small spaces

it is no secret that i am a fan of small spaces. last year my volunteer efforts included trying to save my neighborhood from the mcmansion (you can read more about that here if you are interested http://www.preserveoldleawood.blogspot.com/. i mean really, how much space do we really need? it takes effort to live in small spaces and i really think the biggest secret of it all is simply staying organized. lately i have seen other blogs talking about small space ideas and my local newspaper recently also wrote an article about small space living. i thought i would share with you today the ideas in my house that allow us to live comfortably in a small space.

my house is approximately 1700 square feet. it is the typical ranch floor plan with living/dining in the front and kitchen/family room in the back. long hallway to three (used to be 4 until we decided that a master bath bigger than a closet was needed) bedrooms and a hall bath. i often refer to it as my double wide trailer. i nixed the dining room, since it really wasn't even large enough for a table, 6 chairs and the buffet. i turned it into our mud room with built in lockers to corral all the daily necessities. so now our 'dining room' is on the back of the house and viewed from the kitchen. i also split my couch and love seat up .... one is in the front living room, the smaller love seat now faces the fireplace off of the kitchen. giving me more of a hearth room feel.

my kitchen is narrow. i really wanted a kitchen island and was thrilled to find this old dresser to use for it. this is not your typical eat at island. but with a stool at one end, snacks are often enjoyed here. back to the dresser.... i love all the storage it has. the center doors open to 3 pull out drawers. the sides and back i wrapped with bead board and trimmed it out. new knobs and it fits my kitchen perfectly. with my dishwasher on one side and the ovens on the other i was in need of something narrow yet functional. a long dresser fit my needs and it is probably one of my favorite pieces.

the back of the island - wrapped with bead board. you can see my loveseat and dining area in the background.

in my master bath a towel rack i made out of old door knobs is so functional.

this is pretty to look at, was a fun, easy project and does its job of keeping towels off the floor.

when we remodeled our master bath we didn't put in any built in cabinets. i had this piece from living overseas that i loved. white towels stack nicely and are convenient. all the small drawers below hold extra soap, etc. i love having furniture pieces in my bathroom instead of built ins.

back to the kitchen.... above my cook top i opted for a mantle instead of a cabinet. this allows for me to display some of my favorite things and frees up the counter space.

i love my armoire. i love that it adds height to the room, hides the t.v. and in the bottom the kids have baskets of toys and games. again, i think being organized is key to living in small spaces. everything has a home and gets put away.

again, multipurpose furniture helps. a bench, turned coffee table, also functions as storage for small cars and blocks. it is easily accessible for the boys and encourage creative play.

our hallway to the bedrooms is our photo gallery. putting photos here helps control the clutter of having tons of small photo frames on every table surface in the rest of the house.

those are just a few ideas i have for living in small spaces. i hope you found them helpful and if you have some small space ideas, please leave a comment with a link to your ideas. i would love to hear more.

apple-cheddar muffins

a new muffin recipe that i tried this week. apple-cheddar muffins....yummy! moist, not sweet, goes well with a bowl of soup, with a cuppa coffee for breakfast or great in the lunch box. enjoy!

apple-cheddar muffins

1 large apple
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup regular uncooked oatmeal (rolled oats)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

preheat oven to 400. butter standard muffin tins.
peel, halve and core the apple. cut it into 1/8" dice, set aside.
in a large bowl stir and toss together the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. set aside. in a medium bowl whisk together the milk, eggs and melted butter until smooth. stir in the apple and cheese. add to the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. spoon into prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about three-quarters full. bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. cool in tins and then remove. makes about 12 standard muffins.

a before and after without the before photo

one fall day i hit a garage sale. i found two wing back chairs, one avocado green and the other pumpkin orange. they were heavy, sturdy Hickory chairs. i did not need them. i did not need one more project sitting in the garage. but i loved the shape of them and i had been thinking about two chairs, of some sort, to add to my living room. at $25 each, i just couldn't pass them up. they came home with me and were stashed in our already full garage (my husband hates this!) ;) i searched the internet for fabric and found just what i was looking for..... a linen, java and cream zebra print! my decorator friend had them upholstered for me and they are more wonderful than i thought they would be.

