Mustache Beer Glasses - ha ha!

Great for a superbowl party or even as a Valentine's day gift?

Find fun ideas for Game Day with us on pinterest!

Valentine's Day Gifts for Her

Valentine's day is only 3 weeks away! Don't get caught without a great gift for that special gal in your life! Here are some great ideas in range of prices and styles for everyone from your little girl to the love of your life.

I love the classic look of this dresser top jewelry box. A great price point too for V-Day!
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Pack More in that Dresser

Now if only I could keep it that way…

Find great tips for decorating and keeping the bedroom neat and tidy with us on pinterest!

How to Display Kids Artwork

I've got 3 young children, and I know how difficult it can be to part with their countless masterpieces. One way I deal with this dilemma is by a simple system of string and clothespins. I have these hanging over their beds and also in the playroom. All you do is tack a piece of twine or yarn to the wall and the artwork can be held up by clothespins - simple, cheap and easy! You can do as many levels as you like, adding to it over the years to cascade down to the floor if you want. The kids can move things around and easily do the hanging themselves.

Here are some other Ideas for storing/saving/using kids art:
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Citrus Vinegar Cleaners

I already use white vinegar to clean almost everything in the house - love the idea of adding citrus scents to it!

Find great tips and tricks with us on pinterest!

4 Weeks to an Organized Home: Week 3 - Closet Mania!

Fear not my friends, closets are easier than you think to organize. They have something going for them that you might not have thought of: they don’t have to be pretty. When you are organizing any other area of the home, you have to consider aesthetics, but with the closet, not so much. This allows you to search high and low for unused storage space and to make use of inexpensive storage items (plastic).
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Cone Planters

Such a cool idea for kids or grownups! Start plants in ice cream cones and plant right into the ground.

Find great garden ideas with us on pinterest!

Use the Underside of your Stairs

How cool is this? This is space-efficiency at its finest, I must say!

Find great ideas for organizing small spaces on pinterest with us!

Decorate Your Winter Blues Away!

This time of year can be a bummer for some of us. The holidays are over, but it’s not quite spring yet, so where does that leave us? We have our eyes on the prize – warmer weather, sunny days, outdoor activities – but the weather is not ready to permit such activities. I understand the winter blues. If you too suffer from them, then I suggest you go with the flow and focus your energy on indoor decorating.
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Dips for Football Gameday

Easy recipes for finger food dips for football game day or any day!

Find great tips for entertaining with us on pinterest!

More Gameday Fun…

Or for camping, this is a great idea for instant starting charcoal!

Find more great tips for Game Day with us on pinterest!

Weekender Tips for DIY Fix-Its

There is nothing as satisfying as fixing something in your home (or apartment) without having to call a professional and open up your wallet. I cleaned all of my bathroom sink traps last weekend. It took an hour to do three sinks. It is a very unpleasant job but it is oh-so-nice to have those drains working again! My clogs turned out to be not in the trap but rather above them in the sink. Removing the traps allowed me to shove a very long screwdriver up there to remove hair and what is best described as black sludge. Here is a great article from This Old House with a list of 47 things you can do yourself. So get on it, Weekenders!

Football Fan Mat

Living in Northern California, I might just be partial to the team shown here…

Find fun ideas for Game Day with us on Pinterest! and…go Niners!

Makes me think of spring…

Too cute - great for a small hamper in the kids room or bathroom, or as a shopping/beach tote!

Find great ideas for kids and more with us - see what we're pinning!

Standing Workstation - DIY-style

I know, it looks silly, but don't laugh at me just yet! I've taken enough grief from co-workers over the years, anyway. But I prefer to stand up a few hours of my work day while on the computer. It may sound odd to some, but it's actually very comfortable, and not an unheard-of practice in the working world. I like to switch back to sitting after a while, though, as it's not good for the back to stand absolutely still for prolonged periods either. My solution is a workstation that can go both ways. As you can see in the picture, I use a file box, stepping stool and photo boxes to achieve the right height for monitor, keyboard and mouse. It takes me about 15 seconds to switch from one to the other. The benefits of standing while working are better alertness, reduced strain on the back and neck, and even enhanced functioning of the lymphatic system (really, look it up!) It also has completely eliminated that 3 o'clock dip in energy for me. If you use a notebook computer, this system is also easy to achieve with a height-adjustable laptop stand (this one goes up to 39").

Happy typing, worker bees!

Pretty Dipped Cans

Dip cans of any size in paint halfway for pretty desk organizing with an urban edge…

Join us on pinterest for tips on an organized office!

