Dressing Your Truth - Spreading The Love!

I just had to let you know that Dressing Your Truth is at it again! They are Spreading The Love and they want you to be a part of it! I cannot even begin to tell you how much this program has changed my life. You can read a bit about my journey with DYT here.

This is an awesome time to become a part of Dressing Your Truth.

Want to see something amazing? Just check out these before and afters!

Organizing My Jewelry

My jewelry organization - or lack thereof - has been bothering me lately. I needed a pretty way to display my jewels instead of just tossing them in a dish or jewelry box. I came across this post almost two years ago from Kevin and Amanda blog. Amanda's earring organizer always stuck with me and it's taken until now to finally recreate my own version.

I started with an "as-is" frame from a decor store. There was no glass but it wasn't needed for my project so it was perfect! I also scooped up this photo hanging kit from the dollar store. I mainly needed the photo hanging wire, but there are some really great hooks in this kit. This whole project cost $3.

The wire can simply be cut with some heavy duty kitchen shears.

I painted my frame with some cream acrylic paint and a foam brush. I would have loved to have spray painted it as it would have been MUCH easier, but at the time, there was snow on the ground. Not spray painting weather.

I then twisted the wire together to give it some dimension. You could also stick your stud earrings in those little bumps in the wire but I haven't got that far yet.

I decided to use thumbtacks to hold my wire in place. I just wrapped the wire around the tacks and pushed them into place. I can easily move the wire one day should I need more rows for my earrings and plus, Christine's son had finally went to sleep so I was not about to use a staple gun or hammer and nails to secure my wire.

And wa-la!

I hung my earring holder on the wall on an existing nail.

Here is how I'm storing my jewelry right now. The wrought-iron necklace holder is an item from Pier-1. It was sold a couple of years ago so I doubt it will be in stores now. I have it holding a basket with some body sprays and perfume in it. When I find the right sized plate, I'll add that and make a more pretty display, but for now, I'm working with what I have. :)

I also purchased this little rectangular plate to hold a little dish that houses the rest of my stud earrings, a few bracelets and some odds and ends. I like to keep my flower pin right on top. This plate also holds my wedding rings at night.

Baby monitor in the background. Just keepin' it real.

So there you have it! Jewelry storage! I love looking at all of the dangly bits and bobs. Now, I'm wearing so much more jewelry than I had when it was shoved out of site!

Cookies and Thrifting

Ahh...thankful for another good day. Shane and I went yardsaling today. Trying to catch the last of the summer sales before there are no more. Not much luck. I ended up buying a black scrolly picture/plate holder thing for $1.00 that I could have just as easily purchased at the Dollar Store for the same price. Ah well, my dollar helped a lady out. Later Shane and I spent most of the afternoon at his grandparents for a visit. Did some grocery shopping and then later to Value Village (our overpriced thrift store) for some more goodies. They were a bit weak on treasures but I did find a nice pedestal candle holder that is white that would look just as great spray painted black. I also scooped up a really tall scrolly candle holder. Both items were $1.99 for a grand total of $4.50 (with tax). Not too bad but not too good either. Either way, I do love what I bought.

Working on getting Shane ready for school on Monday. Bought him some food goodies to take with him. My grand plan for the day was to spend most of it baking goodies for him to take. I have a few quick breads (bananna and a coconut bread), muffins, and some cookies (chocolate chip for this week). But alas, it's 9:00 and we won't be heading home for a few more hours. Tomorrow I also will have a busy day as after church I am participating in a Ministry Fair to encourage girls to sign up for our Sunday School class. My friend Ashley and I are coleading a video series called "Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry" by Lisa Bevere. It's supposed to be pretty phenominal so I'm excited!

I'll leave you with a really great tip for a busy household who loves goodies (i.e. cookies!). Set aside a day to make lots of dough. Double or triple your batch! If you are making a slice cookie (such as peanut butter cup or a chocolate cookie) form your dough into a nice log. Wrap the log in saran wrap. Take your trusty Sharpie marker and write the baking instructions onto the saran wrap. (For example: Peanut Butter Cookies - 8/12/2008 - Bake on greased sheet @ 350 for 8 minutes.) Then pop in your freezer! For busy times when you need cookies, all you need to do is lob off thin slices and bake! For drop cookies, lay saran wrap onto your cookie sheet. Drop plops of dough onto your sheet and then freeze for a few hours. Add those plops to a bag that you have written your baking insturctions on. (See above) When you are hungry for chocolate chip cookies - or whatever - just pull out of the freezer and bake!