Organizing the Kitchen Office Area

When we were designing our kitchen, I knew that I wanted a small corner to be dedicated to an office space/mail hub.  I am so glad we have this in our kitchen and it is an area of our home that is always getting tweaked and organized. 

After living here for almost a year, I finally decided to organize the cabinets so I could easily find anything I needed.  One side was organized for office supplies and the other for small tools, meds, and basically junk drawer material that needed a home.  I hit up the dollar store and found cute little blue and green containers - 4 for $1.00! You can't beat that!  I love the dollar store for organizational containers, and they have so many fun cute colors and shapes!  Perfect for an organizing freak like myself.  No before picture, because I am so impatient and just jump right into a task.  So, here is the after! 

This is the office side - extra envelopes, pens, markers, pencils, sticky notes, etc.  are all stored in the left-side cabinet.  I didn't get a picture, but I also have greeting cards and blank stationary in the top cabinet. 

I printed out sticker labels and used a cute font from this website - Fonts for Peas .  Amanda is super talented and so sweet to share all of these cool fonts.  You can download them in a zip file - there are so many to choose from!  She also has great tips for customizing your blog.  I love her site!

Here is the right side of the cabinet.  Nothing super exciting, just neater and organized...

Thanks for stopping by!  I am going to be posting a couple of my favorite yummy appetizer recipes tomorrow!

Sara

Changes Coming to Our Blog...

In an effort to make our blog more interesting, and have more to blog about, my mom and I have decided to broaden the topics we blog about and add in the occasional recipe, cleaning/organizational tips, posts on fashion, books, and more of our favorite things.  While we love "playing house" and blogging about our decorating on a dime, it feels as though sticking to one topic is limiting us in the blog world.   And let's be honest, being a mom of a 2 year old and running a household, decorating my house is not always on the top of my to-do list! I have a family to feed and a house to keep clean!   In the next few days, the blog will change to reflect the different styles my mom and I have and you will start reading about other topics than just "house stuff".  This mother/daughter duo loves to decorate, cook, clean, read, and find new outfits on the cheap!  So, stick around (all two of you) and keep reading because this blog is getting a makeover!   

Sara

Touches of Spring...Playing House...

We have had a few warmer days lately and with that I have had a renewed energy to "play house".  I have been hitting up the thrift stores more lately and changing up some things in the house here and there.  Yesterday, I went to TJ Maxx and spent the good part of the afternoon perusing the store.  They had a lot of spring items and some cute pictures (for cheap!).  Here are some of my finds...

This picture was $14.99, which I thought was a steal for the beautiful frame and mat alone! The bluish green color goes perfect with my color scheme in my kitchen. 

This print was only $12.99 and the mat is burlap (hard to tell in the picture).  Can't wait to find a spot for it!

Found this straw pot a few weeks ago for $12.99.  I had a heavy metal container here before and I liked the airy and lighter texture of the straw basket.  The front has a silver tag on it that reads 'Fleurs". 

And two more great TJ Maxx finds - some yummy smelling handsoap for the kitchen sink and this candle that smells like Spring.  Little touches like this just make me happy.  Yes, it's the little things...

I have also had the urge to put fresh flowers and plants everywhere.  You can't beat a bunch of flowers in a pretty container for $4.00.  These flowers last forever and my mom gave me the pitcher that I spray painted a glossy white.  It instantly adds happiness to my kitchen...

A small pot of ivy was put in a basket I already had, along with a thrift store milk glass lamp and a platter from my everyday china.  Can't believe my husband hasn't commented on the fact that there is now another lamp in our kitchen.  I'm a lamp queen...

I have a small bookcase in my kitchen that I am always playing around with.  I changed it up this time with a cloche that my mother in law gave me, a silver shell platter, and one of my birds.  I found the silverware graphic from The Graphics Fairy and just tucked it inside the cloche. 

So Spring is just around the corner and these are some of the changes going on around here.  I can't resist opening the french doors and letting the fresh breeze blow through the house...

And on a completely "non-house" related note, these cute shoes were calling my name at TJ Maxx yesterday and I had to have them...

No, they have nothing to do with Spring - it just felt right...

Sara