Good morning!
I had a lovely 9 hour sleep last night and didn’t get myself out of bed until 8:45am. It was pure bliss. Need to rest up for my 10k race tomorrow!
I raced downstairs for this lovely breakfast that was waiting for me. How nice of that lovely girl to make me breakfast last night! ;)
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Raisin Pumpkin Spice Vegan Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
- 1/3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Eden’s Apple Butter
- Raisins, to garnish
- Coconut, to garnish
Directions: In a medium sized bowl mix the oats, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice. Now add the milk, maple syrup, and pumpkin and whisk. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes. When ready, sprinkle with raisins and coconut. I also used some apple butter for a fun change.
I love getting in another veggie in the morning!
![20100905-IMG_2259 20100905-IMG_2259](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100905IMG_2259.jpg)
So we went a bit crazy on Saturday…
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I don’t know about you, but whenever September 1st strikes Eric and I go into an organizational tailspin for about 36 hours. After a summer of fun, most of our rooms look like they have been hit by a tornado.
And then we crash and burn. Hard. Never wanting to organize so much as a desk drawer for the rest of our lives.
Over the next 363.5 days, we slowly but surely return the clutter to where it came from.
It’s the circle of life, folks.
I thought I would entertain you this morning with a few before and afters…
As you can see, the shelves were a bit cluttered and messy…(and dusty!):
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(That is Eric’s desk- we share the office)
This is ‘my’ side of the shelf below:
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Old university textbooks on top (not sure what I am keeping these for? Kindling?)
And a TV that is not in use because we don’t have cable.
Minor detail.
We like to pretend we have cable. Sometimes I turn it on and just stare at the blue screen.
My side AFTER:
![20100904-IMG_2244 20100904-IMG_2244](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100904IMG_2244.jpg)
Boom, right?
Side by side:
Much better.
Then I decided to turn my boring old bulletin board into a Vision Board.
I bought some scrapbooking things at Michaels (OSGMOM will be so proud!).
Scrapbooking paper..note, girly prints.
I bought several of each print because I couldn’t choose.
And now for the finished product….
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Unfortunately as I was making it, I didn’t step back and look at the entire board and it ended up VERY busy looking. I’m actually not that happy with it overall…
It shall now be known as the Dizzy & Bizzy Board!
I would not suggest using such a busy print like I did. ;)
The ‘I’m A Quitter’ by Natalie Dee print is one of my favourite things in the world. It is an inside joke in my family that goes way back and when I came across it I knew it was special. I want to buy the t-shirt too. [I also LOVE this one too.]
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When I showed the board to Eric he said, ‘Umm it’s a bit busy….’ trailing off and eyes glazing over as he looked at it.
Then he added with a wink, ‘But I think it fits your personality. I wouldn’t expect it any other way or less complex looking.’
Hrmm. I have to agree. If you opened my mind and put it on paper it is probably quite dizzying! ;)
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I love the ‘You Hold The Key’– this phrase is so meaningful to me. It reminds me of the quote I love from The Eagles song called ‘Already Gone’
“Well I know it wasn’t you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn’t you who set me free
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key…”
I have the key to live the life I want to live and you hold the key to living the life you want to live. We have the power within us. Not our partner, family, friends, mentor…once we take responsibility of our own lives things start to fall into place. I firmly believe in this way of life. Realizing that I held the key to my happiness has allowed me to be where I am today.
The dizzy board all together…
![20100904-IMG_2231 20100904-IMG_2231](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100904IMG_2231.jpg)
The Vision Board made Sketchie dizzy too…
A comparison:
![20100904-IMG_2247 20100904-IMG_2247](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100904IMG_2247.jpg)
I must say things are looking up.
I decorated the red magazine holder (far left) with floral scrapbooking paper. It added a fun & girly touch!
![20100904-IMG_2250 20100904-IMG_2250](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100904IMG_2250.jpg)
The yellow basket on my desk holds my favourite cookbooks and yellow basket on the shelf holds my health books!
![20100904-IMG_2254 20100904-IMG_2254](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100904IMG_2254.jpg)
Eric’s side is looking great too! He packed up a ton of DVD’s and is donating them.
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We bought all the baskets you see above from an awesome organizational store called Solutions. How I didn’t know this store existed until last month is beyond me. It is my DREAM store.
Today’s goal: Organize this shelf and expand my business file box from one box to two. gulp.
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Does September 1st inspire you to start organizing your space? Will you be going back to school or starting something new this September?
Even though I am no longer a ‘professional student’ (as my family used to joke when I was in university for 7 long years!), I still get that back-to-school feeling every September, along with the urge for a fresh start. This is one of my favourite times of the year.
