* 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! I’ve been gathering some good finds over the past month that I wanted to share with you!

First off, it’s a perfect time to begin wheat grass for Easter! It’s super easy and makes a beautiful Easter centerpiece (and you can throw it in your smoothies afterward!) Here are the easy instructions

Next, to go along with your Easter dinner this really is the best carrot cake from Southern Living!! My sister Kelsey introduced us to it and it is so divine. There is also a sheet cake version if you’re not into the 3 layer cake thing.

Okay, we have to talk bunny plates. Pottery Barn came out with these in 2012-2013 and I was a bit obsessed with them and actually spent a lot my birthday money on bunny cupcake plates!! They became really hard to find though and were going for crazy amounts on Ebay. If you are still looking you can get a set of 12 for $600 (!!!!!!) BUT! I was in Burlington Coat Factory picking up new Sunday pants for my super fast growing 13 year old boy and guess what I saw?

Bunny cupcake plate knockoffs! So I think the original PB ones went for $14.50 or close to that.

Here are the knockoffs:

Left is PB, right is the knock off for $5.99. There is more detail in the Pottery barn one and a little rim of beads around the plate.

I love this one and actually like the knockoff on the right better with the little foot raised ($4.99)

And this one was $5.99 and I don’t remember seeing this design at Pottery barn, it’s super cute though with the baby bunny climbing on the mom’s back. I found them at Burlington Coat Factory – but they could be at other discount stores like it – maybe like Marshalls?? They are so cute to put nests on or candles or little pots of greenery.

And speaking of candles ^^^, if you are looking for a dupe of Capri Blue Volcano candle, Pomelo Citron from Bath & Body Works is close! Not exactly, but it’s a great spring/summer scent! It has “crisp Pomelo, Island Citron, Agave Nectar” while Volcano candle is tropical fruits, sugared oranges, lemons and limes, lightly exotic mountain greens – I would say I don’t smell the green part in the Pomelo Citron as much but it is still so, so good and I got a couple for $10 each this past weekend on their sale, so less than half the price of the Volcano candle. The first B&BW store I went to was sold out but another one had just gotten a shipment in so I snagged some!

Okay, next up is the fact that Hobby Lobby has some great pillow covers!!  This one is the Kilim pillow cover was only $10 and some change with the coupon but it has great texture and detail.

The gray & cream woven one was also great:

So was the gray sweater knit pillow for around $6.50 with coupon!

And this black and cream kilim wool cover for $11.50 with the coupon

And last but not least I have to share this gem I found at the Dollar Tree!!! Back in 2015 I shared that a scraper/chopper I had gotten on Amazon was a favorite thing and it definitely still is – so I was THRILLED to see that the Dollar Tree has one now and it is every bit as good! It is the Cooking Concepts brand is of course, $1. I use these in the kitchen to scrape off counters or cut up brownies, another in the bathroom to scrape off toothpaste or dried up hair gel on the counters or floors, there was some frozen gum on our front porch that I used it on. It’s just a handy tool to have around and you can even order them online now!

Yummy dinner: Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos

Articles I have bookmarked over the past couple of months and didn’t want to forget to share with you:

* Top 10 Things Kids Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them

* What I didn’t buy at Ikea

* 10 Ways to Be a Better Mom

* A Lesson from the Dust Bowl

* Teenager Offense

Have a wonderful weekend~

Happy Friday, friends! 320 Sycamore has gotten a bit of a facelift! What do you think?  

We’re still tweaking some things (hello, big picture of me… we’re going to tone that down a little), but I guess the big news is that I am now on Facebook! I went back and forth forever, but there are so many times I want to share a great deal or article with you all and it doesn’t seem like enough for a whole blog post, so I figured a quick Facebook post would be perfect way to share good finds, sales, and nonsense with you.  Click here to join 320 on Facebook. Thank you wonderful readers~have a fabulous weekend!