Closet Organization

You know the saying- I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet? Well, what is a woman supposed to do when there is no longer room in the closet? For some people, space isn't an issue, but for people who rent or live in a small home or apartment with even smaller closets, organization tips can help utilize the closet space you do have. 

Bookshelves: We all know bookshelves are lifesavers when it comes to book clutter, but did you know bookshelves can help organize clothing and shoes too? In fact, I use an IKEA bookshelf to display everyday flats and boots, plus I even have some larger handbags on the bottom shelf.
Be sure to check it out at the end.

For now let's talk inspiring bookshelves:

 Get fancy with it and add some hooks for your necklaces between shelves

I love how this person mixed the shoes on the shelf as if they belong right next to the other decor. *Mentally takes notes*

Who said a smaller bookshelf can't be used for strictly purses? Nobody.
Pretty and practical, I love it.

Maybe you want to use a bookshelf but don't want to have it displayed in your home. No problem, just drape a piece of fabric over the shelf like below.

Wardrobe/ Dresser: Another way to organize the clutter in your closet is to invest in a wardrobe or dresser. You can find affordable ones at thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets then fix them up the way you want. You can even add shelves or compartments to fit your needs, such as:

An easy way to create those small separators for drawers happens to be hiding within the shelves of your local hardware store. Just ask for 48 inch (or however long you need them) wood lath pieces.

Image via Organized Mom

Cube organizers: When I say cube organizer, I'm referring to furniture with perfectly made squares made for those cube organizer bins. Well, one way to incorporate them into your closet is to organize socks, underwear and other intimates in them. Another way is to ditch the bins and fold your jeans in them. See what I mean below:

I love and am totally stealing the idea of adding a cube to a dead space like the top of a closet. 

Perfect for organizing shoes and/or jeans.

Cubes are also a good place to organize t-shirts. Add more storage on top with modern looking boxes or maybe some jewelry trees for jewelry organization.

Now for a look at how I organize my everyday shoes and larger handbags 

(Don't mind the dust, I literally dusted as soon as I saw this picture, yuckkk):

I have boring books and magazines on the other shelves.

How do you organize the clutter in your closet? 

Did this post inspire you to add some organizational furniture?

Comment below!

Transformation

Lately, I have been doing some major soul searching and have come to some realizations. This was difficult to realize and accept, but I have failed at being a consistent fashion/style blogger. When I began blogging, about four years ago, it was the best decision that I could've made (for that point of my life) and I poured my soul into it. My blog grew slowly but surely and BTW, I appreciate every reader and especially the few of you who interacted with my posts; y'all truly made it a blast to dish out my thoughts on fashion and share my style with the world. Unfortunately, things
happened that were beyond my control, and I lost heart. The blog started becoming more of a chore and hassle. I saw my numbers dropping within the blog, and things in my personal life were going downhill. I truly became discouraged and uninspired, and boy did it show...
Upon this monumental point and so called "soul searching," I realized my love of blogging still exists, but my interests have shifted from strictly fashion to home decor, beauty, skin care, fitness & nutrition, DIY natural remedies, and inspirational oriented topics. So...what do you think of me incorporating all of those topics into one post each week (or more if it happens that way) titled Picks of the Week or hopefully something catchier?! 2015 is a year of transformation for Bows and Moccasins, are you ready?!
As always please leave your thoughts below because the the reason I blog is to inspire you and create content that you actually enjoy and look forward to reading! Sometimes in this hectic spiral we call life, we need a break from everything. You know, it's not a crime to take some time to yourself! Kick back, relax and become inspired.

Office Decor Update

 

Which item is your favorite? Comment below!

Items Pictured:

IKEA ALEX Storage System

Kate Spade Print

Starbucks Tutu Mug

Christmas Lights

DIY Christmas Vase filler

File Organizer

<<<Thanks For Reading>>>

Kate Spade inspired

Are there certain things from the website Etsy that you just cannot live without? Well, here is something that I HAD to buy, no exceptions or excuses.

I love love love this print-

“She serves champagne with pizza and eats takeout on china" –Kate Spade

Is it not the cutest saying you have ever heard? Not to mention the print itself is beautiful and definitely Kate Spade inspired with the black and white stripes, pale pink, and gold border.

I cannot wait to frame and hang this in my home-office/school work space to add the girly yet sophisticated vibe that I have been searching so long for. I will post an updated picture of how everything looks together once it is complete.

To purchase this adorable print, click here or search Craft and Candor on www.etsy.com.

You will not regret it!

Also, her packaging is so cute; I love the fox stamp with her shop name on it.

Have a spectacular Tuesday, friends!

