2 bedroom updates

#1.  Remember how excited I was to have matching hangers in my closet? Well, I also just upgraded our curtains to grommet-top black-out curtains, which I've been lusting after for the past five years or so. Mike even re-mounted the hardware so the windows look bigger. Now that we've decided to stay in our house for the forseeable future, I suppose I'm finally ready to do all these "adult" things that I'd been waiting to do until we were out of our "starter" house. Yay for "real" curtains and for matching hangers in our "new" long-term home!

The sun was shining, so it was hard to get a good photo!

#2.  Speaking of hangers (can you tell how excited I am about these hangers?!), I have an awesome husband who finally agreed to switch closets with me. The way our bed was set up before, it made sense for him to have the big closet so I wouldn't complain about having to step over his stuff to get to my stuff. But now that we rearranged with our new bedS, it actually makes more sense for me to have the big closet. Hallelujah! So I spent a couple more hours today organizing my new closet.  :)

At first it looks the same size, but WAIT....

...turn to the left and WOW!! (Storing the suitcases, wrapping paper, kleenex and TP in there is a small price to pay for all that extra space!)

Look at all that space for shoes!! Three tiers on that shelf, plus an additional shelf for boots below. And a box on the ground for summer shoes (and another for our sheets).  Storage galore!

 Tomorrow is my last weekday off before I start my new job on Monday! Have a happy Friday, everyone!

First day of preschool!!

Rose is starting to transition to the preschool classroom at school!!! She's there half the day today, then 3/4 of the day on Thursday and Friday. Then she's there full-time beginning Monday (when I'll also start my new job)!  In honor of all the first-day-of school photos that I've been seeing on Facebook, I made a lovely sign for Rose to hold in her first-day picture...but in typically Rose fashion, she promptly erased my work:

and refused to have her picture taken outside:

She wouldn't smile in the car:

But she did smile in front of her new classroom!

I hope she has a great day today!!

Recap: my first week between jobs

Saturday:
The state fair!

Sunday: 
Swimming in the backyard

Monday:
Long walk with Rose, made a delicious dinner

Tuesday: 
My car died :(
Got Rose's hair cut
Played at the park

Wednesday:
Visited "school" with Rose, including the open house for her new classroom

Thursday:
Took the bus downtown!

Rose also took three showers (just on this one day), which is apparently her new favorite activity!

Friday:
Rose spent the day (and overnight!) with Grammy and Grandpa, so I did some car shopping - my first time test-driving vehicles for myself!!

Saturday:
donated my old car  :(

more test-driving
organized my closet


I realize that organizing a closet is probably not something most people would find fun, but I had been looking forward to it for SOOO long!  I'd been having the feeling that I had "nothing to wear," despite the fact my little closet was bursting at the seems. After searching for "small closet organization" ideas on Pinterest a couple months ago, I stumbled upon a few notable alternatives, including:
The 40-hanger closet
The minimalist wardrobe
The Vivienne files
Project 333
10-Piece wardrobes

Hmmm....so maybe I had "nothing to wear" because I was holding on to things that I had gotten a great deal on, but never really loved. (Like that green corduroy blazer that I got for $5 but only wore once? Or the $10 orange t-shirt that I bought thinking, "maybe I can start wearing this (hideous) color!") Or because I was holding on to many things that I paid full price for, but never felt truly comfortable in. (Like that striped t-shirt that kept falling down to show too much cleavage? Or the lovely turquoise cardigan that always ended up looking dumpy? Or the fabulous grey pants that have always dug in at the waist, no matter what I weigh?)

So I spent some time in the past few weeks reflecting on what styles I feel comfortable in, what colors flatter me, and how I want to present myself at my new job.

Then it was time to get to work!

I started by taking every single item out of my closet.

About half way there...

If I hadn't worn it in years, it immediately went to the Goodwill pile. If it was a color I only wore if EVERY single other piece of clothing was dirty, it also went into the Goodwill pile. If I felt like I "should" keep it (because it was a gift, or it was a good deal, or I really liked it in my pre-pregnancy body) but I didn't actually like it, it also got the boot. Finally, I tried every.single.item.on to see how it felt and how it looked in my new full-length mirror. And about 25% more stuff went to the "donate" pile.

And then I started hanging things back up again, using the new "huggable hangers" I bought at Costco, as well as the matching hot-pink clips I ordered from Amazon. As an aside, I've ALWAYS wanted fancy matching hangers. Silly, I know. But this was an integral part of my plan for a "grown-up" closet! And, I have to thank pinterest for the super helpful idea to use pop can tabs to offset the hangers for more space.

As I put it all away, I realized that I actually have a pretty coordinated wardrobe!  The pants I love are all dark grey, black or light khaki - all boot cut.  The button-downs I love are all white or blue. The sweaters I love are all cardigans. The jackets I have are mostly dark grey. And all my "pops of color" (including the t-shirts in the dressers, which I had culled and organized a couple weeks ago) are "jewel tones" - mostly deep purple/lapis (love this shade!!), a fair amount of teal/turquoise, some dark green/emerald, a little port wine/amethyst, a touch of deep blue/sapphire.  And all my scarves are jewel tones as well!  Now it makes sense that I typically buy clothes in the fall, when these colors are "in season"!

I still have to figure out how to organize my shoes...

...but I already love my distilled wardrobe. I hope it works as well in practice (once my new job starts) as I'm envisioning!

before and after

Rose and I were going to try out the pool today (the indoor pool, since there's a definite chill in the air!), but once we got out to the car it wouldn't start! Ugh. So we had to come up with a new plan for something we could walk to... A haircut! We've been meaning to do that for months...

Before:

During:

 (She preferred reading stories over watching the TVs at each chair. That's my girl!)

After:

She asked for "two ponies" at the end, but I think we'll go back to the side part and one side pony after her next bath. Seeing that hairstyle from last year's state fair reminded me of how great it looks on her! But she is definitely stylin' now in her cute new bob. :)

Best $10 ever spent?

Not only does Rose love it, but Mike and I have LOVED watched her enjoy her new pool. (Yay for Target's end of season clearance!) She's always been a little hesitant around water, but now she's (finally) starting to love it.  Which makes me think we should try swimming lessons again...

State Fair

Rose loved the state fair so much last year, so we didn't want to miss the opportunity to go again this year. And this time my parents joined us!

We were all pretty exhausted by the time we left after lunch. But it's always good to leave wanting more! Looking forward to next year's fair already...



P.S. Can you tell she hadn't had her hair cut in the past year?  (hint hint...another post is coming shortly!)

end of an era

Last week was the end of my time at TEP. Five years! That place saw me through some serious highs and lows. It was a tough decision, but absolutely the right decision to resign.  For my very last week, I was in Olympia, WA, for most of the time, helping to open the newest office. I guess I'm not feeling up to writing about all the feelings I'm having about that job, so instead I'll just leave you with a couple pictures.