I’m such a sucker for packaging

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Influenced by packaging

So last night, I went to Target and was looking at buying some kitchen cleaning supplies. My kitchen was in serious need of some Spring cleaning! At first, I put the regular Clorox product in my cart, but then I stopped and eyeballed the J.R. Watkins line you see above. Well, I was going to get just the cleaner, but it just looked so pretty as a set. I couldn’t help myself.

Admittedly, I totally bought this for the packaging. There’s something about it that is just so classic and clean. I feel a bit fancier using these products as my household cleaners. I can just envision myself in a pristine white kitchen using these products and the sparkling countertops and dishes after using these products. The funny thing is, that in reality, there is always a dirty dish in the sink and cluttered countertops. A girl can dream right?

And that is exactly why I bought the Real Simple magazine too! I can aim for simplicity even though I’m not there. Maybe if I click my heels three times it may become a realty…haha, actually the only way it would become a reality is if I had a maid! Yeah, that’s going to happen!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Cleanliness is next to impossible

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I should start a group for photos of brooms
Photo by Kaiton, via Flickr Creative Commons.

It’s that time again…relatives (my dad and niece) will be visiting my place in a few days and I’m feverishly getting my place in order. Seriously, the only time I clean is when I have guests, so my place is a general mess most days. I blame it on my creative mind.

Patty gave me the sweetest card today and it totally summed up my messiness, it read:

Who cares if you never get
the junk drawer cleaned,
or the closets organized,
or the sticky stuff
off the seat of your car?

Who cares if you’re always running
just a few minutes behind,
or if it’s been six months since
you actually balanced
your checkbook?

Who cares
about any of that
when you’re so good
at the the things
that really matter –
like being a wonderful friend.

I’m actually going first to Hollywood with my dad and niece starting Wednesday to see the sites and live it up, then we will head back to Fresno on Friday evening and visit both Sequoia and Yosemite on Saturday and Sunday. So it will be a crazy week and weekend. I’m ready for a nice break though.

So, as you will guess, I don’t anticipate blogging, but I’ll be twittering my trip so check my twitter account and I’ll keep you up to date with all the celebs I’ll be rubbing elbows with. Haha. No, we will go to the Walk of Fame (all the downtown Hollywood stuff) as well as go to Paramount Studios, I believe, and a tour of homes. It will be fun. I’m so happy, I get to spend time with my dad and my little TayTay (she’s not so little anymore…she’s 9).

Anyway, I’ll be back when I’m back. NOt sure if I will post tomorrow or not…depends on how much cleaning I have to do or get accomplished. Ugh, why don’t I just hire a maid??

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Clean House??

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Living room

Yeah, last night and tonight I somewhat cleaned. My brother and dad are coming tomorrow for a night visit and I’m trying to get it into order so I can try to avoid as few as comments as possible from my dad. He’s kind of a clean/neat freak about stuff, but by now I think he knows my housekeeping skills are a bit lackluster….hey, it’s a free place to stay after all!

If cleaning were a grade and I were being judged for my efforts, I would prob. get a D+. Haha. Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at making things look look polished, but in reality, they really aren’t. I got on Angie’s List tonight looking for a real maid. I hate to clean and while I think I made my place look someone spiffed up, you’d prob. still find some dust and cat hair if you choose to really look. Yeah, this is how I roll. I always have. I remember shoving stuff under the bed and into the closet as a kid and always having a few knick knack objects I had no clue as to what to do with. I never really got into the cleaning knack. The words “spring cleaning” isn’t really in my vocabulary, though it prob should be.

A little loopy

After all this cleaning, I’m feeling somewhat delirious.

OK, off to do a last minute scrub on the shower and to throw some clothes into the closet to hide.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Look Ma, I cleaned!

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closet cleaning

So, I spent a huge chunk of my day today cleaning my closet. Admittedly, my place is a wreck and I had to start somewhere. I have purchased some new clothes recently that I want to play up and it’s really hard to do when your clothes are organized! So I went to it…I did several loads of laundry as well and tomorrow I plan on continuing with the task. I even bought some fancy (yeah, right) infomercial clothes hanger organizers. They do a nice job and can be lowered if you need to make more room in your closet.

hats, belts, and bags

I decided to hang up my belts, hats, and a few of my bags. Will make them much easier to get to! The pink bag with my nephews and niece on it was made by my mom. I did the silhouettes in Illustrator, then she digitized it and put them on the bag she sewed. Cool, huh?

