Birthday Monkey!

Today is my sweet niece's birthday. Usually I send her and her brothers books for their birthdays, because I love books.  I know, I know...what a boring present for a kid to get from their aunt, right?  Well, I try to make sure the books are fun and interesting.  But, this year I decided my niece needed a sock monkey for her birthday! So, I made her this colorful, stripey monkey...a cute and fun gift for a special girl.  I wish I could give her birthday hugs in person, but this monkey has nice long arms to give her plenty of hugs for me. I hope she's having a great day!

An Organized Pantry!

One of my favorite things about our house has always been the lovely pantry.  I love all of the shelves and the quaint, original countertop and cupboards.  My pantry had become very disorganized, though...to the point that I didn't even want to look in there anymore.  Something had to be done!  So, I slowly started organizing.  I'm finally finished, and so happy with the result!

I organized the big cupboard where we keep most of the food by grouping things in plastic bins and a lazy susan.  This cupboard is so deep, and the plastic bins give us easier access to everything without shifting it all around.

On the open shelves I put down pretty red-checked shelf paper.  I gathered all of my miscellaneous glass jars to store beans, rice, flour and sugar.  Don't they look pretty?  I thought chalkboard labels would be cute on the jars, and I decoupaged the mismatched lids with light blue polka dot paper to match the walls.

I got a small chalkboard from Hobby Lobby and mounted it on the food cupboard door to write our weekly menus on, and I painted a little coat rack so I can hang up and display my apron collection.

I love my aprons! And I love my pretty, organized pantry!