• I read blogs of people who have amazingly organized homes and make it all look so simple.  Whether or not that is the case, I thought I'd share some of my apartment's corners that are a work in progress.

    The good news is that I've tackled over 50% of the closet that was overwhelmingly full for so long – not of clothing but of "stuff".   The bad news would be that I now have a towering stack of empty IKEA boxes and containers. Those may be advertised on Craigslist quite soon as I no longer need them.

    Back to the corners:

    Cookies + art 2

    random art.  those white magnetic boards have not been filled with photos yet as originally planned.  Instead, a few friends chose random items from the living areas and posted them on the boards.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?!

    Discarded table runner + paper bag + empty shoeboxes - in the DR 

    Discarded paper bag, a table runner set aside when I got a tablecloth (Orla Kiely!), and some empty shoeboxes.  Why they're camped out in the dining area, I'm not sure.

    Flowers + art 2 

     

    Office - den area 

    Unfinished projects - corner  

    An office corner containing fabrics and frames that need to be stapled together. I will find a box to put the unfinished projects in to keep the office a tad more tidy.

    I read somewhere once (and can't find the website again at all!) that the items that should be on our counters, shelves and in drawers and closets should be items we need during the week – regularly used items.  Then for those items that you can retrieve when you need them (projects, tools, photos, typical storage items) – place those in storage that is not as easily accessible as, say, your toothbrush. 

    I love the idea and have been slowly implementing it in my apartment.  From the beast of a closet have arrived two containers of photos and two other containers of out of season clothing and "memories" (old journals and notebooks).  Those will be tucked into an empty storage locker in my building's basement.  I can grab what I need when I want to look that the notebooks or change the clothing for the season. 

    Am getting there.  Slowly but surely – 15 minutes at a time.


  • Closet, originally uploaded by Luxita.

    After posting a photo of an organized office this weekend and having the day to myself, I spent 15-minute segments on the kitchen, clearing off the kitchen counter/bar, the bathroom, laundry, dishwasher and finally – tackled 15 minutes in the closet that I've been avoiding. To keep from going in the Biggest Closet Ever (in my apartment renting history – scratch that, in my LIFE), where the Boxes of Stuff are piled up, I have been living in and wearing just a few items of clothing that I keep towards the front of the closet.

    After 15 minutes yesterday (Sunday), I'm ready to spend another 15 minutes again to see how much more I can get done. It's been a couple years since I even looked in the boxes and and was amazed at how much I could donate, recycle and toss now that I can see what I really need in my life.

    I found a thrift store that is the most organized, tidy, clean and non-thrift-store smelling store I've ever been in. And they take magazine donations. Good news for the big ol' pile of magazines that is about to topple over on a chair in my bedroom! It's nice to think that the donated magazines can be bought by people cheaply (a quarter a magazine) rather than my sending off the pile to the recycling center.

    Another boost to this cleaning/organizing spurt has been the fact that the FlyLady now has a blog!   I like the daily digest emails from FlyLady but the blog is great too!

    UPDATE:  Just found out that Laura Cattano, professional organizer whose 250 s.f. apartment has been featured on Apartment Therapy, has a flickr page and a blog!!  Below is a closet from her 250 s.f. apartment.

     

    Laura cattano - organized closet

  • Soothing white office in a small apartment.  Lovely.

    Goolrick-apartment-office
  • I’ve been tagged by RightBankGirl and here are the rules:

    1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.

    2. Tag eight other untagged people.

    What is your current obsession? Everything French.

    Good fika (coffee) place? Starbucks.

    Do you nap? Only on Sunday afternoons. Bliss.

    Who was the last person you hugged? Holly, one of my church youth group junior high girls! (And she hugged me repeatedly.)

    What’s for dinner? Salmon, rice and salad.

    What was the last thing you bought? The truth? (You can't HANDLE the truth! oops..got carried away there) bottled water and toilet paper for home – mundane things.

    What are you listening to right now? http://www.klove.com Music to keep me company in my office.

    What is your favourite weather? Unexpected warm spring days + crisp fall days where you can walk through leaves and enjoy the day.

    What’s on your bedside table? at night… cell phone (for the alarm), ipod touch, and my book.

    What are you currently reading? Maeve Binchy's latest book. I heard her speak years ago and she announced she was retiring. I thought "Oh nooooooo!" but every couple years, she seems to come out with a new book – building upon the other books and characters. PERFECT! Her books are my favorites – hands down! I don't want this book to end.

    Say something to the person/s who tagged you. Hi! Love your blog, love that you lived in PARIS! and I'm happy you tagged me!

    If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? A Chicago brownstone. (See photo above.) I went to college in the Gold Coast area of Chicago and always wanted to settle down in a brownstone in that same neighborhood as the university. I'm still dreaming of that.

    Favourite vacation spot? San Francisco – to see friends.