See you tonight for lentil walnut burgers!
Sept makes me feel the need to organise for sure! I jsut chucked my old dead computer to reclaim some desk space :)
I LOVE your board, and what you said about the key- I agree with that 100%. We have a choice to live the life we want!
OH! Sketchie looks so amazingly stunning in that picture!!
My major cleaning urges are random and spread throughout the year, and your post just triggered another one! Haha! As soon as we get home from our Labor Day holiday I am attacking our desk and closet! Now I can’t stop thinking about them…. hahaha.
I’m the same way, once I get on a kick I can’t stop until it is done!
Not starting anything new, but definitely wanting to feel more organised! A contractor is coming to rip out our old cabinets next weekend – so having no kitchen and still making meals is my focus this month. It’ll be a good excuse to really clean out and be organised!!
I love the Vision Board! What a fantastic idea!
Your cat is so beautiful and exotic looking!! Love the vision board!
oh i’m an organize freak with a twist… not only do i love to organize but i get more excited about the containers, boxes, packages and kits that hold the items to store… seriously i think it is a genetic disorder… I can’t throw out clear containers with attached lids as they are great for storeing my scrapbooking goodies in… i keep all the clear plastic containers that fruits and things come in and i store (and label of course) my dried food items. you can look in my closet at any given time and find these “treasures” (empty and just waiting to “come in handy one day”). I think that is why i love scrapbooking so much… there’s always organizing involved!! my husband is aware of this disorder and just shakes his head… i mean i save the little ribbons that are on packages, or the ones that are on new tops you know for hanging your top… pretty ribbon… can use that in card making dontcha know!!! so yes i am aware of this disfunction and do a major clean out a couple of times of year… i have a good little cry as i send my unused treasures to the recylcle bin… sniff sniff.. makes me sad just thinking of it… but seriously… my house it tidy and organized and there are no visible signs of my disorder to the outside world…. mwa ha haaaaaaaaaaa
Looks great! I was working on my vision board yesterday as well and it’s almost done but I have a little bit more to do today. I also love your office re-vamp. The fact that it’s September has also encouraged me to want to organize every room in my house, and I’m proud to say that it’s definitely getting there! Still lots to do but I’m planning to get back at it today! Thanks for the added inspiration and GOOD LUCK tomorrow!! :)
Boom and Boom! You have offically motivated me to get my office in tip-top shape! Great vision board too. Gotta have on. :)
First and foremost, I’m glad your blog is back up and running. I was a little worried when it wasn’t working this morning. All is good now :)
I’m entering my third year of university so I’ve got to stay organized. I promise myself every time this year that I will keep things clean and in order, and write down all my deadlines and due dates, but somehow it never turns out that way :( This year it will happen!!!! It must!
Love the vision board. I always feel the desire to organize in the Fall too. Storables is one of my favorite stores!
September never inspires me to clean – it’s always spring and summer! Although this year I am going back to school for my Masters of Public Affairs so I’ve been doing a lot of purging.
The inspiration board is a truly great idea- I really need to make one!
I’m so bad at organization, but maybe I should use the beginning of the month as an excuse to push motivation on myself!
I love organizing stuff! I’m going to be heading back to school pretty soon, so I’ve had to start getting all of the boxes from the basement and start sorting them. So my room is an absolute mess right now. It drives me crazy. haha.
I’m so inspired now! I need to go cleaning something, do a vision board, and open a bakery.
Okay, I’m kidding about one of those things. :p
September 1st never inspires me to clean…but this post does! Cluttered space = cluttered mind. I have my work cut out for me! ;)
Mmmm…excited to hear about these lentil burgers!
Your desk space looks amazing! This inspires me to get my apartment into tip top shape when I get back to school on Tuesday : ) What a great job. I love your collage! I love making those, but I haven’t put one together in almost a year now.
If not the fact that it’s the beginning of September, THIS blog post and those photos are definitely enough inspiration for me to get to work on my place. I love organization and getting containers, so this will be fun!
Great job!
Lookin’ good, girlie! I get the urge to clean / reorganize in the spring! Something about that spring cleaning gets me motivated!
i’m going back for my 7th and last year as a ‘professional student’ lol. for me, this fall is about relishing those back to school tasks for the last time. in the movie ‘youve got mail’, tom hanks tells meg ryan ‘if i knew your name and address, i’d buy you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils’. love that quote!
Wow I love the vision board! I’m a busy body so it fits my personality too. I’m in the midst of cleaning up my office too – but it’s taking me a lot longer than 36 hours to finish;)