Welcome to the very first 101 Things in 2014 update. I've actually done a lot so far, or at least it feels that way to me. Check it out:
7. Organize our closet. No pictures of this, but believe me, it's a million times better than it was.
My tradition as a kid/teen was to clean my closet every January 1st (I know, I lead an exciting life), so this year, I asked Caleb if he'd be willing to do that with me. He agreed, and I'm very glad, especially because when we moved in a year ago, a giant pile of stuff got put on his side of the closet and never got put where it should really go. So, the closet still isn't perfect, but it's never going to be. Mostly, I just wanted the extra computer monitor, canisters of meal-replacement shake powder, and camping lantern (etc.) somewhere that made more sense.
On my side, I got rid of two boxes worth of clothes and shoes. It felt really good!
11. Two quart-sized baskets for perpetual calendars. See the original idea here:
I want to use these for our kids someday. I already had the cards made up, but I needed someplace to store them. Over the course of a year or so, I found these two baskets at Salvation Army:
Honestly, I think the berry baskets are cuter, but I haven't found them anywhere in the quart size. For now, these baskets will do a better job than rubber bands.
29. Curtains for entryway doors.
We have two doors in our house with half-windows. I've been trying to get window treatments on every window in our house, and these are no exception.
For these, I picked a lemon yellow fabric with just a hint of a crackle pattern.
This room is getting painted a soft gray this year!
I found this fabric at Jo-Ann's during their Saturday after Thanksgiving sale. The sale was $2 off the yard price, and I needed 2 yards. They were 2 inches short of 2 yards on this piece, so they gave me the special price for an end piece, which means I got almost two yards for just over the price of one. I think I paid about $4 for all of the fabric!
The most expensive part was the magnetic curtain rods! They're priced around $12-$15 a piece almost everywhere - and I needed 4! I ended up getting them at Walmart (even though I hate that store - it's so depressing!) for $7.88 a piece, which saved me about $20 compared to other places.
I haven't decided on ties yet, so for now, I used a piece of yellow yarn.
42. Ear-Warmer Headband.
I love my hand-knit winter
hats, but they never cover my ears because my hair is too poofy. And the ones with ear flaps are no good for me, either, because I wouldn't leave them on inside and they make a mess of my hair. So I sewed this ear-band.
I used some fleece I had leftover from a pillow I made for my 10th grade Interior Design class. (I had to fill an empty block, okay?! It was Interior Design or Weight Lifting!)
(If you were wondering, that's snow. Not dandruff.)
90. Berry-Lemon scones.
The original:
Mine:
So mine don't look nearly as appetizing. They are blue, for heaven's sake. But they were SO delicious. The egg white and sugar on the top made the crust really crispy, which was so good! And inside, they're moist - and so delicious and lemony! I made 16, and they were gone in 3 days. And Caleb only ate 3 of them. :) I will definitely be making these again. And again. And then a few more times. And again.
Love and Polka Dots,
Leah Joy
P.S. I will be back on Monday with more posts, but I'm taking tomorrow off. Have a great weekend!
