KimberlyMichelle » homey

christmas around the house

Kim — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:53:07 +0000

As we say goodbye to the Christmas season today, I also know that means that this weekend will be filled with lots of unhooking and storing away the fun memories of this holiday.

This year was the first year we got a real tree for our house! We finally got to use all of those LED lights we bought on sale 3 years ago and decked the tree in color and fun! And since we hadn’t been putting out our personal ornaments on the tree, we loved the discovery process of seeing just what ornaments we even had stored away! (I had lots and lots of crescent moons from my college days and teacher ornaments too!)

Of course there had to be at least one Tink on the tree! (Momma L holds the full collection on her tree)

Lena’s ornament contribution from this year: a foot and hand reindeer!

And I got to add one more Lemon to the tree courtesy of the lovely Mrs. Cherry Pie and Persimmon Images.

A view from the tree from above in the loft…

And the “newly crafted” giant muslin window bows for the living room! [I’ll be posting the tutorial shortly… just missing a few key photos of the process] I really wish we could live in a cutesy house and have them up year round!

The loft housed the “fake” tree and all of its golden ornaments… along with windows dressed in tinsel and bronzed ornaments that I made to match our wall art.

The house will feel so empty and sparse without the décor… perhaps that’s why so many people start redecorating in the early months of the year???

Are you already missing all of the spirit of the season around your house?

tackling the baking cabinet

Kim — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:52:00 +0000

Dear friends… let me reveal to you the secret reason why I don’t like to bake that often.

May I present to you… the baking cabinet…

Oh yes. Look at that wonderful mismatch of “stuff” just crammed in there for the sake of being in one place. No organization past “this container fits on this shelf” … no semblance of order whatsoever. But, everything is self-contained in one location. That’s the only thing my poor baking cabinet had going for itself at all.

I decided to actively change this cabinet. Take back the power from the clutter and fix this whole mess. The main problem, though, was everywhere I looked for inspiration there were people spending way too much money for “organizing containers” than I ever needed to! (seriously OXO… $100?!?!) No one is going to see my organizers on display, since we don’t have an open pantry, so I really just need things that will get the job done and no more or no less.

And, as usual, my train of thinking led me down the street to the bastion of all things cheap and homey… IKEA. I originally went in there with the intention of buying their clear “OXO-like” IKEA 365+ containers, but while I was stuffing my cart with them, I found these guys instead:

JAMKA organizers!

And it turns out that the tall ones hold more than the IKEA 365 containers, and you get two containers for the price of one tall container ($5.99). Um… yes please! The smaller set was only $3.99, and they even had more small containers for $2.49 for a 3-pack.

So… for $37.10, I walked out of IKEA with 15 organizers (4 BIG, 4 medium, 2 medium-small, 2 small and 3 compact) and some serious excitement for what I was about to do!

And, ladies & gents, here it is:

Yes, my baking cabinet might not be as elaborate as those plastered all over pinterest, but it accomplishes what I need it to, and is definitely a space and time saver!

Here’s how I organized the shelves…

Top Shelf

I’ve designated this shelf to be the home of random baking necessities (see the cupcake carrier and “Cold Stone” marble ice cream slab) as well as my pre-packaged mixes. So when I buy a new mix, it’s going up to the tippy top shelf and it won’t ever block out any essential baking ingredients.

Middle Shelf

This is the “essentials” shelf. I packaged all of my sugars and flours into the tall containers, and I’ve organized the other main essentials to the left of them. I’ve also pulled the containers out a bit so that there’s space in the back to keep the overflow ingredients, like extra flour and sugar! Sometimes I stock up during sales or big baking sprees, and it’s too much to keep in the plastic container, so it now has a “hidden” place to go!

Bottom Shelf

And here we’ve got the “fun stuff” shelf! All of my cookie cutters are in the box in the back, and food colorings are in the tub up front along with icing tips stored in those cupcake wrapper packages. I’ve also got my chocolate chips and almond flour stowed away in the containers.

So once again… the BEFORE/AFTER shot:

And even without tons of fancy labels, I’m pretty darn happy with my 90 minutes of organization spent on the cabinet! It already made making the “ecstasy tart” super easy… and I’m sure all of this will come in handy for the holiday baking season!

the new better homes and gardens (& something new for you too!)

