Fabulous Fall

I LOVE Fall! And in Florida, that doesn't give me too much time to enjoy one of my favorite times of the year, ya know?

So, on the first offical day of Fall, I pull out all the Fall decor and deck my house out, from the front door to the patio and everywhere in between. It works for me because we aren't big Halloween people, so I don't use Halloween decor and then Thanksgiving decor...although I'm sure one day when we have a kid or two I'll deck everything out for Halloween in their honor!

This year, I also spent a bit more time in the kitchen, cooking delectable fall things I pinned to my "Fabulous Fall" board on Pinterest. (Are you following me? You really should! CLICK HERE!)

I discovered my "signature" cookie for the Fall! It's called Spiced Apple Cookie, and I made a TON of them: for my husband, for our neighbors, for the family here and the family reunion we went to...and everyone LOVED them! Score for me!

But I didn't want to just take people cookies in a sandwhich bag, so I found these awesome baggies and accents at Michael's, and of course, I already had the twine. (Take my advice and get yourself some twine, people. You will use it. I promise.)



Ta-da! Aren't they cute??? Oh, you were wanting to see the cookies themselves? Picky, picky, picky...

No, this is not a picture I took, because I'm really bad about getting in the midst of things and NOT taking a picture. This is the Pinterest picture, and, believe it or not, mine looked just liked this!

I also made several batches of pumpkin bread, to take along with us when we went on our Fall trip and to the homes of friends for special occasions. These are regular disposable pans you can buy at the grocery store, but with added twice and accents!

What special things do you do for Fall? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Utensil Bouquet

Sometimes I know the perfect gift for someone, but it seems SO simple! I mean, I know they'll love it, but the packaging just seems off. Sooo...sometimes I make my own packaging!

*Please note: these pics are just phone pics, so I apologize in advance for their quality!

These are utensils from Bob Evans restaurant. The last time we ate in there with my in-laws, my mother-in-law was ooing and ahhing over these items as we waited for the guys to check out. They ARE pretty cool - great quality with nice bright-colored silicone - the Bob Evans special brand!

So when it came time for her birthday, I figured I'd get her a nice assortment. But then I didn't know what to do with them!

I actually saw this at Walmart and thought...hmmm...this might just work! I liked that it was a nice bright color, too!

Yep, they all fit and the colors blended nicely! Perfect!

Entre some cellophane (that I ALWAYS keep on hand)...

And voila! Finished product!

I think there are countless ways to do something like this! Next time I'll have more fillers of some sort to add, but it turned out pretty good for a first effort, I think. The important thing is, my recipient liked it!

The List Book

Some people might have a "To-Do" list. Yep, I have one of those. (Well, more than one, to be honest!) Those are located at my full-time job - my daily list, my lunch list, and my "do this on your way home or when you get home" list!

But I also have a List Book.

Early in life, I found that making a list of things helped me to organize my thoughts, and since I've always had lots of different activities going on, it helped me not to forget anything at the same time. As time went on, I ended up with not only a few more "projects" but also the need to condense everything together in some concise form.

Enter: The List Book! Now, no more pieces of paper floating all over creation!

I happen to LOVE Vera Bradley, hence the pretty pattern! And it's not big - about the size of your average diary or journal.

So, what do I mean by a List Book?

It's pretty simple: it's full of lists. Lists such as...

• People to Have Over for Dinner
• Office Projects
• Living Room Projects
• Dining Room Projects (okay, every room of the house has a list, so you get the idea!)
• Places to Go (for when me and my hubby both actually have a day off at the same time!)
• Songs for CD (one day we plan on recording one!)
• Dishes to Try
• To Blog Of
• Books to Read
• Shows to Watch
• Things to do in D.C. (our next vacation spot!)

I basically condensed down all the lists I had floating all around, and put them into one notebook! And that's not all this helps me with...

