Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning everyone!! For this mornings tip we are going to just briefly talk about purging (in a different way). 

A lot of times people are worried about getting rid of something on the off chance that they may, at some point, in the future need the object. Yes, there may come a time that you'll need that object or paper, but more likely you will not. 

I always tell people I am not here to make you toss everything that you have or buy all new things. I am here to help you sift through everything to determine what really needs to be kept and what can be let go of. Sometimes this is a good amount of things and sometimes it isn't. 

If you are still worried about getting rid of something (after asking yourself the three questions I wrote about earlier), determine what the item is and why you really need or want to keep it. Is it something that has sentimental value? Is it paperwork? Determine what it is and place it in the to be decided pile during your purging. Once done with that session, you will come back to that pile and be able to make a better decision. 

Flowering Friday

Good morning and happy Friday!! I hope that this week has treated you well and that you all will have a good weekend! Let's start this Friday off right with some beautiful spring colored flowers! These flowers are actually from last week, but they lasted and are still doing well, so I did not get any new flowers this week. 

 These bright colors have added such "sunshine" to our home. I'm loving the brightness of spring. 

Tea Time Tuesday

Good morning everyone! I have some news about Tea Time Tuesday. Tea Time Tuesday has moved to my personal blog. In trying to maintain a little separation between this business blog and my personal opinions and posts, I have created a new blog for personal posting. 

Please check out Always Penguins, www.alwayspenguins.blogspot.com for more Tea Time Tuesday, Books, Opinion, and other posts!! 

Thank you!

Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning everyone! I hope that your Monday goes well! Let's get it started off right with the Monday Morning quick tip!

This mornings tip relates to what I said quite a few weeks back about writing things down on paper. We are going to talk about planners today. Planners are an excellent way to record anything from appointments to things that happened throughout the day. I use a couple different planners for different things. I have a Day Designer that is my largest planner. It stays at home and is my "overall, contains everything" planner. Everything ends up in this planner, however it is too big for me to haul around in my bag (some people do have huge planners in their bags, but I am not one of those people). I have two smaller planners that are usually with me. The back and white polka dot planner is a moleskin day on one page planner. I use this planner for anything that happens during the day that I want to remember. It is where I mark appointments down that I make and where I mark down things I think of throughout the day. I really love this planner because it can be so flexible with what is in it. The smallest pink planner is where I mark down money I spend, things I buy and when things are delivered/supposed to be delivered. My system works for me, I rarely forget or miss appointments ( I say rarely because it has happened, I am human after all) and it really helps keep everything organized.

Now I'm not saying that you need to have three planners or that even one planner will solve all of your problems, but having something where you can list the day to day things that you are doing helps immensely. As I have said before, things very easily get lost in the shuffle and forgotten all the time. So, even if what you have is a wall calendar, have something where you can mark day to day information down. This is a good starting point for getting organized and clearing your mind.

Flowering Friday

Happy Friday everyone! The week has ended, it's time to celebrate with this weeks flowers!!

This week I had two vases going. One contained Hydrangea bunches that I combined. I consider white and blue to by my favorite colors and color combinations. Hydrangeas are always a really nice touch and a lot can be done with one or two bunches. 

 The second vase has the spider flowers that have been dipped and painted all different colors. These flowers are just a fun touch to entrance table!

Tea Time Tuesday

It's my favorite day of the week! Tea Time Tuesday!

Today is a mixture between a tea review and some new tea storage. The first is the tea review. This is an Israeli Tea that I received in the mail via Israeli Post (which was totally awesome!!). It's called Wissotzky Tea. I got the Classic, which is just a straight forward black tea, however they have all sorts of different flavors and teas. 

This particular tea is great for blending with other flavored black teas to give an extra kick. I frequently mix this tea with the blackberry sage tea I reviewed last week. It gives just an enough of an extra kick without losing the blackberry flavor. 

As a side note to go along with this post, the tea storage has changed and moved! It is not in our dining room on a small table. I am still working the final storage and display of all the tea items, but this is getting closer. 

Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning everyone! Happy Monday! 

This morning's quick tip is all about paper. Paper has a way of getting put into piles and then piling up really quickly. Not only does this lead to the feeling of disorganization, but it also leads to clutter. If you remember a couple of weeks ago I posted about having an incoming box to help weed out the piles, but what do you do when you have the incoming box and still feel like everything is piling up? Start by trying to figure out what you have piling up. Is this bills? Letters? Magazines or catalogs? Once you figure out what exactly is in all of the piles, you can work at getting rid of the piles.

If the piles are bills, is there a reason that you are keeping them? Do you have or prefer a wireless option? A lot of companies have bills and statements available online or via email rather than mailing a statement. Is this an option for you and your family or office? If you still prefer to have a paper statement or bill, why is it still in a pile? Has it been paid? Is it waiting to be paid? Or has it been paid and is simply needing to be filed? When you sit down to work on paying bills, try and handle everything at that time, from reviewing the bill, to paying it, to then either filing or shredding the bill. That way it doesn't get put into a pile to be handled again later. 

If the piles are magazines or catalogs, they can be purged as well. Determine why you are keeping them. If it is a magazine is there an article or picture in it you like? If so, pull the picture or article out that you like, and toss the rest of the magazine. Store the articles and pictures in either a notebook or expandable file folder in order to keep them organized and put away. 

These are two easy ways to avoid having paper start to pile up and become cluttered. 

Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning everyone!! I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Today's quick tip is simple but needs to be said. If you are in a relationship and you are living together,chances are part of the space that you are organizing and re designing will contain your partners things.

The best option, is obviously to be able to sit down and organize together, but that doesn't always get to happen. If you are not able to get it done together, don't put it off until you can! You are able to get a lot done without your partner (probably more then you think). Go through the space (or small chunk of the space) and do everything that you can. If you stumble on something that your partner will need to decide on set it in its own pile. By the end of the session you should have majority of the space organized so that once your partner is able to go through their pile, the space is set and makes it easier for them to sit down and get their pile done. 

This method works really well if you have a partner who isn't totally on board or is a little more hesitant. Once you show them how great the space can look, they will get on board and get their part done! 

Tea Time Tuesday

Good morning everyone!! I've got some good news...it's not Monday!! That's cause enough to celebrate, but here is another reason...it's Tea Time Tuesday!!!

Today's review is one of my recent favorite teas. I actually drink this particular tea everyday, it is that good. 

Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage. So delicious. First off, when you open the tin the smell just flows out. It smells fruity with a small hint of something floral. It's soft and dainty yet not soft and dainty. Brewing the tea puts of the same smell and once you are able to start drinking the tea, magic happens. 

This tea tastes best combined with a straightforward black tea that gives it a little more robustness (is that a word?) or "kick". However this tea tastes good on its own as well. Pictures below from my afternoon tea (including the yummy treats I had to go with my tea). 

Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning everyone!! It is the start of a new fresh week! Hope everyone is doing well. 

This mornings quick tip is all about purging. When you come to a point that you are ready to get organized, you may also decide that it is time to get rid of things as well. There are three questions you should ask yourself when you are going through your items:

1. Do I want/like it?

2. Do I use it?

3. Do I need it? 

This will help you evaluate what items to keep and what to toss or donate. If the answer to two out of the three is no, the item goes. If you are not totally sure, then stick the item in a "maybe" pile and come back at the end of your organizing session. 

What questions do you ask yourself when organizing/purging? 

Flowering Friday- Gerbera Daisy and Stock Flower

Good morning everyone!! This weeks flowers were all about continuing with the bright spring colors. While the daisy's may sometimes be more of a late summer/fall type flower, I love how the colors really popped against our home and the blue vase!! 

Tea Time Tuesday!

Good morning everyone!!

Let's talk about tea kettles. I firmly believe in having a stove top tea kettle :) I have one currently sitting on my stove top in my favorite color.

