Jewelry Organization Tips for a Small Space

I am a nosey person by nature. Therefore as an avid blog/vlog follower some of my absolute favorite videos or posts are all about how people organize their stuff. I know that probably sounds so weird and creepy, but its true. In light of how much I love those posts, I thought I would do one of my own. I have no clue if this will be interesting to anyone but I had fun putting it together so here it is :)!

My husband and I live in a barely 400 square foot studio apartment. Needless to say anything that can do double duty, storage/looking cute, is what we tend to go for. You can open literally anything in our apartment and find something in it... Every cupboard is stuffed, every drawer is full and every surface is piled with things (in the most ascetically pleasing way of course).

When we first moved in (over a year ago) it was somewhat challenging for me to find places to put everything. Jewelry specifically was a challenge because I had always organized it on top of my vanity... But seeing as our apartment is so tiny my vanity area was the first thing to go, more specifically the vanity never entered the apartment. Sooooo all my jewelry needed to find a new, consolidated, home.

Up until about 3 months ago the bulk of it was living in zip locks within several small dresser drawers by our bed (not exactly efficient space wise but it was the best option for the time being). I was so sick of this because I could never find anything and everything felt messy. Necklaces were tangled, earring were constantly found without their mates and nice jewelry pieces where getting damaged from being mixed up with other jewelry. So here were my simple, inexpensive and quick solutions:

1. Get rid of some! Lets face it everyone has things they never wear. I had a ton of jewelry I hadn't worn in ages so for the sake of organization and desperate need of space, I donated it. My goal was to be using only one drawer for jewelry instead of all three. Other things need to go in those drawers for goodness sake!

2. Find a way to use one of the drawers in an efficient way. To do this I bought a faux crocodile felted jewelry carton (I really have no idea what to call this thing hahaha, there is a picture below). This thing has made my life so much easier when it comes to finding my earrings, daintier bracelets and rings. It also helped consolidate so well that I was able to put my husband's watches and a few pairs of my sunglasses (not pictured) in the drawer!!!

3. Keep like items all together. To do this I did end up using the surface of this dresser for jewelry. I have a necklace holder were literally every necklace I own is hung. I also have a glass vase to hold every bangle/chunky bracelet I have. The final jewelry organizational thing I use is a ring holder my husband got me for the first birthday I had after we got married. This is where our wedding rings go every night without fail so we never risk loosing them (my cat ring is also there right now because I wear it almost everyday).

On the surface of the dresser I also keep mine and my husband's perfumes/colognes. I've organized all of them (as well as the ring holder and glass vase) on a silver plated tray which I feel really helps everything stay were its suppose to be. There is a tall glass jar in the back were I keep pony tail holders, bobby pins and a head band handy. In the very back corner is just a mug of pens, a picture frame (which I still need to fill with a picture of MY actual cat) and a lamp.

I should also ad that I keep several "jewelry trays" around the apartment for times when I need to remove rings in the kitchen to do dishes, or when I'm sitting on the couch feeling to lazy to walk 5 ft to get to the jewelry "station'. These trays are great because they make certain that jewels never get put someplace random, knocked to the ground and then lost FOREVER. And that's pretty much it as far as my jewelry organization tips go!!!

"25"

Today is August 25th, 2014 and today I turned 25... Wow. My whole life I have in some way always looked forward to/dreaded this day. It's my golden birthday, it's also the day I turn a quarter of a century. I thought for sure the days before this day I would be an emotional wreck, I mean what have I accomplished in life?! I'm a nanny with a college degree, I have a husband and a cat that I think is my baby. Those are great things, accomplishments, millstones but many times I see only the things I have yet to do and thought I would have by this age.

I tend to look at my life this way ALOT, a bit negative. But what I began to see in the days leading up to this day were not all the things I haven't done but rather all the things I have experiences and accomplished. I began to appreciate the life I have so much more than ever before. This is not a bragging moment but rather a moment to say to myself and to anyone reading "even if you haven't done all you want to do, there is still time and don't forget everything you HAVE DONE!".

