Happy Sunday! Happy February!

I am one of those people who loves Valentines Day! I know alot of people think it is just a "Hallmark Holiday" and my love for it has nothing to do with going out to a fancy dinner or getting a piece of jewelry or candy or roses. Will and I actually decided last year to only celebrate certain holidays; we wrote down all of the "gift giving holidays" and chose which ones we would celebrate and which ones we should acknowledge but not go all out on. Valentines Day did not make the cut, but I still love it; I love decorating the house and celebrating the love that Valentine's Day represents. 

Our Entertainment Center.

The fireplace mantel all decked out.

Our foyer table with my Valentines day heart I made. 

I unfortunately haven't had a chance to finish my paper roses, but I am going to continue to work on those, and I hope to fill up my silver and Pink Vase that is on our foyer table.  I did make a cute little heart pillow to add to my wire basket. I wish I would have made it bigger, but honestly it looks really cute.  

I am not 100% sure why my house doesn't photograph well, I feel like our house is perfectly dressed with just the correct amount of stuff, however in all the pictures I take, it looks so barren and missing any personality and character, maybe it is just because I am not a photographer, maybe there is a trick to really showing the size and scale, I am open to suggestions if anybody reading has any.  


Another project that I finished this past week were my Lavender Sachet's. I love the way they turned out, I will probably do more of these soon, perhaps as gifts. I have an idea for them that I think would be just darling. I will talk about this more closer to spring.  

I cut small pieces of light weight fabric and sewed them together as if they were tiny little pillows

I added light blue hearts for decoration.

I used whole golden flax seed and added a few drops of essential oil (I used Lavender but you could use any scent you like)

I filled them up with the seeds and then sewed them shut. (My hand sewing skill definitely need some improvement) 

 The other thing I conquered this week was completely reorganizing my craft room
I usually keep all mt stuff pretty neat but what I found was I had so many different types of storage containers that nothing stacked well and finding what I was looking for was impossible, so I would put stuff away but not always in the "correct" place. I had crystal bicones with crystal rondelles and I had acrylic flower beads with glass round beads... I just wanted to once and for all put everything in its own place... So that's what I did. I had returned a few items that left me with some credit on my amazon account so I ordered clear plastic containers and got busy. Cleaning and reorganizing the beads, turned into cleaning and organizing my whole upstairs... It was a busy week!  

Before

After

After

I am hoping to be able to get to the paper roses and one other project this week. 
I want to create some stylish storage ideas for some clothes that I put on shelves in my closet.
Currently I just sit sweaters, yoga pants and work out clothes on a shelf, because I don't have enough drawer space, but I have an idea to spiffy it up, to make it look nicer. 

My current mess

I just need to get the stacked clothes put somewhere that looks nice (and pretty)

I am going to take plain cardboard boxes and wrap them in printed canvas, they will look like those fancy (expensive) storage cubes but they will be easy and cheap to make. 

I found this pretty canvas in a container full of material I had, I must have bought it awhile go with the intentions of doing something with it.

free boxes from work

I am so glad February is here and I have been able to stick to my no spending plan and been able to focus on my eating healthy lifestyle change, I really am feeling energetic and optimistic about this new way of life, maybe February is my January,when all my new fresh things start, I don't know for sure, but I am going to try my best to stay on track and blog about it the entire way!  

I am so glad you are here!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day and a great month, if you are struggling with spending too much and just having too much stuff in general, think about living off your closet, you can do it for a month or two or a year or two. It may seem hard and maybe the idea of not shopping seems over whelming because you like I, love to shop, but the feeling will go away and living off the closet doesn't mean you can never shop again, but its about using what you have instead of buying more to add to your stockpile, if you decide to allow some shopping while living off the closet, just shop for stuff that brings you pure joy and stuff you need to simplify your life or that will really add value. Don't buy to just fill a void, or for the transaction.

Feeling Good!

I was hoping to post more by now but unfortunately life has just been really busy. normally for me busy means lazy, kind of an oxymoron but its true, when I get busy, I don't exercise, I don't eat healthy, I don't put effort into my goals, I just get lazy. However this time, I am busy because I am not being lazy, I am searching the closets, I am eating right and working out and I am really putting a whole lot of effort into saving money. 

