Spring Decor!

I love Springtime!   Warmer days, blooming flowers, lighter clothing and sunshine!    And I cannot lie, my birthday falls during this time of year so I've secretly loved it all my life because it meant my birthday would soon be here.

What's not to love?  Ok, maybe allergies, but other than that??  

This picture makes me think of Spring....just gorgeous. 

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When I think of bringing Spring into decor, I think of greens, blues, yellows and all of the colors of Easter.   While Easter is a religious holiday, I focus my decorations more on the bunnies and eggs for the kids, but of course some beautiful religious touches are beautiful as well.   I already shared a few of the Spring touches I added to my own home HERE when I was getting ready for St. Patrick's Day, but I've added a few more things to make it more Easter-y (a new word!)

For Easter I left the basics alone and simply added some homemade garland and a few Easter eggs.  Empty Easter eggs of course, but my little guy is trying to come up with a plan on how to get up on the mantle because he thinks the Easter bunny will fill them.  I better take those down the night prior or we'll be spending our Easter at the ER...lol

I got the idea for this super simple garland from this...

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I found my plastic eggs at JoAnn Fabrics for 50% off this past week and used 2 packages of the big size to make this.   It was super easy.  I just threaded a thin ribbon through the holes on the top and bottom of the eggs.  You could use thread and a needle if you want, but I wanted something a little sturdier.  

It looked good after this, but it needed something more.  So....I added scraps of ribbon that I had laying around from the Poshed Up business. And voila....I love it!   Even my 10 year old who is not so generous with the compliments, but oh so generous with critique said quote "I LOVE IT!"  Well I'm glad I made someone's day!

It really was super duper simple and it may have to stay up a little longer because it added so much color to our mantle!

I also spruced up our hutch in our front hallway that I love to decorate and added my Easter bunnies to the ledge by my kitchen sink. 

I made this little guy 10 years ago at a ceramics class and I still love him.  And this little guy hiding behind the faucet I found at Home Goods years ago.  They actually look like a pair.

 And I added back my sequins eggs that I just love for a little Easter bling.

And the hutch got a few Springy touches.  It will stay like this for awhile now until Summer really starts.

Obviously these urns and finials are a few of my favorites because I keep them out all the time.  This picture does not do them justice, but they are so pretty with a brown patina on them.

I added some sparkly yellow eggs and my blue urn stayed from my winter themed decor which you can re-visit HERE if you so desire.  It just moved from the mantle to the hutch.

Lastly I added this hurricane with yellow and green split peas as an anchor and some branches of Forsythia.  I love these flowers.  I have vivid memories of the Forsythia branches at the house I grew up in and taking pictures outside them on Easter.  

I found a few other fun ideas to add some Spring/Easter to your own home.  Check these great ideas out!

Here are a few other adorable Easter garland ideas.

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I also love hurricanes filled with just about anything.

More greens and yellows with either fresh or faux lemons and limes as your anchors.  I do use faux lemons too as we get closer to summertime.  I know Pottery Barn sells them...check them out HERE.

I also loved this Spring mantle with the greens and a touch of purple.

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I so wish I could keep some fresh flowers around the house this time of year especially, but my son's allergies are so over the top already that I cannot add to it.  So...I'll just suck it up and enjoy them the other three seasons of the year.  If I could though....I would love any of these Springy bouquets.

I love using food items to help add color. Have you ever noticed how many food ideas are really colorful?   How about limes, lemons and oranges in your flower arrangement?  Probably not something you would think of, but they are really beautiful.   Try these ideas...

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A few things to know....or things I've learned from doing this...

1.  They are so easy to put in the vase because they tend to stick to the glass

2.  You should really use another glass or smaller vase inside the main one because the fruit does tend to wilt the flowers faster

I also loved this simple arrangement...

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Lastly, I loved this printable all about Springtime...

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And this one for Easter...great and cheap additions to your mantle or home.

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Yay for Spring!  I have some fun Easter crafts and food ideas to share this upcoming weekend and week as we quickly approach Easter!

