The Limited {Glendale} Grand Opening Event + A Giveaway

Winner of the $25 gift card is...

commenter #2 Jenny!  

email me at andreaworley{at}live{dot}com and send me your address. 

Thanks everyone who entered! Winner was chosen using Random.org.

*********************

Today I was invited to attend The Limited Grand Opening of the Glendale Arrowhead Towne Center store. It's fun as a blogger to get invited to these events, and this particular event had a really great message and promotion they are doing for the From the Heart Foundation here in Glendale.

From the Heart is an organization that helps women and children from domestic abuse situations. It gives them shelter, and a place they can go to learn job skills, a place where they can get back on their feet and a safe haven.



During this weekend {9/30/11 till 10.02.11} everything in the store is an additional 40% off. From the Heart" provides funds to west valley social services including women's shelters like New Life Center. Past recipient, New Life Center among the many agencies From the Heart has given to through the year. It's an amazing cause, a great reason to shop and help others.


If you live locally in Glendale or the Valley area Organizers are requesting women of the Valley to consider donating a "gently loved" outfit to New Life's Center thrift store as part of their work program initiative and larger donations can be picked up by New Life. Or, if you go shopping at The Limited this weekend, know that partial proceeds go to a great cause.  






{L: Mayor of Glendale Elaine Scruggs & R: CEO of The Limited Linda Heasley}


During the Grand Opening event we had the chance to hear from several people in attendance today. One of which was the CEO of The Limited, Linda Heasley. One of the things that stuck out in my mind was when she said that The Limited shows its support for all types of women doing all types of work. 


As a working Mother, and before that a stay at home Mom I know the value in feeling like people recognize no matter what you're doing that your work matters. Their goal is to help women gain confidence about themselves by helping their outer appearance through their clothing. Giving them the confidence in life to accomplish their dreams. Now, that's something I can get behind and encourage! 





I picked up a few great items, that I can't wait to wear. They have a wide range of clothing items, anything from casual work attire, dresses, and tons of accessories. Their pieces are classic and I think very timeless. Ones that you can really build a wardrobe with. 





As a special offer The Limited has generously offered to give one lucky Worley House reader a $25 gift certificate to their store! Wanna find out how you can win?


This giveaway is open to Worley House followers & subscribers only. {sign up with Google Friend Connect on the side bar or get it in your inbox by signing up below}


Jump on over to The Limited's site and tell me what your favorite piece is from their new Fall Fashion line. {must do to enter once}



Want extra entries? {leave a separate comment for each thing you do}
Like The Limited on Facebook 
Follow The Limited on Twitter
Like Arrowhead Towne Center on Facebook
Blog, Tweet or Share on Facebook about this giveaway {3 possible entries, use the easy share buttons below}


This giveaway will run from tonight until Sunday night at 11:59 pm Arizona time. Winner will be announced Monday morning here on the blog! 


Happy weekending friends!! 

12 in 12: Book #9



The New Dare to Discipline

by Dr. James Dobson

I've read two parenting books so far by Mr. Dobson and both have been very good.

We're just now entering the stage with Ava where she's testing her limits even more. We're trying to decide what behavior(s) warrant discipline and which ones are just her being curious and figuring this world out.

Which is what made me want to start reading this book. This book takes a look at discipline from all ages and stages. That's one of the things I really liked about it. I poured over the pages about toddlers.

He has some opinions and beliefs about spanking. I won't talk about those ins and outs, I think every family needs to decide what's best for them and their children.

I did appreciate how he broke down many of common behaviors toddles use and told you a way to approach them.

There were chapters in the book however that were for teens and young adults. We're not quite there yet, but I'm glad I'll have this book to reference back to when the time comes. There's some good stuff in them.

My favorite chapter however was the very last chapter, it's appropriately titled:

A Moment for Mom

I so loved this chapter. Most days when I really think about it, I feel overwhelmed at the task of parenting. It's no joke, and a serious job that I don't take lightly at all.

