not a trophy wife

Home Office Updates

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HI everyone! This year has been a busy one with my decision to return to real estate and goals to grow the other love in my life… my blog. #wink. I  can’t believe it’s been almost a year since this happened.  Needless to say, I am a work in progress. And, my home office update continues to be a work in progress, as well.

I fell in love with this lamp I found at HomeGoods. I fell in love with the white and brass finishes; it was perfect to get me out of my patterned lamp shade stage.

Now that you have a taste of the new here was my office a few years ago. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.

I didn’t love this color so I repainted the walls while watching all three Bridget Jones’ movies.

Of the three Bridget movies, which one is your favorite?

I still have that chair, but because of Dropbox and online everything,  I no longer need a 50-pound file cabinet.

And, I get my go-to files over here at Target.

folders / curtains

And, then there are the large slider windows that face the backyard. I have switched my desk so I face towards the

window. And, I switched it around where my back is to the window. I get a little creeped out when I can’t

see what is outside the window. Do you?

Here’s my desk. I got in on clearance on New Year’s Eve. Pottery Barn keeps a list of interested customers for their floor model pieces. Score! Check with your local Pottery Barn store.

I tried placing my desk to the side of the window but didn’t like it. But, seeing this view below I may try it again.

The desk is a little too big; it gives me more space for stacks and paper.  In fact, we use it as a second dining room table during the holidays.

 

Source: Pottery Barn

I fell in love with this vertical chalkboard from Home Goods. But, it is just chilling on that huge wall from my previous office.

Stay tuned! I do have a thing for chalkboards.

 

And, finally here is this Bowerbank bookcase I bought here.

It’s a little crowded, but it’s a work in progress; just like me!

Disclosure: Some of the links on this post are affiliate links and I may receive a very, small commission if orders are placed via these links. 

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Crafts to Complete Before the Holiday Season

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February gets the short end of the year. It’s nestled between the newness of January and the longer days of March. This time of year the post-holiday deals are now 90% off their original price. And, with six weeks of winter left now is the perfect time to make a list of crafts to complete before the holiday season.

Crafts- to-Complete-Before-the-Holiday-Season

You know the crafts I am talking about; the broken snow globes or Frosty’s broken carrot nose. Or, the deals and steals you bought because you knew you could fix them in plenty of time before Christmas. Like this recent find, I shared here. In fact, this sled was at the top of my crafts to complete list.

crafts-to-complete-before-the-holiday-season

February is the perfect month to make the commitment get organized for the next holiday season (the big one next fall).  I pulled a few crafts projects to complete. With an endless stream of Hallmark movies or the Winter Olympics, there is no shortage of idle craft time.

This Christmas tree needed a flock refresh. It’s a messy project but once the flock “sets” the flying flakes settle down (sort of). Or maybe I have grown accustomed to finding pine needs and glitter on my floors in July.

Crafts- to-Complete-Before-the-Holiday-Season

Here is a fun project you can do while on a conference call or watching a Hallmark movie. We live among 100-year-old pine trees so there is no shortage of pinecones. I like a mix of natural pinecones and pinecones with a fresh dusting of snow.

There are a few options to add the white stuff to pinecones; flock flakes, white paint, the fake snow spray in a can,  and/or White Out. Yep, one day I just sat at my desk on a call and painted the pinecone tips with White Out. It was like a French manicure for my pinecones.

Crafts- to-Complete-Before-the-Holiday-Season

How many of you have a mix of soft lights and the brighter LED lights? I really noticed it this year when our soft lights on our tree clashed with the almost blue hue LED lights. Please help me with this because there are like three descriptions of white lights. Now, with the weather patterns cycling between spring and winter, is a great time to sort thru the lights and label them so next year your lights can match. Family eye roll right about now.

Crafts- to-Complete-Before-the-Holiday-Season

There’s always more crafts to complete before the holidays. You know many of us will get an end of the season snowstorm. And, what better time than a blizzard to organize the fun holiday-themed printables saved in an inbox on your laptop. I have entire folder “printables” in my Outlook. This time of year is a good time to organize those craft ideas.  craft to finish during a snowstorm? Organize those fun printables. Order labels from an office supply store or Ebay. Create online folders for your favorite printables and graphics.