There is just something about having a tea kettle on your stove and then using it. This particular tea kettle is the Kitchen Aid 2.0 Quart with Full Stainless Steel Handle and Trim Band in the color Cameo Blue. It is so nice! The whistle is very loud and very not expected. It will certainly let you know when the water is boiling. I haven't had any problems with the handle becoming too hot or the spout dripping water everywhere.

Now, I know that a tea kettle is not for everyone. I have two other options for hot water. One is an electric tea kettle. I have one that is currently at my office so that I can easily make a cuppa during my busy work day. The electric tea kettle is a great option as well, it doesn't have a whistle (or at least mine does not) and it fits just under 2 quarts of water. I have the Hamilton Beach 40870 Stainless Steel 10-cup Electric Kettle (which I don't have a picture of, because it is at my office :)). You simply press the button down to boil the water and it clicks off when it is done. The heating element is hidden underneath the kettle. It is a good reasonably priced tea kettle and gets the job done quickly.

Now, I also use a Keurig on occasion (mostly on the rare times that my husband and I are both home and he is sleeping), but it is not my favorite way to get hot water. It certainly heats the water and does the job, but it just isn't the same. I highly prefer using my stove top tea kettle.

Next week, I will have another tea review up for you! Until then, enjoy a nice cup of hot tea!

Flowering Fridays- A new look, Hyacinth and Daffodils

It's Friday! Congratulations on making through another week! As a reward, I have a post full of pretty flowers for you to look at!

This week, I continued with the spring colors as the weather continued with the clouds, rain, and gloominess. I picked up some pink Hyacinth bunches and some daffodils. I still had the english cottage roses, so I kept those as well. I love the contrast with both the pink hyacinth, yellow daffodils and blue mason jar as well as with the white roses in the large jar.

This provides the perfect touch to our entrance table!

The pink hyacinth provides a good contrast to the white roses.

Tea Time Tuesday- Tea Storage

It's a happy day today! It isn't Monday (that is over and done with for this week) and we get to talk about Tea! 

Today, as promised, I will go into my tea storage. I have two different storage options (well really I have three, but the third is simply a drawer for my "secondary"tea that isn't my favorite but isn't bad). 

First off, the way I have my tea stored right now is not my ideal or favorite option. At the moment, and in this house, it is about the only option I have. It is on a shelf below my mug and teacup storage. I have one section for my loose leaf tea and another section for the bagged tea's that I have. 

Lots and Lots of Tea!!

For my loose leaf tea I generally use tins to store the tea. I collect the tins and then place a label on the bottom of the tin with what tea is in each tin. I am still getting tins as I go along. The big thing about storing tea is that you want it to be air tight. My favorite tins to buy or the Teavana one's (the red, green and bronze tins), they are cute and have a rubber seal under the lid so they stay air tight.

Tea Tin from Target

For my bagged tea, which side note is mostly Twinings tea, I have a tea chest. This chest holds all the bagged teas and keeps them fresh. It is able to be closed but since the bags that I have are enclosed in their own individual bags I leave the chest open so it can be displayed. This is one of my favorite purchased in terms of storage. 

Well, there you have it. That is my tea storage at the present moment. It's not my favorite. I feel like it is a little cluttered and not set up as well as I would like. I am looking for a separate chest or cabinet that I can have all of my tea stuff displayed. Once I find it, I will definitely be sharing!!

Monday Morning Quick Tip- Magazines and Newspapers

Good morning! It's a new week and for me this week is going to be full of some changes to my routine! Going to be changing and adding things all throughout this month for a continued healthier lifestyle.

This mornings quick tip is all about those pesky magazines and newspapers that get piled up. Magazines and newspapers get saved for all sorts of reasons, maybe there is an article that you wanted to save or a design that you kept to implement in a room in the future. The problem comes from keeping the entire magazine. A lot of times when we find something in a magazine or newspaper we will keep the entire paper or magazine just for a couple of articles, or we get it in the mail and haven't read the magazine. They then get piled up in the corner and collect dust and make a room look cluttered.

