May 2012

Wednesday 05.30.12

Throwback Thursday: Heather Kathleen Gilligan (soon-to-be Heather Gilligan Byrne)

It's no secret that NEAT's brunette beauty is quite the ham but after taking a peek into her past, it turns out she was also the size of one when she was born! When chatting with Heather about her "Throwback" feature, she fell into fits of laughter as she explained that it would be no surprise to hear that her first words were "fren fries." Although Heather says her parents should have put a bra on her when she was born, we think she was absolutely ADORABLE and we are sure you will agree!!

When asking Heather about her past, we learned that this cutie got away with murder! Here are just a few examples:

- In kindergarten she de-pantsed a boy that told her he wasn't wearing any underwear

- She threw her beloved "Baby" out the car window to test her Dad's promise that he would not go get it if she did - Heather proved him wrong!

- Little Heather even dressed her brother up in FULL FEMALE garb, Beauty and the Best nightgown and all!

- This badass even read R.L Stein Goosebumps books (rebel!)

baby comb over, fat baby, baby rolls, pudgy baby, happy baby, baby girl, Heather Byrne

Need we say more....

power wheels, snow, winter, Indiana, Heather Byrne, Red Jeep, Snow clothes, 90's child, Cold day

Seems thrilled to be in the driver's seat (notice "Baby" on the floor board)!

John Gilligan, Heather Gilligan, Lisa Gilligan, Kerry Gilligan, Heather Byrne, woods, cabin, Walloon Lake, Michigan, Walloon

Yes...that is Heather on the right!

pink bow, blue bow, girls, happy girls, pink dress, blue dress, brunettes

Matching with her sister (where is her brother and why isn't he in his dress??)

Walloon, Walloon Lake, Michigan, Cabin, Lake House, dock, suntanning, summer, family, happy family

Partners in crime at the lake

water skiing, 90's, Walloon Lake, Walloon, Michigan, girls, Boat Coats, Life Vests, Neon Jackets

Lovin' life

As you can see from these pictures, Heather wasn't all trouble. She loved playing any sport that the boys would let her join, while wearing her favorite Umbros. When she wasn't beating the boys at their own games, Heather was crushing on Devon Sawa and J.T.T or eating Peanut Butter N' Chip ice cream from UDF. Known as "Hez" or "Skipper" by her friends and family, she believed in Santa Claus as long as she could and also spent her weekends watching her favorite Mary Kate and Ashley movies...specifically, Passport to Paris.

I mean, who wouldn't have wanted to be her friend back in the 90's????

We love you Hez!

xx

Molly & Ashley

by admin | posted in About Us | tagged Heather GilliganThrowback Thursday

Wednesday 05.16.12

Throwback Thursday :: Ashley RIEGEL Murphy

For those of you who stalk Ashley on a regular basis, it just so happens to be your lucky week! We here at NEAT are sharing two blog posts about this bodacious babe in one week!

With Ash back in touch with her Midwestern roots, what better way to help her settle in to Chicago than by having THROWBACK Thursday?!

Just to give you a little glimpse into circa late 1980s/early 1990s :: Riegel Beagle LOVED Matt Damon, New Kids on the Block, Umbros, Pink and Purple Hypercolor T-shirts, throwing a football like a boy, snacking on BBQ Baked Lays, and her Teddy Bear Curly (who she STILL sleeps with).

Who is her first kiss you ask? Mr. Brian Murphy. Not to be confused with her husband, Mike Murphy. And no, they are in no way related.

We know you are all DYING to know how Ashley rocked the 80’s and early 90’s – and let’s just say, these pictures are worth way more than a thousand words!

little girl, cute baby, blonde girl, kid in hat, Ashley Murphy

Ashley Murphy, purple sweater, 80s child, 80s, bowl cut, blond hair, rock wall

ballerina, purple tu tu, dancer, girl dancing,

bikini, swimsuit, wink, summer, lake house, cabin, girl

ballerina, bossy, blonde, ballet, tutu, dancer,

WHAT did we learn by taking a glimpse into her precious past?

Ash was ADORABLE, clearly loved costumes, knew how to pose for glamour shots (ie hands in jean skirt pockets), but more than anything... HATED ballet.

AND to be honest, not a whole lot has changed!

xx

Molly & Heather

by Heather | posted in About Us | tagged AshleyAshley MurphyAshley Riegel Murphy

Tuesday 05.15.12

Sweet Home Chicago

I'm officially a Chicago resident again and am finally starting to feel a little more settled! It's amazing how long it takes for an organizer to become organized! Ahhhh....

Since some of you have been asking, I wanted to share some of my new home's favorite ORGANIZED spaces::

1. Now that I have more space, my mom brought my silver that was a gift from our wedding. Ummmm...that was 4 years ago! I just LOVE it and am so excited to use it! Looks like Thanksgiving 2012 is at the Murphy's!

silverware, silver, fine dining, silver storage, luxury flatware, fork, knife, spoon

2. I thought my everyday silverware turned out pretty NEAT as well! Simple is always a good thing.

bamboo drawer organizer, silverware, organized kitchen, kitchen, organize, move, moving tips

3. Awwww....my shoes! As many of our clients know we are obsessed with these clear shoe boxes. They are great because you can see all of your shoes (facing the same direction of course)! Makes me excited to add to my collection!

organized shoes, organized closet, organizing tips, moving tips, plastic shoe bins, shoes, designer shoes

4. Here's my cute little makeup drawer. I'm not a huge makeup person, so this small amount of space works just fine for me. I used these drawer organizers from the Container Store!

