change

Change.

It's a good thing.  Let's embrace it!

Lately, I've been feeling a little uninspiried by my blog. 

I just felt that it wasn't really doing a good job of representing me anymore.

So, I decided to make a change:  I've moved my blog to Wordpress!

From now on you can visit me at adventuresoftna.wordpress.com

Come on over and check it out - it's pretty!

how to: store your necklaces

I like to think that I'm a pretty organized person.  Don't get me wrong though, I also have a messy/disorganized side of me.

My bathroom (now that I have my own and I no longer have to share with Hubby) looks like a tornado swept through it; hairspray, makeup, and hair ties are usually littered all over the counter.

I always lovingly fold and put away all the clean clothes in my dresser drawer, however, they never stay neat and tidy when I'm frantically pulling out and trying on different clothes in the morning.

So, let me fool you not: I'm not always super organized.

One thing that's always been disorganized is my jewellery box.  I've tried to keep my necklaces in separate little baggies to help keep them from getting tangled up together; but each day when I take off my jewels, the necklaces never seems to make their way back into the baggies.  They always just end up in a messy pile in the bottom of my jewelery box.  Not ideal.

When Hubby and I moved into our new home last year, we picked up a full-length bedroom mirror during one of our many trips to Ikea.  The coolest thing about the mirror? It came with hinges!

So, my handyman Hubby mounted the mirror to the wall using the hinges so the mirror can be pulled away from the wall, if you like.  Can we just take a moment to thank Ikea for all their wonderful storage ideas?

When he hung the mirror for me (a loooong time ago), Hubby suggested that we could buy some hooks so I could hang up all my necklaces behind the mirror.  AMEN, Hubby, you're a genius!

So, this past weekend, we finally got around to taking a trip to Home Depot to pick up some hooks for my necklaces.  Don't they look great? And the best part about the whole thing is that they're out of sight (so they don't look cluttered), yet they're easily accessible.  It's so easy to now just thow my necklace on a hook after I take it off.

If you think this might work in your space, give it a shot - I absolutely love it!

PS:  I decorated the back of the mirror (which was plain and ugly) with some extra 5X7 pictures that I had from our recent trip to Europe.  It's a nice way for me to enjoy the pictures, without having them in my face all the time.  It's kind of like having a highschool locker again!

follow friday - cupcakes and cashmere

With a blog name like "Cupcakes and Cashmere" how could this blog be anything less than fabulous?

I stumbled upon this blog a couple of days ago and I've spent hours perusing all the posts.  This blog is basically exactly what I want my life to be: simple chic. 

I love the "How To" posts, and because of them I will be making this Delicate Ombre Necklace and I definitely want to shuck my own oysters.  I always feel like I'm the only person who likes oysters so nobody wants to eat them with me, so why don't I just make my own?!

delicate ombre necklace - photo by Cupcakes and Cashmere

Don't even get me started on the recipes that Emily's created and collected.  The following have all been added to my "to make" list:

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad
Tomato and Peach Salad with Corn and Feta
Shrimp Spring Rolls
Watermelon-Lime Popsicles
Breakfast Pizza
Homemade Cheez-Its




homemade cheez-its - photo by Cupcakes and Cashmere


Check out this blog for some inspiration and eye candy.  If you're anything like me, you won't be disappointed!

PS:  Emily was also seen on "The Hills" (she worked at Teen Vogue during the filming of Season 1) - how cool is that?

PPS:  Hubby made a reference to "The Hills" the other night.  #ilovehimsomuch

february finances update (day 6)

This is harder than I had anticipated…and we’re only 6 days in. What we didn’t account for in our budget was all the unexpected spending that comes with being an grown up. For example, today we had to pay $45 for an Air Care inspection for our car. Something that wasn’t a luxury, something that HAD to be done, but something that also wasn’t in our budget. It was no big deal because we’re just pretending this month – but if this was not just a pretend exercise, but real life, I really don’t know where that $45 would have come from. But I can tell you where it would have ended up: on our credit card.

Ugh. I understand that credit can be a very useful and necessary tool, however, I just really hate it. I’ve learned my lesson on being fun and fancy free with credit and that’s a lesson that I don’t NOT want to have to learn again.

So, I guess it’s back to the spreadsheet to figure out how to incorporate an “unexpected expenses” category for each month. This is a good thing though, and just another reason why it’s such a good idea to test this new budget while we still have a safety net. I’m going to say it once: Hubby, you were right (that almost killed me).