This chapter basically affirms mothers everywhere, and he gives some encouragement to Moms which I felt was so needed. Moms have a BIG job, different than Dads. Both equally important I think, but different.

He included a list in this last chapters for Moms, as a way to help prioritize yourself and your family. Simple things like;

make lists

have a regular once a week me time!

have a regular date night with your spouse

Those are just a few that I love, and think I need more of in my life.

Overall I felt encouraged by the end. Like it's ok that I'm taking this parenting thing one day at a time.

{**** my rating}

Happy Home Organizational Series: Link Up Your Projects

I wanted to share with you all one last simple project I worked on this month before I give you a chance to link up your own projects. It was in our laundry room. We're in a rental so there's limitations to things we can do in our place, but for this project I simply wanted to go through everything get rid of the old stuff or stuff we didn't use and organize the rest. Here's a quick look at the before:





I got rid of some vases, and other odds and ends and donated those things to Goodwill. Then I organized the rest of the stuff, I used two boxes from Ikea to put paint brushes and supplies in one, and in the other paper plates, cups, napkins, etc. All of our tools are in the plastic three drawer tote. Here's the after:





I like that everything is clean and has a place! It's time to link up your projects that you've been working on. Link up one or two or ten! I can't wait to see what you've all been working on this month!

Happy Home Organzational Series: The Best Resources



Can you believe that we're already in the last week in September? I can't! I've been having a lot of fun with the current series and it's really been helpful in holding myself personally accountable to tackling some of those organizing projects I've been putting off! What about you, how are you doing with organizing things in your home this month?

Join me Wednesday and link up the projects you've been working on all month! Link up one or ten, share them with us!

As we come to closing out this series, I wanted to share with you some of the best online resources to take advantage of. As well as some of the best places to find gear to help you organize your spaces.



Hands down one of the best blogs I've found on organizing your spaces! I'm not an expert but Jen, she is. If you're looking to find a resource and the best ideas on the Internet she's your girl. Check out her blog as well as her online shop full of organizing worksheets for your family.

Best Places to Shop:

These are my fave places to go when searching for reasonably priced items for storage and organization. I encourage you to check out the sale sections at some of these stores, most of the time you can score for less. I keep an eye out for items that will serve the best function and maximize space before buying anything. Also planning out your area before buying anything else helps save time and money too. Recently I went to Ikea for some storage solutions but before hand I made sure to measure my shelving and used a measuring tape to make sure what I bought was going to fit.

The Container Store: Obviously one of the bigger places to shop, they have everything you can imagine. Great ideas to for storage and organization.

Storables: A smaller chain of stores, they had one of these in Minneapolis that I used to go to and found great ideas.

Ikea: Simple storage solutions and very affordable.

Dollar Tree: great for smaller storage items, tons of hidden gems there and you can't beat the $1 price tag!

Best Websites:

Real Simple

Better Homes & Gardens

I hope this series has helped inspire you to find what works best for your own family. Inspired you to start somewhere and make your space your own and functional. I look forward to Wednesday seeing your projects and sharing a few last projects I've finished here in my own home!

Happy Monday friends!!!

{Organize It} Two Drawers, Ten Minute

I feel like organization has to be easy or else we won't do it. Anything to complicated, or expensive and we'll lose interest and feel like we can't accomplish anything when it comes to organizing our homes. 

This next project was quick.

It was cost effective.

It took ten minutes, anyone can do it!

I know everyone has those drawers in their homes that "can get outta control" if you know what I mean?!

I have a few of those in my kitchen, and one in our living room. It's easy to throw things in a drawer and shut it. That way you don't have to think about it or how it looks until the next time you open it. If you're anything like me you get what you need and close it right back up. 

It was time to take care of them. I made my way to the Dollar Store where I found some plastic baskets and some other plastic drawer organizers for a buck a piece! Can't beat that. Here's what the drawers looked like before.

