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happy friday!

sending holiday cheer

everyone that knows me … knows that i love holiday cards.  it’s the one time of year that I feel we can connect with folks that we don’t always have a chance to throughout the year.  i get so excited when i get cards from friends who are far away and get to see what fun things they did for the year … or how fast kids grow.  this year we’re going to disney world before christmas and my 2^nd goal of the trip is to take some great pictures for my holiday card {the 1^st goal is to have a great family vacation}.  i’ve picked out several of my favorite designs and based on my pictures i’ll make the final selection when we get home.

below is my short list from my favorite publishers ... minted, shutterfly & tiny prints

 {magic, peace, joy, holidays, plaid, cheer, & wonder}

& don't forget ... these publishers are always running specials so snag that deal!

coffee break + shop

 it's the kinda morning in colorado that you just want to snuggle up with your cup and watch it snow.

 
 {to buy}

{to buy}

{to buy}

happy holidays!

holiday desk décor

i don’t like to go too overboard with holiday décor in the office but i’ve found a little goes a long way … and with more corporations not allowing decorations i’ve found putting a few fun little things in my office tends to lift spirits.  i tend to steer clear of anything religious {remember i work in hr after all} but just adding some winter items or pops of holiday color set a festive mood.  here are some ideas to inspire you ... 

 

 

  

 

{pencils, peppermints,  snowflake mugs, green frame, red bowl, file folders, snow globes, paper cups}

happy {work} holidays! 

holiday crafts with kids

one of my fond memories growing up was all of the craft projects i would do at school or at home with my mom around various holidays {not just christmas} so last year I started what will hopefully be a tradition of a “christmas craft day”. i want to make memories with my kids but also have some keepsakes to decorate the house with for years to come and this will accomplish both!  this year i’m going to let babygirl invite over one of her best friends to join in the fun.    

you don’t have to be crafty to do these projects … and it doesn’t need to take a whole lotta time either.  below are the projects we’re planning to do – all of these projects I pulled off of pinterest {love} and below you will find a full list of supplies and links to the REAL creative person behind them.  just take this list to hobby lobby, joanne’s or michaels and you too can have a “christmas craft day”.  

 images of projects {that we're going to try}

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we are going to have so much fun ... we are going to do christmas manicures and watch christmas movies to complete the crafty sleepover. 

shopping list

popsicle sticks

paint

ribbon

glue

embellishments {optional}

foam ball

pom poms

glitter glue

cardstock

scrapbook paper

graham crackers

royal icing

candy

cardboard

wooden ornaments

chalkboard spray paint

will let y'all know how it turns out! 

coffee break ...

thankful for coffee ...

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blog to follow: the classy cubicle

i came across this blog over the weekend and i LOVE it.  mary not only has great style but also lets us all know where we can get deals on the stuff we need to look and feel great in the office. 

{check it out here}

favorite quotes ...

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coffee break ...

with the holiday season rapidly approaching i thought i'd combine two of my favorite things 

coffee + etsy

enjoy

{to buy}

organizationally challenged

are you ever frustrated with your organizational tools ... feel like they just don't work for you?  i feel like i've been struggling with this ever since i had my kids ... well that's not entirely true ... maybe since they have become a little more independent. anyhoo i've done sooooo much research on best practice and all say that you should have 1 calendar there are some that recommend using technology and some that say a written calendar and task lists will keep you more motivated.  to be honest i find myself struggling with all of it.  today i use the following {who knows maybe writing about it i will see the dysfunction in it and will be able to correct it ... let's see}:

work:

• outlook :: email and work calendar (i will make sure that personal appts that are during the work day are also included on this calendar)

• weekly project list :: i keep track of all of my projects & all my team's working on (this is very high level and does not detail tasks)

• generally 1 spiral bound notebook to take notes and make "i'm going to freak out if i don't do these tasks - lists"
• and lots of sticky notes

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cozi.com

•  family calendar  (mostly mornings, evenings and weekend activities)
• shopping lists (and i have a boat load:  grocery store, target, costco, dollar store, dept store, etc)
• personal to-do lists (again i have a "this week", "this month", and "some day".  we also have projects for the house and i have a list for the hubs) - main problem here is it's used inconsistently.