I haven't completed all my projects that I mentioned in my last post, but I am working on them, and this weekend I hope to have an update with finished pictures on all those projects. 

This is what I did do this past week..

 - I made some bookmarks - These are really cute and will make awesome gifts. Bonus, I had all the materials on hand, just had to riffle thru the bead containers some. 

Colorful Bookmark!

Fruity Bookmark! 

I worked on making some paper roses. I am going to attach these to a Styrofoam ball for valentines decorations 

You start with tissue paper streamers, mainly used to decorate for a party 

After rolling and twisting, you end up with a pretty paper flower. 

I want them to look like this, but I am going to use Hot Pink, White and Red Flowers 

The other thing I did was I took pictures of the products I use daily on my face and hair, I thought it would be fun to document it so when I run out I can show you the difference, as well as how I look. It will be interesting to see if what I like and what I spend money on makes any difference in my appearance.

My skin routine first. I didn't think to get a picture of the face wash I use, but after washing, I use a vitamin C serum and then a moisturizer, (I use a sunscreen mixed into my foundation, I will share with you those products in my next post) 

I love this Vitamin C serum, I will be sad when its gone. 

I also have been using a lash growing serum, I am not sure if it is working or not, but I tell myself that it is. (Sorry for the fuzzy, blurry photo!) 

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Lash Pop, Eye Lash Growing Serum 

Below is the hair products I use. I am not a superstar when it comes to my hair. It never looks "great" and I honestly hate, despise, dread doing it. These products give me the best results (so far?) 

I found these three products make my hair look smooth, shiny and healthy.  

I add the Tresemme Hydrating Mist, then add then Smoothing Serum and add some of the Aquage to the roots for volume. I normally then blow dry with a paddle brush and then flat iron. 

Not sure if this is the best picture of my hair, but it definitely is the latest picture of me.  

Here it is! Day 1 of Closet Diving

So this past weekend I finally did a serious Closet Dive! I jumped right in and this is just some of the stuff I found.

First thing was a modem I bought about a year ago! I am sure some of you are thinking, why in the world would you buy a modem! Here is why, I was trying to save my mom some money, and the monthly rental fee from the cable company is kind of, well absolutely ridiculous, so I decided to buy her a modem, well before I knew it, she had her rented modem and if my mom is one thing, she is hesitant to change, poor lady cant even change the channel on the TV with out needing help getting it back to the previous channel. I love my mom, she is great mom and I know she loves me, but technology is not her strong suit and if something is working, don't change it! so the modem will be listed on E bay!

A few other things I found were scrap material that I am going to make some sachets out of, the material is perfect for Valentines Day.

I have some essential oils and whole flax seeds to fill them with. I am really super excited about this idea. I will post some pics of the finished products as soon as I get them made. 

I think I am also going to make some hanging heart decorations, I love decorating for the holidays and I have some really fun, easy idea's for the next few holidays! 

One of the ideas for Valentine's Day is paper roses,  I found some tissue paper streamers in the closet that I will use to make them, I am going to sit them around in bowls, glass vases, etc. 

These will be paper roses when I am all done.  

Pictures of these will be posted soon as well.

I am going to attack my clothes closet soon and send more stuff to the consignment store and try to come up with some cute outfits. I am really excited to actually start closet diving and make use of or get rid of some stuff..... as always, the rules change as I go. The one hard fast rule is NO BUYING, NO SPENDING, Free is OK, but no money of mine can be spent on more stuff.

I am encouraging you all to take the time to clean out your closets out as well... there are a few suggestions that will make it really easy....

1 - Get rid of anything that you just do not like, you will not wear it if you do not like it.
2- Get rid of duplicates, you do not need 3 of the same black t shirt.
3- Get rid of anything from a previous version of your life. If you use to be a party girl and you still have your party girl clothes and now you are a soccer mom, there is no reason to hold on to your mini skirts and halter tops.
4 - Get rid of anything that just doesn't fit, or fit your body shape. If you have a items in your closet that are your size but the fit makes you look like your pregnant and every time you wear it, you get asked when you are due, get rid of it! Also get rid of the clothes that are way to big or way to small.
5- Get rid of anything that is damaged - stained, ripped, busted zipper, etc. If it is an item you love and is worth spending the money on to get it repaired, then get it repaired, but don't keep items you won't or can't wear because they look horrible to wear.



