Today officially marks the end of the holiday season, as the D-Man and I took down the tree and put all the boxes of Christmas decorations back on the top shelf in the garage. It was a wonderful season and of course one of my favorite events is always my annual Christmas Eve open house.
I love seeing the group that has been coming for over twenty years. The children have grown into adults and now bring their spouses, soon to be spouses and children of their own. Being together is wonderful, but entertaining around twenty folks in a 948 square foot house, can also be a stressful time. Cold winter nights mean my California family does not want to be outside, so that means not using the yard as the focal point.
Even having room for all the food, ice and other things needed for entertaining has always been a challenge. I have to admit, in past years, the day of has been a little crazy town and I felt it took away from me really enjoying everyone, which is the main reason for the season.
I don’t normally like to make big purchases right before Christmas for myself, but I did make two this year. I have to say, I have no buyer’s remorse and honestly, I am hoping the ease it brought to having a big event, will mean more entertaining this year, with big and small groups. One of my New Year’s goals is to spend more time with the people in my life I enjoy so much. Making it less stressful will hopefully make it so!
So here they are! The two entertaining stress busting items, both located in the garage:
CRAFTSMAN STORAGE CABINET:
Straight up, I hardly ever walk into Sears. But I was having my truck serviced and the Sears store in Pasadena is right across from the Toyota dealership, so I was killing some time. I saw this storage cabinet and it was half off, marked down to around 250.00. Better yet, it was a floor model, with a little dent on the bottom, so I talked the clerk into marking it down another 15%. The best part? I didn’t have to assemble it, which would have taken more time than I was willing to put in.
It has become a place to store all my spray paint colors, but is also now doubling as the pantry I have never had. The silverware I use for company, the paper plates, the extra water, soda, etc. now has a home! Accessing it all easily means no more stressing about, where the heck are those Solo cups? I now have one place to go and that was well worth the money spent!
GALANZ REFRIGERATOR:
I am a sucker for retro looking refrigerators. The one in my kitchen was way more than any human should ever pay for an appliance and being over ten years old, I have paid for two repairs that would have easily bought another regular refrigerator. But I just couldn’t let it go.
So when I started looking for an additional refrigerator for my garage that could hold more than just some drinks, this one caught my eye. When it went on sale at Home Depot, it was a done deal.
Having room for party ice, Christmas Eve desserts and all the food I needed for twenty people was a true Christmas miracle. Right now, it is the extra drink and ice holder, but the next time I entertain, I know it will be worth every penny.
So here is to spending some money on making your life easier and making the holidays happier! Sometimes it really is worth it!
I love seeing the group that has been coming for over twenty years. The children have grown into adults and now bring their spouses, soon to be spouses and children of their own. Being together is wonderful, but entertaining around twenty folks in a 948 square foot house, can also be a stressful time. Cold winter nights mean my California family does not want to be outside, so that means not using the yard as the focal point.
Even having room for all the food, ice and other things needed for entertaining has always been a challenge. I have to admit, in past years, the day of has been a little crazy town and I felt it took away from me really enjoying everyone, which is the main reason for the season.
I don’t normally like to make big purchases right before Christmas for myself, but I did make two this year. I have to say, I have no buyer’s remorse and honestly, I am hoping the ease it brought to having a big event, will mean more entertaining this year, with big and small groups. One of my New Year’s goals is to spend more time with the people in my life I enjoy so much. Making it less stressful will hopefully make it so!
So here they are! The two entertaining stress busting items, both located in the garage:
CRAFTSMAN STORAGE CABINET:
Straight up, I hardly ever walk into Sears. But I was having my truck serviced and the Sears store in Pasadena is right across from the Toyota dealership, so I was killing some time. I saw this storage cabinet and it was half off, marked down to around 250.00. Better yet, it was a floor model, with a little dent on the bottom, so I talked the clerk into marking it down another 15%. The best part? I didn’t have to assemble it, which would have taken more time than I was willing to put in.
It has become a place to store all my spray paint colors, but is also now doubling as the pantry I have never had. The silverware I use for company, the paper plates, the extra water, soda, etc. now has a home! Accessing it all easily means no more stressing about, where the heck are those Solo cups? I now have one place to go and that was well worth the money spent!
GALANZ REFRIGERATOR:
I am a sucker for retro looking refrigerators. The one in my kitchen was way more than any human should ever pay for an appliance and being over ten years old, I have paid for two repairs that would have easily bought another regular refrigerator. But I just couldn’t let it go.
So when I started looking for an additional refrigerator for my garage that could hold more than just some drinks, this one caught my eye. When it went on sale at Home Depot, it was a done deal.
Having room for party ice, Christmas Eve desserts and all the food I needed for twenty people was a true Christmas miracle. Right now, it is the extra drink and ice holder, but the next time I entertain, I know it will be worth every penny.
So here is to spending some money on making your life easier and making the holidays happier! Sometimes it really is worth it!
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