Baby Buddy "Size-it" Closet Organizers

My friend, the UPS man, stopped by today to bring me my closet organizers and I was soooo excited!  (P literally knows the UPS man at this point.  He tells me my friend has a package for me.  Oh boy.)

Lucky for me they arrived just after the kids had fallen asleep for their naps, so I got to put them in Bean's closet right away!  And I LOVE them!  They are absolutely going on my must-buy list for baby showers.  I can't believe that I didn't have these all this time!  They would have been such a huge help after my baby showers when I was loaded up with new clothes and no little cutie to put them on.  So here's a little photo tour of Bean's closet...before and after a visit from my bestie and the UPS man.

BEFORE. 

Yikes!  I know it probably doesn't look too bad to you, but trust me, it is.  See the gray arrow?  That's pointing you towards where I just threw clothes over the rod in the closet, where I shoved bags of clothes, both new and hand-me-downs, and where the hubs hid the box fan we use in Bean's room because I insisted on replacing the ceiling fan with a chandelier. ;)

This is my lap. 

It's under there, I promise.  When Christine and I organize, I do what she tells me.  She said empty the closet, so I emptied the closet.  Here's how it turned out...

 

Ahhhhhhh!  Beautiful!  I am OBSESSED with these labels.  They were super easy to put in, and they give you two stickers for every size so that you can make your labels double sided.  They also include blank labels in case you need more of something.  Now I know I am totally stocked on 18 month clothes for the Fall, I've kept out Bean's 18-24 month Summer stuff for Aruba, and I have all of the kids special dress up clothes and old Halloween costumes on the top right.  You can even get a glimpse of Bean's costume for this year :) 

So, there you have it.  I would absolutely recommend these closet organizers.  Bean's super clean and organized closet.   Let's see how long this lasts...

Switching Over the Closets

For those of you who live in the few magical places on earth, where the temperature is always a gorgeous 75, and it never rains or snows...

I envy you. 

I want to live there. 

I want to stop having to switch out my closet, my kids closets, my bedding, my kids bedding, my shoes, my kids shoes, etc., every 4 months or so. 

I really wouldn't care so much if I didn't have to store 4 seasons worth of clothes, shoes, and accessories.  I mean, where are you supposed to put it all?!? 

Anyway, at least once a year, I come across an outfit that I bought for one of my kids, that got shoved into the back of a closet or a draw, and still has the tags on it, when they have already outgrown it.  That drives me CRAZY!  Especially with Bean...she is still in the stage where her clothing size changes as often as the seasons and her clothes are WAY TOO CUTE to not be worn.  Today when I was looking through my One Step Ahead catalogue, I saw these for probably the hundredth time...

Every time I see these size dividers, I think, hmm, I could really use these.  But honestly, I'm cheap frugal.  These are only $8, but shipping is just as much, and that's another one of those things that drive me nuts.  (I sound like such a complainer...I try not to be! :/) 

So what did I do?  I did what I always do.  Popped it into google and see if they would come up somewhere else for a better price.  And guess what???  They did!!! Best of all, they showed up on Amazon!  With FREE shipping!  And they were only $4.99! And they came in all different colors, including PINK!  (I'd use two exclamation points if they came in purple ;) )

I am soooo EXCITED!!!  Thanks to Amazon Moms and free Prime shipping, I should have these guys in my hands by the middle of next week!  I can't wait to organize Bean's closet and share the pics with you!  :)  Woo hoo!!!

If you don't know what it means to be an Amazon Mom, you HAVE to go check out my post here.  It is a FAB-u-lous thing, and it's free!

Oh, and speaking of free, don't forget to enter my giveaway from yesterday's post!

Serial Fiction - My New Addiction!

If you are asking yourself, what the hey is serial fiction?!  It's okay...I wasn't quite sure before Irene either, but when I heard that we would probably be without power for "several days" I opened up my iBooks and Kindle accounts and downloaded every free book I could find.  I figured I should be prepared.  (Water?  Batteries?  Nah.  I had books!)

Anyway, one of the books that I happened to find, was this one...

 

I was instantly addicted.  As a matter of fact, Irene killed our power first thing Saturday morning and by bedtime Saturday I had finished this book and was looking for more.  The last page of the book stated that the story continued at www.denvercereal.com.  Of course, I was ecstatic!  I was aching to find out what happened with Jill and Jake and the rest of the family.  So, I figured, I'll grab the laptop and see what's going on.  And then I remembered...Irene.  That $%#%$ stole our power.

So, I did what any other sane person would do.  I convinced my hubs that we HAD to go to the mall, charge the laptop, and find some free wi-fi, and because the power was out at home and he really didn't have a better suggestion, we went! :)

Long story short - this is what I found out.  Denver Cereal started as a serial fiction.  A daily installment on a blog.  A chapter at a time.  No planning on the author's part, she just wrote it as it came to her.  And, now, 170 chapters later, it's still going.  Lucky for me, the chapters that have fallen off of her blog have also been turned into books.  And now, a few days later, I'm moving on to the blog to see what else is happening with all of my favorite peeps in Denver.

But in the interim, while we patiently (ahem!) waited for our electricity to return, I read these guys that I was able to download...at the mall...on the free wi-fi ;)

       

I'm amazed that these books were originally published in such small tidbits.  Every once in a while I come across something that is a little confusing, and there are a LOT of characters to keep up with, but in general, this book is filled with lots of story lines that are creative, intriguing, and make you want more.  So, if you have some time, (or you lose power for a few days), download these.  Last time I checked, the first volume, The Denver Cereal, was a free download on Amazon and iBooks.  Then, when you're finished come back and let me know what you think :p

Beach Books

I read beach books all year long.  I am addicted.  I am so mentally exhausted by the end of the day that it is just about all I can do.  Last year, for Christmas, J gave me a kindle, and since then my addiction has gotten worse...

See, Amazon often has free books to download, and usually they are categorized as "romance."  I'm not talking about smut...just your typical girl meets boy, boy screws up, boy fixes it, boy and girl live happily ever after type of stuff.  But, it's free, it makes me happy, and it doesn't take all that much thinking :)

So, when Amazon offered one of Jill Mansell's books for free, I thought I'd try it.  You know, pretty cover, contemporary romance, etc.  Sounded fine.  But really, it was more than fine.  It was fantastic!  It took the typical formula and upped it a notch.  There was more depth to the characters, there was more than one story line, and it wasn't all lovey dovey.  So, I searched for more of her books, and lucky for me, Amazon decided to put two more of her books on their "Sunshine Deals" list, so for I was able to get both books for less than $5!

I have read these three of her books so far, and have not been disappointed!  If you are a girlie girl like me, who loves a good beach read, check these out.

Miranda's Big Mistake

 Millie's Fling 

Perfect Timing