Image Courtesy of: This Is Glamorous

I look at this closet space and just get sad. How awesome would it be to have a closet this G-L-A-M?!  I mean this isn’t even a walk in closet – it’s like they turned a room into a closet!

I literally have to give clothes away whenever I buy something new because they don’t fit in my closet anymore! And to be able to have my shoes showcased like this is just nonsense. Hopefully I can afford a closet like this one of these days, I mean come on, clothes need their space too!!

I’m all for small, eco and gas friendly cars, but today, I wish I had an SUV.

    And I didn’t even take a picture of the trunk…

The Little Lancer That Could made it home in one piece, and I somehow got everything in the car that I intended to bring home.  It took me significantly less time to get the stuff inside the house afterwards, since I didn’t have to maneuver the spiral staircase, walk down the apartment steps, and out to the parking lot once I got home.

BOOM! MESSY ROOM!

This is my usual unpacking strategy: make a huge mess, and then slowly undo the mess and organize everything.

Meanwhile, as I climbed the stairs again and again, my dog refused to cooperate…

“Oh, am I in your way? …don’t care.” -Jaden

She would not get off the stairs.  What’s even funnier is that this dog HATES getting her picture taken, and wouldn’t budge, even when she saw I busted out the iPhone to do just that.

 “Wanna test me?  I’m not going anywhere.”

So far, I was able to organize and get everything back in the closet.  I’m not a huge fan of my closet, I don’t even have an insane amount of clothes and it gets cluttered pretty quickly.  I need to figure out a better use for that top shelf-right now, it houses a box of random stuff, a blanket, and my unopened sewing machine, which I hope to use soon!

I’ve got the plastic drawers in there for a sock drawer and whatnot to get me more space for the approximately 3,000 t-shirts I’ve accumulated in my actually dresser.  I don’t know how I have so many- I’ve donated some, saved some in a separate bag to make a quilt out of…and they’re still everywhere!!

The rest of my room needs a bit of work, but a trip to Target tonight to pick up a few things will help me with that.

My next post will include all of the fun things I bought at the outlets and got as graduation gifts yesterday

Now despite my love for clothing, I’m not a crazy shopper. Thanks to the blessing/curse of being a full-grown five feet nine and a half inches tall since the age of about twelve, a lot of my clothing has stood a solid test of time by teenage standards. However, considering that I’m almost nineteen, a lot of this clothing has gotten pretty tired.

Oddly enough, I take great pleasure in getting rid of stuff. Or, more specifically, putting it into bags and leaving it out in the hallway for my parents to take to the Salvation Army for me (thanks parents!). I think the trick with cleaning is to be totally ruthless. My rule of thumb is that if the article of clothing has holes in it that can’t be repaired to make the garment look somewhat new again, get rid of it. If it’s stained, toss it. If you haven’t worn it in over a year for a reason other than you forgetting you owned it, donate it.

My dad always says that you only really wear the top three t-shirts in the drawer, which in my case is pretty accurate. However, in the process of throwing out holey shirts and donating ones I should never wear again, I usually find some things that somehow got lost in depths of my closet, which I can happily add to the top three t-shirts in the drawer.

So now, I present to you my closet, as well as my makeup drawer because that was almost worse. At first it might not look that bad, but when compared to the finished product, you can see how disorganized it was.

Before…

And After!

I moved our coats to the closet in the play room, wince it is on the main level and actually half-way between the front and back doors – convenient for grabbing our coats or hanging guest coats. Once I moved the coats, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t much more to move. I had recently gone through this closet, again, in preparation for my garage sale, so I didn’t have much to move. I was optimistic (despite living in Michigan) and moved our winter boots up to the attic. I did place them within easy reach, though! Then I moved a couple of boxes with china from my grandma that I don’t have room to display but hope to some day up to the attic. All that was left was a picnic basket and a picnic backpack. I moved these to the laundry room storage area, and told myself if we didn’t use them this summer they were going to be in the “get rid of” pile.

I then moved a bunch of books into the closet, a beanbag and a couple of pillows, and put a lamp in there. I have plans for other lighting, but wanted the kids to be able to start using it right away. My sister gave me the great idea to use Christmas lights or those decorative outdoor lights in there. I think I am going to get a string or two and hang them, using the rod that used to hold the coats.

