* I have been trying to keep my desk area clear – it just helps my mind a little bit more focused (maybe?) Top tricks: go through mail on the way back to the house from the mailbox and go right past the garage garbage and throw most of it away. If it needs to be dealt with right away, I try to do it right then (like a birthday party on Saturday – make sure I have a gift or order one on Amazon, put it on Google calendar). If I don’t have time or it isn’t urgent, I just shove it place it in a canvas bag below the desk (this was just one my husband brought home from a conference) and leave it to deal with it on Tuesday morning because that is my paper day. That is the day when I pay any paper bills, cut out coupons I want to keep and put them in the car coupon organizer (mostly for haircuts, restaurants, oil changes), categorize receipts in our budget software (my husband is a financial planner so this has always been a part of our marriage), make appointments, etc.

The bag is a game changer though because it can stay under the desk  -- or anywhere you want it – and it is the place for the randomness to go until you can deal with it and the counter stays clean. Or, if it isn’t clean, you can quickly whisk everything into the bag.  Kids papers (papers they need to keep like for monthly projects or book reports) go in the wood organizer but they know to look in the bag if something is mysteriously missing.

* We need to talk about this cereal. We had a bunch of family visiting over Christmas break and thought this would be fun to try. No one liked it –like NO ONE. It just sat. How would they ever think this would be a good idea? Have you tried it?

* the car my daughter drives (2001 Camry named Arnie) would not start. We thought it was the battery and changed it out. It didn’t start right away but started the next day so we didn’t take it in. Then it wouldn’t start again and we thought it was because of the cold. I was getting it ready for AAA to come tow it to the mechanic and was trying to get it to shift to neutral and I tried again and it started so we drove it straight to the mechanic. They called back and said that we could pay $300 for a new sensor or we could just jiggle the gear shift a little if it wouldn’t start. We chose to jiggle and it has worked. I love honest mechanics.

* If you are looking for a great fundraiser – Valentine’s is coming up and the chocolate covered strawberries was a great success for my daughter last year. Tip: I wouldn’t do the the pretzels. I would just stick with the strawberries. Pretzels broke easily and took double the time because you do caramel first and then chocolate and then sprinkles.

* Look at my friend Jamie’s cute, organized bins! Who knew they could be cute and organized?? She used white duck tape. I kind of want to throw all of my ugly yellow & black construction bins out! She can make anything look good. ♥

Hello friends! As we’re wrapping up summer I just wanted to share some random thoughts I had about this season:

* Did you know Amazon has super cute, affordable swimsuits! My daughter got so many compliments on this suit and people couldn’t believe it was only $16.99. Now, if you are looking for more coverage or support, this probably isn’t for you but for teens they are perfect.

* My sil Natalie introduced us to these long bamboo skewers from Walmart at our family reunion this summer. They are perfect for s’mores, only 99 cents a package and you just burn them or toss them when you’re finished. No messy clean up!

* Do you ever send notes to yourself? We use Google Calendar and I send notes to myself after an event or holiday to remember for the next year about what to buy, what not to do, remember this, etc. I laughed at this one when it showed up this week as I was admiring some white pumpkins that stores are already setting out! I have it set to come up at the beginning of a season – especially when I can’t remember what holiday decor I have

* This dessert  from Our Best Bites is DIVINE. My sister Kelsey introduced me to it and it is soooo good, perfect for summer get-togethers.

* If you see something seasonal like patio furniture at the beginning of the season that you like, buy it! Then make up your mind later because by time time you make up your mind it will be gone. And companies don’t get more summer inventory in. I got some great stacking sling chairs from WM and decided we needed more and they were sold out everywhere, even in Montana and anywhere else I had relatives living.

* Hobby Lobby had these cute message boards on sale this week for only $15! (except they don’t have the $ symbol!) I couldn’t find them online but they were near the chalkboards in the store.

Do you see the black stuff on top of our door frame? It is also on our window frames – steel wool is the magic solution to stop swallows and small birds coming and building their nests on our porch. Last summer I had bird poo all over my porch, this summer we have had no birds.

I hope you have enjoyed some random thoughts and tips! Feel free to add any in the comments ~

Top referring pins of 2012. It’s fun to see what brings people to 320 Sycamore from Pinterest. Sometimes the ones you love the most barely get pinned. And then other posts that you randomly threw out there one day are the most popular. Here they are~was one of them from you? :)

1. cough remedy

2. bathroom in our last home

3. diy granite cleaner

4. master bathroom

5. jewelry organization

6. christmas card ideas

7. banana bars

8. dollar store hurricane

9. diy mudroom

10. thrifty tablescape

AND to my top referrers of 2012~a big fat, THANK YOU.

1. Sarah at Thrifty Décor Chick

2. Kate at Centsational Girl

3. Melissa at the Inspired Room

4. Sarah at Clover Lane

5. Sherry & John at Young House Love

6. Marian at Miss Mustard Seed

7. Mrs. Limestone at Brooklyn Limestone

8. Rhoda at Southern Hospitality

9. Shelley & Cason at House of Smiths

10. Kristin at Favorite Paint Colors

Happy 2013!

I lost my fitbit. I’m so bummed. We went on a date and I could see the shape of it under the sweater I was wearing, so for the first time I clipped it on the waist of my pants. I have called and called, but nothing’s been turned in. Since it’s so small, I may try to go look for it myself in the restaurant, the 2 blocks we walked, the parking lot, the concert hall? arrrrgggghhh. If you have one, keep it clipped to your bra.

I attempted to make a headboard for our bedroom this weekend. It didn’t turn out exactly how I imagined and I may have shed a few tears. I hate wasting time and money. It may just need a few days to get used to?? let’s hope.

I have been to the store 3 times today. We’re having some friends over tonight and so I tried to run to the store before my husband left for work. I was in a hurry, so I forgot 7 things and then I had to go back this morning with the boys and just as I got them buckled in, I remembered that I forgot poster board. Back in we went. Kroger cringes when we come in.

I have 8 cloth grocery bags in my van. I think I have remembered to bring them into the store ONCE. How do you remember?

my husband’s car alarm started going off this morning and would not turn off, even when he started the engine. SO LOUD. So I googled it, couldn’t find anything, so I called the mechanic and he said (yelled) over the alarm, close all the doors, lock them, then unlock them. it finally worked. Sorry neighborhood. Thank you, mechanic.

I had to throw away my favorite paintbrush because I forgot to wash it after using it. Unfortunately, this ain’t the first time that has happened.

Lauren asked me to switch her gym uniform from the washer to the dryer last night before she went to bed. Totally spaced it, so she had to stuff damp gym clothes in her backpack this morning. I told her to hang them in her locker and hopefully they can semi-dry before 5th period??

We put some home videos on dvd this weekend and at one point, the video camera was left on and it got me yelling at my boys for jumping off the couch in their shoes. The kids laughed, but I wanted to cry. It sounded so mean. Just what I want to remember…would it be awful of me to take it off or should I leave it on for reality sake?

I realize none of these are horrible, drastic events….just one of those mornings.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Love that line.

I better get my buns in gear~this house needs some major attention after the weekend. I’m going to set the timer for 45 minutes and just GO…things always seem to look up when you have a clean kitchen, right? Right??

Hopefully your Monday is AWESOME.

Well, of course it snowed.

Because Christmas is over, and it would make too much sense to snow before Christmas??

I’m a little bitter today…because it’s BITTER cold outside, I’m still trying to get Christmas down, my new years resolutions aren’t going so hot, and we started on the upstairs’ bathrooms over the break and they are just sitting waiting for me to finish peeling the wallpaper borders.

Blasted projects~who thought they were a good idea anyway?