Ok Ladies and Gents, that is all for now, I will be back soon with pictures and ideas and successes as well as some failures, I love that I am committed to doing this. I hope some of you will start your own journey and learn to live off your closet!

Digging around the closet

Since losing Lu, my days feel long and I am never really sure what I should do with myself or my time which is really weird because she never really took up much of my time, maybe it is all in my head, I am not sure but I kind of feel lost, unsure of what I should be doing with my time, this would be great if I had a whole bunch of motivation, but I really don't feel like doing much, which is a really bad combination. I promised myself this week I would do some digging in the closets and find some hidden treasures that I forgot all about and really start posting about something other than starting over again and again and again. I feel like a semi-failure due to the fact all I ever say is " well as long as you aren't giving up..... you haven't failed" which I truly believe, but after the 6-7th time of saying it, it kind of feels not so sincere and possibly even like an excuse.

2017 is going to be my year, even with such a rough start, I refuse to give in and give up so later this week, I will have either pictures or videos or maybe even both. I am excited and I am ready for a transformation.

Happy New Year!?... not so much :(

January 1 is the beginning of a new year, the fresh start we all long for, the time to make resolutions, try to better ourselves and start all over. The time of year when we aim to do better and to be better. I was in Jamaica on January 1, I was vacationing with Will and so today is my beginning.

Today I started eating better, started trying harder at being kinder and nicer. Trying to really make me a priority. I am really wanting to start 2017 off in a better direction. Take care of me, physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. I wish i could the first 8 days of the new year were good to me, and for the most part they were, unfortunately I had a few bad days.... I bruised a tooth (don't believe me? google it!) while in Jamaica and we said good bye to our beloved baby girl fur baby on the 5th. She had been fine when we left and was very sick when we got home, luckily we had a family member taking care of her so we are confident she wasn't sick the entire time we were gone, just the last day and half. I miss her so much, my heart aches... But life moves on and we can't let a loss get to us, we just have to keep moving forward so that is what I am doing, moving forward. I am back to trying to better myself and trying to really live life off of my stuffed, way over filled closets.
Just a reminder of what this blog is about - it is about taking the stuff I already have and using it, instead of buying more. My seams are busting and its the best way to save money. So starting today, January 9th, 2017, I am going to really push myself to not shop, to not buy, to root thru my already purchased stuff and try to break free from buying to just buy.

I really think it will be fun to document all the stuff I find and use and show you all my journey, I am expecting Jan - March to be pretty simple and Oct- Jan 2018 - to be quite rough, but I am super ready deep down inside to do this, so wish me luck my friend!

Starting Fresh - again.

I wish I could say that I am an excellent blogger, that my dedication, motivation and inspiration ran deep and that my organizational skills and personality for having things done timely and correctly meant that this blog of mine was always updated and that I stayed on track, unfortunately that is not the case.  I wish I could say that when I started this blog well over a year ago, I never gave up or in and that I stayed on course, but that would be lying, I have strayed off topic almost each week. My goals were never met, my rules were never followed, I have done pretty much horribly with each topic. I didn't lose much weight, I am still shopping, I am NOT Living off the Closet, at all! 
And although I would be in a great place, physically and financially had I not fallen off the wagon, I wouldn't be able to say this... Each day is a new beginning.. NO! each hour, each minute, each breath we take is a new beginning and never ever is it over. Every time we make a mistake, get off track, whatever, we never have to say " WE have failed" because it isn't over. Yes I have done horrible, but I am not done trying, today may be the day where I do well and reach all my goals! that is the beauty of life, nothing stops us, we just have to remember that we may stumble and fall, but if we get up then we are doing OK. 

So today is my day 1 (Again x 5?) but today I feel stronger and I may just find that today is my real day 1, and that next week or next month when I write, I will be able to tell you something different, hopefully I can tell you how wonderful it feels to stay on track... we will see . 

I will try to be better about updates and posts in general. 

I really want to attack the closets this week, with Christmas right around the corner I feel like now is the best time to find some stuff and take advantage of the goodies lurking in there.

Have a great day! and remember, NEVER quit trying!  

Stacie 

Decision Time

So here it is, here are the outfits I am considering wearing to the shower tomorrow. All of the outfits are made of things that have been hanging in the closet, alot of them have never been worn,I am going to try to really wear one of them, all I need from you are honest opinions.... please? 

