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I am happy to announce that the winner of the Wall Board Hanging from All About Pallets is Janie, comment number 368. I will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing address and Wall Board preference. Thanks to all those who entered and for your great feedback!
Today, I am starting a new feature here on this little blog of mine. Back 4 years ago when I started blogging, I often added family stories, funny experiences and dialog of a more personal nature to many of the recipe posts. I still do that, to an extent…but not as much I did early on. And dang it all, I miss it. I am often thinking to myself “I bet my dear readers would get a kick out of…” or “I should tell my readers about these awesome Vegetable Straws that only have 130 calories for 35 straws!” or “Look at these awesome shoe cabinets I found at IKEA, I should tell folks about them!” But, I’m not really sure how to interject the beauty of shoe cabinets into a post featuring Crispy Coconut Chicken. You know? The two don’t really mesh. At least…I hope no one would ever mesh the two together. Please. Leave the shoes out of your chicken.
And so, my friends…from here on out, sometimes on Saturdays I am going to pester you share with you The Weekend Report. These posts may include, but not be limited to…Personal Family Experiences, Cool Things I Have Found, My Thoughts About Things, Sweet Deals I See or Handy Gadgets You Need To Know About. Consider it a blank page for me to share things of a more personal nature. If you only want to read about food and recipes, no hard feelings. Truly. Please see me during the weekdays for many more fabulous recipes to come.
To kick things off, this week I couldn’t help but show you the wickedly awesome shoe cabinets we found at Ikea and how we worked them into our Mudroom Makeover. But, first let me tell you about what my mudroom was like a few months ago.
It was a terrible place to be, man. The eye sore of my life, truly! Shoes everywhere all over the floor, dirty laundry piled up in the corner, every ones junk stacked on a skinny shelf that ran the length of the wall. If I had taken a “before” picture I’m not sure I would even dare post it. Trust me. It was bad. I seriously tripped over 30 pairs of shoes every time I tried to make my way to the washer and dryer. Grrrr. We needed a change.
So, MyHandsomeHusband ripped off the skinny shelf…
and put up some cabinets instead. Baby, keeping your clutter inside a cabinet instead of out in plain sight can do wonders for a girls mental health. What a novel idea. 🙂
The cool box shelves came from IKEA. They come in a variety of sizes and all kinds of pretty looking boxes you can put in them. We opted for some white canvas and some wicker baskets. What could a person store in these…
Many things! I have one just for my Primary Lesson stuff. (I teach a Sunday church class of 8 year olds, which I love. Love. Love.) This box has saved me many a frantic Sunday morning.
I keep library books in one. I’d like to say that keeping our library books in one convenient spot has saved me a few dollars worth of late fees. Hot dog.
Shoes!!!!!! Every family member has his or her own spot for shoes. Hallelujah. Mama can walk freely to the washing machine any time she darn well pleases. It has been great. But, these aren’t even the coolest place for shoes…
See these? IKEA had the genius to make skinny little cabinets, just for shoes.
They only poke out of the wall 6 1/2 inches, so you can put them just about anywhere.
Pretty cool, right. I thought you would like them.
We found these cute red cushions at IKEA as well. Everyone wants a soft seat to enjoy when they are putting their shoes on, don’t they?
I would like you to know that I chose this red wall paper and even though my kids said things like “Oh man, mom you are turning our house into a Grandma house! That paper is aweful! We hate it!” I still love it and since I am the one spending so much time in the mud room sorting and changing the wash, I felt justified in choosing it. And besides that, I am hoping to be a Grandma some day…so I guess it fits. 🙂
My mudroom made-over? It makes a girl like me happy, just to be in it. Now…if only I could get excited about folding the laundry you see there…
I need those skinny shelves for my closet. What a great idea
That was the best idea for the space and for everything you have found a place for, love the shoe holders.
I love the new feature and the cabinet with boxes! that’s a great idea!
Oh, I thought the red wallpaper was pretty. But, of course, I have always been an 80-year-old woman. (Going out to dinner at 7:00 on a Friday? I’m halfway in bed!)
Great little shoe bench/boxes. I should check those out for my front room which, sadly, contains four or five pairs of my husband’s shoes sitting on a piece of cardboard. Out of sight is MUCH better. Thanks!
Love Ikea storage solutions, is that a 1×2 Expedit with the red cushions?!? I’ve never seen that size and I NEED 2 of them… Off to Ikea I go!
Melanie,
Yes, the “bench” is just an Expedit 1×2. Best of luck to you!
~Jamie
I’ve been following for awhile now & I love the recipes I’ve made. You are my “go to” all the time! Thanks :0). Love the new addition to the blog~~~I think the mix will be perfect & besides that~~~you’re funny!
I love the mudroom! As for the personal posts non-recipe related…bring em on! I love reading both your recipe and non-recipe posts! 🙂
My laundry room makeover started in September and is still ongoing! We are anxious to get it to the point we can walk in there!! Looking forward to all of your posts!
: ) Would love to hear about the yummy vegetable straws! Thanks Jamie!
If you don’t mind me asking, how much was the expedit 1×2? I would love a couple but cannot find them online. Thanks
I love that you will be sharing personal stuff. I have always enjoyed that part of your blog. Love the makeover.
I noticed one of the books(same kind of different as me) you have in one of the baskets, have you read it? what did you think of it?