This summer was the first summer since 2004 that I did not move apartments. I’ll save you the mental math, that means I have moved apartments 7 times in the past 8 years. SEVEN moves!  That’s a little crazy. So when Apartment Guide approached me about joining in their Maximizing Space: Décor on a Budget challenge I knew I was more than qualified. While some of you may *hate* moving, I am actually quite good at it.

My favorite part about moving is decorating the new place. I treat the new floor plan like a blank canvas. I may be working with the same furniture and art from the last place but I love to mix it all up. I usually give myself a small budget for “new apartment” decorating.

I’ve lived in my current apartment for 14 months, and I love(d) everything about it except my home office area. So I decided this blog challenge was the perfect opportunity to makeover/organize my work area. I was a little hesitant to show the general public the before photo, but I decided it’s important to establish the problem before we share the solution. I’ll have my lovely after photos in Part 2 post.

Challenges of a home office in an apartment:

• Limited space: While I could have opted for a bigger floor-plan that allowed me to have a designated room for an office, one of the reasons I live in an apartment is to save money. So, I’m limited on where I can “set up shop”.
• Location Location Location: I have a pretty wide area in the back 3rd of my living room that I have used for office stuff (printers, desk, etc) but I have rearranged that area a few times. The first location felt too crowded. And then I felt like I was stuck in a corner. My newest setup (details in my Part 2 post) has me in a location that feels more like it’s own area. Even, if you’re like me and your office area is shared with a room with another purpose it’s important to have that designated location.
• Work/Life Balance: In my 7 different apartments I’ve had several variations of home and work balance. My  least favorite (by far) is having to put my desk in the bedroom. I always had this overwhelming feeling that my work was encroaching on my relaxing time. When I had a roommate, I didn’t really have another option, but I am definitely glad that I no longer have my computer near where I sleep.
• Mess factor: Last week I wrote the following Facebook status:
  I am not extremely messy, but have been known to create piles of clutter. My desk area seems to easily become a catch all for mail, papers, and anything else that doesn’t have a home. It’s a vicious cycle, I get behind on my mail so it piles up on my desk so I work from the dining room table instead. In case you were wondering, that’s not a great long term solution.
• The glass desk: Okay this problem is not universal to all apartment workers… but I have a glass desk (translation: no drawers) that I really love but it’s missing place to hide necessary work stuff. Glass is also not very receptive to drinks without coasters or organized looking cords.

In a previous entry, I mentioned that I’m making a few changes in my life. One of them involves a change of scenery. In other words, I’ll be moving soon – in fact in a just a couple weeks. I want to stay close to the places and people that I enjoy the most so I won’t be moving too far. Still yet, I enjoy putting myself in different situations, exploring new areas and learning along the way.

Throughout this process I’ve learned a few things that can help anyone on the move.

Donate, dispose, and de-clutter: The first thing I did before going on a packing frenzy is reorganize the possessions I already had. I followed what I like to call, the three D’s: de-clutter, donate, and dispose. It’s so easy to accumulate things without knowing how much we actually have, so it helps to have a “spring cleaning” no matter what season it is. If you haven’t actively used something, let’s say a piece of clothing or furniture, in the past 6 months or so, it might be time to let someone else use it. Donating items to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army can give others the benefit of using your gently used items. Not to mention, you can also get a tax deduction if you do itemized deductions when filing. If the item has completely lost quality or usage, it might just be time to say goodbye and dispose it. It will reduce the amount of time and things you will need to move from one place to another.

Coordinate: Coordinating logistics of the move was by far the topic that needed the most patience and planning. Moving will give you a chance to “start over” and make changes to the lifestyle you have.

Here are just a few things to consider once you know where you are going to live:

o How much advance notice will I have to give my current home? Is there any penalty for not giving enough notice?

o When will I be moving?

o Do I need to change my budget for the move?

o How much advance notice will you need to give a moving company or to my friends who help me move? (I would recommend planning this a month in advance, especially in the summertime.)

o How early can I move into the new place?

o Are there any pre-move-in procedures I need to go through at the new place?

o Have I informed all the necessary people about my move? (This can include your personal contacts, the utilities and amenities companies, the post office, etc.)