My kids LOVE the space and I haven’t been able to get them out! At two and five, they are perfect ages for having a fun space all their own where they can hide away. And I was so thrilled that all my clutter-clearing efforts have led to us having a whole closet space we can devote to something fun. Since we have no garage and no basement, I never thought we would be able to do that in our current house!

See below for the pics of our “Book Nook” – complete with a happy Roo and Monkey in it!

The boys in the Book Nook!

A little wider view

My “home gym”–my parents bought me the stationary bike after a visit to their cardiologist over twenty years ago. Heart disease runs in our family like the Grimaldi curse–they also got themselves a bike and a treadmill. I’ve had this bike a long time, and I broke the speedometer, but it’s still a good ride. (At least I won’t have an accident on this one!) Not shown: the dumbbells which are on the floor near the bike….

My library. Almost all of my books are here, along with every other kind of media I use–movies, TV, games, music (unlike most of my neighbors, I don’t make everyone in a five-mile radius listen to my music–I use earphones!). My photo albums are here. And my work, via cloud storage.

My computer–a netbook, actually….

Now, if I could just whittle down this group….

 I rattle when I walk. Seriously.

Your home is the most crucial haven you may have. This is the place where one can just relax and do anything whatsoever you want. Nobody let you know should you walk around naked or puff some esmoke electronic cigarettes just for fun. However, you need to do have to maintain or change your home in order to look good since it was when you initially purchased. This is especially true to people who bought houses that need some renovations. But before you begin pounding some walls, you have to keep in mind what you want and consult a competent contractor to assist you.

* Too many bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, particularly if you have a big family. One bathroom is only great for three people, at max.

* A lot of bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, especially if you possess a big family. One bathroom is just great for three people, at max. So if your household includes a lot more than three, you should come with an additional bathroom to prevent overcrowding. Imagine if two of you really have to go but there’s just one bathroom to use. Or if all children need to take the bathroom to go to school on time. Exactly what do you anticipate the other someone to do, puff some esmoke ecigarette? Of course not. They’ll surely fight for bathroom time if you don’t have sufficient. This may really be troublesome when the balance ratio of person-to-bathroom is not met.

* Huge Kitchen and no Living Room. An excellent kitchen is a home’s must-have attribute. This is because it’s the place where you retain, prepare and cook glorious food for the family and guests to savor. Especially to people people who love cooking, a great kitchen is essential for them. But don’t get too caught up with the idea of having a big kitchen for you personally might forget other areas of your house. A typical home includes the kitchen and family room area to be in a single space. So don’t make your kitchen too big that you simply don’t have enough space for the family room.

* No closet space. An enormous bedroom is anybody’s dream. You might consider looking for one since your interior planning scheme will certainly expand. The size of your bed, lights, furniture and so on are what you could fill your room with. But don’t get too overwhelmed with the designs you are able to create for you still do require a closet. Don’t ever forget to place a closet space in your room for you personally definitely need one.

Want to find out more about esmoke coupon code, then visit Katie Petrovich’s site on how to choose the best esmoke reviews for your needs.

Cleaning out closets, as well as de-cluttering, rearranging, tidying up, etc., is invigorating and load-lifting and freeing.  It just makes me smile!  It’s like sunshine on a rainy day!

Help ME help YOU by buying my stuff, my treasures, that I really should let go of…and you can own something for less and I can be free of excess weight and have more closet space!  I urge you to do the same by selling on my site too!

Email me to become a seller of your stuff on this blog site too! Your name will go in the “sellers” column with all the other souls selling stuff!

Tumidei Spa – http://www.tumidei.it/home_eng.htm

Your home is the most crucial haven you may have. This is the place where one can just relax and do anything whatsoever you want. Nobody let you know should you walk around naked or puff some esmoke electronic cigarettes just for fun. However, you need to do have to maintain or change your home in order to look good since it was when you initially purchased. This is especially true to people who bought houses that need some renovations. But before you begin pounding some walls, you have to keep in mind what you want and consult a competent contractor to assist you.

* Too many bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, particularly if you have a big family. One bathroom is only great for three people, at max.

