Weekend Recap: Signs, Jars, and Passports!

We were busy little bees this weekend! We worked on the office, did a little crafting, ran some errands, cooked, went to church, met relatives for lunch, and caught up on reading. So much for relaxing, but that seems par for the course with us. At least we had fun!

So, where shall I start? How ‘bout the office.

Until this weekend, the office has been more of a “catch all room that we call an office but that no one except the cat can walk in” (i.e. not at all helpful as an office.) And, while my make-shift office that I’d set up in the den was working fine, we wanted to create a space that felt more official. 

We moved stuff to storage (or, at least to the “to storage” pile in the garage), moved furniture around, set up a new bookshelf (see below), re-connected the monitor and keyboard (still workin’ on the printer), and organized storage spaces. It feels much more like a working office now, and I love being able to sit in a desk chair, rather than on the couch.

In addition to the office, I worked on a few little craft projects I’ve been meaning to get to for a while.

First, our Porch Sign.

I don’t know if it’s that there are more “no soliciting” rules in Arkansas or that there are more solicitors in Oklahoma…but something is different. For a while, I was ignoring getting knocks on the door on a daily (yes, daily) basis. This was frustrating for several reasons:

•  I don’t like talking to strangers (and I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to. Right, Mom?)
• I don’t like saying no
• I have a really nervous puppy who’s pretty sure every knock-like noise she hears means someone wants to kill us.
• I have a really big cat who loves to sneak outside and run away, even if the door is only open an inch.
• I work from home and said puppy’s barks (as well as knocks and doorbells and occasional cat hunt) are an inconvenient interruption during calls/meetings

I needed the crazy to stop. So, rather than continue to disconnect the doorbell every morning and hide behind the bookcase when folks showed up, I decided to be a bit more proactive.

I made this sign for our porch using a pre-made plaque and chalkboard pens. I feel like it gets the point across without being too rude. Plus, it was ridiculously easy to make. 

Next, Memory Jars.

I used to be a scrapbooker, but then life got busy and things started piling up in folders/boxes/bags/bags in folders in boxes. Pretty soon I realized, “I will never have time to put all of this in a book,” and the Memory Jars were born. 

I label the jars (which I get for cheap at Walmart), then throughout the year as we do stuff and collect memories (ticket stubs, love notes, match books, trinkets), we toss ‘em in the jar. It allows us to hang on to those memories, but in a neat, organized, clutter-free way. 

Plus, it makes for a fun New Year’s Eve activity (going back through everything we’ve collected).  

In addition, if we have big events during the year that have lots of trinkets/keepsakes associated with them (eg the Honeymoon), I get smaller dedicated jars. It keeps with the overall aesthetic and theme, but also makes those bigger events feel more special.

This weekend I finally got around to making our 2014 jar and Disney-moon jar. We've jet to move stuff from their respective boxes to the jars, but that's next on the list. 

Finally, our Restaurant Passport.

We’re new to OKC, and we haven’t had a chance to do a TON of exploring, so we tend to frequent the same spots over and over – that goes double for restaurants. 

We almost always end up in a back and forth “So, where do you wanna go?” “I dunno. Where do YOU wanna go?” “I don’t care. You pick.” “No. YOU pick” conversation. So, to encourage ourselves to explore more (and bit a bit more spontaneous), I made us a Passport with all of the places we want to try or that have been recommended by friends. 

This way, when we decide to go out, we can flip open the book, pick one, and go. It gives purpose to that “ooh, let’s remember to try that place” list I’ve been keeping and simplifies our decision process.

   

Once we’ve tried a place, we stamp it. I’m not sure how we’ll celebrate when we’ve tried all of ‘em, but since there are over 60 in the book, I think I’ve got a little while to figure that one out.

Here’s how I did it:

I found some pretty, dark blue notebooks at Barnes & Noble, and I created the design on the front cover with a gold pen (to make it look like a passport.)

Inside, I created sections dedicated to different types of cuisine (to make choosing easier). I included American, Italian/Pizza, Asian, Mexican, Eclectic, Dives, Fancy, and Breakfast/Brunch. Then, I divided each page into two, front and back, and drew (to the best of my abilities) one restaurant’s logo in each square, filling up the book with names from our list.

We found a cute spoon & fork stamp at a craft store, so as we visit different spots, I’ll stamp the appropriate page. We’ve had a running list for a while, so (in the spirit of memory keeping) I included the ones from the list we’d already visited and went ahead and stamped ‘em.

I love the way it turned out! Can’t wait to put it to use! Plus, I now have plans to also make an Activity Passport...if we ever have a truly free weekend and need ideas. 

That’s it for today, friends. Happy Monday!