Monday, March 21, 2011

Tween girls closet ,bedroom, and bathroom organization

One of the most important lessons to teach children 
early in life is to be organized with their belongings.

Their bedrooms are the first place in their young lives where they get to practice this skill.
Repeat the organization lesson until 
they master it for themselves.
Sometimes it takes years, but it's well worth it.
It teaches them critical thinking skills in the process.

Closet organization:
Clothes are divided into categories:
Shirts by color and sleeve length 
are hung-even t-shirts, 
pants are divided into:  
jeans, leggings, and sweats
on the bottom shelf,
skirts and shorts
on the top shelf,
shoes are kept in a 
shoe organizer,
boots are lined up in a row,
sweaters are neatly folded 
at the top of the closet,
socks, underwear, and bras 
are in a drawer,
pajamas,
bathing suits and belts,
dresses,
and jewelry.

Having a young lady's closet organized does not mean 
that we have to spend a lot of money on closet shelving.

Dividing the closet with removable storage 
is budget friendly and easy to change around.

Pick out clothes the night before for an 
easier morning routine.


Desk area
The desk area is best kept clutter free for homework, computer time, and free time projects.
Desk drawers and cabinets.


Bathroom organization
Keep shower clutter at bay by only buying 
shampoo and conditioner when she runs out.
Toothpaste

Hair tools


makeup


At this age, girls love products-hair, makeup, creams and lotions. It is very easy to overload. 

Keeping things simple and diverting attention to other things to keep them busy teaches them 
a lifetime of good minimalist 
and clutter free habits. 

When the clutter bugs get to us, the most important thing to remember is to get back in to balance 
and clear the stuff out of our rooms and bathrooms. 

Pass it to a friend or throw it away.

Product overload is also very unhealthy. 
All those chemicals on our bodies 
compromise our immune systems.

Having a beautiful bedroom has nothing to do with how much stuff she has or the size of the room, and has everything to do with how organized it is and how easily she can find her stuff to have fun.

Share this blog post with the tween in your life...

Saturday, March 19, 2011

You know how restaurants make bacon perfectly crispy? Here's how...

Take a sheet of parchment paper and line a flat baking pan with it.

Do not mistake wax paper for parchment paper. It will make a mess in the oven.
I had a guest who came over for lunch and she wanted to make bacon the same way at her house and used wax paper thinking it was the same thing as parchment paper. It isn't...

Lay the bacon pieces on it.

Bake the bacon at 400 degrees in the oven until crispy;
about 20 minutes.
Use the bacon for breakfast, on club sandwiches, BLT's, or cut up in salads or soups.
Cooked bacon stays good in the refrigerator  in a plastic bag for 3-4 days.



Thursday, March 10, 2011

Beauty tools/bathroom organization

Like the closet, beauty tools 
are best when set up within a system.
Whether you live in a small loft in a big city or 
a home in the middle of the country, 
organizing your beauty tools 
makes getting dolled up in the morning 
a much easier task.

For an easy 'everyday' face,
watch the YouTube video:

The '5 minute everyday face'
clean face, foundation, mascara, blush, and lip gloss.

It's a dreamy way to look absolutely lovely...
Just enough makeup to look natural and your very best...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLFWF-EGM9A

Start with getting rid of all the old makeup 
and tools like brushes, and creams.

If you have too many beauty tools, 
give some away to friends and family.

If you bought it and are not sure if you really like it,
wear it one time...experiment with it, 
and if you love it, keep it.

But if you don't, then give it away.
Someone's 'maybe' may be someone else's treasure.

Having too much of a good thing, makes everything cluttered.




Once that's done, organize everything 
in bins or drawers by category:
Makeup-eyes and face

Makeup-lips

Creams and serums


Nails-polish

Nails-manicure/pedicure tools

Hair-tools like curlers, flat irons, 
blow dryer, and brushes/combs


Hair-accessories like 
hair bands and clips

Spa tools like body scrub brushes, 
hair scissors, cotton balls, hot wax, etc.

Last, only buy what you use right now...even if it's on sale. 
Makeup, lotions, and perfume are time sensitive.

Coming soon:
hair styles and makeup tricks 
for fresh spring looks...

What's for dinner? Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and buttered broccoli


The chicken is breaded with Panko bread crumbs. 
They are Japanese bread crumbs and offer up a nice crunch.
You may find it in the Asian food isle at the local grocery store


Chicken recipe:

2 pounds boneless skinless
chicken breasts,cut in pieces.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

In a small bowl combine spices and olive oil
Mix well.

Defrost chicken breasts and 
cut them in 3-5 pieces from each breast

Tenderize chicken with a meat tenderizing hammer
Cover the chicken with a plastic bag 
when tenderizing so it does not splatter.

Put chicken in a bowl. 
Pour seasoning mixture and coat well.

In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs

In a third bowl, put 1 cup flour and 
2 cups Japanese bread crumbs


In a large frying pan, heat up 1/4 cup olive oil.
Test the oil and see if it's hot enough.

Dip each piece of tenderized seasoned chicken in the egg mixture first and then in the crumb mixture second.

Pat the chicken in the crumb mixture
to make the coating stick.

Repeat with all the pieces.


Fry chicken until golden brown on both sides 
on medium heat.
Place on paper towel covered plate until ready to serve.


For the mashed potatoes recipe,
watch the YouTube video:


For the broccoli:

Boil 2 cups water
Add broccoli florets
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the boiling water
Boil until tender-about 8 minutes
Drain broccoli in a colander
Put it back in the pot and add 2 tablespoons butter

With this simple addition of butter and salt to broccoli, the kids and 
the grown up 'kids' may actually eat it...


You can also serve the fried chicken 
with a side of Caprese salad.

For the Caprese salad recipe,
check out the video on YouTube: 



Ciao, Bella!