Staying busy

With a husband out to sea, there's only 1 thing to do...stay busy!!! And that's what I've been doing. Of course with Samuel, that's not hard to do.

On Monday, the plan was to stay home and relax, but as we all know...plans change. We started the day with Face Time on the iPad to see G'ma and Aunt Amy in TN.

He's a natural! If only he'd stop trying to touch them!  :)

After Samuel's nap, we headed to David's Bridal in Norfolk to pick out a bridesmaid dress for Amanda's wedding. (the original b-maid dress was discontinued) I did my research before we got there, so I only had to try on 4 dresses and 2 pairs of shoes. I made my decision, called the bride, placed my order, and we were out the door!

I'm so excited to wear this dress!

I got busy working on my Goals list as well.  :)  What started out as making progress ended up as a full all-or-nothing organization project on the house. (Have I ever mentioned how much I *LOVE* to organize??? Really, I do!!!)  :)  Unfortunately I didn't take any "before" pictures. Once I got started, there was no stopping me!.....

We bought this last year at Pier One. (We both loved it, but didn't have a clue where we were going to put it. It sat in a box in the living room for about a year.) All of my cookbooks are now together in one place. This freed up some counter space for our bread maker and my Keurig coffee maker. By the way, the bottom shelf will hold a 21 lb boy quite nicely.  ;)

Bookshelf in the front room- there's now room in the bottom right hand corner for more 12x12 scrapbooks. The top right hand corner holds all the mini albums I've made.

Looking down the hall from the bonus room. Just a few pictures up on the wall so far, but I'm making progress!

Hall/linen closet- all the blankets are together on the floor under the bottom shelf. The top shelf is cleared of unnecessary clutter. (all our medicines are stored in the lower brown basket- away from moisture and small hands)

Guest room closet- clothes for the wedding and frames to fill and hang

Our bathroom closet- metal bins hold Hair stuff, Toiletries, Surplus New Toiletries

 

Now for the one area I'm most proud of....OUR CLOSET!!! Unfortunately it's rather difficult to photograph, so I'll just have to walk you through it all. Hope you don't mind.  ;)

Right as you walk in, all our shoes (OK, all mine and Jacob's 2 pairs) are hanging in shoe holders. Scarves, belts, and ties are in front of them, and extra uniform items and hats are on the top shelf. Jacob's uniforms are on the top, mine, as well as my sweaters, are on the bottom. Tote bags hanging from a special hanger. (it's actually a tie hanger from Bed Bath & Beyond)

 

On the left is our hanging clothes. Jacob's clothes are in the front, mine are in the back. All of his jeans are folded in 2 piles on the top shelf, his shorts next to them.

 

All my purses are in the large bin, wallets and accessories in the small bin, and Coach handbags are in their brown dust bags on top. My computer bag and gov't issued handbag are there as well.

And here are my cubes! Oh, how I LOVE my cubes!!!  :)  :)  These were in the guest bedroom closet in our apartment, but they held all my scrapbook stuff. There used to be a HUGE blue tub under here with clothes in it, and shoes on top of it. Not anymore! All my clothes are divided by type and sorted: Maternity, Life is Good shirts, Short sleeves, Long sleeves, Bottoms, and Capris/Yoga pants. Now when I want to find something, I know where to look. And when it's time to update my wardrobe, I can see where I'm lacking.

Believe it or not, this is all I'm getting rid of. I didn't go on a mad tear and throw a bunch of stuff away. In fact, I think the only thing I threw away was 4 shoe boxes and the shredded up paper from sorting through some personal documents. I had everything already! I just had to purchase another shoe hanger.

 

What got me going through the whole house was coming home to a Samaritan House bag tied to our front door. They collect things for the local women's shelter. I had originally planned to just go through our closets, but figured I could also donate new makeup, used shoes, used clothes, books, an old comforter, etc. Stuff that was just here. And let me tell you- the best feeling in the world is getting rid of stuff. In my opinion.  :) Last night after my shower, I just sat on the floor in our closet and looked around. It felt so good to know "I did this."

 

Next on my list is sewing.  :) I plan to get the curtain made for the kitchen window, and probably start prepping fabric this weekend for a quilt for Samuel. My sister Amanda and (almost) brother-in-law Matt are coming in town this weekend. I'm looking forward to having them here, and helping with wedding prep. Only 60 days until her big day!  :)