Everything Including the Kitchen Sink

If you know me or have been reading this blog for awhile you know I like for things to be clean and organized. I don't like too much clutter. The kitchen is a place in the home that gets used a lot and can look messy very fast, so why not at least make things as neat as possible before you start cooking and make a mess of things?

Now, I know if you are on Pinterest you have seen or heard these tips already, but reminders are always good for me, so I thought I would share one. Here are my tips for your kitchen sink. 

1. I like to keep hand soap (not just dish soap) by the kitchen sink. We all spend so much time in the kitchen, why not have hand soap there? It is usually closer to the front door then the bathrooms, and in our house it helps my son remember to wash his hands when he comes home after school, after we come back from the store, or any of the other places we all pick up germs. I like to make sure this soap dispenser matches colors in my kitchen and is not disposable (keeping things green at my house of course).

2. I like to keep my dish soap in something prettier then disposable plastic. I use a bottle usually used for oil. I like it because then you don't have to pull up a cap, you just turn it over. Also the soap comes out a little slower then in those disposable plastic bottles, so we go through it slower. (One hint about this one though, make sure the spout is larger enough. The first one I bought was too narrow, and it took WAY too long for the soap to come down. I ended up buying a new one and like it much better.)

3. Don't leave the sponge on top of the sink. I personally use a little stainless steal holder on the inside of the side of the sink I use the least. It keeps the sponge from being an eyesore on top of my sink, but more important the sponge dries out better. This means I can use it longer before it gets stinky. (A tip on this subject, if your sponge gets a little stinky, but still has lots of wear left you can throw it in your dishwasher. It will come out sanitized and smelling much better. I put mine in the section for silverware so it stays put during the cycle.)

A picture of my kitchen sink with the three points I talked about.

A Little Something Special

I know we have all seen the "office closet" a million times now. I happen to love the idea, and think they are such a fun use of space. I have also read up on how Wallpaper is all the rage again, yet I have not tried it myself. I am scared of Wallpaper, I'll admit it. I see it in a magazine and want to want to try it, but have not brought myself to do it yet. 

I have now seen these two ideas combined, and I LOVE the results. If you love decorating and organizing  you are not yet following iheartorganizing.blogspot.com, you are missing out. It is such a fun blog. Anyways, I saw this closet office on that blog and thought I would share it with you.

I love the use of Wallpaper in this small space. It is not scary or overwhelming, it is the perfect pop of fun and style. I love it, hope you do too. 

About Face!

I haven't done a post in awhile about personal style, and I discovered something that for me is a game changer. I was going through my issue of InStyle when I came across a make-up sample. I don't often use those because my skin is so white, they are never even close to my correct color. But this one made me so curious, I tried it even though it made me look like an I had rolled my face in Doritos, just to see how well it covered and how it went on.

So, have any of you seen the commercials for BB make-up yet? It stands for Beauty Balm and lots of make-up companies are adding it to their arsenal. I kept hearing about how great this stuff was, but hadn't tried it. That is what the sample was for, so like I said...even though I knew I would look like I worked for Willy Wonka, I tried it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

I swear the heavens opened, and a light came down on my orange face. The sample I got was for the Loreal Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. (In the case of the Loreal they say their B.B. stands for the Beautifying Beads that are in there B.B. cream.) It felt like silk, it went on so easy, and the coverage was great without looking like I had caked on a ton of make-up. I went out the next day and bought some, but in my correct color of course (for me that's FAIR), and I LOVE IT!! I don't think I could ever go back to regular concealer ever again. Besides the way it makes my skin look when I first put it on, I noticed after wearing it all day that it kept my skin better covered much longer. My skin can be oily, especially on my chin. I can have a shiny chin after only minutes of putting on regular concealer and power. This was not the case with the BB cream. My skin stayed matte for hours. And because it goes on matte, I didn't need to use as much powder to set it.

Anyways, I know not every product works for every person, but this worked so well for me I felt I had to share the information with you. Don't run out and buy it just on my account, but maybe write and ask Loreal for a sample, or look for one in your next beauty magazine. I am so glad I tried it.

Happy Anniversary!

The gray side.

  Sorry, this post was promised a long time ago. Jon and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on July 5th. I decided to do a little project for him as a gift. Jon had recently started a new job that made it so he had to go to bed at 8pm. Trying to go to bed that early during the summer can be a challenge with how light it is outside. The project started out as just thinking I would get some blackout drapes for our room, and expanded from there. I found the drapes and then decided we needed some new bedding to go with it, that then lead to getting some more comfortable sheets for Jon. See what happens when you go to Target for one thing?

A little closer for detail.

The quilt is reversible so I can have a little change when I need it.

                              

                                      The gray side.

   

                           

                                    The side with the pattern.

Now I am just looking for a few yellow details to add to the room. I will have to update you with pictures when I find a few good pieces. 

A Little Art Goes A Long Way

My bathroom was in need of something. I found this piece of art that I liked while visiting my mom and dad in St. George (at T.J.Maxx) and bought it thinking I would put it in my bedroom. I instead ended up putting it  in my bathroom and like it so much more there. It took my plain condo bath and gave it that little punch of something it needed. It filled the space and made the room look more complete.

It is amazing what a piece of art can do, isn't it?



A Lovely Living Room

Take a look at this living room done by Kristen at 6th Street Design for a model home in Daybreak (South Jordan, UT). I love the detail on the ceiling and the color choices for the room. I love how much seating there is without looking cluttered. It proves you can have big style in a little room.

Put Up Your Feet and Stay Awhile

We finally have a place to put our feet up! Before when we watched TV, Jon and I would drag over a basket we kept blankets in and put a pillow on top of it. Then we would share this 14x14 space on a pillow for both of our feet. Not ideal at all, but it worked at the time. We finally got an ottoman that is big enough for all of us. It even has storage in it for Noah's big floor pillow so when he is not using it, it's not taking up space on our floor.

 

It is dark brown to match the wood on the feet of the couch and chair, our kitchen table and our new light fixture. Things are coming together slowly, but at least they are coming together, right? So come on over and visit...we won't make you put your feet on a pillow. :)