TRY IT THURSDAY....Get organized PLANNER Tips and Tricks

SO something about January makes me want to get organized and purge - EVERY year....I think it's the fresh clean start of the year...PART of being organized (at least for me) is to write it all down....it keeps my mind clear and straight....SO at the end of the school year I purchased THIS planner...

SEE that cute glittery sheet under the planner?!?! I had THOUGHT I could just slide in over the 1314 (there is a zip slide on the side of the cover)...and While I COULD.....there still was an orange sherbet tint (the plastic is actually orange). It's ok though...it looks happy and pretty anyway.

You may have noticed the tabs at the top: Blog, Beauty and Month

BLOG 

is where I write ideas down that I want to blog about throughout the year....you may notice they are color coded....and some future posts have been edited SO it's still a surprise when I do blog!! For all y'all who read my blog (which REMINDS me...ONE of my goals of 2014 is to reach 100 followers SO if ya saved me as a fave and read, that's cool BUT I'd LOVE to have ya to follow me - whatcha think?!?!? Can we do it?!?!? Can we reach 100?!??!)

BEAUTY

Is where I log and record products I have seen on other blogs, in magazines or on tv that I want to try

MONTH

Is the current month and things I want to accomplish personally or decor wise

 My month to-do lists usually revolve around some type of seasonal decor....and the 10 ways to good health is a NICE reminder at the beginning of the year....small changes that can make a big difference...

I LOVE to add personal touches to my planner SUCH as ALL those pinspirational quotes I pin on Pinterest....

 Jan: NEVER STOP DREAMING with cute lil happiness around it

 FEB: NEVER PUT OFF TIL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN STRAIGHT UP CANCEL TODAY...a GOOD reminder to NOT procrastinate

*AND*

WHY DO WE CLOSE OUR EYES WHEN WE PRAY, CRY, KISS,DREAM? BECAUSE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS IN LIFE ARE NOT SEEN BUT ONLY FELT BY THE HEART

MAR: DON'T TRY TO OVERHAUL YOUR LIFE OVERNIGHT. INSTEAD, FOCUS ON MAKING ONE SMALL CHANGE AT A TIME. OVER TIME THESE CHANGES WILL ADD UP TO BIG TRANSFORMATIONS. DON'T GIVE UP. 

I thought this was a good 1/4 way into the year reminder....it can apply to ANYTHING - fitness, saving money, attitude changes, wardrobe changes - ANYTHING. 

Basically I picked things that MEANT SOMETHING to ME!! 

Lastly I went through and stickered it up and made cute lil drawings and embellishments because it should be FUN!! 

SEE, the planner even says so....your days are as FUN as you make them!! 

THRIFTY TUESDAY....Goodwill DOLLAR Day

HOLLA!! This past Thursday was Dolla day at Goodwill....it was FRIGID but I KNEW I wanted to check out what they had - ya can't go wrong for a dollar - even IF it's just to clean the house in!! The kids BEGRUDGINLYwent....We were back home before the sunset (as that's when the temps were scheduled to drop).

MY Haul(see deets below)

* Park Ridge T-shirt - CUTE and quirky...10 minutes from my parents....anyone have CUTE ideas on how to cut a t-shirt?!?!?
*New with Tags Red, White and Blue bikini top - PERFECT for 4th of July
*Blue Adidas Warm up pants...I am COMMITTED to walking whenever the weather warms up SO my theory is if I have cute fun stuff I wanna wear it'll be easier?!?!
*Hydraulic Crop Jeans (if you ever buy this brand you know they can be on the higher end price wise and are sold at Macy's and Maurices SO if you can score them for a Dolla that's a STEAL).
*Brown Liz Claiborne gold shorts (the nice thing about these is they are no iron - wrinkle resistant and the PERFECT length for me)

My girl's haul

(she's 14 and was OPPOSED to getting anything..until she started looking)

 *Grey mossimo for Target lightweight sweater vest (she wears these all the time)
*Brown Danskin Fleece jacket
*Adidas Shorts for track
*Denim Shorts

Miniature Mister's Haul

(He actually looked thru and found the Batman shirt himself)

 Grey Sherpa lined Hoodie - RALPH LAUREN y'all - this was a MAJOR SCORE
Batman T-Shirt - Gap Kids
Pure Rock T-shirt - Target
Red Polo - Target
Camo Pants- Old Navy
Blue and Khaki Shorts - (both) Target
Plaid Shorts - Kohls AND match PERFECT with the Batman T-shirt!!

While we didn't get a BUNCH of stuff we can wear now we scored for summer!! And that's the key when thrifting, have a open mind to seasonal needs....don't buy just to buy because it's a dollar BUT think ahead....What have YOU scored lately?!?!?

MANIC MONDAY....Coordinating Bathroom Spray - what?!?!?

Yes! Either this post is NEUROTIC or BRILLIANT.....You can be the judge!! And before you say "she has way too much time on her hands - that's not it AT all and it literally took 3 minutes here and there....Like I sprayed one coat on my way out the door to work...Lets see what I'm talking about.....
LOVE the Hawaii scent by Airwick....BUT the packaging was such an eyesore....EVERY time I walked into the bathroom it irritated me...