Pretty crazy huh!!! 

Here's the fun after that only took a few minutes.

Nice, huh? See what I mean about simple and effective?!!

What have you organized lately that was a simple task but you're so glad you did it? Tell me in the comments below. 

Happy Friday Everyone!! 

Picture Taking.....

I've been taking lots of pictures the last couple weekends, which is good! It's what I love. I love giving families and couples beautiful photography to remember these moments in their lives.

I've been gone the last two weekends out of town, picture taking. It's been wonderful, but I am also looking forward to this weekend being home with my family.



Aren't they gorgeous?! They are having a baby, I couldn't be more excited for them! See more of this lovely couple, go here and visit my photography site!

Be Splendid. {Lifestyle Crafts}

Do the Holidays seem around the corner?

Seems like they are coming fast this year, than any year before.

Christmas is my fave. So when Lifestyle Crafts sent me their new Be Splendid Collection for the holidays I couldn't have been more excited to review them.

Every year I make some homemade gifts for friends, co-workers and family. I wanted to make a card that I could attach along with each gift this year.

I used the Reindeer die, and part of the Wintertide printing plates to create this card. I attached my reindeer with 3D foam squares to give it a little dimension. I also added some red and silver ribbon to the side of the card.



Pretty cute, huh?

Lifestyle Crafts is once again giving Worley House readers 20% off their orders! Perfect for you to scoop up some Be Splendid for yourself! Enter WORLEYHOUSE at check out. Go here to purchase.

Happy Home Organizational Series: Keeping the Blog Under Control

The #1 question that I get from people about my blog is: How do I post so often? It's a question I get asked a lot. I'd be lying if I said the blog wasn't a priority. It's something I enjoy, and I'm passionate about it. I'd also by lying if I said it wasn't work or didn't take some thought. Most of the time I don't just wake up and start writing, most of the time posts are thought about and planned very in advance.

This is what works for me. This is how I keep it together and post so often. So today, I'm going to share with you some tips and things that have helped me in my blogging journey. 

When I first started this blog, I wrote about very random things. It took me a while to figure out just what I wanted this blog to be about other than recording our daily lives. I feel like three and a half years later I'm in a groove, found my niche and enjoying every minute! 

My first tip is: Keep a list of blogging ideas. 

I keep a running list of blogging to-dos, ideas and projects in my day planner. It helps me stay on track, keep focused, and really helps with writers block. If I ever get stumped on what to write about I'll pull out my list and look over the ideas I've been writing down. Our current series was on the "to-do" list. I thought about it months before I started writing, dreaming of ideas I wanted to cover and writing them down. Keeping a list of ideas really helps begin to organize things for me, and see where I'm going in my writing. 

My second tip: Find a rhythm for your blog posts. 

When I say rhythm, I mean for how often are you going to post? When I first started writing there was no rhyme or reason I was just posting whenever I wanted to. That's not bad my any means, but as life got busy, a baby got added to our lives and other life changes I knew I needed to find a rhythm for my writing, and what would my writing frequency be? Sit down and really think about how often you can and want to post. What's the amount you can do so that you still love blogging and don't feel burnout and your family isn't suffering. For me that is about three times per week. I usually try to post three times a week and most of the time I take the weekends off. If you see a post on the weekends, it's probably because it's been scheduled. Which leads me to my next tip.......

My third tip: Schedule your posts.

My biggest reason that I can post so often is because I schedule posts. I didn't even know that you could do this until just about a year ago. Crazy, right!! Since learning of this tool it's changed the way I blog. As I said before I keep a list, and when I have the time I sit down and crank out a few well planned blog posts based on this list. I will usually sit down and write an entire weeks worth of posts in one day during that time. I do most of my blog writing when Ava naps or at night when my Hubby is off working out. I try really hard not to let the blog take away from family time or time with my Husband. So during a two hour nap time I'll do my best to get some intentionally writing done. Scheduling posts for me has been a life changer, and made me even more excited to write knowing that I'm actually putting something that I've thought about, planned and love on this blog. 

