Valentine's Day Gifts for Her

These gifts are useful, cozy and perfect for a little pick-me-up in winter! A little more unique than the traditional chocolates and flowers!




Love Story Photo Album



VS Angels Heavenly Gift Set



VS Sexy Little Things Noir Perfume




Handmade Burlap and Lace Pillow




Love Poems



What's Cooking? Gift Basket


100 Places for Women



Teabag Teapot



Gray Infinity Scarf




Good Morning Set of Mugs



Ivory Throw

Organization Ideas and Inspiration

Let's talk again about resolutions. Did any of you resolve or set a goal to organize a certain part (or all) of your life? I'll give you some insight: It will get worse before it gets better. Don't fret though! After a couple of days of disorder and frustration you'll get where you're headed!

Here are some ideas to help you along that road:




Store your favorite books and excess blankets and pillows behind the couch, out of sight.
BHG - Organization tips



Great way to store DVDs and display favorite items.
Apartment storage



I love the mix of wooden slat baskets and metal bins!
http://www.desiretoinspire.net/




Organize your pantry with jars and other storage pieces from a dollar store.
Dollar Store Jars for Pantry



Baskets with tags for organizing closets with high shelves
Organizing Ideas



I love those jars! So much prettier than jugs and boxes of laundry soap!
10 Laundry Room Ideas



Baskets hanging on the wall frees up space on the floor.
10 Laundry Room Ideas



On sale at World Market now!
Seagrass V Weave Basket



Adorable cubby for holding desk items!
Desk Cubby

Craftsy.com

I recently stumbled upon this website and I must say, what a fantastic source for those interested in learning crafts!



craftsy.com

Craftsy offers many online classes and workshops to fulfill your crafting needs. They offer a variety of classes from sewing and quilting to food and paper crafts, and everything in between! A few of the classes are free, but most cost money. Luckily they go on sale once in a while!

A couple of the FREE classes that I recommend if you are new (or relatively new) to sewing are Sewing Machine 911 (where you will learn to troubleshoot and care for your machine) and Sewing Machine Feet from A to Z (a class that teaches you to use your zipper feet as well as button hole feet and other specialties that may have come with your machine!).

Have fun learning and crafting!

Our Pet Bunny

Check out the cute little bunny that hangs out in our yard.

Hair Tie Finery

These little guys have become quite popular lately! 

I thought I would give them a whirl, and fell in love with them immediately. 

It's as big of a deal to switch to these as it was to switch to the "Ouch-less" Goodie brand ones (from those hair bands that used to have the metal.... remember those?)!

These come in cute colors and even glitter! 

They are super comfy around your wrist. No more red marks from those super tight elastics!

Did I mention they come in cute colors? ;)

They also are much better for your hair. They don't leave large creases after taking them out.

And they're so pretty around the wrist :)

Want some for yourself? Buy them here: PrismaticFinery

Healthier Eating in 2013

It is mid January, 2013. Just a couple weeks into the New Year.

Did you make a resolution this year? Was it to eat healthier, lose weight, get in better shape?

It's a common resolution, but can be difficult to stick with!

A big part of losing weight is learning to eat the right foods. Veggies and fruit are obvious additions to eating healthier, but there are some packaged foods that can help you stick to your resolution too.

These are some super easy switches to make that will help you achieve your goals:

Smoothies and fresh juices have become super popular lately, but it's sometimes hard (and expensive to make your own every morning. Plus, if you live in a rural area without access to a health food store it is sometimes hard to find what the experts recommend adding for that "NUTRITION PUNCH"!

(Case in point: Bee pollen? seriously? where am I going to find that in a Montana town 2 hours from a health food store?)

Enter Naked juice in 64 oz. containers!

If you're really not feeling up to making your own smoothies, this is a great second option!

This bottle is packed with the nutrients you need to start your day!

Getting all of these vitamins in the morning (before you eat anything else!) will help your body absorb the nutrients and put them to work giving you energy for your busy day!














The next big change you should make to your diet? Skip the dairy!

Dairy lines your digestive tract with a mucosal layer and contains the protein casein, which has been shown to cause cancer in rats (learn more here: http://www.forksoverknives.com/)

Instead of cow's milk go with almond milk!!

This chocolate kind is awesome! It is the perfect way to switch from dairy to nut milk.

   

It actually contains MORE calcium that cow's milk and gives you 50% of your vitamin E for the day!

One glass of this milk and a glass of Naked juice will almost cover you for your vitamins! Eat some fruit and veggies as snack throughout the day and say Hello! to better health!!

Vintage Vases

Little update to my bookcase. A nice arrangement of vintage vases acquired through my sister and a couple of wine bottles that had great labels. 

Here's a little insight into the bottles: For our wine nights in college, my friends and I used to choose bottles that had neat or funny labels. It was a great way to learn more about wine and find some gems that we never would have if we only stuck with the tried and true.

If you're in the market for some really great vintage vases try this Etsy shop: 

MaverickJune

She has lots of other neat vintage finds as well!

Recognize.

Does anyone recognize this luggage set?



That's right! It is the same vintage Samsonite set that my Grandma had! Wouldn't it be fantastic to have the whole set?

Where to Find Anthropologie Knobs for Less

I am slowly in the process of redoing my dresser. This is one of the drawers, complete with new knobs. Eventually, I will be painting it so it doesn't look like fake wood :)

In the mean time, I wanted to find some knobs to give it an updated look.

If anyone has even looked for nice fancy knobs, you know that they can be quite expensive!

I found these at Anthropologie when I started looking:



They are cute, but also $10 a knob, plus shipping.

These are similar but only $3.95 at World Market.

I also found the melon knobs the Anthropologie sells at World Market.

These are cream instead of white, but I actually like them better! The melon knobs were also $3.95 a piece, they sell at Anthropologie for $8. 

I also found similar ones at Hobby Lobby. They were about the same price and Hobby Lobby has tons of knobs and handles!

These last ones were at JoAnn Fabric. 

I really liked the cutouts and they were the same color as the lace-strewn knobs. They were $3 each. 

So if you are in the market for some great new knobs I would suggest checking Hobby Lobby, World Market, and JoAnn Fabric. They all have some great pieces that are far less expensive than Anthropologie's and you might even find some that Anthropologie doesn't offer!

Happy hunting!

Schell Crate

Remember the Schell box I posted about a couple weeks ago?

DIY Day by Day Calendar

I saw this picture on Pinterest a few months ago:

And I thought it was a fantastic idea for looking back at what you've done over the past few years!

It would also be such a fun gift for someone!