Taking Control Challenge: part 2. Crazy Coat Closet to Cozy Workspace Makeover

Haha! You thought I would flake again! Who me? Here, as promised…the big reveal..
By the way, I wish I had time to dig around for photos of the coat closet before. Cos it was heinous. No matter how many times I purged and reorganized it would just be a matter of days before it became a catch all for whomever had the living room chore that day. And no matter how many times I instructed, implored or threatened, people would not remember to close the door on the chaos that lay within. It made me mental. Pretty much every single day for as long as we have lived here. That’s  a lot of time spent feeling mental.
A couple of weeks ago Cindi came over and as is my wont when Cindi comes over (she is my muse) I suddenly got a bee in my bonnet to turn the coat closet into a little reading nook. I pictured taking the doors off and putting a comfy armchair, a lamp and a sweet little bookshelf in there. This would mean that the first thing people saw as they walked up the path to our home would not be a closet vomiting all manner of clothing and sports paraphernalia (and whatever else whomever was cleaning the living room did not feel like dealing with) but an inviting and cozy spot to relax and read.  Oh, it was beautiful in my mind.
The problem is we had no comfy armchair. We did have a small couch but upon dismantling three rooms to get it into the closet we discovered that we had mismeasured-by a hair and it wasn’t going to happen.  I was not deterred, I’m not sure quite what triggered it,no doubt something Cindi said, when it suddenly occurred that this closet had finally found it’s true mission and purpose in life and was about to live up to its full potential.
And then I passed out from the ecstasy of this realization.
When I came around, I got to work.
I determined that this closet was born to be a workspace. And we had discovered that delightful fact it just in time for me to become a student again!
Lo and behold…this is what was created. (Ugh please excuse the horrid photos. I am having major camera issues and in my attempt to fix the haze, the colour got a bit messed up but you will get the general idea..)
Now you see it:                               Now you don’t!

Taking a bit of a closer look. I used wrapping paper I had bought at T.J Maxx a while ago (and rediscovered upon emptying out the coat closet) to “wallpaper” the wall. I actually got the paper because it is incredible quality. Really really thick  and I thought I could use it to decoupage something. (As if I decoupage things. Bygones).
I did not want to paint, or do anything permanent because the closet is cedar (it smells lovely) so put the paper up with sticky tack. Yup. I’m classy like that. I figure I will get sick of it at some point and then I can easily replace it with something new. Ohhhhh! Fun! (These pics are better representing the colour.)

I mostly shopped around the house the rest. It was absolutely amazing how everything fell into place. 
The desk and chair are both from Ikea. Both for under $20.  The desk fit in there…to the millimeter! It’s not gorgeous and I do want to paint it white when I get a chance, but functionally it definitely does the trick.
The cushion is from Big lots on sale and the blanket (an absolute necessity for me, a cold blooded creature) was from TJ Maxx.

