Call me a bit obsessive if you’d like…but before you utter those words, just look at how much nicer this bookshelf looks after some simple organizing and rearranging.

BEFORE: years of messy, toss-it-on-the-shelf activity and dust
BEFORE: years of messy, toss-it-on-the-shelf activity and dust

How-to achieve the look:

  1. I took each and every book off the shelf.
  2. I separated the books by color and by size.
  3. Then, I re-arranged them back on the shelf in an order that would fit the bookshelf and was pleasing to the eye.
  4. Tip: alter the vertical and horizontal arrangement, of your books, to give more room on the shelf and some visual interest.

After: ahhhhh!
After: ahhhhh!

Over last weekend we did some canoeing in Rhode Island with friends.  I was happy to have kept the canoe upright…during the hours long trip.  It was a good workout and fun to meet new friends…let’s not mention the ticks, low hanging tree trunks, and mosquitoes.

Megan and Mary

Megan and Mary

Fewer trees, roots and debrie in this area

The humidity was high as Emily, Bella and Xernay worked to get their hair and makeup just right.

Prom Prep 1

Prom Prep 2

Prom eyelashes

Black clouds rolled in, the winds blew and it began to rain…..really rain.  We were the lucky ones.  Unknown to us, Springfield, Westfield, Brimfield and across Western Massachusetts tornadoes rumbled. Here, they don’t have the tornado sirens I remember from Wisconsin.

But these beauties kept on…

PromPrep 3

With dress shoes in hand and umbrellas we all headed out to Limo Central.  It seemed outdoor pictures were going to be out of the question. The car ride to the Leeds Limo was hazardous at times, rains whipping across the windshield blinding our view.  We muddled onward….and by the time we got to Dan’s house the rain’s had stopped and clouds were moving quickly east.

Flowers were exchanged as we waited for late comers and cameras were at ready.

Prom at Dan 1

Prom Dan 2

Prom Dan 3

Prom Dan & X

Prom in front of limo

Prom parents

Prom Off in limo

And they were off…to official picture taking that was suppose to occur in Child’s Park.  Due to the wet grass, this happened in front of the high school, were limo after limo pulled up and dropped off the relieved Prom goers.

Prom NHS 1

Prom NHS 2

By this point, the tornadoes had touched down in Springfield and were moving easterly.  The damage heavy. The Prom goers shuttled on over to the Log Cabin, Holyoke which is up on top of Mt. Tom.  I’m pretty sure they saw the spectacular sunset which cast an orange glow across the Valley.

Sadly, just after 8:30 pm or so, and post dinner-I received a text message telling me: Prom was canceled.

By 10:30 the fancy Prom dresses were exchanged for more casual attire and the party had moved to the Post Prom locale.

Oh, and of course Prom Dresscue bucks the going trend, noted in today’s  New York Times article: The Prom Dress Moves Into the Designer Leagues.