Magazine's and Newspapers should be purged about once a month (or bi weekly depending how many magazines or papers you get). What I normally do (picture above) is pull my stack of magazines and papers and start pulling out any pictures or articles that I want to keep. I normally do this in our living room and have the tv on or a movie (this time it was Harry Potter :) ). I then take the article or picture that I have pulled out and put it in a notebook using some Mod Podge to glue it in. That way everything that I wanted to keep is in a central location. You can also use a binder with page protectors or a expandable file holder if either of those will work better for you.




This will look better and be less stressful in the long run to have everything in one location and tucked away rather than that stack of magazines piling up.

Flowering Friday- Time to Get the Spring Colors!

Happy Friday!! I love being able to end the week on a happy, pretty note! I put these together early in the week when it was gloomy and rainy outside (which is some of my favorite weather, just sayin') and I love that I was able to bring some bright color into our home!

This week I, once again, used both Roses and Tulips in the arrangement. White Cottage Roses and some bright Pink and White tipped Tulips take the front stage in our home. This is a very simple arrangement and is currently the only flower arrangement in our home. I have really been loving the Tulips and having Tulips in the arrangements. I feel like it starting to bring Spring in :)

Tea Time Tuesday

As I always say, it's my favorite day of the week! I love that I have been able to incorporate a second love and passion into this blog. Today I have another review, however next week I am going to show you some of my tea storage (which just keeps growing!). 

Today's review is interesting. In my original outline for this post, my review was not all that great. I did not care for this tea at the outset. I really had high hopes, but it just wasn't seeming to work out. However, I wanted to try one more option before I wrote a bad review, simply to say that I tried everything. It turns out that maybe that's all it needed!

Tea: PG Tips Green Tea Vibrant Mandarin Orange. 

I have liked green tea, it is how I normally start my morning and daily tea drinking. I have only had the Tazo Zen Green Tea, which is my favorite and a green tea I rarely not drink in the morning. However, I love orange anything and PG Tips has always made great tea. I figured I could not go wrong with this tea! 

The smell is fantastic. The mandarin orange takes over and smells delicious. Based on the smell alone, I would have recommended this tea to anyone who liked oranges and tea. However my first couple cups of this tea were far from good. Honestly, it tasted like hot water. The flavor did not pull through with tea like I thought it would. I was very disappointed. I tried it a couple different times and no change. I had a friend try it as well, and she said the same thing, it tasted like hot water. I figured hey, I'm not a total green tea kinda girl. I usually only have one cup of it and it is the Tazo blend. I came to terms with the idea of that. 

On Friday, while talking to my friend (and taste testing another green tea, which will be reviewed later on), I decided I would give it one more shot and this time I would add something to it. I wasn't sure what it would be, but I would try it with something. This is kind of a big deal for me. I usually never add anything to my tea. If I have straight black tea, I MAY add a little cream, but generally I just drink straight tea. I really wanted to give this tea every shot that I could.

I paid close attention to my steeping time for the tea and then added some honey to the tea after it was done steeping. This changed everything! Now, I always pay attention to steeping time, however I usually go a minute or two over the recommended time, however for this particular cup I decided to be exact. The honey added a hint of sweetness to my cup and allowed the orange flavoring to come through in the way I think it should have originally. It tastes quite a bit better! I am so glad that I gave  this tea another chance and switched up my normal!!

Monday Morning Quick Tip!

Good morning everyone!! It's a new week and a fresh start! This morning my quick tip to you has to do with the mail and the incoming box that I talked about last week.

I feel like a lot of people I talk to and a lot of what I have seen has to do with when paper comes in to the house it gets put anywhere and does not get sorted through. Thus, paper piles up everywhere. Usually the mail is one of the last things you get before walking in the door after a long day. At that point, usually all that is wanted is comfy clothes, a comfy couch and some food. I personally come home and have to just sit for a while before I am really able to do anything. Mail and other paperwork normally gets put on the first surface that you come in contact with right? Then it stays there until you can deal with it, no matter what "it" is. It could be junk mail, bills, paperwork, anything.

