Monday To-Do's

{via Lonny}

 
Oooh boy. Another cold, rainy Monday. Spring sure is taking it's sweet time this year. Here's what will be keeping me busy this week while I patiently wait for some sunshine...

Fresh Start

Hi there! I've been away for so long I sort of forget how it feels to write here. It's been a very busy couple of weeks but I've achieved an important career milestone during my hiatus from blogging, so it was time well spent!  Now, to get back to it >>>

Sometimes we all need a fresh start. Winter can take a lot out of you, especially if you live in the Northeast, so the first days of Spring are always a welcome change. What's my favorite thing about springtime, you ask? Spring CLEANING of course. To me, the best part about the first few days of warm weather is that urge to spruce up your life for all those sunny days ahead. I usually like to take a Saturday to really give the apartment a deep clean: windowsills, floors, oven, all those little places that have gone overlooked all winter; maybe even a little furniture rearranging (if there's time! do you think there will be time?!).

After the deep clean is finished, its always fun to liven up the place with a few "fresh" additions. Here are my Springtime apartment must-haves:

Ready, Set,....

via

Do you ever feel like you're most organized when you are the busiest? I know I do. I just had a super productive night, and it's been a suuuuuper busy week so far. But somehow, the packed schedule is more energizing than draining. When your free time is limited, you do everything you can to maximize it. So not only do you move seamlessly from one task to the next, you inadvertently free up more time for other tasks later. What a wonderfully vicious cycle!

Upgrades!

Remember when I mentioned that our apartment could use a few upgrades? Well, they've arrived!

This past week, we got ourselves a new dining table & chairs and a console table for underneath the television (pictures soon to follow!). We desperately needed both and have been shopping around for some time to find ones that would be a good match for our place. As I've said before, our apartment is pretty cozy, so we are somewhat limited in the size of furniture we bring into the apartment. We can't have anything too oversized, and what we do purchase needs to be functional.

I love the way both pieces turned out! It's so nice to have some more shelf space, and a new surface for some decorative items; our old dining table was so tiny and wobbly it was hard to sit and really enjoy a meal. Since the new addition, though, we've eaten at the table every night! What's next on the list? Read on to see.....

Gobble Gobble!

I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons. I love that it's the kickoff to the holiday season, and that all the excitement and anticipation leading up to Christmas starts now. I especially love that it brings your family together to celebrate nothing but food and each other's company. And of course I love the leftovers! Our family always celebrates at my parent's house, so I really look forward to coming home and helping with all the preparation. Once the whole family gets here, it's a loud, food-filled day from start to finish.

I'll be confined to the couch today, doing some internet shopping (definitely not crazy enough to brave the Black Friday crowds) so I thought I'd leave you with some great Thanksgiving table settings- because it's not too early to start thinking about next Thanksgiving, right?

What's your LIFE-style?

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Last weekend, as I wandered through the Lord and Taylor Home Goods department, something sparkly caught my eye. It was the kate spade new york display featuring gorgeous bedding, bathroom, tabletop, & home accessories. Having several L&T coupons to burn, it was a no-brainer that I was walking out of here with something. The winner was this great beaded pillow. It's been a great addition to my bedroom! Later, in Handbags & Accessories, I took home a new kate spade new york iPhone cover as well :). Kate seems to be everywhere these days, including a couple of my favorite daily reads, A Piece of Toast and Design Darling! She's just got something for everyone.

It got me thinking...