leather piping is a small detail that i am glad i went with. they are just beautiful and they are just the WOW i was looking for in my living room.

they also are so very comfortable. heavy, solid chairs....oh my, did i mention that i LOVE THEM!!! i wish i would have taken before photos, but oh well. i am just completely thrilled with these two beauties in my living room.

they have become my new favorite place to sit in the morning with my vanilla latte and read the newspaper. i never need anything, but love when i find a good deal with potential at a garage sale. is it spring yet? i am ready for more garage sale hunting!

fun birthday stuff

a friend of mine turned 50 and i attended her surprise party saturday night. i knew i wanted to give her a couple of cupcakes. she loves antiques, so i thought putting them on a small vintage cake stand would make for a good presentation. i didn't really find any small cake stands and i was getting frustrated that i could not find what i was looking for. but then i found this cute little toy drum! i knew my friend L would love it, and it made for a perfect, think out of the box, cupcake stand.
i also thought that anyone turning 50 should have a crown to call their own. L also loves paper crafts so making her a paper crown was another little gift i knew she would love. my kids picked up crowns on a recent lunch at burger king. they were the perfect base for creating my crown for L. here is a photo of it flat.... (just click on the photo to see it enlarged)

and here is a (fuzzy, my camera doesn't do well with glittery, sparkly, stuff) photo of it put together. i used old dictionary paper, sparkle/glitter paper, ribbon, lace, and WA-LA a crown for the birthday queen. happy birthday L!!! i had such a good time at your party!

this crown was so easy to make that i think i will make one for myself....just to wear, when ever i feel like it. maybe it could become my 'mom is in a bad mood crown'....it is sure to lift my spirits when i get cranky and it would be fair warning to the boys and my husband that i might growl!

happy new year

so hard to believe that it was nine years ago that everyone was freaking out about it being the year 2000. wow how the time has flown by.

we did our baking this year on new years eve. three different kinds of goodies all packaged up and delivered to the neighbors to wish them a happy new year. i love using freezer paper, it is heavy duty, slick on one side and flat on the other. not to mention i love the simple color of it...white. you can buy it at your local market right next to the aluminum foil. it also is great to just roll out a huge sheet of it and let the kids color on it.

happy new year!

after christmas decorating

the day after christmas i start to itch to take down the tree and the christmas decorations. i put them up the day after thanksgiving, so to me, it seems as though they are up forever. yesterday i finally got everything all packed away. after seeing the layers of decorations throughout the holidays, my decorating mantra for january is one word... simple!

i like to use bits and pieces of the real christmas garland here and there. above my mantle in the hearth room i simply hung a evergreen branch on a frame. then tucked in bingo cards, i had in a stash of mine, because it brings happy memories of playing games all winter long.

white candles and some pine cones and that is it for this mantle.

some greenery also ended up on the dining room table centerpiece. a small clock on a cake pedestal makes a grand presence when topped with a glass dome. it is also a nod to new years eve! a few silver ornaments and a glitter star add some sparkle.

the mantel in the living room was filled with garland, stockings and glitz. now it screams simplicity with just a winter scene painting, a little bit of greenery into an urn and one candle.

i love simple decorating and that, at this time of year, my house is free of clutter (most of it anyway)!

one more spot for greenery, in a vase with some tulips. a sure sign that spring is soon to come. i know winter just started....but i am looking forward to when spring is in the air.

next up, clean the closest and the light fixtures that for some reason always get forgotten.

christmas outings

my boys love going to union station, especially at christmas time. volunteers put up this awesome train exhibit. the detail is amazing. i think it is as much fun for the adults as it is for the children. my dear friend J and her son M joined us on our outing. the boys love to run up and down the grand hall, and it is a good space for them to burn off some energy. at the end of the grand hall there is a huge christmas tree. around it is this train the children can ride on.

union station hooks up to crown center, eating at fritz's is a must. at crown center they had gingerbread displays, with a train, that the boys enjoyed watching.

