Five Things Friday!

Hello everyone!
I'm back with another round of {Five Things Friday}.  This week has been crazy busy as I picked up some extra shifts at the hospital.  Looking forward to a weekend off on the lake and some relaxation. 

{One}  {Two}  {Three}  {Four} {Five}

{One} Lalicious Sugar Kiss Sugar Scrub.  This is the BEST scrub that I have ever used and I've tried quite a few.  I have really bad dry, sensitive skin and this stuff works wonders.  It is a bit pricy but it's totally worth it.  The Sugar Kiss scent is really mild and pleasant and it leaves your skin moisturized and soft.  You can also use this stuff to shave your legs, moisturizing as you go! I love this scent and brand so much that I also have the Sugar Kiss body spray, body butter, lip butter and hand cream.  Lalicious has many other scents and they are all worth a try!  

{Two} The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.  This book is another great summer read.  It's about a socially awkward genetics professor and a quirky, intelligent woman searching for her father.  It's a great romantic comedy and the sequel is coming out in September.  Pick up your copy and read it in time to see what happens next!

{Three} Martha Stewart Avery Removable Color Teardrop Stickers.  If I had to pick one {Erin Condren Life Planner} accessory that I could not live without, these babies would be it.  I love that they are small enough to fit anywhere I need them in my planner and they add just the right pop of color.  I've stocked up on these bad boys because I heard that they are being discontinued.  Good luck finding them while you can, they're totally worth it!

{Four} Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams.  This week one of the greatest actors of our generation committed suicide and it is truly a tragedy.  It has recently come out that Williams was suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's Disease.  This week I took the time to watch one of my favorite Robin Williams movies to pay my own personal tribute to one of my favorite comedians.  I'm a Respiratory Therapist and a lot of the lessons Williams' character, Patch, discusses in the movie really resonate with me.  I love working with my patients and sometimes if swimming in a pool of noodles will make you patient feel better, it's what you've got to do for them!

{Five} Too Faced La Crème Lipstick in "Marshmallow Bunny".  I'm not an everyday makeup kinda girl but every now and then I do enjoy getting done up! My favorite makeup brand would have to be {Too Faced}.  I find that their products last and are great quality.  My skin is sensitive and I never have any problems with their product.  This lipstick has great color pigment and is a subtle pink shade without being too over the top. 

Weekly Erin Condren Life Planner Spread

Another week is passing in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  This week I must admit, I was super tired after working several night shifts which were very busy.  My planner suffered because of it.  It sat in my purse for most of the week while I worked and slept.  I didn't do a meal plan or get anything significant checked off my revolving To-Do list.  Here's hoping for some better utilization next week as I'm off this weekend and plan to set my week up over a nice cup of tea and a movie!

Planner Storage Solution!

Storing my stickers, extra washi and other planner accessories has been somewhat of a challenge.  I've been accumulating quite the collection and wanted to find a way to keep everything organized and together. Often times, when doing my weekly planning prep I bring all my supplies from my office into the living room and watch TV while setting my week up.  I wanted something that would store all my supplies, but also be super easy to transport since I knew I would be going from room to room with it.  I finally found the perfect solution the other day while I was at Michael's.  I got this double layer plastic storage bin on sale for $12.99, originally $29.99.  What I love about this storage bin is that the top layer is big enough for scrapbook paper, punches and for holding my mini file folders that hold all my stickers.  The bottle layer comfortably holds the extra washi that I don't currently store on my desk in my washi holder.  It also holds some post-it notes, colorful paperclips, washi swap samples and my coil clips. 

The storage container that I purchased is made by{Recollections}however, it does not seem to be listed online.  Here is a storage solution that is similar to the one I am currently using.   

This is what the container looks like when it is all sealed up. 

 

The top layer is removable and is shown on the right.  The bottom layer, shown on the left, has removable dividers so that you can section off any sized compartment that you want. 