Crafts- to-Complete-Before-the-Holiday-Season

Oh wait, here is one more project. Gather up your pumpkins and give them a fresh coat of paint. You will thank me next August when it’s still 101 degrees and the pools are closed for the season. Remember when everyone was painting their pumpkins pink and blue. Well, I chose to paint my glass pumpkins gray and that was not a good look to match my pumpkins with my paint colors. Bland and boring. The colors below have not been altered.

Autumn will be here before you know it and Hallmark will have Christmas movies in July to keep you on track!

Link to: Salvage Sister & Mister

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Sneak Peek and Last Look Before Home Office Makeover

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It’s the second day of February! When I started this post (earlier this week) it said, “this is the last day of January!”  My son is away on a school retreat and my husband was in Kentucky on a business trip. With a few days to myself, I spent the time tackling several ongoing projects. One of them was my home office. It is where I spend the majority of the day with my real estate transactions and our manufacturing company. And, of course, where I write the entertaining DIY  projects for this site. Here’s a sneak peek and the last look before my office makeover.

office-makeover-

I wanted my office organized, functional and pretty. To appreciate the makeover, here’s a few pics of the office before the makeover.

 

It’s a really bad photo, but it illustrates the chaos inside and outside a creative mind!

It is the reason my husband can’t even walk into my office. When he returns home from his office he will pop his head in to say and head to the living room muttering, “I can’t think in here.”

That’s why some guy invented man caves. 

This is the same room after I repainted it Revere Pewter. And, that’s not a cocktail on my desk it’s this drink with a splash of cranberry juice. And, that drink is how I finally kicked the soda habit. If you have a new year resolution to kick a Diet Coke or sweet tea habit, check it out.

I was not joking about the poor lighting. It felt like a cave in more ways than one. My home office faces north so it receives little light and I usually wear a down vest when working.

Check out the hammer on the window ledge; it was there for weeks.

Does anyone else have a desk that looks like this? This is an older image, but if I took of photo of my desk right now.. it would look almost identical. Except now I have a small printer on the corner of my desk.

I started this office makeover by sorting through folders and folders of receipts, documents, warranties and every child’s immunization record going back to the 1990’s!

And, then I made the decision to remove the shutters. It was long overdrawn decision and one with no regrets. My office window looks into our backyard and if you follow me on Instagram you saw one of the many visitors who stop by over lunch. This is right outside my office window. How much was I missing outside  with those heavy wood shutters?

And, I’m going to leave you how I greeted you with this sneak peek at my long overdue office makeover. No shutters…

 

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How to Organize Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

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Food color tints in my pantry are similar to my nail polish in the bathroom cabinet. Brand new in the drawer, these labeled tubes look pretty and neat. But once the food color tint caps are twisted open, like nail polish, the color smears across unsuspecting surfaces. Have you ever touched up a toenail before slipping on an open toe shoe only to have the polish on the hem of your white denim? Food color tints act much the same way in my kitchen.

How to Organize Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

This time of year with sugar cookies in a weekly recipe rotation the food color tints are equal opportunity destroyers to white shirts, denim, and new Christmas kitchen towels. Just grabbing a food color tint can lead to a costly wardrobe change and derail the cookie schedule. It was time to organize food color tints.

Organize food color tints

Over the years I have tried different ways to organize the food color tints. Plastic storage containers spread the color tint rainbow. One leaky cap leads to a pool of tint in an unsuspecting corner. And, with my sprinkles stored alongside the tints, one 1/2 closed sprinkle container quickly turns into a pool party between tints and sprinkles.

And, the last thing I want to do during a royal icing marathon is to clean the sticky mess.

How to Organize Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

My solution to organize the food color tints and sprinkles? Mason jars! Mason jars are one of my favorite multi-purpose kitchen accessories. Why? Because everything looks better in a mason jar. With clear glass and cute lids, mini mason jars make anything look more organized.

And, glass jars are so much easier to clean when a frosting tint oozes/leaks from the tube. I like the convenience of dropping them in the dishwasher before their next storage gig.

