Kids Room... *sigh*

So we finally went to purchase the kids new closet last Saturday. We opted for this one at IKEA. It was definately not the cheapest but the only one we could actually picture being in their room AND be solid enough. The last closet they had was big and cost next to nothing back in 2007. The first drawers broke in the beginning of 2008 and by the end of that year, Karim's been fixing it over and over. By March of this year, it's been falling apart little by little and even Karim could no longer fix it. The new closet is MUCH smaller and I purchased some more containers to put under the beds. This is where I can stuff blankets and snuggies, stuff we actually only need during the colder months of the year. Just in case we still have too much stuff, I guess this is the perfect occasion to get rid of some more.
We also need some progress concerning toy organization because the old system does not really work any longer. My daughter basically pulls out eveything, which is frustrating for the boys who, finally, do put the toys into the right boxes when asked. Her pulling everything out again immediately is not very rewarding, right? I plan to purchase one or even two of these and use the shelf we had the toys on as bookshelf. I will probably paint white before. I really hope that we are getting it done soon!

The story of Us

Today, I want to take a little time to tell you how my husband and I met. I was 21 and in June, our French class took a trip to Paris (mind me reminding you I live in Luxembourg and Paris is only about 3 hours away!). I still had to buy a few small souvenirs, so I entered a shop just a few steps away from the Moulin Rouge and snagged a few shirts I had not seen anywhere else during the trip. While I paid I felt someone was watching me and spotted a guy sitting close to the cashier. Sparkling eyes, braided hair. He was watching me and I felt weird. In fact, I don't like the feeling of being observed. When I came outside, my friends were asking me what happened inside, because apparently, my face was as red as a tomato usually is... Fast forward to December of the same year. I was still 21 and at the hairdressers. I know, this was definately NOT where I would expected to meet the man of my life. He knew the owner of the hairsaloon and just came to say hello. I sat there, I saw him entering and I just knew it. I knew it was HIM right from the first moment. Before, I never believed you could just know it and now that this really happened to me, I was scared. In main time, I tried to stay calm, telling myself that I must be wrong. He sat down just next to me and talked to me. I just recall him asking about my name, and being blown away by his eyes. They were sparkling like stars. I can't recall anything else of the conversation. Seriously... Until at once, his phone rang and he just said:"I am sorry, I won't be there. Sorry you were waiting for me, but I just can't. I feel I have to stay where I am right now." When my hair was done, and I was about to go home, I know nothing but his name but I knew that I HAD to do something. People who know me know I am pretty shy, and I would never EVER just DO something to meet a man again (makes me feel trashy...). However, this time, everything was different. I wrote down my number on a small piece of paper and when I turned around he was just gone. Of course I wouldn't have given my number to him in front of everyone. I was just hoping he would follow me... BUT... I guess I was wrong then. A little relieved, but still a little dissapointed, I went outside and there he was. Handing me a pen and a piece of paper, asking if he could get my number because he wanted to see me again. So... yay. no need to feel trashy because I did not need to give the piece of paper I had originally written.
A few days and phonecalls later, we saw each other again, and everything went pretty fast from there on. However, it was not until he went to get to know my mom that I experienced a... surprise... Mom just hung the laundry when we arrived. There were a few shirts from Paris being hung there was well. We went inside, and my mom was getting drinks when he said:"I knew you looked familiar." Me: "What do you mean?" Him:"You are the red faced girl buying shirts at my friends shop in Paris, not far away from the Moulin Rouge." Indeet, I could not deny that I had bought shirts in a shop close to the Moulin Rouge... "I was checking you out behind the counter. You were so embarrassed you almost forgot your change. I had braids back then. Remember?" Oh yeah, I did... LOL. Nowdays, I wonder how I did not feel the connection in Paris but felt it at the hair saloon.
The problem we faced once our relationship was getting very serious was faith. Karim is Muslim, and I am Catholic. Before I could never imagine being with anyone besides a Catholic man. It took us a lot of time to adjust, and it is STILL going on now, 9 years later. Sometimes it makes me sad that the kids are muslim, too. However, he has never put any pressure on me to become muslim, or even suggested it. He accepts my faith, me going to church, the way I pray. I, in return, accept his faith, that he and the kids eat no porc meat (me neither, out of respect!). I cannot say that this is what I imagined, but I am confident that Gods plan for me was better than the one I had for myself.

Project 'Burkina Faso'

Yes, that's the country my husband is from. And honestly, altho I visited Burkina and we got married there, I feel horrible to say I never attempted to learn anything about their culture, let alone cook something specifically from Burkina Faso. I tried African in general tho.
So next week, I am trying to cook only dishes from Burkina Faso.
I'll come back to this post once I found a link to a recipe.. So consider this my Menu Planning Monday post.. On Friday.