Kim — Fri, 20 May 2011 16:35:21 +0000

And the winners are…

Congratulations and I hope you enjoy your new magazine subscriptions!!!

Today marks the launch of the brand new Better Homes and Gardens website (bhg.com)… which is an incredible improvement over the old and dated site! When I’d want to share a recipe that I found in the magazine, I’d visit the website hoping to be able to point people to the drool-worthy photos on the site. Sadly, the pictures were so small and the site was so cumbersome to manage, I’d just stay away from linking and sharing.

But now… all of that is gone… and what’s left is a gorgeous new site with big pictures everywhere!

They’ve also integrated picture slideshows in all of their features, which is really convenient for finding inspiration for decorating, recipes or gardening. (p.s. seriously… their gardening sections are always so helpful!!!)

My favorite new feature though? The fact that it will be updated daily! We’ve truly gotten to a place where static websites are a thing of the past, and I’m happy to see that magazines have picked up the pace and will be dynamic and changing online even though they only change monthly in my mailbox!

So what’s new for you then… other than having a great new place to hang out online?

Well, five lucky blog readers will be getting a full year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens!

Just leave a comment and share what advice/tips you’d be looking for on either BHG.com or in the magazine, and you’re entered to win!

I’ll pick the winners after 8pm on Sunday night… good luck!!

if you send mail–make sure your name is pretty!

Kim — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:48:56 +0000

[source]

Guess what just arrived by mail yesterday? My Three Designing Women stamp!!! I’ve wanted to get one forever, but just never pushed the ORDER button until I was finally compelled to do so a few weeks ago. And I love it! LOVE IT! (The irony is that I made one for a holiday exchange over 3 years ago for a friend… but didn’t make one for myself!)

I chose the design above and adore the BIG FAT M on the top of the stamp. Seems super important and classy all at the same time!

I think these are a wonderful wedding/housewarming present for your friends and family and will definitely be used and loved by all! The hardest part is really just deciding which one to order in the first place!

I’ve found that expressionery.com has the best coupon deals towards these stamps, so if you’re in the hunt for one, check out retailmenot.com for a recent coupon code to use!

For now, here’s two you can use today:

2011SAVE = 35% off of all purchases (expires 4/5/11)

SAVE4MOM = 30% off over $50, 35% off over $75 and 40% off purchases over $100 (expires 5/10/11)

Any other Three Designing Women fans out there?!?

maybe our neighbors suspect its just for fall…

Kim — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:03:01 +0000

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A few weeks ago, we painted our front door. ORANGE. We painted it ORANGE. Bright crazy shiny wild ORANGE.
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I was going to take a photo of our house and go “photoshop-crazy” to find the appropriate orange color to pick, but Mr. M thought it would be much more fun to just run into Lowe’s, pick out an awesome orange color and run with it. And that’s just what we did.
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It took one coat of primer and 3 coats of orange paint. And now we have the brightest door in a neighborhood of muted suburban track home hues.
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I decided not to let the orange door steal the show completely, so I headed to the fabric store for something to cover up our green bench seat. It needed some orange in it, and a few other colors to balance out the door.
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And now I just need a couple of more orange splashes to add to the porch and I’ll reveal the new look! I’m so lucky it’s fall and orange is around every corner right now!
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simple decorations get me every time…

Kim — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:35:35 +0000

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I adore simple decorations. Things that look so elegant in their minimal state of being. But I loathe paying lots of money for it. I actually bought some sea glass the other day only because it was on sale… which is silly, because I adore sea glass and wish it was sitting in vases and trays all over the house.
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Luckily things like this wooden flag are both simple and cheap to make. Too bad we don’t have a beachside cottage in Carmel where we could hang this. Bollocks.
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In other home decorating news, I’m really coming around to the idea of an ORANGE front door. A group of neighborhood bandit kids have taken a liking to picking all of our colorful frontyard flowers… so our landscaping is drab and just various shades of green. And people will think we’re being extra festive for fall, until they realize it’s hanging around through Christmas and Easter! Mr. M is always down for anything orange, so it looks like I’ll need to spruce up my photoshopping skills and pick out the most “well-suited” orange I can find to match the rest of our exterior paint.
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Ah yes… 2 years later and we’re still finding ways to decorate and change things up in our house…

