I’ve made a couple pretty cute and comfy tanks over the past couple lazy weeks + promise to share soon. In the meantime, enjoy my view from this weekend spent at my parents’ home with my awesome Dad on Father’s Day:

I know right. It’s amazing. In the shade, with fans going, slight breeze off the lake, there really isn’t anything more relaxing. And the big fuzzy bear is my meemoo, our 10 year old Shepherd. She’s my bff.

I hope you did something super fun and enjoyable to celebrate your dad on Father’s Day! See you soon with more creative fun…

Today I’m supposed to drive to le Outer Banks with my man-piece for a relaxing birthday weekend in Corolla. We are so lucky to be spending the weekend with Hurricane Andrea! Just so blessed to be in such good company. Le sigh. Suddenly I love using “le” in front of everything. Trendy much?

Anywho. Lately I’ve been trying to focus on having more fun and planning more tiny things to make the days brighter instead of hoping and waiting for a good day to just happen. I’m happy to report that it’s working and I highly recommend it. At the very beginning of the week, I made a checklist of things I wanted to do to have extra fun for my birthday. One of these things was to chill out on the interwebs. I have spent minimal time on le web this week (there it is again), minimal forum chatting, blog reading, and zero blog projects or website work. High. Five.

So this week’s [second] favorite is lazy weeks! The upcoming 26th anniversary of my birth has been causing me some unexpected anxiety to my efforts to really relax and enjoy things have really helped. I really have no idea why 26 seems so bad. Also hilarious that each time I type “26″ I’ve typoed it as “16.” Is that irony? Fairly certain I don’t wish to be 16 again. As great as high school was, I like where I am now. Just if things could slow down a tiny bit, that’d be great.

Also. You know it’s been a lazy week because this post has no photos. Bad blogger! But whatevs. It’s birthday week and the phrase of the week is “long hair, don’t care.” [That first link is NSFSM (Not Safe for Sensitive Moms cough mine).]

Other things on my list of fun for the week: get a massage (scheduled!), read for pleasure, do more journaling, long walk(s), spend time planning fun things for my biz, get my hair done (check!), go on a hike, run, dinner with friends, go out to lunch (a big deal for me these days), a Netflix marathon, cupcakes for dinner (gasp). I’ve done all of these things except the hike, which I plan to make a beach hike if Andrea isn’t a huge biotch and ruins the entire weekend.

My other favorite thing is chatting with you guys! What are your favorite things to do to celebrate yourself? Anyone out there hate birthdays? Just another day? Any quarter life crises out there? Is 26 a daunting year for you too? Or is it 30? 40? 50? 18?

OMG PS! Forgot to mention this detail:I didn’t just get my hair “done.” I dyed my hair. Violet. It is awesome and giving me huge extra doses of sass. Follow me on instagram to get a sneak peek…I’ve been posting an inappropriate number of selfies. Do forgive me.

Click the photo above to find all posts on Oh My Handmade on this topic, or hit up my sidebar for quick reference. See you at camp!

Oh My Handmade Goodness is a community of creatives helping each other grow and connect and in general stay sane. I have “met” some of the nicest ladies and am happy to invite myself to be a part of something so fun. For this and all the fantastic things OMHG does, she/it/they/we are the favorite this week. Follow weekly chats and all things handmade with the hashtag #omhg.

There will be another favorites post this week but I wanted to post this early since camp is just beginning!

I designed this fun + simple (and gender-neutral, mostly) birthday party invitation printable for this month because as I’ve said a billion times, I love birthdays! And hey. It’s FREE. Like, I’m giving you a present! For MY birthday! I’m so nice.

My super awesome newsletter subscribers got this free printable straight to their inboxes this morning. But because it’s my birthday month, if you join the newsletter THIS WEEK, you can still get it! Yes! Hop on the list now – before midnight on Saturday, June 8th, and you too will get this little goodie right to your electronic mailbox. Yay!

