Weekend reading

What a cold, rainy week we've had! Here at Organized and Simplified, we've been wanting to work in the yard, but since it is raining, we are taking the opportunity to make sure we are ready for the baby. She is technically due in seven weeks, but doctors expect she'll be along in three to five weeks. I am making sure our bags are packed! Her room is finished, but we still have a few last minute things to do- install her car seat, pack our hospital bags, and locate and wash our bassinet. Big sister is very excited!

Photo by Hillary Graves Photography

Here is what I shared this week: 

1. On Sunday, I shared some subway art prints with Bible verses and some burlap initial prints I am selling for my church (all proceeds benefit the church, I am not keeping any of the money). 

2. A DIY fail...that I am still trying to fix. 

3. Fall home tour additions

4. Wordless Wednesday: I shared a cute picture of my daughter and my dad fishing. 

5. Outdoor to do list: These were our weekend plans, but it is too rainy! 

6. Remembering our precious second baby, and thanking God for how far He's brought us since then. 

Here is what I'll be sharing this coming week:

1. Sunday Musings 

2. Getting Ready for Baby: Packing a Hospital Bag 

3. Recipe: Chicken noodle soup 

4. Wordless Wednesday 

5. A Fall Favorites Roundup

6. DIY Friday: Repurposing Containers 

And here are my favorite things I've read this week: 

1. 10 Tricks For a More Organized Bathroom- Good Housekeeping

2. Abandoned Homes of North Carolina- Dunnington Home Mansion

3. 16 tips for Curly Hair that Will Change Your Life

We will see you tomorrow for Sunday Musings! Have a great Saturday- stay warm and dry. 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Weekend Reading

Hello all! I hope you had a great week. We had a very stressful and difficult week here in the Boone house. It's over now, and we're breathing a sigh of relief. I am working on lots of really neat projects this weekend, and I can't wait to share them with you. For now, here is what I shared:

On Monday, I shared the finished project from my DIY Friday: An imitation ironstone planter that began life as a Christmas flower urn. 

On Tuesday, I shared ways to be more organized in the chaotic world of being a parent. 

On Wednesday, I shared my usual picture post, but this time with some words: 

On Thursday, I shared the home maintenance list that keeps our house in line year to year. 

No picture :)

And yesterday, I shared a DIY project that I am nearly finished with and looking forward to showing you the finished product :) This is not it, this is from Lake Girl Paints, but it is similar. 

This week, you can expect to see:

1. Sunday Musings

2. DIY Friday finished product 

3. Fall outdoor tour 

4. A new design opportunity 

5. Some additions to the indoor house tour 

6. The Best of the Blogosphere, Weekend Reading 

Here's what I am reading and enjoying this weekend:

1. Good Housekeeping: 10 Things in Your House that Are Making You Tired

2. 8 Design Tricks for Kitchens with Barely Any Counter Space

3. 8 Things People with Spotless Bathrooms Do Everyday

4.  17 Sneaky Ways to Use Adhesive Hooks or Strips

5. 11 Kitchen Storage Spots You Completely Forgot About

Have a wonderful weekend! We'll see you tomorrow for Sunday Musings. 

Best of the Blogosphere weekly recap

What a busy week here at Organized and Simplified! It has been a busy week for sure, but a good one. We started off the week by showing you these fall DIYs I first mentioned last week.

1. Monday: Fall DIY Ideas

On Tuesday, we shared some ideas for organizing your finances. 

2. Tuesday:  Organizing your Finances 

3. Wordless Wednesday was fun, and I even got to share a sweet "throwback" picture of my oldest sweet girl. 

4. Thursday: On Thursday, I shared my fall home tour, at least from the inside of the house. 

5. And on Friday, we shared a really fun DIY "ironstone" planter, that originated in a thrift store excursion. 

Here is what you can expect this week on Organized and Simplified: 

1. Outdoor fall decor 

2. A fun fall DIY project 

3. Wordless Wednesday, and some of my favorite pictures 

4. Getting Organized: Organization and Motherhood 

5. Fall house maintenance 

6. Best of the Blogosphere

7. Sunday Musings 

And here are some awesome things I read and enjoyed this week: 

1. The Pioneer Woman: Not only did she launch a line of GORGEOUS kitchen items this week at Wal-Mart (and I want them ALL, by the way), she also wrote this beautiful post about what is really important in life. If I could choose a television personality/blogger to hang out with for one day, I'd pick her. 

2. I guess by now you have probably noticed that I love Country Living magazine and I look at their blogs and website about once a week. I also have a monthly subscription :) This week, I read and enjoyed "14 Reasons Country Living Loves Fall"

Take care and have a great week! We'll see you tomorrow with a post on Fall house maintenance.

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Best of the Blogosphere: Weekly recap

Good Saturday morning to you! I hope you are all having a great day and that you have a wonderful weekend planned. Here in NC, we are looking forward to cooler temperatures today and some fall weather. I'll be finishing up our fall decorating and maybe planting some fall flowers outside.

Yesterday, I didn't share my scheduled DIY post in favor of posting a 9-11 tribute. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

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On Thursday, I shared a teaser- I did one (or some) of these DIYs and Monday, I'll show you which ones :)

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On Wednesday, I shared a series of pictures. This butterfly on one of our butterfly bushes always makes me smile.