4 Weeks to an Organized Home: Week 2 - The Office

Make your office work for YOU. Another major source of headaches in the home, the office can be a place of calm function, but more often than not, it is the center of the perfect storm of the entire house. It’s important to remember that 90% of what is bothering you is the actual desk TOP, because, well, it looks messy! If you can keep that desktop free of clutter, you are well on your way to making peace with your office space.

Now, a list of what really works in the office:

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Style Spotlight: A Punch of Color

We all get tired of seeing the same old decorating styles in our homes at some point. But instead of going for a whole re-design or room makeover, sometimes all a room needs is a little punch of color to liven things up! Here are five easy ways to add a little drama to your decor:

I love the green and the retro look of this chair. It's also a great choice for smaller rooms and areas in the home.
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More Canning Jar Fun…

Honestly, What CAN'T you do with chalkboard paint?

See what we're pinning for an organized kitchen…

Toy Storage: Think Outside the Box

When you live in a smaller home with kids, the challenge is always how to store all of their toys, artwork, video games and other kid-like items without having primary colored boxes infringing upon your grown-up style! What mom or dad really wants to look at those red, blue and yellow plastic bins while catching up on their favorite shows at night after the kids are in bed? Yet we all know that toys in the living room are a fact of life once you have kids.

Here are some clever ways to incorporate toy storage into your decor without sacrificing your style:
1. Storage Ottomans - Choose from microfiber, faux leather and more to match your style. For maximum toy storage you will need either two cube ottomans or a long, rectangular one. Be sure to look for lids that lift off completely or safety hinges to protect little fingers.
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Weekend DIY-er Tip - Reuse Old Paint!

Did you know you can re-tint old paint? If you have unused paint in your garage, call around to home improvement centers and you are sure to find one in your area that will re-tint the paint for a small fee - this saves you money and saves the planet from toxic waste! Be sure to stay in the same color zone (light or dark, etc).

Glass Frame Whiteboards

This would be great in the kitchen to organize the whole family's schedule.

Find great tips with us on pinterest.

Out With the Old?

I found this slideshow from House Beautiful interesting. It's all of the decor ideas that people would like to see disappear in 2013. I hope stainless steel doesn't go out of style, as we just re-did our kitchen. But I could live without the antlers…

What do you think? Are there any design trends you'd like to see get the heave-ho this year?

15 Minutes a Day to a Clean House?

It's worth a try - I have to vacuum more frequently though and my floors take 1 hr to mop. Why is it always the floors?

Find great tips to streamline your home with us on pinterest!

Cheers to Stemware Storage!

I know I might be a little late on this one, but those of us who went on vacation the week after New Year's may just still be cleaning up after Christmas. This year I invested in some beautiful champagne flutes as I hosted both Christmas and New Year's eve at my house. So I'm adding to my fancy-dish storage collection a special keeper for my festive glassware. Stemware chests come in all sizes, colors and various degrees of protection. There are even special chests for balloon style wine glasses. You certainly don't have to do this for your everyday wine glasses, but it's a great idea for special-occasion glassware, and in particular, champagne glasses (because what else are they for but special-occasions, right?) For something as fragile as thin glass, I suggest a hard-shell outer box with dividers on the inside, like this fluted stemware storage chest. Stemware storage boxes do a much better job than the old cardboard and newspaper diy models, and are relatively inexpensive - a great investment to keep your glassware in great shape in between uses!

New Year Resolution for a Better Planet

So another New Year has come and gone and yet again you are grasping for a good resolution. But maybe you are like my wife and your problem is not sticking with your resolution, it is finding an issue that you can work at all year. My wife does not smoke nor does she drink all that much, she spends tons of time with her family and she works out just about the appropriate amount. That covers some of the big ones – quit smoking, lose weight, cut down on drinking, spend more time with the family.

This year we wanted to do a joint resolution and do something that we had never done before.
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Olive Oil Candle - DIY

Love this simple project using olive oil, wick, paper clip and a jar. Add essential oils for eco-friendly scent.

Join us on pinterest for more DIY fun!

4 Weeks to an Organized Home: Week 1 - The Garage

I know you were hoping that I would pick anything but the garage as the first place to start on our organizing journey together, but unfortunately, as the kids say, the first is the worst in this case. The reason for this is that in the weeks to come, you will likely be bringing more stuff into the garage for storage.

So first, a thorough cleanout is in order.
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I Heart Maps…

This would make such a cute gift for a friend or loved one with whom you've traveled!

Find fun diy decorating tips with Stacks at pinterest!

January - Get Organized Month

I suspect that even before January was officially named “Get Organized Month”, it already was the de facto month of choice for organizing, simply due to the fact that it is the New Year with resolutions of organization topping many a person’s list. But in celebration of the official Get Organized Month, we are offering a 4 week plan to an organized home. Mind you, this is not a cleaning list, but an organizing guide.
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