It’s January Challenge round up time. If you’re just joining, read up at Apartment Therapy here.

Day 8: Get a Get-Together Together // Sent out invites for my very first cocktail party! I used Paperless Post and absolutely love the selection, and am so happy that the invites are out. Now it’s party planning time!

Day 9: Create a Landing Strip // Happy with the existing landing strip. We already have a decent landing strip, and the only way I can see improving it, is by adding a tray for mail. I am keeping my eyes peeled but not rushing to buy because what we have now is functioning well. The entry closet holds coats, the door knob holds my purse, and we have a keys bowl on the buffet, very close to the front door. Mail normally piles up on the buffet, so that’s where the tray would come in handy.

Please disregard the ugly unpainted door.

Please disregard the Christmas decorations –haven’t made it out to the garage yet.

Feel free to appreciate Mia stealing the show.

Day 10: Try a Media Fast // Failed miserably. Once the workday is over, we have been working hard once we get home to get projects going, so when we finally have a moment to sit and enjoy our dinner, all we want to do is catch up on some shows. We will give it a shot this week though!

Doesn’t it look so cozy and comfy?

Day 11: Project Progress // A promising idea fails. Over the weekend I purchased wood crates to use as pantry organization. I bought chalkboard paint and was ready to go, very exciting stuff. I pictured white crates with black chalkboard facing, dry goods tucked in neatly, and the ends of the crates all labeled up in chalk. Well, I decided to do a trial run pre-painting just to see how it would all work, and I’m so glad I did. The wooden crates are a great idea but they kind of robbed me of very precious space in my small pantry. The wooden crates are about an inch thick on each side, and in order to pull them out with ease, they cannot sit right against the inside of the cabinet. I’m back to the drawing board here, but I have to admit that my pantry and rest of the kitchen is much better shape now than a before the Apartment Therapy Cure, and for that, I couldn’t ask for more.

The space that is functioning best for me is the coffee and tea cupboard.

Aside from the pantry, one that needs work is the spices/cutlery drawer. Some labeling and a tray would do wonders in here.

The weekend was supposed to be devoted to the bedroom, deep cleaning and closet/dresser organizing, buuuuut, it was sunny here this weekend and I was finishing off the tray table…oh, and did I mention the laundry?! Endless laundry. I kid. Excuses aside, I am off by a day, so I will work on the bedroom in the early part of the week, simultaneously with whatever this January Challenge throws my way.

But seriously, look at this sunshine and the blue sky…too good not to be outside.

How’s the challenge for you?

xo

This project has been in the making for a very, very long time. Every time I’d stop into the thrift store, I would be on the search for fun pieces I could incorporate into the gallery wall. I have been admiring gallery walls put together by some of my favorite bloggers and images that I have found on Pinterest, so this project was really fun for me. Once I gathered enough pieces to make the grouping substantial, I began playing with the layout, and really it’s all about balance and what looks good to you. Also very important, significance. Not each piece was given to me by a loved one, but each one holds significance. The pieces thrifted from the antique mall were picked up on a really fun day I spent with one of my dearest friends, Keely. The other thrifted pieces were gathered over time, so it reminds of how much I enjoy the hunt and finding the perfect pieces to bring into our home. What you enjoy doing is such a large part of who you are, and I love the part of me that likes breathing new life into old pieces. Looking up at this brings me joy, and I am so happy that it is finally up and enjoy the thought of adding to it over time.

Here is the before, all laid out on the dining room table and without photos.

From the top left: the letter “P” was thrifted from an antique mall // the small gold frame was thrifted from Value Village // the framed gold rose set on black velvet was thrifted from Value Village // the vintage mailbox door was thrifted from an antique mall // the double frame was thrifted from Value Village // the black and gold clock in the center was a gift from my Dad.

And, here it is on the wall, FINALLY.

The top frame holds a simple print of the word “love”, and the bottom double frame holds a beloved photo of my husband and I on our wedding day. This is us. All of the posed wedding photos are nice, but in terms of capturing us as a couple, it’s this photo.

Have a great rest of your Thursday!

xo

I was able to add a personal touch to our kitchen overhaul this weekend, by the way of these mason jar photo frames. I loved this idea when I saw it on A Beautiful Mess, and it is so easy to duplicate. The best part about this project is that it takes all of five minutes to complete and the hardest part is deciding which photos to use.

Are you working on anything crafty?

xo

It’s that time again, January Challenge check in… (If you’re new to this, find out more on Apartment Therapy, here.) Saturday was 100% devoted to kitchen cleaning and organizing in our home. I managed to clear the clutter, reorganize cabinets and give the kitchen a good cleaning, and I feel great. Knowing that this project was going to be a big one, I started the day with a list of goals to maintain focus.

1 // Clear off the countertops, move everything to the dining room table
2 // Empty the dishwasher, do the dishes in the sink
3 // Wipe down countertops, stove, oven door, sink, cabinet doors
4 // Pantry clean out, discard expired items and group items accordingly
5 // Base cabinet clean out, broken appliances and unused appliances go to the outbox, reorganize
6 // Upper cabinet clean out, pull everything out and rethink organization
7 // Clear the fridge doors, photos go into an album, recipes into a binder, reminders into my phone calendar
8 // Wipe down fridge doors & microwave
9 // Wipe down inside of cabinets
10 // Put it all back together

My counter now houses…

Microwave
Fruit Bowl
Paper Towel Holder
Drying Mat
Coffee Pot
Vase for Wooden Spoons
Olive Oil

This may seem like a lot still, but these are all things that get frequent use and serve a purpose, and in some cases the items add some style and personality. The functionality of this space has improved exponentially. Here are the before and after pics, focusing on our biggest problem areas.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

My favorite updates:

*Using a gorgeous white vase to house my wooden spoons.
*Switching out the dish soap into a pretty glass dispenser.
*Adding some personal photos to the window ledge. More on that tomorrow!

Even if you’re not participating in the January Challenge, I strongly encourage doing this. The project took me about 4 hours to complete, but it was so worth it. Also, for those of you who don’t know, our home is a fixer upper on its way to being all fixed up, so please know that the kitchen is in progress. My husband is working on the remaining concrete countertops, we have ordered a new sink, and I’m shopping for a faucet and thinking about backsplash tile, so this kitchen is about to be perfection (for us anyway). Stay tuned for all of the aforementioned projects.

xo

If you need to get looped in on the January Challenge, visit Apartment Therapy January Cure to get all of the details. I’m going to clump days 5 and 6 into one post today.

Day 5 is all about choosing a project to cross off the list you made on day 1. I have chosen a task that surely everyone has had to tackle at some point; clearing the countertops and getting rid of kitchen clutter. The most notable part of this task is that it is going to affect all of my kitchen organization, as I am going to need to purge my pantry and go through all of my cabinets in order to make room for the items on my countertops. I have taken my before photos (to be shared at the big reveal), gathered inspiration, and done a little on-line shopping to help me execute this plan.

Day 6 is a much simpler task, prepping artwork for framing and display. I purchased frames and matting months ago with the intention of framing some wedding photos for our bedroom. Of course, now that time has passed I have seen new ideas and am not sure that I still want to use those frames but this will push me to finally do this. First step to this will be choosing photos, and then I can work on the frames and display.

If you’re participating in the January Challenge, please share, how is it going?

Have a great Thursday night!
xo