OlioHop Organize!

"Do a little dance, create a moodboard, let's organize...ba dum ba dum, let's organize!"


Can you tell I'm super excited all over again? That's because it's the first Monday of the month and that means OlioHop! Last month we talked about nurseries and kid's rooms, and today it's all about organization. I am thrilled to not only be involved for the second OlioHop, but also to have been invited to continue to come back every month! Lots of OlioLove going on from this chick for Olioboard and the other Olioistas!


How to make organizing easy:

• Give yourself plenty of creative space
• Label and designate separate areas
• Spend 5-10 minutes in each room that you use on a daily basis putting things away
• Allow the space to change with your needs
• Take "stock" once a month and purge things you find yourself not using

The last time we OlioHopped, I got to spend some time talking about my daughter! Well, my little diva is on the move in major ways! Part of our home makeover includes turning what should be a formal dining room into a playroom for her! If there is only one thing I could pass on about parenting it would be accept life as a controlled form of chaos! This mantra doesn't only apply to parenting, but to organizing as a whole!

To see the Olioboard and shop this look click here!
For more Playroom ideas see my Pinterest board here!

Playrooms pose an interesting challenge by not only needing to be organized and hidden, but also easy to navigate, creative, and kid friendly! I love the numbered baskets from Layla Grayce for the simple fact that I can see myself telling Dablet "Please put your foam blocks away in bin #3". She will just stare at me and smile now because she's only 9 months old, but this is a great way to teach numbers and organizational skills! Along the same lines, I am all about having art space in playrooms! Whipping out chalk and drawing on your own table with a parent friendly "just push everything off the top" drawer built in! I could make a great DIY project hooking up a paper roll holder to the side of this so we could pull across paper and use markers too! Let's face it, kids like to toss everything together! As long as it gets it out of the way, it still counts as basic organization.
The best piece for this playroom that screams functional organization (because that's the easiest kind to keep up with) is the changing table bench! It takes up VERY little space, can be put on top of any bookshelf, and hides any diaper products away in its own drawer!

Moving on to the idea of hiding things away, let's talk closets! How many of you have been guilty of cleaning up a room (any room, but especially a bedroom) and just shoving things in your closet and shutting the door?!?! I'll start the support group here! If your room isn't organized, and your closet isn't organized, this will be a perpetual cycle of back and forth mess and you will get nowhere! See my Closet Storage Pinterest Board Here
Here's a look at organization behind closed doors that is EASY to do, keep up with, and adapt to your "growing needs".

Why a results step one? Because needs are ever changing! You shouldn't expect one form of organization to always be the one that works best for you. This was done before Dablet was born, and almost 10 months after she arrived it now looks like this:

Her other spaces for in-room organization:

Changing table that has storage, easy access, and books!!

In-room reading nook and toy storage!

Moving on to more "adult things", you may know I am working on a design for my new home office and client meeting space. Olioboard has been an instrumental part in pulling together ideas for the overall look of my new office, so I wanted to pull some ideas together on how to keep it user friendly! Also, if I'm planning on having clients into my lair, I might want to be able to keep up with the fabric swatches, pens, sketch pads, and idea books!

To see the Olioboard and shop this look click here!
For more Home Office ideas see the Pinterest Board here

I am obsessed with the idea of using old library card catalogs for storage! I think this is a FABULOUS way to organize crafting areas because you have lots of drawers and a very easy way to label! Keeping a desk pulled together is also essential so you can actually sit and work at it. Having a fun pencil/ruler/etc storage piece like the teal bubble one seen above takes up less of your surface area and provides ample space. I'm also a fan of wall mounted hutches! Want to make it a bit more chic? Try bowls of different shapes, sizes, and colors to store things you need easy access to. They'll serve a purpose and be nice to look at!
Chalkboard paint is in!! If you're looking for something less permanent, you can always use the wall decals! Tile them, make a weekly calendar, or cut them out into shapes you would rather see on your wall.

To make ANY and ALL of this work remember that the easiest way to stay organized is to give everything a  marked place and try to reduce the amount of "stuff" you have floating around your home or office. Goodwill is a fabulous way to purge (with the tax deduction benefit), and I've found some great pieces there for re-purposing! Have questions or need additional help with a specific project? Visit my Services or Contact Us pages for more information, I'd love to work with you!

Need some extra inspiration for now? I took a trip to The Container Store last weekend and here are some of my snapshots!

Walls of boxes in every color, material, and size!

Fun ways to keep your papers organized, marked, and things hung up!

For more storage ideas, see my Pinterest board here

Thank you SO much for joining me today! Have you created an account with Olioboard yet? If not, go for it! It's very easy to use and I'd love to see what you create! Post your Olioboard links below so I can take a look and follow you!
Here's the hopping part! There are 15 other fabulous bloggers blogging with me today during this OlioHop and would love to share their ideas with you! Take a look and enjoy your week!