then on friday we went back to union station, so that the boys (and my husband) could ride the train to grandma's house. it is only a short 36 minute train ride, but it is a fun, inexpensive adventure.
so all in all our christmas week was a really good one. our celebration was spread out over four days and gifts were at a minimum. we still have this week off from school. we have some reading to do, playing with new toys, and taking down the christmas decorations. a nice, easy and very enjoyable week. i hope yours will be the same.

thank you santa!

we had such a great christmas. here are a couple of photos of the boys, with santa, i forgot to post earlier. such a fun week filled with family, friends and lots of fun things. i'll post more photos later today of other christmas happenings.

hey santa....

we have been very good!

we hope you will be coming down our chimney tonight.

we have cookies and milk waiting for you.

the children were all nestled and snug in their beds.....

merry christmas to all, and to all a good night!

christmas decorations '08

i had all intentions of joining in on one of the holiday home tours. but for some reason i just never could get around to getting my photos loaded. better late than never, and still in time for christmas, so grab a cuppa something hot and enjoy my christmas decorating.

i ditched the red again this year and went with more natural decorations. lots of burlap, white, cream, silver and green. it fits my house better than traditional red, green and gold. and i kid you not, it is so calming. i do not feel rushed, crazy busy or hurried this year at all, and i think a lot of it has to do with the calmness of my christmas decorating. again, i used lots of things that i already had. M and i made a paper chain, out of an old dictionary (free from a garage sale), for new garland for the tree. i also just added christmas-y items to decor that i already had out. my favorite is probably the tiny white mittens that i slung over a photo of C when he was a baby. thrifty, easy, calm.....awww...let it snow! enjoy, and if you have any questions about anything please leave me a comment with your email and i will get back with you.

thanks for coming by! i hope you enjoyed my tour. have a happy, & blessed christmas!

being santas helper

i feel like i have a pretty good grip on staying on top of the toys in our playroom. or should i say room(s) because it seems like we have toys in every room. always before the next rush of birthday or christmas gifts come in, the boys and i sort through what doesn't get played with anymore. we still have way too many toys to play with. it makes me sad to pack up the toys that don't get played with. maybe they rest in the garage sale box until the summer, or sometimes they get put into the donate box and go to charity. i guess i read the velveteen rabbit too many times, because it really does make me sad to send (i can't even call them unwanted) the unplayed and outgrown toys away.

but today i had an idea. it seemed like we had baskets of small toys laying around. some mcdonalds toys, a few books that never get read, leftover favors from birthday parties ect. i collected them all into one big basket and then started sorting the small toys into categories. i went to my stash of cello gift bags and grabbed some fun polka-dot ones. my favorite part of christmas (the gift part that is, i do like christmas for other reasons too) are all the small gifts in my stocking. so i thought it would be fun to package up these small toys into little gift bags. i will donate these this week to a church shelter. these gifts will be waiting for 'santa' to pick up and tuck into a needy child's stocking. and on christmas morning the children and these toys in their new homes will be surprised and happy.

it feels so good to be able to help 'santa' in this way. small gifts, that do add up when you go out to buy them, already packaged up. hopefully making christmas a little more special for those in need. i am not sure where the tears come from that are rolling down my cheeks as i write this. is it because it really does feel good to give, is it that these small toys, all packaged up, look really cute, or is it that i feel guilty that my children are so blessed to have what they have? maybe it is a little bit of everything and maybe i am just happy that these toys will be finding a new home in a few days.

an afternoon with friends

this is the third year i have hosted a cookie exchange. i always look forward to this little event as i get to spend a couple of hours with dear friends. old friends, new friends and lots of beautifully decorated cookies. it is so fun to see the kind of cookie that everyone brings.

i use an old sled on the kitchen island to hold some snacks. we have wine and mingle and just enjoy. i love to host parties, but i always regret that i never got to chat as much with each guest as i would have liked. i feel so blessed to have such a great group of friends to share a couple of hours with.

thanks for coming, being who you are, and for saying my house should be in a magazine (ooh how i wish!) ;) oh, and i thought of it too late for this years party, but i have a little idea for party favors for next years cookie exchange. i am bummed that i have to wait an entire year to do them, but it gives me and everyone something to look forward to next year! if you host a cookie exchange party, leave me a comment, i would love to hear about it.