How to Organize the Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

Once I sorted the food color tints and sprinkles I wanted to add a little pretty to the jars. The easiest way to add a little something was found in the scrapbook section at Michaels. I found cute baking theme sheets and grabbed a few.

How to Organize the Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

I consolidated both the icing tints and sprinkles. And, for all of those almost empty sprinkle bottles, I might have combined a few to save space in the cabinet. I was clearing shelf space with every jar.

How to Organize the Food Color Tints & Sprinkles

In the mood to bake a few cookies? Check out my favorite sugar cookie recipe here.

And add a few sprinkles…

 

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Why you need to change the furnace filter | before & after

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It’s the holidays and it’s the season to be busy, busy, busy.  Funny fact! I love to paint (a room) just before any major holiday. So a week before Thanksgiving, while painting my son’s room, I caught a glimpse of the air duct system in his ceiling and remembered I needed to change the furnace filter.

Why Changing the Furnace Filter is a Good Idea

I used to remind (nag) my husband to change the furnace filter And, then I would remind him again. I finally decided I needed to know how to change a furnace filter if it was going to get done on my timeline. So I jumped right into the task and bought a case of furnace filters here; I still have five in the box.

So much for changing the filter on a regular basis. I intentionally bought the filters in bulk so I wouldn’t have to run out and get “just one.” I also bought them in bulk so I could take “ownership” of this job.

And, I knew I would change the filter more regularly if I had a case stashed in the garage. So much for that logic! Here’s why we need to change the furnace filter.

This is the furnace I removed from the air duct. This had a 1/4″ of dust and God only knows what else. I can’t get the visual out of my mind. When I saw the filter through the grate I thought the color of the filter was gray. Until I grabbed the new filter and was faced with a pretty shade of blue. You know what I did for fun? I grabbed a Sharpie and wrote the date I replaced the filter.

New Furnace Filter

Before & After Furnace Filter

Yep, it’s an easy way to gauge how often I need to change the furnace filters. I take the job and responsibility seriously. So get ahead of this dust trap and change the furnace filters before the new year!

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Organize the Kitchen for the Baking Season

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As the temperatures drop (a bit) the oven heats up the kitchens across the country. I made banana bread the other day to celebrate a cloudy, fall like day in Colorado. Yep, I celebrate the little hints of the pending season. Ladies and guys, it’s time to organize the kitchen for the baking season.

Organize the Kitchen

The first thing I did was organize the essentials. I took stock of the staples. I purchased these labels last spring and put them to use with clean glass jars.

Labels to Organize

I have a vinyl machine, but I did not make these pantry staples labels. It would have taken me too much time and too much room for error. Instead, I found these pantry labels on Etsy. It was so much easier and cost less than $10.00 (including shipping). Popular online deal sites like this one also have deals on labels.

Inventory the Dishes

I took stock of the soup bowls and the chipped plates. These are my favorite soup bowls. I found them online at Williams-Sonoma and if you sign up for emails you are pretty much assured a discount and free shipping. Oh, and here’s how I up-cycle chipped dishes.

And, I re-organized the mess under the kitchen sink. That space under the sink becomes a catch-all when I do a quick clean. The under sink space is like laundry; I have to stay on top of it! This was one of my most popular posts of all time.

Organize the Cleaning Supplies

I am excited to pull out this antique bakery serving trivet. It’s called different things, but I found it on Etsy and love it. I hope to use it more this fall in the decor too. Here’s the cookie recipe for these amazing chocolate chip cookies from a popular boss.

What’s on your to do list to organize your kitchen for the baking season?

 

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Do you ever… get nothing done?

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Do you ever get so excited about a dozen projects and then not start any of them? Not one. Do you ever get nothing done?  August is a  month where I am long on lists and notes and short on the execution. It’s one big loop of ideas and inactions.

nothing

The other day I ran into Home Depot with a LIST. A  list full of dimensions, brands and paint colors in my head. And, I became instantly overwhelmed by the decisions. It didn’t help that it was a hot and muggy day in Denver (we don’t get many muggy days).

