The Master Bath Revamp!

The master bathroom is officially done - and I absolutely love it!  Here a few quick picks of the (pretty much) finished project:

Not quite finished but this shows off the tile work

Pretty much done - just needed the hardware on the sink and shower

I love the frosted door - it was my husband's idea.  It makes the space look larger.

What you can't see is a dimmer switch in the shower room.  It's perfect at night when you don't want to flip on the light or for "Sunday Spa Showers".

I'll post an updated picture soon.

Proud Owner of a 2005 VW Passat Wagon

So my sister pointed out that I haven't posted for a while...  that might be an understatement!  I've had this post sitting in draft form since June!  I think it's time to finally make the final edits and let it go live.

If you've been following my blog you know that one of my goals is to pay off debt.  Here's the first one!  My husband and I are now the official owners of a 2005 Volkwagon Passat Wagon aka "My Car".  The bank has been kind enough to let us drive it for the last 6 years but now it's finally ours!

And just incase anyone is wondering...  I LOVE my car - alway have.  If they still made a Passat Wagon it would be on my next car list without question.  It hauls everything I need, is incredibly comfortable, and goes just about anywhere in the snow and ice.  It truly is the perfect car for me!

Ruby Girl UPDATE

We made it without a trip to the vet - Yay!  After 4 doses (10mg) of Benedryl, Little Miss is back to her normal self.

All the pup-pups; Louis looking a little gray,  Ruby ready to play and Stanley cuddled up in his favorite blanket.
It's a ruff life for the Hammond Hounds.

Ruby Girl

Ruby & Stanley at the vet for a check up (Louis is there too... somewhere)

It's 11PM and I'm up past my bed time...  Once again, poor Ruby Girl as been stung or bitten by something.  This happened 2 years ago and her muzzle swelled up so much she looked like a toucan.  So, we took an unscheduled trip into the emergency vet (45 miles away).  I'm hoping to avoid that tonight.  It all started with a small bump on the side of her muzzle (about the size of a dime) and within 30 minutes the poor thing's whole muzzle was swollen.  With a call to the emergency vet to make sure she isn't allergic to Benedryl - I know that seems like an odd thing to check but we do have a pup (Louis) who is deathly allergic to it; enjoy the irony.  The woman on the phone said Benedryl was one of the drugs given at her last visit and there were no notes stating that she had an adverse reaction.  With an "ok" from the vet office I gave her 1/3 of a Benedryl in cheese and so far she's been sleeping soundly next to me as a type this.  Fingers crossed it helps, this little girl has had enough trips to the vet recently I'm sure she'd like to take a break.

Tulips - perfect for any home!

For those of you who love fresh flowers in your home but aren't sure what to do - maybe you're on a budget or just want something simple - here's my tip!  Buy tulips!  They are in season almost all spring & relatively inexpensive.  They come in a wide variety of colors & textures and you should be able to buy them by the bunch (1 bunch of tulips = 10 flowers) at your local florist* (or even your local grocer).  

Here's why I love them:  They design themselves!  I wish I would have snapped a photo of this arrangement when I first put the tulips this pitcher.  All of the tulips were standing straight up at attention.  But as they "settled in" they began to move and create a beautiful organic arrangement.  So simple but they to make a statement.  Now it's your turn to give it a try!  One last tip - cut the tulips at different heights so they have a little depth to begin with. 

These photos were taken 2 days apart.

*If you are looking for a specific color, height or look talk to your local florist - they should be able to find you what you need within a week or less.

Bathroom Revamp!

We've lived in our house for almost 8 years and in that time we've installed new floors, appliances, doors, trim, molding, remodeled a bathroom, converted an enclosed hot tub room into a craft studio - that's just inside.  The one area that has been neglected in all of this was the master bathroom.  It was always an after thought and not quite in the budget.  But this year it's top priority!  Thanks to my FABULOUS contractor it should be complete within the next two weeks - yay!  (My husband and I are currently sharing a bathroom; something we don't normally do and we're ready to have our own morning spaces back - smiley)  Here is a sneak peek at the new shower it started as a shower & tub unit.  I'll be sure to post photos of the finished project!

I survived - Valentine's Day!

I have been at the flower shop for a year now and have officially lived through every major holiday.  I "saved" the biggest holiday for last and I'm glad I did.

I knew Valentine's day was a BIG one in the flower biz but you don't really know what it's like till you live it.  Luckily, my mom had volunteered to help and drove up with her Suburban on Saturday.   Sunday we made the trip to Spokane to pick up all the flowers I had ordered in the beginning of January.  (I ordered a lot of flowers!)

First Stop

Packed full - just enough room for the case of wine we need to pick up!

We stopped for lunch at Spokane's Davenport Hotel and valeted the car - that seemed easiest with the suburban packed full of flowers and case of "love me to pieces" wine.  Then back to the shop to process everything!

roses, roses, and more roses!

The cooler is full!

