Gidget Gets Organized - My Journey - Part 1 - Vanity

Does your pesky vanity or "prep station" get disorganized and cluttered in chaos? I am kidding. I won't make this sound like a weird infomercial. Monday was a late night for me, I had attended my first local city council meeting, so I hadn't updated #CujoForBujo video (check out today's earlier blog entry for that update).



Yesterday, I went through an insanely random, but quite effective, cleaning frenzy! I started on #Gidget'sNextJourney into organization. I did a crazy massive clean up of our apartment, including the bathroom, bedroom, vanity, and kitchen! My husband was really surprised, and really happy, when he got home. I have just started the #organization process, the vanity area being our first "victim".  I highly suggest playing inspirational music to get you motivated! Make a playlist, find that perfect station on Pandora, whatever helps you get in the zone!



I included a brief talk about the bathroom, simply because in our apartment the vanity and bathroom are right next to one another. Not everyone will have a vanity, but I figured that the same sorts of things that one would find in my vanity, many people have in their bathrooms. What things clutter your "getting ready" area? Make up? Medicine? Accessories? Check out my progress video below!







My favorite part of what I did with this area was honestly clearing the counter space of clutter and putting like items together. I don't know if you noticed in the video, but the hair accessories and items (straightener, dryer, etc.) are all on the same side of the sink. The rest more "self-care" items are on the right, divided up between the drawer and the basket underneath the cabinet. Jewelry is also something that, at least for me, I have a lot of pieces that I rarely wear, but like to have for those unexpected moments. I am certainly not a "hoarder" of jewelry, but tend to lose a lot of small items from time to time, especially earrings! Now with an organized area and system I can at least develop a habit of "prepping" and "de-accessorizing" in the same location, putting the items in a safe place.



My best tip from the video is utilizing the tools and space that you have available to you. The towel rack, for example. I have never really used the towel rack in the vanity area for towels, so it sat there underused and in the way. Using it to house and organize my necklaces was a perfect idea for me. Not only was I putting the towel rack to use, but I love being able to have them 'freely' hanging so I can look and determine which one will work best for my needs.



I hope you have enjoyed this first leg of my #organizationjourney and that you keep following me in all walks of my #lifejourney ahead. #GidgetGetsOrganized first post is in the books, now the bigger dilemma - what area should we target next!?

Reading Wednesday with SG - Reading Challenge and Bullet Journal Update!

It is Wednesday! Reading Challenge Update, #CujoForBujo, and #GidgetGetsOrganized !



I haven't done a whole lot of updating to the bullet journal, mostly because it has been prepped for February. I was at a local city council meeting on Monday, so I was unable to post the video!



As for the #PopSugarReadingChallenge2018 update, I am about 1/3 of the way through Helter Skelter. I am still completely in awe with the goings on at the LAPD during the early parts of the investigation. I know that the subject matter is a difficult one to read. If you are into American History and #truecrime I think you would really enjoy it.



I just started Part 3, am curious to see where it goes. A large majority of people are probably aware of the overview of what occurred or recognize the name "Charles Manson", but this book goes in depth behind the scenes of the crimes as it unfolded for the LAPD and the nation. Bugliosi does switch to a first person narrative in Part 3, but thus far I don't hate it. Check in next week for the next update on #CujoForBujo and #ReadingWednesday!



What are you reading? What inspires you to read? Comment below or leave a comment on the YouTube video! Thanks for keeping up!

Family & Friend Friday - Flashback to Poland

I realize that it has been almost 2 weeks since I shared my flashback to my Poland trip! Check out my #TunaBoat blog to find out what is current, but for those who love travel and history, this experience flashback is for you! 

July 8 - Landed 

We arrived in Chicago - I slept some on the plane, my friend read. We asked the lady behind the desk if they can change our flight and she told us we would have to go to customer service, so we waited in line for a while, so my friend went to get our bags as I waited in line to no avail, I might add. Apparently they could only help people with flight issues scheduled that day ((might I add this may have been an issue that arose for our return flight home and I was trying to fix in advance)). So we met back up in baggage claim and walked into our absolutely gorgeous hotel! We ordered room service before we learned that other people from our trip also checked in (otherwise we probably would have met up with them!) I ordered a delicious steak with roasted potatoes and brocolini and a raspberry coulis chocolate fudge cake. My friend ordered a margherrita pizza and a cheesecake. We laughed and talked lots before turning into bed. I am lucky that I fall asleep easily. My friend is used to a softer bed and had a lot of trouble sleeping... my snoring/humming didn't seem to bother her too much, although she said at one point she tested to see, if she moved around more my humming calmed down and gets quieter. (I do this weird thing when I sleep that sounds like the baby Pegasus from Disney's Hercules).

July 9th - 8am - my friend has already been awake for a while. I woke up and we both got ready and are going to go down stairs and meet up with some people from the trip for breakfast... so exciting!

