Where did July go?

So it has been almost two weeks since I posted something. It is aaaahmazing how quickly time goes by. We got to Georgia and then it’s been a whirlwind ever since. We spent almost the whole two weeks working every day (regular work and then the big Atlanta Gift Show). By the time I got home each night, I was so exhausted and still had a ton of other work stuff to catch up on. However, I did have a couple free hours here and there to do a few other things!

My sister-in-law and I have been running around preparing for the arrival of her first baby! We’ve been creating registries and also making the obligatory trips to both Target and Ikea. I LOVE these two stores. They are great for so many things, but one of the best things you can find at them is storage. We bought a Closetmaid Shelf at Target:

She is going to set it up and then decide how many of the cubicles she wants to put fabric bins in. Have I mentioned before that I am obsessed with Closetmaid shelves? I’m not sure that I have. We seriously have them everywhere in our house. We have a bunch of the 2 cubicle units and some have fabric drawers and some don’t.

-We have one unit in our mudroom to hold shoes.

-We have 2 stacked in our living room for toys. Three of the shelves have fabric bins and one is for books. We just secured the two units together so they don’t topple over. We have a full crew of kids and dogs in our house and I’m amazed that there are actually items we don’t have to screw into the wall. It’s craziness!

-I have another unit with drawers in the guest room closet. Right now, these bins are filled with toys since this room is also our playroom. My future plan is to completely redo the guest room. I am going to buy two more bins that just stay empty and when guests come, I will take the toy bins out and put in the empty ones so guests have a place to store things and unpack a little.

Speaking of the guest room, I found some great inspiration at Ikea!

May I introduce…..the Lidan baskets!

These things are so absolutely cool. They are made of a soft pliable material so that you can actually change the shape slightly. However, they are still strong enough to hold a variety of items and I think they would be great for both a bedroom and a bathroom. Here’s an inspiration picture I found using the sets of 4 baskets:

I am just picturing these awesome little creations holding hand towels and potpourri in the bathroom, magazines and extra blankets in the guest room.  Loving it! One disappointment though. I didn’t buy them because I thought I would run the idea by my husband and then just pop on over to the online store and order them. (Big ‘wrong answer’ buzzer sound) They don’t sell them online, you can only get them in the store! I guess I’ll be scurrying back to downtown Atlanta before we head back to Colorado. 🙂

I think it will be worth it though. They have the look and feel of something you might find at a boutique type home store, but without the high price tag. I love that kind of find.

Here is another item that is making me think outside the box for the guest room:

This is the Malin Band throw blanket (sadly also available only in stores) and it’s making me want to expand on my original thoughts for the guest room. I don’t think I ever would have chosen the colors green, teal and gray for our little Colorado mountain house, but the colors on this blanket were so rich and calming, I’m thinking I could ‘throw’ a little seaside into the mountains. What do you think?

~Erin