 

 

This is the top section were I keep my extra stickers, perpetual planner {which I'm not currently using} and my Project Life cards.  I keep most of my extra stickers in small accordion file folders that are about 2 inches thick.  These are an awesome way to keep everything together and neat. 

 

The bottom layer is where I'm storing my extra washi and other random planner related accessories.  I'm not using the dividers to keep my washi secure so they're just kept at the back until I need to fill that space with other items. 

 

This was a great purchase for my planner items.  I can grab it and my Orla Kiely case and have everything I need for my weekly planning sessions. 

Five Things Friday!

I'm back for another round of {Five Things Friday}! These are the things I'm loving this week. 

 

{One}  {Two}  {Three} {Four}  {Five}

One: Lemon and Thyme Chicken.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and traced it back to "For The Love of Cooking."  It was a recipe that was adapted from Barefoot Contessa and is a perfect, easy way to prepare chicken.  It only takes a few minutes to prepare and goes great with salad, rice or new potatoes.  Find the recipe at the link above. 

Two: Garth Brooks.  Really... what more can I say about him.  I'm not a huge country fan but my dad played a lot of country for me when I was younger. Garth Brooks is one artist that stuck out.  I know all the words to almost every song and now that he's announcing tour dates again, I've been stalking his website daily.  He's an amazing performer and I will be happy to drag my husband along to go see him in concert. 

Three: Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.  These are my favorite pens for using in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  There are lots of color choices and they don't bleed through the pages. They are a bit pricy but I was able to find a  12 pack at Costco for under $8.00.  I am hoping to find this amazing 20 pack somewhere local to add to my color options.  For now I'll have to drool over them online. 

Four: HGTV Magazine.  This is my all-time favorite magazine.  I wish that my house looked like the ones in these pages.  This magazine is a great lifestyle/organization/home décor magazine that's colorful pages is totally worth a subscription. 

Five: Birkenstocks.  These are my go-to sandals that are rarely seen off my feet.  I begged my mom for a pair when I was a teenager and have been wearing them ever since.  I have a couple of different styles but these are what I'd consider the classic Birkenstock.  I always get my money worth with these!

Weekly Erin Condren Life Planner Spread

Hello everyone!

I thought I'd share with you what my week is looking like so far in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  I like to keep my decoration pretty simple and really try to use my planner for functional purposes.  More on that in another blog post! you can follow me on Instagram to see more of my spreads and how I use my planner.  

 

I've been a student for the past 7 years so I've spent a lot of time reading textbooks and journal articles.  I'm trying to make up for lost time by watching some movies I've missed over the years.  Although, I have to keep a list or I forget what I want to watch.  I've been moving the list from week-to-week in my planner and checking off as I go. 

 

Stay tuned for a complete breakdown of how I use my {weekly spread} next week on the blog!  I'll be chatting about everything from how I plan meals, track my shifts at the hospital, and how I create to-do lists to stay organized. 

Washi Stickers and Squares

I love to highlight events in my {Erin Condren Life Planner} and was using washi squares and shapes to add color and make certain events *POP*. 

I had been buying the shapes and squares off of Etsy but while I was on vacation I found some 6X6 adhesive washi squares by We R Memory Keepers (Find them here! )This meant that I could use a punch and cutter and make my own!

I didn't think to look for punches while I was away and am regretting that now.  The only punch that I can find locally is a one-inch scalloped circle.  This means that I'm scouring the internet trying to find the coveted flag and bracket punches. 

The punch that I did end up buying is by Martha Stewart.  I found it at my local Michaels for $16.99. 
 

You can see the scalloped circle punch in the above picture and find a link to it here. 

 

All I did to make the washi scalloped circles was use my punch on the adhesive washi sheets.  I ended up punching out an entire pad of the We R Memory Keepers Adhesive Washi in the process.  I had purchased two different designs in the adhesive washi while I was on vacation and felt that the bold colors and less patterned washi was the best choice to punch as I plan on writing on the circles. While punching, I made sure to keep my circles as close together as possible so that I could make sure I got as many circles as possible.  In the end I ended up with very little waste.   

