Purse Organization

I think having an organized purse is extremely important to keep me sane throughout the day.  I need to keep everything in one bag to make sure if I am in a hurry I can just grab and go and know that I have all that I need to get through the day.  Since I carry so much everyone kept making fun of my bag size and weight.  Plus Dr. Oz even says it isn't good to carry so much, but  I may need something if I cut down on my bag size. 

 This is my lovely Vera Braley purse...it is my 2nd Vera Bradley. I love the style, sturdiness, and how they are perfect for organizing.

 This particular purse has three compartments so I can store all my stuff.  This makes it so much easier to find  what I need in a pinch.  I know, I know....I said I carry a lot!

 In the one compartment of my purse I keep my Martha Stewart daily planner, my pen case, and my cash envelope. My planner is my life!!  I keep track of everything from menu planning, events, exercising, grocery list and the list goes on and on.

 Here is a closer look at my cash envelope wallet that I purchased at A Time for Everything. I use this wallet to keep track of all my purchases for the month and to allocate my money in each section (food, entertainment, etc...)  Using cash only to buy  everything has really helped our household stay on track with our budget.

 In the center of my purse I have my Vera Bradley wallet, surface, Martha Stewart journal, and Vera Bradley phone case.

 Not only are the purses great for organizing the wallets are just a great!  It has enough compartments for my check book and all my cards.

 Finally, to the best part....remember how I said everyone makes fun of how I carry soooo much...well, this Vera Bradley phone purse is what I use to carry everywhere. Which is awesome because it is so cute and it has everything I need to carry into stores and places I don't need to carry my big purse.

 This neat little purse has my essentials....my phone, pen, debit cards, and all my reward cards on one binder ring....It's so nice to have it all in one little purse especially in line at a store so I don't have to search for everything.

Back to my big purse and to the last compartment I store my ipod, earplugs (in my cute Vera holder, gum and my Martha Stewart mini bag with my vitamins, advil and girly essentials.

So there you have it....how I organize my life in one bag...or two! 

"Cute as a Button" Baby Shower

Baby showers are so fun to put together.  This time for my 3rd baby shower I went with the theme, "Cute as a Button."

For this baby shower I was able to save a lot of money by making most of the decorations/favors myself.

I found this cute theme while on pinterest of course...but the paper supplies came from birthdaydirect.com  Super cute and super cheap! 

What's in the theme without the most important part...the buttons?!? I found a colorful bag (800 pc) of buttons from orientaltrading.com 

For the favors....I also made these by using the bag of buttons I bought from Oriental Trading, a box of 12 candle votives and baby gift tags from Party City.  I also purchased cheap bakers twine from Oriental Trading.  I just used hot glue to keep the bakers twine and button in place.  Easy peasy! I also used sandwich bags tied with the bakers twine and baby tag to complete the piece.  

Cute DIY favors for under a $1 each. 

I love using real flowers for centerpieces, but to stay within my budget I found a cheap bunch from Giant and to make them stand out I glued buttons to the centers of the flowers. Such a cute touch that everyone kept taking about!

Another cheap touch to spruce up the centerpiece was to continue using that big bag of buttons I bought and just scattered them across the burlap runner.

Cute and colorful.

Another cheap DIY..Take the frappe bottles from starbucks and leave them soak in soapy hot water for a couple of minutes to allow the labels to come off with a breeze.  Once they are clean and clear I did the same thing to these cute drinking bottles as I did with the candle favors....just hot glue bakers twine and buttons to continue with the theme.

Once again, cheap and easy touches...just take the water bottle labels off and uses tulle and cheap favor pins....nothing goes unnoticed. 

Everyone needs coffee!

I left baby card games for guests to play as they waited for the mom to be to arrive.

To double as my gift and as a decoration I just took the bakers twine and removable wall hangers to make a clothesline with the baby's new clothes...so dear!

Another cheap way to add color I took streamers and blue paper plates along the stair case....I made the plates to resemble buttons of course!

What's a party without desserts?!  The popcorn boxes were super cheap from Party city as well as the cookie bags.

Instead of cake I made adorable cupcakes using lollipops to dress them up....they remind me of baby rattles...

Even the cookies had to look like buttons! I got the recipe from here

Too many desserts for one day?  Take the button cookies togo!

White chocolate cover popcorn was a hit!  It served perfectly as the guests watched the mom to be open gifts.

Dining room view with the banner from birthdaydirect.com

DIY Chalkboard made from a dollarstore tray and chalk paint.

Gotta stay true to the baby boy theme also....easy lemonade:

1 gallon lemonade

2 packets of wildberry kool aid

2 (2 liter) bottle of sprite 

Ice cubes made with blueberries 

If you couldn't tell....It's a boy! hehe love the kisses!

No baby shower is complete without the games..... to start we had pin the pacifier on the baby....

 ...Then who could drink the bottle the fastest....

 ....measure mommy's belly....

....finally ended with the baby food guessing game....That game was a hit and the most hilarious.

This baby shower was so much fun and sooooo cute!

Baby Shower

I absolutely love to entertain so any chance I can, I DO!  I had the opportunity to host a small baby shower for a co-worker recently and I tried to make the cutest baby shower on the tiniest budget.

 Flowers are always an easy centerpiece, but they can be pretty pricy.  So, I took advantage of baby's breath.  It instantly makes a flower arrangement look full without spending a lot of money.   I purchased the baby's breath and a cheap flower arrangement from giant. Spending a total of $15.  

 I had another baby shower last year and bought linens/paper products for the event. Luckily, my co-worker loved the same jungle animal theme and I was able to use the leftover stuff from last year.  That's always the best/easy way to save money.

 Kisses with "It's a boy!" were a nice way to add a little touch of color without spending much money.  I bought a bag from Party City for $5

 To make my centerpiece I just used my cake stand and put my cheap flower arrangement in dollar store baby bottles.  To complete the piece I wrapped blue tulle and baby feet ribbon around them.  I also placed the baby's gift tiger right next to the arrangement to add a little extra somethin' somethin'.

 Three milks cake

Who doesn't love touches of color?

This is was a cheap, but beautiful baby shower.  It just goes to show you don't have to break the bank to throw a beautiful get together.  You have to be resourceful with the things you already have and be super creative to make it different then anything else you have done before.