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. 

fleurs

I've learned a lot in the last 9 months managing a flower shop.  Today as I went into the shop to work on flowers for a funeral, I had a thought, that I should share what I've learned and the importance of fresh flowers in daily life; so here it goes, the first of many "fleur" posts.  

We give flowers at big moments in life; birthdays, births, recitals, high school dances, anniversaries and weddings to name a few.  But we also give flowers for life's sad moments; hospital stays, cancer diagnosis, and loss.  While celebrating life's happy moments is always fun (and I'll blog more about that later) being part of some of the sad and intimate ones is an honor as a florist.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about funeral flowers when I started.  I knew it was part of the job and I was ok with that but how would I deal with it all was unknown.   I have to say that funeral work had become some of my favorite.  There is a special privilege that comes with creating the flowers that will be displayed at a funeral.  It may sound odd but I feel like flowers act as a visual hug for family and friends.  I hope that seeing a loved one surrounded by beauty brings a little comfort to those who are grieving during such difficult time.  Next time you're wondering what do give to a friend who's grieving I would suggest calling your local florist - our job is to convey your feelings in flowers.  And it is truly and honor to do so. 

new year, new look, new plan

A new year - can you believe we are just 2 days away from 2013?  It's amazing how time flies - I can't believe it's been 6 months since my last post!  My new job has kept me extremely busy - I feel like, I just now, have a decent gasp of my new schedule and can start to create a new routine.

I love the new look of my blog - thanks to The Cutest Blog on the Block 

The new plan is to post at least once a week - I have lots of new projects planned for the year and can't wait to share them all with you!  One of them is the 14 week home organizing challenge from A Bowl Full of Lemons  Check it out if you feel like your home could use a little order.

Here's to an absolutely fabulous and productive 2013!