closet makeover

The River closet is small.

One of the hard requirements of moving in was making the closet work harder. This is what we came up with.

1. Raise the existing rods & shelves to make room for a shoe shelf on the back wall

2. Add a small drawer unit and build hanging rods & shelves on top for each side.

And here's how it turned out.

Now, we can take our suitcases (full of clothes) out of the middle of the kitchen where they've casually been for a week.

The kitchen really is too big but that's a story for another day.

where are the clothes

I need to bitch.

I have been trying to update my wardrobe for months.

Here's what I'm finding in the stores, in no particular order:

1. Polyester and spandex. Where is the natural material?

2. Tops missing the bottom half. I can't tell you how many "cute" tops I've pulled off the rack to find the bottom half missing. I would like to buy the bottom half, please.

3. $20 tshirts. Yo, they should be 5 bucks a pop.

4. High rise pants. WHEN are the low rise pants coming back? I hate the feeling of pants fabric on my belly. Plus when I find pants that fit my teeny butt, they're too tight on the belly. My ratio does not do high rise.

5. Black. Grey. White. Brown. Where are the colors?

6. Anything with color has a granny boat neck 3/4 sleeve boxy fit. What. 

I'm not sure where else to look. I don't want to spend $80 on a blouse made of a natural, colorful material that reaches my hips. And I guess I'll be wearing my current selection of black pants until they fall apart. 

Things I'm loving

Haven't done one of these in a while.

Things I'm loving, in no particular order:

1. A water flosser. My life is changed. Over the past year I've noticed some gum irritation in certain spots, that's directly related to aggressive flossing due to stubborn stuck stuff. I noticed Ashley using one at Suzy's bachelorette weekend, and I got one. It is a game changer. I will never go back. I'm glad I bought a travel version because this bad boy is going everywhere with me.

2. DASH Mini waffle maker. And popcorn maker. (do NOT buy the Turbo one, it shoots popcorn kernels all over the place.) And mini griddle. I originally bought the mini griddle for travel, but I have started making little sandwich thins with it, and I use the waffle maker and popcorn maker weekly. I'm trying not to eat so many chips, so I make popcorn in big batches and store it in the freezer in sandwich bags. Works really great.

3. motion sickness glasses. They're weird but they WORK. At least in the car. I'm excited to try them on a boat.

4. Slippery elm powder. I mix a pinch into my coffee a few times a week and it has helped alleviate the tummy irritation associated with... coffee. Since there is no good coffee substitute. I've heard it described as, "Nature's Pepto Bismol." It's supposed to be good for sore throats and coughs as well. Sometimes I mix into my wine at night. Use sparingly, though, or else you'll wind up constipated. 

5. It's a 10 (lite) leave in conditioner. My hair has gotten very thin in the last few years, so I'm trying to take better care of it, especially because I heat style it every day. The ends used to get so straggly so fast. I've been really good about getting regular trims lately, and putting this on my ends. Even the hairstylist commented on how soft my hair is. Expensive, but worth it.