On Tuesday, I shared my command center and how they make my life more organized. 

On Monday, I shared some Lunchblox ideas. Tune in in a few minutes for an announcement on who won! 

Here is what I'll be sharing this week: 

1. Fall DIY Crafts 

2. Fall House Tour 

3. Recipe

4. Getting organized: Organizing Finances 

5. DIY Friday: TBA 

6. Best of the Blogosphere

7. Sunday Musings 

Here are some things I truly enjoyed reading this week: 

1. Reese Witherspoon debuts her new clothing line, and is interviewed in this month's Southern Living (I love her!)

2. Better Homes and Gardens: 17 Quick Fall Fixups for your Home

3. Southern Living: 11 Creative Ways to Bring a Little Fall to Your Front Door 

4. Stonegable: Fall Tablescape on the Back Porch and a $500 Giveaway

Have a wonderful weekend! Tune in tomorrow for Sunday Musings. 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Weekend reading: Best of the Blogosphere

Hello and happy Labor Day weekend! I am writing this post a little late. This morning, we went to the zoo with some friends from church and we had a really great time. We saw lost of animals, and even got some good pictures of them. Then, from there, we went to my uncle's house to see my grandparents before they leave town to go back home. It's been a really fun weekend so far and we've enjoyed it.

This week was a great week, too, but it was reallllyyy busy. I had a really busy week at work, and as a result, my routine and my house cleaning schedule suffered a bit. I'll confess- I did not mop or vacuum my floors this week. Yes, I know. But, my family was fed, and everything else DID get done.

Here is what I shared this week:

On Friday, I shared our sweet baby's nursery. 

On Thursday, I shared a recap of the #4days4drawers challenge. 

Wordless Wednesday was dedicated to this fellow, our huge yellow Lab mix, Bear. 

On Tuesday, I shared my new partnership with Rubbermaid, and yet another blog series on packing lunches with the Rubbermaid Lunch Blox. 

On Monday, I shared the best organizing apps for smartphones. 

Here are some articles I really enjoyed this week:

1. Stonegable: 5 Ways to Love the Home You Have

2. 22 Gorgeous Ways to Breathe Life into an Old Dresser

3. 22 Mason Jar Crafts that Will Get You Excited for Fall

4. 30 Best Restaurants in the South

This week, here is what you can expect on the blog: 

1. Rubbermaid Lunch Blox lunch ideas

2. Organizing tools- Command Centers

3. Wordless Wednesday

4.. Fall house tour

5.  DIY project

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Best of the Blogosphere

Good Saturday, all! I hope you had a great week. At our house, it's been a good week, but a busy one. We went back to school this week in our district, and this teacher is certainly living up to this meme:

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Best of the Blogosphere...and a week in review

Things were pretty quiet on Organized and Simplified this week, and for that, I apologize. I am getting ready to begin my seventh year in education on Monday, and this one may be the busiest yet! I am doing all I can to prepare and make it an "Organized and Simplified" school year. This week, I shared the following:

Best of the Blogosphere: Happy Saturday!

We've had such a busy week here at Organized and Simplified! I went back to work yesterday, and have just one more week of teacher workdays before my brand new crop of eighth graders come into my class. I am working extra hard to ensure this school year is organized and simplified...especially since I'm going to be out for three months.

Here is what we debuted this week:

1. Some beautiful DIY art in our nursery.

2. Our bathroom shelving, and a decorating dilemma. 

3. Cornice shelves in the nursery 

4. A DIY hairbow holder 

5. A trip to Ikea and a kitchen I instantly coveted 

Here is what you can expect this coming week on the blog: 

1. An organized classroom 

2. Closet space and some recent updates 

3. My binder system in my classroom 

4. A trip to Ikea and what I bought 

5. Moodboards and why I use them 

Hope you have an amazing week!

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Wishing for Fall!

I really want it to be fall. Fall has always been my favorite season for a variety of reasons- cooler temperatures, hot drinks, beautiful leaves, and some of my favorite holidays. Fall is also a time of "preparing." We clean out flower beds in anticipation for spring each fall. We have the house washed. We do outdoor projects that it is just too hot to do during the summer, such as paint the shutters. Plus, this fall, we will be welcoming our sweet second baby girl.

Weekend reading- Best of the Blogosphere

Hello all. I only posted once this week, as May is now upon us. May is quite possibly the busiest and most stressful time in a teacher's life, so chances are pretty good I might be a little more AWOL than usual in the coming weeks.

As I'm writing this, the hubby is still sleeping, our precious daughter is paining in her playroom, and our two furry family members are napping in the sunshine. I'm actually tucked into Emorie's Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair in the corner of the playroom, with the laptop. :)

Here are some blog posts I've enjoyed this week, and thought you might as well. These are in no particular order.

1. How cool is this Mason Jar Herb Garden at Sincerely, Sara D?

Weekend: Best of the blogs

It's been a busy week here at Organized and Simplified, but on the blog and in my life. This week, our school held its annual carnival and BBQ supper. It made for a long day, but getting to interact and have fun with my students and co-workers made it all worth it. This week, on Organized and Simplified, I shared a simple but cute spring table, with some super-cute DIY fabric napkins.