Monday, March 31, 2014

10 Things You Need from the Dollar Store!

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend? We had a rough one. At one point, all 5 of us were down and out with the stomach bug. B.R.U.T.A.L! I think Mr. Fix-It and I washed the sheets from various beds 4 times throughout the night on Saturday. Yup, glad it's over! Hope your weekend was better than ours.

So you know how much I love the dollar store. How can you not? I go in there for one or two things and come out with bags of what? Of awesomeness! I've compiled a list...

1. Gift wrap, bows, party plates...oh my!

For real, who buys expensive gift bags anymore? If you are still paying $5 for a gift bag then seriously, you need to enter the dollar store and stock up on every colour gift bag and bow they have. Need plates for a party? Napkins? They've got it.

2. Batteries

We're always looking for batteries in our house. Always! It's hard to find a toy in this house that doesn't ring, beep or have a siren on it. They all need batteries. The dollar store will hook you up!

3. Baskets & Bins
Baskets and bins keep your life organized, tidy, clean and sane.

4. Crafts
Whether you're looking for a craft to do with the kids or you want to paint a wooden box, the dollar store has tons of options for $1 - $3. Awesome.

5. Household Stuff

Sponges, spatulas, kitchen timers...the list goes on. One of my fav items is the foil that comes in individual squares (perfect size for a baked potato)

6. Seasonal Items

Easter is coming...

7. Toiletries and First Aid



Toothbrushes, small shampoo bottles, cotton balls, band aids. Perfect spot to make a first aid kit for the car and to stock up on toiletries for your guests or vacationing.

8. Party Items
 Having a party? Need to fill some loot bags? The dollar store has tons of glow sticks, hats, necklaces...anything to make a fun costume or light up your night.  Kids love these glow sticks, bracelets and necklaces.

9. Stationary
Where's my pen? Paper, pencils, binders, folders, staples. You name it.

10. Kids Stuff

 Toys, trinkets, loot bag fillers. I definitely don't suggest letting your baby put any of these things in their mouths, but there are some cute toys in the dollar store that I call "keep them happy in the grocery store" kind of toys. I usually try to have a few of these stashed in the car.
 
What are your fav items at the dollar store? Is there something there that you always go in for? Do you have a top 10?
 
Keep it Beautiful.





*This is not a sponsored post. I just love a good dollar store and wanted to pass my love on to you.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Home Office TLC!

Hey guys,

Do you have a home office? Does it consist of you parked on the couch with your laptop? The kitchen table? Or are you lucky enough to have an entire room dedicated to a home office? Oooh, I would so love my very own room.  However, we just don't have that luxury of extra space in our home so my home office is shared with our guest room. You've seen our guest room before as well as my desk makeovers here and here.


Because my office is shared with the guest room, it needs to be creative because of space issues.  While I've loved working at this desk, it's definitely time to move on to something more functional, something that will fit into a small space, match the style of the room, allow for some creative storage and inspire creativity. So, I decided to enter into the Staples "Make More Happen" Contest and create my wishlist of office furniture and supplies that would help make working and blogging to you all a whole lot easier! Here is what I've come up with...

Desk: This desk would fit perfectly (I measured!) This desk definitely has more surface space then my current desk and I love the look of the white and chrome. The storage drawers could hold my fabric samples, paint chits etc as well as the usual paper, pens and daytimer. Oh how I need storage!
Chair: Me likey! Not only do I love the look but the fact that it's armless is a great space saver. I found the yellow chair at the cottage in a corner and while I love the colour, its really not very comfortable. This white armless desk chair would tuck nicely under the desk, look fab and be a lot more comfortable for those late night blogging fests!
Printer: I totally need a printer. To save precious desk space, this wireless one would be oh-so-perfect on a shelf above the desk.
Lamp: Let there be light! Most of my work is done at night so my current lamp that I'm using is across the room and not very effective. This desk lamp would be so much better, looks nice on the desk and be easier on my eyes. Maybe that's why my eye prescription keeps changing!?
Board: Dry-erase board to keep important notes with a pocket to store receipts/invoices, client appointments and upcoming events.
Label Maker: Oh the possibilities are endless! Labels keep you organized and you know how much I love a good organizing challenge!
Clock: I love that this clock doesn't take up a lot of real estate desk space and will keep me on time.
Sticky Notes: How fresh.fabulous.sophisticated is this diamond sticky notes holder. Perfect!

Whatcha think?

I love it and would love to win. Fingers crossed!

Keep it Beautiful.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

National Women's Show Ticket Winners...

Hey guys,

The contest is closed and the winners are...
Tracey
Janet Claire D.
MelMuff
Reese Speaks

Woot! Woot! Each of you have won a pair of tickets to the National Women's Show in Ottawa this weekend! Super fun. Enjoy, and have a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated time! Please email me your full name ASAP so that I can let the folks at the Show know who you are. Your tickets will be waiting at the ticket booth with your names on them.

Also, don't forget to use the promo code "beautiful" to get $3 off any tickets you buy online!


Keep it Beautiful.



Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Want To Go To KidsFest Ottawa??

Hey everyone!

How are you? Did you have a good weekend? I'm sorry I didn't get a post out to you on Friday or yesterday. I was having a girl's shopping weekend with my girlfriend Lisa. We SHOPPED! SHOPPED! SHOPPED! I'm going back to the office in a couple of weeks so mama needed some new threads!

I do have another fun contest for you today. Have you heard of Kidsfest Ottawa?

It's a super fun weekend for families to experience stage shows, animal exhibits, meet your kids' fav characters and visit some cool exhibitor booths. Yup, your kids will LOVE it!