Also in the List Book, I keep listings of all of my frequented websites, along with account numbers, usernames, passwords, things like that. Yes, they are color-coded (with MARKERS, for my friends who LOVE to pick on me for this aspect of my O.C.D., ha!): Pink is Personal, Green is Photography and Yellow is Clever Container.

Whoops, that picture had no yellow on it.

There we go!

It's so easy to be able to grab this book and look up exactly what I need in a split second, or, when I get a brilliant idea, use it to make a brand new list!

And yes, sometimes things change. Lists get completed and websites expire, etc. That's why, at the beginning of every year, a new List Book is purchased, and all the necessary information is transferred over!

Try this on for size in YOUR life! I promise you'll feel more organized!

An Organized Trunk

This has become somewhat of a running joke between a few of my friends - Kristen's "Trunk Baskets" =) But some are honestly interested in the process, so, here goes!

Several years back, when I was a full-time college student, "nannying" for triplets and their baby brother (all boys), directing the Kid's Choir at church, singing in the the adult choir at church, leading worship for the College & Career Group at church, freelance writing for Focus Magazine, and attempting to still  have time with family and friends, not only was I in my car more than any other place, but I was LOOSING things left and right. There was just too much stuff for all my activities to keep up with. It really was ridiculous, and I was so tired of feeling unorganized every single day!

Sooo...to The Dollar Tree I went, and I purchased 6 plastic bins/baskets. Of course, back then each bin was assigned a different task than today's, but the basic idea was, anything for school went in the school bin. Anything for "nannying" went in the nanny bin, anything for writing went in the writing bin, and so on and so forth. Worked like a charm! Plus, it freed me from having "stuff" slide all over my back-seat every time I made a turn...I REALLY hate that!

Yes, I still employ this system today! Check it out!

1. Shopping & Errands (You can see the re-uasble shopping bags there now, but if I have any items that need to be returned, or I'm trying to match fabric etc., all that goes here)

2. Action Items (This is pleasantly empty at the moment, but if I am running food to a new mom or clothes to the seamstress, etc. here's where these things go)

3. Emergency Items (First Aid Kit, spare pens and paper, air fresheners, sewing kit...it all goes here)

4. Photography (You can see my camera bag here now ready for today's shoot - what you can't see is the packet of proofs that's underneat the camera bag, ready to be delivered)

5. Clever Container (As you may notice, I have an envelope here, ready to be delivered to a hostess today)

6. Work (This is the basket I carry in to my full time job and then back home with me every day - my briefcase of sorts. Don't you love the lunch box???)

7. I like to leave some space open for whatever may come up! And, generally, all of these bins can be stacked in one row across the back and leave room for larger items, like packages I've picked up or groceries I've made a run for.

It's also great to look back and see how many of these baskets are empty at the end of the day. That makes me feel accomplished! And it works the other way, too - a quick reminder of what I still need to get done!

I hope this is helpful for everyone! It's very easy to toss whatever is needed into its corresponding basket, and then, I know exactly where it is! No more losing things in the car, wohoo!

The Pilot of a Clever Post

I just realized that I haven't even introduced my new venture via this blog! Scandalous, I know!

The truth is, I've been VERY busy, between the full time job in insurance, the part time business I run doing photography and other promotionals (I guess I should introduce that too, huh?) and NOW a lovely little side job with a company called Clever Container.

I discovered Clever Container quite by accident, while I was being an organizing nerd and searching online for ways to organize a problem closet. When I came across their website, I was intrigued, because I had never heard about it before! So I filled out the little "request more information" form and sent it off, not really thinking much more about it.

The next day, I got a call from a lady named Judy who lives in Ohio. Judy informed me that she had been assigned me as a lead from the website, and wanted to tell me all about Clever Container.

The long and short of it is: Clever Container is a company that specializes in organizing products to make your life easier. It's similar to things like Tupperware or PartyLite, but this is all about organizing!

It was almost too good to be true!

After multiple conversations with Judy, I finally decided to become the ONLY Clever Container consultant in central Florida. And my husband sighed and shook his head. "What?" I asked. "Don't you have enough to do already?" he questioned.

