What's In My Purse

I love this purse I was gifted last Mother's Day.  It's weave makes it summery but the shimmer in it and chain straps let me use it in the cooler months also.

I love reading other bloggers "What's In My Purse" posts, since I'm kind of nosy and I like to see what other people carry around with them too, so I thought I would share what's in mine today...

Typically I prefer a bag that zips all the way and has full closure, but this one is growing on me and hasn't been a problem...

And I like the middle pocket that zips up so I can tuck away some things in there...

On one side I keep a little bag of supplies, my keys and a notebook...

I love this notebook. It's hard to see in this pic but it has these golden polka-dots on it that remind me of something Kate Spade would put out...only I found it at Target

I found this tiny make-up bag at Target also...

Here's what I keep inside it...anti-bacterial wipes for hands and faces (no explanation necessary), sunscreen, disposable toothbrushes, band-aids and Neosporin, chapstick and AZO pills (I tend to get frequent uti's and if I feel one coming on you better believe I start popping these things like candy!)

I also keep this little bag from my gym...

Inside is my heart rate monitor, deodorant and face wipes (for after my work-outs and I know I won't be showering right away...this helps combat little break-outs I tend to get on my face, chest and back from dirty sweat...ewww)...

These two inside pockets carry my lip gloss & anti-bacterial, along with my cell phone case for the gym...

My inside zippered pocket carries...

Some toddler fruit snacks (for emergencies) and mints...

Below is what I keep in the smaller zippered pocket inside...my checkbook, ladybug wallet (where I keep my credit cards and cash...the zipper is broken and drives my hubby crazy but a dear friend of mine bought it when my oldest was born (a long time ago) and I've been using it ever since...it's likely time for a new one)...my other plaid wallet (which I put my ladybug wallet inside of) is actually one my daughter made for me back when she was in her "duct tape" phase and she made it using only duct tape and a snack-sized ziplock baggie and a piece of tape that says "BEST MOM". I love it and she loves that I love it.

Oh and I keep 3 or 4 pens in there too because I'm always looking for a pen it seems!

Closer look of the best wallet in the world...

And that's what's in my purse!

Chalkboard Globe

A few months back I found this cute little globe at HomeGoods while shopping for some bookshelf accessories for our house.

I snapped this up because I loved it's size (small) and I loved the shiny silver finish on it...but I wasn't so in love with the actual globe itself (not loving the color scheme).

Last week I was finally able to give it a quick (and I do mean quick...likely 10 mins of my time total) makeover.

BEFORE

My materials included the globe, a small can of chalkboard paint, a foam brush and some newspaper to cover the table...

After two quick coats of paint, here she is perched nicely on one of our shelves...

I can't remember where I found that quote but I thought it was fitting for a globe

"Home is Wherever You Are"

And now I'm just dying to get my paint-on again...I've completed a few other projects that have involved my chalkboard paint...stay tuned!

Quick Kitchen Update

I love our current home.

But we didn't build it. Which means there are a few things that I would change about it if I could. One of those things is some artwork that is in our kitchen over our sink.

I thought about painting it a neutral color but then I quickly realized that is way too much DIY'ing for me and would likely be messy.

And then one afternoon I had an aha! moment...and came to a solution...

All iPhone pics (sorry!)...

I remembered we had this large wagon wheel type basket that was just sitting in a storage closet. In our last home it hung in one of those awkward designer "nooks" that you never really know what to do with.

Well I quickly (and easily!) put her back to work...

After checking that it was the right size I simply stuck on a small Command hook...

(below is a pic of the stucco built-in artwork I'm not in love with)

and hung her up!

Quick fix and problem solved!

And I love how it looks now!

Clean Make-Up Brushes

So on Sunday as I was getting ready for church I realized it had been a while since I had cleaned my make-up brushes. When I say a while I really mean, like, months.

Ewww. Gross. I know.

So when I got home I decided enough was enough.

There's really no reason for me to not do it often as I have the simplest, cheapest method for it, but I guess sometimes these things get put off.

There are quite a few tutorials out there in blogland and on Pinterest on how to clean your brushes, but here's my method. Tried and true.

I keep a small, travel size bottle of baby shampoo on hand to do the dirty work for me. This little puppy cost me about 99 cents...

And I simply soak my brushes in a solution of hot water and baby shampoo for a few hours

(take a look at that pretty water...and I was using those brushes on my face nearly every day...nice)...

Then I rinse them out under warm water and lay them on a paper towel overnight to dry...

And then voila! Nice clean make-up brushes in the morning!

I think we're supposed to clean our brushes weekly. One more thing to add to the list right!?

How do you clean your make-up brushes?