PS:  Not all flowers and greens go in the cooler so this only a portion of what was in the suburban!

Monday the game began!  It was unlike any other holiday I'd been apart of - it was amazing!  For 4 days straight the shop was buzzing - we worked long days, created works of art to convey the senders feelings, and did it all with smiles on our faces.  

If you're wondering how many people it takes for our shop to make this Valentine's happen?  We had a crew of 8-12 on any given day.  It wouldn't have been possible without them!

We didn't have a chance to snap pictures of all our arrangement but here are a few of our favs:  

a centerpiece with a little "somethin', somethin'" (hard to see in the picture but there are 2 stings of little red heart lights  in the arrangement)

one of our "extra special" specials

We all survived and have officially recovered - it only took me a week to recover.  But I'm already thinking about next year!  I even have our specials named: Knight in Shining Armor, Prince Charming and Superman ;)

Can't wait to see what next year brings!  

PS:  When in doubt, send flowers...

Organizing One Space at a Time

One of my goals for 2013 is purging and organizing my home.  I have more things than I could ever need - I'm guessing we all do.  Over at A Bowl Full of Lemons Toni has created a 14 week organizing challenge.  While I'm not following it directly it is incredibly helpful!  I also love Clean Mama's blog!  She has great organizational tips and printables be sure to check her out.

Current completed projects include:

*Christmas decor organization - went from 6 plastic bins to 4!  Yay!!!

*Organizing my wrapping paper - now everything is much easier to find and access.

*Purged and redid my entire filing system - it's super easy to file and find exactly what I'm looking for - it amazing what a little paper organization can do!

*My supply closet (houses all cleaning supplies and more) here are a few pictures of the after

Imagine the before - every surface covered with something.  I pulled everything out of the closet last Saturday evening (and remembered how ugly the floor is - original to the house) knowing full well that we were having people over for the Super Bowl.  I had my work cut out for me but I was completely finished by 9AM Sunday morning.  I threw things out that were out-dated or no longer useful.  I combined soaps and filled containers.  I also completely cleaned the closet - no idea when that had been done before.  Then I started to organize and put things back in the closet.  I used the cute black polka dot totes from Thirty-One (you'll be seeing more totes in future posts).  I love how versatile these totes are.  The plaid tote is insulated and will be used for trips to Costco and the occasional summer outing.  The large tote on the top shelf holds paper shopping bags - they seem to multiply like no other.  In the two small totes I have batteries, a tape measurer, nails, screws and other odds and ends.  The tote on the bottom shelf has cleaning supplies so I or my cleaning lady can just grab it and "get to work".  I recently bought a new vacuum - a Shark professional.  I can't say enough about it!  Lightweight, swivel, tons of attachments and options, and a great price - I highly recommend it!  I found the best price at QVC but it's available at multiple retailers.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the projects to come!
Till next time - Keep Calm and Organize On!

Telling my inner Shopper "NO!"

I love to shop - that might be an understatement!  I'm telling myself "NO" to extras this year but it's all for a good cause.  I've always told myself I want to be debt free by 35 and this is the year to make it happen; since I'm turning 34 in a few days.  My first step was organizing our household finances in one place. I've done the spread sheet and budget and it never seemed to stick.  After hearing about mint.com from a co-worker I looked into it and I'm glad I did.  What I know about myself is that I can be co-dependent when it comes to some things - working out, sewing and now being debt free.  I need someone to meet somewhere and hold me accountable or someone I can run an idea past and get input and mint.com offers this.  The service is free and basically loads all your account info into one place.  Once you've completed this step you can set goal, budgets, and so much more.  The accountability comes through email alerts and now this post.  I'll be posting my progress as I go.  Here it goes, while I know this journey will not alway be easy and I'm sure I'll tested when I see a super cute pair of shoes or a killer discount on a fabulous handbag but for the long term benefit I can handle a little short term pain.

reclaiming my craft studio

You won't believe this, from the photos below, but my craft studio is a place I cherished.  But on occasion it becomes complete chaos - when a crafting/wrapping bomb explodes and there was no clean up crew called to take care of the mess.  I have lots of family which means multiple Christmas celebrations so I wrap and package gifts multiple times throughout the season (and after).

I started reading A Bowl Full of Lemons, after learning about it from my aunt Tara over at Tara Bee Ink,  I love her organizational planning.  I'm taking part in her 14 week home organization plan which technically started Friday but I thought I'd get a head start and clean you my studio.  Below are photos of everything thing in its (new) place.  

You may have notice that the room is very white - that's intentional - I wanted it to be a blank space where creativity could flow freely.  With that in mind I've filled the space with things I love and bring inspiration - the plates above the window are from my grandmothers, there is a dusty black mental lunch box on one of the shelves - it was my grandpa's, his coffee mug is also on the shelf.  Above the door (not pictured) is a sketch of the church where my maternal grandparents were married.  I continue to fill this space with meaningful things creating a space that is uniquely mine.