If you’re anything like me, you’re what I call an “internet stalker”. You can’t get enough of the inspiration, articles, and how-to’s that it offers. The only problem arrives when you want to organize all that information.

That’s where clipix comes in! It’s a free online organizational tool that allows you to “clip” what you find on the internet. There are obviously many ways to organize what you find on the internet, and I like that this gives me one more option to do that. I’m an options girl, if you will. 

This YouTube video is a quick way to see all that Clipix can do. 

I couldn’t wait to get started and began clippping some favorites right away. It has a useful “Clip” button you can drag to your toolbar, so it’s incredibly easy to do!

Yeah…I’m kind of hoping my husband will see this and get some ideas. We’ll see. 

I love that it has privacy and share options so that you don’t have to expose it to anyone and everyone. If it’s something I just want my family to see, can limit those who view it. I’m an options girl, remember?

Of course, what you use it for can include some of the following:

• movies you want to see
• books you want to read
• places you want to travel
• party ideas
• fashion ideas

So perhaps clipix is for you. Perhaps you’d like to try something new in order to organize your internet obsession? I certainly had fun trying it out, and I’ll bet you will too! Good luck!

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The #1 reason I dragged my feet about switching over to WordPress is because I had played around with their set up, and I hated writing a post in it. It was NOT user friendly, and it wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to do easily. Enter: Windows Live Writer.

LW is an extremely user-friendly free program that you can install on your computer in order to post to your blog. While you may have already heard of it, some of you aren’t sure about what it offers and how easy it is to use. I thought I’d show you.

In the screen shots below, I tried to show some basics that it can do. You may notice that it integrates my blog design as the background so I can get a better visual when typing up my posts. All the basics are there, and it’s simple to add media such as pictures, videos, tables, etc.

It’s simple to refer to recent posts or drafts in the right margin. The screen will look like this when you are not clicked on your picture.

Once you click on your picture, it will allow you to play around with it. The “advanced” tab allows you to crop, edit, resize, etc. I don’t use this since I do any editing in Picasa, but it’s nice to have available if you want to do something to your photo.

One of my favorite aspects is how easy it is to hyperlink to a site. I demonstrated how to hyperlink on  a picture below, but it’s just as easy with text. You highlight the text, right click on it, and the same dialogue box will pop up for you!

I read someone’s article the other day on how to watermark pictures, and it was exhausting! LW makes it so easy! It’s as easy as one click. There are tons of options for font, size, and placement—my favorite part.

Once you start to accumulate posts, LW allows you to build a library of sorts. You can add categories and click on which ones apply each time you write a new post. You can also add tags for each at the bottom as well.

In the bottom left of your screen, you’ll see a “source” tab. This is for all of you HTML wizards. This hardly EVER gets used by me because my small brain just can’t handle it. However, the option is there if you need it!

Once you think your post is ready to go, you can click on “preview”. It’ll show a mock-up of what the post will look like on your actual home page. Seriously? Brilliant.

And finally, you can schedule your posts to publish at any time. I’m not much of a scheduler, but it sure comes in handy if I need it.

I know I have barely touched the surface of all that LW can do, but these are the basics that I think you’ll love! I can’t recommend it enough—especially if you’re frustrated with the program you’re using now. My advice is to just play around with it. It offers tons of plug-in options that will allow you to post to Twitter, Facebook, etc. and it’s fun to see all the features it offers.

More questions? Just let me know if there’s something I didn’t address. Otherwise, have fun exploring it on your own!

Before I show you what you’re about to see, let’s just imagine that my linen/guestroom closet will soon look like this. Let’s also imagine that I have some clue what I’m doing, and this’ll only take a couple of days to finish.

I knew this closet was going to be a project of mine, but it’s been off to a slow start. Remember those goals? I started just piling things in there with total disregard for neatness.

Then my husband caught “Death 2012” as we call it, and I banished him to the guestroom. That meant I had to stay out of there until the death was gone.

The shelving unit put in place originally just didn’t function well. It’s always been intended as a guestroom, and the fact that it only had a few shelves has always been a nuisance. I found that putting this cheap dresser in there helped for the time being.