6pm - Well, we didn't meet anyone for breakfast. They started around 10:00am when we were finishing. We went back to the room and were going to wait, but decided to head to terminal 5 (our meet up gate for the group). We were early. VERY. There wasn't a lot of seating but we found a place after about an hour we went to a few seats nearby after over hearing people next to us talking about the trip. We met a couple from Billings, and a lady from Washington state. After waiting a few more hours, the Terra Heute group arrived by bus. We were given our lanyards and quickly lined up in the queue to get ready to have our luggage checked. It was easy experience through security. I was really impressed! Once through I wanted to wait for this girl Megan and her mom. International area had little to offer. There were about six different places to eat, one was a burger place that looked AMAZING, but the line was fairly long. There was another place that looked like they offered some sort of gourmet pizza (I don't know - in the photo there was a fried egg on top and I was thinking it was fun to try - but we didn't.) We found a small shop where they served coffee, so we decided to stop. My friend got a tea and a peanut butter and jelly. I got myself a small iced latte and a ham and Swiss. We walked to a small exchange place and I gave the $36.00 for 120-140 zloty. The lady was super nice enough to even waive the exchange fee! When we finished walking around a bit we made our way to the gate where we would depart. After about 20 minutes, the flight to Shanghai left and we were able to sit right next to the Holocaust survivor leading the trip, Eva Mozes Kor. There we met a couple more people, including Addy. Addy made it on a trip before. Another woman has been on the trip 3 times! She went on the January 70th commemorative trip. When she brought it up Eva said she was very brave to do so. They said it was also super cold. It sounded awful. They said there were so many dignitary and political persons there security was really high. The worse part was that there were heated tents where all the important people gave their speeches, while the survivors sat out in the cold! Then afterwards they wanted Eva to do a speech but that there was some young person that said he was going to talk first. Eva was tired and cold and basically told them off, took the mic off and told her son that they were done and leaving. When she returned to Terra Heute she wrote a letter saying they won't be doing another commemoration. She said it should be for the survivors but now it is a big hoopla. She will just do her own tours. We sat and talked for a long while. We also got our return flight home changed where we don't leave until 7 am and have an hour and a half layover in Denver. Our flight began to board the back first (so smart!). We sat in row 18. There was a kid from Alaska next to me. The trip was his dad's idea but things happened and his dad was unable to come, so his dad said it was either him by himself or no one. So he is here. I am sure his dad is really excited for him. We just ate our first meal... and I already feel the drowsiness kicking in....

Getting Crafty in the Kitchen - No Carb Tuna "Bowl"

I am finally posting a blog! You know after vacations you need literally another vacation? That was me this week!

I fully intended to use my last day of vacation to begin my #organizationjourney but #failed. I was successful in finishing #Unbroken my 2nd book of many to come for the #PopSugarReadingChallenge2018.

I am very much in love with Louie Zamperini's story, the way Laura Hillenbrand captured the intense experience he had, the passion and determination he had throughout everything. I highly recommend it, #GidgetApproved!



Want to know something else which has won my seal of approval? #TunaPickleBoats. Yes folks, that is right. A low-carb (no bread) pickle boat carrying a heap of tuna salad. I personally LOVE chopping up pickles (same way my mom made it for me when I was a kid). I saw a video from #Delish for a Tuna Pickle Melt. I personally have never had a tuna melt. The thought of warm or hot chopped tuna just gives me the heebie jeebies. However, I was inspired to try just the cold salad version that I like in the same dilly vinegary vessel. I filmed the process and uploaded to my YouTube channel, check it out here:





You can totally substitute the mayo for anything to your liking. Even add mustard, small diced onion or celery, customize it to your preference. But keep the pickle boat! It totally makes the meal!



I did learn that the pickles carried more liquid inside of them then I realized, which made my tuna salad mixture a little on the watery side. Next time I make this, I am going to slice the pickles, but then place them face down on a paper towel or kitchen towel in order to pull out some of the extra liquid. You will still get the "meat" out of the pickle, just without the extra juice!



So what is next on the agenda? Well, I started book 3: "Helter Skelter" by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, a true crime novel about tragic Tate and LaBianca murders and the Manson family. I am only 75 pages into it, but it reads really fast and I am enamored by the insanity surrounding the way the investigations were conducted! It is written well, thus far, as I mentioned it reads fast. It hooks you in so I find myself getting lost, time whirring by as I read. I love books that have the ability to pull in the reader.



I clearly enjoy crafting, so my goal (hopefully!) for the upcoming couple of days, besides work, is staying motivated to start organizing my craft supplies. I have recently worked on several swaps and my crafting supplies have exploded and smothered our living quarters.  I will try and document the process. We also have #SpringCleaning just around the corner. I fully intend to reorganize and clean out all the nooks and crannies of our little apartment. I want to utilize the room we do have in the most efficient way. I will be drawing on inspiration from Pinterest, YouTube, magazines, articles, and much more! I hope you come along for my #journey!