White Lace Kimono with Black Pants 

Denim Swing Jacket with Rhinestone Embellishment worn with Bkack Pants

Cream and Seafoam Green Ombre Shirt with a Seafoam Green Tank and Dark Denim Jeans

 It is October but the weather tomorrow will be in the 80's so that is one more thing to take into consideration when making a the decision on what to wear.

Denim Shirt Dress with Belt

Craziness

For a lot of people when you are in your twenties, life is either one of two ways... Crazy busy because you are really enjoying the social scene, or really boring because you don't really enjoy the social scene and/or you can't really afford that sort of lifestyle OR you just haven't found your rhythm in  life yet.  I remember my early 20's, I was usually bored, an occasional trip to the mall, work of course and a lot of watching TV. My late 20's was spent at work or at a bar. As I got older and I knew what I enjoyed and I gained some financial freedom and could afford to actually go places and spend money on true entertainment, I thought I would have more time to relax and have a routine. Now I am in my 40's, and I don't ever go to the bar, or watch much TV, yet I am not relaxing nor do I have a routine. I often think to myself, what happened! What is going on? 

Let me tell you about my life currently. I spend majority of my time either working or sleeping, no big surprise there, I am like the majority of the adults who live in the civilized world.  I also spend a whole of time cleaning and "doing chores" as I call them. You know the stuff  that gets done yet as a 20 something, you don't stop to think about who actually does these things....  making grocery lists, filling bird feeders, taking the family pet to the vet, pulling chicken from the freezer to make sure there is something to cook for dinner, putting out holiday decorations, cleaning the car, taking the trash down to the curb on trash day, picking up a birthday gift, planning a surprise birthday party, visiting your parents, visiting your niece who lives 2 hrs away. Yes, its true, in your 20's you assume a lot of things just happen, maybe miraculously (here is a little hint, I am pretty sure it was your mom or dad who did them and it had nothing to do with magic) These things are on top of the normal weekly items that get done in most households - dusting, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, running the sweeper, grocery shopping, etc etc. I also spend a lot of time trying to not get old - planning and preparing healthy meals, meditating and exercising. My 40's definitely are a lot different then I thought they would be as far as having a routine and enjoying my relaxing time! Don't get me wrong, my life is pretty blessed; I have a wonderful fiance' and a great family, a good job and great health. So why am I telling you this? Why am I reminding or explaining to you how things go when you are in your 20's??  If i were in my early 20's right now and not in my early 40's I would have so much time to blog, somehow I really have lost the time to do what I love, to share all my thoughts, reviews and frustrations with you... Now that I have the knowledge, I don't have the hours, yet when I had the hours, I didn't have the knowledge, how is that for a twisted way of life. I always have such great intentions to write at least 3 times a week about something small that I found in the closet, but for reasons (filling bird feeders and making grocery lists) I have only been finding time 1 time a week. And usually its not even about me living off the closet. Its about my 20's! 

Here is my suggestion to you all, enjoy, live, love yourself, and take time to really do what makes you happy. I know I have to figure that out also, because working at work and working at home, doesn't make for a fulfilled life. Don't wait until your in your 70's or 80's and think " I wish i would have done more"  

The other thing I would suggest to you all is to just NOT GROW UP!   

I am making a promise to you today, I will be back on Friday Oct 14th with a post and I know exactly what the post will be about! I have a baby shower to go to on Sunday, it is at a steak house/restaurant, and I am not 100% sure what the dress code will be, so I am going to find a few things that I have in my closet and show you my outfit options and let you decide which ones to wear... I think I will show you 3-4 completely different outfits, and what ever one gets the majority vote, I will wear and I will show you all pictures of myself in the outfit at the shower. 

Have a great Wednesday!  

Going Thru the Closet

OK friends, I need your opinion!  

 I feel like I am overwhelmed. A part of me just wants to go thru all the closets, sell what I can, and give the rest away. My whole plan was to keep everything I have and use it instead of buying more, but to be honest,  I just want the clutter to be gone!!! script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js">

I don't want mountains and piles of stuff, whether it usable or not, I just don't want it. 
I want to declutter and to simplify!  



I want to a fresh start, I want to be a different person. Financially and emotionally! I want to not need stuff to make me feel better. I want to feel good all on my own! 

