Organizing Nook

Today, I was invited to write a post on an all-about-craft blog, Kreative Creationz. 
In my guest post, I discuss the sorting system I created for Hubby and I.  This Organizing Nook includes a frame which serves as a dry-erase board for our to-do list and the weekly menu  ~write on the glass with a dry-erase marker and swipe it off when you need to!~, as well as 4 clipboards to organize documents.

The Organizing Nool explained

To each board its category: 1. To Read / 2. To File / 3. To Pay / 4. To Mail

Read all about it here!!

**Also, see how to make a chevron clipboard  ~with a reusable stencil~ and a striped design clipboard.**

Restaurant Review - Elements at The Sanctuary

My Husband and I have a few passions in common.  One of them is traveling, another one is eating!  When we go on vacation, we have the best time combining both.  We like to experience the local foods and look up great restaurants in that area.

On our First Mini Honeymoon, we dove in the tasting experience and gave our taste buds a whole new sense and definition of deliciousness.

During this month of July, every Monday, I will take you on a foodie journey to our five favorite restaurants around Phoenix, AZ.

This week, we are going back to Elements, the restaurant in The Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa.

The restaurant itself was stunning, very modern, high class, a wide open area.  But the best of it was the view.  

French Friday #1

Hey there everyone!!!  Today is my very first post for this new edition of French Friday.  This means, sorry my fellow Americans and other English speaking readers...  This post is intended to be written for my friends and family who do not understand a word of English, and will summarize this past week for them ~it's just a condensed repeat of my Ikea hack, Phoenix trip and the fantastic hotel we stayed at, and my entryway makeover.  It is therefore going to auto-translate itself in French in  3, 2, 1....

Bonjour tout le monde!!! Ca y est!!! C'est Vendredi!  Bienvenu sur ma premiere edition rien que pour vous du Vendredi Francais ~ce que je continuerais a appeler en anglais: French Friday~.  
**Mon clavier d'ordinateur n'a pas les accents, donc desolee si c'est un peu difficile a lire... Je trouverais une autre solution pour la semaine prochaine...**

Alors voila, pour resumer les quatre articles de cette semaine, au menu nous avons:

1. des meubles Ikea reinventes 
2. des photos a gogo de notre Mini Lunes de Miel dans un hotel magnifique en Arizona
3. et des images des environs: Phoenix, Scottsdale et Sedona en Arizona
4. et pour finir, je vous montre l'ammenagement de notre "entree" dans notre petite maisonnette!

Vous etes pret?!  Prenez un petit cafe' ou un apero, suivant l'heure qu'il est, ca risque d'etre long!!

Entryway Makeover

We have been renting and living in this house for almost 6 months.  We must have changed the rooms around at least twice each room!!  Personally, I need change, constantly.  I think I get bored of one way, but sometimes it's also for the area to be more convenient!

I am not a fan of front doors opening right into the living or dining area, but that's how it is in our house.
I had to somehow make a separation, as well as incorporate a space for purses, keys, change, and most importantly our shoes which we must leave by the door.  ~I insist on having a shoe-free house, because I think it's the grossest thing to walk in the streets, get poo and dirt or whatever on our shoes, then bring all those yucky things in our cozy nest...~

I got three Expedit shelving units from Ikea.  One of my friends from Florida had done this exact combination of the shelving units in her condo, and I thought it was a great idea.  It fit perfectly as my entryway separator.  A bit bulky, yet open since the squares were hallow from both sides.  I loved this setting.

Arizona - Wordless Wednesday

Today, I'm trying something new...  I've recently found out about "Wordless Wednesday", a post where bloggers only publish pictures on... you guessed it, Wednesdays!  Sounds pretty cool.

Those of you who follow me have probably already seen a few pictures on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, but here is our First Mini Honeymoon in Arizona, Part 2!

**Most of the pictures where taken while driving, around Phoenix, Scottsdale, and on the way to Sedona, AZ, so some are a little crooked... :)**

Phoenix, AZ - The Phoenician

Saturday, June 15 - Tuesday, June 18, Hubby and I went on our First Mini Honeymoon.  Woohoo!!!!  

** Warning this is a looong post ~ but most of it are pictures! ;) **

This trip was very last minute.  We first wanted to go to San Francisco, CA because we love this town, but when we started talking about what our needs for this first getaway were, we realized that all we needed was to relax, bathe in the sun, lay by a pool, just take it easy for once.
So, San Francisco was not the best, it was not so warm, not really a place to stay by a pool, more like a city to visit and walk a lot.  My In-Laws had told us so much about Arizona we had been dying to go there.  Once Thursday night came, there we were looking for flights to go to Phoenix, AZ.  We had so much to do at home prior to leaving, we did not even bother finding a hotel.

Friday all day, we both were off, so we rearranged the house...again... We switched the office and lounge which I started talking about in yesterday's post.

And Saturday very early morning, we flew to Phoenix.

IKEA Hack

When we bought our bed frame from Ikea, MALM bed frame, we had in mind to eventually add the side tables from the same series.  I really liked the set which included 2 shelving units ~with 3 shelves, a 2-in drawer and a glass top~ and a long hollow piece, as long as the bed frame, which would go between the wall and the bed.  The shelving units were on wheels, and you could bring them in and out of the long piece, therefore hiding the shelves behind the bed. 

Here is the set.  This was taken in our bedroom, before the bed frame went in front of it.

However, at $150 for this three-part set, we could not afford it right away.

A month later, we went back to Ikea to look for lights and, oh what a surprise, the MALM bedside sets were on sale for $50!!! ~yes a $100 discount~  Now, that was a good deal!  

~They must have been discontinued because I can't even find them in their catalog anymore...~

Summer Challenge // Defi de l'Ete

I've spent hours trying to write this post, looking for the right words to use, trying to talk about some of my feelings, and open up, and finally I was done, happy about it... Then, somehow, it all disappeared... How I don't like when this happens!... :(

Now, it's getting late, and I don't have the courage to try rewriting it all, so to keep it quick and simple, I've been tired of not putting myself and my project first.  I always do things that have to be done, and keep the things that matter to me the most for last, sometimes not having the energy or time to do them anymore.  It has made me pretty unhappy, I need change...