Dreamy Closet Spaces

It's official!  It is time for a closet re-do.  Right now, I am in the" thinking stage" of actually cleaning out the closet and transforming it into something worthy of a feature spread in my favorite magazine a functioning space, but I am thinking:)  I feel so claustrophobic every time I walk into my tiny closet.  To say it is a "walk-in" is stretching it I think, but technically I have to take 2 steps to reach the back clothes bar.  So, is that the legal definition of a "walk-in"?  Either way, it is shoved full of stuff from floor to ceiling.  Most days, I have to kick the shoes away from the door just to get it to close (and many days I just leave the cluttered space wide open, because I don't take the time to move the kicks!  Grrr!) What should an organized closet look like?

Via

Okay, to aspire to this is a bit unfair to my 4' x 6' space, but I love the floor to ceiling storage and the gorgeous chandelier.

Via

This seems a bit more realistic.  The storage system takes full advantage of the entire space and while the closet does seem packed, the doors do appear to be able to close.  Already better than mine right now!
Via

While I think this is absolutely beautiful with its intricate mouldings and elegant lighting, there is absolutely no way that I could ever, ever, ever have open shelving and have it look like this, but it is so fun to dream.  And since I am dreaming...

Via 

  I could go ahead and empty out my bedroom to create this space, but then I would need to go shopping just to fill it up and I would have no place to sleep at night!  Back to reality...I need a space to store sweaters and tees, bins for my top shelf, and a place to hang necklaces.  It would be nice if the finished space had a bit of pizzazz, but it will be a BIG improvement just to be able to shut the door.

Simple Solution: Glass Jars

The baby was home this week from college.  Having him and Mr. 21 in the house at the same time was like old times when I focused less on decorating and more on just keeping up.  My Spring Break was the week prior to the baby arriving so, I was gone to work much of the day and missed out on cooking breakfast and making an afternoon snack.  (I had stayed home with the boys when they were little and breakfast and snacks were something we usually did together.)  While Mike works at home and is a pro at cooking breakfast, I still wanted to leave something for the boys to let them know I was thinking of them.  I found clear glass jars while I was our shopping for kitchen accessories and I purchased 4 of them.  At the time, I wasn't sure what I would do with them, but they were so cheap (around $5) that I couldn't pass them up.  When I was thinking about the boys who seem to be always starving, I thought of the jars I had just purchased.  I grabbed from the pantry and filled them with Clementine oranges, blueberry muffins, ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies, granola bars and fresh flowers (not edible, but so pretty).  I set the jars in clusters and filled them with

oranges 

 and muffins 

with a fleur de lis ice water pitcher for breakfast.  When the muffins ran out mid-week, I filled the jar with healthy granola bars.

There were cookies for an afternoon snack. (No recipe to share.  I used packages of The Great American Cookie Company Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin bake-at-home kind that I found at the grocery store.  It was the first time I tried them, but they were delicious.  They literally melted in my mouth!!!)

I loved the clear glass jars not only because they looked so inviting, but also because they let me keep an inventory of the available food still in the house.  *Critical when feeding growing boys!

Squeezing in Updates When I Can

Why is it that during the week when it is time to go to work, I struggle waking up, but on Saturday morning my internal alarm goes off at 7:00AM and I hit the floor running?  This weekend, I was able to squeeze in a little Spring cleaning, before heading off to tutor.  After packing pots, pans, and pretty much everything else into my kitchen cabinets for the past 13 years, it was time to take some of the junk out!  Not the most glamorous project I have tackled, but certainly needed!

I started by emptying everything out of the drawers in the island.

I wiped the space down with my trusty, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (can't live without it!) 

and then vacuumed the inside of each drawer.

I found the cutest Contact paper at Target when Mike and I were out Friday.  

I measured once and cut all six.

I found it easier to peel the paper backing off before placing it in the drawer.  The Contact paper was pretty forgiving and I was able to move the sheet around until I was happy with the placement.

When I had it like I wanted it, I used a soft dish cloth to brush lightly across the paper to remove the air bubbles.  Then, I applied a bit more pressure to get the paper to stick.  It took a little more than half an hour to complete the project.  While I plan to line the rest of the cabinets in plain white, I will definitely be on the look out for other fun patterns and colors.   This was such an easy update, I may make a habit ofchanging out the lining more than once every decade.  The island drawers are looking fresh, clean and ready for Spring.