Office Makeover: Gillian's Desk

Spring is here which means it's time to get my act in gear,  meaning I need to get myself organized. And one space that desperately needs it is the office. As I said in my previous blog, Ryan typically uses the office for his stuff but I'm about to invade the space (don't you just LOVE "personal space" in married life).

On our trip to iKEA a few weeks ago, we picked up some items to completely makeover our office. Boy am I excited to share the change as it's extremely exciting and relieving when a room comes together in a more functional and inspiring way. The first up for our office makeover? My desk...

While shopping at iKEA, we found office displays that had desks assembled with a top and various legs. You could select the color top and the style legs to create your own desk. Ryan wanted black and I wanted white; since I was the intruder, I compromised on the color. (I really wanted an apple green workspace, but that was quickly shot-down! So I pushed for a "traditional" color.) I asked my father to come over and help us assemble and he so willingly agreed (for a price, of course...hugs are the best & free to give out)! ;)

It's good to have a Dad help you

Drilling the plates for the legs

Every homeowners best friend

Two legs down, two more to go!

Ta DA! Here is my cute little desk.

Very pretty, can't wait to get it in the office.

Remember the before picture, when I didn't have any space to myself because of the dog's recliner or entertainment stand we needed to get rid of...

Well, here is my little home in the office. It's small but cute; I only need space for my laptop and this desk offers that perfectly. It'll be located right next to Ryan's, which will be the first time he and I will share a workspace in the 8+ years we've been together (WOWZERS).

I love my little area, very simple with the black and birch but can be given an extra punch with some accessories. I don't need much space on the desk itself because I'm going to have plenty of other options for storage (hint, hint). Stay tuned for the next up in our office makeover...storage cubes!! :)

Decking Out My Yard

Yah'll remember me mentioning that my deck is getting overhauled, right? Well, it is and I couldn't be more excited about the transformation (new pictures coming) but I keep thinking about once it's complete. Whats the point of having a wonderful, new deck if you're not out enjoying it?

So the hubby and I have been looking at various furniture sets for the back yard to match the new deck we'll have. We stopped by one of our favorite places in the entire world....TARGET and found some really cute things to help "deck out" the space. (Don't you just love my play on words) ;)

The turquoise color of this patio set is divine, the comfort level isn't. :(

I would love to have these lanterns all along the back deck. With a little light in each one,
it would create an inmate environment for sure!

Ryan really liked this set; the mustard cushions were nice...

I love this pillow to have on outside furniture. Just one thing though, do you have to bring those in? I know they are for the outside, but won't they get gross after awhile?

Ryan of course liked the stripes more than the flowered pillow.

In addition to bringing some life to the deck, we saw a couple cute things to place in the yard itself. We're not big yard people (like can't do landscaping & flowers die all the time around us) so what better way to add a fun and colorful piece to the back yard than with lawn ornaments. You'll like the ones we picked: 

Alright now seriously, this guy is pretty cool. Look at the gorgeous feathers & color on this guy!

This little bubble bee caught my eye with her happy, go-lucky demeanor. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure what we'll be looking at doing for the deck once it's complete, but I feel like we owe it to the deck itself to adjourn it with something wonderful. It would be great if the deck could be a fun place for our friends to come over, eat and play games in the yard......I've got it! Maybe we should throw a party!! LOL.

Office Makeover Accessories

Now that Spring is here I'm ready to get organized. As I mentioned previously, the room that needs it most this year is the office. On our trip to iKEA a few weeks ago, we picked up some items to completely makeover our office but we aren't ready to start building yet (next couple of days we will tho!)....so I have started to take a stab at what I can do...assemble the accessories!

I'm really digging the color green this year in home decor. Specifically, an apple green seems to be making it's way in home decor accessories either in solid color or patterns.  So when it came to picking out accessories for the office, I knew I wanted to use this color to add an extra "pop". Have you ever bought stuff from iKea? It's super easy to assemble; I mean if I can do it, ANYONE can do it! We bought two green magazine holders and  several storage boxes in various sizes.

Sealed nice and pretty

They started as flat boxes in sealed packages and with just a few simple steps turn into beautiful storage solutions for our office.

With the accessories all put together I'm really starting to see the final vision of the office. It's funny that sometimes it's the little things that make the whole thing come together. What's your favorite color for storage solutions?

Target has some really cute options in a beautiful blue that would be awesome for an office space. Maybe I should redo my cubicle at work!? ;)

A Shot throughout the Years

I don't usually blog about work on here, mostly because I blog enough for work that I'd like to keep this blog pretty personal. But while assembling a little "welcome package" for my new hire, I had to search for my newest head shot for the team bios. I came across all of my head shots throughout the [almost] 5 years I've been with Dominion Enterprises. It was very funny, so I decided I had to share!!

Yup, I've been working with DE for almost 5 years and over that period of time I have collected some interesting photos to say the least. The stuffy head shots above aren't really "me" but the fun, goofy "out takes" below are SO me!!!

 

If you can't poke fun of yourself, who can you poke fun of! Do you have any funny photos you'd like to share? Tell me in the comment section below. :)

Mother's Day Activities

Did you have a good Mother's Day yesterday? I'm not a mom, well to a human child that is, but I had a pretty awesome day celebrating two moms I love so much...my own mother and my mother-in-law!

Yesterday we started the day going to church and watching my adorable little nephews get dedicated to the faith. My brother and sister-in-law picked a couple versus that meant something to them to represent Aiden and Camden as they pledge their faith to God.

After church, we went to a Mother's Day brunch at Finn McCools in the Landstown Commons shopping center. It was a lovely little brunch with the family; we had the in-laws (including my lovely sister-in-law Amy), my brother and his family, my parents, Ryan and I.

Look at him stuffing his face

The crumbs on the floor

Goodness I love this boy!

My FIL, Tyler (my brother) & my dad

Amy & Camden

Me and my SIL

My nephew Camden & me....LOVE HIM! :)

Then we hopped over to the Farmer's Market at Princess Anne and browsed through the cute little shops. There were tons of really cute things, tons & tons of fresh veggies and sweets galore...take a look:

The family looking at the vegetables

A lot of honey jars here

These tomatoes were as big as Camden's head! WOW!

Delicious food...

Beautiful eyes

Pretty flowers

Aiden loves his veggies

Oh...he found candy!

I love gummy candy

Oops, we found a bakery too!

The cinnamon rolls are gnormous

More deliciousness from the bakery

Aiden found a chicken

Seriously? A plant in old shoes?

This is just too cute, but weird at the same time.

Tyler being goofy in the shop

I actually LOVE this, trying to find a place for it in the house. Only $18.99!

And to finish off the fabulous Mother's Day, the "kids" (Ryan, Amy and I) cooked a delicious dinner. Fried fish and coleslaw on a toasted bun with rosemary french fries. YUM!

Oh goody, I so want this again!

Found the recipe in a Southern Living Magazine

Happy couple after a very enjoyable weekend!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my family. Even though I'm not a "real mom", even I know that creating memories with family & friends is what it's all about. I'm glad we were able to do that & hope you all did too! :)