What's in your purse?

It's been a crazy month. 

It started with Good Friday/Easter weekend: Kit and I both had violent food poisoning. I was out of commission for 5 days. 

Then came my birthday weekend: We stayed at a hotel for 2 nights which was awesome.

Next up was recital/dance concert weekend: As Assistant Dance Director, my job is to coordinate all the tiny details of these 3 shows. 3 different shows in 24 hours. It's THE BIGGEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR at my job. I also danced in a piece in the second concert, after already working for 12 hours by that point getting the first concert rehearsed and done, and rehearsing the second concert.

Last was craft fair weekend: How could I say no to one of the biggest craft shows of the year on our little island? Who cares if it followed the Easter/food poisoning, birthday, and recital weekends? It had to be done! And it was sooooo fun. A great environment and really profitable. 

Soooooo…. through all of this, my purse became a lot of things. The bicycle bag you see below is not really even my normal purse. I think I probably used about 4 different bags this month before resorting to throwing everything in this $3.00 Forever 21 canvas tote. So, what exactly ended up in my purse after 4 crazy weekends?

1. Receipts. Ace Hardware, Radio Shack & Starbucks. There's probably 20 more receipts in #9- my wallet. Who doesn't have receipts floating around in your purse. OCD Becca doesn't… but I haven't had time to be OCD. 

2. iPod. It's always in my purse because it's my #1 tool I use for work. Rarely do I listen to anything on there for pleasure, because I use it constantly for work. 

3. Sunglasses. I randomly have sunglasses all over the house and just grab the closest pair. I really like this pair. They're from the brand "Penguin" and I found them in my grandma's house the day of her memorial service 3 years ago.

4. Gift cards. Recital weekend is amazing in itself, but in the aftermath, I get to go through tons of thank you cards which often include some awesome gift cards! Here we have Gap, Safeway, Macy's and Jamba Juice. Again, there are probably 5 more gift cards in my wallet!. 

5. Check Book. My husband says I'm the only person left on the planet who writes checks. Not true. I bought this gorgeous orchid check book cover as soon as I graduated college, and I love it. Those are also 2 undeposited checks I've had floating in my purse for weeks, eek!! Reminder, craziest 4 weeks of the year. Don't judge. 

6. Planner. I write things in a planner, with a pen. Yes, I do. I can't do the whole plug it in my iPhone calendar yet. If I don't write it down, I don't remember it, and it won't happen or I won't show up. I love the size of this planner and the sleek black leather cover. The only thing problematic, the week starts on a Monday, not a Sunday. Drives me INSANE. I didn't realize it when I bought it. :( Other than that, it's perfection.

7. Gum. In a bag. I don't know why Trident even tries to sell this type of gum in humid Hawaii. It melts. I literally have to take it out of the cardboard package and put it in a plastic bag so that the sugary stickiness doesn't get all over my purse. I'm about ready to throw it away because getting it out of the wrapper is just as messy and cumbersome. C'mon Trident!

8. Hammer. And yes, it's floral print. I also have a matching screwdriver. I love them. I made Kit buy them for me as a Christmas present when we were visiting Arkansas last November. There could be a million reasons why it was in my purse (thrown in there with my sunglasses, iPod, iPhone…!) My guess was to hammer down something at the craft fair. 

9. Wallet. I love this Volcom wallet. It is a hard case with an aged leather cover and snaps completely closed so nothing falls out. 

10. Floss. In the midst of all this I had to go to the dentist and will be having 2 root canals. Thanks for the complimentary floss.

What's in your purse? After seeing the crazy contents of mine, I'm sure you'd have no problem revealing what's in yours. 

As exciting as it was, (especially the violent vomiting), I'm glad this crazy month is over and I can get back to having a super organized purse, free of hammers. 

Click here to see my "What's In Your Purse" post from last July. 

SPOILER ALERT: It came with a free bathing suit. 

Aloha, 

Rebecca

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Will you have me back?

Dear www.ivy-and-co.com,

I'm sorry I've neglected you. I have good reasons, I promise, and I'm going to tell you all about them over the next few days! It's gonna be exciting. The truth is, I've been on Facebook and Instagram like my life's depending on it and I'm trying to figure out that dang Google+ and Twitter.

