La Casa de Claudio

I've recently realized how much I love to organize. I guess it makes sense, considering I was constantly rearranging my room growing up.  Once I even make a blueprint of my room/furniture on graph paper to find ways to move around my bed, desk, bookshelf, etc.

So when Daniel recently got his own apartment, this pastime resurfaced. Every time I come over, I want to go shopping so we can better organize his living space (usually it's to Wal Mart, Ross, JoAnns, or my favorite new thrift shop- Thrift Town).  Sometimes Daniel will just tell me to sit down and relax because I'm looking around for something I can "fix". Also, he has also told me time and time again that NO he does not need a shoe rack for his 6 pairs or shoes. Fine. Here are some things we have collected/made.

Grocery Bag Dispenser
Daniel picked out this awful...I mean lovely red checkered fabric shortly after I got my sewing machine. It took me a while to figure out what to make from it, but soon realized that something had to be done with the growing of plastic bags he was collecting. I like to think I'm a huge advocate for reusable grocery bags, but to be honest I often forget. Anyway, I found a pattern for a grocery bag dispenser (click here) and made one. I'm happy to report that it has been very handy, and that the fabric actually looks pretty good in the kitchen.

Chalk Board
We found this under a pile of frames at Goodwill. It didn't have a price on it but I wanted to get it so bad! Luckily it was only $5!!! Oh and it's IKEA. I added some screw-hooks on the bottom to hold towels, hot pads, and whatever else.

Guitar & Frame
If you didn't know, Daniel is Argentine. It's a big deal. He gave me one of his Argentine flags to hang on my wall after a few months of dating. It's ok though, because it is a beautiful flag and I had wanted to visit Argentina even before I knew he was Argentine! Anyway, Daniel inherited this beautiful ivory guitar with carvings of horses and gauchos. It is so beautiful! It has a little hole in the top to be hung up, but the problem is that the guitar camouflaged into the white walls of his apartment.
Solution: We bought a cheap black frame at WalMart. Then we bought some Argentina Blue fabric at JoAnns. We secured the fabric to the frame backing with hot glue. Then, put a nail through the fabric, the back of the frame, and straight into the wall. Since the frame is really light weight, it holds up the whole ensemble. Hopefully we can someday give this beautiful guitar justice with a better display, but for now it isn't bad!