Boy Bathroom Organization

I don't know about you but bathrooms are the one place where it seems organization can be a daunting task. There is either not enough space or everything is in a drawer/cabinet and isn't seen and therefore forgotten about. I think everything should have a place. If it has a place, it can always be found when needed.

The vanity seems to be the place that can become the most disorganized either on top of it or the drawers become a mess. So, in an effort to better organize the vanity and to make the important items seen, this was my solution. There have been so many times at night after brushing their teeth the boys would say  "Mommy, I forgot to floss!" or "Mommy, I didn't do my mouthwash!" All because the flossers were in the drawer and the mouthwash was in the linen closet on the shelf. Now, it is seen so it is no longer forgotten about!

My search for the tray and small bowl began a while back. I originally thought that a melamine tray and cup would be best. That way if the boys accidentally knocked it off the vanity it would not shatter when it hit the tile floor. Goodness, we all know how that goes, tile aways wins! Well, I could not find the sizes I wanted in melamine and I didn't have the patience to continue looking so I went with glass. Yep, so we will see how it goes.

It is the perfect size for all the products, so cute too! I found the tray and small bowl at World Market both together were about $5. The submarine toothbrush holder is from Target, we have had it well over a year now.

The flossers are awesome and much better than traditional floss, much easier for little hands. The bowl is the perfect size for the flossers.

I picked up this hand soap at Target last week and OH MY GOSH does it smell good. It was on the end of an aisle and as I was headed to the register, I saw it and grabbed it and put in my cart. I knew if would look perfect in the boys bathroom since I still had the snowman soap dispenser and it was time for a new one with a more spring/summer look plus the colors matched the room perfectly! The great smell was a bonus! Am I the only one who sometimes buys items solely on the packaging? However, I have used products many times by this company and knew it would be a great product!

So, since I went with the glass tray, I had to come up with a way to keep it in place on the vanity. As you can see from the photo below I used those non-slip liners for drawers/shelves. You can cut them to the size you prefer. I have our pantry shelves lined with these under the can/glass goods. I cut a piece to size for under the tray and under the small bowl.

 

 

So far so good, it does make if feel more secure. No sliding at all.

 



And unless you get down and really eyeball it, you would never know it was there.

They are also easy to clean, just wash and let dry and put them back. So another reason the non-slip liners are a good pick for this!

Quick and easy set up, easy clean up, and easily accessible it how I like it!

Now there shouldn't be anymore excuses for not flossing!

Lemon Bars

Hope everyone had a great Easter! We did, it was so nice to spend time with family. Now, I just have to keep my hands out of the boys' Easter candy!

We had a big family lunch on Easter, my Mother In Law and I split up the menu which makes it alot less stressful if you ask me. Anyway, I made dessert. I made this Strawberry Pie and the Lemon Bars.

I got this recipe years ago from my Aunt. She used to always make these at Christmas and I loved them, then we I got older I asked for the recipe and I have been making them every year since. But, this year I didn't make them at Christmas just because I tend to over do it then so I limited the desserts. So, I figured now was a good time since I passed on these at Christmas. Plus, they are supper easy to make and yummy!

As you can see from the photo, I left out the nuts this time. I think they are good both ways so feel free to do as you like. I also tend to keep mine in the frig, they are good both ways, in or out of the frig and even better warmed in the microwave for a few seconds.

Lemon Bars

1st Layer:
1 box of lemon flavor cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
Mix and spread into the bottom of 9 x 13 pan

2nd Layer:
2 cups chopped nuts ( I have used pecans)

3rd Layer:
1 box of confectionery sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 stick of butter, melted
Mix and pour on top of nuts

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool then cut into squares.

Enjoy!

12

This past weekend was 12 years.

This man has made my life what it is today. There is not a day that does by that I don't thank God for putting this man in my life.