I also find that having a spoon in your closet works out well. You never know when you’ll need for…ya know…reading some Poe.

So I spent a couple of hours gutting it, removing the dresser (SO glad that’s not on video), and removing all the wire shelving. I came up with two bags of trash and three bags of donations. (I did not donate the spoon.)

So here’s where it is as of now. The project came to a halt because I couldn’t remove these little plastic thing-a-ma-jigs that were holding the shelving. They are STUCK in the wall, but they’re not screwed in. I should have taken a closer picture to explain. Anyone come across these before?

I’ll be back once I figure those things out. I drew a sketch of what I envision in this space, and you will quickly learn that I have no artistic abilities whatsoever.

I’m an idiot. I did something to my blog last night, and I’ve been receiving tons of messages from you (thank you!) that you can’t find specific posts anymore.

I promise I’m doing my best to find someone to fix it fix it, and I’ll let you know as soon as we’re back up and running! Thank you for your patience!

I’ve been working on revamping our living room for a couple of months now. As of yesterday, I have no coffee table, armoire, or end table. Uh yeah…it’s a little barren in here. I guess that means I need to start shopping for some new accent furniture.

Here are some of the options that I’ve been looking at. Once you see the prices, you’ll realize that I looked very quickly at some and moved on. (Click on the pictures for the source.)

This was “the one”. I love it. I love the size, shape, and the extra shelf. Price? Not so much.

$745.00

Since I’m really loving the accordion tables now, I thought this one was a perfect match. Pretty, no? No. Not worth the price.

$600.00

Well, hey. This one’s like my favorite one. Not bad! The price isn’t horrible, but still too much for a side table.

$259.00

And finally, I really like this one. Unfortunately, it’s just a little too bulky, and it reminds me of the barrel table I purchased recently. Not this time, little buddy.

$158.99

Luckily, Autumn from Design Dump was looking out for me today. She posted about this little twig table for only $49.99!!! Awww yeah! I can handle that price.

While it may not be my first choice, you have to find a balance between what you love and what you want to pay. I need just a little table to fill a little space, and it needs to put a little dent in my wallet. S.O.L.D.

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Wanna know how to find me? Follow along here!

I’ve shared quite a few painting projects here, but I tried a new paint on this one. I thought I’d walk you through the “ugly” steps of painting. You don’t have to have a paint booth, and you certainly don’t have to have a fancy spray gun (although, they are nice to have).   

The love of my life has become difficult to find and is essentially not being made anymore. Because of that, I thought it was time to try a new paint. I went with Benjamin Moore (of course) Aura’s Black Beauty in matte finish. Because the room had a rustic feel, I didn’t want a stark black. I wanted more of a smokey version, and this color was spot on.

Okay. So, I sanded this one. Not using my ol’ “go to” paint, I wasn’t sure if I could get away without it. So I sanded—lightly.

I had purchased a new orbital sander, and I was a little giddy to try it out. One word–Power. This boy is a work horse! Love it.

If you’re like me, you wonder, “How much did she sand?” That much. I actually took more off of the edges than I needed to. It’s my work horse’s fault.

I used a primer I had on hand already. It’s called Aqua Lock. I wasn’t overly in love with the texture, but it did cover well. (Ignore the garage. It was in full pallet wall mode, so there was wood everywhere!)

And this is where I started to panic. The first coat was literally purple! Gah! I calmed myself and proceeded with a couple more coats.

I’m showing these next couple of pictures because I still get some inquiries about roller marks being left in the paint. This is what it looks like right after I applied a coat. It’ll look patchy, so don’t worry.

The left side of this pictures shows where the paint has started to dry, and you can see where I was applying another coat toward the right. No roller marks. Paint with decreasing pressure as you roll.

Oh yeah. Here’s my paint booth. I used my white wall and front door as my drop cloth. And the best part? My husband didn’t say a word about it. He knows me and puts up with me.

After all was said and done, it turned out like this. Some detail shots for ya…

Overall review? It wasn’t the smoothest texture of all the items I’ve painted, but the paneling in the bed was quite a pain to work around. The Aura paint is pretty pricey…so pricey that I don’t know if it’s worth it just yet.

