Organized Chaos: Closets

The unpacking continues.

Today's major mission was the master closet. There is just something about organizing clothes that is terribly daunting. Maybe it's knowing that even when the closet is organized optimally...it's still going to look chaotic.

This is about as good as it's ever going to get. 

There are three things I learned from organizing the closet:

1. I need to buy some color. Half of my wardrobe is ivory, gray, navy, and black. How boring.

2. My shoes are never going to stay that organized.

3. The closet is a lot bigger when it doesn't have a bunch of boxes and shoes on the floor.

I don't know about you, but I dream (almost daily) of a master closet a la Carrie Bradshaw. I don't mean the tiny apartment version with couture thrown everything all willy nilly...I mean the heaven on Fifth version that's perfectly organized and lighted.

Although, I'd settle for any of these (and I'm sure you would, too)...

Contemporary Closet design by Chicago Interior Designer jamesthomas, LLC

Traditional Bathroom design by Boston Architect Solomon+Bauer+Giambastiani Architects

Traditional Closet design by Tampa General Contractor Javic Homes

Contemporary Closet design

Traditional Closet design by Phoenix Interior Designer Palm Design Group

Traditional Closet design by Dallas Closets And Organization California Closets

Now THAT's a closet! oh my.

There's just something about having all my clothes behind doors (even if they're glass) that gets my heart aflutter.

It just looks so much neater when everything is tucked away...except my shoes. Let me see my shoes.

Enough about me...

How do you feel about your closet? 

Do you want to see your wardrobe or hide it away?

All images from houzz.com

The big move in Instagram and the great lobster bake

Last week was a crazy one.

Moving really stinks, but it's worth it in the end.

After 5 days, dozens of trips up and down the stairs, help from two strong men and four eager parents, one washer/dryer installation, two horrifying journeys up the stairs for my favorite furniture pieces, three furniture touch ups, eight million boxes, a four hour stint in IKEA and one celebratory lobster dinner...we're almost all moved in.

There's just one small load remaining in the old place and I just don't have it in me to bring more boxes into this house. That load will just have to stay there until I get the rest of my life sorted out.

My babies (aka the deck herb garden) were one of the first things that I moved, so they could enjoy their new view. 

Loving our new front door.

We have an insane amount of wine glasses. This isn't even all of our glassware.

New sweet new vases that I got at Across The Way Cape May. Found the perfect spot for them above the sink.

Welcome home!

It took a LOT of moving. I'm not sure how two people can accumulate so much stuff in such a small apartment. We're even pretty good at not being hoarders. We just have...stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

To celebrate the big move into our sweet new digs, we attended a lobster bake at our favorite local winery.

Now, normally I'm totally squeamish about eating a dinner that has a face. I can't put my hand inside a turkey at Thanksgiving and frankly I'm surprised that I can clean shrimp. If that doesn't bother you, I admire your guts. 

I fully expected to make my fiance clean my lobster for me and maybe cry a little.

But then, Alton Brown changed my mind. 

We watch a lot of Good Eats and happened to watch the lobster episode a few weeks ago. 

Throughout the whole show he refers to lobsters as "bugs" instead of, I don't know, "little creature that harmlessly lives in the ocean and was killed because you're hungry". But really, they are closer to cockroaches than they are to my pet cat. So, looking at the situation through that lens, I was able to get farther into the lobster than I thought I would. (Even though the thought of eating a bug wasn't sitting well either.)

I'm proud to say that I did the whole tail and claws on my own with no problems.

I broke down around cracking through the body to get the roe or sucking the tiny legs to get out a little meat.

Maybe I'm getting braver with my food.

Maybe it was the delicious wine.

Yeah, it was probably the wine.

This picture cracks me up, though. Clearly, one of us was thoroughly enjoying our dinner.

What are your thoughts on lobster? Can you tuck into one without feeling just a little guilty?