I was positive I would have like three babies by now but I haven't one (besides Vivienne, I'm pretty sure no one counts her though). But seriously having no babies yet is the best ever! I want kids more than anything else in life but I know now it IS NOT the time. God has opened up so many opportunities for my husband and I that we could not have taken advantage of if we had kids. I don't even live in a full sized apartment, I live in a studio, never thought that would happen... But it is amazing! We save so much money and it honestly is perfect for us. I have a husband who is not what I ever would have expected... He is more amazing than I could have ever dreamed (even though we drive each other nuts). I have a steady job for three kids whom I absoluty love and a cat who literally is the light of my life.

I am not a mother, I do not own a home, I still have school debt, I haven't lost any weight I wanted to loose before the big 2 5 and sometimes I wish I had a job with people who could have a real GROWNUP conversation with me. Sometimes my life seems to be very little of what I thought it would be. But today I can honestly say I am not only content with it, I happy with it. I know there is time, I don't need to rush but rather keep on the steady pace I have been on. THERE IS TIME. I want to enter my 25th year celebrating the years I have lived and able to look forward to what has yet to come.

So instead of being depressed and dwelling on what I haven't accomplished I am excited for what will be one day and proud of all I have done so far. God has done so much in my life and led it in directions I never would have expected. I am overwhelmed looking back and thinking of all the people I have met, the relationships we have and all the times we have spent together. I realize now more than ever how so many of these people changed my life and I am so unbelievably thankful for them. Even if I had accomplished nothing in these 25 years, the friendships and family relationships I have alone would amount to a rich and beautiful quarter of a century.

So heres to 25 years of an incredible, difficult, beautiful, joyful, miserable, exciting, perfect with all its imperfections life! I am thankful for every moment, disappointment, accomplishment, mistake and choice I have ever had to make because they made me who I am today. I am excited and nervous for the next 25 years and cannot wait to see what they have in store! 

*Photos were taken by the amazing Heather Peters!

Sweet Vacation

On the agenda today, start "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" by Gregory Maguire, paint my nails (OPI  "Bareing it All" and Essie "Where's my Chaffeur"), drink tea while enjoying the smell of this pineapple candle, perhaps tan poolside... oh and do a freaking ton of laundry (not pictured hahaha).

I am currently on vacation and loving just about every second of it (minus the flea issue that I wrote about in my last post)! Last year I went to visit my sister in Florida during my summer week long vacay but this year I opted for a "staycation". There were several reasons for that decision (money, whether my husband should take time off after just starting his new job, leaving Vivienne...) and honestly in so many ways I actually find a staycation far more relaxing.

I'm a little home body. I love to be alone, watch my shows, eat Phineas and Ferb Mac and Cheese, read a little and just fall asleep whenever the mood hits. (On a side note, I never knew how perfect a cat is for this lifestyle. Adding Vivienne to the mix was the best thing I ever did for my introverted sole). I've also spent a great deal of time a Target shopping the clearance and going to several different Starbucks to greet the Baristas I can't typically see during my workweek, oh and of course to get an iced tea :).

I always have to laugh when the Baristas ask me "So where are you going if your on vacation?" and I respond "Home to do some cleaning!" then they say "Girl your suppose to be relaxing!". The funny thing is that is relaxing to me!!! I am not saying I am opposed to going on actual vacation but I am saying that I do not get the same rest during a destination vacation that I do on a staycation.

I actually sleep differently when I stay home for a week with nothing to do. I dream intense (very weird) dreams that I can literally tell are processing things I have been dealing with in my life. I also get the chance to do any of the deep cleaning I need to do (clean the fridge, reorganize the pantry and clean the shelves, perdge my closest for the millionth time...) and cook dinner every night without it being a burden!

