green {clean}ing

since moving into our house, there have been many things that have needed to be tended to that I had no idea how to do. from a stinky dishwasher to keeping the weeds from growing, there were just not things that I ever had to deal with or think about when we lived in the condo. each time I would go out to the internet, and search for a solution to my issue, and in most cases, the solution involved vinegar.

i had never given this stinky substance a thought before. why would I ever want to use it for anything, except making a salad dressing?! who would have thought that vinegar could serve so many purposes, and at the same time save you so much money. a gallon of vinegar costs only a couple of bucks as opposed to the costly cleaning products that it can replace. even better, it's better for you, you children & pets, and the environment.

the first time I faced a dilemma involving a vinegar solution was when we installed our bamboo floors. i was worried about using any products on the floor because i didn't want to ruin the finish, or create any films. i had tried to read about the floors and realized quickly that there were a lot of don'ts vs dos, which scared me. i discussed it with my mom, and she suggested the vinegar solution. she said my grandmother had sworn by it, and with that i was intrigued. the vendor that we used to purchase the flooring actually had suggested to use it with warm water.

Vinegar Floor Cleaner

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

i have found many great cleaning tips & tricks to using vinegar. here are a few that i like. i have modified some of these, but the base of the "recipes" will get you started.

learn how to remove oil based stains from carpet using vinegar, dish soap, and baking soda



this blog post give you a summary of the best cleaning secrets: cleaning your microwave, cleaning your fridge, cleaning/deodorizing your dishwasher. enjoy!

using water, vinegar and baby shampoo, your brushes will feel like new!

add 3/4 cup vinegar to your rinse cycle and your towels will feel like new. vinegar also battles mildew for an added bonus!

use this approach to cleaning any hard water deposits or limescale that is built up on water fixtures.

how to clean burnt pots and pans

using vinegar & dawn dish soap,  you can easily clean your shower & tub. put the solution in a handled sponge to make it easier to apply

vinegar mixed with olive oil can be a great wood polisher. use vinegar alone and it can easily disinfect any wood surface!

vinegar can be used outside too! here are just a few examples of how you can take your new best friend outdoors for the summer!

if you don't feel like you have enough examples of things you can use vinegar for, check out this list of 150+ uses. the possibilities seem endless



{'merica}n

my husband came home last night telling me about this sweet tank top and how he wished he could have it for the 4th. this post is dedicated to him for helping me remember the great day we are celebrating next week!

next week is the week to celebrate the land of the free and the home of the brave. we all get to take some time off of work to enjoy some good ol' american treats: barbeques, fireworks, yard games, and hopefully some beautiful for spacious skies.

with all that has been going on lately, I haven't had much time to think of ways to decorate our new house for this holiday. i don't intend on going crazy, but a little patriotism is probably needed. so I hit the 'net to try to get inspired for my home, and any party I may get invited to - hint, hint - or host (who would come?) I found some gems, and so I thought I would share for the hope that you get inspired too!

let's start with food - yum!



this cake looks absolutely delicious, and most importantly EASY to make.

these candy coated marshmallows are simple to create and look like they taste great too!

this cake is so simple, yet looks so nice! find the printables here to embellish your cake





 who doesn't love a cupcake? simply adding a few decorations to a cupcake tower can make quite a statement. i know that i have a cupcake display that is waiting for me to do something like this.

let's decorate!

these gems can be made or bought. i persoanlly like to re-create things that I see, and these look like something that is simple enough to do! a trip to Michael's and these could be yours!

another gem from Landee See, Landee Do - print this out, and place in the perfect spot for all to see.
this is available to print in 5x7 and 8x10!

for something with a more vintage feel, you could print this out.

The Creative Cubby offers several 4th of July printables for you to enjoy

I saw this felt wreath on a few sites, and I liked how fluffy it looks. this wreath is create with felt. looks like it's easy, but could take some time. either way, i am sure it will look great!

i love a good printable! this chalkboard style print would look nice as a decoration inside or out.