When you get the mail from your mailbox, the first thing you want to do is throw away any junk mail. Ask yourself, is this something I need? If not, trash (or shred) it goes. This should already clear out a number of pieces of paper. If you are not ready to deal with the paperwork and bills, in the incoming box it goes. The incoming box (as we talked about last week) should be somewhere right off your entrance.

By doing this extra simple step, you should see a lot less paper coming into your home, as well as a single location for the paper that does come into your house. Remember, the incoming box should be emptied once or twice a week depending on what your needs are.

Transformation Sunday- Kid's Room

I have a new post to bring you this week! Transformation posts are all about transforming and changing spaces. These posts will included before and after pictures of recent projects and a little information on what went into the transformation. 

This project was a really fun one for me. This room is being transformed into a kids lounge room. It will eventually have all of the gaming devices for the kids, will have the books they read, games, an art center for the younger one and just a generally lounge room for the kids to hang out in. What they originally had was not working for them. The biggest thing was just feeling cluttered. Everything was spread out all along the room in various spots and just feeling full of stuff. 

To start, I had the family bring all of the books that were throughout the house to this room. This creates one space for books to go. When I got there, we started pulling books of the shelves and sorting into piles based on age range for the books. We then cleaned up the shelves and started moving furniture around. By separating the unit out, the space was able to be used more effectively. It created a "larger" looking room and space. It really opened the room up. 

The finishing touches are going to be curtains, pictures and a few more accessories. Also, the gaming consoles will be finding their own home in the cubbies below the tv. 

Tea Time Tuesday- Another good Tea!

Good morning everyone!! It's once again my favorite day because I get to share my love of tea with you! Today I have a tea review for you, this time it is a loose leaf tea.

English Tea Store is an affordable favorite tea shop of mine. They always have excellent tea and the description and reviews are generally spot on. This particular tea is no different. I originally ordered it because it was black tea and had fruit flavoring. I have discovered that I really do like the fruit flavored black tea (or black tea or flavored black tea). This tea is the Pomegranate Rosehip Black Flavored tea. English Tea Store lists the tea as sweet, tart, and fruity with hints of rose hip (http://www.englishteastore.com/loose-leaf-tea-pomegranate-rosehip.html). 

First Impression: I smelled this tea (as I always do) and my first thought was "OMG it smells like chocolate flavored fruit". I'm not kidding...I was a little worried. I even had my husband smell the tea to make sure I wasn't crazy and he agreed that it did smell like chocolate. I have not tried any sort of chocolate tea and am not really sure how I would feel about it. So, I was very worried when I put some in a tea bag and steeped it in my hot water. Once brewed, the tea still smelled like chocolate. I will say, this tea is very light and airy. I do like the tea quite a bit and continue to drink the tea. That being said, it definitely has hints of chocolate taste when you drink the tea. I feel like it is more of a "hint" of fruit flavored chocolate taste. I don't think it's an overwhelming taste, but it is definitely there. 

Final Opinion: I do really like the tea and will continue to drink the tea. However, I will probably not order any chocolate flavored tea, because this tea has let me know that it is not my most favorite taste. 

Monday Morning Quick Tip- An Inbox System

Good morning everyone! Happy Monday! Let's get the week started off right!

This morning I am going to quickly talk about an "inbox" system. I firmly believe that everyone needs a "catch all". This is part of the catch all system. I have a sort of tray that I put paper in (picture included below). Anything that comes in to the house, that is paper and needs to be handled goes in to this tray. If it doesn't belong in the tray, chances are it doesn't need to come into the house (aka it goes in trash or recycling). I go through the tray twice a week (although this you can customize this based on your own needs). Mostly what goes in this tray are order forms, invoices, things for the blog or business, and cards. I then go through twice a week and sort through the tray to put everything where it needs to go.

