Get Ready To Panic #Taxes

April 03, 2013/ Project Gadabout

It's that time of the year again, time to throw a Panic Party!! For all of you who haven't started to work on your taxes…don't bother. You are going to throw caution to the wind and have a Panic Party!

Step 1: On your way home from work invite everyone over that you know.

image via:sxc.hu

Step 2: Stop off at the local drive throughs and pick up dinner. If you not feeling the drive through don't worry, this is a perfect time to clean out your fridge and serve everything in it. I've been to plenty of panic parties where the menu ranges from Waffles, Taquitos, to Lean Cuisine's… you know food people forget is in their freezer.

Step 3: Drinks, since you are going to be burning the midnight oil it's time for some Espresso, Red Bull, and Coffee. If you don't care how your taxes turn out and you want to be audited in the near future I have plenty of cocktails to suggest.

Step 4: Boiler Room, Wall Street, and The Devil's Advocate make for perfect entertainment!

Step 5: Party Favors. Since it's tax season calculators, pencils, legal pads, and old receipts are the perfect party favors. Box your gifts in old Turbo Tax Boxes.

Step 6: Enjoy!

*If you really want to panic, throw this April 16th!

Word of the Day: E-mnesia

April 01, 2013/ Project Gadabout

Classics Never Go Out Of Style #WorkHappy

March 19, 2013/ Project Gadabout

As promised I going to get in depth about my choice of office supplies. Kicking things off with my choice of permanent marker.

Drying Out

My test was leaving the cap off each pen and then attempting to write with them. Tuxedo Black for Bic and black for sharpie. The winner was Sharpie hands down. After 15 min the Bic pens were completely dead, while Sharpie was ready to go. The shelf life of Sharpies is also longer. Some Bic were dying after only a few weeks unlike the Sharpies that I've had for over a year. Winner - Sharpie

Color

The difference between shades in the Bic was much more noticeable than that found in the sharpie. For sharpie the real test was berry, plum, purple and boysenberry on white paper, for Bic the test was playful purple, prairie berry, plumtastic purple and polynesian purple. Over all the Bic were slightly brighter, but Sharpie has more colors to choose from. Sharpie also updates their collection more often, from metallics to neon Sharpie takes on the full spectrum. More colors means the perfect Sharpie for you is out there. Winner - Sharpie

Surfaces

They were both great on multiple surfaces with a quick drying time. But if you look at Sharpies full line; name a surface and they've got a pen that can write on it. Winner - Sharpie

Barrel

Bic has an amazing gripped barrel, for someone clumsy like me, a barrel with grips leads to a lot less unwanted marks and unwanted stains. Another reason to choose Bic is the great names they give their colors. It's all in the name, Bic definitely took a queue from OPI and gave each pen a distinct name like; Peach Parfait, Lemon Bliss, Rambunctious Red, Tiki Hut Tan). Another great fact is that the names are on the barrel, so you always know what you are grabbing. Sharpie doesn't help you out in that department, so it's easy to grab the wrong shade of pink by accident. Winner - Bic

Price

They both are equally priced and can be found almost anywhere that pens or craft supplies are sold. Basically the price has more to do with where you buy and not what you buy. Winner - Tie

Options

I mentioned it before, but Sharpie is the winner hands down when it comes to options. From Fabric pens, fine points, jumbo, metallics, they have something that you need. Winner - Sharpie

Over all winner - Sharpie, classics never go out of style!

How I Took My Horribly Messy Closet and Turned It Into A Sleek Black Office: Storage Solutions #HomeChicHome

March 19, 2013/ Project Gadabout

So by now, you’ve seen how I took my How I Took My Horribly Messy Closet and Turned It Into A Sleek Black Office post. Now you are going to see how I decorate my space. A few of you wanted to know why I went with black walls in such a small space with no windows. You thought it might get pretty depressing in the windowless black hole. Little did you know, I have a major cure for that. The cure is actually one of the reasons I went with a white desktop, bookcase, storage and frames. I did it all so my killer office supply collection would pop.