I used water colour scrapbook paper to line the back of the bookshelves because I thought it brightened it up. And I found some random sticky (but not in a permanent way) blue paper for a buck at TJ Maxx for lining the yucky MDF shelves. I thought it was so funny (and awesome) how well all the turquoise-ish things worked together. They were all bought separately at different times.  Truly. None of it was bought together with matching in mind.  How cool is it that the file folders totally coordinate with the “wallpaper?” Even the little metal can I have the plant sitting in, in matches perfectly, and had been sitting in my kitchen looking awkward for ages. It’s the little things, I tell ya.
(The blue photo boxes have been sitting on those shelves for as long as we have lived here and since I didn’t need that space I let them stay, looking pretty and holding photos circa 1998.
The little turquoise rug was also at Big Lots and I found it completely accidentally. I dropped something and when I bent over to pick it up..I saw it rolled to the faaarr back on a shelf. Judging from the ancient looking (and cheap) pricetag I suspect it had been there for years. It was precisely the right colour, length, width and thickness. It helps make things much cozier in here and (weirdly enough) it makes it easier for my chair to roll around.
What makes me happiest about this space is that everything is 100% practical and at my finger tips. From the wastepaper basket to the highlighters.  I finally have a printer..right where I need it to be.  Imagine?! My books are right.there. I have a calendar and white board right in front of my eyes where I cannot miss them.  This has already saved my bacon. This space was meant for me and I for it.  I do not need one inch more. In fact if I had one inch more I would feel compelled to spread out in order to use it, and I would become instantly less efficient. See what a blessing little spaces can be?
Ok no I lied..here’s the best part.  Unlike every other closet workspace I have seen (and yearned for) over the years, this one allows me to go all the way inside, and CLOSE.THE. DOOR. Because the doors are slatted, I have plenty of ventilation and I can peek outside if I need to but it’s crazy how effective just shutting the doors is for helping me to focus and helping my kids to remember that I am trying to work. When I was sitting at a table in the living room they would walk by and remember some random anecdote that they absolutely had to share with me right at that moment, and I would feel compelled to stop and smile and nod politely and make some pertinent comment before I went back to work.  You can imagine how well that went down for my ADD self.  I cannot tell you what the simple act of closing these little doors does for my ability to buckle down and get the job done.  I know this sounds silly but I do believe that it was inspiration. God knows what I need, man.
So that’s my first reveal on taking back control of my house and attitude. I hope to get the next “reveal” in the series up soon. We’ve been breaking all sorts of rules to make our house more fun and functional.
 And again, here’s part one where I talk about taking back control of my relationship with food and consequently my weight.

Welcome February! Stained glass crayon tutorial, this month so far, and a bit of a declaration.

Ella, Gracie and I made these hearts:                       To replace these missing ones from last year.

Le Sigh. But! It did give me the opportunity to do a little tutorial for those who wondered how they are done. There are tons of others online but now you don’t have to google. I live to make your life easier.

1. Use a vegetable peeler NOT a pencil sharpener to get crayon shavings in the appropriate colours.  This is a good tip. You should be really grateful.

2. Use the boring colours to distract your toddler.

3. Get a goodly pile of shavings.

4.Pile them into a pretty heart. Instagram it so that everyone thinks you are terrible artsy. (Very important)

5. Spread the shavings out onto one half of a large piece of wax paper. Fold the other half on top of the shavings.

6.Crudely tear up a paper bag to cover your ironing board. Use the other half of the paper bag to cover the wax paper.

7. Iron it and keep peeking until it looks something like that.

8. Get some pretty twine or string. If you are pretending to be a hipster and/or you intend to instagram your efforts,  it must be bakers twine. Nothing else will do. Cut them to different lengths

9. Cut out the hearts whilst watching something mindless on TV. Poke a tiny hole into the wax paper hearts (I just used the point of my scissors because I’m frankly too lazy to round up any more implements than I absolutely need).   Make your daughter hang them at varying lengths in front of a window.

Yeah, I know, it’s a really complicated/highly skilled project but if you follow these instructions really, really carefully and practice for a few years you’ll probably get it down.

More on February so far:

I woke up sore but mobile-yeah! ( I wrecked my back on Wednesday night showing my kids my wicked cool dance moves while tossing Ella up into the air. I caught her in a zig, rather than a zag and ohhhhh… SNAP. The paaaaaaain! –(not yeah! )But! I got right in to to see a chiropractor yesterday who snapped me out of it, and I have a newfound respect and much gratitude-life is full of surprises-(yeah!)

Ella woke up feverish and puked-(not yeah!) Right on schedule for the Annual Sayer Tummy Bug Jamboree-which always falls over the week of my birthday. Every time. Without fail.

The sun is shining-(yeah!)

*

I dropped my camera and I think it’s broken-(not yeah!) though depending on who you are it might be a yeah!

Got the tax return! .I had no idea we’d even filed!-(Yeah!)

