.bathroom organization.

I don't know if you remember or not, but one of my new year's goals was to make my house more of a home. Basically, step one is to get more organized.

Today I can say, I've conquered the storage area under our bathroom sinks.

First, I've got to give credit where credit is due. My inspiration for this project came after reading this blog post:

How to Maximize Space In Your Bathroom Cabinet by Alejandra

Combine that inspiration with the blog post:

Organize Your Whole House With One Trip To The Dollar Store

And I knew exactly what I needed to do. But first, the before pictures:

Complete unorganized mess. You couldn't get one thing out without knocking something else over. It was long overdue for a change.

My cheap supplies:

+ Mainstays 3 Stacking Bins from Walmart // $4.97

+ Four baskets from the Dollar Tree // $4

For a total cost of $8.97.

Literally no more than 15 minutes later, I had this:

Everything is organized and easy to get to. Except my hair dryer. That things kills me. It's so big and bulky. I wish I had a better way to store it, but maybe if I move some stuff around I can figure it out.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my newly organized bathroom cabinets. This was a very cheap, time efficient project. Hopefully what I've done will inspire you to tackle a small unorganized area of your home!

.the vine app.

So I have new social media obsession, and it's not Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

It's called Vine.

It's a new app (currently only available on the iPhone) that allows you to film 6-second videos then share them with your followers.

Just another addiction to add to the list!

Here's one of my uploads:

Follow me on Vine at martylou83.

.craft party.

Last night was SO. MUCH. FUN.

A group of girlfriends (there were 8 of us) got together and ate, made crafts and laughed.

My lovely friend Leslie hosted at her house, and she did a phenomenal job.

.the fabulous hostess.

...

I knew upon walking up to Leslie's house that this party was going to be epic. I mean, check out her front porch decor. So cute, right?!

...

Each one of us brought an appetizer, but Leslie provided everything else. And when I say everything, I mean she really thought of everything! 

.the yummy food bar.

...

.Leslie's hand-written chalk sign. Who does this stuff?? She's my new role model. 

...

Leslie provided a plethora of scrapbook paper, paint, ribbon, embellishments, etc.  There was such a variety, we were all able to find something we each liked for our magnetic boards, which was our first craft.

...

 The magnetic boards were so much fun to make! Leslie bought unfinished wood frames from Hobby Lobby and inserted aluminum sheets she found in the plumbing department in Lowe's. She actually had to hand cut each sheet to fit inside the frames.

We painted the edges of our frames then mod podged on our paper of choice, followed by as many embellishments as we pleased. You better believe our amazing hostess had a station for the hot glue gun as well as a variety of paints to choose from!

...

I love how each of our personalities were reflected in our finished products.

 

...

Our next craft was to make scented sugar scrub.

We were supplied with cute little jars, brown sugar, oil, and a variety of perfume samples to fragrance our creations with.

...

After we got our scrub all mixed together and put in the jar, we chose a ribbon or twine to wrap around the jar with a cute little tag and wooden spoon.

 ...

Everyone picked a different scent for their scrub. I chose Philosophy Amazing Grace for mine and I'm crazy about how it smells!

At the end of the night, Leslie gave us each a cute little tote to put our crafty creations in and take home.

...

Every little detail of this party was literally so thought out and perfect. I can't imagine how it possibly could've been any better.

It was one of the best nights I've ever had with friends and I can't wait to do it again!

.recent DIY projects.

I want to share a few of the DIY projects I've completed the past couple of weeks.

//1//

Rustic Glam Cake Stand

Supplies:

+ stump plaque from Hobby Lobby

+ thrifted candlestick

+ super glue

//2//

Southern Tee

Supplies:

+ thrifted tee

+ gold fabric paint

+ foam brush

+ freezer paper for stencil

+ silhouette cameo or X-acto knife to cut stencil out of freezer paper

+ iron

//3//

Arrow Duvet Cover

Supplies:

+ solid duvet cover

+ acrylic paint marker

What have you made lately?