 Do you ever…

I have 20 drafts of posts started and not one post ready to go. It seems every post needs a photo or the words just don’t come together on the page.

Or, usually what happens is I have every intention of starting a project. But then that new, pending project needs some pre-project to get started on the original project. It’s like a hamster wheel of projects in my head.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? Someone say yes!

August

I think August is the month of transitions.. kind of like January. You know in January I have new goals and resolutions, but it takes me until the end of January to settle into the new year.

August feels similar to me. Nothing gets done.  Zero.

That is until  I get into a rhythm or in my case a new routine; a new routine in our family.

My son, our son, the brother to a sister and younger brother, leaves for college in eight days.

He is ready to start his new chapter. I think my disordered mind and lack of a routine is my way of preparing for my next chapter.

Yes, there will be tears and fears and sleepless nights. AND, there will be new opportunities and projects for me. And, you know they have at Target in August. My sister would yell candy corn!

They have new calendars in August.. like the ones in January, but these calendars begin with the school calendar. I think it is a sign that I will be okay in the days and months ahead. He is ready and I will be too!

 

Disclosure: Occasionally blog posts on Not a Trophy Wife contain affiliate links. When purchasing through an affiliate link the buyer pays no extra, but Not a Trophy Wife may receive a small commission. I only link to and recommend products/companies I love.

 

 

 

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Turbo Scan App gets you organized for school and work from your phone

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Hi everyone

For those of you addicted to your iPhone I want to share the best app for the school year. You know at the beginning of the school year and you get a call, email or text. It’s the school calling informing you your child’s filling is missing a mandatory form. And, the school needs it now.

My “favorite” call was when my son called to tell me I forgot to sign his field trip permission slip. And, he was the only child who couldn’t get on the bus unless that permission slip was received in the next 12 minutes (before the bus rolled out of the school parking lot). Game on!

The Turbo Scan app to the rescue.

Turbo Scan App

Source: Turb Scan

Details

Turbo Scan changed my personal and work life.  It’s a free app in the Apple app store. The official name is TurboScan™ Pro – document & receipt scanner By Piksoft Inc.

It takes a scan (photo) of a document, permission form.. anything. It creates a border around the image to make sure you capture what you need. And, even when the image looks gray or grainy it almost always captures a clear image.

Turbo Scan allows me to save documents directly to my Dropbox (another favorite) and/or email a copy in a pdf format to my email or to the recipient. It keeps a copy of any scanned documents too, but I always save a copy to my Dropbox account. I’m just a bit of a control freak. Especially in August.

My husband first shared this app with me a few years ago. And, I use it almost every day.

                                    And, if your like me, as the school year gets closer my desk (command center) begins to look like this. Clear the clutter by snapping a photo of the paper, document. It’s more professional because it saves it as a pdf for clients or service providers.

One suggestion is to turn off any overhead light above the document or form. The light can add a shadow over the document.

Sidenote: Does anyone else get more anxious in August than other months? My desk status might have something to do with my increased anxiety. My husband can’t even look at my desk.. it stresses him out. #newschoolyeargoals

After a week using this app, I ditched my fax/scanner. Turbo Scan is the best iPhone app for the school year.  What are your favorite apps to stay organized and less anxious?

 

 

 

 

 

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Up-cycle retail boxes into something pretty

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How many of you have a closet designated as your UPS delivery drop zone? You know a place to stash those must have packages. How many of you have a checking account on life support after the Nordstrom sale?

Hey, I love the ease of the click and ship purchase; the convenience, the free shipping and no hassle returns of my favorite retailers. But, with the pending holiday season (I know, right) I am on a mission to find ways to up-cycle retail boxes.

I think the Bath & Body Works packaging people are on to something. Sometimes I think I find a reason to buy hand soaps and 3 wick candles because of the adorable blue plaid print inside their boxes. Seriously, are these not the cutest retail boxes ever?

This summer I went overboard with stocking up on soaps and maybe a few candles. Hey, it rarely rains in Colorado so when we get a few days of clouds it makes me want to nest!  And, this summer I also made a decision to redecorate my office so I found a way to organize my office supplies and use the checkered, shades of blue boxes.

up-cycle boxes

 

 

And, the best part of this up-cycle project was I used a roll of clear packaging tape and just wrapped the flaps down to the exterior side of the box. That’s it. And, now I have matching boxes to store my computer paper and envelopes.