* A lot of bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, especially if you possess a big family. One bathroom is just great for three people, at max. So if your household includes a lot more than three, you should come with an additional bathroom to prevent overcrowding. Imagine if two of you really have to go but there’s just one bathroom to use. Or if all children need to take the bathroom to go to school on time. Exactly what do you anticipate the other someone to do, puff some esmoke ecigarette? Of course not. They’ll surely fight for bathroom time if you don’t have sufficient. This may really be troublesome when the balance ratio of person-to-bathroom is not met.

* Huge Kitchen and no Living Room. An excellent kitchen is a home’s must-have attribute. This is because it’s the place where you retain, prepare and cook glorious food for the family and guests to savor. Especially to people people who love cooking, a great kitchen is essential for them. But don’t get too caught up with the idea of having a big kitchen for you personally might forget other areas of your house. A typical home includes the kitchen and family room area to be in a single space. So don’t make your kitchen too big that you simply don’t have enough space for the family room.

* No closet space. An enormous bedroom is anybody’s dream. You might consider looking for one since your interior planning scheme will certainly expand. The size of your bed, lights, furniture and so on are what you could fill your room with. But don’t get too overwhelmed with the designs you are able to create for you still do require a closet. Don’t ever forget to place a closet space in your room for you personally definitely need one.

Want to find out more about esmoke coupon code, then visit Katie Petrovich’s site on how to choose the best esmoke reviews for your needs.

According to completely reliable, not at all bullshit internet articles, based on opinion rather than scientific study, sleeping in the middle of the bed may be detrimental to your romantic future.

Supposedly, refusal to cling to one side or the other indicates a lack of preparedness for a romantic partner and an apathy for sharing. Additionally, if your clothes are crammed wall-to-wall in your closet and you have no empty sock drawers to provide a future mate, you are just asking for a life of solitude. Personally, I think sharing is overrated.

And what’s wrong with solitude, anyway? Superman had a whole fortress of it and it was awesome. It had holograms, crystals, ice sculptures, caverns, a hammock.

I refuse to choose bed sides. I find that sleeping smack in the middle of my queen-sized bed results in a soothing, restful sleep. There are other wonderful benefits of sleeping alone: I can hog the covers all I want, nobody cares if my feet are cold, I can pile up as many pillows as I care, I can watch a movie and eat popcorn in bed, there is no morning breath stress, I can hit the snooze button on the alarm clock 30 times if I feel like it and I rarely fall out of the bed anymore. These are all worth celebrating, if you ask me.

I was reading an article on the subject earlier and when I thought about the possibility of sharing my closet someday, my skin started to feel clammy and my chest tightened. I don’t want to share my closet space. Ever! What a horrible thought. For that reason alone, the sleeping-in-the-middle-of-the-bed situation aside, I think I prefer permanent singlehood. You’re the first to know.

I believe my reasoning makes complete sense.

On the first day of the year my family and I moved almost 1,500 miles to a new house in Miami, Florida. It was hard leaving a community that we loved and friendships that we spent over fifteen years cultivating. On top of that loss, the people of Miami have not exactly welcomed us with open arms. That is just not their way.

I was just telling a new found hair dresser that we are planning to invite our new neighbors over for a Friday night cocktail hour. With a smile she said, “you’ll be lucky if you make it to the door with the invite before they yell for you to get off their lawn.” She was smiling, but I’m not quite sure that she was kidding (we thought we’d try the party anyway, call it a social experiment! I’ll keep you posted).

Even though our hearts have been a little heavy missing old friends, we have not had much time to think about being sad! The kids started new schools two days after our plane landed and we have all been preoccupied trying to adjust to new schedules.

We rented a home in Coconut Grove that is almost 1,000 square feet bigger than our house in Dallas. I had not laid eyes on the house until we arrived with all of all earthly possessions and were handed the keys.

Kuddos to my husband and realtor! The property is even better in person that it looked in pictures on the web. The pool is a gorgeous blue, the palm trees and foliage are so dense the kids tell their friends we have moved to a forest, and the hardwoods throughout the entire upstairs are beautiful!

