I love it when you call me big pappa

I love taking a glimpse into the lives of my friends. Whether its watching their home videos, looking at their pictures, reading their blogs, or checking out their Face Book profiles, it all makes me smile. It gives me the much needed reminder that my friends are real people too. You see, I tend to put them up on these pedestals that magically make their lives so much better than mine. But what I have realized is that they are just normal everyday people that have the same kinds of issues as me.

So as I was walking into my closet last night, it hit me. I realized that my closet has always been the envy of all of my friends. An awesome, kick-ass closet is one thing that I have that none of them have. And you would think that this would give me some kind of satisfaction in knowing that I have something that they don’t. But, nope…it doesn’t. In all honesty, it’s actually kind of embarrassing. Embarrassing because it is obnoxious and unorganized. You see, my closet is the size of a bedroom (13x13) and kept about as clean and organized as my kids toy boxes…that’s right…my closet is one big “cluster %$#*”

So, my goal with posting this article today is to hopefully humiliate myself by showing you the pictures of my obnoxiously large, unorganized closet in hopes that I will be embarrassed enough to get my butt in gear and get it organized. After all, I have only lived in this house for 4 ½ years and the closet has never changed

So here we go....

This picture is a picture of the divider wall as you enter my closet.


This wall divides my closet in half, which was a great thing! On this divider is my life. The current months calendar keeps me organized and the collage of pictures of my boys below is a constant reminder of how lucky I am. Notice the picture resting on top of the calendar. It is actually a collage of Gibson’s favorite football players. I have tried and tried to move this collage, but am reminded each time at how excited I was to receive this gift from Gibson on Mother’s Day, so I need to show it proudly, right?

This picture is the right side of my closet.


I often refer to this side of my closet as the office/drying rack/boutique/family art museum. I love writing in here and reminiscing over each piece of carefully created artwork. In fact, I can pinpoint almost every memory of the days these carefully created masterpieces were brought home with excitement and carefully placed on the wall. Behind me in the closet is this.

Or what I like to refer to as the boutique portion of the closet. It’s where I carefully place my handbags and a pair of Jimmy Choo’s (my divorce gift to myself). I have to keep them up because my niece likes to play with my shoes when she is over and I would absolutely die if she ever put these on!

This picture is my jewelry display.

If I don’t put my necklaces and rings out like this, I tend to forget what I have and then nothing gets worn. Notice the purple medallion over to the very far right (you can only see ½ of it in this picture). That was the “medal” that Hamilton and Gibson presented me with after I finished my first mini marathon. I smile every time I look at it.

This picture is the left side of the other side of my closet.

This is not a good representation of this side of my closet because tonight is laundry night and I have three loads of jeans behind me that need to be washed and some hanging on the other side drying (you may have noticed that in the previous pictures). I didn’t feel like it was necessary to take pictures of my dirty laundry for this blog. But I digress. I know, my jeans obsession is crazy! At last count I had 37 pairs of jeans. Now don’t get your panties in a bunch…it is my addiction and I can’t help it. Unfortunately, the reality of it is that I only wear about ten of them on a regular basis.

This picture is the right side of the other side of my closet

And this side is the most frustrating part of my closet because I have absolutely no idea how to organize it. There is no rhyme or reason to this side and I often spend an unnecessary amount of time searching for things to wear over here.

That’s it…that’s my closet in a nutshell. Am I embarrassed at the excess? Yes! Am I going to change my habits anytime soon? Probably not! Am I motivated to get more organized and figure out what I actually have and what I can donate? Absolutely!

You may now be asking yourself, Julie what was the ultimate reason for this post? Well, it was a reminder to me that I am blessed in many ways. I may not have the perfect family, or best house, or most awesome life, but it is my family, my house and my life and I wouldn’t trade of those things with any of my friends!