I still had a few boxes that I had “broken down,” before I discovered their storage capabilities so I framed a piece of the checked cardboard. The frame hides a few odds and inns behind it in my new office hutch.

I paired the frame with a boxwood because blues and boxwoods always look so pretty together. Like when I paired a boxwood wreath against a color block of Hale Navy here.

I mean this is an old frame and a piece of a cardboard box. I wonder how long until the boys in my house recognize the familiar retailer’s packaging? And, then I will wait for the eye roll. There’s always an eye roll with my kids.

up-cycle cardboard boxes

P.S. Look at this shelving system created with cardboard boxes.

 

Linking to: our hopeful home

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Blog Hack Update … “Dear Hackers ….”

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Hi everyone! We have rain in the forecast here in Denver. We always need rain so it’s hard to complain.

So many of you asked about the hack-palooza event in May,  I wanted to give a brief blog hack update.

I almost titled this post,

“Dear Hackers”

But that sounded like an invitation for a bored bot to just pounce on my blog’s server.

Let me give you the blog hack update in a sentence. My blog got hacked. Yep, at the end of May, my blog got hacked. I lost everything. My first post on my new blog was published here. There was nothing else to read so surprisingly it got a lot of attention!

What about my backups? Oh.. those got hacked too. I believe corrupted was the word the hosting associate used with me over the phone. Oh, but first he casually asked, “How long have you been blogging?”

At first, I thought he was making chit-chat while I listened to him type frantically on a keyboard. But as the brief phone holds turned into minutes and more minutes; I realized he was calculating how many posts, words, stories, projects, links, and images were lost forever in a data table.

blog hack

I lost everything!

Any and all backups were also corrupted.

I reached out to anyone who had helped me with my blog in the past two years, hoping they may have stored a backup on their server. Nothing.

But, what doesn’t kill ya makes you stronger. I slept okay and when I woke this morning I began of list of “must do now.”  I was fortunate to have a team of fabulous women, I had worked with in the past, who worked over the weekend to get my blog back online.

It’s going to be okay.

The night of the blog hack was devastating until I remembered I had something the hackers didn’t delete permanently.  I had backup copies of all of my blog images. Every single one. Because a few years ago I upgraded my Dropbox account to store all of my RAW images from every barn door project, master bath update, sugar cookie dough pictures.

It’s going to be okay.

I knew the images were the most important thing I needed at that moment. Why? Because the images jogged my memory of favorite projects. And, the reality was the bulk of the photos were pretty crappy from the earlier days of the blogs. Which empowered me to either edit the photos or delete them and back new photos.

the blog images

The images jogged my memory for my favorite posts. Although the posts (data tables) got hacked, the words and stories around those posts can be recreated. Photos trigger our memories and thoughts; our steps and processes and our emotions. Hackers can’t take away the feelings and emotions attached to our photos.

Like this photo. I may have lost the post about the day I found this leaking from my main floor closet, but the image reminds me of the, “What in the h*&&” is that leaking from the closet.

It’s going to be okay.

I’m just getting started! Literally!

PS This shot of Olive from Little Miss Sunshine is what I looked like when I was eight years old, except I didn’t get glasses until fifth grade. If you have not seen Little Miss Sunshine it was one of those quirky movies about all types of families. In the beginning of the movie, I thought it took place in the early 1980’s, but the cell phones gave it away.

Source: LIttle Miss Sunshine

If you are reading this it means my blog IS back up and running, but it might look like I have been blogging for a few months, rather than years. Thanks for stopping by and please visit. I need traffic and comments!

Oh and here’s my new logo!

 

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owner & contributor | not a trophy wife

owner & contributor | not a trophy wife

Home & Life Style Blogger. Licensed Realtor. DIY & Upcycle Projects. Every Home Deserves to Feel Special. About Me: Coffee. Sharpies. Contracts. Break a Sweat Every Day. Words. Family. Just like our homes I am a work in progress!

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