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I swear I make this soup at least once a week in the Fall & Winter months...it's easily our favorite!

It's so simple and so delicious that I thought I would share my recipe here.

Ingredients

1 pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, meat pulled off and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

3-4 stalks of celery chopped (leaves included)

3-4 carrots, chopped (washed but not peeled - the peel has all the vitamins!)

1 tablespoon butter (I use Smart Butter) or olive oil

8 (or so) cups of chicken stalk

1 bag of egg noodles

Salt and pepper

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Spices of choice (I typically use oregano, thyme, sage, onion powder, celery salt, etc.)

Method

Find your biggest pot and get it nice and hot on the stove, add your butter or olive oil.

Sautee your onion, carrots & celery.

Season with salt and pepper.

Stir.

Add your other spices of choice.

Stir.

Add your garlic cloves.

Pour in your chicken stalk.

Lastly add your chicken pieces and egg noodles.

Cover and bring to a rolling boil.

Once boiling, turn down your pot to a simmer.

Once you know your noodles are cooked serve it up nice and hot and enjoy!

Linking up A Bowl Full of Lemons

Sweet Valentine Coasters

Yesterday my daughter and I made a few of these sweet little Valentine Coasters.

They were fun and easy to make so I thought I would share them here...

Here's what you'll need.

I forgot to add a Sharpie into my materials but you'll likely need one of those too...

We started off tracing a large heart-shaped cookie cutter onto a thick piece of cardboard in order to make a template (I didn't want to be tracing my cookie cutter with my Sharpie), then cut out our template.

Next up we used the template to trace and cut out the rubber shelf liner material (found in the cleaning section at Target...I think two large rolls in one pack was around $5). We used this as the bottom of the coasters so they won't slip around on a table top.

Then we did the same with the felt fabric (we purchased our felt pieces at Michaels for 29 cents a piece).

Next up we glued the liner to the felt (be careful here as the glue may seep out of the liner holes a little bit and a) make a little mess & b) burn a little if you're using your hot glue gun).

You may need to trim your liner material a little if it's not lining up with your felt fabric. No worries...you won't see it anyway.

Then the fun part - embellish them with ribbon, more felt, or whatever your little heart desires (pun intended!)

Here's a few we did. We didn't quite finish with the top one yet, but you get the idea...

I loved using my little love coaster this morning!

If you try this out have fun with it! These would make some cute teacher's gifts, maybe wrapped up with a Starbucks gift card, or a sweet little gift for the grandparents!

Linking up HERE!

Thrifty Decor Chick

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My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

An Organized Pantry & Plastics Drawer

With the new year came an itch to restore some organization to my kitchen.

I don't know about you but a whole lot of baking and cooking goes on in my kitchen over the holidays and things tend to get a little out of control for us in there, especially with so much other activity going on everywhere else.

Instead of staying on top of the pantry and cupboards I have a tendency to sometimes haphazardly put things away quickly...out of sight, out of mind right?

But that only works for so long.

While I had some free time on our vacation over Christmas I went ahead and ordered some containers from The Container Store online.

They arrived a couple of days after we got home which was perfect timing for me to put them to work.

Sadly I didn't take any before photos of my panty but here are some after pics.

It's been a few weeks since I re-organized this space and I am happy to report so far everything has been a cinch to maintain.

This is a wide shot of our pantry from standing in the kitchen...I love Command hooks and use one to hang my aprons from

Way up high i keep all of my baking essentials...

Granola bars...

I like to keep my oils and vinegars contained and separate in case of spillage...

Side view...

I'm loving these baskets for my onions and potatoes...

One of my kids LOVES chicken noodle soup so we like to keep the pantry well-stocked...

Mac 'n cheese and other pasta related items...

 I've decided to just keep on hand white and brown rice. No more packets and instant rice...simple is better for me...

Our bulk coffee, flaxseed and Nesquick (did you know chocolate milk is the best recovery drink after sports? We keep lots on hand for our active kiddos)...

Cereal, crackers and granola bars again...

I love to use these bulk cereal containers. I can easily tell when we're about to run out and it's cheaper to buy my cereal in bulk

Next up was a quick Tupperware drawer re-haul...

Previously this drawer was a MESS...we literally just threw all of our plastics in there from the dishwasher and it was each man to fend for himself when it came time to find a matching lid (and let's be serious...this was typically not a man's job, it was usually mama's).

I pulled everything out and made sure there was a matching lid to each container...any extras got tossed.

Again, no before, but here's the afters...

It makes me happy to have these spaces organized and more functional now!
How about you? Did you do any kitchen organizing after the holidays?

Pin it!

Linking up at A Bowl Full of Lemons

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at House of Hepworths