Despite the sheer beauty of the neighborhood and yard, AND the very well made details of the entire home, the best part of this house are the closets! The architect of this property did not let one inch of space go to waste. If there was wall, she put a closet there, and she did not skimp on square footage. These closets go both WIDE and DEEP and they are glorious! The home was built about 40 years ago and some time between now and then a resident certainly had some “stuff.” Either that or the local Container Store was having a liquidation sale and the owner could not resist a good buy. It looks like the Container Store threw up in here, but I am not complaining. The shelving is wonderful.

I have to admit, my mother was right! It DOES feel good when everything has a place, and when every place has a thing. Clutter really can start to bring a person down. It has made my unpacking experience almost fun. And I will tell you, even though I can’t get one of our neighbors to lift a hand in a wave, much less a smile, my new 8 foot 5 foot closet makes me smile each morning. I think with the empty floors and the matching hangers, that closet might be smiling back at me, and for now, that is enough! I’ll work on the Miamians tomorrow. Baby steps!

I love the idea of using cornice molding as a place to hang glamorous shoes and bags so they can be admired in between outings.  It also keeps them nicely organized and never at risk of being forgotten at the back of the closet.  The cornice can support clothes hangers, making some room for putting blouses and dresses on display too.

To me this is the perfect DIY project as it’s quick and easy, functional and wall art all rolled into one.  Best of all, it can be made to fit any wall space you have and, if need be, can grow with your collection.

DB fantasized about it many times. As a shopholic she feened for it. More closet space! Finally Ameba has done something right for a change.

As of yesterday your Pico account comes with a walk-in closet. You can now store up to 700 wearables items.

Enjoy the taste of that very little amount of progress that Ameba has bestowed on us.

- AF

When asked if I like shopping, I always feel as if I’m being asked point blank if I’m vain. Of course I am. Who isn’t? I really mean that. Who isn’t?

(Even the most fashionably challenged or demure or supposedly indifferent have something to say with what they wear. Everyone, everyone, cares about how others perceive them, even if that perception happens to be eschewing fashion. Casual and “easy going”, sometimes to the point of invisibility/blending-into-the-pavement, stylish, flamboyant, grungy, trendy, delusional, misguided, colorblind—whatever your style, you have one by necessity of you not being naked.)

I used to say no. No, I hate shopping, even. In fact, I hate malls. Truly. They drive me crazy, I say, knowing that the best lies are the ones framed by truth. There’s something, I continue, in the air filtration system in malls across the universe that fumigates the life energy out of my blood cells and suffocates my brain. Now, this may be so, but what is not true is the hating of shopping.

I love shopping. On the internet.

If weed is the gateway drug to meth-addicted prostitution, eBay is the gateway to internet shopping induced bankruptcy.

I juggle numerous subscriptions to discount shopping sites. These sites sell shoes, clothes, jewelry, handbags, scarves, hats, coats, jackets, cosmetics, and more shoes. Deals on travel destinations, kitchenware, houseware, men’s ware, barware, children’s toys—even these entice to me though I know in my heart that I have no intention of buying anything under those categories.

It started with an eBay purchase. I don’t recall what it was. But I remember being incredibly skeptical. I changed my mind a hundred times, arguing with myself that charging my credit card for something on the World Wide Web was reckless, unwise at best.

If weed is the gateway drug to meth-addicted prostitution, eBay is the gateway to internet shopping induced bankruptcy.

Successful delivery after successful delivery later, I was hooked. And Amazon! Is there anything more wonderful than Amazon dot com? You save enormous amounts of money on books and suggested books and you don’t have to comb through the used books section at the local used book store to find what you want. The prices, too, are nearly the same as a brand new copy from Amazon. Shipping is free if you spend more than $25, which is not at all burdensome for me, and your order often arrives sooner than you’re lead to expect. “Under promise, over deliver” seems to be Amazon’s ethos. I respect that.

The ubiquitous Amazon box

Then to make matters far, far worse, I found ideeli.com. The deals were incredible. Everyday was a Black Friday. It would be the middle of July and deals found only after eating my weight in stuffing and pie with no hope of fitting into the pants I got at an amazing sale at the mall (gag me) would be gleaming on my screen in the comfort of home. What was this wonderfulness? I didn’t care. I just wanted to go to there.

