Office Pinspiration

After months of purusing Pinterest and Ikea, I think we have finally decided on our office layout/makeover.

In there we currently have

• two Ikea bookshelves, 
• a Walmart bookcase, 
• wire storage cubes, 
• file cabinet,
• My wedding dress
• My PR overflow stock
• lots of books/files
• My PR party/team supplies
• 4.5 yrs worth of PR "stuff"
• and an Ikea Expedite with Desk extension we bought off of Craigslist 2 years ago (think two columns of the size below). 

The office is 10'4" square and all of the furniture is black.  I hate it, I wish I could replace it all with white furniture, but my checkbook says we aren't rich so it will just be a mix-n-match situation.

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My original plan was something like the above photo, but when Corey changed jobs he also added the need to fit him into the office, further complicating my plans.

Now I am leaning more towards something like this

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During my last trip through Woodbridge I stopped at Ikea for some organization items and window shopped the desks. I fell in love with this "Malm dressing table":

Ikea

At Ikea they actually had it set up as a desk, it wasn't until I went to search for it online that I realized it was a dressing table.

Thinking of ending up with something kind of like this:

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I moved a lot of our books and photoalbums to the Expedite we have in the guest room, which cleared up lots of room for my PR stuff that was living on the floor.  Once I had a clear idea that we wouldn't need too much more storage, I played around with the dimensions and came up with two possible setups.  Keep in mind we will have two printers, one on a printer stand (love the drawers of this for paper etc) and one on Corey's desk (his work printer is a portable small one).

Update: 2nd floor plan with captions:

We are leaning towards the bottom one, feel like it is a lot more open. All of that furniture is existing except for the two desks and printer stand.

I have always loved this rug too, so may put it in the middle, great place for the pets to sleep while we are in there (they don't use pet beds).  Also hoping it will help tie together the black and white furniture. 

Ikea

Might add some color with curtains like this:

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So this is what we are planning for now, hopefully sometime early next year.  Until then Corey gets the Dining table--which drives us both nuts.

What do you think? Any suggestions? It is tough because we need a lot of storage but want it to feel open.  I am also contemplating selling the Expedite with Desk, if we get the printer stand with all the drawers I think we could make it work.  The bottom half of it is all crafting supplies which could go in the closet and the top half is files and different types of paper (I have an office supply addiction).

Eating Pinterest (sort of)

If you have visited us over at Pinterest you know I have a healthy obsession.  Corey loves it for Recipes but we share an account so my obsession looks even more insane, especially on nights when we are both on our Ipads pinning!

With the move and half our kitchen still packed up paired with his new 6-day workweek, Corey hasn't really had time to create any new recipes lately so Pinterest has been our best friend.  I even used the grill earlier this week!  I am not sure why I used to be scared of cooking on it but now I love it!

We've had plenty of Pinterest fails but last week we tried two recipes that were amazing, without too much tweaking.

(We didn't take a photo so this pic is from the source blog)

The first was one I made.  Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups.  We used Maple Turkey Sausage from Jimmy Dean, the Maple adds an amazing flavor, and we put them on Buttery Pillsbury Biscuits. They turned out amazing and will definitely be a staple in the Bell house!

Over the weekend Corey made this salad, he did add a lot more lime to the dressing but other than that not too many changes.  Below is our version.

This was SO good!  Was great for wraps as well.

Earlier this week he made Lime Tequilla Chipotle Shrimp Kabobs with inspiration from this recipe and this one, they sound delicious!  Can you tell I love lime?

Pinterest Craft and Food Party

If you are like me, you have a long list of  Pinterest "Pins" and a very short "done" list.  I am absolutely in love with all the ideas I get from the website but I was seriously lacking motivation and time to complete any of the 100 crafts I want to complete.  Thanks to my friend Cheryl's idea I recently hosted a Pinterest party, it was a totally success and lots of fun!

We each brought an appetizer that was from or inspired by a Pinterest idea and the supplies to make a craft. Everyone ended up making wreaths but it was not planned that way.

From the right: Casey made her own inspired yarn-wrapped wreath, she wasn't quite done when we snapped this pic.  Cheryl added flowers to hers and plans to add a monogram letter in the middle.  Michelle, Becky and LuLu were inspired by this pin, I love that LuLu added her own flair.

I actually ended up making two different wreaths:

The one on the left I actually made with Dollar Store flowers!  The ribbon came from Joann Fabrics.  The other wreath was inspired by this pin but I changed it up a little.

I found both my wreath forms at the Dollar Tree.  The yarn, flower pedals, and ribbon are all from Joann Fabrics.  The flowers I actually made out of leaves from a Hydrangea flower and colored pins.  I was not happy with the ribbon used in the original tutorial and couldn't find the right pre-made flower.  The flag says "Bare Feet Welcome", it is perfect to welcome spring.  I just love how it turned out!

Update:  Here is Casey's finished Yarn Wreath

As far as food we had quite a spread, but I forgot to grab a picture of it!

I made this cake, it turned out well but next time I am going to poke a lot more holes it, the actual cake part was a little dry.

Casey made this delicious Thai dish, she actual used low carb noodles so it was even semi-healthy!

Cheryl made this dip, she has made it before & it was so good that I had requested she make it again.  It does have mayo in it though so I may try to make a variation without the mayonnaise.

What have you made lately from Pinterest?  I love seeing completed Pinterest ideas and recipes and hearing how they turned out so please share!

This was not sponsored by Pinterest in any way, we just love the site.