Organising My Ever Growing Accessories

Some people get into Spring cleaning in ... well ... Spring! But not me, I'm more of a Winter organiser  as you can see from my pantry redo, when its pouring with rain outside I put on my uggies, pour a glass of wine and get into organisation mode. For ages now I've been meaning to organise my ever growing collection of accessories ... scarfs, hats, bags, belts, etc.

My scarves and hats I keep on a hat stand in the Guest Bedroom but this isn't really working for me as I have so many they end up being just a big jumble of wool. And because they're in the Guest Room I feel like a dag when people sleep over and they have to look at my big jumble of wool! Here is the downsized version, I had 2 hat stands before I moved in. What can I say I like my accessories!

So I took all the hats off and just kept the scarfs on it so it doesn't look so cluttered and messy. I'm happy to keep it in the room looking like this.

The hats I managed to fit in my wardrobe on the shelf I was using for jumpers and bikinis. I hung the jumpers up and put the bikinis under my dresses. Now I can make better use of the shelving and even though the hats are stacked up high at least I can see them when I'm getting ready so I'm all prepared for my next bad hair day!

 

The shelf below the hats is for my bags and clutches. I love this spot for them as I can see them when I'm getting ready so I'm always changing my bags around. My larger bags are on the very top shelf of the wardrobe which is a bit of a struggle because I'm a shortass but I guess that's what stools are for!

The rest of my small dainty scarfs I put into 2 cardboard shoe boxes and 1 clear box which I cut a hole in the top for easy access. There's 2 shelves under my dresses which wasn't being used, so this is where I put them. When I was designing this wardrobe I laughed hysterically when the wardrobe guy told me these shelves were meant for shoes, as you know I need a dedicated cupboard for my shoe collection!

My bikinis are on the top shelf, and because they're something I only wear a few times a year it doesn't matter that they're tucked away a bit. Yep I have about 10 bikinis, that's normal isn't it?!

It's a good feeling getting organised and making the most of my wardrobe space.

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Find The Time

I think I can accomplish all of the above this weekend so I've set myself a challenge.

What do you think, can you find the time too?

[Image from here]

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Lovin the Rain

Rain and I mean down pouring storm warning rain is forecast for the rest of this week which means ...

The grass will get some water and hopefully my herbs come back to life

I get to wear my new wool jacket to keep me warm

A big bowl of soup at lunchtime

Going home to curl up on the couch with my new throw rugs

What do you love about the rain?

[Images via here, here, here and here]

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Hostess With The Mostess Strikes Again - Indian Dinner Party

I threw a dinner party last night for my globe trotting friends (whom we went to Ibiza to see get married last year) and are finally back home in Perth. 

One is a vegetarian and loves curries so I thought Indian with its lentils and spices would be a good cuisine to cook.

Mr P and I took turns in the kitchen on Saturday starting at lunchtime and 5 hours later we'd cooked up 7 tasty dishes and were enjoying a glass of wine by the time our guests arrived ...

Ok so maybe I was running around trying to find the matches to light the candles, Mr P was still in his cooking clothes covered in flour and I was trying to wash dishes for the millionth time that day! But I still managed to open the door with a smile on my face ... they don't call me Hostess with the Mostess for nothing!

Now for the Indian inspired menu we made .....

•  Spiced Coriander, Lentil and Barley Soup topped with yogurt and mango chutney
• Garlic and Chili-Flavoured Potatoes with Cauliflower tinted golden with turmeric
• Garden Peas and Paneer in Chili-Tomato Sauce
• Kashmiri Chicken flavoured with spices, almonds, pistachios and slivered almonds
• Garlic Naan baked on a pizza stone
• Spiced Basmati Rice
• Cucumber Raita

The spices used in these dishes are heated first and then ground up and they release the most incredible aroma and flavour. None of the dishes were too hot either, we made them all quite mild (scraping out the chili seeds) and put a bowl of chopped chilies on the table for those that like it hot.

The soup is from this Women's Weekly cookbook and all the other dishes are from Best Ever Indian cookbook which I bought from Borders $10 stand but I can't find anywhere that stocks it now to refer you to.

If you'd like a recipe let me know I'm happy to email it to you. 

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[Image via komalinunna blogspot]

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Book Club Book Review: Atonement by Ian McGowan

My Book Club's read for June was Atonement by Ian McEwan

I borrowed this book from the library and it had a $53 replacement fee if damaged, no idea why but I did rush it straight back to the library once I'd finished it! When I mentioned I was reading Atonement to friends they said it was a fantastic read, so that, with the replacement fee, had my mind set that this would be a tremendous book.

Atonement is about 13 year old Briony and her older sister Cecilia who falls for their gardener Robbie, and Briony's imagination which affects the lives of all those around her.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the first half of the book and couldn't see the fascination about this story (other than the library sex scene!). But the latter half through WW11 and the chapters narrated by Robbie as a soldier and then Briony as a nurse I found interesting.

I kept anticipating Briony's atonement and hoping everything would come together and it would be a happily ever after ending. It doesn't quite end like that which is probably what makes this such a real novel, it's not about fairytale endings but about life and sometimes bad things happen to good people.

I would recommend this book to the romantics that believe in the power of love, but not for those that have rose coloured glasses and want a happily ever after romance novel.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

 

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[Image via Dymocks]

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Pantry Cleanup: If You Cant Be With The One You Love

If you can't be with the one you love ... Love the one you're with! 
The pantry I mean!!

Now that I know the kitchen won't be renovated until the end of the year I thought I might as well give it some love and make it a bit more user friendly instead of using the excuse of waiting for the renovation.

Also there was an incident with a tin of fruit from like 1999 that exploded all down the shelves and needed cleaning up so that was an incentive to clear everything out, clean it and put it all back in a much more organised way.

So here is our pantry BEFORE 

Every day items like oil were hard to get to and once a year items like chickpea flour at the front ... times they are a changing!

I removed everything from the cupboard and threw out anything that had expired.

I sorted it into groups of what was used the most and what was used the least.

Gave the shelves a good wipe down and then post-it noted each shelf so I knew which items to put on each shelf without them being jammed in.

The items used the least went up the top and the items used the most from that shelf downwards ...

From the bottom up went in the cereals, nuts and drinking chocolate etc. 

The little table and tray underneath holds the glad wrap and paper towel.

Then the spices, oils and sauces

Then the tins, noodles and pasta

I had a bread bin and placemats on this shelf but managed to fit them into another cupboard so this made way for the flour, sugar and breadcrumbs.

I made labels from post it notes, it's only temporary so I can peel them off and change them if I change the contents of the jars.

And AFTER this is what it looks like

Right along the top are my Mum's retro tins which hold baking items like food colouring and cake papers.

I'm learning to love what I have and make the most of it.

Its still not perfect but its a lot more user friendly and for 1.5 hrs and a few glasses of wine it was a pretty good organising job and best of all it didn't cost a cent!

How do you  keep your pantry organised?

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[All images my own]

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Window Displays

Have you seen the latest Peter Alexander window display? I'm in love with their new collection magical winter forest. Theres something about deer heads with pink eyelashes on the wall, vertical gardens and cute little animals that I'm completely drawn to. Oh and the pjs are pretty nice too!

Do you get inspiration from window displays?

What shops are your favourites?

[Images via Peter Alexander]

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