They sold dresses. I started cultivating a taste for dresses. Why had I been ignorant of the convenience and instantly feminizing effect of dresses? You get a top and a matching bottom in one garment.

There was also a whole world of fashion labels I’d never heard of before: Kenneth Jay Lane, Paris Vertigo, MM Couture, BB Dakota, Hype, Gracia, W118 by Walter Baker, Pour La Victoire, N.Y.L.A., Tahari Aurthur S. Levine, to name as few. Did you know that Lindsey Lohan has a line of clothing called 6126? It’s actually kind of fabulous…online.

It will come as probably disapproving surprise to my family and friends that I’ve purchased hundreds of dollars worth of shoes in this manner. They will go from disapproving to horrified when they learn that I moved on from dresses to satisfying every jewelry and coats and handbag whim catered to by the discovery of HauteLook dot com, BeyondTheRack dot come, IvoryTrunk dot com, and WorldofWatches. Dot ca-ching!

Simultaneously, there was the unveiling and meteoric rise in popularity of the online coupon site, Groupon. It spawned the ever growing and enormous cluster of offspring sites at the speed of a bacterial infection, which I appreciated like the probiotics in my yogurt. They grew and thrived in cyberspace to keep my account balance consistently in the single to double digits. I’ve used numerous online coupons at Indian restaurants, brunches at Irish pubs, clothing stores (surprise, surprise) like GAP and American Apparel. I bought so many that some have expired–money capture and lost to the Web.

The UPS tracking number is like the numbers on my mother’s lottery ticket for the big jackpot. Except unlike the string of six magical numbers upon which she pins her lotto hopes and dreams, my tracking numbers guarantee delivery. All my hopes and dreams actually come true.

What is the pleasure I reap from shopping online that I can’t seem to cultivate in malls or even quaint street side boutiques flanking cobblestone sidewalks with those low-level gas lit street lamps? Or even flagship stores for high fashion designers where the customer service agents ask if you’d like a flute of champagne or an espresso while you browse?

(Okay, I’ve never actually had that happen to me. The nearest I ever got to feeling like a VIP customer was walking into a Louis Vuitton in Milan clad in a tank top and cotton shorts with camera around my neck and being mistaken for a member of the Japanese tourist contingent, who all carry wads of hundred dollar bills in their starched khaki trousers from GAP, an all American company, which proves how time heals all wounds even of the H-bomb variety. That or GAP produces some compelling television commercials that can bridge cultural and historical boundaries.)

There is matter of convenience. I don’t have to try on anything. I hate trying on things. Especially when something is just a little too big or a little too small and I have to put all my clothes back on and go back out onto the showroom floor to find the right size and go back to the changing room and end up waiting in line again only to discover that the cut or the stitching or the color isn’t quite right even with the correct size in hand.

There’s also the waiting for the package especially once they send you the shipping confirmation email. The UPS tracking number is like the numbers on my mother’s lottery ticket for the big jackpot. Except unlike the string of six magical numbers upon which she pins her lotto hopes and dreams, my tracking numbers guarantee delivery. All my hopes and dreams actually come true. The day of the arrival, I refresh the tracking website every 30 minutes, even sign up for the SMS notice when it arrives on my doorstep. The anticipation is almost worth its weight in a new pair of Steve Madden Suede wedge boots. They’re gorgeous, by the way. I got a compliment within fifteen minutes of stepping out the house with them.

Delivery package from all over cyberspace

Then once the package arrives….Well, is there anything as fun and exciting as opening a package? It’s the delight of Christmases and birthdays and anniversaries. When it’s not Christmas and not my birthday or an anniversary. It’s the thrill of undressing a new lover or Russell’s scrubs off of Russell. (Russell’s my boyfriend. He’s got a sexy hairy chest and a wonderful personality.) Opening the front door after a fresh snowfall. Opening a fresh copy of my book that has yet to be finished. (I do have dreams beyond internet shopping.)

The next day, I have a brand new outfit. I look fabulous and it makes me feel wonderful. I become the woman of the pretty blouse or the successful dress, the stylish heels and the alluring earrings that makes men and women alike whisper compliments into my ear.