I’m having company over Thanksgiving in the next couple of weeks, so I want to get my place in order before they come visit. So I’m going to do areas in my house one at a time. It’s the only way I can do it. I have a lot of cleaning in the next few days to do!

Cleaning out my closet (and my bedroom, too) yielded some good blog topics and stories. I think a lot of times that people think they have to have this outstanding topic or huge event to blog about, but I think what people like reading about are the little things that happen in our daily lives that they can relate to. So, I might just be bringing you some fun stories from my cleaning adventures this week.

Well, it’s late and work is going to be here in a few short hours. I hope you guys have a great week!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

I’m giving away some stuff (but you have to live in Lex)

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So, I actually made two very large boxes of Goodwill stuff tonight. It is in my car ready to be dropped off…taped up and everything. Feels.really.good.

I have acquired so much crap over the years and I really want to simplify and get it back to basics. I guess in craft reality, I’m never going to have that right bead or button that I need, but I will just have to go out and get it if that occasion strikes. I can purge now and purge again later if I acquire more stuff. But I am just so sick of having so much stuff at the moment! I don’t think I’m alone, I’ve recently read on twitter where both Margot and Kathy are purging their stuff as well.

There are a few things that I actually really do like and wanted to share with you, my blog friends. Now, I wish I could mail these far and wide if you did want them; however, I just can’t do that. However, if you live in the Lexington area and read my blog and want to meet up with me, I will be more than happy to give you some of my cool stuff that I have outgrown. I actually met up with a guy last night to give him my old mac moniter and I’ve put some other crafty stuff on craigslist that I want to sell! I kinda saved this stuff special for friends who may want it, since I did buy/purchase it with happy/useful intentions for myself…I just can’t let go of it to just anyone. If some people end up not wanting it, I will pass it off to the Goodwill, but for now, let’s call it an online yard sale of sorts. You may see something that would be perfect for gifting to someone else (they don’t have to know that you got it from me).

So, in tough economic times, this is my way of giving back. Har har. Heck, if someone was giving me something cool that I thought I could pass on as a gift to someone else, I would jump at the chance! I just can’t hold onto these things any longer! Here are the goods!

stuff-I'm-giving-away

1) Cute retro wall hangings I got on clearance at Michaels a couple of years back

2) A very slick mousepad that I loved, but I found hard to use. Very visually pleasing, though. Purchased at Coffee Times

3) Pink and red sparkle star paper mache box, purchased at Coffee Times

4) Anchor Hocking pumpkin dish. I love it, but I love the orange version I have more.

5) Pretty ornate frame. Not sure where I got this one.

6) Large fuschia vase with polka dots. Got this at Marshall’s a few years back. It’s just not something I really want or need anymore.

7) Book purse…the sorority life cover cracks me up! Just something I don’t ever carry. Love the idea behind it though. Purchased at a boutique in Danville.

8) Cute little shopping cart. I think I got this at World Market.

If you live in Lex and want an item, hit me up. First come, first serve though for fairness. Please request one item at first and if no one asks for a certain item in addition after a couple of days, you are more than welcome to more!

Hope this isn’t a little lowbrow of me, but I have trouble parting with things that I love. I want someone I know or who appreciates it to have it!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The Urge to Purge

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So I have seriously attempted to clean and organize over the past two nights. Honestly, it’s not my favorite thing to do, but once I get into it. I find so much enjoyment in it. I have decided that I’m going to take a very decisive look at my stuff and throw a lot of it away. For example, clothes that I like, but know I’m not going to wear, stuff I’ve been hanging onto that I have no true personal connection with…things like this…

A John Malkovich nesting egg set (I’m actually giving this to my friend Lorilyn who seems excited to take it off my hands).

being john malkovich nesting eggs

And these candles and candleholders have to go. I’ve been harboring a scented stash for a couple years now that have been sitting in a box untouched. I also threw some away. Yay. Good for me 🙂

purge pile part 1

I’ve finally decided to let these baseball cards go. I have no interest in them and I realize that I only bought them to be cool in 6th grade. I have a picture now and that’s ok.
baseball cards

