Tidy Up Magic? Challenge Accepted

Last week on Facebook, I stumbled across this article: The life-changing magic of tidying up: How this 1 tip changed everything. Hm, my room is covered in clothes and a total disaster (which isn't acceptable at the age of 26...I should be old enough to put away clothes). I read the article and even shared it on the LOC Facebook page. It got a few likes and some comments and I felt like by putting this out there, I had to actually take on the challenge.

In the article it talks about tackling one category at a time, not location. I found and piled up all my clothes (except for the closet, I didn't want to take things off hangers to re-hang them...so I cheated a little) like the article suggested and the result was scary:

You can judge me, I judged me. Unfortunately, but fortunately I started this activity with about an hour of time to dedicate to it. It was probably better because I didn't have time to put too much thought into it. I had to get my clothes organized this weekend and cleaned up because I think my husband (and honestly, me too) was about to lose it. I followed the ideas in the article: go through each piece of clothing and decide, "Does it spark joy?" I also had to push myself to not hold onto things I never ever wear just because of a memory, especially t-shirts. There were some items I got rid of because they were a pain to wash, steam, etc. I figured if I hadn't worn it because I hadn't ironed it, I probably was never going to. It became kind of liberating and I probably got a little to quick with my donation toss, but I was raised by a mother who was all about a good clean out and in my head she was cheering me on.

Next, with the clothes I wanted to keep, I followed the rule of making things visible in drawers. I grew up with an armoire, so I have struggled figuring out how to make my drawers work. I feel like things get hidden and forgotten. I liked the idea of making things visible, so I don't forget about them. Seemed to work well:

I filled an outdoor garbage bag with donations. Felt kind of like getting a load off and clearing way for new work clothes...I seriously had held on to clothes I bought when I first started. Time to move on. Now I just need to get that bag to the Goodwill or DAV to make it a successful adventure!

My bed looks much nicer without the massive pile of clothing on it and I'm hoping I can keep our room clean...I hung up my clothes tonight when I put my pajamas on! Sadly that is kind of a big step for me. Now you all need to give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Lots of Love,

NYC: National Stationery Show

Wanted to give you all a rundown of our trip up to NYC for the National Stationery Show! My Aunt Mary and I had such a fabulous time and found some great items for the shop...there were so many great booths with beautiful things. Paper products overload! To recap the weekend, I'll give some quick blurbs and share fun pictures:

1. Rifle Paper Co. + LeSportSac Launch Party -

They were screen printing pineapple prints for Anna to sign! They also had snacks, prosecco & fresh flower bouquets...so fun! 

Probably my favorite part about the whole trip was getting to meet the wonderful and adorable Anna Bond, creator of Rifle Paper Co. She was sweet as can be and told us about all the work that has gone into the upcoming Alice in Wonderful book she is illustrating (can't wait for that to come out!). To check out the bag collection and carry your own fabulously floral bag click here to go to the Rifle site. My Aunt got me the Abbey Carry-On weekend bag for my birthday and it made flying back more fun! You can find that one on the LeSportSac site.

2. National Stationery Show - the reason we came to New York! Here are some random shots of the fun things we found:

We found so many gorgeous things at market and are excited for the things we ordered! Little Boxes of Character are due for a revamp once we start receiving new products. Plus, we ordered rolls and rolls of new, amazing ribbon! They will add more character and flair to the boxes. We also stumbled upon a great party supply company. Ordered some pieces from the adorable tea party collection shown directly above to add to our party supplies collection. Can't wait to share with you all!

3. Food -

Breakfast Place: Lexington Brass

Perfect little Sunday brunch spot with good food! Photo via Eligible.

Lunch Place: Bryant Park Cafe

More for the wine & atmosphere than the food. Great spot to discuss market and what we wanted to purchase!

Dinner Place: ABC Kitchen

We grabbed a cocktail table and ate and ate and drank to our heart's desire - delicious, plus the atmosphere was amazing! Arrived at 5:30 when it was starting dinner, so we could snag a spot!

4. Entertainment - Wicked!

Highly recommend seeing it next time you are in NYC!

Overall it was a great weekend and I think my legs have finally recovered from all of the walking! Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see when new items arrive. Can't wait to share!

Lots of Love,

Smorgasbord of Home Updates

When you have as many projects going on as we do, things get a little crazy around the house. Now, none of them are necessarily BIG projects, but all of these medium projects are causing chaos. We wanted to give you an update and some good laughs on each of our projects, so here we go...

1. The tiny bathroom that is feeling massive. I am going to be painting flowers for the next year if I keep up at this pace. Obviously wanting the painting to look good, I'm having to move rather slowly. A dozen flower bunches can easily take a couple hours and that's usually what I can sneak in here and there. Luckily, I'm loving how it's turning out and it is something I enjoy doing. I just get anxious when I want to get a project done...not allowed with this one! I'm now trying to decide if I just do the upper half or if I want to go with the full "wow" effect by doing the whole thing. Here is where we stand and the sad thing is, Dustin reminded me a mirror is going on this wall...sad realization, but if I ever switch the mirror I'll want the pattern there (is what I keep telling myself).

We also have a lovely new fixture in our dining room:

You know you've lost it when you start referring to a toilet as "cute."