When I say collection, I mean full blown, you might have a serious problem, collection. Some people buy clothes, shoes, accessories, makeup and nail polish, not me. I buy office supplies and storage solutions. I may never be the best dressed girl in the room, but I will have the cutest office supplies. And they will definitely be the most colorful. This crazy little collections affords me the luxury to change my workspace they way most beauty junkies change their nail polish. It’s also one of the reasons I had trouble writing this post. Every time I was set on my how my desk looks, I would go ahead and change it. I’m not going to lie, week to week and sometimes day to day, it looks completely different.

Pen Cup

Accessory Trays

Acessory Tray

Desk Details

Pen Caddy

Pop Phone

Full Desk

Bookcase Details

Left Desk Details

Desk Details #2

Right Desk Details

Pens, Pencils, & Markers

I love pens. I need different types of peoples for different projects and moods. The one thing I had a lot of trouble finding was the perfect storage solution. For longest time I kept my pens in different size mason jars. While a gorgeous solutions that really let the pens shine through, it was bulky and took up way too much real estate. I love the Poppin Pen Cups, so instead of one, I bought seven. Now all of my favorite pens are within reach and I don’t have to worry about them taking up too much space. With the help of a binder rubber band from Target’s Up & Up Brand they are locked together and line the outer rim of my desk. I went with all white Pen Cups so they almost blend in with my desk. That color choice is the story for most of my desktop storage solutions.

Notepads, Notebooks, and Post-Its

It’s always hard to find the perfect way to have some of these items at arms reach, without cluttering up your workspace. I find that the Accessory Tray from Poppin is the perfect solution. They are stackable, inexpensive, come in an array of colors and hold a lot of stuff. As with the pen cups, I went with white so the items in the tray would be featured, instead of the tray. Inside the Helmer I keep all the other colors, and when I need an infusion of color I pop one under a white tray.

Push Pins, Paper Clips, Thumb Tacks and More Post-Its

The little things on my desk have the Bits + Bobs Tray from Poppin to thank. The tray keeps them easy to find and separated. Unlike the Accessory Trays & Pen Cups I went for color instead of white. Mostly because it was going to house White Large Paper Clips, Push Pins and Post It Notes. The white supplies make the Bits + Bobs Tray pop!

Now you know the basics of my desktop. Throughout the next few weeks, I will go into detail about all of my favorite supplies, in a new series called Step Into My Office.

Product List

If you are looking to pick up any of the items that I've mention check out the product list below.

How I Took My Horribly Messy Closet and Turned It Into A Sleek Black Office #HomeChicHome

March 12, 2013/ Project Gadabout

Today is Organize Your Home Office Day, a holiday after my own heart. I love to organize, and I’m pretty obsessed with my teeny tiny home office. About 7 months ago I cleaned out the extra walk-in-closet and turned it into my office. I really wanted to do it right away when we moved in, but I decided to wait a while, and really get to know the house. I didn't want to make changes based on knee jerk reactions. I really wanted to live in the house for a while, know how the sunlight pours in, figure out what actually needed changing. Plus moving is really expensive and I needed to save up money to start making these changes.

While I love being in the den I needed a place that could be just mine. Between the people, Iggy Stardust and cats it was getting way too much foot traffic. And, when you have cats, your office is more about hiding cords and anything that can be considered a chew toy (FYI everything is a chew toy to them). So, I needed a place where I could close the door and make it my own. The problem is I don't really have a lot of extra rooms. Out of the 3 bedrooms, two are occupied and one is a lovely guest room. But what I do have is oddly large and random closets. I decided I would turn an extra walk in closet into an office built for one.

How I Did It

First things first, I had to get all of the crap that I throw in there out. I once had a friend ask me, how I keep my house so organized. The trick is, I had special closet where I just threw junk. I no longer have that closet, so now I have to really step up my game. Needless to say, if you ever come over to my house don’t look under the dining room table with the tablecloth that drops to the floor, and definitely don’t try to open the second hall closet by yourself.

