Clean off that shelf!

Filling shelves is usually my game, but today I actually cleaned one off! My jewelry had been getting a little out of control and has not only taken over the top of my dresser, but was hanging from every handle and hook I could find. A free standing jewelry box was really what I needed, but definitely not in the budget right at this moment. So I went and found the next best thing.

This hanging jewelry organizer cost a fraction of the price of a large, free standing jewelry box. And sorting through my mess of a jewelry box turned up some interesting finds!

I have done a little research and found the best selection of jewelry organizers can be found at Charming Charlie. They have several different color schemes and sizes to choose from. If you aren't familiar with Charming Charlie stores, you might want to check it out when you have a little time to spare. They separate their jewelry and accessories by color and offer great selection and prices! I am supposed to be cleaning off this shelf, but it's so hard not to add to it!

Great way to fill your book shelf!

Maybe I am the last person to discover Goodreads, but in case you have been living under a rock like myself, you will want to continue reading and then click the Goodreads link! Think Netflix meets Barnes and Noble! You can rate books that you have already read, and then see suggestions of books tailored to your interests! What a great way to find new books and keep track of all the books you have read! I am thinking this might be a fun thing for my students to do! I think I just spent 45 minutes rating books! Geesh!

A great read for your shelf

Although this book is no longer present on my bed side table, it has made a permanent place for itself prominently displayed on my living room book shelf. I must admit, I picked up Room, by Emma Donoghue, solely based on its cover.  I broke the cardinal rule of English teachers: Don't judge a book by its cover. Well, I did, and this time it paid off.

Room is Jack's home. It is all he knows. He was born in Room, and he and his mother spend every minute of their lives in Room. But Jack's mother refuses to live in captivity and has a plan to get herself and Jack out of the prison they have been forced to live in.

What makes this story so unique is that Donoghue tells this amazing tale of survival through the eyes of five-year-old Jack. We see Room not as a prison but as the only home he has known. We understand the connection that Jack has to Room and its contents, and what leaving it really means.


 Make a little room for Room by Emma Donoghue on your shelf!

Welcome!

A shelf. The possibilities of what it can hold are endless. Books, nicknacks, recipes, art, pictures, you name it. I love filling shelves and my home with all of these things. I am a teacher by day and a shelf filler by night. Well, I wish I could say that was true. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that we are teachers pretty much all of the time, and what little time we have left we fill with our families. My family only consists of a husband right now, so I am going to take advantage of the free time I have to share my shelf-filling addiction with all of you.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to purchase our first home about 5 months ago. We went from a small apartment that I refused to fill with much of anything because of the large number of stairs it required just to make it to the front door, to an 1,800 square foot home. The living room was the first room that I decided to make over. Fresh paint, new carpet, and a new couch, coffee table and end tables. 

You are probably wondering when I am going to get to filling shelves. Well, here goes. I have been on the hunt for wire baskets that I could put on the lower shelf of my coffee table. I figured my best bet was to keep my eyes open at antique shops or I would end up paying a small fortune for them at a decorating store. But I hit the jackpot:

I scored two of these baskets at TJ MAXX for only $7.99 each! They are absolutely perfect! I would recommend filling them with magazines, toys, or what ever else you have laying around that you need to get off your shelf!