 Let me know what you think? Do I just trash all the stuff I have, or do I keep it and try to use it???

I need your opinions!

P.s. A puppy nose to make you smile!  

Taco Tuesday

Today is National Taco Day!  Yeeaah, for those of you who loves tacos!  I myself am a taco lover, however I really have to be craving one in order to truly enjoy it and I am just not feeling it today! 

National Taco Day ! October 4th!  

So lets talk about my Fall Bucket List!  

I got to cross a few things off the list, unfortunately I still have a long ways to go.. Hopefully I can get it all done before Fall is over. 

I want to tell you all about the ones I got done. 

I went to a pumpkin patch! Will and I went and we got pumpkins, hay bales, mums and kettle corn! It was a lot of fun. We went to get all of our fall decorations for the front of the house. It looks amazing!  We also went into a haunted bus and a corn maze at the pumpkin patch. It was a really great time at the fall fest!  

Me at the Fall Fest - Pumpkin Patch!  

I have been burning my fall candles for a while now. I am burning a really awesome one, called "FALL into Love", it smells like Fall, but not too sweet or to rich. It has a hint of green apple, some sage and thyme and maybe some cedar wood scents?  I bought my candle at Kohl's.  Sonoma - Fall Into Love Jar Candle

Every morning I go for a walk before work, in the dark. It is usually around 5 am, and I absolutely love it. The quietness, the darkness, the beginning of a new day! What really is awesome about these walks are when its clear out, you can see all the stars in the sky, they are gorgeous. I usually take 5- 10 mins to just gaze at them! Its a sight like no other!  


This week I am going to bake some Pumpkin Bread to take my niece when my mom and I go to visit on Sunday! One more thing ill be able to mark off the list. 

Sunday Funday!

Sunday has always been a bittersweet kind of day for me. I love the idea of one day of the week being a rest day, a relaxing, do what makes you happy kind of day. However it also means that tomorrow is back to work day, and more often than not, I still have household "chores" to do, and the thought of going back to work with out all the cleaning or errand running done, makes me kind of sad. Today is super bitter sweet because I am off work tomorrow but its because of a funeral I have to attend. My Uncle Bob passed away on Thursday and it was some what unexpected, so as happy as I am that I am off work  tomorrow, I am sad that the reason I am off is for a funeral. 

Now on to some exciting closet stuff, Yeahhh!  

I found 2 products in my closet that I have been using  the  last few weeks, and  I want to share them with you.

These two items have made a significant difference. My face feels so soft and it also looks younger! Honest to goodness!  I am hooked on these! 

The products are from a line called Posh.

I ended up with these items because my niece is a consultant for the company and I can't lie, I only bought them to help her out but now I am so in love with them.

So the first item I am using and loving is called "Never Grow Old".  It is a serum and I use it 2 times a day; I use it in the morning under my moisturizer and at night after I wash my face before bed. One of the many things I love about this product is the way it smells... I love it! It is full of healthy essential oils that are just fabulous! 

The other item I am using regularly is called "The Healer" it is a skin stick and I also use this on my face, however this can be used anywhere your skin needs a little TLC.
I have used it on dry elbows and heels, I have put it on bug bites, itchy rashes,  etc. It is really awesome.

This is a do it all skin stick, you can use it anywhere you need some TLC

I have roscea, and I struggle daily with redness on my cheeks. I usually have to load up on foundation to cover it and not feel self conscience but with these products the redness is so minimal I can get away with a very normal amount of makeup.

  

I am going to show you two pictures of my face, one before using the items and one after and ill let  you decide if they work!  

I know that the pictures aren't in the same clothes and my hair isn't done the same, but one is before and one is after. I promise!  

Before I started using Posh products.  

After using Never Grow Old and The Healer.

So I highly encourage anybody who is looking for some really great products to look into Posh. I put a link to my nieces website below, she is an excellent consultant and she will be more than happy to help you figure out what product is best for you and hook you up with all the best sales, deals, etc. 

Kaitlyn's Posh Site. 

I believe to be 100% happy and healthy you need to take care of yourself! Eating well, getting some activity and relaxing and decompressing!  

Posh carries so many things to help you relax and look fabulous! 

P.S.  friends, I am starting on my Fall Bucket list today... Ill update you all tomorrow!