Sometimes I feel like the only reason I joined twitter was to keep up with @jimmyfallon #JimmyFallon #TonightShowWithJimmyFallon
— Rebecca Owen (@IvyandCompany) February 28, 2014

In the meantime, I know you'd like a little love from me (aside from my Friday 4's, where I feature my Instagram favorites. You know me, I love to help promote other artists and bloggers!) 

So let's catch up! One day, these two things happened:

At Home

At Work:

It's funny how my home life and work life sometimes look so similar.

Speaking of work, my co-worker (ok, she's basically one of my best friends) asked me to "fix" this tear in her Billabong shorts. #Lacelove (I don't think I've ever used a hashtag on my blog before. I told you I've been trying to figure out Twitter!)

We sold our couch a while back, and I told Kit that we would not be getting a new one. Our living room would include a recliner, and my sewing center. After a little rearranging, my corner now looks like this:

Yes, that grey entertainment center used to be under our TV and was home to DVD's and speakers. But now it is full of sewing goodness. 

That shelf up above was in our bedroom, but I also cleared out our bedroom and streamlined the furniture in there (see the Wizard of Oz dresser here, and the Refurbished Antique dresser here), so it was relocated. I love it as it houses some of my branding items (tags, stamp, business cards, etc). 

And I love this photo of Ivy and I from Ajja Photography, so I put it up on the shelf, too. 

At first my computer was in the sewing area too, but I could only handle that so long until the sewing took over. So I created this little nook next to the Card Catalog. I love everything about it: the cane chair, my Mac, the coffee, my Rifle Paper Company weekly calendar, a permanent home for my external hard drive, a reliable stash of pens! I'll go more into detail about the black desk in another post, but I love that too. (Notice how suddenly all my furniture is going black?!)

So now, dear www.ivy-and-co.com, this is home to where I will write to you. It's focused, it's clear, and I'm ready to return to you. Will you take me back?

With love,

Rebecca

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Do you meal-plan?

Every wife/mother/eat-at-home-adult has their go-to meals. But when it is 5:00pm (or worse, 7:15pm, when I usually get home from work) and you haven't even thought about dinner, most likely it's not going to turn out very pretty. And 9 times out of 10 will probably just get take-out, which is usually not budget or diet-friendly, is it now? 

Do you plan out your meals each week? We started doing it this summer, and boy, has it helped immensely! I'll be honest, I resisted the meal-plan. I really did. I felt like it was way too "mother-of-the-year/martha-stewart." I thought it was going to drive me insane, and make me feel like a slave to grocery shopping and cooking. But, it's actually had the reverse effect! My grocery lists are more accurate, and I go to the store once a week, rather than a couple times each week, because I no longer forget to buy stuff the first time around. 

When I finally caved in to the meal-plan, I asked Kit to sit down with me and tell me what he would like to have each week. We came up with "theme-nights" more or less, to help us. Here's what's posted on our fridge:

MONDAY: BBQ

TUESDAY: Mexican, a.k.a. "Taco Tuesday" (tacos, burritos, enchiladas)

WEDNESDAY: Asian (stir-fry or ginger-sesame chicken over rice)

THURSDAY: Left-overs

FRIDAY: Take-Out

SATURDAY: Crock-pot (chili, beef stew, shoyu chicken)

SUNDAY: Italian (spaghetti, pesto, alfredo)

Under each meal, I list which ingredients we will need to have in our fridge and pantry to make these meals happen, which is what makes my shopping list so much more efficient. 

We've actually already revised the meal plan once since summer time, since my schedule is way different in the summer versus the school year. Thursday and Friday are busier days for me at work, so those are the best days to have leftovers and take-out and not have to worry about cooking. I'll be honest, I've gotten a little bored some weeks eating the same thing, but it's way easier to throw some variety into an existing meal structure, than it is to just dream up an entire meal every night, on the spot.  

