{New Years Resolutions}

I LOVE January! I have to say I think it is my favorite month of the year. I love how the house feels so clean and uncluttered after the past few months of holiday decorating has been put away. I love getting back into a routine and best of all I L.O.V.E  new years resolutions. Everyone seems to be starting out fresh, and at least for the first few weeks (maybe days) at the beginning of the month most of us are focusing on trying to be better.

 This year's resolutions have been especially fun and overwhelming for me because of Pinterest. I have board after board of inspiration on how I want my life to look, feel, taste and be, so much so that it is hard to know where to start. I decided to take a step back and think honestly about what my priorities are and then decide what I want and/or need to change to get to where I want to be as a person. Here is what I came up with, along with some of the pins I plan to use to help me out.

#1 I want to take my spiritual life more serious. I want to know and understand the scriptures and be a wife and mom that is lead by the Spirit. One way I plan to do this is by really studying the Book of Mormon. Here is the study guide I plan to use.

 

#2 I want to have a clean, organized home. I need to set daily cleaning tasks that are easy to stay up on and find better ways to keep it all organized and clutter free. I think I am going to start off the month with this one and then tweak it as I go to figure out what works best for me.

#3 I want to make regular exercise a habit. I am excited to try out this treadmill work out from Itty Bits of Balance. Perfect for me as a beginning runner. She also has intermediate and advanced programs.

 #4 Enjoy life! Enjoy ordinary life with my husband and not take him for granted. Enjoy being with my kids and the ages and stages that they are at. The person that I want to be is a happy one. I need to remember to regularly take a step back and recognize all that I have and then be thankful and enjoy it.

#5 Don't waste my time with people or things that keep me from being who I want to be. This quote from Richard G Scott is my motto for 2012.

 

So, there you have it! My top 5 resolutions for 2012. I should probably add  #6 through #87 and show you all the projects, recipes and decorating I plan to do too. But I'll save those for another post. I can't wait to get started! Wish me luck and I'll do the same for you. Happy New Year!!

-Junkie Sheri

{Entryway Makeover - Part 1}

If you read my post about my home improvement projects that I am working on this year, you will have noticed that Item #1 on my list was finding a tall mirror to rest on my entryway table. Well, guess what. Two days into the new year and I am already checking off items from my list! Woo Hoo!

As mentioned before in my previous post titled GOING GRAY, I painted my walls gray in my entryway, my kitchen, the family room, and the hallway. I had been wanting to do it for a long long time but then seeing all the amazing pictures of gray walls on Pinterest shoved me into high gear and I got it done.

Once the walls were painted, it was time for a new look in several places. I decided to begin with the entryway. Afterall, it's the first area you enter as you come into our home and I thought it would make a great place to start. I have always had a black table against one wall and I wanted to change the look by adding a tall mirror that would rest on top of it. I originally thought I was going to buy a mirror that had a brown frame but then I found a white one at TJ Maxx and went with it instead. Add in an existing wreath, lamp, and picture frames that I had in my garage and I was finished.

I love the look now. As I sit on my couch and relax or work (as I am doing at the moment) I am able to see the new display and it's the first thing I see when I come through my front door. This picture is great for showing you how warm and cozy it is but take a look at the white wood against the gray walls ....

So there is the first part of my "Entryway Makeover." The second part is currently in progress so check back to see the results!

{It's A New Year}

Do you set New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you actually follow through with them? Well, we are 2 days into 2012 and hopefully that means we are all still on track. If not, it's not too late to hurry and get some goals set now!

My goals and resolutions this year include the following ...


     1. Create and implement more family traditions

2. Drink more water (this is going to be a tough one)

          3. SIMPLIFY

4. Play with my kids on a more regular basis

5. Be Patient

    6. BE HONEST

          7. Read my scriptures daily, say daily prayer, and visit the temple once a month

8. Don't Procrastinate!!! If I say I'm going to get something done, GET IT DONE!

9. Use my video camera on a more regular basis to capture my kids in their childhood


And my #10?

10. Start working on the list of home improvement projects that I have wanted to get done for the last 2 years. And that list is quite a doozy.

And that was just the beginning. I added even more to the list and by the end of the day, every line on that paper was full. I suppose while it may seem overwhelming to look at 25 different projects to get done, I found it more thrilling that I had them all written down and could cross things off as I completed them.

And now it's time to let the fun begin - wish me luck!

 - Junkie Tawni

{Bathroom Hooks}

If you have spent any time on Pinterest chances are you have seen or pinned this quick little bathroom project.

 I like so many of you thought this idea was genius! I am always trying to find ways to make my small cozy home more space efficient. I loved the idea of assigning each of my kids a towel hook and I loved the idea of labeling them by using their pictures.  Here is what I ended up with.

 I snapped these pictures after the bath and then just popped them in some frames I had sitting around. It has been so nice to have a cute functional space for all 3 towels.

-Junkie Sheri

{Neighbor Gifts}

I was excited to come up with a plan for neighbor gifts this year. With Pinterest in my life, it's become so easy to find an idea and run with it. I consulted my "Gift Ideas" board and looked through the things I had pinned and came across this ...

Website: http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com

Click Here to see the original blog post

I knew I had ziplocks and plenty of cute paper/ribbon so I set aside some time at night and put them all together. I had pinned these DARLING gift tags from Jones Design Company (click here to see the original post) and put some cardstock in the printer and within a few minutes, my gifts were done!

{The Finished Project}

I had fun putting them together and even more fun eating "muddy buddies" as I worked!

- Junkie Tawni

{Christmas Party Invitations}

My mother-in-law called a few weeks ago and wanted to know if I would make some invitations for a party she was having. She said she didn't care what color or what style they were, just something festive. I have about 12 shelves of scrapbook paper in my garage so I went out and found some bright Christmas paper, some gift tags, and some red/white pipe cleaner that was laying around from a previous project.

Here's how they turned out ...

I used some plain black cards and inked the edges of my candy cane paper with a charcoal ink. I think ink makes every scrapbook/card project look finished.

They took less than an hour to make and best of all, my mother-in-law loved them too! If you are looking for a simple template for fast invitations/cards, use this one. It's my "go to" when I need to come up with something quick.

- Junkie Tawni