- Chaotically Creative - Designer Selma - Frugal Finds - Go Simply Savvy - Home Styling 101 -

 - I Heart Organizing - Marilyn Russell - My Urban Eclectic - Focal Point Styling -

 - Pinklet & C - Push Interiors - Seaside Interiors - Stacy Naquin Interiors - 

- White Linen Interiors - Wisteria Home - 

Why I love Benjamin Moore - Reason 1

This may end up being more than one reason if you piece it apart, but let's just say this is the first blog dedicated to why I love Benjamin Moore! Today was a day of local travel. We knocked out the local farmer's market early and snagged some homemade sweet potato gnocchi, spinach/artichoke ravioli, wild mushroom ravioli, fresh sausage, and these beauties

The greenery in the back is actually a fresh basil plant that will live in my kitchen!

After that, I made a delivery for a client, we did some home based things, I "checked in" with my Olioboard for my new home office, and my mom and I went off to our local Ace Hardware Store (closest place that sells Benjamin Moore paint); that is where Steve came into my life. Steve is the paint department guy, and yes, they sell more types of paint in addition to Benjamin Moore. I've been in there a few times and chit chatted with him about the Color Capture app for my phone, but this time we really got to talking.

I showed him my Olioboard design for the home office, and told him about the applicator kit I won by tweeting to Benjamin Moore. His response was, "they're great about promotions and donating, and they have the best colors; everyone should use Benjamin Moore!" I have to agree with him! I of course told him I would love it if they'd decide to donate the paint for my total home makeover...I'm still dreaming!

After he rung me up for my pints, gallons, and a few planters I bought, he told me to bring up some business cards and leave them on the counter for customers to pick up. Then....wait for it.....he handed me two shrink wrapped bundles and said "I'm sorry I don't have any 'Color Preview' extras, or I would have given you all three"...He had handed me the color swatch book for all of the Classic Colors and the Affinity Colors!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Here's a fun trick with the Affinity Colors:

Any...yes ANY....three, four, or five (I'll stick to three) colors you pick from the swatch book will go together! I tried this a couple times by picking blindly, and here's what I got:

I love this second one. It's a little hard to see in the picture but the middle is a bone color and the color stacked on top is a blush, with the bottom a deep purple.

Maybe I'll make better friends with my pal Steve, and maybe I'll get some paint out of the deal so my decorating dollars can go further. If not, that's OK too because I have all of the color inspiration I could possibly need to make this home complete! Thank you to Steve from Ace Hardware for loving Benjamin Moore as much as I do!

Dabble's New Office

I recently retweeted the link to my old post Definition of Self and Style. Sometimes it makes sense to go "back to the stacks" and blow the dust off an old blog post to reintroduce it to your readers, or to make sure your new readers had a chance to see it! This post was important to me because it was my "Hi world, I'm Kate!" post that told everyone to define themselves before they started trying to determine their style. Also, in the post I made a list of how to go about designing and decorating a room that is pretty foolproof if you execute it appropriately and put the time into your "homework". In case you missed it, here's the list:

• Go room by room and pick a vision - this can be inspiration boards (made easy by our friends at Olioboard)
• Collect your favorite patterns, colors, furniture....and then do some old fashioned editing
• Set a budget for the entire house - or however many rooms you want to do
• Prioritize the rooms in your house
• Break down your budget by room
• Edit again if needed
• REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM ROOM
• Start with canvas - your paint and wallpaper
• Move furniture back in
• Decorate with accents

Here's the KEY to making this work:

• IF IT DOESN'T HAVE A SPACE IN YOUR NEW ROOM....IT DOESN'T GO BACK IN...IT FINDS A NEW HOME OUT OF YOURS!

Sounds pretty easy right?! Then WHY is it so hard? A few reasons come to mind:
Sentimentality: that "one thing" you got somewhere that you can't get rid of, but never use, or look at until you wonder for the third time this month if you should throw it out
Time: Isn't it ALWAYS a matter of time?
Expense: Somehow what you dream of putting in your room is always more than you have to spend (at least in my world!) That's why I'm bound and determined to pair up with some fabulous DIY experts and "thrifters" to make your dreams come true!
Inspiration: I know it's hard sometimes to pull your ideas together, hopefully the blog can help! Also, take 10 minutes and pull some things together on Olioboard. You'll be surprised how easy it is and how inspired you can really be!

Here's what I have come up with for my first BIG room project: My home office and client meeting space. Yesterday I posted the room layout and some before pictures. Now, this will show you what I've come up with on Olioboard:

You can shop the items in this look here 

Items from CB2, Zinc Door, Layla Grayce, Kirklands, West Elm, Modern Furniture, and Benjamin Moore

I'm off to Goodwill and HomeGoods this weekend to see if I can find anything the budget friendly way! I hope this has sparked a first phase of inspiration, and as always please share your design ideas as well!