Do you have a party to throw this month? Next month? In a year? Your bff? Nephew? Cousin? Best Man? Sister? Auntie? Pretty sure people of all ages and sizes love colorful balloons. Let’s party, ya’ll. See, I’ve even used it for my hypothetical birthday party at Raleigh Times. Bam.

The theme this month is to CREATE, specifically with the sewing machine. So, all month I’ll be creating NEW things for myself via sewing and I want YOU to join me! Have you been saving up for that special machine? Go buy it. I promise you won’t regret it. My Singer is for beginners and the factory manual is actually extremely helpful. And remember, I’m self-taught too. [Also, I haven't told you how many sewing projects have been failures that never even make it on this blog. Don't be scared!]

And now I want to hear from you! What are you celebrating this month? Any wedding marathons? Special birthdays or anniversaries? Let’s celebrate together in the comments!

1. The weddings of some of the most special and important people in my life. Two dudes who are both like brothers to me are marrying the loves of their lives on the SAME DAY. Good job, guys. Anyway, it brings me great joy to see both of these dudes taking this step with two girls who are both super awesome, and I only wish I could clone myself to be in two not-so-close cities at one time. June is for joy, ya’ll.

2. My birthday. I love birthdays, and mine in particular. It’s like the one day a year that it’s kind of ok to let my only child show. I let her show by accident a lot but birthdays make it completely legitimate. I also refuse to acknowledge that other people on the planet have the same birthday as me. Sorry to the thousands of other humans also born on June 8th, but it’s MY day. K thanks. Haha.

3. Father’s Day. Last year my family started a pretty bangin tradition in which we go to a winery on Saturday, drink all day, then enjoy a huge feast at a semi-famous German restaurant in middle-of-nowhere, Virginia. That might sound like sarcasm but it is SO not. Can’t wait to celebrate the best dad in the world, Tom the Bomb, again this year. Grateful he picked me and Ma. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

4. My birthday. Did I mention how much I love my birthday? I use the entire month of June to celebrate and like using the excuse that technically I was premature by 6 weeks, so shouldn’t my birth celebration really continue until my original due date? Um, yes. Plus, I wasn’t breathing on my own for quite a while, which could mean I wasn’t finished being born for, like, months. Anyway. I like funfetti cupcakes and sprinkles on my ice cream, thanks for asking!

5. More FREEBIES! I have an exciting free printable for everyone next week (that was a sneak peek at the top of this post!) once June has actually begun, so JOIN THE NEWSLETTER and get excited to see what it is! It will only be free for the month of JUNE! And this time I’m only sending it to my subscribers. Want in? Thought so.

After June, it will go up in my Etsy shop, never to be free again. Grandmom used to say: For free, take. For buy, waste time. If you’re all like, “what the heck does Grandmom mean by that?” She simply means…hop on the newsletter!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend ringing in the best month of the whole year. Big birthday and wedding and anniversary and Father’s Day hugs to you!

I have a thing for baskets, and most definitely have issues when walking through the basket aisles of favorite stores like Target and the Container Store. Any item that needs a place to live can make a happy home in a basket and provide me happiness at the same time. It’s similar to my affair with glass jars. One could go so far as to say I have issues with storage containers in general, and it would not be inaccurate.

While you puzzle on that double negative, let’s move on to today’s sprucing project: adding casters to a basket! It’s pretty easy, and a way cheaper alternative to this pretty one from Pottery Barn. I got the idea when I saw that PB basket in a post of Amanda’s over at Wit and Whistle (check out the first photo for a peek at the basket) and my organization-loving brain experienced a teenage freakout. Like, OMG, I needed that basket, like ASAP. LOL. I wanted to love it like a sister and KIT over the summer, too, and was hopeful for BFF status. Anyway. High five to Amanda who snagged it on sale, but cooler heads prevailed and I said no thanks to $70 plus shipping for a basket. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

This particular set of casters was $6 from Lowe’s, and the screws + nuts were $5 from my neighborhood Ace Hardware. That’s a grand total of $11. This tutorial is super unofficial, but it works and is very easy, not to mention way cheaper than $70. It does take a bit of patience, and I don’t recommend doing this on a fresh manicure like I did. Ugh, the cost of the DIY life.