Though it probably works well for some, I think the idea that women around the world were planning their meals on the following apparatus' was overwhelming me from even getting started on meal-planning:

from allparenting.com

from momsbyheart.net

from reasonstoskipthehousework.com

As you can see, my meal plan is on simple To-Do list paper written with a basic ball-point pen. I like it that way. It works for me. Maybe one day I'll graduate to DIY frames, clothespins or binders.

If you're nervous to get started, I encourage you to just give in and try it out! I'm so glad we did.

Aloha,

Becca

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What's In Your Purse?

As I mentioned in yesterday's post "Conquer Your Closet," I like things organized. Especially my purse. I carry it with me every day, and if I reach in and it's a wreck, I feel like I'm a wreck. Last week I felt like a wreck. Translation: my purse was a mess. So, what exactly was in there?

Let me break it down:

1. My re-usable bag, which is normally all compact in it's tiny matching pouch, which was no where to be found. 

Fun fact: Maui banned the use of plastic bags at stores back in January 2011. 

2. My church bulletin.

3. My wallet (Volcom) and check book.

4. My completed shopping list that should have been thrown away. 

5. Like, 10 receipts and an expired $10 off coupon for groceries. :(

6. Orbit gum. I'm sure Ivy chewed most of it. 

7. $0.50 and 3 bobby pins.

8. A Starbucks gift card (shout out to Sally) and 2 pens.

9. Suncloud sun glasses I got in Paia with my friend Jenny.

10. A monthly planner. I only like small ones with just the entire month on it. No weekly or daily breakdowns. I can't do electronic planners like the one on my iPhone either. If I don't write it down, I won't remember it. 

11. My adorable 'clutch' bag from Cailin with 3 MAC lipsticks, 1 MAC lipgloss and 1 Leona Lewis Body Shop lip gloss. (In high school, me and my best friends Brit and Mapu used to say "lipgloss makes everything all better.")

12. My work, a.k.a. my iPod. This is not used for listening pleasure. It is 100% for work. Ahh, the life of a dance teacher...

13. A free music download. I don't think I'll download it. I used to download ALL of them, but most of them were lame.

I had been using one of my favorite old Roxy purses. Isn't it cute? 

Well, it's been loved. Look at the straps:

I hate to say it, but I think it's on it's way out, because I can't keep it organized. I subliminally have no respect for it in it's dire state as the leather peels off it.

Luckily I found this new purse while hanging out with my friend, Ajja, last week.

It came with a bathing suit:

Not really, but it was 40% off the sale price, so the suit ended up being $30! Down from $72!! They basically gave it to me... :)

 And with that being said, what's in your purse?

Aloha, Rebecca

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Conquer Your Closet

I have a B.A. in Organizational Leadership. No joke. In college we called it the degree for future housewives. If you can run the daily functions of an organization, you can run the daily functions of your household, no problem. All this to say, I like things organized and efficient. My house, my car, my purse, my mind, all of it. My closet is no exception. 

This was the state of my closet before I conquered it:

In every house I've ever lived in I've always had a teeny-tiny closet. This includes all my childhood bedrooms, my college dorms, the castle I lived in in Austria, the dance studio we lived in in Kauai... all of the closets were overstuffed and bursting at the seams, nay a walk-in closet in sight. Now that I'm married, the closets seem even tinier, since I share them with my hubby. 

I was destined for some relief, so I figured I'd attack the clothing section of my closet. (That's sewing stuff down below. Not gonna attempt to organize that right now!)

So here's step #1: EMPTY YOUR CLOSET

Take everything off the hangers and get rid of the hangers you don't like or aren't functional. For example, I don't like wire hangers or cheap plastic ones you get when you buy clothing from a store. Trash 'em!

There it all is. Laid out on my bed. 

Step #2: GET RID OF STUFF YOU DON'T LIKE, WEAR OR FIT INTO. 

Step # 3: SEPARTE YOUR CLOTHES BY TYPE. 

I use the following categories: 

tanks/camis 

shirts

long-sleeve shirts

cardigans/jackets

dresses

skirts/pants

Step #4: TAKE INVENTORY OF WHAT YOU HAVE.
Now that your clothes are organized by type, take inventory of what you have. You can see if you have, say, 4 track suits from 2002 (see right). Do you need 4 track suits from 2002? No. I also discovered I had 4 white dresses and too many black hoodies.