Everyone Poops  

seriously - it's a book by Taro Gomi for Kids 

(I had one of my Reps tell me about it years ago...picture this, an 50-ish gentleman with a southern drawl saying "everyone poops").

SO Bathroom spray is inevitable....SO it may as well be pretty.....I cut a piece of scrapbook paper and taped it on (So I can easily remove when the spray runs out and I replace) and I simply removed the top (took the clear spray mechanism out PRIOR to pray painting). A few light coats of a grey primer I had on hand and VIOLA!! NOW to make it easy, I will just pop the tops off and swap them out when I replace the can....a lil 3 minutes here and there ONCE and BAM you have a pretty can!!

Don't you agree it's SO MUCH PRETTIER?!?!?! 

It's always been the little things for me!! 

What's ONE project YOU feel like a loon over doing?!?!? 

A DAY IN THE LIFE....

Italian Sausage and Peppers for dinner

Chobani Greek Yogurt Almond Coco Loco Flip (low fat coconut yogurt that comes with toasted almonds and dark chocolate bits - SO DELISH) with sliced banana

A rousing game of scrabble with the kids....seriously these were my letters

My pink glitter "sea urchin"

Puppy Love

Dear Winter: While I love my boots I hate you more....please go away

Makin a project with these...stay tuned!!

 You can't see it that well BUT I am sporting a heart t-shirt....I typically don't dig hearts.....but this is tasteful....and not corny

Here's the pic from the website...

FOODIE FRIDAY....PALEO Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok y'all I'm one of those CRAZY people who when following anything I have to do it to a "t"...like my life - there is no grey area - it's black or it's white....SO I've not jumped on the Paleo bandwagon for that reason...I would be uber strict and that's just not what I want to do....I did however find this recipe foe Paleo oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and decided to try it BECAUSE I had the ingredients lying around....I also made REGULAR Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies BECAUSE that was one of the things in the BOy Scout book we have to do to earn our badges....can you guess WHICH are WHICH?!?!

 In case you hadn't guessed, the Paleo version is on the left....the moister looking "cookie"

They were UBER easy to make...here's the recipe of you're intersted:
* 2 ripe bananas -smashes
* 1 cup quick oats
* A handful of chocolate chips

Mix it all together and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees....and ENJOY!! 

WIWW

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy http://thepleatedpoppy.com/category/what-i-wore/ for WIWW

THURSDAY

What I'm Wearing:
Cute lil pup Accessory - Leo
Leopard Coat - Chico's
Turquoise Beaded Necklace - Vintage
Tweed Jacket - Jones New York - thrifted
Tank - Macy's
Jeans - Chico's
Booties - Tom's

FRIDAY

(freezy midwest day calls for fur and cashmere)

Fur Scarf - Garage Sale - for real....a nice older well to do lady
Necklaces - Chicos, Vintage and Great Aunt's
Sweater - Cashmere  -thrifted
Jeans - Chico's
Boots - Coach

SUNDAY - Chill day at home makin paleo cookies

When I am home I don't like to wear a lot of make-up...I like to give my face a chance to breathe
What I'm wearing:
Scarf - Target
Striped Sweatshirt - Target
Jeggings - Chico's

MONDAY

(wanted to try the headscarf / wrap thang...I kinda dig it)

What I'm wearing:
Leopard Scarf - Fam Dolla
Tank - Wal-Mart
Sweatshirt - Pink Victoria's Secret via the thrift
(the rest of the outfit is below....Fleece jacket -Target, Velour yoga Pants - Lane Bryant, Boots - Uggs)

Off to see what y'all wore!! And SMOOCHES for the comment love last week! I ADORE reading your comments!!

THRIFTY TUESDAY....LEOPARD iphone on the go CHARGER

EVERYONE is carrying these portable chargers from Wal-mart to J.Crew. I got mine at Chico's for $11.00 (HOLLA) after the holidays. It was part of their giftware collection and at 60% off it came out to $11.00 and some change. SO I decided I would give it a whirl....

Charge time is approx 3 hours, it's an on-the go charger and is compatible with iphone 4 (I plan to get the 5 in a few weeks BUT my daughter has the 4 so she can still use this)

Not ONLY is it FABULOUS leopard, it's also been pretty handy!! Perfect for using on the go (ie wandering around downtown Chicago OR when your sitting on the couch and too lazy to unplug the cord from the bedroom to charge it).

Because your KISS your Kiss is on my lips...KISS CANVAS

Are you singing the Hall & Oates song now too!?!?! I saw this pic on Pinterest and KNEW I wanted to make it....you can find it at Pearls & Pastries https://www.etsy.com/shop/PearlsandPastries etsy store if you want to save your lips...

In case you hadn't guessed, I opted to make my own....

SIMPLY apply your lipgloss or lipstick and kiss the canvas....I started with the light pink and worked my way up to dark pink by layering....

DON'T do this when you have somewhere to be BECAUSE your lips will be very colorful...oo la la...

Ta-da! Now you have some inexpensive Valentine Art...and I should give a special shout out to my girl Jen for giving me the canvas's leftover from her son's art project....