It truly is amazing how when I have more spare time the things I typically see as burdens after a long day of work (cooking dinner, cleaning, organizing, even reading a book) become the little things I find the most joy in. Maybe its unhealthy or OCD of me but seriously I do not think I can be any happier than I am when I'm siting in a clean apartment reading a book (cat by my side), with dinner simmering on the stove knowing my husband will be home in an hour. Pure bliss I tell you!

If there was anyone out there wondering what I was up to on my vacation now you know! I think I will now put on some clothes (aka a bikini and coverup) and head to the grocery store before I change my mind and go directly to the pool with my book and tea ;). Oh how I love vacation!!!

Vivienne loves vacation too.

What You See IS NOT Always What You Get

Today I was abruptly woken by itchy ankles. My initial thought was "dang you razor burn" but upon further examination of the itchy area I realized it was something else... FLEA BITES (insert angry face, insert disgusted face, insert devastated face). Some of you may be thinking "Alexandra you have a cat, just get her flea prevention/treatment and all will be fine" and to those who are thinking this, thank you but it is not my cat that has fleas (yet) it is the apartment we live in!

This same exact thing happened last year, only 3 months after we moved into the apartment. The fleas were relentless but we managed to tame them after not one but two extermination attempts by professionals and one of our own. I was utterly disgusted that we had fleas and absolutely livid that they were in our apartment by no fault of our own seeing as we didn't even have our cat yet.

This year we do have a pet, little Vivienne, whom is an indoor cat. She DID NOT bring in these fleas!  Not to mention the fact that since we had the fleas last year I have been actively preventing them with natural products and extreme amounts of vacuuming. My apartment is clean gosh darn it, why oh why has this happened to us again?!!!

Okay my rant about these fleas is semi over... This post is actually about the parts of my life I let people see and the parts that I don't. For example the flea issue. For whatever reason everything within me was saying "Suffer in silence, don't tell anyone about this because it will make you look bad. People will think you don't take care of your cat or home". Here's the thing, maybe thats true, people may think that but why should I care? Why do I hide the parts of my life that aren't the most glamorous or perfect? The answer is PRIDE. It has nothing to do with feeling embarrassed but rather has everything to do with creating a "persona" or "facade" that is still me, but only the very best of me.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have posted Instagram pictures taken at angles so you can't see the pile of dirty dishes in my sink. Or the number of times I have made my husband retake a picture so you can't see my double chin. I have zillions of little tricks to make things look more "perfect" than they are but those trick will never change what actually is. Even if you can't see my double chin in a picture people it's still there! I can also currently take a picture of my apartment and hashtag it #cleanapartment because it looks spotless but guess what, it is still infested with fleas regardless of how clean it looks.

My point is a picture these days is sometimes not worth the typical thousand words, sometimes its only half the story. Instagram and Facebook make it easy to hide the things deemed not so perfect and make for an easy platform to build a glorious facade. I'm not by any means saying its bad to put good things on social media but I am saying that at least for me the issue is the need to hide things so that the good looks even more pristine.

Soooooo in conclusion sometimes I am fake, sometimes I post things (literally and figuratively) using tilt shift to blur out the "imperfectness" surrounding the "perfectness". Truth is I want things to look better than they are. What you see may be a reflection of me, but it is not always the clearest most complete reflection. There is no good reason to do this and not only is it unhealthy for me, it can be hurtful to others. No one's life is perfect and there is no need to make it seem as though mine is. So next time you see me post a picture I probably just threw all my clean laundry into the closet unfolded, unhung so it's not "messying up" my very necessary cat picture. Or if I post a picture of myself, assume it's the best I looked all week because I most likely just showered and won't for another 4 days... maybe 5 (yikes, I know).  

Paper Love

I am totally obsessed with this
"City-To-City Stationary Set" from Anthropologie.

For as long as I can remember I  have had an immense love for paper products. I remember the love I had for the French school paper I used growing up; with colorful lines strategically placed to help make each letter the proper size. I remember getting beautiful stationary as a child intended for Thank You notes. I remember wishing I could keep each card because I loved them so much; yet also dying for a reason to fill a card with words so someone else in turn could enjoy the paper's beauty. 