Something that helps me stay organized during this time is making lists – “to-do” lists for the current and future home and a “to buy” list for the next home. Luckily I have mostly everything needed to furnish a home, so the “to buy” list is short.

Take care: When you become so involved in taking care of everything for the move, it’s easy to forget about taking care of yourself. Don’t let the moving process be an excuse for you not to. Make small adjustments if you need to but don’t deviate too much from how you regularly take care of you. Also give yourself time away from the move. It can be a stressful process so make sure you share your time with your friends and continue to do the activities you enjoy. The moving process will eventually all come together.

Enjoy – You’ve reorganized your belongings, planned for your move and remembered to take care of yourself along the way. You’re settled in the new home now and the only thing left to do is: Enjoy your new home! It’s your place for new beginnings, new friendships and new memories.

Seriously, can I have this closet?

moth designs. fanciest closet ever.

Also… I really want to do this – frame shopping bags as closet decor.

one of the COOLEST ways to use those empty shopping bags you get from stores! Just frame them!

These and so many more drool worthy closets over at MadeByGirl :: Closet Freak Edition.

This guest post was written by Doniree Walker, a blogger, yogini, foodie and freelance writer who I am happy to call a friend!

Three months ago, my boyfriend and I moved from separate places in Boulder, Colorado into a shared apartment in Portland, Oregon. He moved from a 5-bedroom house he shared with two roommates, and I moved from a spacious 2-bedroom apartment I shared with one other roommate. Needless to say, we both had plenty of space. And we both had plenty of things.

Our new apartment is 670-square feet (note: that’s not very big!), so we knew we had to weed out the unnecessary things in order to live in a clutter-free apartment. This involved multiple trips to Goodwill and selling all sorts of things on Craigslist. However, when we arrived, unpacked, and settled in, we realized we still had waaaaay too many things. See?

Thank goodness there are resources for people like me who want so desperately to de-clutter, simplify, and minimize! The easy answer is “own less stuff,” and that’s honestly what I’m trying to work towards, but I still have a way to go. In the meantime, here are a few tips and resources I’ve found for making the most of your apartment living space, and keeping it clean and clutter-free.

1. Find the motivation. Realize that too much clutter adds to stress. Erin Rooney Doland is the Editor-in-Chief of Unclutterer.com, and in her book, “Unclutter Your Life in One Week” simply states, “Less stuff means less stress!” She’s right. A recent Newsweek article called “I Can’t Think!” explains how information-overload impairs our ability to make decisions. Not even good decisions, but decisions at all. The article focuses mostly on the information available to us in our age of technology, but visual stimulation can be and is just as stressful as thoughts and pieces of information. As we reduce our number of choices (number of shirts, number of coffee mugs, etc.), we increase our ease of making decisions. Clearing clutter out of my life has been a significant first step in the reduction of stress because, let’s face it – I take in enough information as it is between Twitter and blogs and television and music, that if I can keep my living space a clean and zen-like haven, I’m all for that. {editors note: see also Erin’s post here on GenPink: O is for Organizing}
2. Start simple. Jenny Blake, author and editor of LifeAfterCollege.org, in her recently-released “Life After College: The Complete Guide to Getting What You Want,” offers not only practical tips for de-cluttering your space, but an exercise in de-cluttering that I promise – not only can you find the time to do it, but you’ll be too motivated to do anything but CLEAN ALL THE THINGS! Through the exercise she asks questions such as, “What is the one area of your house or apartment that feels the most cluttered and/or unorganized?” and then has you consider the factors that contribute to that cluttered state (it’s the closest table to the door, you don’t have enough file folders, etc.). Finally, there’s an action step of actually getting up and doing something about the clutter, and I honestly closed the book at just that point and cleared off two cluttered surfaces in my apartment. The point? Pick one area, set a short time limit, and start there. That’s realistic.
3. Set a schedule that works for you. Doland’s book includes suggested calendars and schedules for when to clean what and how much time to spend on each task. For me, this varies by week. Some weeks I have an entire afternoon to dedicate to cleaning my apartment, but that’s not always realistic. What is realistic is that I have at least 5 minutes, once or twice a day, that I can take a break from whatever else I’m doing and take care of one area, or one surface. In between nightly TV shows, take 5 minutes to clear off your coffee table. After you’ve had your morning coffee, spend five minutes clearing off your entry-way table so that when you return home, the first thing you see is something organized rather than something cluttered.

