Make It: Mother's Day Vase

As a kid, I made most of my gifts for holidays. You could say I was born with the DIY gene. I remember one year I made a little "coaster"

Roundup: Red Lacquer Decor

via

I'm trying out a new blog series today. The other night blog posts ideas were popping in my head like crazy so I have some new posts coming your way I hope you enjoy. Sometimes when I come up with a new post idea I think I need to create an entire series around it…but then never do for some reason or another. Sometimes I don't like the series anymore, or I just don't have any good ideas. Let me know in the comments if you like this new roundup post :)

In ode to the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd put together a little roundup for y'all with none other than the color red. After seeing this red lacquer desk styled by Claudia Stephenson of Peep My Style in this month's issue of Adore Magazine, my heart filled with joy. I popped over to Claudia's blog and boy, her entire site is overflowing with whimsical, colorful fun just as expected. It's as if anything she touches gets a cuter times 10. You need to go check her out.

 Red is bold, sexy, and dramatic -- just the way I like it. A lithe dose goes a long way in the home, so here are some of my favorite red lacquer accessories that will spice up your home.

Mirror / Coffee Table / Bamboo Chair / Jonathan Adler Desk / Box 

Werk It

I have always been a pretty organized person. My closet is usually in good order, my desk is tidy, and I have many storage totes and bins so I know exactly where everything is. I never had to work at being organized, it sort of came naturally. Lately as my schedule keeps filling up with work, school, personal projects, e-mail, etc., I notice that it's easy to forget about an item on my mental to-do list. In the past I haven't been much for keeping a calendar or planner and writing down my to-do items. I remember my high school handed out planners to each student every year and I thought I was impressive because I didn't use one. But really, my schedule consisted of going to class, then sports practice, then home for school work so it turns out I didn't have much of a schedule. Now that it's a new year and I have a to-do list that involves real stuff, I think it's time to find a system that keeps me organized.

This week I have been testing out the app, Todoist. It's an app that let's you create to-do lists and organize and filter tasks by labels. So far I'm really happy with it and love that I can create one giant to-do list and categorize each task in "blog", "art history", "Social Stylate", and so on. Keeping everything in one place is so helpful and the color coordinated categories help me prioritize visually.

Besides my to-do list, I need a better way of organizing new ideas. Currently anything that pops in my head like a blog post idea, potential project, or anything, I either type in my notes app on my iPhone or I type on a sticky note on my computer desktop. Neither are outstanding tools. I like the idea of having a notebook to write down all of my thoughts.

I use Google Calendar for work, but that's it. I don't know how I feel about using an online calendar for  everything just yet, so I want a planner to write down appointments, meetings, due dates and more. Plus it can double as my notebook for my thoughts. These planners by Julia Kostreva are perfect. I would find every excuse to pull this marble planner out of my bag, and if that means I am staying organized, even better.

My thoughts are if I stay organized and am aware of my daunting to-do list, I will stay motivated during the day and work even harder to tackle it. Hopefully it works.

What are your favorite apps and tools to stay organized? Do you prefer paper or electronic calendars? Do you carry a daily planner?

Images via

A Girl and Her Pouches

I love pouches. Any kind, any size. I don't know what it is about them -- maybe it's because I feel extra organized? Traveling with them is essential and a complete dream. All of my jewelry, make up, lip gloss, hair accessories, trinkets, and anything else I need quick access to but I don't want floating around my suitcase, go in pouches. Do you do that too? There are so many cute pouches to choose from, which doesn't hurt my little addiction either.

I had way too much fun putting this post together, you guys. I already had lots of pouches pinned and favorited in Etsy, but now I found even more I want! Etsy alone has a huge selection of pouches. A couple of my favorites are Zana, handmade in South Africa, and Pamela Barsky Shop which have hilarious sayings. Another great brand is Truffle, which have multiple sizes with a clear front so you can see what's inside!

Ooh La La, Snakeskin, Gold, Clear, Clear red, Anchor print, Ta-da!, Important things