Poshed Up

Fashion Pins of the Week

I normally focus my Pins of the Week post on all sorts of things, but .....this week I'm focusing solely on fashion finds.   I have been pinning tons of warmer weather clothing because A- I cannot wait for the weather to come and B- we are headed to Disney soon and I want to start packing to make the trip seem sooner ( a little game I play with myself...don't ask)

Anyway, I have found some really great and very versatile spring/summer outfits.  The only catch is that they all involve very short shorts which I don't wear.  Well, not yet at least.  I am hoping they are my motivation to move shorter in my shorts this summer. To date, I've always focused on the shorts that go to the knee and while I love them, I also LOVE these outfit ideas.

This one is one of my favorites for so many reasons - I love green, I love my jean jacket...it's like a baby blanket to me, and I love the flat sandals.  The older I get, the more I like them :)

I love the simplicity of this outfit.  Plain Jane top and cute khakis...so fun and so easy to dress up or dress down depending on the occasion.  And those Tory Burch sandals are to DIE FOR, no?   What a steal at only $195...lol

Again I love the simplicity...an old denim shirt and white shorts.   Not in love with the sandals, but love all of the other accessories.

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The next two ideas come from one of my favorite style icons.  While I don't have her body (yet of course...a girl can dream), I love her sense of 'girl next door' style.  I'm a pretty Plain Jane myself so I really appreciate it in her.   

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I also adore Carrie Underwood's sense of style, but since she's probably half my age, I should stick with Jennifer Aniston...lol

Every single piece of this outfit makes me smile...I just wish I owned it all.

And this last one is high on my list as well...but I'd have to substitute the pink...not a good color for me!

And so now comes the work.  Here are a few great leg workouts I found that are going to help my cause. 

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While I might not be close yet, here's to hoping.  I found this picture of me from high school that just made me laugh out load at those chicken legs I used to have. 

See I loved red even back then...lol   Not sure why I had such a miserable look on my face, because this was my senior prom.

And in college too. I know they are still in there somewhere...lol. 

Denim and white...always a classic.  Lol....oh the outfits that I thought were so cool back then!

To the start of something thinner.....

Poshed Up

New Items in the Shop...

YEAH...finally right?   I've been talking about these new items that are coming for awhile and they are finally here.  So far, there are 2 new beach bags listed with more to follow this week.  I'm hoping to have four more by the end of the week.  High aspirations :)

I hope you like them!!

You can click on the link HERE to see the details on this bag.

And to view this bag, you click HERE.

Thanks for your continued support!!

Poshed Up

Spring has SPRUNG!

Spring has finally arrived and I could not be happier about the warmer weather we've been experiencing.  I've been able to have my windows open and kids exhausting themselves with outdoor activities.....I love it!   I'm not sure if it's going to stick around, but either way...it's a great change.

With Spring's approach, you can hear many people talking about the need for "spring cleaning".   As you know, I don't like the word "cleaning"  because to me it equates to boring work.  I instead like to call it "organizing" because that makes me smile :)

Anyway, I started our series on Operation Organization in January and you click HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE to see the first few entries into the series.  As I mentioned, with all of the fun holidays interspersed since January (Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, etc.)  it's been hard for me to stay on track.  But....I've still been busy each week picking an area to organize.

Just this week I tackled my hall closet that holds our coats and winter wear.  I took everything out, had a donate basket for those items that no longer fit, a basket for those coats that need to be washed before storing and the rest went back in.  It looks great and it feels great to have it all put away until we need it again.  Hopefully not too soon!

It's almost time to start talking about fun ideas for Easter, so.....I wanted to squeeze in one more entry into 

OPERATION

O r G a N i Z a T i O n

  So...today I'm going to focus on Spring "Organizing" the Junk Drawer.  We all have one or maybe two drawers or baskets or something that we just put stuff...right?  Please tell me you all have at least one????  This area is the bane of my existence at my house.  Our junk drawers, yes drawerS, get out of hand very quickly.   Back in January, I tackled both of them and I'm happy to say that we've kept them this way since!!!  Hallelujah!