Start by turning the basket on it’s side, place a caster roughly in one corner, put a screw through the caster, and poke + wiggle + jiggle it through the weave of the basket. The weave on my basket left big enough gaps for my screws, so I positioned the casters in order to get screws through gaps in the weave. Use one hand (or a screwdriver) to hold the outside of the screw still, and use the other hand to twist the nut onto the screw as tightly as you can.

When I was done, I tightened the screws even more by twisting the screw to the left with a screwdriver, and holding the nut still with my other hand. This sealed the deal, as it were. There is probably an easier way of doing this that involves little wood pieces on the inside of the basket to attach the casters, or the use of some other manly tools, but this is what worked for me. I still do all my DIY work with a child-size pink toolbox, so, yeah. Sim. Ple.

You can see here that in a couple cases, I didn’t put a screw in all 4 holes, but after testing it out, 3 out of 4 still makes for a secure caster in this case.

That’s it. Super easy. You can find fancier caster sets at Lowe’s and other hardware stores, or get super fancy and snag some from a thrift or antique shop.

Have any of you successfully DIY’d an expensive but super cute find from PB or the like? What else are you putting casters on? Would love to hear your projects and ideas in the comments!

Welcome to my newest series which I will attempt to post every Thursday: favorites! Last week you got a little taste – or rather, a big taste (longest post in recent history!) of my first favorite: Mayi’s Life Is Messy Planners. If you missed it, do yourself a favor and give it a gander. Life changing.

But anyway, this week’s favorite is fresh flowers. Of all things I love to use when decorating, fresh flowers are definitely top 5. They add brightness, personality, nature, happiness, and sometimes a lovely subtle fragrance to any space. This little mini bouquet is from a local favorite, Carlton’s Florist, which has been on Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh for more than 25 years and going strong. I snagged just a couple favorite stems to help welcome Momma D when she visited for Mother’s Day. Peonies and hydrangea by the stem can be a bit pricey, but luckily for those of us on a budget, one stem has a huge impact – and they were a huge hit with Ma.

Peonies might be my favorite of the fragrant blossoms. Their scent is light and sweet and easily fills my space with an airy pleasantness. These blooms are almost at their end, but I tend to like them better when they are fully bloomed and kind of floppy.

I love putting fresh flowers in these old vintage jars I acquired. Lucky for anyone who doesn’t have cool vintage glass jars (haha, sorry I’m not sorry?), flowers can go in anything from a spare coffee mug to a cake platter, and everything in between. Get creative.

I try to grab a fresh bunch of something pretty from the grocery store or farmer’s market every month. It’s a special treat and definitely something to look forward to! What are your favorite flowers to keep around? Let’s see how many we can list in the comments!

Well. The time for the ultimate dream DIY headboard is not here yet, and I think it may be quite awhile before that time actually arrives. Luckily for me, there are a bunch of non-insane, non-complicated, easy ideas to try without committing to an extensive project or needing a jigsaw and other messy [but super cool] man-tools.

So, welcome to my new bedroom! Recognize those maps? They used to live downstairs. I moved them. Obviously. [Super secret + fun project underway for replacing them.] No idea why the lampshade looks wonky, but I swear it was straight to the naked eye. Camera tricks!

I really love the new additions to the room, and I finally unwrapped some large euro-shams from Ikea and wrapped them in plain white cases. I have plans for those cases to spruce them up but it’s low on the list and they work fine as-is.

Let’s have a photo-happy tour and be sure to check out my source list at the end if you spy something you love!

I love the way the pillow cases are the exact coloring of the lamp shade. It works so well with the maps, too!

Favorite new hipster shoes. Got them at DSW so not sure if that makes them not hipster, but they are the most comfortable things ever. Worn them non-stop since purchasing.

A few weeks ago, I did a post on my vanity and the DREAM necklace display. The room is actually quite small, and I strategically did not photograph what you are seeing now because it was gross. Supremely improved, I think!