There are really two major players in the de-cluttering of your apartment. The first is: own less stuff.  The second is this: until then, make time on a regular basis to pick a zone that needs attention and speed-clean through it. The little steps add up!

What tips would you offer? What works for you?

Doniree Walker is a blogger and freelance writer who works with clients including UMoveFree.com, an Allen, TX apartments relocation & moving resource. She is based in Portland, Oregon and tweets @doniree.

Since, apparently I had too much free time (bahaha) I started a foodie blog. Before you roll your eyes at me, I should tell you that this is a community blog. In 2 weeks since I bought the domain and setup the wordpress (highfives to Norcross for continual WP mastery), we’ve had 8 contributors write 28 blog posts! Craziness.

If you happen to live in Dallas or consider yourself a food nerd you might want to subscribe to Dallas Food Nerd.

Related… does someone want to buy me this? It’s only $25 for one cup. What a steal right? That’s what I thought.

I just stumbled on the best early birthday present evah! 30 Days 30 Ways with Macaroni and Cheese.

This might be the most creative marketing slash collaborative project I’ve seen in quite some time.

Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Ways a blog brought to you by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. We’ve collaborated with 30 different food bloggers to create 30 inventive recipes for the classic dish — Macaroni & Cheese.

Nice going Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board! They are currently on Day 11 of their 2nd Annual 30 Day cheesefest.

I think I am most excited to try these from this year:

and these from the 2010 series:

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Sage, Gingersnap-Pecan Crust

Cedar Grove Smoked Salmon and Dill Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese

Do you have a favorite mac and cheese recipe? Jamielovely sent me an awesome one several months ago. You can probably bribe her into sharing with you.

Every year when Christmas comes around, I begin to look forward to the many traditions that I keep with my family and friends. Over the years my sisters and I have enjoyed traditions that begin as early as late November and continue into the days following the holiday and involve everyone from school classmates to, of course, family.

The past few years have seen us ‘retire’ some or our Christmas traditions, some by necessity as we are no longer involved in certain activities, some because we have grown out of them, and others because of lifestyle changes. This year marks the first year that our Christmas celebrations will include a new generation in our family, and next year at least two more children will join my niece Hailey as part of the next generation of our extended family. Including children in our traditions makes them even more special – and who knows, maybe we will soon be bringing some of our ‘retired’ Christmas traditions back for them!

In no particular order, here are the Top 10 Xmas/Christmas Traditions of the Five Blondes:

1.    Picking out a Christmas tree

Our tree never came from a ‘tree farm’ or from someone in a parking lot – rather, it came from the bush behind our house! Our farm encompasses a few hundred acres of land including a small forest (or bush, as we call it). We chose many of our trees from the bush, helping mom and dad cut it down with a handsaw and then pull it back to our house on a sled. This tradition has been retired due to the ease-of-use and general uniformity of fake trees – and the fact that there are no more kids at home to help mom and dad with this task!

2.    Christmas Concerts

Four of the Blondes attended music school, studying vocal music as well as playing a string instrument. In addition, we all took piano lessons, and Kate was part of a well-regarded local children’s choir! This added up to a multitude of Christmas concerts every year spread out all over the city. Here’s to hoping that the next generation will enjoy music just as much as we do.