Monday:
Dinner: Munyu Caf Couscous

Tuesday:
Dinner: Maan Nezim Nzedo (Fish Stew with Vegetables)

Wednesday:
Dinner: Riz gras au Poulet

Thursday:
Dinner: Sauce aux Gombos with Tô

Friday:
Dinner:

Saturday:
Dinner: Couscous Burkinabé

Sunday:
Dinner:



Other:
Mango Chutney
Beignets d'haricots

Kitchen.. and news on the kids room... sort of

So, I mentionned that I have to do something in the kids room this week. I started yesterday. Rearranging and sorting out a few toys. I am kind of excited because the plan is to get the new closet for the kids next Saturday. We went to IKEA last Saturday to check and see what we like and gave ourselves a few days to think about it. The closet we're going to get is MUCH smaller, so we will see how it goes.

I've also done a little something in the kitchen. Not today, not yesterday, but a few days ago.

Here it goes... It looked like this...

And now, it looks like this.

:)

Menu Plan Monday

Sooo, last week I did not completely stick to my menu. Basically because I didn't get the tilapia I was looking for. I rotated and switched, added leftovers where I could and it worked out anyways:)

So let's see...
Tuesday
Lunch: Soup with Pancakes
Dinner: Spaghetti with Shrimp Sauce

Wednesday
Lunch: Omelette
Dinner: Amish Husbands Delight (since I did not make it last week)

Thursday
Lunch: Tuna Sandwiches
Dinner: Stuffed Peppers on a bed of rice

Friday
Lunch: Old School Potato Soup
Dinner: Crock Pot Beef Stew

Saturday
Lunch: Simple Arroz con Pollo
Dinner: Couscous with Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sunday
Lunch: Easy Shepherd's Pie with Garlic Romano Potatoes
Dinner: Mixed salad with garlic bread

Monday
Lunch: Tropical Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette
Dinner: Sicilian Meat Roll with potatoes

Found inspiration??

Organizing my own closet

"52 weeks of organizing" challenge at "I am an Organizing Junkie" here I come again...



I've been procastinating to organize my own closet for quite a while now. But let's face it... Now with the winterclothes definately being out of season, I could do it while sorting them out, right? RIGHT! It was not what I planned to do when I got up this morning, nope, it was a coincidence because I was at my chinese store again and saw a few small and not too expensive tools which I hoped would help to get my mess into a more acceptable shape...
So this is the BEFORE picture

What you can't see in the picture is the small plastic containers containing sunglasses, scarves, belts...

I also had two drawers just close to the bed, in which I kept my socks and underwear.

First of all I took out everything that did not belong there and put it into it's place. Then I kept going through everything single piece of clothing, and tossed everything which was for one or another reason in an inacceptable shape.
I sorted out the winter clothes, putting everything I had kept from the winter before but not worn last winter into a big plastic bag to give away.

I put my little tools together. 3 small drawers and a closet organizer... When I was done, I put the remaining socks into one small drawer, the underwear into another one, and all the belts, sunglasses etc into the third one. I put them on one of the shelfs in my closet, and put the handbags I decided to keep just next. I neatly folded the jeans and shirts as well as my PJ's, put them into the 'closet organizer'.
And, what did I see? There was one ENTIRE shelf completely empty!!! I took my chance, and put the bath towels there, knowing they won't remain there forever. We'll be getting a new closet for the kids soon which means my daughter's will become the new closet to keep these kind of things. Oh, and due to the weird weather, I didn't dare to put the box with my winter clothes I'll keep, too dar away. So it is still sitting there, on the bottom where it is easy for me to reach.
Time for the AFTER picture :)

Well, that's better, isn't it? :)

So, Laura from "I am an Organizing Junkie" asked in this weeks "52 weeks of organizing" post:

Do you rotate your seasonal clothing? If so, have you done it yet?
I usually do not rotate seasonal clothing, not mine anyways. Doing it now made me realize that this helps me keep the clutter in my closet to a certain minimum.

Are you celebrating your accomplishments as you go? It’s so important no matter how big or small the task is you complete!
Well, the high I get from it is celebration and motivation to me. But I admit it: For every week I keep going, I get myself some good ice cream from the supergood gelateria at the end of my street :)

What’s on your list for this next week?
This is hard to tell. There are quite a few things I have to tackle. It also depends on the tools I find, or inspirations I have. Looking around it *might* be the kids toys.

Our linen closet

If I had to chose one single closet in our home that was causing me a headache, that was definately the linen closet. WAS. Yesterday, I just dragged out about everything.
To give you an idea of what it looked like BEFORE, there you go.

I took out the big red overlay (which I absolutely had to get, along with the matching pillowscases and curtains, but just used once since), and this is what I saw.

No, we do not have a lot of bedsheets here. I tend to wash them as soon as I changed them, so we do not really need a lot of them.

A while ago, I bought a lot of boxes of different shapes. 3 of them were pretty flat, but large.

They were perfect to put the sheets in.

And there came the big challenge... Would the overlay fit in there?

The answer is no. So I tried with a dfferent box to put actually under the bed, and it still didn't fit. I did not really want to go back to just stuffing it in there with the rest. I needed something... big... The answer was right by my feet. The big laundry basket my husband got for the master bedroom. I haven't really used it because if I am good at something, then that is with keeping up with my laundry! One single basket is enough for us! And there you go... :D

I used small greet boxes to put in those extra pillowcases I might get rid of because they are not really matching any covers we have.
The final result:

Better, no?
I love it! :) Makes everything so much esier. Basically, I just drag out a box and have everything matching in there. :))