So there you have it, all my BIGGEST blogging secrets. I really encourage you if you have a blog to take some of these ideas and see how you can let them inspire you and how you can make them your own. I don't consider myself any authority when it comes to blogging, but this is what has worked for me and I wanted to share that with you today. 

I hope you feel encouraged to take your blog to the next level, and feel less stressed about blogging. 

Happy Monday Everyone!! 

Watch Me Grow: 17 Months

We interrupt Our Happy Home Organizational Series to bring you this post about Ava.

Specifically, how fast she's growing! Baby girl is 17 months old, almost 18 months old. I thought we'd better record this before she turns another month older.

Seriously, my growing toddler is bittersweet for me. Do any other Moms/Parents feel this way? I love that she's growing, changing and learning. But, I'm sad that everyday she shows more and more signs that she's not a baby anymore.

Now, you might think this would make me want to have another one but alas I am not ready to. We're not ready for #2. So for all that have asked there's our answer. As I told my friend Cody recently, ask me again after Christmas. We're revisiting {baby making} at that time.

But, enough about me. Let's talk about Ava for a bit.

Everyday I'm trying to teach her new and different words. Just yesterday she said the word yellow. She now says; "gabba-gabba." Which means she wants to watch Yo-Gabba-Gabba. She's obsessed, it's nuts. I might add that it's pretty cute to watch her dance and jump around to the music. I'm not so secretly trying to get my Husband to dress up like DJ Lance for Halloween. {I'll let you know how that goes.}



Some fun stories:

Recently she's been running around the house in her bath towel after she's had a bath. You take her out of the tub and she's starts running, screaming/laughing around the house. It's literally the cutest thing, and we enjoy this new habit as part of our nightly routine.



She's also been quite the traveler this month too, at the end of August we traveled to Iowa just her and I to visit family. She was great on the plane. Last weekend we took a mini family road trip as Hubby & baby came with me on a photography job. So thankful that I could have them with me the entire weekend even though I was busy most of the time shooting an event.



We cheered on our Hawks even though they lost to Iowa State we still love them! Every time I visit Iowa I make sure to pick up some Hawkeye gear for us. I got Ava this cute little tank on our last trip.

She's also become quite fond of this baby bouncer, she really can no longer fit in it but I see her dragging it across the living room floor to sit in it which watching Yo Gabba-Gabba. It's pretty cute as well.



There you have it, a quick little up date about how our girl is doing. We're looking forward to celebrating 18 months soon with her. And, every month that goes by I still can't believe how fast it's gone. How big she's getting, I don't think I'll ever get used to it. For now though, I will treasure it and take in as much as I truly can. 

{images via Instagram}

Get Involved & Give Back

Thanks to Walgreens for sponsoring my writing. Help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote.

Giving back to my community has been such a natural part of who I am, and extension really. Not only has it shaped my character, it has given me tools for life, and helped me to put others before myself. Life lessons that I am thankful for.

Source: None via Andrea on Pinterest

Community service has a way of changing you if you let it. Opening your eyes to others. A way of making your community around you a better place. Maybe you’ve never been involved in community service before, but you’d like to. Here’s a few simple tips to help you get started.

Think of your interests; what do you love to do? What are you interested in? Start dreaming making a list of how you can use your interests and talents to give back to your community.

Start small, start somewhere. I think starting small helps you to not feel overwhelmed in any task you’re doing. If you’d like to give back to your community through a soup kitchen let’s say, don’t sign up for 30 volunteer hours right away. Sign up for a few hours at first and see how you like it, you can always add more as your interest grows.

Think outside the box! Community service and giving back doesn’t always have to be soup kitchens, church work or picking up trash, although those are wonderful options. I encourage you to think of your interests and talents and think outside the box on how you can use those to give back. If you love photography think about using your talents to take pictures for a local community center. Do you love crafts and making things? Use your talents to volunteer your time to teach crafting to others at a nursing home or to children in a community center. I have a friend who creates crafts, sells them and donates the money she makes to missions work.