The main junk drawer is in our kitchen so I was looking at it every single day and hated looking at the mess and clutter. Here is the before:

A total mess and full of all the things that had no real home as well as some that belonged here.  It was that drawer that we all just threw stuff in, but never took anything out of it!

So...everything came out (rule #1 of de-cluttering/organizing), everything got sorted (garbage, keep, move to another location) and then I re-organized it.  I had these great bins from Target that were already being used and I put them back.  This is what they look like if you're in need of some reasonably priced drawer organizers...

They come in all different shapes and sizes and can be used in just about any configuration to fit your personal needs.  I am lucky to have wide and deep drawers in my kitchen so I was able to use quite a few.   So here's my blank slate.

And here is the after...

Everything has a place and there's still tons of space empty so I won't here, "I just stuck it anywhere because there was no room.".   

We now even have a little space for the miscellaneous screws, nails, etc.  Not sure how we accumulate so many of these, but I was constantly finding them in random spaces and in small Ziploc bags.

I also converted a drawer I previously used for my extra silverware to an everyday/schoolwork drawer.  It has been sooooo helpful.   I got the inspiration from one of my favorite websites 'Sunny Side Up'.  

Check it out HERE.

I don't know why I didn't think of doing this sooner, but it's been great.  This is where I store my Erin Condren planner (which I adore if I haven't mentioned yet), our family binder which I walked you through HERE, and all of of our school work in progress, supplies to do homework, etc.  This drawer gets lot of action!

Here is our new drawer...

On the left is our family binder and my planner.  I take my planner with me everywhere and keep it out all day long because I'm truly lost without it.  At night, I keep it in here to try to reduce the counter clutter.  Have I mentioned how much I hate counter clutter??

Behind the binder and planner are our school directories with phone #'s, etc. that we use often.

In the middle section I have a bin with bills and mail that come in day to day and they stay here until I have time to sort through them and file them.  I have been working really hard to live by the "never touch it twice" theory.  In other words, you put it here until you're ready to open it and immediately file it or put it where it belongs.   The idea is that you avoid opening the mail, putting it in a pile on the counter, leaving it there until you're ready to move it to its ultimate destination.    It's working so far!

On the right side is our homework corner.  I have extra paper here, blank note cards for school notes, folders with worksheets that my little guy is working on and any other homework aids we may be using.  I also have extra pens and pencils here for easy access when I'm writing a note or adding something to my planner or binder.    

This drawer makes me happy....sad, but true!

And as you can see, I have not gone through the bills and coupons from this week yet...lol   

The last thing I just recently added to the cabinets directly above this new drawer is these beauties from Martha Stewart's new line at Staples.  I always have a few papers that just don't have a home because I'm either using them during the week, they are something I refer to often or I just don't know where to put them.  So....these are working out great so far!

These pockets come in clear or blue and they stick to the cabinet and are easily removable if you choose to move them or get rid of them.  I invested in one small one...perfect for small notes, papers, business cards, etc.

And one larger one that holds an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper perfectly.

The are both fairly deep so you can fit a bunch of stuff in them.  She also has tiered folders like these...

And if you open the cabinets, you can barely even see these inside if you worry about what the inside of your cabinets looks like.

Here are a few other great ideas for your own junk drawer or paper storage in your kitchen that I thought you might enjoy.  One common theme you'll see throughout the drawers is the use of containers.  When you are dealing with a large drawer with small items, compartmentalizing things in containers really helps.  Some of these are even labeled. I think if I took it that far my husband would think I've officially gone off the deep end.

This one is so clean and organized....love it!   If you click on the link below the picture you can even get the free printable labels.

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The use of a cupcake tray in this one is genius...great for small items!

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If you are tight on drawer space or don't want to use one to store your things....these are some great alternatives.

In this box, she stores a hanging file for each family member and their "stuff" as well as her family binder.

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Similarly, she created a bin on the wall with a file folder for each family member and a large board for the smaller items and calendars.   

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I hope this provides you with some easy ideas to spruce up your own "junk" drawer or area in your own home and make it your "junk-free" area or drawer!

Poshed Up