Ella had a brief miraculous recovery (miracle of motrin?)  and ate a full bowl of cereal for the first time in about a month-YEAH. (Reaaaaallly hoping I don’t get to see that cereal again later)

This made her feel really energized and insisted on going out to play in the sub zero-temps…..(um..yeah….?)

I was somewhat stoked to say goodbye to January and then I remembered I hate February quite  a bit more. Still, that does not negate the happy fact that we are one month of Winter down. Good stuff.

Listen people. Here’s something important. I’m going to reaalllly try to be a little less whiny/depressing on the blog for a while. I am still thoroughly committed to being transparent when it comes to my mental health. I think it’s important that we start losing the stigmas associated with the epidemic of depression, and that can only happen if we talk about it and normalize it by talking about it.  But I’m starting to suspect that I’m coming off as a little/lot darker than I actually feel, which worries folks unnecessarily, and is probably a major downer. That’s not what I want. I really have no interest in contributing to the darkness in the world.  

The boring truth is that I tend to gravitate toward hyperbole and dramatics. I suspect that (bar a couple of especially dark days like this one) ,  I feel not unlike most people do who live in crappy climates in the Winter, I just tend to analyze and verbalize it more.  For the most part, I’m a pretty happy person with a pretty cushy life,  who like everyone else, is much better served by getting out of their own head, doing some service, getting exercise, and living life with gratitude rather than navel gazing and taking their emotional temperature too regularly.

Here’s to a more chipper February.

Don’t forget to enter to win your very own light therapy lamp here! –(YEAH!)

I lied…

about only having one resolution. Or maybe I didn’t lie so much as I couldn’t help myself with my love of a fresh start, and I picked up a few new “habits” in week one of 20-13 which I hope will stick.
So… apart from the Big One
Here are a few hoped for new habits for 2013:
1. Taking one photo on instagram every day. I know, I know this hardly needs to be a resolution for me, I’m not exactly afraid of capturing a shot. So ok let’s call it a goal.  I find I’m a feast or famine kind of girl when it comes to pictures, I take a million of the same event and then nothing for a while and I’ve always thought a photo a day for a year would be cool to look back on.  I see other people do it and I’m always “oh man! If only I had started on January 1st!” So let’s see how far I can take it. It’s a fun little bit of discipline. Do you do instagram? Follow me there, I’m momedykirsty (or you can just look me up by Kirsty Sayer). I would love to have some new people to follow back. Sometimes the people I follow are slackers and there aren’t enough photos for my viewing pleasure.

2. Read from the Book of Mormon every day.  Someone in my ward had the brilliant idea of reading it from the end because seriously, how many times have we all read 1 and 2nd Nephi before the wheels fell off? I’m loving reading Moroni. It’s my favourite book. And it feels like cheating. 
3. Entertain in my home at least once a month.  I never used to believe my house was too small to entertain in, I used to think it was darling and I loved having people over.   I recently realized that my house has not shrunk since that time, just my attitude, and if anything, I have made it even more darling over the years.  Maybe we will move to a bigger place but I’ve decided not to put off living my life until then. I want to feel and be more self-sufficient rather than relying on others to host everything. I want to take joy in my home again.  I want my kids to have more memories of celebrations in their own home and according to pinterest plenty of fabulous people entertain in small spaces…

source
4. The whole cooking more thing. Ok so this is not going well. I’m not cooking more. I don’t know if I’ve cooked yet this year. However! My husband is doing a wonderful job of it and we have had such great meals and variety lately. I am in charge of menu planning and shopping, he is in charge of cooking. I eat the leftovers. We make a good team. Why fight it? MENUS for the win.