3.    Helping Dad shop for Mom

Running the farm kept Dad too busy to shop, so inevitably he would end up with one or two of us at the mall on Christmas eve. Micaela remembers asking him one December 23^rd what he had gotten mom for Christmas – his answer? “Nothing – she said she doesn’t want anything!” It’s a good thing us girls are around to help him out when he needs it!

4.    Sister Secret Santa

Years ago, mom and dad suggested that rather than us buying a gift for each of the other 4, we should pick names and buy a gift for just one sister. The gifts are always thoughtful and meaningful. This is surely a tradition that we will continue for a long time!

5.    Family gift exchange

This is a fairly new tradition for our mom’s side of the family – a mystery gift exchange among nearly 25 participants! Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and significant others take part. Will you go home with a 6-pack of beer, a new DVD, or a pair of mittens? Who knows!

6.    Handmade gifts

Between mom, each of our Omas, and the rest of our creative family, we always receive (and give!) a few handmade items. Knit socks, tree ornaments, or pajamas, we’re always excited to receive something made just for us and treasure it.

7.    Puzzles

The holidays can be pretty overwhelming sometimes, so it’s always nice to find some down time. Our way of unwinding is to open up a puzzle near the Christmas tree and try to finish it in between celebrations. Favorite puzzles include “Beers of the World” and “Flying Pigs”.

8.    Christmas outfits

Mom is a great seamstress/fashion designer and often made us matching outfits. Here’s an example of the early ‘nineties style she dressed us in over the holidays.

Thankfully her taste has improved over the years! I think these dresses have since been recycled into gift bags.

9.    The Best Christmas Stockings Ever

Many of our friends and family would tell us about jumping out of bed in the morning and attacking the pile of gifts under the tree with a vengeance! Our tradition, however, was to patiently wait for mom and dad to finish up in the barn (hey, those pigs paid for the presents!), get cleaned up, eat breakfast, and THEN allow us to open gifts. To keep us satiated, mom Santa put together what we consider to be the ultimate Christmas stockings. Chocolate and candy, of course, followed by small toys, puzzle books, a book or magazine, socks (I love getting socks for Christmas!), and all kinds of awesome goodies. They could keep us entertained for hours. Good job, Santa!

10.    Being together

2010 marks the first year in 4 years that all five of us girls are living in the same province – and therefore will be spending lots of time together! The second member of the next generation of the Blondes will be born shortly after Christmas, making this year especially exciting. Kate’s daughter Hailey will be fun to watch as she experiences her first Christmas and starts participating in our traditions, and as Kate and Scott start their own traditions for her.

There you have it – Xmas traditions of the Five Blondes! I’m sure you have similar traditions – what are your favorites?

This is the 3rd post in December’s Top Tens in 2010 Series. This guest post was written by Rory Ellis, an internet marketer who has been known to play with fire.

As you find yourself making the transition from living off of fast food and ramen noodles in college, it becomes apparent that some expertise in the kitchen will help ward off the weight gain, and the strain on your wallet that restaurant food can cause. I often hear the phrase “I can’t cook” and simply shake my head in disagreement. Cooking is not hard, it’s just a matter of learning how.  When you break it down and take a look at a few recipes, you will see that the majority of the meals that you find are created using only a handful of techniques that are easy to master with a little practice. I’ve come up with the top ten cooking techniques that I’ve found will allow you to make just about any meal you can dream up, and on occasion impress those who see cooking as a challenge reserved for short-order chefs.