For those of you still waiting to dive into the world of painting? Go for it! Don’t let all the tools, products, and terms intimidate you. You won’t regret it.

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Wanna know how to find me? Follow along here!

When I first showed you my son’s room, I tried to explain that it wasn’t finished. Well, it’s still not finished. However, it is a couple of steps closer.

Because I chose an industrial look in here, it definitely limits the color implementation in the room. I thought a powerful rug would help with that.

I figured it might be nearly impossible to find an orange, gray and brown rug, but Rugs USA knew what I needed. At the time, it was 40% off (it’s 35% off now), so it was very well priced.

Of course, this is usually how it looks in here. It’s the perfect buffer between my son’s dirty feet and the carpet.

Last summer, I found this little display shelf for $5.00. Now that my son’s getting older, it’s more difficult to keep the little trinkets on display without him shoving them into a drawer. These are the ornaments, medals, shells, etc.  that he’s been collecting that have some meaning to him.

And no…it’s no accident that you haven’t seen the other side of the room yet. I still haven’t painted his dresser. So daunting when your time is limited, ya know? Soon. Soon.

As I pushed the decision button, I found that my palms were sweaty and my heart was beating fast. I hate this stuff. I wish I could have given away a ticket to everyone!! BUT—the lucky winner is….

Author: Natalie @ A Turtle’s Life for Me

Awesomeness!!! Thanks so much for this giveaway! I am dying to get to one of these conferences!!

Congratulations, Natalie! Thank you to ALL the entries. Since you didn’t win, why don’t you just buy a ticket so I can still meet you. What d’ya say?

How in the world does one wrap up a whirlwind tour of New York City in just a few pictures? Well, I chose some highlights from the trip, and I chose highlights of those highlights. You with me? Here’s a list of favorites.

#1. Spending some quality time with my brother. We talked for hours and came pretty darn close to solving all of life’s problems. And we sure did laugh a lot!

#2. Central Park. At night. After the first snow of the year. It was AMAZING.

#3. September 11 Memorial. It’s so compelling, it makes you silent.

The entire memorial is expected to be finished by March of 2013. We’ll be going back.

#4. Lady Liberty. What a feeling to finally see her! Of course, the feeling of nausea took over as our ferry docked and rocked for several minutes before we could disembark. After I got on solid ground, my brother said, “I’ve never seen you move that fast in my life.”

#5 The Empire State Building. Visions of King Kong? Nope. That’s just me. The scenery, however, was breathtaking.

#6. Rockefeller Center. The last time I was here, I was in my 20’s, and I just didn’t take the time to appreciate it. This time, we really took it in and explored. Totally worth it.

#7. The city. It’s no accident that many of my pictures are of the nightlife. I imagine going in the dead of winter had something to do with it, but it just came to life in the dark. I was not above standing in the middle of the street to get that perfect “city” shot.

Nor was I above taking a picture of myself in the mirrored elevator.

So it’s not a bookshelf made from leftover toothpicks or a chandelier from eggshells, but it’s what’s been keeping me busy. I still have to choose a winner for the Haven Conference ticket. I’ll let you know as soon as I do!

When we started talking about having a DIY conference that we could really use to focus on the “home bloggers” niche, I sure wouldn’t have guessed that it would grow into such an amazing gathering!

If you haven’t heard by now, me and seven other uh-muh-mazing women are heading it up, and we WANT you to be there! What better way to get you there than to offer you a free ticket?

One lucky winner will be given a free conference ticket (valued at $200). You’ll have to get yourself there, of course. Oh, and you may want to pay for your hotel room…but we are giving you that ticket!

So what do you need to do? Each one earns you an entry!

• Comment here
• Visit Haven’s Facebook page to say hello! (This is where all the information gets thrown at you in real time, so it’s valuable to know about.)
• Tweet about it using #Haven2012 in the update.

This is just the start to how spectacular this conference is going to be. If you want to know the full lowdown of information, visit our website. I’ll let you know who wins on Monday. Woo to the hoo!