.woodland baby shower.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of co-hosting a baby shower for my friend Stephanie.

She is due to have a little boy {Ethan Jude} in February.

We went with a simple woodland theme.

Upon entering, guests were welcomed by this message tree for Stephanie and baby Ethan.

The menu included:

Carrots

Hummus

Mini Quiches

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Pita Chips

Pretzel Chips

Cake

Cookies

Punch

Water

The decorations were kept fairly simple. We incorporated:

Burlap

Twigs

Owl & Bird Figurines

Pine Bottle Brush Trees

Pine Cones

Mason Jars & White Votives

Wooden Cake Stands {DIY post coming soon}

Over-sized Chalkboard

The woman of the hour, Stephanie, looked absolutely lovely. It was such a joy to see her open gifts for her little boy while surrounded by people she loves.

Obviously, I had to sneak a few belly shots in!

I couldn't have done it without my sweet friends. Love these ladies very much!

{Stephanie & her hostesses}

.little valentine jars.

 I don't ever decorate around the house for Valentine's Day.

Ever.

I was thinking about this as I browsed through Pinterest last night, and right about that time, I came across these lovely little jars.

Something about the doilies, paper hearts, and bakers twine struck me with the whimsy romance bug...or something like that.

Since I already had everything I needed to make my own version of these, I decided to sacrifice a few of our drinking glasses (yes, we drink out of mason jars) to make little love note holders for hubs and myself.

I told the hubs about my little plan and made sure he was on board.

From today until Valentine's Day, whenever we get the whim, we will write on little slips of paper different things we love about each other.

Come V-Day, we'll read each others' little messages of love.

What better way to get in the spirit of the holiday? 

I can't wait to see what he writes.

I'm trying to think of things to write that he may not realize I appreciate or things I haven't said in a while.

He already has two notes in his jar.

.currently researching: clean eating.

Sometimes something happens to someone you love that makes you take a good look at your life (and even things you have been struggling with but have yet to overcome) and gives you the immediate motivation to change for good. Recently, my mom endured gallbladder removal surgery after years and years of pain and discomfort that she had always assumed to be Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Her gallbladder was absolutely rotted, inflamed and hard as a piece of wood, according to the doctor. Do you know what causes a gallbladder to go bad? Your diet.

Greasy, fatty foods -- yep, they're terrible. But think about all the processed "food" we put into our body on a daily basis. Chemicals and ingredients we've never heard of and likely can't pronounce. If we knew how much MSG was hidden in the foods we buy at the grocery store, we would be shocked. Even food that is marketed as "healthy" is often anything but. It's actually quite overwhelming when you start thinking about it!

It got me to thinking - what have I been putting in my body? And if it's not natural ingredients, how does my body know how to process it?

Before I go any further, let me say, I promise I'm not going all "crunchy" on you. But I know without a doubt I need to make changes in my eating habits and what I'm fueling my body with.

I'm talking a lot more fresh fruits and veggies. Replacing white flour with whole wheat flour. Buying blocks of cheese to shred myself as opposed to buying bags of shredded cheese. 

Basically, I'm going to start paying much better attention to the ingredients in something, and the less that are listed, the more likely I'll buy it.

This new way of thinking about grocery shopping and eating habits has led me to research clean eating in attempt to determine which elements I can practically incorporate into my life (and which I will leave for all the "crunchy" folks to obsess over).

One website I've been studying lately is The Gracious Pantry.

It appears to be a great source for a beginner like myself. She offers links to explain what clean eating is, recipes, grocery lists, and ingredient substitution suggestions.

We recently got a Fresh Market. Up to this point, I have only been inside it once, and that was to explore. I'm looking forward to going again, armed with a purpose, to explore the aisles with new-found interest and knowledge of what I'm looking for.

Wish me luck as I explore this new way of life!

Here's to a healthier future.