But on the flip side of purging, I have those items that I feel conflicted about throwing away…this old award, for example, doesn’t make me long for high school…actually the reason I got nominated for it was a joke (I was the only impassioned one on yearbook and our yearbook was a serious joke). But it has my name on it and if I throw away, it’s like part of me is out in the universe that will ultimately become broken or questioned. Kinda like when you go to a yard sale and see old photos. The thought of this makes me sad.
academic allstar

I always loved this belt (wore it for like 4 years). It was my favorite and it just broke last month. What’s a girl to do? Toss it like it meant nothing? I thought about revamping it and turning it into a headband, but is that really going to happen? It would prob. just go on that long list of ideas in my head that never come to fruition. What’s a girl to do?

my favorite belt is broken

Then you have this, an old game board box that is torn up except for this image… I think I liked it cause it was so absurd. The cards inside the game told you to act like a rock and do stupid things like jump in the air for 27 seconds and if you could, you could lose all your money (losing your money was the goal of the game) I really don’t think I can throw this away. Maybe I should frame it. I like the idea of framing quirky stuff and putting it in your kitchen or living room old like old Applebee’s décor.

mad magazine box cover

Then you have things like my eyeglasses. They have so much sentimental value to me, cause they represented me and my identity in different phases of my life. It pains me to think about giving them away…

my glasses

And I love seeing artwork I did from way back when. I did this one in 6th grade. I think this also tells you alot about me as an artist during that period of my life and gives you a little insight into what I do now (I can see the linear/pattern/graphic style, can you? It’s so organized in it’s space, which is how I design now, too. Notice, too the lower right corner of the right butterfly. There’s a W and an S in there and that was the initials of the boy I liked at the time. I was always sneaky about incorporating stuff like that into my artwork back then.

6th grade butterfly art

This change purse was given to me by my grandmother after she went on a tour bus trip out West when I was 8 or 9. I think she also got me one in white. I have very few childhood things and I don’t like parting with them. Man, I wish I had some of my old t-shirts and sweatshirts from back in the day…or atleast a photo of them.
pink change purse

The problem with purging is just that so many things have so much sentimental value. I think I can use my camera as a way to stay reconnected to my things and still purge, but there will always be those things I won’t be able to part with. The sad thing is that they only have value to me and once I’m gone, they won’t be appreciated the way only I can. They are just things. Why do I have to get so attached??? The good news is that while I have a lot of stuff, I don’t consider myself a packrat. I sometimes see those organizing shows and wonder why people can’t let go. I’m getting better (giving up my magazines, for example). I just have to keep it all in perspective and be rational.

O.K. That was a really long post, but I guess I had a lot to say. Until tomorrow Swellions!

Being me is an exercise in itself!

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olivia-newton-john-physical

So tonight I had every good intention of coming home, getting changed, and hopping onto my bike for a long ride around my neighborhood… Well, when I got home, I just didn’t feel like lugging that thing down 3 flights of stairs and back up (I am very lazy, can’t you tell?) So, I decided to do the next best thing and pop in that Tae Bo tape I bought at the Goodwill a few weeks back. Well, the problem with that was that I couldn’t find it anywhere in my house! Surely I didn’t throw it away. I searched for about 15 minutes and then decided that I’d just do my 10 minute workouts DVD I purchased a couple of years back. I wasn’t giving in!!! Well, I open up the case and nothing is there! Not surprising, it is me after all. I root around in my DVD/CD box and still don’t find it. I even looked in my old Felicity and Laguna Beach DVD box sets to see if I stashed it in one of them. Oh, woe is me!

Sweatin' to the Oldies

See, this isn’t really anything new in my world. I am in a constant state of scattered messness. I decided tonight that my means of exercise wouldn’t be the typical form of “Getting Physical” or “Sweatin’ to the Oldies”. It would start with me breaking up a sweat while cleaning up my crap! I really worked hard for an hour or so and have made some significant headway to boot! I can’t say it is fully organized, but it does look a lot better now that I tackled it head on. I even cleaned off my kitchen bar area and it is totally clean! It’s one of those feelings when you think, “Wow, that’s what that looks like?”

Hmm, maybe I should exercise like this more often! Kills two birds with one stone!

Until we meet again Swellions!

Alexa