So it looks like we now have enough ideas get us going on creating something special for the 4th of July! I may or may not use any of these ideas, but I at least have some inspiration to send me to the craft store and grocery store, and I hope you do too! I'm also hoping that everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

{dress}ed to impress

i may be jumping back and forth between past and present since there was so much that I did during our wedding that I couldn't talk about, for fear of spoiling the suprise. of course, I couldn't talk about my wedding gown because it was to be surprise and I didn't want to spoil that. as I talk about my current and future projects, I can't forget some of the ones that I'm most proud of, so I must gush a little :)

as I posted in one of my first posts back this year, i had a few pictures of our wedding, and the dress. since this post is going to be about the transformation, i will begin with the finished look.

the wedding dress for every girl is the biggest deal. it is probably, depending on who you are, the most expensive single item of clothing you will purchase in your life. every girl dreams of what her's will look like, and the quest to find that dress is one that will consume your time and energy until it is yours. shows like Say Yes to the Dress promote the importance of that moment when you look in the mirror, and tears well up in your eyes. The moment you have found the one (dress).

I started my dress journey with my mom and sister. I was so excited to try on a dress and see what I was going to look like as a bride. It's a very special moment in any girl's life. I wasn't successful on my first trip out, nothing seemed to be the one. I was disappointed but knew I would find it, eventually. To make a long story short, I went to almost every bridal store within a 30 mile radius. Weekend after weekend I spent my days searching, and coming up empty handed. I was so discouraged and was not sure if I would ever find what I was looking for. One Saturday I stumbled into Bella Bridal, in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and my journey ended. There was a Essense of Australia trunk show. I tried on a couple of dresses and still wasn't feeling anything. Why couldn't I find something that seemed timeless, classy, romantic, and had an interesting neckling? I was again frustrated. I then tried on this number:

I should mention that this didn't make sense at first. I had been looking for a bateau neckline, and definitely not strapless. Sonia, the owner took a piece from another dress, and showed me how we could customize the dress. She added the piece, and then added a beautiful beaded belt, and then it happened. .I teared up, and finally had my moment. This dress had the most beautiful lace and was so romantic. I knew that this was the dress. At that point my budget was out the window, and I was moving on to the make it happen for the dress that made my heart feel full. If I couldn't find my dress, I was going to make my dress.

Six months later the dress came in and lacey piece by lacey piece, literally, we started to transform and create the look that I wanted. every month or two I would go in a see what we wanted to do next. little my little, my dream was becoming a reality. Sonia would get so excited to see the progress, and would tell me how beautiful it was. I picked a beautiful beaded belt from Etsy shop, Luxe Bridal Couture and my grandmother's earrings and broach to complete the look. Since my dress was so detailed, I chose a simple veil from David's bridal.

my dress through the year of making -
also shows the transformation that my trainer was making to my weight & back fat :)

I went to all of my appointments alone, until my final fitting, and so this project was all of me, and no one else. It made it that much more special when my mom and sister were able to come to my final fitting, and see the process come full circle. this dress still holds such a special place in my heart. I hope that in years to come I still look back at the pictures and feel that this was the dress of my dreams. I fantasize that my daughter would want to wear it, and that it doesn't seem like something from 2013, whatever that will mean in the future.

{magnet}ic

I saw this idea in a blog somewhere, and I loved the idea. I can't remember where it was, so I'm sorry for not giving credit where it is due. I don't even remember if it was a tutorial or just a suggestion. Either way, I felt inspired to make framed fridge magnets. 

The cuties in these pics are my little nieceys, Maren (3) and Daphne (1). 

I liked the idea of a fancier fridge magnet, and to give the refrigerator a gallery feel instead of eclectic magnets holding up a printed 4x6. 

I headed to the Walmart and found everything I needed for super cheap. 

You will need:

-small frames

-magnet strips

-paint

-paintbrush/sponge 

-hot glue & gun

I got the paint for 50 cents, the frames for 95 cents, the magnetic strips (18 strips) for 95 cents, and the sponges for $1. I had the glue gun. 

I got frames in various sizes to add a little interest to my "gallery". I also used a couple of colors that went well with my kitchen. 

You want to first remove the glass and backing from the frame. 

Paint the frames to your liking. If you aren't painting, you can skip to the next step. When painting make sure to not let the paint drip into the inside. Allow to dry for about 1-2 hours depending on the paint type. 