1. Standard Kitchen Cutting Techniques: A chef’s knife is one of your most versatile tools in the kitchen. Slicing, chopping, dicing, and mincing are a few of the cuts that you should learn to make when preparing a meal. A quick search online will provide the necessary specifications for each, but in reality, they are in essence increasingly smaller increments of cutting your ingredients into the consistency that you need for the dish you’ve chosen. Cutting & Chopping. Got it.
2. Browning: Many individuals start their cooking journey by using the “Just add meat” meal in a box solutions. These are quick, easily prepared with a single skillet and require minimal effort on your part. The main technique to master when cooking these dishes is called browning. When preparing this dish, you must begin to cook the meat before the other ingredients to ensure that the finished product is fully cooked; however, it’s important not to overcook the meat to avoid a tough or dry final product. Browning is simply partially cooking a meat while stirring (typically ground beef or ground turkey) until there is no pink left on the outside, but it is not fully cooked on the inside. After draining the fat from the meat, it will finish cooking with the other ingredients to produce a savory meal.
3. Frying: Whether it is deep vat or pan frying, the idea is the same. Frying uses hot oil to cook your ingredients. This technique generally produces a much juicier meal (albeit not quite as healthy) than some other cooking techniques. It even allows you to coat your meat or veggies in some other ingredient (think fried chicken) to give it the crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside experience.
4. Roasting: Similar to baking (see #10 below if you are impatient), Roasting involves cooking with a dry heat, often in an oven. This technique is usually used for larger pieces of meat such as the traditional thanksgiving turkey. Since you use a dry heat, it is often a good idea to baste your meat with it’s own juices and other flavoring ingredients to ensure that it doesn’t get too dry.
5. Saute: By mixing ingredients in a pan with a little oil at a high heat, you can create many sizzling concoctions and flavors. This type of cooking allows you to caramelize ingredients like onions with a meat of your choice to maintain a tender texture and infuse flavors together. It is a common practice to use what is left of the drippings as a sauce for the dish.
6. Stir Frying: Stir frying is a technique similar to sauteing that brings together many ingredients into a dish that is cooked at high heat with constant stirring (usually faster than a sauté) in a wok. It is commonly seen in Asian dishes but the idea can be used to make any variety of quick and easy dishes. This is one of my favorite techniques to experiment with for new flavors. Bite sized chunks of meat make this an easy meal to eat whether using a fork or chopsticks; and fresh veggies are almost always a necessity with this technique, so stay away from anything in a can that could come out squishy after cooking.
7. Grilling: The long time favorite of Sunday afternoon cookouts and tailgaters alike, grilling involves cooking directly over hot coals or a gas flame (coal is my favorite btw). This is usually reserved mainly for meats, but grilling also gives vegetables like corn or potatoes a wonderful smoky flavor that is sure to please everyone.
8. Slow Cooking: There are a lot of ways to cook slowly (in some cases a hot summer’s day in Texas could work), but a crock pot or similar device is far more efficient. This technique works well to produce a delicious meal that is ready when you get home from work. Often used for stews, roast beef, or poultry, by placing your ingredients in a slow cooker you allow the meal to soak in it’s own juices while it is slowly cooking all day long to produce an incredibly tender and flavorful dish.
9. Poaching: When working with a delicate food, or when attempting to create a healthy dish without the use of oil, you can actually cook with another liquid. Water provides a great cooking method for many ingredients that you wish to remain juicy, or if it is something delicate, remain intact. My favorite use of this method is the poached egg. One of the finest breakfast dishes around is Eggs Benedict which cannot be produced without learning to poach an egg to the perfect consistency.
10. Baking: At some point in your life you will probably know someone who has a birthday (or if you have no friends, you can substitute your own). On this wonderful occasion, cake is customary. I however, personally hate most cakes that people pick up at the grocery store bakery for birthday parties. I’m a pie fan myself, but there is a wide variety of amazing baked goods that are sure to wow everyone when presented at your next gathering. I will admit that I like to cheat and buy the boxed cake mixes, but even if you want to try your hand at making something from scratch, baking simply requires that you mix together a few ingredients and stick them in the oven at the predetermined temperature and set a timer so you don’t forget about it. (I cannot stress the timer part enough! The biggest problem I have found with baking is getting sidetracked and forgetting about it until it’s too late). After that, you can get creative with icing or other garnishments to make your creation pretty to look at and add some flare!

Now go experiment with what’s in your fridge and try not to burn the house down! Share your favorite cooking technique/recipe/or recipe resource in the comments.

Love this! Who can resist… food + photos + tumblr = awesomesauce.