Bathroom, bathroom drawer, marble floors, with drawer, white dresser

5. I just had to share my new favorite room! It's a little breakfast nook. So cute, right? Still need to get a couple of chairs, but can't wait to have my morning coffee out here!

kitchen, black and white floor, organized space, moving tips, breakfast room,

6. And last...my new favorite purchase! Thanks to The Painted Lady! I'm obsessed with my new table. Again, having a chair dilema though. Any ideas??

wooden table, modern dining room, hardwood floors, shabby chic chairs

Hope you enjoyed my tour! Please tell all your friends that NEAT is in Chicago full time now and we are ready to get the whole city organized!

xx,

Ashley

by Ashley | posted in About Us | tagged ChicagoOrganizedContainer StoreThe Painted Lady

Thursday 05.10.12

Splish Splash!!!

Spring is here and this time of year brings new motivation to clean, re-decorate, and our personal favorite, re-organize! Since bathrooms tend to be one of the most neglected spaces in the home, we at NEAT are motivated to get our bathrooms in tip top shape this season. We thought the best way to inspire was to share our favorite photos and personal touches that will help transform your bathroom from "meh" to marvelous!

Ashley is obessesed with this shower's unique style and the simplicity of the bathroom. She thinks that every good bathroom should include a Molton Brown soap and lotion set!

Glass shower, open bathroom, modern bathroom, metal frame

Heather's ideal bathroom includes a gorgeous and feminine chandelier. Nothing like a lil' glam! Accessorize with a fun printed shower caddy, accesory tray, and/or tissue box from Jayes.

chandelier, bathroom, claw foot tub, beautiful bathroom

Molly appreciates a bathroom with lots of windows to allow natural light. One of her favorite things to have in the shower is this waterproof notepad- so that a good idea never goes down the drain!!!

open bathroom, white bathroom, modern bathroom,

Although these bathrooms (see below) didn't take home first place, they do deserve an honorable mention!

Happy Friday!!!

xx

the NEAT girls

photo 1 :: photo 2 :: photo 3 :: photo 4 ::

waterfall shower, awesome shower, sexy shower, fireplace in shower

sexy shower, penthouse bathroom, cityscape, modern bathroom

Modern Bathroom, Ocean view, Bathroom with a view, round tub

Mountain Bathroom, large bathroom, modern bathroom

by admin | posted in Bathroom | tagged BathroomNEAT's picks

Thursday 05.03.12

How to Be NEAT's Man

Hello lovely NEATers!

It is our pleasure to introduce you to the newest love of our lives, Brett. The three of us may be technically spoken for, but this guy has won over our hearts! Not only is he a University of California Berkeley grad, extremely strong, and has a net worth of $400,000….BUT he can fold towels!! And not just fold, tri-fold.

We were lucky enough to pay Brett a visit this week and meet Pieter Abbeel’s team behind the robotic genius magic!

Berkeley, Molly Graves, Heather Gilligan, Heather Byrne, Robot, Robotics, folding a towel

So here is a lil background bio on our friend Brett and how he came to call the UC Berkeley College of Engineering his home:

Willow Garage is a robotics research lab devoted to developing and advancing hardware and open source software for personal robotics applications. They granted only 11 universities around the world a FREE PR2 (Personal Robot 2). With an open source software application, these PR2s help advance the progress in robotic technology…and we all know we could use a personal robo in our everyday lives!

Brett technically stands for the “Berkeley Robot for the Elimination of Tedious Tasks.”

AND folding towels is one of those tedious tasks!

Robot, Berkeley, Robotics, folding a towel

AND without further ado...

Our favorite part of the this entire robo folding shindig is Brett's impressive conclusion with “I hope I live up to NEAT Method’s standards.”

And by golly, he sure did!!

Molly Graves, Heather Byrne, Heather Gilligan, Robot, Robotics, Berkeley, Mr. Roboto, California, college, nerd, folding a towel

Ta Dah!

Algebra, hard math, scientific equations, equations, white board, dry erase board, Berkeley, technology

After *fully* undestanding the mathematics behind how Brett independently folds a towel, we took a stab at how to fold a shirt. Here is just a snapshot of the Method to *our* folding madness!

And what is next on Brett’s “To Do” list you ask? Learning how to use the washer and dryer, and also serve sushi for dinner.

Many many thanks to the brains at UC Berkeley behind Brett for letting us crash their lab for the day! We will back to visit as soon as he can serve us a glass of wine!

PS :: You can order your own personal handyman boyfriend here!

xx

the NEAT girls

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by admin | posted in Laundry Room | tagged foldinglaundryClothes

Welcome

We're Ashley and Molly, the founders of NEAT Method. Lets face it - we obviously love to organize and are a little...or maybe we should say a lot type-A. This perfect storm created The Neat Life. Welcome! We've seen it all, heard it all, organized it all, and are always obsessed with the outcome of our work. Even if a clutter free space doesn't tickle your fancy as much as ours, we guarantee you will be entertained by our antics and will enjoy following the lives of a couple NEAT freaks.
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