"I'm Not A Runner!"~oh YES I am!

As a new year unfolds I have been thinking about my blog. My posts have been few and far between. My home is ever evolving, but with funds tight and getting to a place of contentment I am doing less and less projects.
When I began on my blogging journey I purposely kept my family out of it. It is not because they aren't important, I simply wanted something all my own. But a few friends of mine have published their blogs into great coffee table books and I have to admit I am a bit envious.
So when I thought about what has been taking up my time....something worth blogging about....I did conclude that I have been working hard at becoming healthy and can now run 5 miles! Of course, my other blog speaks more in detail about the changes I've made. But the gist of it is, "Jen, you should run with us."
"Uh, no. I am not a runner. I don't like anything about it."
After losing 20 pounds by eating right and walking, the next comfortable step was to jog. And I haven't stopped since then. I began song by song and now I am running my first 10 K on the 20th of February! Let me tell you...I thought I had gotten to know myself pretty well in my 37 years, but it is amazing to find something inside yourself that you never knew existed! I know it is a cliche, but:

If I can do it, YOU can do it!!!!

The Sugar Moon

Are you ever in need of the perfect hostess gift?

Or what about something sweet to let a friend know you care? Well, this baker is perfect!

Check it out!

http://thesugarmoonbakery.blogspot.com/

http://thesugarmoon.weebly.com/

Enjoy!

Laundry Day! Hooray!

When we moved into our new home our laundry room was plumbed for a sink but did not have one. Of course this was the FIRST thing we were going to do after we moved in...it's been SEVEN years!

I have the luxury of having a huge laundry room, but it has never functioned properly. I am the mom who folds all weeks worth of clean clothes in a three hour segment...NOT ANYMORE!

BEFORE- green walls, year old washer and dryer, had moved them from inside wall to window wall with the big plan in mind!

-AFTER-

We had been to Lowe's and Home Depot time and time again to begin this project. We actually picked up the stainless sink months ago when we saw one at a great deal.

Sweet hubby gave me a level in my Christmas stocking that said cabinets, countertops and sink would all be functional by December 31st! Great present!

Of course I could not sleep while and I decided we would head to to IKEA! It was a one stop shop for us and resonable too! The cabinets are made so well and easy to put together. It all fit in our van and best of all...THERE WAS NO FIGHTING AMONGST US!!!!

IKEA LIST:

1. 
   
   faucet- Edsvik


2. 
   
   cabinets- Akurum with Stat fronts


3. 
   
   countertops- Numerar in oak


4. 
   
   shelves- Grundtal
   
   

Along with the ample countertops for folding, these two things are a huge must and have changed my laundry system for good! It takes up space and doesn't look that great, but it is sooooo worth it. When I take a load out of the dryer I hang anything up. The clothes steamer (given to hubby by me for Christmas ;) heats up in seconds and I steam them as I hang them.

From start to finish it takes me less than 5 minutes to fold, hang and steam a load of laundry! I now do it everyday instead of once a week.

laundry rack from Bed, Bath & Beyond

clothes steamer from Costco

Between the cabinets is a space for the Dustbuster and step stool.

This once was Jupiter's room. He still has his essentials (food, treats, toys and bed)
Along with my Roomba, the Wagner 905 steamer is my new best friend. It has a perfect storage place under my new sink!

Since it was the laundry room I knew I could have some fun with textures. These stainless steel racks are designed for the kitchen, but I will have so much fun accessorizing them!

Thanks for taking my little tour! Bring a load on over!

a little something to chase the COLD away

I know there are plenty of places colder right now than here in California, but I have to say that now with the Christmas decorations packed up and our sixth day of no sunshine it can really take a toll...so I thought I'd share a bit of sunshine with you all! Enjoy!

The other day I had the great opportunity to visit Anthropologie! Have you ever found something that you just couldn't live without? Below were mine! I knew that these had my names written all over them!
Flower teaspoons



Flower measuring cups

I'm feeling warmer already!

Kitchen Pantry Redo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

One of my favorite blogs, Stephmodo, recently posted about kitchen pantry organization. With the new year upon us I couldn't help but get wrapped up in the organization of it!
Sadly I did not take a before picture. But I can tell you that the shelves were unlined and although it was once organized it, after many trips to Costco...well you know.

I first emptied the pantry completely and cleaned it all from top to bottom. Then I lined the shelves with leftover wallpaper from the garage. I sorted the items based on likeness. I ALSO GOT RID OF AS MUCH PACKAGING AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE! I really have a passion for displaying everyday items in unique ways. So I went around the house and garage looking for items that are not being used efficiently and gathered them up. Above is a "stuff" basket that now holds popcorn and crackers.

Because of a laundry room redo (pics soon!) we had some premade laminate organizers laying in the garage. I thought one would make a great seperater. THINK OUT OF THE BOX, LITERALLY! Those little Jello boxes always bugged me, this made the ideal spot for them. I love it when that happens!
This is my favorite! This old metal bread pan has been used for hundreds of different things. Right now we have a surplus of Hot Chocolate. Perfect for the envelopes for these and oatmeal. Behind it is a grass basket filled with Easy Mac. If you think we don't have much cereal, I use large glass jars on my kitchen island for it.

I love having most of my baking supplies in airtight containers. No more hard as a rock brown sugar or ants invading my chocolate chips. Plus, take a peak at the mint green chocolate chips in the far right, so cute in a Mason jar!

The chalkboard door is not new, but the pictures of my kids inside the pantry are. They were literally just hanging out near the pantry and I thought, "Why not hang pictures in your pantry?" Oh, and do you like the gentle reminder to the kids? Usually I have dinner ideas listed (for me) and breakfast/snack ideas (for them) listed on the chalkboard.

THE RESULT:

Besides an awesome pantry- look at all the garbage that is not in my pantry now! Incredible! I really have a bone to pick with these companies about all the packaging they use!

Jupiter thinks so too!

Hope something here inspired you! If not, I'd love to come over to help!