I have days where I’m coasting along getting a ton of work done then I have days like today where the day totally gets away from me and I’m frustrated I didn’t finish as much as I wanted.  Such is life.  Some days you accomplish much, other days, you’ve got to close up shop, relax on the couch, recharge, and tell yourself in the words of Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”   Since I didn’t get much done today beyond the morning dishes and responding to a few emails, I thought it the perfect time to answer a FAQ I get a lot: “How do you manage to do so much?”  Oh the irony! 

Here are the five tools this full time momma blogger relies upon most for time management, organization, and all that jazz.   

1. The “Mom Binder”:   I make one of these every year, it’s often called a Command Central binder, but it’s the one that’s filled with the school calendar, PTA information, homework policies, contact list, and sports schedules.  I store it in the family room computer armoire when I need to look something up!

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey everyone!  I’ve been feeling slightly under the weather today – it must be all that running around getting ready for back to school and my new exercise routine – I’m drained!  I decided to give myself the afternoon off with a movie on the couch and some homemade thirty minute minestrone in the hopes I’ll be reenergized!

Tomorrow (Thursday) is a great day for any of you with burning DIY questions – if you’ve got one be sure to ask it over on the True Value Facebook page where I’ll be sitting at my computer answering questions as they post.

Be back tomorrow! 

Pssst, the winners of the $100 True Value gift card giveaway announced here, was it you?

.

My friend is redoing her master bedroom and can’t decide what to hang above her bed.  I told her there are a medley of options available, from mirrors to artwork to nothing at all.  Her dilemma got me thinking … so I came up with ten different ideas for what to hang or display above a bed in a master or guest bedroom.

1.  Mirrors, Large and Small.  A mirror is a natural choice since large or small, they create an instant focal point above the bed.  You can always balance out a large scale piece with smaller artwork off to the side above the nightstands.

 Paper City Mag

Courtney Giles

Style at Home

2. Black and White Photographs.   A series of black and white photographs framed above a bed is always a sophisticated classic – the bigger the better!

Better Homes & Gardens

Style at Home

Angeleno Interiors

Read the rest of this entry »

A get this question via email and it also came up at a recent luncheon with a good friend.  Dun dun dun, get ready, this is it!  “What do you think are the keys to blog success?”  My friend Natalie was the one to ask it most recently.  She and I met working in the same office 13 years ago and she told me she was thinking of starting a blog and my response was “Great!  Absolutely!”

Natalie is that gal who not only has impeccable taste but also painted her own two story house all by herself  without any help and while the babies napped because she couldn’t stand that the house they bought was salmon pink and she wasn’t going to shell out thousands to a professional.  I love that kind of gumption.

Natalie threw a few questions my way, good questions, ones that I’m sure a lot of new bloggers have so I answered them and I thought I’d repeat them here.  If you want to start just a hobby blog then by all means ignore everything I say but if you’d like to see yours grow to a business or you’d like to work with brands in your niche, then here are ten tips that will improve your chances for success. 

Read the rest of this entry »