5. I’m trying to get one room of the house totally de-cluttered every week. The first week didn’t totally count because we had to put away all the Christmas stuff, but I tossed a lot of things in the process, and I refrained from putting out all the other tchotchkes back in their place. I now have a very uncluttered, very boring house (and I love it!) I have whole bookshelves and surfaces completely empty.  I won’t keep them that way forever, because well…my house is super boring and unstylish right now.  But it feels good to start the year with some visual calm and white space. This week it has been my bedroom. I got rid of practically every item of clothing I owned (this is the advantage of shopping at Goodwill, it’s really not a wrench to let things go when you didn’t pay over $5 for anything).  I finally got to the bottom of the underwear drawers and got rid of all the ratty stuff.  And! I threw away single socks like a  BOSS. Just when I thought I had maybe been a little too ruthless and might have to live my life in gym clothes or pajamas,  a friend of mine offered me some of the stuff she was getting rid of  (and lets just say, it’s a lot nicer than the stuff I got rid of). You know the adage about uncluttering opening up your life for better things? Yup.

images from here
6. Read one non-rubbishing book a month. I’m reading this one this month, because I really just wanted a balanced overview/ explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all and this one is really readable and interesting.

7. Write one real thank you note a week. On paper, with a  pen. Because those are nice to receive and I know a lot of nice people who deserve them.

8. This (we have $3 in the jar so far –woot! )

9. Get my personal training business back on track. (The baby excuse is about to expire…)
So! If you are local and you want training (my rates are rock bottom and rest assured, I will rock your bottom) or you know someone who wants training, I’m your girl.  I have experience with a wide range of fitness and health levels and ages.  I take a holistic (mind/body/spirit) approach to fitness training and I work with people right in their living rooms. No gym membership or fancy equipment required.  I get people. I understand their hang-ups, because I’ve experienced most of them myself, and I know how to help them work through them.

So far this is going pretty well..but I’m not above begging for publicity to get it going better.  Tell your friends or by all means, treat yourself.  This is your year.
10. Blog at least 3x a week. I have lots of other goals for the blog which will be  (cue dramatic music) unveiled in time. For now, I’m blogging lots and lots and I thank you for reading. If you really want to be a peach become a follower here,  or click HERE
to follow me on facebook (when you get there, just hit the LIKE button at the top right hand side of the page).
How about you luvvies? Any new habits, anything sticking? Any that you have already ditched as a terrible idea?

To lighten things up a bit…

It’s been a tad heavy in these parts lately and ‘tis the season for light and love after all so here’s my fluffy post for the week:
Behold our mantel.  I saw someone using milk-glass with red accents, and fell in love with the idea because I love red and white and also…I had almost all the components already. This doesn’t happen to me often. I call this motif: Thrift store/garage sale festive chic. The milk-glass was mostly gathered from Goodwill over the years..the berry things are from Goodwill too,  the silver pieces are also from Goodwill or the legendary Purple House garage sale, and the family handprint tree we made for family home evening last week.  (That was rather an experience!) Little white bottlebrush trees and candy canes..courtesy of Rite Aid…50% off sale..complete my tiny winter wonderland.
Now tell me friends, why do I find it prettier when I can brag about how inexpensive it all was?  It’s kind of a sickness for me…I have a friend who is valiantly trying to break me of it, but I fear it’s too ingrained….I do.

Every year there is a part of me which really, really dreads decorating the house. It’s not the work, it’s the idea of the clutter. I can’t fathom adding any more “busy” to this little space. But after a while it grows on me and I love how much more cozy the house feels. I love that there are constant reminders of the season around us. That there is a sense of magic in the air just from the lighting.  And as much as I dread it initially, it is always over long before I am ready.