Step #5: GET RID OF STUFF YOU DON'T LIKE, WEAR OR FIT INTO.

If you're like me, you didn't entirely get rid of everything the first time we did this step, did you? And now that you know what you have, you know what you need to get rid of.

Godiva snuck in to help -------->

Step #6: PUT YOUR CLOTHES (BY TYPE) BACK IN THE CLOSET ON HANGERS.

If your hanger collection allows it, use similar colored hangers for each type of clothing. If you're OCD, you could go buy all new hangers in the same colors. I'm not that bad, but it did cross my mind. I used what I had. The color coordination was hit or miss. 

How does it look to you? Do you like the clothes that you see? It's important to assess this, because there is no reason to put clothes you don't like back into your closet! Don't be afraid to repeat step #2 & #5 again!

Tip: 

For shirts with a looped tag in the neck, stick the tag through the hanger. 
Now my shirts don't slip off the hangers!

Step #7: CONSIDER SPECIALTY HANGERS

I invested in some new hangers for my nicer pants and skirts. (Casual jeans and skirts are folded and stored elsewhere.) With easy-to-use hangers for these articles of clothing, I actually want to take them off the hanger. Before, I didn't even want to bother, cause the hangers were time-consuming or the hanging method I used made them too wrinkled to wear without ironing. 

It may not look like any different to you, but this is my closet after cleaning it out. I cleared out two trash bags of clothes, and now I can actually move my hangers left and right and see all of my clothes. I like getting ready now, because my closet's not overstuffed and stressful. It's definitely lessened my "getting-dressed" time. 

BONUS STEP: GET YOUR DRAWERS IN TOP SHAPE!

This is what was in the bottom of my drawers- hunter green, stupid drawer liners. Seriously, these foam things NEVER stay flat.

But what was underneath wasn't too pretty-- warped wood, dust, and sand. 

I picked out a pretty fabric, fired up the glue gun, and lined all my drawers. 

After getting rid a bunch of clothes, organizing by type, assessing what I had, then getting rid of some more, I placed the piles back in the drawers. You know how I know it was successful? I can actually see the fabric on the bottom of the drawers. 

So get off the internet, stop reading my blog, and go conquer your closet! Have fun!

Aloha, Becca

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Clothes Pins - Fabric Strips and Vintage Buttons

I like pretty things. Who doesn't? I don't like spending $4.99 on 'chip clips' or 'good grips' or any other overpriced gadget to keep your snack bags closed. I just use clothes pins. Chips, crackers, frozen veggies, bags of rice, cereal... in my house you'll find clothes pins sealing them shut. But not just any clothespin... a pretty clothespin.

One Sunday afternoon I got tired of the bare wood look. 

I dug out my modge podge and some fabric scraps and beautified these babies. 

Then, an unexpected package arrived from my aunt in LA. It's the same aunt who gave me the vintage train case I upcycled, (click here to see that post), and the same aunt who lives in the awesome cottage I blogged about a while back, (click here to see that post.)

Vintage buttons!

Out came the glue gun and oila!

It's the little things that make life fun and pretty. 

Do you do anything simple like this that just brings a smile to your face every time you see/use it?

Aloha, Rebecca

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Magic Eraser Toilet Bowl Pinterest Fail

So you know that pin that says,

"Did you know you can cut a piece off a magic eraser and put it in your toilet bowl overnight and it will remove the toilet bowl rings?!" 

You haven't seen it? Well, click here.

I did it last night, and FAIL. It didn't work. After searching a few other pins, some of them are honest and say, "You will have to scrub a bit." Ummm... isn't that the whole point of a magic eraser? You use it like an eraser? The first pin promises to skip that step of having to erase! What a big fat pinterest liar! So, save yourself some time and just put some gloves on and wash your toilet bowl yourself.

Now, if only I could have back that minute of my life where I cut up my magic eraser and put it in the toilet bowl.

(Totally kidding and not at all bitter).

Aloha, Rebecca

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