back and at it

Is anyone else familiar with this expression? It's something my family uses frequently (ie: "I took a break from mopping, but now I'm back and at it") but for some reason the words all run together and it sounds more like backanatit. [side note: now that I actually spell it OUT, it looks like "banana tit" at a glance, which is really more than I can handle] I think I was like 15 before I realized that this expression was actually four different words and not just one. Anyway.

The wedding's over (with great success), the newlyweds are on their way to the Keys (and I got to FB chat with my sis this morning to catch up), and we're home sweet home, back and at it. The first thing we did (after turning the heat up to 69, thanks for ALL the advice-- you guys ROCK!) (and unpacking) was go to the gym for a long and torturous time of penance. Because we also brought home with us approximately 2900 pounds of leftover wedding food. And surprisingly, very little of it is healthy (hello, one lone head of cauliflower. You have no company!). So I think the gym will be my new BFF this week. Boo.

Anyway, since I don't have any dinner to cook (leftovers, remember?), I thought I'd zip up here to Ye Olde Library and share one of my latest crafty endeavors with yall. See, I have a lot of earrings. A lot. And most of them are dangly, or chandelier, or big, or all of the above. And they lay in a jumble in my jewelry box and cost me precious minutes in the morning as I try to hunt down and detangle the ones I want. So I decided to innovate. What I came up with is a hybrid of something I saw in a Pottery Barn magazine and something I saw in an antique store. And I like it!! Check it out:




And that's it: some empty frames (cheap cheap at an antique store), some chicken wire (cheap cheap at Home Depot), a stapler (free cause I already own it), and some patience cause working with chicken wire is a little out of control...but in the end, I have the perfect place to hang my earrings! I'm so excited about it! And look-- there's room for more earrings! How convenient.

I also bought a much larger frame that I am planning on doing the same thing with, but this one will be for necklaces and bracelets. All you have to do is hook some tiny s-hooks over the chicken wire, then hang the necklace from the hook!

So there's a good 20 minute project if you have some supplies on hand. I would not recommend doing this with children around, though-- little bits of metal go everywhere when you cut the wire...I might actually wear safety goggles (aka sunglasses) next time I do it.

As for me, I go back to work tomorrow (just for Monday and Tuesday) and other than that I'll be finishing my shopping and wrapping and going to Christmas parties Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights! Whew! Good thing I have all those leftovers....mwah ha ha.