Got some questions from last week’s post on my awesome new planners about my gorgeous phone case – I found it a long time ago on Design Sponge and finally got around to buying one. Snagged on Society 6, it’s “Meadows” by Jenny Vorwaller. Her whole collection is beautiful and there are tons of fun cases on Society 6 – it’s a black hole time waster, so be careful.

This next photo is super boring but it perfectly shows what color the walls are painted, and also demonstrates a non-cute DIY because the light switch in the room doesn’t work. Walking into a dark room before turning on a light is in my top 10 things I despise the most in life, seriously. Too many episodes of Law & Order or something, but I absolutely refuse where possible to walk into a room without first turning the light on. This was my solution, made better by using those awesome vintage filament bulbs (ceiling and pipe made it too low to use a lantern or other covering).

And now, source list! Numbers go in somewhat clockwise order.

1. Black frame with signed matting (from my 25th birthday party) is from Michael’s.
2. Paper lantern from Ikea. Duh.
3. Maps from tiny store in San Francisco, frames from Ikea.
4. Lamp shade was a plain white shade from Target, and was possibly my very first DIY project ever when I recovered with that fabric (no longer sold).
5. Owl lamp from Home Goods.
6. Vintage nightstand I found on Craig’s List. Search using keywords “vintage,” “mid-century,” or sometimes specific decades works.
7. Sweater blanket (favorite thing ever) from Joss & Main.
8. Ruffle duvet cover (sans duvet, in my case, because it’s summertime) from Anthropologie, but no longer sold. I love this and this as alternatives (both are quilts, not duvet covers).
9. Pillow cases from Target’s new Threshold Collection. Euro shams and cases from Ikea.
10. Adorable alarm clock from Ikea
11. Paint color is Valspar Bay Waves.

The end! Which parts do you like? Am I the only one who changes decorations at the drop of a hat? Let’s share our secrets in the comments!

These planners are my new sanity enhancement. Life improvement. Organizational genie. Magic happiness fairy.

Ugh. I love them so much I just want to show pictures and not type words. But I must share.

Some of you know that I’ve been a fan of Mayi Carles for quite awhile. She’s been my creative magic fairy coach for almost 2 years and is the best cheerleader, like, ever. Also, her Friday Video Time posts are basically the best way to end the week. Anyway, she has these awesome things called Life is Messy Planners and even though I’ve known she’s awesome for forever, I never bought them. One day I was feeling particularly unorganized, without purpose or direction – a long mental list of things I wanted and needed to do and no way to manage it, track it, help me remember it. And boom. There was Mayi and her planners. I snagged the pack, and have not looked back.

1. Daily To-Do Planner. I sit down every evening or morning and write out my entire day. I cannot describe how this has improved my life. Actually I can. I get SO MUCH ACCOMPLISHED I’m like the accomplishment queen now. I don’t watch TV while working. I remember to eat. I don’t get sidetracked with Facebook or Pinterest. I DO get everything done. I DO stay motivated. I mean, Sara DOES. Right?!
2. Weekly To-Do Planner. For things like “pay this bill by this day” or when I need to run an errand at some point, or when I need to order those stupid contacts already because I’m on my last pair for crying out loud.
3. Peeking on the side there is my “To The Market!” grocery printable. I know! I use my own printables, too! Go snag one here - it’s free.

As each hour passes and/or I finish whatever is in the box, I like to color in the little circles. Because coloring is fun, even (especially?) for adults. Oh but there’s more to color!

At the end of the day, I love to color in the smilies and take a few moments to reflect on my day. Admittedly, if my mood is poor, it instantly improves when I reflect and choose a face to color in. And yes, I am keeping these in a folder for safekeeping. Because I keep things.

And there’s even more coloring!

I love this mini water intake tracker. I love coloring in the glasses as the day goes on. It’s like a mini race almost. And, like the early start time, the empty glasses mock me when I look up at them. I’m refilling my tumbler more than ever before.

