home office storage

{Timber Buffet from Target}

I have been wanting a piece of furniture to house our printer, laptops, mail, etc.  for a while now.  After much searching online and locally I finally decided that our best option was the Timber Buffet from Target.  The biggest downside is that I had to order online so it still has not arrived {I ordered it January 3rd}.  The space below is perfect, or at least the measurements seem perfect, for our printer and 2 laptops, our external hard drive and other items.  The space above will be perfect for some basket to organize the mail.

I am getting the space ready as it currently contains a super amazing antique travel trunk that I acquired from my grandparents who got it from another long ago relative. I love this trunk!  It just is not practical for anything other than putting things on...So the trunk was holding many, many magazines, mostly wedding magazines.

I love these magazines and am having a hard time parting with them, so I am going through and removing my most favorite pages and then will reuse the mags for an awesome project at work.

I cannot wait for the furniture to arrive, just another step in my quest to become organized!

Happy New Year!

What an eventful year 2009 has been.  The wedding consumed my life for the first half of the year.  I really do not know how I did anything else those first six months of 2009!  The second half has been a focus on work, school and being a newlywed!

I would love to engross myself in a project for 2010 that challenges me to venture into new things. I would love to take cooking classes.  I would love to take a digital photography class.  I took photography in college but boy has it been a while. How fun would it be to take a glass blowing class?  Of course I hope this is the year I finally figure out how to eat right and lose those newlywed pounds, moving in together pounds,  oh and the I am in a relationship and comfortable pounds. I hope this year I also figure out how to save money, like really, really, save money, especially at the Grocery. That is truly a skill that I need to learn!

2009 was fabulous! Cheers to 2010 and what the New Year will bring!

Kitchen update

I feel that I have gotten so much done in the kitchen. While, I have really only rearranged items that I already own, or received as gifts...my only expense so far remains the can of spray paint.

I have a horrible problem of getting way too excited about a DIY project and not stopping to take a "before" picture...so I am going to have to scour my iphoto library to see if I have any before pics for my corkboard turned chalkboard project...which I diy'd the corkboard 3 years ago. Ah...I love reusing!

Today I spray painted two open back ornate frames...one for the chalk board...the other to display a few detail shots from the wedding {sugar bar or cake?}. I will cut the mat for that frame so I will just need the glass cut. I may even have some in another frame??? Good thing about having so much framed art collecting dust.

I am also going to search to see if I have a before of the kitchen...before I accessorized. Cause honestly, it is looking so much better already...that I cannot wait to see it finished.

Tomorrow I am going to get some fabric for my valance. I also have the idea of using a table cloth that I planned on using for the wedding at our sugar bar, but did not. That would also help me with the budget! I am not committed to using the table cloth yet. I am going to 2 fabric stores tomorrow to check out the stock.

Chris and I are going to have a real talk about the cabinets. I am leaning towards painting them now. Or doing a patterned metal insert. These are some inspiration pictures.

Basic cabinets. The color is very similar {if not exact} to ours.
This is an after of the above shot. I like the two different colors of paint and the extras on the white section to create a faux hutch. I also really like the black behind the open upper cabinets. It we do open uppers, then I would love to do the black! Imagine yellow flowers....blue/green walls, cute ceramic birdies....hmmm...ok. I have work to do.
This is patterned steel. Very cool. I think I would like it with a black cabinet....or maybe just on lower cabinets...or maybe not? I am not sure. gah! decisions.

{all images from Better Homes and Gardens}

kitchen mini makeover

{Amy Atlas Events}

Throw in some tiffany blue and this is the color palette that I want for my kitchen. Problem is my cabinets are honey colored {icky} and the counter tops are just ehh. I am hoping to spruce up the kitchen with a valance, new light fixture over the sink and some DIY projects....were talking like $50 maybe $100, but that would be stretching it.....I think I can do it.

I bought some spray paint {creamy yellow} for a chalkboard project I plan to do this weekend...I also need a really cool piece of art...I would love to have one {black and white} of our sugar bar or our wedding cake...hmmm...

I plan to accessorize the space {have cute little white ceramic bird salt and pepper set}. Ugh. I really just want to paint the cabinets and I feel that the project would really pull together, but doing that seems really labor intensive and frankly I am way to creative to spend my time on that.

I am not sure what type of fabric to get for the valance. I was originally thinking black and white....but decided I needed yellow to add my punch of color against the honey colored cabinets and the pale blue/green wall. We also have black and white tile in the kitchen. I know, so retro. So here is what I am thinking for valance fabric. Black and white patterns are so easy to find...yellow? not so much!

{Picnic Damask Yellow, via Sew, Mama, Sew!}

{Antler Damask Tarragon, via Sew, Mama, Sew!}

{Anna's Drawing Room Sketchbook Ivory}

{Dandy Damask}

Since the walls are blue, I want to stay away from blue. I just don't know which direction I want to go! Suggestions?

clutter

I am a clutterer...that is not even a word, but I clutter everything.

Chris always comments that he can always tell where I have been...I leave a trail of clutter. This is not exactly what I want to be known for, but unfortunately it is a title that I have had most of my life.

Leaf...time to turn over.

I was introduced to Organized Home recently and I have read so much on the site. An article that I found hit particularly close to home was The ABCs of Household Paper Management.

So I have a project to organize my paper trail...or rather paper clutter.

{Paper Source}

I love the file folder offerings at Paper Source. I definitely need some of the goofy, fun ones....but I would really like the pretty ones.

Will I buy some?....most likely not. I need to be cost conscious in my efforts to organize, so I will use something I have...and do my best to make it pretty.

Mission De-Clutter is ON!

Nesting...

Trying to kick the bridal habit is hard. I received a bride magazine in the mail the day of the the wedding....and I really wanted to start looking through it immediately.

Hi, I'm Andrea and I am a brideaholic.

I am trying to get in the groove of being a newlywed and have started nesting. I feel that I need magazines...pretties to look at to help ween me off wedding and on to home.

I need suggestions...for really good magazines. help a brideaholic out won't cha!