Curb those shopping sprees

Is anyone else tired of looking at their computer screen after Cyber Monday??

I decided to avoid all the crowds and craziness this past weekend and just do my best to get some good deals online yesterday.  But boy, my credit card is aching!  

I realized that now that my holiday shopping is done (yay!), I am going to need to be on a stricter budget for the rest of the year.  That's when I saw these adorable pouches on etsy!  Instead of using plain paper envelopes to keep track of your cash, you can have these pretty ones instead.  Now, I get it that you are buying MORE things just to budget, but at least these will last you many many holiday seasons.  

What are you doing to budget yourself this year? 

~Leah

Turkey Day Wrap Up

So, how was your big FEAST this past week?  

We had a great time cooking some of our favorite dishes, spending time with family and friends, and just lying around on the couch as we tried to digest all that yummy food.  

Despite all of our efforts to make the preparations as smooth as possible, there are always little "hiccups" that are just unavoidable.  For us, like most people, the last 20 minutes before dinner are just NUTS.  Trying to get all the food out on the table and hot almost seems impossible.  And there were some things we definitely would have done differently...

So, to make sure next year's Thanksgiving is even better, I am going to make a list of what worked and didn't work while it is still fresh in my mind.  I'll put this list right next to my Turkey recipe so that it will be easy to find next November.  Here are a few things that will be on our list:

1. Buying the fresh turkey a few days ahead of time was 

MUCH better than getting a frozen one.

2. I need a bigger cuisinart for grinding up the cranberries 

(that was a huge mess I would not like to repeat!)

3. Dinner rolls are yummy

4. Buy extra disposable tupperware for leftovers

5. Create an oven schedule- heard about this from our cousin 

and thought it was genius!

What is going to be on your list??

~Leah

(photo credit: Lockette)

Gratitude

This morning I woke up feeling so much gratitude.  

I have so many things to be thankful for... 

 

San Diego sunrise

 My amazing fiance who gives me undying support and encouragement every single day. 

(and also makes me giggle!)

Our beautiful home- and this gorgeous city!

My incredible friends who completely spoil me and who are always there when I need to talk, cry, or better yet go out and dance.  :-)

Lovely clients who open up their homes and trust me to help them sift through their stuff.  

The most adorable nieces in the world who continue to amaze me with their wit and unconditional love.  And our newest little nephew who makes the best faces!

And this week, I am grateful for a "normal" turkey instead of the poor amputee that we had two years ago... we certainly learned our lesson when we after we tried to have Thanksgiving in January (Why not?!) and there were NO turkeys anywhere!  

 

Last but not least, I am grateful to YOU, my readers who indulge me in talking about my nerdy hobbies and organizing obsessions.  

Thank you for letting me be me. 

~Leah

(photo credit: Jim Nix)

A Weekend of Birthdays

Two of my closest friends had their birthdays this weekend.

I always have so much fun shopping for them (their favorite stores are also my favorite stores!)

I am usually very prepared with lots of birthday cards to choose from- as you could guess, I have a box of greeting cards ready to go for any occasion.  But this time, I just didn't have the right cards for these sweet guys.  I just wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be.

There are certainly worse problems than having to go to the store to pick out birthday cards.  I'm always the weird gal laughing by myself in the card aisle. 

Maybe you don't always have to be so prepared.  

If it means I get the chance to laugh in the middle of the day, then I'll take it! 

~Leah

(photo credit: Chez Larsson)

Big Discounts for YOU!

Isn't this Button Box adorable?!  What a cute way to store all the little necessities needed to sew back on that loose button.  So cute! 

Well, it could be yours for 25% off! 

See Jane Work has lots of new products on their website and they are offering this great discount ONLY TODAY.  Just type in NEWSTUFF11 during checkout.  See all of their new stuff here. 

I have my eye on these cool things myself: 

This Memo Mountain just cracks me up!

And how silly is this memo pad!  What a great motivator to try new things.  Perfect for kids AND adults.  Love it. 

~Leah

Turkey Day Prep

Has anyone started planning their Thanksgiving meal?  

We have!  

 

For the most part, we are just dreaming about all the delicious food we are going to EAT. 

But we have also started making lists for the grocery store and looking up recipes.  

And then there's planning the decor... what fun, new things can we do for our table this year?  

But anyone who knows me won't be surprised to hear that I'm mostly thinking about dessert!

How cute are these turkey cupcakes?!

What are YOU doing to prepare for next week?

~Leah
(photo credits: Mom Prepares, Miss Molly's Designs, Wish Upon a Cupcake)

Confession

Just when I thought that my addiction to The Container Store was subsiding.... 

This arrived in the mail.  Jeesh!

Stocking Stuffer Catalog!

How am I supposed to resist that place when there are adorable and fun organizing products like this, just beckoning me to drive over there and buy them all?!

Ninja Flash Drives

I mean, seriously?  Are these for real?? 

Page Pockets

So perfect for my new notebook!

Phone Bunjee

I MUST have this!  I can't be the only person who loses her phone in her big purse, right?  

So, should I give in to temptation and go back to that lovely and amazing store?  Or should I just sit at home and pine over all the incredible things that I'm trying to resist??  

Bah!  I'm already out the door...

~Leah