But there are the downsides besides the knock to my bank account, which is too obvious and tedious to go into here.

My closet, which used to be just the right size, is now entirely too small. I’ve resorted to tossing clothes on my sofa because I put off having to struggle with parting the red sea that is my closet in order to usher in the chosen garments for the great exodus from my couch. Just a couple of days ago I bought a standing hanger from Target for $10. I wanted to buy it the way I wanted to buy fat clothes when I was overweight. It’s rickety and only manages to hold about a dozen pieces of clothes (thanks a lot) and my room still looks a mess. A jewelry armoire became necessary because a simple box wouldn’t do the job. Did I mention the hangers I had to buy for the standing hanger? I have clothes, dry clean only, waiting for pick up at the cleaners and they’ll continue to wait because I have no room for them at home.

What it comes down to is this: the more stuff I have the more stuff I need to put the stuff away. I have so much stuff that I can’t even enjoy them because they’re buried under stuff or left in the care of strangers. This is probably where I’m supposed to wise up and wax on about the soul defeating materialism of the age, meditating on society’s eschewing human interaction in preference of mouse potato-ing, the spiritual bankruptcy of my life filled with clothes and shoes and bags, theorize on how it’s come to this (Mother’s inexorable loyalty to Ralph Lauren? My Presbyterian upbringing? Reading Oscar Wilde’s complete works?), consider the emotional emptiness and dwindling self-esteem I’m trying to bolster by stuffing it with stuff, only to end up with a hanger from Target.

But I won’t go into any of that. I don’t buy a word of it.

The real lesson here is this: I need a bigger closet.

I’m a thirty-four year old woman with a decent job and a fabulous boyfriend whose head I still delight in making turn with a sexy pair of stilettos and a leopard print dress. I’m young enough to wear plunging necklines and scandalous mini-skirts, but old enough to know that youth and beauty fades faster than can be imagined and so I know to enjoy it while it lasts. Vanity is my duty.

So, fine, I love shopping. And I need a bigger closet.

Because my Dymo Label maker is failing me. Let me clarify that previous statement. I own this:

I didn’t purchase it because it was $10 more.

I didn’t respond very gratefully. In fact, my pout much resembled Theodore’s when he is told to clean the playroom, and I do believe I huffed just the slightest bit. It looks neater now, until you turn around and look at the pile of stuff in the floor that still needs a new home. It sure will be easier to keep clean though.

Basically, I don’t do my laundry for like a month (I have a king’s ransom in socks and underwear), and I evaluate what is left in my closet at the end of the period. And you know what? My closet is still ALWAYS FULL. As it turns out, I would rather wear a few marginally clean items that I love, than the majority of what I own.

But then comes the tricky part.

When I look in my closet, I see possibilities: “I can wear that again when I lose 10 lbs.”  or  “Maybe I just need to find the right top for that skirt.”  Even though I haven’t worn these clothes in months, I have such a hard time getting rid of them, because I can imagine how amazing my life could be if I could just figure out how to make them look good on me. I’ve had these clothes for so long that I’ve grown emotionally attached to them, even though they don’t fit me/look good/work with my wardrobe AT ALL. In short, my overzealous wardrobe optimism is becoming dangerously detrimental to my closet space.

Well, the swap is less than 2 weeks away, and it’s time to force myself to let go.  It will be painful. Blood and tears could potentially be shed… But, it’s necessary for my personal growth. Oh, and to make room for all my new swap swag.  Here is what you can get out of it:

1. The hot pink hooker heels that I wore to my ill fated wedding in 2007.

2. A puffy floral skirt that will never be work appropriate, no matter how much I want it to be.

3. Why do I keep buying peasant blouses and dresses?

4. More Rogues Gallery stuff that I never wear. I worked there 4 years ago, I was never a T-shirt person anyway. It’s over.

5. The polka dot cha-cha skirt that only looks good on me when I don’t eat for 3 days.

6. “My neck is too fat for these” necklace assortment.

7. “It’s been 3 years and 30 lbs, and the skinny clothes box is still untouched. Maybe it’s time to get rid of the whole damn thing” bundle.

This week, I get up close and personal with my own closet and open my door to show you what works for me. Plus, get a simple tip for warm tootsies!

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