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Monday, February 7, 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011

Another Giveaway!

Another fabulous giveaway at A Bowl Full of Lemons today! This time, you can win an adorable handmade cleaning caddy from Thirty-One. I never win anything but here's hoping!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Organization!

Hi, my name is Emily and I'm a mess.

Seriously.

I was not raised by a mom who worried too much about keeping a neat and tidy house. We wouldn't have made it onto that TV show, "Hoarders," but it just wasn't much of a priority. If my room was messy, it was okay as long as I closed  the door.

Steve was raised by the best housekeeper on the planet. I am not kidding you. Every inch of her home is spotless, perfectly organized, and divine. You might think you would be uncomfortable and nervous about making a mess but it really just feels wonderful. My MIL also works a full-time job. I really want to run a house like she does but can't figure out how to make it a priority. I know it seems so easy to you neatniks out there - you just do it - but for me I struggle to find the motivation. Although I usually only work a 50 hour week, I exert a lot of mental energy at work so when I get home I only want to relax.  P.S. When did 50 hours get paired with "only"? Time to move to the  Netherlands, where the work an average of 26% less hours per year compared to the United States. Could be worse, though. South Koreans work 34% more than us!

Okay, okay, I digress. Turns out I blog like I talk. All over the place. The point I was getting to is that, although I enjoy my leisure time, I am certain I would like it more in a more organized environment. I stumbled upon the blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, recently. It is devoted to leading a clean and organized life. I haven't spent a lot of time on there yet but am hopeful it'll be good. She is doing weekly challenges and I'm determined to follow along. I just went to Office Depot to purchase the supplies for Week #1 - The Home Management Binder! Check out her blog and follow the challenges with me - I need all the motivation I can get! Here's to a neater,cleaner 2011!

Cheers!
Emsielou

Embroidery Machine!

Sweet Steve got me a Brother embroidery machine for Christmas! It is fancy so it will also be my birthday present this year. So worth it! I let it sit on the kitchen table for 2 or 3 weeks after it arrived because I was intimidated by it. Turns out I was worried over nothing. It is SO fun and pretty easy, too! If you forget how to do things, like wind a bobbin on it, there are little step-by-step videos on the LCD screen. I made these double pointed knitting needle pouches as my first project with the machine. I have been neglecting my regular sewing machine, as well, so it was good to put it to use.

http://kathrynivy.com/patterns/extras/needle-pouches/

I embroidered the size of the needles on each pouch. It was so fun to make something that combines so many of my crafts - embroidery, sewing, and knitting! I am kinda partial to mine because they are covered in either monkeys or polka dots. I hope someone out there gets to enjoy this pattern, too! If I actually get better about blogging I promise to take better pictures and format these entries better. That's all for now. Happy crafting!

xx,
Emsielou