Make your Labor Day delicious and easy on the eyes with Recipics.com, a collection of “visual recipes” created by Lauren Bugeja. The Australian user experience designer developed a system to translate written recipes into a diagrammatic form that simplifies the preparation of labor-intensive dishes ranging from Eggs Benedict to rigatoni sardi a mari—even if you’ve never poached an egg and would be hardpressed to pick rigatoni out of a pasta line-up. We recommend kicking off your long weekend with a “Jug of Danger,” Bugeja’s pictographic take on the famous and fruity British summer drink known as the Pimm’s Cup.

(via Liquid Treat)

Happy Labor Day weekend y’all (feelin’ a little Texas today)!

One of my favorite personal finance blogs, Get Rich Slowly, posted today Buying Food: Grocery Shopping Tips from 1950 which includes a video (yes from the 50s) and the subsequent grocery shopping tips "we" should get from this video. When I read most grocery shopping tips I get pretty annoyed – most of these are made for families with 2.5 children. You see, I am single – I eat at home (or take my lunch to work) about 60% of the time and the other times I go out with coworkers or friends. My grocery shopping habits are much different than a household of 5.

Almost every grocery shopping how-to I’ve seen includes buy in bulk. That is about the worst money saving advice for me:

• Since I’ll be the only one eating this item – I’d be stuck eating the same thing day after day to avoid it going bad.
• I live in a small place, therefore I have limited storage place.
• I live on the 4th floor and I haul my own groceries up the stairs.

So, I decided to do a little googleage and find some grocery shopping tips for one. I’ll tell ya it definitely took some digging, the first few resources I found were almost as annoying as the buy in bulk idea. In my searching I also found The Little Black Apron: A Single Girl’s Guide to Cooking with Style and Grace – perhaps I should check it out. Normally, I’m much more into online recipes than recipe books though.

Here is the single shoppers grocery guide:

• Plan ahead: this grocery tip is universal but a definite money saver, plan your week and write your grocery list before you go to the store to avoid impulse buys. I’m personally not great at grocery lists, so my compromise is to decide how many lunches and how many dinners I will need for that week so I don’t end up with too much food. If you like lists The Ultimate Grocery Shopping List is a free pdf that’s a great resource.
• The freezer is your friend: if you think your fruit or bread may go bad before you eat it, throw it in the freezer to use later. I just learned bread only takes 1 hour to thaw. Frozen fruit is great to use in smoothies or to eat as a snack. I cut up and freeze bananas all the time to throw in cereal or smoothies. I’ve never been a fan of freezing leftover food, because I usually forget about it. But if making extra food and freezing for later works for you it’s a good money saver.
• Choose the right frozen entrees: ready-made entrees can be an easy option but be sure to choose wisely so you’re not eating junk food disguised as health food. WebMD has some good frozen entree choices. An advantage I have found of frozen meals is usually they cost the same whether you buy 1 or 4, so I can try a new kind without being stuck with multiples in the event I don’t like it. These are easy take to work lunches for me (although not necessarily the most economic).
• Search high and low: the most expensive, brand-name items are typically located at eye level to make them more available to shoppers. To find the best bargains you’ll have to literally search high and low.
• Buy generic: Generic and store-brand products are often processed at the same plants as name brand products, but they are much cheaper because they aren’t advertised. A significant portion of the price you pay for a name brand product is to cover the high cost of advertising it in the various media.
• Think about your eating habits at work: avoid vending machines and bring your own snacks/drinks to work. You pay significantly less for the candy bars and drinks you buy at the grocery store than from a vending machine.
• Coupons: there are numerous sources for coupons if you’re the coupon collecting type. Here is an unbelievable story about a woman who uses coupons to spend $10 dollars a week on groceries for a family of 4!

Additional Resources:
Getting out of Debt: Ways to Save Money on Food
Saving at the Supermarket: 15 Great Grocery Shopping Tips
The Top 10 Grocery Coupon Websites for Cheapskates

Do you have any grocery store suggestions to share?