January Highlights & Happenings

This has been by far the craziest strangest month! 
The frigid cold we have been experiencing around the Great Lakes has put a bit of a hamper on my projects. Without the ability to work in the outdoors (or at least allow for some ventilation), not a whole lot is getting done around here. Anything that requires sawing, painting, sanding, or building is pretty much out. Yep, I am definitely ready for a warm up! I think I'm experiencing project withdrawal.

Thank You For The Feature!
The bright side of being stuck indoors during this cold snap? Well, I've been spending more time on small (but necessary) projects to help streamline life. This month I did pieces for SheKnows, Buzzfeed, and One Kings Lane. Not only were they a lot of fun to do, but it allowed me to finally tackle some projects that have been on my mind for a while!
In case you missed it (but how could you miss it? I think I talked about it twice already)...another exciting feature that came out this month was my storage solution in Good Housekeeping magazine!! Can you believe it?? Someone pinch me! No wait don't do that, if I'm dreaming I don't want to wake up. *grin*

I also want to give a big thank you to AKA Designs, Mommy Page, and Apartment Therapy for the features this month! You guys make my heart go pitter-patter!

January, My Month For Love (and a great gift!)
Many of you are gearing up for Valentines day in February, but January is my month for love. My hubs and I just had our 10th anniversary last week! I've always hated that joke about men giving women appliances as being the worst thing they could do. We're both so cheap we try to make things last as long as possible, and we don't usually put money toward unnecessary items. So it turns out that the one thing I've wanted more than anything for the past few years is a new vacuum. After fixing, patching and MacGyver'ing this vacuum long past it's life expectancy it finally died....and it was a rather long, painfully drawn out death. *grimace* 

Happiness is when your husband says affectionately that you can buy a vacuum, and it turns out to be the BEST anniversary gift you could ever desire! No seriously, it hurt spending that $179, but once this puppy was in my house I ripped open that package like a kid on Christmas morning, eagerly assembling my new toy! I confess, I can be such a man sometimes...there were quite a few parts and I ran into a small hitch figuring out what went where, but could I take two minutes to look at the instructions or the diagram? Oh no...that would be too logical. *grin* Don't worry, I got it put together eventually.
Now I can't seem to stop vacuuming...which is ironic because I don't like to clean. It's like a new toy I can't put down, and it is a bit disgusting how much dirt I've gotten out of my carpet. I think maybe my vacuum stopped working long before we stopped using it. So far I love the way the Shark handles, waaaay better than the Hoover I had before, but we'll see how well it stands the test of time. *fingers crossed*

What To Expect In February
I'm doing it, I'm taking the leap and attempting to tackle the living areas in my house. I say "attempt" because as hard as one may try to bring a room together, without the proper key pieces (or any idea what to do with the space) it can be a slower process than anticipated. 
Let me show you what I mean. Here is the living room which opens to the sitting room, before the previous owners moved out: 

Well, the previous owners seem to have found a way to make this long dual space work for them. But what happens when you first move into a space and then try to make your pre-existing (hand-me-down) furniture work? Meh...that's what happens. It looks meh. 

This may take a couple few months. You know me, when there is a lot to do I'm dedicated to showing you the ups and downs, the how-to's, the organization, and making it happen with extreme frugality! 
Well, wish me luck...I'm going to need it.