Service to others can also mean giving of your time and resources. Maybe you don’t have a lot of time, but maybe you’ve been blessed financially. Find a charity or organization to give to in a financial way.

Once you start finding ways to give back, thinking outside the box I know you’ll be encouraged and inspired to keep going in the area of community service.

Looking for some ways to give back? Here are some of my faves:

Join Ashley in her Change4Change Project, you can read more about it here. If you live locally in Arizona, check out her fundraiser that she's doing to raise money for students to go to college! How awesome is that?!!

Help my friend Danielle raise money for their adoption! She's got some awesome prize bundles that you can win for a small donation! Such a great way to give back to a sweet family.

My friend Destiny said;

"When you spend yourself on others, you won't be dissapointed."

I couldn't agree more. This week I challenge you to think of ways that you can start to give back to your community. And next week, start dreaming of ways that you can actually make this happen.

I'd love to hear more ways you give back. Let me know in the comments below!


Don't forget to help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

{Organize It} Media Cabinet

You may remember me telling you about our media cabinet at the beginning of the year. You can read about part 1 here, or part 2 here. I finally got around to organizing this area. Our original cabinet had two pull out drawers that held all of our DVDs, CDs, cords, etc. You could shut them and the stuff would be contained and out of sight.

This new cabinet has glass doors, you can see everything inside. We needed a solution to contain it all, and make it look pretty too. The media cabinet is from Ikea, so I headed back to Ikea to find some storage solutions for our cabinet. I really like Ikea for affordable storage options. You could also find similar options at The Container Store, Storables, or Target. 

I picked up some KASSETT DVD & CD boxes. Here's what the cabinet looked like before:



As you can see everything was just thrown where ever it would fit. Not cute & not pretty by any means.



I pulled everything out, and went through it first. I got rid of some old stuff that we were no longer using and donated it. Then I got to work on organizing with my boxes from Ikea.



After organizing everything and putting it all into the boxes I made in Word some labels to put on the outside to easily and quickly identify what was inside. Here's a look at the after:



Doesn't it look prettier and better already? Let's take a closer look at the details shall we?!?



Everything has a place now, it's all categorized and neatly placed inside.





The remote drawer is my fave, you can read more about how that came together here. I love how it all came together and turned out. Everything is labeled for you to quickly see what's inside.

What have you organized lately that you just love & makes your home function better? Tell me in the comments below!

Happy Home Organizational Series: Keeping A Calendar

It's no secret in our home that I'm a crazy calendar girl! I write everything down in my day planner; birthdays, appointments, events, when bills are due, to-do lists and probably more. I've been this way since I was in high school. I make notes in their too; grocery lists, to-do lists, blog ideas, etc. 

Our lives are busy. Every one's lives are busy, add a few kids in there and I'm sure your days and weekends are sure to fill up. Keeping a calendar is one way to keep it all together and keep you on track so you're not missing something important. 

Here's my 3 tips for keeping a calendar in your home:

1. Decide what type you'll keep

- are you a paper and pen kinda gal like me and keep everything in a day planner?

- or are you a digital kinda woman and like to sync your calendar with your computer or phone?

- or maybe you're the dry erase board kinda girl and keep it on the family fridge for all to see. 

Either way, decide what type of calendar you'll need to keep you and you're family organized. I love a good day planner. I keep it in my purse at all times.

Source: lifes-a-journal.com via Andrea on Pinterest

2. Keep 1 calendar in your family

In my family I am the organized one, not the Hubster. It's ok, he's got other giftings. Maybe your spouse is really organized to, but I encourage you to keep 1 calendar for your family that way you're not crossing events, or over scheduling yourself, or double booking. My advice would be to make sure you both agree/know about an event before it goes in the 1 family calendar. If you're husband wants to schedule something make it a habit to talk about these events before saying "yes" and putting them on the family calendar. This will make for a much happier home. 