    Name the things you can’t live without. It's THINGS, right? not people?? Lipbalm, lipstick, cash in hand, digital camera, ipod touch, phone, computer, internet, books, music…..

    What would you like to have in your hands right now? A little bite of a decadent chocolate dessert.

    What is your favourite tea flavour? Hmm…here's where I admit that I've not tried that many tea flavors. And I had a roommate who works for Mighty Leaf Tea and I only tried their tea once. (Sorry, AZ!) I have some at home I will try this weekend!

    What would you like to get rid of? The items in my home I call "stuff" – as in things in boxes in the back of my closet that don't have homes…so they get lumped into a box labeled "To be dealt with later". Oh and my car that has 140,000 miles on it….so I can get a Honda CR-V. (used)

    What is your favorite scent of candle?  I have one I ready about on Dooce (www.dooce.com) that actually smells like men's perfume.  It's from Bath & Body Works.

    What did you want to become as a child? I didn't know! I read a lot, played the piano, and just lived my life. Not much thought for the future. Assumed I'd go to college and figure it out from there. I'm still figuring it all out!

    What do you like better, e-mail or telephone calls? Calls from friends (to hear their voices!!) and emails from everyone else and for everything else. Apart from communicating with friends, I'm Socially Awkward on phone calls. My calls end with "Okay, BYE!" instead of "Good talking with you, I hope you have a good night, have a good evening, talk to you soon, goodbye". By then I've hung up and realized the other person wasn't done. A-W-K-W-A-R-D and I feel bad when I do that.

    I'd like to tag: Nicole, Gina, Marta, Sharona, Katy, Annelies, Loren, and Elena.

  • Another photo to capture my attention….actually, I'm staring again.  Katherine (of Brooklyn, NY) designed a red shower room that is so beautiful.  I adore the shade of red subway tile she used!

    Shower room - red AT

  • My niece, Mimo, and I went out to get dinner for her and her two brothers on Friday night.  Mimo was so excited about the sandwiches and chips, that she put all three bags of chips in her mouth.  I thought it was cute enough to share with you.  Have a great Sunday!

    Mimo - chips 

    Oohhh..I watched a good movie last night.  "Broken English"…had the cutest Frenchman in it.  My friend and I swooned all night everytime he spoke in his charming French-accented English.   

    Broken english 

    Melvil Poupaud

  • I could have sworn I posted this [color me blogg] already.  Turns out, not so much.  I'm going to share a photo with you that I could stare at for hours.  If I stared that long, it would be kinda weird.  How 'bout I just show you the photo?

    Aashi_anna

    • I have been looking for dark denim jeans and here is a great pair!
    • People challenge me about all the black in my wardrobe.  They'd be shocked to know I stare at this photo (shoot, there's that weird staring thing again) and plan to buy brightly colored tees, sweaters and scarves for spring and summer (air conditioned office).
    • The mix of colors is stunning.
    • My favorite is the orange and yellow as they're my two recent new favorite colors.
    • However, blue and green are awesome together.

    Sorry for keeping this photo and blog to myself for so long.  Enjoy!

    [s]

    color me blogg

    we are two friends who, in the dead of winter, tired of grey and black, decided to celebrate COLOR and share it with those around us.

    we challenge ourselves to put together, each day, a new color creation to brighten our moods, inspire ourselves and others. this is where we share our colors, and we invite you to participate.

  • Sometimes in gazing at a photo, I'll go "OOOOOOHHHHHHH" and finally get it.  In some of the photos below, I see…

    • how stunning it is to add some pretty flats (silver) and add a few (not too many!) silver accents
    • to have a neat, clean look (this first photo below)
    • to wear black + one accent color  (lovin' the yellow!)
    • dress monochromatically (navy has never looked so good!)

    Aurora 

    Aurora-viviana

    Viviana

    French - everything navy via cachemire et soie

    images 1-3

    image 4

  • Sonic Sunday: took two "Sonic virgins" and one Sonic fan to the latest Sonic to arrive in Wisconsin. How to survive an hour long wait in a line of cars snaking around a building to be allowed to enter the drive-thru lane or a drive-in stall?  Drink lots of sugar, entertain the driver, and take loads of photos.

    Sonic 1 

    Sonic 2   

    Sonic 3 

    Sonic 7  

    Sonic 5 

    Sonic 6

    Sonic 8 

    Loving the "heavenly light" illuminating Molly as she enjoys her first ever Sonic sandwich.

    Sonic 9 

    Sonic 10 

    Worth the drive, the wait, and the nap after lunch!

  • Magazine pile

    *sniffle*

    *cough*

    Caught the office cold. Perfect time to tackle with gusto the stack of magazines on the table near the couch. At two magazines per day for the next month (keep the inspiring pages while recycling the rest), I'll get through the two piles completely.   Kleenex, water, low-light lamp, couch, blanket and pillow.  Reading then resting. 

    Hope you have a good evening!
    image: flickr