Workspace Idea Board

The next home makeover that should be made is our workspace area.  Since I do 90% of my work at home, a good workday or a bad workday revolves around the comfort level in my workspace.  One of the nice touches in our apartment is that each bedroom has a built-in workspace.  I want to make some minor improvements to get a more studious look and feel.  Here are some ideas I have right now. 

Idea #1

The workspace in our apartment won't really allow for a look like this, but this picture so bright and colorful that  it caught my attention. I love bulletin boards and having places to keep track of notes and ideas. There's nothing overly extravagant about this picture, and maybe that's why I like it--it's simple and efficient.

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Idea #2

I love this look.  Great use of storage and bulletin boards to hang things and easily keep track of them. I understand the use of the mirror to make the space look bigger and to bring more light into the room, I just don't know if I'd be a fan of working and staring at myself while working.  To each her own, I guess? haha.

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Idea #3

So, I'm not the biggest fan of using pink to decorate rooms--I don't think my husband would be either. But it's not really the color that caught my attention in this picture.  This layout looks a lot like the built-in office space in our apartment.  I love the storage containers they used and the two desk areas.  I'm not sure if I like the back-to-back desks or if I'd pull one desk around to make more of an L-shape workspace. 

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I'm mulling over a lot of different ideas and how to brighten/liven things up in the spare room.  These pictures have, certainly, helped me envision where my ideas can take me and they've given me more ideas.

Stay tuned for the budget...

Stolen Letters

I don't promote stealing, but I do promote laughing.  This sign made me laugh and I hope it makes you laugh too!  Happy Friday and stay safe!

Key Hanger Needed

Okay everyone, I have a confession--I seem to misplace my keys quite a bit.  Alright, I don't "seem" to, I actually do misplace my keys a lot. So it's about time I did some research on a key hanger.  When I lived alone, I used a very simple key hanger but I always knew where they were when I needed them.  Now that I'm married, my husband and I have a few sets of keys and my purses are like a black hole with a magnet at the very bottom of them.  I want to jazz up the hanger and get something a little more fun for our home.  Here are some key hangers that have caught my eye.  Let me know what you think!

• Hanger #1 This one is really cool.  I love the classic look of it.  I think if I used one like this, I would paint it a brighter color that would serve as an accent to the room.  Love it!

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•  Hanger #2 This one is also cool.  I think I may want to paint this one also.  The heart shape is cute, but may be a little to cutesy for me.  That's just my personal decorating style.

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•  Hanger #3 I think these are so funny! We would definitely be able to keep our keys separate.

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•  Hanger #5 Click-it or ticket, right? I love this one too.  What a fun and creative way to keep track of keys.

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This isn't a huge project or even an essential addition, but it's something fun that will help keep me organized. I think I have a favorite, but I'm going to ask my husband if he has any preferences.  It'll be fun to at least see his reaction to them.  What are your reactions to them?  Any favorites for anyone out there? Have you seen any out there that you really like?

Clean and Easy Chicken Curry

I wanted to share a recipe that I found while reading Oxygen Magazine.  I'm all about clean (whenever possible) and easy meals for dinner.  My husband and I love strong flavors so when I found the recipe, I quickly cut it out and gave it a try for dinner. 

Here's the result:

So this picture may not look very appetizing, but it turned out great!  So great that my husband ranks this dish in the top 2 meals I've cooked since we've been married!  I also realize the meal is lacking a diversity of color--we had side salads for dinner that night.  Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Chicken Curry (From Oxygen Magazine)
Ready in 25 Minutes- Makes 3 Servings

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1lb chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
* 1 pinch of turmeric  

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet set on medium heat.
2. Saute onions for about 2minutes then add all herbs and spices. Stir to combine
3. Add chicken and let sear for about 2 minutes.
4. Add remaining liquid ingredients, stir to coat and let simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

*When I finished combining all of the ingredients, I tasted it and I felt like it was lacking a little punch.  I may have added too much coconut milk or something.  Anyway, I decided to add a pinch or two of turmeric and that did the trick!

Bon appetite!

To Germany & Back!

Wow, I hadn't planned on being gone for so long, but it's good to be back. I took a week off to visit my little (who's not so little anymore) brother in Germany.  He was such a great host! It was so nice to finally see where he lives and to check out some of the neat places he's talked about.  While I was there, we explored different parts of Germany, Czech Republic, and Poland.  I also had a couple of pit stops in Paris where I sprinted from one end of the airport to the other...I won't really count that visit this time. My mom, dad, one of my sisters & her daughters were able to get over to visit him also.

Anyway, I feel like I have so much I want to share with you all and I don't even know where to start.  So, while I try to compose my thoughts, here are a couple of pictures from my visit.

Me with my mom and nieces in Prague

I tried so many amazing dishes that I'd LOVE to recreate!

Me and my dad--I sampled quite a few beers

'Til next time!