Space Savers Unite!

As much as I love my little home I can't stand the size of my kitchen. It definitely will not hold this family of five in a few years but right now I can only find simple solutions to having no space at all!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to visit on my best friends in Northern Virginia. The bonus to that trip is that she lives about an hour from IKEA. I went into the trip to find a kitchen set for my daughter for Christmas and I came out with that and so much more! I found a huge space saver for my kitchen in the form of a spice rack. It doesn't go in your cabinet or on top of the counter....you hang it! I know, genius! Oh and this little piece of awesomeness only cost me about $15. Gotta love IKEA and their reasonably priced goods.

So I paired this hanging spice rack with a hanging basket that the lovely previous home owners left over three years ago. It has been hanging out in our laundry just collecting dust so I finally decided to put it to use.

It may not be the prettiest but it helps save so much cabinet and counter space. I love it! The space was very much welcomed!

Oh and you know me, I probably will end up spray painting the hanging basket at some point but right now I am just happy to have some space to work with!

Deck the Harts

I cannot begin to describe how amazing it feels to finally be done with school. Not only can I be home with my babies, but I can get back to my house! I can't wait to get started on my list but most of that will have to wait until after the new year. Christmas is a lot on its own to handle.

I know I am a bit late but here is a December decorating post! There is a bit of everything on here :)

So right at the beginning of December I decided that I wanted to make some of my own Christmas decorations to save money and it was a success! Here are some of my creations...

With a glue gun, one can make anything!

finished product...

I made a smaller one as well with green and white striped ribbon but for some reason I forgot to take a picture of that one. It turned out just as good as the one above.

Now on to the next project...

So I originally was going to make a wreath with these cinnamon sticks but decided against it. Since they were just laying around I decided to make some candle holders. I saved two picante sauce jars (why I have no clue) but they definitely came in handy. 

Once I hot glued them on the jar it felt like they were missing something....

Ahhhh....thats much better! I have learned to save wreaths from previous years because they can always be used for something on down the road. I made two of these and when a candle is lit up in there, it looks so pretty. 

Here is another reason to save wreaths!

I used this one for the centerpiece on my coffee table. Oh and there is one plus to having pine trees in the backyard....there are PINECONES every where! Another penny saved.

Here are a few more pictures of the inside my home.

I ended up putting the green and white striped ribbon around the sticks to pull the room together.

There are my two jars all decorated with a few reindeer.

 Oh and on a side note - see that green lantern thingy to the right? Yea that was my best find at Pier One ever! That baby was marked down from $65 to $15. I know right? Amazing! Ok back to the pictures...

Here are some pictures of my outside. I think less is more when it comes to decorating outside. I get that from my momma. These trees are on their third year and they are still going strong!

Here is my wreath on my front door. I used this wreath last year and I loved it so much, I decided to use it again. I added a new touch this year with the little silver "H." I got that little letter from Target for about $.50 on sale. You can't see it from the street but when you come up to the door it shines!

Oh and lets not forget the  most important decoration of all...

The Hart family Christmas tree.

Thats a big load of B.S.

Did the title draw you in! Oh get your mind out of the gutter and continue to read...

Lets see....how long have I been in college...oh just FOREVER! But now I can finally say that I am 100% done! I am officially done with school. I cannot even being to describe how amazingly good it feels to be able to say that. I finally have my B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies! Which basically is a fancy way to say a degree in education! I don't care how old I am or how long it took me (11 years, but who is counting) because at least I finished. Oh and I put together a pretty awesome little family in between as well so I must say I have done pretty good!

But just not to have to worry about papers, observations or a portfolio any more makes this momma grin from ear to ear! So now I am back to the blogging world! I took an eight week hiatus so that I could concentrate on my student teaching but I am officially back.

I have so many different little projects that I can't wait to get started on. So of those nine people that actually follow and read my blog, thank you for always checking in on me to see where I have been and why I haven't written. It brings a smile to my face. Your wait is over :)

See you all in a few days!

Oh and I am sure the post doesn't live up to the title but I just couldn't resist!