 

Some of the finished product!

 

Making the washi squares was a bit more work.  To do this, I again used a We R Memory Keepers Adhesive Washi pad.  I also grabbed a pair of scissors, a pencil, a permanent marker, a ruler and my paper cutter.  The paper cutter that I have was purchased at Winners for $9.99.  It is the first one I have purchased and bought it just for this project.  I wanted to make sure that I liked using a paper cutter before I went out and bought myself a really nice one.  I must say, this particular paper cutter did the trick nicely!  You can find paper cutters at your local craft store, such as Michael's, or here and here. 

Once I had all the supplies I needed, I put on a movie, sat down and got to work.  I began by measuring the weekly squares in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  I jotted down my measurements and also made indications on my ruler of the height and width of the boxes with a permanent marker.  This ruler was a spare from back in my high-school days so I wasn't too attached to it and didn't worry about ruining it. 

The paper cutter that I purchased had black lines and black ruler markings making it very hard to use it to measure and cut anything without pre-marking it.  If I had of had a different paper cutter I would simply have used the attached ruler to cut the washi paper into the desired sizes without having to do an extra step. Because I didn't trust my eyes and that ruler together I decided it was safer to take the long way and mark every sheet of washi individually.  This was a bit time consuming, but I wanted to make sure that I got my measurements correct and that I didn't waste a pad of washi that I spend a good chunk of my vacation hunting craft stores for. 

I used my ruler to mark out a height and width grid on each piece of washi.  It looked a little something like this:

Each 6x6 washi sheet gave me 12 washi squares.  It also gave me 4 smaller washi rectangles that will also be put to good use in my planner!

 

Next, I used my paper cutter to easily cut along the lines on my washi sheet.  This part of the process went very quickly since I had already measured everything out.  I was even able to stack multiple pieces together and cut them together to reduce my time even more. I kept my scissors on hand for those times when my paper cutter missed a piece.   

 

 

 

In the end, I ended up with 24 washi squares in each color and 8 of the smaller rectangles in each color as well. 

 

I just finished this project so they're not shown in my current weekly spread but I did stick some on my birthday as I knew I'd want to highlight that in my planner.

 

 

I typically use washi tape to cover the morning/day/night sections of the weekly spread.  It'll be nice to have more color to play with in my planner as I tend to keep it relatively simple and functional.  Do you use washi squares or punched shapes in your planner?  I'd love to see how you use it.  You can follow me on Instagram to see how I'm using my new washi!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Things Friday

Here is another round of {Five Things Friday}.  Here's what I'm loving this week:

Two   Three   Four      

One: Washi! I've been using more washi than normal this week and am loving the way it looks in my planner! Keep your eyes on my Instagram to see how I'm using it and all the new designs I've gotten recently.  (@wheelhouseblog)

Two: {The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard}.  Since I finished Respiratory Therapy school two months ago I have had so much more spare time and have been enjoying reading anything but textbooks!  This is another great summer read.  It's about a murder in a small town and how its ripples affect several generations.  Great read and a good twist. 

Three: I am LOVING these mason jar stickers by mambiSTICKS.  I plan on using them to track my weight loss.  Look for a blog post soon!

Four: Pico de Gallo! This stuff is addicting.  There is a woman at our local farmer's market that makes it and when she see's me walk up she pulls out three containers without even asking what I want.  It's a bit ridiculous.  Because I work shift work and the market is only on weekends, I started making my own for those times I can't get to the market.  It's really easy to make and is delicious with corn chips! Click on the link above for the recipe I use.

Five: {Starbucks Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino}.  I know I mentioned the words "weight loss" but for those hot days when I'm dying for something cold and coffee this is my current go-to.  I love coffee in all forms and am a sucker for Starbucks.  This Frappuccino is delicious and tastes exactly like caramel.