DIY: Mini Globe Decor

I am always looking for creative ways to use pearls because I have so many of them. The other day I was looking at how bare and boring my desk is and decided to concoct this DIY. Another plus to this small project is it utilizes one of the three mini globes that I bought from One King’s Lane and have yet to use.

What You’ll Need:

I hope you enjoyed! Talk to y’all Friday!

Small Space #3: Solutions

I have a space solution to discuss: My boyfriend has wayyyyy too many hats so I picked up this coat tree from Kirklands and transformed it to a hat organization tool. I think it turned out pretty great and am pretty proud of myself for seeing hat organization in a coat hanger! 

The next solution I want to mention is too organize all of my shoes. Including: flats, boots, sneakers, heels, and whatever else. I picked these plastic drawers up from Target or Wal Mart (I don't remember). Either way, I had them stuffed with computer paper, pens and pencils, and other office supplies. I think they fit in much better in the closet and helps with my shoe hoarding problem.

There are a few problem areas in my closet, as you can see. The question is what can I do to fix these unorganized and overflowed parts of the closet? My jeans are an obvious struggle and with the weather getting cooler day by day, I need some organization. What do you suggest?

By the way, I had an unexpected death in the family, an overload of unavoidable work, and my mom came to visit all in one weekend, So I apologize about being gone for a few days, but I am back. 

The Small space series will be extended through the next week then I have an upcoming giveaway! Yay! 

Stay Tuned!

Small Space #2

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I have so much I want to blog about other than small space tricks but as promised, here ya go…Small Space #2.

According to Five Style Tricks to Open Up Your Small Space from Apartment Therapy, there is five things that make your small space appear more open. My apartment only has one of the five things mentioned in the article and that is white walls. Apparently, white walls make smaller spaces look bigger, who knew? Okay, so check to white walls.

Now I only have to add built in storage, deeper bookshelves, more height, and more light. One thing that is hilarious about my old school apartment (not really funny at all) is that there is no ceiling fans or over head lights EXCEPT in the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and the master closet. See what I mean about it not being funny, at all? How old school is that? Well, needless to say I DEFINITELY need more lighting.

Which of the five things does your small space lack? What other tips would you add to open up a small space? Also, does anyone have any lighting secrets? I need more lights but don’t want bulky lamps or the stand up kind and adding ceiling fans is out of the question because I am a renter.

Any input is appreciated, Thanks!

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Small Space #1

Happy Monday! Today [as promised] is the first Small Space post. To access the full story behind the Small Space series, check out the post before this one.

The first thing to keep in mind when decorating a small space is multipurpose. Look for furniture that can be doubled as something else, like the example below: This piece not only doubles as a perfume stand and bookshelf, but triples as a little bit of shoe storage also!

Utilizing one piece of furniture for multiple reasons really accentuates the ‘small’ in small space.

[ Image Source ]

Next, who does not love IKEA furniture? The innovation demonstrated in IKEA’s furniture is amazing and literally built for small spaces so check out this Expedit storage below:

[ Image Source ]

Third…two words…floating shelves. Yes, these can be found at IKEA also. Living in a small space makes a person want to decorate every inch of their apartment to make it seem not so…small. Floating shelves is the perfect way to stylishly store and organize all of that “stuff.”

[ Image Source ]

Another take on storing “stuff” is more innovative and genius than stylish and decorative. Below is an example of behind the door shelving which can be used to hide some clutter:

[ Image Source ]

Basically, you do not necessarily have to get rid of all your belongings when moving somewhere smaller; just learn how to effectively and sometimes stylishly store everything!

So, how do you effectively store all the “stuff” or clutter? How has moving from a large space to a small one impacted your life and cleanliness?  Leave responses below!

Small Space- Series

Sundays are meant for laundry, pinterest researching, playing xbox, homework, dog walking, catching up on my favorite blogs, editing pictures, and overall getting ready to tackle the upcoming week’s activities. As I was cleaning the extra bedroom, I came across many troubled areas that need organizing. So what do I do? Blog about it.

Lately, I have been on a mission to clean and organize our apartment-top to bottom because I am so tired of random things being out of place and are not accessible when I need them. I have been pinning cleaning tips and organization ideas under my CLEAN board on Pinterest but decided (between sips 0f Full Throttle) that I need a ‘Small Space’ board. As some of you know I used to live in a 3 bedroom house with 2 roommates, but now my boyfriend and I moved to the city and the apartment is a lot smaller than what I am used to. Something you might not know is that I have moved 5 different times in the last 5 years. I’m a wanderer, I can’t help it. During that “wandering” I acquired quite a bit of stuff. Between relatives dumping their hand-me-downs on me and my mom’s compulsive buying syndrome, my tiny apartment looks like an overstuffed thrift store. Follow me as I organize and get rid of the “stuff” overtaking my apartment and life through this ‘Small Space Series’. One major thing that brought on this series is this blog. Right now I have no decent place to take pictures for it because of all of the junk; it’s absurd. So this weekend began my binge cleaning and organizing spree. I tackled the extra bedroom first and started working on my closet, where the real problem exists. I wish I would have taken a BEFORE picture to demonstrate how much junk was actually there.