Back to my office, now that the junk is all gone, it’s time to take down the extra shelves. Funny story I got everything but the mounting fixtures out. I’m pretty those things had fused to the wall. So, instead of fighting with them I painted over them. I know, I know, now they are never going to come out. But I was a little impatient and over the whole process at this point. The good thing is, if I ever want to turn it back into a closet, the mounting fixtures are already there. Plus those very fixtures come in handy later on.

Now that it’s all cleaned out, it was time to get serious about painting. I used a Flat Black by Olympic, nothing too fancy. I only picked it, because it was the cheapest and didn’t have that horrific paint smell. The paint rollers and drip pan came in a set from Lowes. And you can’t paint a room without some scotch blue painters tape and a drop cloth. I used an old bleach stained twin sheet as the drop cloth. Since the closet isn’t huge, it only took about 3 hours to paint the room. I let the paint dry for the rest of the day, and then did touch ups the following day. When painting a room black, I’ve noticed that imperfections in the wall or in your technique show up really well. I’ve painted other rooms and wall imperfections aren’t even noticeable. With black paint, everything shows. I also went through the room with a flat white to touch up areas that I drew outside the lines and painted on the trim or ceiling.

How I Decorated It

Once the room was painted I brought the top shelves back in. I ended up taking down the shelf on the right, because it made the room feel a little too small. If I had it my way, the carpet would have been replaced, but I didn’t have the money for that. Enter the rug of my dreams, the GISLEV from Ikea. It’s no longer on the Ikea US website, but it is in the local store and on the Canadian site. The Gislev comes in gray and red. I have six of these rugs throughout the house, some I’ve had for over 4 years. The cats have vomited on them, pooped on them, done everything on them. All these rugs need, is a good brushing with woolite, a quick vacuum, and the look like new.

For my desk I needed something that would fit perfectly in the space. The VIKA AMON table top and VIKA ADILS silver legs worked perfectly. we actually assembled the desk in the closet, if we didn’t we wouldn't be able to get it through the smaller closet door.

Storage is the most important part of any workspace. I need something that came in different sizes and was easy to label. I have two silver HELMER Drawer units under my desk, along with white KASSETT boxes in all sizes on the shelves. Both items come with cute metal labels to make organization a breeze. Plus you don’t have to open 30 boxes to find the one thing that you need. I needed something comfortable to sit in, and most desk chairs just don’t foot the bill. I wanted to go with the Society Social Bow Back Piper, but at $249 plus an addtional $45 fo shipping it’s a little too rich for my blood. I went with the HENRIKSDAL with a black frame and long white cover, at only $90 dollars. To add a little extra comfort I threw in the TRÅDKLÖVER cushion. Under my desk I also have a little Storage Ottoman from Target, perfect for those days when I want to put my feet up.

Lighting is really difficult in a all black office. The walls just absorb all the light, and since there are no windows, the sun can’t help me out. That is the main reason I wanted a white table top, lamp lighting reflects off of it, to give even more light. I started with two of the JANSJÖ, the lamp gave off a lot of head, but not the right kind of light. It worked more like a spotlight. I then moved to the EKARP base with RENATE Shade, very cute and very dim. Then I opted for the ALÄNG, I love that it’s adjustable, but it just didn’t give off enough light. Finally I ended up with Room Essentials Stick Lamp from Target, perfect amount of light, with a cute pull chain for off and on. All of those lamps, have found a lovely home throughout my house. If you’ve got an office with the added bonus of natural light, those lamps would make wonderful desk lamps. I’m just working with a slight lighting disadvantage. That, and the overhead light in my closet is a fluorescent and I hate it.

Rounding out the room is the BILLY bookcase in white and the DOKUMENT wastepaper basket in silver.

Product List

For those of you looking to make over a nook, cranny, or closet in your home all of the items I used are in the slideshow below, along with the finally tally. If you have any questions about the first part of my makeover just leave them in the comments or tweet them to me. Tomorrow I will show you some of the little details and office supplies that I use.