He is funny, sexy, determined, charming, smart, caring, encouraging, loving, a great teacher, has a beautiful heart and the one that I admire. He thinks differently than I and I love it when he shows me a different perspective (sometimes), especially when it come to business or teaching me how to do something new.... I still have a lot to learn from him.

Standing at the alter 12 years ago, I would have never in my wildest dreams thought that this would be my future. I still can't image what the next 12 years will be like. He has made every minute worth it, one crazy ride! He also made me a Mom which is really awesome and seeing him with our boys just melts my heart.

I must say 12 years has gone by so fast and alot of life has happened in those 12 years just like any marriage or relationship, trips, children, new challenges, fun times, not so fun times, and lots of memories! I cannot imagine my life without him in it.


Happy Anniversary Babe!
I love you!

Photo by Tanya Furr Photography

Coat Closet Transformation

I cannot tell you just how excited I am to FINALLY be able to show this to you! This has been one transformation that I am so glad we did and it has made a huge impact! It is now the perfect spot for coats and backpacks!

Let me start at the beginning.

You see we have 3 doors all in one area, we knew when we built that this would potentially be an issue at some point.....The door that is opened is the coat closet. See, this is NO FUN in the mornings when it is time to get your coats out and put them on while in a hurry to get the kids to school on time. Plus the kids would hang their backpacks on the door knobs so each time you walked by you would get hit in the leg by the backpacks, again NO FUN. The door directly in front leads to the garage. See..it just doesn't work!

So I took the door off. Then propped it against the pantry door for 2 days. I took the door off to see if I could live with it being off and just to get a feel of how it would be without a door before I went in and completely got ahead of myself and transformed the closet only to realize that removing the door was a mistake. Am I the only one that over thinks my diy projects? Well, then the Mr. got in on the action. He wanted in on the fun too you see. Little did he know that I already had a plan as to what I wanted the new closet to look like. Well, he started looking online and found a few photos he liked and together we came up with a better functioning closet.

The closet looked like this:

See coats, bags, beach towels, extra towels, boxes where I stored other bags and another box for mittens/hats/gloves and a shoe shinning kit. There is a lot in here but all that space underneath was being wasted! Well, it was where the dog and cat food could be found.

 

I started off doing a little measuring just to make sure I got it all correctly spaced out.

 

Thank goodness the Mr. got involved! Together, we decided we wanted the board and batten/cottage look with a shelf on top and a bench underneath.  We purchased all of our supplies at Lowes. Came home and got busy!

 

First, the shelf on the top:

 

 

If you notice we changed out the shelf completely. The builder used MDF board for the shelf and it just didn't fit the look we were going for, so we took it out and replaced it with real wood. Then we added a piece of wood in front just below the shelf to hide the hanging rail. We knew we were not going to be hanging anything on it, since we were unable to remove it, we hid it.

 

Next we worked on the bench, we used the same measurements as our shelf to complete the bench. Just make sure your bench is sturdy, has support and that it is nailed to the studs.

 

Then we began on the middle area. We made sure all of our boards would be evenly spaced before we nailed them to the wall. 

 

 

Once it was all completed, we painted the closet white. The closet was big when you got in there but the green walls made it feel so dark and I knew the white would make it feel more open.

 

 

See, so much brighter!! We added hooks to finish the look.

 

 

 

This is the perfect spot for coats and backpacks!

 

Now, I had to add pretty baskets too! And pillows! You can read about my pillows here.

 

 

The baskets are for gloves, hats, etc; pet items and extra towels.

 

 

We even added a small hook on each side.

 

 

 

The small hooks are great for hats and dog leashes.

 

This project turned out great! It is so much easier to get the kids coats and backpacks and head straight out the door, no more fussing, pushing, closing the door on someone hassle!

 

As you can see from the close ups, we left the areas where the original door hung unfilled. I just painted over it but when we do another project soon we will fill those areas in and give that a more finished look.

 

How about a before and after? Yes, sure!

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Linking up to The Lilypad Cottage,  Liz Marie