Tomorrow (usually Mention Monday) will be Small Space series post #1 with pictures explaining my progress and where I found inspiration. I will be blogging everyday this week with Small Space series posts so get ready!

What are your thoughts on this post series? Do you have any tips to add? Comment the tips below and I will feature the best ones.

Happy cleaning and organizing!

Herringbone

Everywhere I turn it is chevron this and chevron that; I am so tired of it. I was browsing in Home Goods the other day and stumbled upon this grey coverlet and low and behold it was herringbone design. I have always liked herringbone but have never bought anything. I am not going to lie, I have been obsessed with chevron just like the next woman but lets be honest it is so old. Herringbone is much more contemporary and modern looking. I have noticed it in stores like Target, Home Goods, Macy’s, Nordstrom, etc. The first place I saw it was Target in the Nate Berkus collection. I absolutely adore his Home collection, btw. If you have not checked it out click here. He never disappoints.

Here is a picture of my coverlet on the reverse side (red) As mentioned above, I bought the coverlet at Home Goods.
Keep in mind I bought 2 navy blue throw pillows from Marshall’s since I posted the picture on Instagram. I also removed that odd navy blue oblong pillow and placed the 2 square throw pillows.
I mentioned this post in the picture because I honestly thought it would be up by then. My apologies.


Follow me on Instagram for more pictures of my new apartment and the way I am decorating it.

XOXO,

Sweet Southern Style

Home decoration: Target

When picking out decorations for a new house, where is a good place to start? The bedroom, or what about the living room? If you can't decide, simply look around to find something which inspires you; no matter what it is. Pick up a few magazines, check out the latest trends on Pinterest, stop by your local home improvement and decorating stores. Target is a phenomenal place to begin when picking out decorations or anything for a house, really. Target hand picks interior designers to create lines for their home decor. Personally, Nate Berkus is one of my favorite they have ever carried. His products are contemporary yet classic and timeless. He uses lots of charcoal grey, gold, and textured rattan baskets. It is seriously like heaven in that section of Target. Unfortunately, I don't have any of his decorations but I do plan on filling my new home with them. One thing I do have, for a living room or the dining room table, is some decorative red roses from Hobby Lobby. Red is hands down my favorite color to decorate with; there is something so sensual yet dramatic about the color red. I'm not sure how I'm going to incorporate it into what I already bought but I couldn't just walk by them without tossing them in my buggy today. Where would you place them?

Sweet Southern Pea

Simple Sunday

Happy Sunday ya'll,

I hope everyone's weekend has been fab so far.  For me, Sundays are a day of relaxation and preparing for another week ahead. Sometimes that involves laundry, cleaning, organizing, and other simple tasks. However, I don't get into anything too deep because it is meant to remain simple.

First thing is first, the hairstyle I'm rockin' for Simple Sunday is something I call the EZbun.

Step one---> secure your hair in a medium high pony:

Step two---> Twist the pony with your right hand into a bun formation:

Step three---> Secure the bun with a hairband:

WALAH!

It was super simple, huh?

NEXT...we're turning things a little sidewayz.

Step One---> Formulate a front twist then begin curling the two sides of your hair.

(You want to hold the iron down while twisting the hair around it)

Step two--->Continue curling both sides of your hair.

Step three---> Gather both sides of your hair on the side the twist runs to make a side pony.

And secure with bobby pins.

The next thing isn’t necessarily a tutorial but more of an idea.

I love the lamp my boyfriend’s family gave us but I wanted to add my own little touch to it. I had some lace ribbon around the house and tied a strand around the base of the lamp in the middle. It is the little things which make me smile, like lace around an already beautiful lamp.

Also, another thing I like to do is use mason jars to hold everyday items. I found that idea on Pinterest, of course. Another thing which makes the mason jars a little more personal is adding your choice of fillers inside them.

I bought the mason jars at Michaels

I chose pearls, of course.

(They are my favorite filler to decorate with.)

I added a pearl bracelet to the highlighter and pencil jar and a black flower hair band around the scissor jar for extra detail.

Now for a simple fashion tip :

Add a blazer.

Even to a dress

Dress (Forever21) Blazer (Kohl's)

 

Have a wonderful Sunday guys.

XOXO