Let's Clean!

Today marked a pivotal point in the transformation of my home; we got our carpets cleaned! A while back I fantasized of replacing the "blah beige" carpets you see in all new construction with bamboo hardwood floors, and then the state decided to withhold a large chuck of money from our state refund to pay Kyle's old college bills. Mind you there is an automatic payment on these bills that is automatically withdrawn every month, AND he's back in school so should be able to have all of his loans "suspended"....I'm sure you can imagine that I was somewhat frustrated. So, a couple hundred dollars later our cats got to save what is left of their lives collectively after the destruction they had caused to our carpets and they're amazing!
To make this miracle possible we had to clean out our loft, the room that is soon to be my new home office and client meeting space! I am GIDDY with excitement to design this room, and even more so that I have a blank canvas to work with now!
Here's the room layout:

And here are some photos of what the space looks like...not much yet, but had to share the before photos!

Please forgive the couch in the corner on its side...had to expose the floor space for cleaning! That couch will be in our yard sale in a couple of weeks! I'm starting to think we may need to have more than one yard sale because I'm not sure our driveway and garage can hold everything we have to sell!

After we cleaned we had a mini dinner party! It seems like this happens often in out house. It's not a full blown dinner party because I never have time to really hostess or get fun with it, and it's usually just "family". Tonight it was my mom and my aunt, the "uncles" (Clay and Anthony, our business partners), Clay's girlfriend, Kyle's mom, and the three of us. The starter was an amazing Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup. I could eat this all day! Abby liked it too, so it works as a baby recipe!

Ingredients - 4 servings
24oz. Chicken stock           8oz. Granny Smith apple peeled, cored, dice
2oz. unsalted butter             2tsp. Fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
4oz. diced onion                 1tsp. Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1oz. minced shallot             Kosher salt - to taste
4oz. half-n-half                   Pepper - to taste
Butternut Squash, peeled, diced - 16oz.

Pour stock into 3-4qt. saucepan, bring to simmer over med-high
While that is heating, melt butter in 10" saute pan over med-high heat, add onion and shallot to butter and saute until translucent ~4-6min
Add squash to saute pan and cook for 3-4 minutes
Add sauteed squash mixture to stock. Add apples, thyme, rosemary, and simmer covered until all veggies are soft and tender. ~30 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender or Cuisinart (in batches if need be) and pour blended mix through medium mesh strainer into clean sauce pan. 
Place saucepan over medium heat, stir in half-n-half, simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper


This soup is great as a starter, or you can toss in some shredded chicken and make it a meal! Abby loved the flavors, so it gets the "Dablet Seal of Approval"! I think this would be even better in the fall or winter as a warm you up meal!
I am crazy with yard sale things, fun collaborations, and getting mom set up over the next 10 days, but I will be sure to share with you my Olioboard process along the way! Also, I'm taking paint color suggestions for just about any type of room, so leave me your comment with your favorite paint colors! 

Making home workable

Anyone who has ever worked from home knows that you have to have a space that is both inspirational and workable. Sometimes a desk is not enough. Paint adds dimension and character, and organization is key. However, if you asked anyone who has ever worked with me they would tell you it might take a search and rescue team to find something in my office. Let's just say that I have always had my own type of office organization, yet I love how I feel when I get my space "publicly organized".
Given that I will be working from home exclusively for a while in the not so distant future with our corporate shift, I decided to dedicate a blog to office inspiration and organization. I immediately went to pottery barn (virtually of course) to look at desks....and it kind of spiraled from there. Here are some of my favorites:

This appropriately named Printer's Suite (above) offers up SO much in the realm of organization with all of the drawers. I'm not sure I would know what to make out of all of this possibility but the desk itself makes me inspired to try and find out!

This Bedford "build your own" desk allows you to be creative even in the process. Personally I LOVE the industrial handles, but even more so the inspirational boards on the walls. I always have bulletin boards with photos, cards, paint swatches, and anything else that I am drawn to. Sometimes when you see something it draws you without a direct significance, and then *BAM* you find the perfect use for that piece of inspiration.

This above fabric from Serena and Lily is one of my favorites. It is shown in a mocha, but also comes in a sky blue and a grass green. I have been eyeing it for Abby's nursery, but think it would be a great accent for a home office as well...Chair, curtain, pillow....

Just so we can better look at ourselves being creative, Serena and Lily gave us the Bungalow Mirror. I am personally obsessed with turquoise this year, and I always love natural-esq items. Of course I might need to get a little more work done before I can add this piece to my office collection, but that's what inspiration is for...Right??

I must take my inspiration to cleaning out my home office now and getting it ready to be the home to so many fun and exciting projects!

Until Next Time
Dabble