Apparently not =)

Since July 1, I've been doing Clever Container parties and helping people tackle their organizational issues, and honestly, really enjoying myself! I'm not entirely sure where exactly this is going, but I sure am having fun with it!

To find out more about Clever Container, visit their website at www.clevercontainer.com. (Yes, you can view our catalog there, too!)

To follow me on this particular journey, feel free to head over to Facebook and like the page I've set up: http://www.facebook.com/kristengotclever, and continue to follow this blog, of course, because I'll be posting on here about the biz from time to time as well!

I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts! Have YOU ever even HEARD of Clever Container?

Summer Holiday Shelf

While on my way to work this morning, I watched a few kids load up on the bus, and I smiled, thinking that all is right with the world again. School is back in session (in the county in which I reside, at least) and things are getting back to normal after all the unstructured activities of the summer.

In the same breath I realized, I have not even blogged about my Summer Holiday Shelf! And it's practically Fall!

So, here you go! (Oh, and if you want to see the original creation of the Holiday Shelf, click here!)

I started with one of my grandma's crystal goblets, and added some pretty artificial daisies from The Dollar Tree.

I added a fantastic Summer Love printable that can be found over at Landee See Landee Do, and some pink daisies (also from The Dollar Tree), too!

This purple candle is from Walmart (lavender-scented) simply because I love purple and wanted it for the shelf!

And my hourglass =) This is a favorite of my decorations because it reminds me that life is short! (I perched it a-top a votive candle-holder to add some height.)

I made this little garland out of paper cupcake liners, folded in half, hole-punched and strung with a pretty white ribbon.

Ta da! Summer Holiday Shelf! My husband said it looked pretty "Springy", but it was the printable I built it around, and THAT says SUMMER, so I'm good =)

How do YOU decorate for Summer? I wanna see!

On Welcoming Others

"Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you  must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate." (Rick Warren)

I LOVE entertaining. I really do. And while we have a small place right now, I hope that one day we'll be able to have something larger and be able to welcome even more people into our home. (Although our family and friends have been really awesome about cramming into our little place. Hey, the food's normally good, what can they do?)

I also try my best to make sure that our home is always ready for company - whether it's a co-worker meeting one of us for a business trip, a neighbor dropping by, or someone who's just "in the neighborhood" and wants to say a quick hello.

I realize all of these things are much easier to practice since we have no kids. (I KNOW there was someone reading this and muttering, "Just wait until she has kids...") The change in everything that children bring is not lost on me...I worked my way through college as a nanny for triplet boys, remember? But the idea is to get in the habit NOW of doing things this way, so that when the kids come, they learn the same principles.

During the last event that we held at our house, one of our guests caught me in the kitchen and commented on how she always felt comfortable when she was in our home, and she thanked me for that. Such a simple gesture, but it meant so much to me!

Recent events have got me thinking...quite a bit, actually. Did you know that since 2000, the number of hate groups in the United States has increased by 69%? That's amazing to me, and not in a good way! Why are we so hateful? Why are we so fearful? What's happened to the love? When did passion begin to negate compassion? These are things I don't understand.

I certainly can't change anyone else, but I do know that I can control my own actions. Just as I have always wanted anyone (no matter their race, gender or belief) to feel welcome and comfortable in my home, I want the same when meeting anyone for the first time, fellowshipping with those I have known for many years, or coming together with anyone, really, whether they are in my home or not.

Because, let's face it: I don't know when I may have an opportunity to speak encouragement into someone else's life, and how can I do that if they feel like I hate them, or even fear them? I have many convictions, and my goal is to have my actions support those convictions, but I refuse to bash anyone else over the head with them, or mock someone because they feel differently than I do. What good will that do? I mean, really?

As Warren said, "You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate." Thank goodness for that! And although this topic may not seem the norm for this blog, I think that there's a very important destination along the Road to Domestication. It's name is Compassion.