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erin condren life planner - this is almost used as a notebook ... i love the monthly and weekly formats and the colors make me happy just opening the darn thing up.  when i take the time to sit down and plan out my week it's a great resource .... hummmm bingo ... maybe that's my biggest issue ugh.

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evernote - this i use mostly for journals and inspiration boards of various types ... but i also keep a few lists in there too.


so there you have it ... probably too complicated and no "habitual planning time" ... might be my issue.  what do you use?  is there a single solution between work and home lives?

p.s.  if anyone can tell me how to not put a boarder around my pictures when i publish a post ... i would love you! 

not so special weekend ... perfection!

just needed a weekend with no plans ... we had been go go go for the last couple of months and work blew up for a couple of weeks {which i haven't fully recovered from} and i just needed to take a break from my life for a bit.  not really ... but with only a couple planned things it was nice to have a weekend where we could slow things down a bit.  

i'd like to say i got some quality excercise in ... but that was not the case.  

actually we moved things & cleared out the basement ... in preparation for our basement refinish project {one of these days i'll catch you up on all of that}. 

sunday the hubs gave me a few hours and i did what i do best ... did some shopping ... but happy to report i didn't blow the budget.  hauled my butt up to home goods where i found a corner shelf for the powder room ... it's in a dark purple but with the horrible lighting in that room you can't even tell ... and one of these weekends {likely in january} i'll paint it either an oil rubbed bronze or black.  the biggest score of the weekend was actually online shopping where i found a comforter for the master bedroom.  it wasn't at all what i was looking for and i hope when it comes i'll be happy but i love the colors and think it will look really nice in the winter with our coverlet, sheets, bed and current paint color.  here is a teeny tiny sneek peek.

it's more masculine than i thought i wanted but i am a sucker for plaid in the winter and again will look great with all of the other neutrals.   may just have to find some fun throw pillows to throw in a punch of color.

hope you had a great weekend!  

coffee break ...

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happy november! 

wish lists ...

it's that crazy time of year when i'm trying to wrap up my holiday shopping & getting requests from the family on what the kids like ... and what they are "into" these days.  time to make sure our family wish list is up to date.  this is a tool that has saved me sooooo much time and reduced the number of redundant questions from our family. 


in the first few holidays together my husbands brother (a computer programmer) developed a online wish list software for just the family.  it was great you could put links to what you wanted and the family would fulfill those wishes on your birthday or christmas.  now for those of you that say that's impersonal or then you know what you're getting so it's not as spontaneous ... i say peashaw  ...  i have long endured years of not getting what i wanted and about 25% of the time that was ok ... i liked what i got ... but the other 75% of the stuff ended up at goodwill.  {sorry guys but it's true}

all was good until my brother-in-law and his wife moved to the country ... that doesn't have reliable internet.  so i had to go out in search of an online wish list service for our family.  in the first year i tried out a few ... and there were things that i was looking for ... for sure.  but there is one service i have used for the last few years ... wishpot.

it's great ... i only need one log-in and i can make as many wish lists as i need.  everyone in the family has one and i've shared the log-in information with the hubs because he's always delinquent in getting me his wishes.

now i also have some "store specific" wish lists to add to throughout the year ... so when i'm feeling impulsive i look at what i've been wanting and then when it comes time to building wish lists for the family ... bam ... i'm ready to go.  some of my fav's are:

• amazon
• pottery barn
• nordstroms {btw they are doing a sweepstakes to win $5k if you sign up & send to a friend}

do you use a wish list service?  is there one out there that you like?   do your family and friends buy off of a wish list you set up? 

coffee break ...

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happy halloween!