Source: simpleorganizedliving.com via Andrea on Pinterest

3. Come together once a week to go over family events, schedules, etc.

Maybe Suzie has soccer Mondays, and Tuesday you have a lunch date, and Friday is family night coming together with your spouse once a week to go over the weeks events will help keep both of you on the same page, and give each of you a chance to write these important events in your respective calendars from the 1 family calendar. We come together in the Worley House on Sunday nights after dinner. The Hubby and I review the weeks events, and talk about the upcoming week. Since my Hubby doesn't carry a calendar or have anything on his phone I make sure to write these events on a printable calendar that's hanging on our fridge. You can find free printable calendars everywhere online, but I printed mine for free here from The TomKat Studio.  Simple and easy, and he can access it anytime he needs to and see what's going for the week/month. 

Source: ecosystemlife.com via Shawna S. on Pinterest

4. To get the most out of your calendar you actually have to use it.

I know a lot of people that really try to get on track with a calendar/planning system. They buy a cute calendar in hopes that it will inspire them to be committed, and then they fall off the wagon only after a few weeks. Just like anything else in life if you want it to work, you actually have to commit and work at this. If this doesn't come like second nature to you, then it will be work. But, I promise that it'll start to pay off when you're family is no longer late to events, when you're not pulling your hair out trying to remember birthdays, appointments, events, etc. It's all right there ready to work for you and your family. 

And just to show you that keeping a calendar and staying organized doesn't have to break the bank here's a round up of some of my fave free printables from blog land. Enjoy! 

Source: designfinch.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Happy Home Organizational Series: Cleaning

Ok, I'm going to admit all my secrets to you today! Don't judge.

Well, at least my cleaning secrets and some tips that make life easier for us that you could implement into your own cleaning regimen.

First things first, I don't clean everyday. It just doesn't work for me. Well, I guess I should say I don't "deep clean" daily. I don't dust, vacuum or mop my floors daily. I do however clean like that once a week, Fridays on my day off. While the baby is napping I usually will do all those things.

I can't keep up during the week on cleaning with our schedules, so I've resolved that deep cleaning days are Fridays and I'm ok with that. I also don't do laundry every week either. I do it about every two weeks this is what works for me and our family.

Of coarse we do our dishes, and take out the trash on a daily basis! We're not total slobs! (he, he)

If your life is crazy busy and hectic too, and you feel like you can't quite get "on top" of it all, let me offer some tips to you in the area of cleaning that may make things easier for you and more manageable.

First, of all I think it's a good idea to give yourself a break and get real with yourself. Once I resolved to the idea that I wasn't and couldn't be dusting, doing laundry, mopping, etc. everyday it gave me the freedom to make a cleaning schedule based on what our family does need. I told my Husband I can't do this, but this is what you can expect from me every week.

Enlist help! The Hubs and I have a deal: I cook; he cleans. Every night. It's glorious, and it works for us. I would encourage you to talk with your spouse and if you have children who are old enough to help about a cleaning schedule and how you can divide tasks to help make the cleaning happen, so that not everything is falling on you. Make it fun, have chore charts, allowance, etc. whatever works for your family. Here's some ideas to help make cleaning more fun for all involved:

Fun cleaning check lists for you:

Source: designfinch.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Chore blocks for the kiddos:

Source: deliacreates.blogspot.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Chore sticks with a free printable:

Source: whateverdeedeewants.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Good Morning Chore cards:

Source: onestepahead.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Creating a plan to keep our house clean, enlisting help, and making it fun for everyone is a great way to keep your home happy and organized!

I encourage you this weekend to think of some ideas of how you can simplify your cleaning regimen and get more done. For more household cleaning tips, check out some of my ideas on my pin board! 

Happy Friday & Happy Cleaning!!