This is something that I highly recommend to anyone I talk to or work with because a lot of time, things just go places. They go wherever there is room for it (or in some cases, where there isn't room) and it gets lost or overlooked. This system helps to handle that and if you put it somewhere where you see it constantly, you are going to want to empty it out and handle what has been put in it. This is a temporary place to put things that you do not have a chance to handle right at the moment you get them.

Flowering Friday- Hydrangea's, Roses, and Tulips

Good morning! I am so happy that it is Friday! Another week is drawing to a close and it's time for the weekend!

This weeks flowers are very special. Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers and so when I have the option to use them, I take it! I also love that I am still able to use the roses from last week and simply spruce them up with some Tulips.  Blue is my favorite color and I love the pair blue and white  in just about anything.

The hydrangeas are currently sitting on our dining room table and there are not any other flowers that I have paired with them in the vase. For me, whether I put additional flowers in a vase really depends. This is a unique situation as I originally was going to put some Baby's Breathe in with the hydrangeas, but at the last minute I decided not to add them in. The hydrangeas look great on there own, so I decided to have all three bunches in together.

 Then, since I still had the Baby's Breathe left to use, I decided to take the tulips and put them in one of the mason jar containers from our wedding with some baby's breathe in the background. I absolutely love how this arrangement came out!

Finally, I took the last few tulips leftover and put them in with the roses that were still around from last week. It spruced up the roses and looks really great on our corner table. I also am able to now get some more time out of the roses.

*Photo's by Memories in the Making Photography

Tea Time Tuesday- A quick Tea Review

Good day to you!! I am so loving this Tea Time Tuesday! Today's post is going to be a tea review of a tea that I love and that is affordable and easy to buy!

Twinings Blackcurrant Breeze.  Twinings is an easy tea to find in grocery stores or a World Market store and you can't go wrong with any of their tea blends. This particular tea is described by Twinings to have a strong fruity aroma and sweet and tangy taste. Here is the real deal: the aroma is definitely strong, but more of a musky smell rather than fruity. The taste however is incredible. This tea is a really good early afternoon tea (it is currently the middle of the afternoon as I write this and I may or may not be having a cup :).

Yum!! (p.s please ignore the chip in my cup) I have had a blackcurrant black tea blend before as a loose leaf version and I didn't care for it as much as the Twinings blend. My friend and fellow tea lover actually loves the loose leaf variety better than I do. I just prefer the Twinings blend.

Final review: the smell may be strong, however the taste is amazing. I continue to drink this tea frequently and it is one that I recommend to both the seasoned tea drinker and the first time tea drinker.

Monday Morning Quick Tip

Good morning!! It is time for the quick tip of the week!

This weeks quick tip is...to write everything down. You are more likely to remeber something if you actually write it down (and I don't mean put it in your phone, although that does work for some people). I prefer to have a small notebook with me as I write things down throughout the day. I also have a planner that I use as well in addition to my notebook. My planner normally stays at home on my desk and I transfer notes and appointments back and forth between my notebook and my planner. I have included a picture below of some of the notebooks and planners that I am currently using and have used in the past (a full review and further information will be written). 

So make sure that when you make an appointment or something comes to mind, that you write it down!

Note: I do not currently use every notebook pictured above!

Flowering Friday

This week is full of firsts!! Today is the first post for Flowering Friday! These posts will be all about flowers. I will discuss getting the flowers, different arrangements and what to do when they start dying. I will also touch on the weeks flower arrangement in our home. Flowers are usually my finishing touch on any main room after re organizing and decorating or designing the room.

This week I kept it simple with some roses. I always love to work with roses, because I feel that they are timeless and a good subtle way to add a soft beautiful touch to a room. They are reasonably priced and will work well on their own or with other flower. This week I only did the roses, which was unusually for me, but I like how they turned out.

My favorite roses are the English Cottage Roses, which are in this arrangement along with some other colored roses. I chose the orange and red colored roses because I feel like they are bright, warm and welcoming during the cold winter months.

*photo's by Memories in the Making Photography :)