fun at a local children's bookstore

if you live in the kansas city area, i am sure you have heard of The Reading Reptile. it is an independent children's bookstore in brookside, and it is adorable. it is a great mix of creativeness, kid friendly, feeds the soul, bookstore. they have story time, birthday parties, and a million things to look at while you are there. here, the boys found a comfy seat to pose for a photo.

riding the vintage horse is a must for every child.

the walls are covered with murals, and fun things hang from the ceiling. such a colorful, creative space.

i just love looking around the place. the books they have are beautiful and you can find books on every subject. i also love that they have a section for local authors/illustrators. i have purchased several of those types of books for gifts.

the boys love this little hide out. it seems that every time we visit the reading reptile we find something new.

they also have a front window with available toys for the children to play with. they will often be amongst other children and the house cat, who is usually stretched out on a little table in the sun.

please visit this bookstore if you have not. it is a great little gem that we have here in kansas city.

multi functional furniture

i love furniture. and because i buy inexpensive furniture, i am known to replace it often. take my coffee table for example. i found a really cute table from the 70's. it has some curves to it and looked a little french country to me. i loved it, and loved it even more after i brought it home and painted it black. i scooped it up at a second hand store because i couldn't find what i really wanted. what i really wanted was a bench of some sort. but sporting new black paint, i really liked the little table i found. it was always a smidgen too big for the space though, and that really bothered me. so over the weekend i went to a favorite place of mine called good juju. i found 3 benches to chose from! all at fantastic, low prices. so i decided on this beauty and lugged it home with me.

i love everything about it. the size, the color, the chipped paint, and especially the shelf on the bottom that allows for some toy baskets. this bench fits the space better than the little black table before it. so the black table is now in my basement, either waiting for its debut on craig's list or i will hold on to it for my next sale. AND i love when furniture is multi functional. this little bench is coffee table by day.......

and bunk beds for two silly boys come bedtime. i ran some errands last night and i came home to this. i beamed proudly when i saw this transformation. great things happen around here when the t.v. is off.

M also gathered two trays, one for him and one for his brother, to place their snack on. i couldn't even complain about the unhealthy snack choice. brothers playing together and being creative....i'll take it. my cup runneth over!

your bags are everywhere!

i have been doing shows for a few years and i thought i would share this tip with you. maybe you are just starting out, or maybe you are looking for a way to take your business to the next level. regardless, this tip is for you. at shows, other vendors will come up to me and say "business must be good, i see your bags everywhere!". or shoppers come up to me and say "i was curious to what everyone was buying. i see your bags everywhere!"

i found these great newsprint bags and use them at all my shows. they really fit with the feel of tray bella AND when my customers carry them around it makes others wonder what's in the bag (free advertising?? i will take it!). i think it has been great for my business. sure, they cost. but i am a big believer that it is all about the packaging and if you sell a great product why would you stuff it in a plastic grocery bag? be proud of what you sell, all the way down to the bag that your product goes home in. take your business up a notch by finding a bag that fits your business style. have fun and good luck!

3 shows in 3 months

and i am done! whew! three shows in three months was tough for me. but this is the best time of year for selling my trays. i just finished up the past two days at the kappa kappa gamma holiday home tour. (a huge thanks to my mom, sister and husband for helping out with the boys!! i can not thank you enough!) the gift shop was filled with approx. 25 vendors. i saw old friends and met many new ones (hello heather, robin and willa!!)

i have a few special order trays to get delivered and then i will start to enjoy this christmas season with my children. i will still be on the hunt for trays, paper and handles but will not be making any trays until after the first of the year. i love this time with my boys and they love it! let it snow!! oh, and speaking of handles.... i found the most fabulous handles! i can not wait to get them in the mail. i have an idea for a new line of trays....hmm, mmm. i will still create the trays i have in the past, these little beauties will be new for 2009! i can hardly wait to get going on them...but i will because they involve collecting pieces, paper, ect. even though i am taking a break from trays, i will continue to add to my blog. i still have christmas decorations to show, posts about my favorite things and who knows what else. thank you to those that read my blog, are new to my blog, and who came to see me at my recent shows. i am blessed!