little april showers in our front yard

Kim — Thu, 13 May 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Yes… I am aware of the fact that it is now May, and not April. But this lovely garden fountain was a birthday present from my parents, and it now share little april showers on a daily basis with us and the whole neighborhood. I adore fountains – little tabletop ones, wall fountains, giant waterfalls, and pedastal fountains galore. Heck, I even enjoy the chocolate ones! Mr. M and my Dad set it up on Mother’s Day, and I’m more than a little obsessed with watching it run each day.
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Drip, drip, drop, Little April Shower…

dreaming of a clean closet

Kim — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:41:11 +0000

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Before the baby arrived, I made a conscious effort to clean up the closet. It certainly didn’t get organized by any means, but all those clothes/shoes/etc. I neglected for 6 months did get sorted and stowed away. But I’m still dreaming of a super organization system in there… and I’ll still get big wide-open eyes if I ever step foot in a Container Store in the near future.
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That’s why I’m pretty excited to see this new line of home organization tools from Real Simple via Bed Bath & Beyond. (This is what I get for watching the Today Show every morning!)
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There are sweater organizers (that are actually solid enough to hold and not sag), accessory drawers that give you hanging space back, and a cool purse organizer as well. And I wouldn’t mind using a $5/20% off coupon to grab up some of these either!!!
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the first big baby reveal… the nursery

Kim — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:30:41 +0000

Sure there are some more finishing touches to add… but I figured it wasn’t fair not to share all the hard work that Mr. M put into Baby M’s new room. Sadly the photos are still not as nice as I wanted them… but I think they can make do for now! I will fully admit that outside of holding a couple of things for him, he did this all on his own from concept to design… and he did a darn good job on everything! So without further adieu… I present Baby M’s new room:

The view of the room from the hallway door. The room was originally just the cochise color that you see on the topside of the room… so Mr. M added in all the chair rail and painted as well.

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The crib and “Lilo and Stitch” artwork (from Mr. M’s collection way back in the day) above the crib.
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The changing table and custom mini surfboards.
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The wall shelves — with the edges painted to match the crib colors.
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The very fun birdie wall mobile — hanging above the hallway door.
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And finally, the closet area… with the hamper, clock, and some old artwork from my first apartment (that also had a Hawaiian theme).
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I’m sure this won’t be the last time you see the nursery… but it may be the cleanest it will be for some time to come! I hope it was worth the wait… and don’t worry… if there’s a girl on the way, I’m sure it’ll easily be infused with many hibiscus flowers!

adios old… hello stainless!

Kim — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:24:00 +0000

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Dear Mr. Dishwasher-that-came-with-the-house,

I know you were only a mere 5 years old, but sadly you just never lived up to your potential. We were happy to see that you were in apparently good working order when we came into the house, but that’s when you began to exhibit strange characteristics. Sometimes you just wouldn’t rinse the dishes all the way. Other times, your water never made it to the second level. Worse still were the times that you’d cover everything in the dishwasher with sticky “gunk” and we’d think that you were broken enough to warrant a repair. We tried our best to get someone to come and fix you, but even after they took our check they told us it was a hopeless case. They told us you’d never do what your label said you would – you just weren’t built to live up to the hype. But we didn’t give up on you… we just kept the faith that nothing worse would happen. But you kept doing a sub-par job and you seemed to whine and hiss about it every time we turned you on. So, that’s when we gave up last weekend. I’m sorry, but you just had to go.
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I promise that we won’t worship the new guy until he proves his worth, but I’ve got to tell you that we may be unable to hold out for long! He’s already been whisper quiet while working, which is a marked improvement for a household expecting a visitor that’s temperamental to noise. I think the shiny stainless steel face is just a nice addition… he really does look like he’ll live up to his operating manual guidelines like everyone says he will.
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So goodbye Mr. Dishwasher-that-came-with-the-house. I only wish you the best in appliance recycling land.
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Love,
the M Family