2. The fireplace that is seeping into other areas of the house. I mean that literally. Time for the the funny story: My wonderful husband ripped out the nasty tile that was there before and then had to fill up the holes where the tiles stuck too well. He had it all ready to go for the thin leveling concrete substance. Got that all measured out, stirred and then poured it over the hearth. It looked smooth, filled the space and he was proud. Sitting there he realized one side started to look lower and then lower and then panic set in. He ran downstairs and there was concrete dripping through the ceiling. Now, luckily (for this situation) our basement is unfinished and we just use it for storage. Unluckily, it dripped right on top of his tools stored down there. He was not a happy camper and of course his lovely wife picked that exact moment to call him to "check in"...whoops! It eventually stopped, just caused some clean up. Nothing is easy...

Leveling round two was done with a little anger and is not as smooth...we are told we can smooth out when putting the tile on.

3. The island in uneven territory. The island project is actually the one we are feeling good about because Dustin has been working hard to get the cabinets painted! I think they look awesome and I'm definitely glad we went in the direction of unfinished cabinets. Now we need to find somewhere level to attach the three cabinets together...which might be impossible in our 92 year old home. We have to get them attached on level ground, so we can level out the bottom on our uneven floor by adding a wider base. The good news is that the ceiling fan in there has been making a terrible noise, so I no longer have to convince Dustin to get rid of it. Painting and hearing that awful noise has helped him decide a pretty light is better!

4. The magic carpet that Teddy likes to ride. On a happy note, Teddy is doing much better! He is recovering and back to his peppy self...thank goodness! Sad teddy made me feel so bad.

Like the rug? It's our new office rug! Remember I asked you all for opinions a while back on rugs in this post? Well I ordered the popular choice number one and it was backordered forever. When it came the colors looked different and I didn't like it. I thought the accent color was orange, but it ended up being a weird brown. Love free returns and shipped it back. Found a new addition to the Urban Outfitters rug collection and fell in love! Teddy has been enjoying it as well and it's his new favorite spot to watch me work.

We have another project we are crazily deciding to start hopefully this month, but this one we are hiring out for - yay! I will give you all updates on that one soon.

Hope I didn't wear you out with our crazy projects...I keep telling myself we will get there eventually!

Lots of Love,

Time for some Party Planning!

I am so very excited to share with you all that we added a new tab to our Love of Character shop today called "PARTY PLANNING" and I would love for you to check it out! A big part of what we love to do is helping people add some character to their lives, and with a more customized party planning outlet, we can do just that!

We would love to help you put together a gorgeous wedding welcome box or a fun birthday party favor at an affordable price. On the list, we also have basic party planning where we can help you brainstorm ideas, find invitations, source products and from there we can even help you DIY your favorite Pinterest ideas. We are wanting to help you with lining envelopes, addressing and even have products from our shop that you can order customized, such as hair ties and confetti pops.

Recently I made a very fun Mimosa inspired box for a bride-to-be gift and it got me going on fun Wedding Welcome hotel box ideas...

Mimosas for Mr. & Mrs. Box:

Other ideas for Welcome Boxes:

We also can add fun items that fit with your location, such as sunscreen, aloe, bug spray, beach towels, hats and more. The idea is to work with you on what fits your needs!

For party favors there are so many options and we can make them custom to your party. Bachelorette boxes are one of our top sellers and I would love to work with brides and bridesmaids to make them more customized to their event! Kid party favors are also fun to do and as parents it's hard to come up with new ideas.

We think parties can be planned on a budget and still be talked about! Next time you have an event to plan, keep us in mind and contact us through our website to receive the pricing list. We look forward to planning with you!

Lots of Love,

Run for the Roses - Kentucky Derby Party!

Yesterday my friend, Lynn, threw a very fun, very Southern derby party and I wanted to share the event with all of you!

For the party, I wanted to fancy up my pink sun hat from JCrew, so I decided to use fresh flowers. I figured they would look pretty and be classy. While at the store, I loved the colors of the hydrangeas and alstroemeria flowers. To go with my dress for the evening, I chose a black and white striped ribbon. It ended up being an easy project and I waited until we were getting ready to put the flowers on. I knew without water the hydrangea would start to get limp.

I crossed the ribbon one on top of the other and then stuck a pin in the middle. For the flowers I cut them down with a little stem left, so I could stick a pin through it. Hide pins with leaves or use pretty pins!

I think it turned out really pretty and it was fun to wear! The wind made things a tad tricky, but I held on tight. My husband looked pretty dashing himself:

When we arrived to the party, we were greeted with this festive entry way:

She also had fun decorations scattered throughout her house, so I had to snap a few pictures. Lynn is an equestrian rider, so she has lots of horse swag! Made for a perfect Kentucky Derby themed party:

Photo via Lynn

Photo via Lynn

Sadly came to the realization that Mint Juleps are not my favorite, but her bar looked good! 

She is also an amazing cook. Seriously, she made every Bourbon recipe known to man and it was all quite tasty! Overall it was a great evening with friends and I loved all of the outfits. One of my favorite sporting events!

Myself, Amy, Lynn (hostess) & Katie

Our dresses were pretty, but my cousins who actually went to the Kentucky Derby win the award for best outfits of the day:

I died laughing when I received this text - so good! Seriously where do you find suits like that?

Lots of Love,