When I was 10 I went to France and came back with a rather strange array of souvenirs. There was no tiny Eiffel Towel in my bag but rather an entire suite case dedicated to notebooks of all sizes and adorable stationary with some of my favorite European cartoon characters.

Thankfully I have also had an immense love for writing for as long as I can remember, so none of that marvelous paper ever went to waste. I love the act of putting ink on a page, words on paper. I love the way a great pen feels as it glides across a notecard (I also have a major pen infatuation btw). Literally writing letters is art to me. There are few things I find more completely satisfying than the act of saturating a piece of paper with words. Filling a dainty little notecard with kind thoughts turns the already beautiful designed card into something precious.

Over the years my ever growing stash of stationary had become quite the hoarding situation (I don't even think my husband knows the full extent since most of it is in storage). I kept purchasing cards and notebooks always with the intention of writing in them but simply hadn't in quite some time. So in an effort to give my treasured little cards true purpose I started writing letters to loved ones.

As I did this I began to realize how many things go unsaid when I see someone in person or talk to them via text. Rarely do I ever just gush about how much I love them or list off all the ways they have inspired me. In writing a letter I had the perfect opportunity to say all these things and more.

I tried my best to rack my brain for words and phrases adequate to express just how incredible they are. All the while realizing how truly thankful I am to have them in my life. I really am privileged to know some amazing human beings!

So here is my challenge to you. Regardless of if you have a love for paper or writing, get out that old stationary, or perhaps go buy a new set, and write to a friend or family member. Tell them what they mean to you and how they have impacted your life. It will not only brighten their day but most likely put a smile on your face or even a tear in your eye as you remember what a gem you have in that person.

These are my most recent stationary
purchase which I find completely adorable!
Target never fails.

Four Meals, One Chicken!

This is the stalk I am currently making. It smells AMAZING!

Between work, household chores and other obligations, finding time to grocery shop as well as cook healthy meals (although a priority) can sometimes be hard to come by. A lot of times I am not off work until 6:45pm and the last thing I want to do is go home and cook let alone step foot in a grocery store. I have learned that the only way for me (or my husband) to put a HEALTHY meal on the table is to meal plan. But more specifically meal plan meals that are easy to shop for AND easy to cook.
One of the easiest (and cheapest) ways I have found I can do this, is with a rotisserie chicken. I could make my own whole chicken but honestly the time it takes to prep and cook it sounds daunting to me. So for the time being I will use a store bought rotisserie chicken (the Costco ones are my fave). Anyways as the title of this post suggests, I can use this chicken to make FOUR MEALS for the two of us if I am properly organized (pre-purchased all necessary ingredients).

Here are the typical four meals I do with the chicken:

1. Chicken breast, Homemade Mac and Cheese (with a cauliflower sauce), and Steamed Veggies.
2. Chicken Salad served on Whole Grain Toast- chicken breast, a little mayo (just enough to bind the ingredients), Grey Poupon Mustard, celery, dill, red onion, cayenne, *salt, pepper.
3. Drum Sticks (as well as other dark meat) with BBQ sauce, Mashed or Roasted Red Potatoes with garlic, Grilled Veggies.
4. Homemade Chicken Soup- pull remaining chicken off bones (just the white meat). Then place carcass with skin and remaining meat in a stalk pot. Add celery, carrots, cayenne, *salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Cover completely with water. Allow to simmer for several hours (the longer the better). Strain chicken stalk. Add partially cooked pasta, raw carrots and remainder of white meat chicken previously pulled from the bone, bring back to a simmer and cook until carrots are al dente. 

Ta-da!!! Four meals (maybe even more because that makes a lot of soup :). I thought I should add that although the stalk does take quite a while to cook I do not find it very time consuming, as the bulk of the time is spent letting it simmer (no work on my part). Most times I even prepare the stalk a day before. When I get home from work the next day all I have to do is heat the broth on the stove and add the last ingredients... perhaps make a few grilled cheese. Yum!