This year Kidsfest is on April 5 & 6th at the EY Centre. The Kratt Brothers will be there (our big guy loves their show!), Mike the Knight & Little Ray's Reptiles are some of the cool shows and there are tons of activities like Spiderman climbing and over 120,000 lego pieces to play with.

Want to go? I have 2 family passes (2 adults & 2 children) to give away! Here's how to enter:
Either "Like" Keep it Beautiful on Facebook. Just click here. OR Follow Keep it Beautiful on Twitter. Click here.

*Contest closes next Monday March 31st!

Good luck!

Keep it Beautiful.




Thursday, March 20, 2014

Want to Go to the National Women's Show?

Hey everyone!

Happy 1st day of Spring? The calendar may say it's Spring today but just wondering who forgot to tell the snow that it has overstayed it's welcome?!

I have something fun for you today. Have you been to the National Women's Show in Ottawa? It's super fun and a great way to spend the day with your girlfriends. You can learn about fashion, beauty, travel, home décor etc. There's fashion shows, prizes, tips etc. It's a great way to get out of the house and pamper yourself. Soooo...if you want to go, I have 8 tickets that the National Women's Show has sent me that I want you to have!!

Here's how you:
 WIN TIX TO THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S SHOW in Ottawa March 29 & 30th @ Ottawa Convention Centre!

Just leave me a comment below telling me what you would like to see on my blog this Spring. More organization tips? DIYs? Struggling with a specific design element? etc.
 
Contest starts now and ends next Tuesday March 25th, 2014

 

They have also given Keep It Beautiful  an online promo code for $3.00 off each ticket purchased online. Great deal eh? Just type in "beautiful" when ordering online.

Good luck! I will announce the winners on Tuesday!

FUN! See you there :)

Keep it Beautiful.




Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Overwhelmed to Organized - Tackling the Linen Closet!

Hey everyone!

It's that time again:

Let's talk linen closets, shall we? What does yours look like? Is it a disaster zone? Are you constantly digging around trying to find a matching pillow case? Or is it beautifully organized? Before I had kids, I had this obsession with having a perfectly tidy linen closet and maybe because I have less time to keep it oh-so-perfect, that it turned into a TOTAL DISASTER! It's too much of a disaster to show you the whole thing so I'll let you use your imagination with this one shelf! OMG!

 So it was definitely time...
Everything came out and the donation pile kept growing!


This tiny space has the worst walls in the whole house. Missing drywall and the flame is from a fire that occurred in the house years ago before we moved in.
I hit up HomeSense, the Dollar Store, Ikea and Michaels for the supplies I needed. I knew I wanted to cover up these walls and just didn't have time to paint them so I found this pretty-in-pink Moroccan patterned wrapping paper at HomeSense. The shelf liner is from the Dollar Store, the white bins are from Ikea and the labels are from Michaels.
While my baby girl napped (well she decided to boycott the nap for most of the day!) I got to work measuring, cutting and getting that paper up on the walls! Looks so much better already!

 It felt good to get the medicine, first aid and kids' medicine (stuff like children's Tylenol and Advil) organized.
 How many sets of sheets does one family need? Honestly, how many people did we think were going to sleep over at one time? Now they fit into these two bins!

Our little linen closet has gone from this...
To this...


Ahhhh! Feels SO MUCH BETTER! Overwhelmed to Organized. I bought these grey towels from HomeSense. Seeing how these towels are for the kids (and guests) the white towels weren't staying so white with their little sticky fingers so grey it is!

I'm loving this fresh and bright makeover. Now I don't have to duck when I open up the door!

Whatcha think? Is your linen closet making you feel overwhelmed? As a first step, try taking everything out and sorting into piles. Please share your closets with me! 

This post has been shared with:
The Dedicated House

Keep it Beautiful.



Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Hey everyone!

Sorry I've been so MIA this past week. It was March Break, I was home with the kiddies and it was oh-so-busy! My mum was visiting and was a huge help to me. Phew! Mum and I were also condo shopping for her and my dad. I loved looking into all the condos and their décor possibilities. Designing from a blank slate is a decorators dream!

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you all. Are you really Irish or just Irish for today? I can remember in my University days, standing in the bar line on St. Patrick's Day at 9am. How times have changed! These are the cupcakes my big guy and I made last night for school today and at 9am I was far from the bar and taking my son to school ;)


Do you love green? Do you decorate with green in your home? Here are a few green rooms that look pretty fresh.fabulous.sophisticated to me.


www.realsimple.com
Real Simple

Tonic Living
 My Nana loved St. Patrick's Day. Her house was always "decked" in green. This morning I'm wearing my shamrock earrings that she gave me with pride and ready for my green beer tonight. Happy St. Paddy's Day.


Keep it Beautiful.



Monday, March 10, 2014

Sunburst Mirror - Take it or Leave it?

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend? The sun was shining in Ottawa and Spring felt that much closer! All this sunshine got me thinking about the sunburst mirror. How do you feel about them? Do you have one in your home? Decorators tend to love them and I've used them many times in client's houses.  






Sunburst mirrors became identified with Louis XIV, known as the “Sun King”, who apparently, would stare into the sunburst mirror to see his face in the centre of the sun. 











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So how do you feel about the sunburst mirror? Think they add gorg factor to a room? Love them enough to stare at yourself in the mirror like our buddy Louis XIV?  Or not your style?
 
The last few years people have been making their own and I'm thinking about doing a DIY starburst mirror for the guest room.
 
What kind of starburst DIY would you like to see? Classic? Wispy? Silver? Gold? Wood? Modern? Branchy?
 
Keep it Beautiful.
 



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