Storage Solutions and Justin Timberlake

Good news folks, I have now switched from my spring/fall coat to my spring/summer fleece! I even rode my bike yesterday. Whaaaaaaatttt?

Anyway, my main squeeze recently acquired a large chunk of empty land out in The Valley.

Not this Valley

But hopefully it won't be empty for long, as he (we?) plan on building a cabin. I may not know a ton about construction, but if there's one thing I know about, it's storage solutions.

Is this heaven? No, it's The Container Store

I love the challenge of finding ways to store things. It's totally a creative outlet for me and it turns out a lot of people feel the same way and then post all there ideas on the internet. Which it super helpful. 

Storage between the wall studs? Get stuff off the counter, don't take up any floor space? Super smart.

Toe kick storage? Genius.Cooking sheets? Skillets? Place mats? Table clothes? Presents you're hiding? They would all fit under the cabinets

Just like most things, there is no reason to waste space. Especially if you are designing it yourself.

This week's hot jam is Not a Bad Thing by Justin Timberlake. Not a Bad Thing sounds like *Nsync era JT and I love it. I can just imagine it playing at my middle school dances in the cafetorium. (Yeah, cafetorium), some kids slow dancing, other kids sort of swaying and snapping because it has a in-between-speeds beat, awkwardly hoping someone will ask them to dance before the song is over. Sigh. Middle school...

Lent Day 46: Family

I made it, you guys! I'm currently deciding what to wear to Easter mass tomorrow! (Mostly, which shoes are best for stomping through parking lot slush.)

(I probably wouldn't be the only person in Xtratufs at church, but no, Mom, I'm not going to wear them)

It seems only appropriate to write about my family today. If we were living in the same state, we'd be celebrating together tomorrow, but because I'm the "free spirited" child, I'm up North while everyone else is enjoying warm weather.

It's actually +50 F, totally shorts weather

My family is amazing. They've supported me through all my weird decision. Whether that be hangers on my head or moving to Alaska. (With only minimal hassling)

And I couldn't be more thankful for them.

I know I've already used this photo, but it just makes me SO happy.

Cutest member of the family.

This weirdo doesn't quite fit into family or friends, but he's certainly something special, and I'm wholeheartedly thankful for him.

"I'm slothing!"

Lent Day 45: Friends (mine, not the TV show)

It's Good Friday, folks. so that means TOMORROW will be my last post of Lent. I've (almost) made it!

I have a bunch of weirdos all over the place that I can call friends, so I feel pretty lucky in that department.  They keep me on my toes and keep me from being too much of a hermit (which I definitely need). I'm thankful for having people to send outfit pics to and people to trade recipes with and people to get book recommendations from. (And I'm thankful for friends who won't judge me for ending a sentence with a preposition)

Lent Day 44: Treat Yo Self

 I'm not an extravagant person. I will use something until it is absolutely unusable. I bring my lunch to work (almost) every day. I rarely go out to dinner. But sometimes you just need to "treat yo self."

Or you know, office supplies. socks. Hansen's Cherry Vanilla Creme soda.

I like to treat myself to small things. Today, for example, it was an Italian soda from the coffee shop across the street.

Other times, I bribe myself to get stuff done. Because being a grown up is hard. "Okay, Maggie, you can treat yo self to _______ (popsicles, beer, hot cheetos - I'm mostly motivated by food...), if you _______ (wash your hair, get the oil changed, finish your to-do list, etc)"


I think it's important to keep yourself happy. So as long as your not treating yo self out of house and home, maybe go ahead and get those 'zerts. Or take a trip to Bali. Whatever floats your boat (or bank account.)

Lent Day 43: New Restaurants

For being a mid-sized town in, what is essentially, the middle of nowhere, Anchorage has surprisingly good restaurants.

For lunch today, I tested out a new one. Technically it was a work research mission, but in practice we just wanted to try out the place one of my co-workers has been raving about.  So we hopped in a couple cars and headed over to Mountain View to test out Xalo's.

I had a carnitas super burrito. And it was DELICIOUS. Don't you just love when that happens?

Lent Day 42: Thunderstorms

It's a cloudy day here in Anchorage and I find myself pining for a thunderstorm. (Isn't pining such a good word?)

But thanks to science (ugh, science!) we don't usually have ththunderstorms here. I've heard thunder once in almost 5 years, so I have to get my thunderstorms elsewhere. Lucky for me, there was one while I was in Hawaii. I was probably one of the few people hoping for rain on my vacation.

One of my goals in life is to learn how to photograph lightning. Without getting struck by lightning, of course. I guess I better find somewhere to practice.

Lent Day 41: Making Use

Getting down to the wire, readers. (Are you still reading?) Easter is just around the corner, and you know what that means, Easter candy will be on sale. Thank goodness. 

I can eat 50 Reese's eggs.

Anyway, the other day at work I had to list 3 things I enjoy about my job. Teaching, kids, yada yada. (If it wasn't for an official capacity, I would have listed hot dads. Yowza.) I did list teaching, but another, somewhat unexpected, thing I enjoy, is making use of supplies I already have. 

I inheirted a ton of stuff when I took my job. Like 5 van de graff machines, a jar of dried crickets, and a human elbow model. Most of the stuff in my classroom doesn't get used. That's where making use comes in. Maybe it's my Midwest sensibility,  but I don't like to waste anything. And as far as I'm concerned, if it's not being used, it's being wasted. 

I love digging through the cabinets and coming up with ways to use all the stuff growing dusty from lack of use. 

But I'm still looking for ways to use the crickets.