Abadie Command Center

I'm super excited to share one of my latest projects...the Abadie Command Center! I'd been perusing Pinterest when I came across the idea. The Command Center would be the key to dejunkifying (I'm pretty sure i just made up a new word)and getting it together over here at the Abadie house!

When we moved in to our new house, the large island in the kitchen seemed to be the catch all for everything! Mail, loose change, newspaper, school stuff, etc. You name it, it was there. I needed a plan fast!

I decided on three components:
1) magnetic board for calendar, menu, miscellaneous papers to be in sight
2) Cork board for invitations, art work, cards, stuff that would be time limited and likely to be tossed every few weeks and
3) the piece de resistance...peg board for organizing all that stuff

The cork board was obviously the easiest and cheapest component...one pack of four 12" square cork tiles at Walmart. Smack them up there and done!

Magnetic board wasn't that difficult either. We purchased a piece of sheet metal at Lowes that was the right size, attached with 3M strips and voila! I already had a dry erase calendar that we were using but it previously was affixed to the front of the upright freezer that was in the space. It's new home on the magnetic board. I made the menu board with an inexpensive dry erase board and scrapbook stickers. Please notice the menu is planned for Monday - Friday, the Abadie kitchen is closed on weekends. This means we mostly eat leftovers or out on weekends. I added a couple of magnetic clips to hold coupons, receipts, and the like. You know, the stuff that's always junking up the place.

The final, most difficult (but oh so fun) component was the pegboard. I'm completely obsessed with all things chevron as of late and decided that would be perfect for my command center. If only I'd realize the challenge that would pose...I'm talking math people, math that was too complicated for this girl to figure out. I eventually just counted the number of holes and didn't even do any measuring or complicated math (I don't do math bit I can count).

I found the galvanized buckets, pegged accessories (including the basket that I painted white) at Lowes and the letter A at Hobby Lobby. The chevron pattern is painted using the wall color (SW Universal Khaki) and a random blue I selected at Lowes. I added some hooks to hold Addison's artwork and the stickers for her multiple sticker charts (I'll confess, I'm a little addicted to sticker charts). Each bucket is for each of us, I've toyed with the idea of personalizing them with our names, monogram, pics or something but haven't got around to that yet. Brandon's is the one on the far left, you see it, the overflowing one. I just scoop up all the stuff left on the island and put it in the owners respective bucket. In an ideal world, each of us would return the miscellaneous stuff in the buckets to it's rightful home but that doesn't happen as often as I like. Truthfully, it's usually when one of us is missing something we end up looking in our bucket.  

Here's the complete project, helps give me a feeling or organization and it kind of cute in my opinion. How do you stay organized at your house?

Good dirty fun

Last weekend, I "ran" the 5K Foam Fest with some friends from work and had a BLAST! I was quite worried, feared impending doom before the race started but laughed the whole 5K.

One of the items on my bucket list is to be a contestant on the show Wipe Out. I figured this was the closest I'd get to making it a reality, so I signed up like no biggie. Not until a friend of mine, who I was trying to talk into joining us, educated me on some of the obstacles, then I feared for my life...seriously, I'm not a swimmer and truthfully don't consider myself physical fit.

My coworker, Emily (third from left) came up with the name of Foxy Foam Fighters and made our capes. They were a challenge on some obstacles but went with our superhero theme. This is our fresh and clean pre race shot.

Here we are mid race dirty and foamy...we were having so much fun but getting tired at this point. They all made fun of me because I kept my mask on the whole time. My eyes are very sensitive to the sun so I kept my sunglasses on over the mask which kept it firmly in place. And added a little mystery....who is that masked girl flying through the course (that's a joke, obviously, despite the cape, I didn't not fly).

We even had nicknames...flirty, fierce, and I can't remember the others. Emily added our names on the back of our capes.

Here I am at the top of one of the four walls we had to climb. This was a challenge, especially since I'm so short. Apparently though, it was easier for me with smaller feet to get in between the slats, so the tall girls said.

Victorious at the top! But then I had to get over and down...tough stuff. I was so proud of me at this point because several of my teammates were going to skip the third and fourth walls but I was pumped to be so close to the finish line. I gave a little motivational speech and we all gave it our best. 

Last obstacle, worlds largest water slide, into dirty foam. This picture cracks me up because I was so preoccupied with not getting dirt, water, foam, who know what else in my mouth. The shot of my landing shows I totally nailed it.

Final jog to the finish line as a team. 

Team photo op...I have this framed in my cubicle at work. We decided it was a good team building exercise and we should recruit other coworkers next time.

Dirty shoes, post race. 

Tons of fun...and I burned 1256 calories!

Emily told me on Tuesday that another foam/mud race is coming to town in the fall...she's already recruiting team mates...I'm in!