That’s right! This time next week, Christmas will be over! How can it be?! I am not happy folks, with how quickly December gallops by. It is a really, really fun month. Cozy! Spiritual! Musical! Family! Friends! Party! Delicious! Peace! Love! Joy! And soo pretty!
Last night as with the preceding 19,  I lay on the couch with my kids cuddled up on every side. We drank hot chocolate and read Christmas stories, then the kids pulled out their instruments and played carols by the light of the tree. Everyone was in a good mood, nobody said anything annoying to anyone else. And I thought to myself, “seriously, this is too ridiculously perfect…I am so perfectly happy. Why can’t it be this way every night?”
On Sunday, I sat in church and willed myself not to do the ugly cry during the impossibly beautiful music and the talks which caused my soul to soar. (I failed..I ended up  going home from church happy, but with a massive headache and red eyes). Throughout all three meetings, I felt so joyful though. I felt so much love and peace and appreciation for every single person I saw. During Relief Society I felt such contentment. This is not the emotion I typically feel during RS I am sorry to say.  I asked my friend Cindi seated next to me? “Why can’t it be this way all the time? Why can’t I feel this sense of peace and love and joy always? I know that once January rolls around every petty little thing will annoy me again.” I also asked her if she felt that there was actually something special in the air in December or if we generated it. Of course I knew the answer to that. It’s special because we make it that way, because we think it should be that way?  So why don’t we just keep making it that way?


Here’s a little more of a look into how we’ve been spending this month.
Despite my disdain for the creepy elf on the shelf, his less creepy cousin, Buddy the Elf joined us on Sunday. Finny believes it’s because he wished for him so hard.  What can a cynical mother say to that? (He appears to be quite musical). PS: Pretty much the best part about having Buddy here is the fact that Benjamin has taken it upon himself to make sure he is doing something new and interesting every morning before the younger ones wake up. I find that so incredibly endearing, don’t you?

I have to start baking tomorrow. I am thoroughly dreading it. But here’s something fun and easy: Santa brownie hats I made for the Messiah singalong…I didn’t get to eat any. Maybe next year?

Hey! Shhhhhh…..Do you want to peek at a few of our 12 Days of Christmas “drops”? (No fear! The recipient does not read the blog!) This is definitely one of our most favourite things about the season. After doing this for almost a decade, I have it pretty “down” but it changes a little bit every year and still requires some major brain strain at times..I secretly love that part too.
4 calling birds (4 bird ornaments) in their cozy nest …7 chocolate bearing swans a’swimming on a pretty blue pottery plate with a few yummy fish in there too..For 8 maids a milking: milky way chocolate, some fancy rubber gloves for the “maid” and cards for playing old maid..all in a sweet little “milking” pail I found at Goodwill today (!!) Ah it’s the little things that give me much pleasure

some beautiful anjou pears and the fixings for some peppermint tea (in lieu of partridge in pear tree).

One of my favourites (but not photographed) was a beautiful goose down  throw pillow to represent the 6 geese a’laying! (Get it? Get it?! A goose down pillow to lay on? Sigh. Ok you got it already, just indulge me, OK?)
No, we don’t generally drive around with Ella at the wheel.  We’re parked here, visiting the musical light display in someone’s yard on our way home from a stealthy delivery to our “true loves” .Two families put this on to raise money for charity-pretty impressive and very sweet.

Practicing for piano recitals-not pictured-but they did so well! I was so proud.

Visiting Santa: (confession: we were totally hoping she would cry!)

My comment on facebook after this little encounter tonight: “It sure is swell, is it not, when your kid sits on Santa's lap a few days before Christmas, and rattles off a wish list which bears no resemblance whatsoever to the list you have been painstakingly referencing since late November...”

Whew. So …where was I? Oh! Yes. The practical answer to my question posed at the beginning of this post is that all this merriment and peace and love and joy and togetherness is too intense, too “much” to maintain year around. We’d burn out if it went on for much longer. (Also we’d be significantly fatter and really poor). We can’t have kids playing their instruments together, and hot chocolate and lying on the couch reading stories by twinkly lights every night, but we can have more of it.  We can’t have an entire sacrament meeting devoted to music (with short but profound talks woven in) every Sunday, but maybe we should have more of them. But why can’t I love everyone all the time?  That one I’m still pondering….Well, hormones for one thing..(and I’m only half kidding..actually I’m not at all kidding. Hormones make me hateful.).
We are hoping for some snow tonight and tomorrow. I really feel like things are just not the same without snow. I’m not hopeful that we’ll have a White Christmas, but just a little bit of it to get us in the spirit of the thing…I would take it.
Here are Ella and Finny watching a Christmas movie. Ahh…..Christmas movies are the best. Even if the plot and the acting are awful, they are redeemed because they are about Christmas. Seriously! Can’t Christmas just last until February?