These recipes are all so easy and husband approved (my husband likes them)! I would also just like to reiterate, if you are not particularly fond of rotisserie chickens you could totally make your own whole chicken at home and still make all of these different dishes. I use rotisserie chicken for the mere simplicity as well as the inexpensive cost.
If you have any further questions about any of these meals please feel free to comment below. I'd also love to hear from you about any quick healthy recipes you love to make!

*Keep in mind when making anything with store bought rotisserie chickens that they are pre seasoned. So add salt only if really needed. Although I put salt in the recipes listed above, I always make sure to taste the food before adding it. 

My Struggle

With bikini season fast approaching, I am reminded all too often that since getting married I have put on a "bit" of weight. I'll just be honest here, 20 pounds. I know people always say you will gain weight after you get married but I really did not expect to gain so much that my clothes would no longer fit!!! The weight gain happened what seemed like overnight. I knew I had been eating a lot more and hardly working out, so this was pretty much bound to happen. I still felt/feel frustrated about it though.
I am now at a stage where I am no longer gaining nor am I loosing. I have plateaued. Because of the plateaued status of my weight I have a dilemma: should I try to loose weight or should I learn to love my new fuller, but still healthy, body. Most days I actually am completely content with my body, cellulite, stretch marks (which I've had since my teens), soft belly and all. But there are other days when I just think "Man how did this happen? Will I be happier thinner?." In those moments I like to examine the articles of clothing the smaller version of my body use to fit into.
Loosing a lot of my wardrobe has probably been the hardest part of the weight gain. There are days when I decide to go to my closet just to try things on to see if they still fit (not a good idea) and when they don't I'm destroyed.
There have been many a time when my poor husband has come home to a sea of denim on the floor and a puddle of me sobbing thanks to this unhealthy little ritual. He, of course, says all the right things... But in these moments nothing he says will ever be victorious over the hateful thoughts I have been hurling at myself since the very first pair of pants I tried didn't fit.
I do not necessarily hate my body in these moments but I most definitely feel like a failure. "If only I ate better or worked out more", "Obviously I am doing something wrong", are just a few of the things I tell myself.
When I am feeling this way, my first instinct is to diet and exercise, like crazy! But once I take a step back and look at my situation I become extremely conflicted. I know there is nothing inherently wrong with working out or eating more nutritiously. But what I have found is there is something wrong with doing this out of "hating" my body and thinking I can only love a "skinnier", "more toned" version of myself. I know that if this type of thinking is not abandoned, it will never matter how much weight is lost or muscle is built, I will never be happy with my body.
I need to be able to love my body the way it is right now, today. I need to live a lifestyle that is conducive to doing that. Upon much thought I have come to the conclusion that the only way for me to do this is by being at a weight that is easily maintainable as well as healthy (both physically and emotionally). This means I will probably never plan to make any drastic changes to loose weight (crazy diets/extreme workouts) but I will make changes to enable myself to become a healthier person.
Some of these changes include better eating habits, adding a bit more physical activity to my life, but really the majority of the changes I need to make are mental. I have got to stop beating myself up for gaining weight. I am not unhealthy and there is nothing wrong with gaining a little weight! I should probably get rid of the clothes that no longer fit... This will be a hard one but I'm sure extremely therapeutic. It will make a huge difference to know that everything in my closet actually fits. Plus I will need to buy new clothes! I do love an excuse to go shopping ;). I also need to be praying about this. God created me and loves me the way I am. I could use a little more insight on how he sees me and a little less insight on how I see myself or how I think the world sees me.
With some of these changes may come weight loss and if that happens, then great! If not I want to be able to be okay with that. Like I said my goal is to be content with my body no matter what. This will be a process for me, maybe for the rest of my life because my body will be constantly changing with age. As these changes come I want to not only be able to accept them but embrace them.