I keep these tacked to my cork board above my desk – easy access for checking in with my progress, adding items, and obviously for coloring and checking things off. The Month at-a-glance calendar is also super useful:

The cool thing about these planners is that it’s more than a daily, weekly, monthly agenda. There’s goal tracking, idea cultivating, yearly income tracker, fitness goals + plans, and so much more. If you’re starting or running a business, these are so for you. If you’re a busy working professional, these are for you. If you’re a stay-at-home-and-super-busy-mom, these are for you. And they are so pretty! I love all of Mayi’s illustrations, and having that little extra pretty in my day has seriously improved my productivity and even daily contentment.

Seriously. Man-Piece made fun of me when I first started using these planners, saying something like, “You just like them because they’re pretty.” Um, well, yeah, duh. It’s not nearly as fun to put your to-do list on a blank sheet of paper, now is it! And thus why I was so unorganized before.

My website and blog organization has also skyrocketed. The Monthly Blog Planner and Monthly To Do Planner are both great. Great place to jot down post ideas, cross off posts I’ve done, ideas for collaboration, projects, literally anything. And you don’t even have to be a blogger to benefit.

Also Mayi doesn’t know this, but the fact that the daily planner starts at 6am and I typically don’t get up until quite a bit later than that (cough not telling you when) has slowly and subtly shamed me into starting my day earlier. Haha. Who knew a pretty piece of paper would be the thing to get my lazy self out of bed. [And glass containers strike again! Look how pretty my push pins look in a shot glass!]

I love every single one of these planners, and see Aladdin reference above. Because ya’ll, life IS messy. And I am not ashamed to say that pretty paper goods help me stay on top of the mess. Do you want some? I bet you do. Because seriously they are SO pretty and useful! If you want to snag a set to keep up with your own messy life, go snag some here.

NOTES: I work full-time from home for an actual company. If anyone happened to notice the sample daily agenda features lots of blogging and photographing, please note it’s a sample of perhaps my ideal day, should my full-time job ever go away. I don’t actually blog and do crafty projects all day, despite my hopes and dreams. Also note: the links above are affiliate links. I’m an affiliate for Mayi because I love her, she knows what she’s doing, and her planners are amazing. I would share these awesome beauties with you even if I wasn’t an affiliate. I also subscribe to her newsletter and have paid for one-on-one coaching. If you have an issue letting me benefit from your purchases, use this link to find her planners. 

I have a serious thing for things in glass containers. That one aisle in the Container Store of floor to ceiling glass jars and containers is where I go when I need peace and calm. Everything looks better in a glass jar. Glass jars are practical because you can see what’s inside them. Glass is easy to clean. Glass is neutral so it goes with all colors, decor, themes, etc. Glass jars make everything better.

I went to Ikea last weekend during a fun trip to Charlotte and snagged this serving tray from the kitchen section. Previously, all my containers and junk just sat on the counter, and I’ve always felt they needed something to unite them. And boom. Kind of in love with this tray. AND it’s dishwasher safe! What! Guess what else is dishwasher safe? All glass jars everywhere.

Look how nice a glass container makes a bunch of tweezers and children’s scissors look:

And even my allergy meds in the fuzzy background look fancy. It’s like a magical glass property. I also love that everything has a spot to live. I read somewhere recently something like – where does your fork go? Your fork has a home. Everything should have a home. I didn’t put that in quotes because I can’t remember what the quote was or where I read it but I totally agree. Need a home for a stack of pretty [new] [awesome] hair ties? Glass jar.

Q-tips? Glass jar. Cotton balls? Glass jar.

So. I think there are two lessons here: 1. Trays are awesome and made for more than serving food. Grab one cheap at Target like this one or this one or this one (I love you, Nate Berkus!). 2. Glass jars and containers are fantastic storage devices. Personal hygiene items, food, flowers, craft materials, office supplies, clothing, paper, pine cones, mail, diapers. I think that list is random enough that you get the idea. Haha.

What are YOUR favorite storage and prettifying things? Anyone else in love with Nate Berkus? Let’s dish in the comments!