How to make a cute wreath out of candy and other junk you have lying around the house.

Here’s a spin on a beloved family tradition from ye olde country  Every Christmas when I was a kid, we would make “chocolate wreaths” for neighbours and friends. I have fond memories (who wouldn’t?) of being surrounded by chocolate, wire coat hangers and plastic bags as we would talk late into the night putting them together. When I first had kids, and was too lazy intimidated by my domestic goddess friends to make goody plates for Christmas, I too turned to the chocolate wreath. This year I thought I’d put a Halloween spin on it, and I think it turned out pretty cute.
This is an attractive and effective way of keeping the candy safe until trick or treating  time it’s also a fun decoration (if you have great self control and don’t guzzle it the day after you make it Halloween, I don’t see why you couldn’t get a couple of years use out of it-the chocolate would certainly not be a temptation next year). It also makes a cute gift.
Naturally the concept works perfectly for any occasion, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day when theme coloured chocolate is in abundance. If you wanted to stock up on post-holiday candy in neutral colours and joozh (how do you spell joozh? Juzz? Jhoosh)  it up with coloured ribbons tied between the candy, you could do that too. (I stuck some moderately cute cupcake picks in to add a bit more colour and fun) .  It’s totally open to interpretation!
All that said, it’s a bit time consuming,  but it’s pretty fun if you like busy work involving chocolate, and any idiot can do it. So without further ado, this idiot will show you how.
You’ll need.

• A wire coat hanger .
• Some cheap sandwich bags (not the nice thick ziplock, get the fold overs, the cheaper the better-in the past, we have also recycled dry cleaning bags which we cut into strips)
• A pair of scissors
• An abundance of candy in appropriate coloured wrappers. Actually this wreath took quite a bit less than anticipated, but it would really depend on the size of your wreath and how full you wanted it to look.
• Something mindless to watch on TV. (I was watching the Real Housewives of New York hash it out at their reunion. They make me feel so sane.)

First, bend your coat hanger into more or less of a circular shape. It doesn’t have to be super precise because you will fill in with candy to balance any wonkiness.

Then, stick a piece of candy into a plastic bag, split it down the middle almost to the base. Now you will have two ends with which to tie the candy onto the wire coathanger. You can also cut the bag down the middle into two separate pockets. This saves on plastic but it is a bit more fiddly to keep the candy from falling out of it’s pocket.
  or
Tie the candy as close to the hanger and as tightly as possible If you let it hang limply off the hanger you aren’t going to get a cute effect. 
Ignore the fact that it looks really awful and tragic, it always does at first, it’s not just you…just keep going.

Keep tying until it looks as full as you want it to.
Cut off all the edges of the plastic so none is showing.This part is critical. Be ruthless with your trimming or it will not look nice. It will look like pieces of candy tied onto a wire coat hanger with bits of bargain sandwich bags. Trim, trim, trim my friends! (This is when tying it really nice and securely pays off).Cover any exposed pieces of plastic with yet more candy. In other words, minimize the appearance of plastic and wire coathanger. Ok? Add any other cutesy stuff you want to. Or don’t. Hey man, I’m not the boss of you.

Get some appropriate ribbon and cover the hook of the hanger. Start at the top and tuck the edges in at the bottom where they can be covered with candy. Tie another bow around the hook if you so desire.


Et voila, an edible wreath with which to taunt your children and your dog. Leave it on your front door at your own risk.

So hey! Guess what. You can like me on facebook now. Just click the link right there, and when you get to my page and click the LIKE button on the top right hand corner. So many good things will start happening to you if you do that.  You should do that..
check out we are that family for more things that work for people on wednesdays.