It's a New Year! Re-Purposing with Purpose

Happy New Year Folks!  I hope your celebrations were joyful and fun.  With a new year I feel like it's time to clean house and start anew on the home front too.  Do you ever feel that way?  Early Spring Cleaning of sorts?  Just to get our boys Christmas stuff in the house we had to re-organize our second floor (thanks Santa Pops!) and once you get started it's sometimes hard to stop.  As I am rifling through everything and putting stuff in the store, donate, or re-use pile, I thought it would be a great time to share some ideas with you.  I have a few re purposing ideas for the kitchen, home office, and playroom that I plan to talk about this week and would love if you shared your ideas as well. 



Have you ever seen these glass beverage containers?  They are gorgeous and look so pretty sitting out when entertaining, even water and fruit look prettier in a giant glass vase.  Unfortunately for us ours have never seemed to work without leaking.  It starts out as just a little drip of liquid which then turns into a huge mess when you are trying to entertain.  Both of the urns we have were gifts that we love so there was no way that we were willing to toss them. 

When the holidays rolled around and we couldn't find anything significant enough to be the center piece for our kitchen island one of our vases was the perfect fix, which thrilled me to no end and my husband too because he was tired of me making him swap stuff out for me to say "mmm no, too small", or "too big", or "too ugly".  Using the vase in this way was an easy fix, the spout just pops right off.  It's obviously not air tight but that doesn't matter for decorative purposes and because it was so low, you didn't even notice that there was a small hole on the bottom unless you were looking for it.

With a cheerio loving 9 month old on our hands, it's become pretty obvious what our other beverage urn is going to become.  We don't even need to make any modifications to it.  It's air tight with a seal around the top and it's sturdy with a giant opening for pouring stuff in and taking stuff out, perfect for counter top storage and much more attractive than a cheerios box.  And I must say, I am so tired of seeing the Cheerios box on my counter!  This is a great gift, that now that we've figured it out, will keep on giving (us storage options) for years to come.  Hooray!

Quick Tiip Tuesday: Wrap it up and Save

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed from all of your decorating during this season of joy and over indulgence? It seems like year after year at this time, as the pressure to get everything decorated and all of the presents purchased mounts, both the money in my wallet and my enthusiasm for lights and knick-knacks starts to drain away. Don't get me wrong I love the holidays, just not the feeling of buyer’s remorse when I feel like I am poor at the end of the year. Well, no more friends! Okay, it's a hard habit to break, so I will admit I did have to pick up a few odds and ends this year but it was definitely on a budget. During these tough economic times we all need to start thinking about re-using and re-purposing items we already have. Today I want to share a pretty inexpensive way to make your home merrier.

Let's get merry on a miser’s budget.

What do you need? Photo frames and wall art that you already have up on the walls or lying around unused in your attic, preferably inexpensive items that won’t get damaged by a little tape. Last years wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, bells, etc.

What are we going to do with this stuff? Wrap up those old frames in your unused wrapping paper. Slap on a bow, or a ribbon, or a few bells, pinecones; whatever strikes your fancy and stick it back up on the wall, the bookshelf or an end table. Use items that will enhance your space but still make it feel like you live there. It will add a little charm and help it to feel more festive but without having to go out and buy more decorations.

Cost? It depends on you. If you save paper and ribbons from year to year, it should cost very little, or nothing at all. You don't need to wrap the whole picture, just anything you can see. You can add double-sided foam tape to ribbons to make them stick to your new artwork and so that you can reuse them again later. If you are a bit on the compulsive side (yes, that's me) you may want to have paper and ribbons that match your current decor and you may have to buy that once and save it for next year but even then it will save you money because you can cover a lot of picture frames with a roll of paper. But (note to self!) some of the best displays are the ones that are not so matchy, matchy.

I bet if you are like me you have a few gifts to get under the tree, so what's a few more "gifts" for your walls? Happy wrapping everyone!

Don't just set the table, set the stage

How do you want your Thanksgiving Feast to be remembered? When we entertain I want people to walk away from our home relaxed, well fed and happy. I want them to leave with that few hours in time set as a pleasant memory that they'll think back on with a smile. So what can you do to set the stage for your Thanksgiving guest to have them come away wowed by your absolute fabulousness?

There is really so much that you can do to make sure your visit whether days or hours long is a successful one. Lighting, music, fragrances, fun outings and even details like having a guest favorite beauty bar on hand, just in case, all go into setting the stage for a memorable experience. But today, let's talk scents. Now that's not all I have in my bag of tricks when it comes to entertaining but if I were to give you all my milk for free then you'd never come back to buy this cow. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Oh well, let's get started.

Did you know that certain scents invoke memories, which in turn control your emotional response to your situation? Google it. It's one of those no brainers. For me it's the scent of roses. It doesn't matter where I am, if I smell a rose as I pass by, I immediately think of my mom and for me that brings back happy memories, memories of home. What smells remind you of holidays and home? For a lot of people, it's the smell of cinnamon. Pumpkin pie. Coffee. I swear as the weather cools down, my coffee addiction grows worse, maybe its the smell and the warmth combined, but it reminds me of a house full of company with everyone sitting around in their pjs just being lazy and watching the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Set your house up to smell good even when you aren't cooking your feast. A candle warmer is an obvious answer for setting this stage but there is more to it than that.

At our house we eat a ton of apples and pears. Apples are a sure toddler pleaser and we always have at least a core left behind after an afternoon snack. You'll probably have much more than that if you are baking an apple pie this week. Save those cores and any bits and pieces left over. Load them up with cinnamon, cloves, mint and boil them on the stove. It will make your house smell delicious! Oranges also make a great addition to this natural potpourri.

And don't forget to reuse the fruits you have laying around. Another great use for oranges and lemons when you are done with them is to cut them up and toss then in your garbage disposal with a little ice. The ice is supposed to help sharpen the blades and the lemons will help to eliminate yucky odors left over from all your cooking this week.

Before your guest arrive and while you are doing your last minute touch ups around the house, spray a little room spray in your vacuum cleaner hose or filter. It will give the place a quick burst of fragrance as you pick up dust. Right now I am using Scentsy room spray in my vacuum, and the Skinny Dippin' scent makes me feel like it's warm and sunny outside. I love it, and I love when I can accomplish two things at once, a clean floor and a yummy smelling house. Also, try a room spray in your air conditioning vent, every time the air kicks on you and your guest will be in for a pleasant surprise.

Now stop reading and get to it, I am sure you'll have company arriving anytime. Remember to keep it smelling sweet and don't forget the details. Have a merry Turkey Day ya'll!