One Mess At A Time - The Office Bookcases

Is it really the middle of November already? The last few weeks have gone by so fast. The holidays are just a round the corner and I am not ready for them at all.

I am having a Christmas Open House in a few weeks, so I am trying to get things organized. In addition to the people who will be coming that are local, my cousin and her family, as well as my brother and his family, are coming. Neither have been here since I moved in, so I want to make sure everything is perfect.

I look at these bookcases in my office every single day and it just got the point where I couldn't stand looking at them anymore. They were such a mess. Books everywhere and the dust was unbelievable.

So it was time to organize these things. I started filling the bookcases because I sounded like I was in a hole when I was on my work phone. Everything echoed.

The first step was cleaning them all off and dusting them. I was already starting to feel better.

I wasn't too wrapped up about making them pretty. This is where the bulk of my books are going to go. They didn't need to be in alphabetical order, but I wanted some order to them. I grouped my books by category. On the bookcase closest to the door, I added my Christian fiction and Christian living books.

The second bookcase is a little more sparse because I still have boxes of books in the garage that still need to be unpacked. That will eventually happen, but probably not until after the holidays.

Getting my house organized is work in progress, but at least it is in progress.

Reflections on Thanksgiving

Reflections on Thanksgiving

Feathering My Nest - Where to Start

Since this is the last week of October, I decided that I should try to make an effort to finish out the month on a high note. I have not kept up with my Home Sweet Home series and I was really excited about it. But I have also learned that I need to be more prepared.

I started a second job this month at a popular home store, so my nights and weekends just got busier. On the plus side, I have a discount! And I am using the money to help pay off some bills, which I will talk more about next month.

Since I have had my kitchen redone, my dispensable income has dwindled quite a bit. However, this extra time is giving me opportunity to really think through want I want to do with a space.

As hard as it is to do, I am forcing myself to focus on one area at a time to complete. The first area is going to be my entryway.

Right now my entryway is a empty. This is the area I want to make pretty. The wall needs a little touch up painting done by the baseboard. It was damaged when my flooring was going down.

This area isn't very big. The wall is a little over 30 inches wide. My vision is to have a small table with a mirror above it. I found a little cabinet that I like at Hobby Lobby, but I am afraid that the color is too similar to the wall color and it will disappear in the space. My search is still on.

The other thing I want to change is the light fixture. I actually have one to replace it, but I haven't had it changed yet. I wouldn't mind learning how to change a light fixture, but I am terrified of electrocuting myself. I think that job is better left to someone else.

I am excited to get this space spruced up a bit. I want everyone who walks through my door to feel welcome and this will be the start.

Reflections On Hospitality

Reflections On Hospitality

Baking Buckeyes

I am an Ohio girl through and through, so I am no stranger to buckeyes whether referring to trees, football or candy.

When I was in West Virginia a few weeks ago, buckeyes littered the ground after falling from a tree. I was going to do this little easy craft with acorns, but instead I used buckeyes.

To get rid of any kind of any yuckiness, I wiped the buckeyes off and baked them at 200 degrees for several hours. I didn't see any hole in the buckeyes so I don't think there were any bugs, but better safe than sorry.

Tomorrow, I am sharing where I am using all my buckeyes!