Planner Organization

Ok, I admit...I am a planner addict. In this busy life of Mom, Wife, Nurse, Thirty-One Consultant and Volunteer; I really need to stay organized. I just switched planners this past week, because on my morning stop to Staples, I fell in love. I am a very visual person, and LOVE color!  (Almost colored the cover on this one...lol)  I went from this very large planner 8-1/2 x 11

To this adorable, colorful, perfect size 7-1/2 x 9 planner, that will fit much better in my purse :)

This planner is one of the Martha Stewart Home Office products. And, oh my gracious, I have to say that I was so excited when I saw this line of products become available. They are so adorable, and yet functional. This picture shows the inside cover, which has a nice pocket to hold my colorful tear-drop shaped color coding labels, as well as the colorful tab labels. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that this is a 3 ring binder style, because this way I can add all my own favorite areas throughout the planner.

For instance, here are the colorful tabs that I used to label my months across the top for easy viewing.

And, a view of the full month. I love that Martha has included helpful tips on various days throughout the months. (And FYI, Martha is on a first name basis with me now. Unknowingly to her, we have bonded)

Here is another great product from Martha's Home Office line. The business card sheet protectors. I have so many cards from all of the various doctor's that my family has to see, that it is nice to keep them organized in here. I even used my label maker and each family member has their name along the side of the page with their particular doctor's business card information. This makes it very quick and easy for me to access, when needing to contact them.

I still need to make another stop back to the store and pick up Martha's zipper pouch to hold my colored pens. Yes, each family member has a color, which makes my planner even more fun....and understandable 'at a glance'. Oh happy me!

Join In On Thursday Fun

The first 5 Blog sites to comment on my page, will get me browsing through their blog site. I will then be posting my favorite finds, one from each blog, onto my site. This is your opportunity to shine!

Decorating for Fall

I want to start by showing you this great inexpensive idea for creating Fall front door decor. This idea came from a pin on Pinterest from Nellis Hills Blog. http://www.nellhillsblog.com/?p=1876 Thanks for sharing your creativity!

All year long, I have to find decor to beautify my very dated ugly front door. Google and Pinterest have become my very good friends. Once I find an idea that I like, I save it in a decor folder on my computer, so that I can access it easily in the future. Here is a picture of my door. See, told you it was not pretty!

 For this project, I made a quick trip to our local Dollar store and purchased a black 5x7 picture frame, some Fall colored artificial flowers and some pretty ribbon. I rushed home in excitement to start my project.

I started by removing the glass that came in the frame and set it aside for another project. I then pulled all the flower heads off the stems. Using my hot glue gun, that I love so much, I applied glue to the bottom center of each flower and placed it onto the frame. I worked my way around the frame, making sure that all of the flowers were slightly overlapping each other. I continued until the frame was covered.

While the glue dried, I got the ribbon and estimated the length, according to how long the decor would hang from the top of my front door. I proceeded to cut the needed length. Once the flowers were dry, I wrapped the ribbon under the top of the frame and then tied a bow in the top. I then added a couple long 'streamers' and secured it to my door with magnets. Here is the finished product. (It is hanging straight now, but not in the picture)

Final cost of project $5. Oh happy me!

Here is a peek of the front door from the outside, with the help "oops" from my son opening the door while I was taking the picture. 

Taking time today

Today I was able to enjoy getting outside in the 70 degree sunny weather. It is supposed to be in the 50's here in a few days, so had to jump at the opportunity to get my daughter's senior pictures taken. I decided that I would take them this year (with my new camera), and try to save some money. I can actually say that I am proud of myself. I think they turned out really nice.

And here comes my soapbox....Seeing my beautiful almost 17 year old daughter growing up so fast, pulls at my heart-strings. Where has time gone? How could 17 years go by so quickly? I still remember her standing on her pink and white rocking chair in her blue plaid skirt with pink shirt, giving me a big chubby cheek dimple smile....knowing that she was not supposed to be standing on the chair. Now, she has grown up into a beautiful teenager. I took the time today as I was taking her pictures, to recall those memories of her being just a little baby girl. Now as I look at her, still as my baby girl, but also a beautiful, strong, kind-hearted, caring young woman. my heart is filled with joy. Here are a few of my favorites~