. Cure Day 3
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/apartment-therapy-january-cure---day-3-181662


And a great article on choosing flowers at the grocery store!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/frugal-flowers-how-to-choose-f-74820

Happy De-cluttering Caffeinated Loves!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

52 Week Money Challenge....

Challenge Accepted!

January Cure Day 2

Designate an "outbox" space and place one thing in it.

I've decided on the dining room since its rarely if ever used and it's got a nice sized bag of donation clothes in it already!  Gonna add more to it little by little as the month goes on.


OUTBOX RULES
1. Anything can go in the Outbox
2. The Outbox is allowed to get messy
3. Everything must stay in the Outbox for at least one week
4. After that time you have several choices
a. Take anything back out
b. Leave anything you are undecided about for one more week
c. Dispose of the rest by moving to the garbage, recycling bin, or giveaway pile

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Apartment Therapy January Cure

So its not an apartment per se...more a house...3 rooms and a kitchen in a house.

So this officially kicked off today.. Day 1 is make a list of projects to do around the house, then to simplify the list to 3-5 items per area.

Here's my list!!

Entry:
        *Clean up space inbetween doors
        *Paint
        *piles on and under mail table
        *Mail sorter?

Living Room:
         *Paint
         *Clean couches
         *What to do with gigantic table

Dining Room:
         *Paint
         *Move storagey stuff to basement?(corner)

Kitchen
         *Plastic table cloth
         *Organize cupboards
         *Toss out unused dishes etc.
         *Kitchen closet clean up/New broom

Bathroom:
          *Paint
          *New showerhead
          *Under cabinet clean up

Bedroom-Living room:
          *Find space for workout stuff
          *Desk cleanup-what to do with jewelry pieces

Bedroom
          *Repaint dresser
          *Restyle bed area
          *Home for laundry basket
          *Room divider?

Backyard/Balcony:
          *Ask Mr. A about getting rid of extra stuff, clean out back

Not a bad list, simplified down to a few tasks per room...day 1 is complete!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!!!!

So this isnt really a resolution post more just a plan for 2013....I'm taking the great things from 2012 and pushing them straight into the new year...

So let the list begin

For starters more dedication to this Pescatarian/Semi-Flexatarian lifestyle. So many deliciously tasty meaty foods....must find a balance.  Cutting it all out wasn't too bad but I've gotten crazy big urges for it and end up eating more meat then my body is used to aka tummy ache.

Along with that goes more home cooking; and taking lunch to work.  My mom got me an awesome crock pot for Christmas so its time to slow cook it up!  Soup anyone??

Taking better care of myself; inside and out.  Started today with a quick home manicure and pedicure.  Save the $30 and give your tootsies some love at home.  Pinterest is the absolute best for more ideas with soaks, scrubs, and masks.

Business wise...2 listings every other day.  Need to do a massive picture day before the end of January

More to come....Stay tuned