Turn the frame over to prepare the frames for the magnetic strips. 

Hot glue the magnetic strips onto the frame and cut if necessary. My strips were adhesive, but I wasn't confident that it would hold the weight of the frame.  Allow the glue to dry. 

Put the glass and photos into the frame, as well as the backing. If the frame was a tabletop frame, make sure to rip off the stand before sticking to the fridge. 

{mantel}piece

it's Saturday night, and what am I doing on this wonderful evening?! Nothing

My husband is out celebrating the {soon to be} birth of one of his friend's babies at a diaper party. This is a party where the men bring diapers and the {soon to be} dad provides the beer and food. So while he celebrates, I've been home thinking of things to fill my night. 

I woke up today knowing that I wanted to do some serious decorating. We have a giant mantel and to be honest, it's very intimidating to decorate. 

This picture is from over a month ago, but as you can see its very long. 

I've been struggling all week to figure out what I wanted to do. I searched Pinterest and other blogs for inspiration, but nothing seemed to fit what I was looking for. I struggle with letting go of my OCD that wants everything to be symmetrical and even. I've also been having a hard time finding pieces that match the colors in the room. I recently purchased a great rug that I love, but it's a unique blue that doesn't seem to be all over the place. 

Our couch is grey, and we have tan walls. My OCD tells me that brown and grey doesn't go together, but again, I must quiet that voice, and move forward. I have seen many examples of these together, and it looks beautiful. I also realized today that the grey and blue colors are the same colors I chose for our wedding. Subconsciously, I must really love this color combination. 

So this morning I ventured out to all of my favorite places (TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Homegoods, Pier 1) on try to find some pieces to adorn the mantle. I ended up picking up many things knowing that I would have to get it all up there and start working with it to figure out what I wanted. I had come home with 2 pieces of art, 3 gallery frames, 2 glass pieces, 4 picture frames, 2 candle sticks, and  blue & gray spheres. Ahhh! 

When Nick saw all of this stuff, I know he was scared. I know he was even more scared when I started putting all of this stuff on the mantle. I think for a moment he might have thought that I was going to use it all. I played with the setup. Took stuff down, added it, took it down again, moved things from one side to the other and back again. 

I finally game up with a combination that quieted my OCD, but wasn't matched perfectly. I added some wedding pictures to the gallery frames and other frames and my mission was complete! 

TA-DA!

 

{run}ning away

Since the wedding, my workout and eating habits have been terrible. Working out has become almost non-existent and my rating has been less than healthy. With all of the house stuff we have been eating out a lot and that is by helping the scale point in the right direction. I don't want to make excuses because I know a lot of people who are super busy and manage to eat well and workout. As we start to settle into the house, I have some energy to focus back to my health.

 I've been debating about what I would do to get back into it, and I've been interested in starting to run. I am not a runner, and frankly, I have never liked it. One would ask why I want to run then?! I think it's a challenge to see if I can do it. It seems that many people find it therapeutic. You can do it anywhere, and anytime. I can do it with my pup and get him some exercise too! 

Awhile back, I started looking into the training schedules for 5 & 10ks. I wanted to know how long it would take a novice runner to be able to run either one. I found a couple of training sites, but the one that caught my eye was Couch to 5k from coolrunning.com. This site seemed to have a very reasonable schedule for getting into running at a good pace. This site also has 10k, half and full

marathon plans. 

It has been a while since I looked into this, but today I decided to check out the site and their app. I have been doing some running/walking with my dog for the past two days, but i felt like i needed something more structured. What better way to learn to run than with the aid of my iPhone. I went into the apple store, and there was the app, Couch to 5K. $1.99?!? I'll pass, so I keep scrolling to find a free app. Zen Labs has a C25K app that is free and pretty cool.

I downloaded it and got ready for Day 1! This app is cool because it let's you know when to start running and walking even if you are listening to music. If you have music in your iTunes, you can play it right through the app. Everything you need is right there. 

Each segment counts down and up, so you are aware of where you are and how long until you are finished. 

The app also has the option of getting motivational emails and tips sent to you. 

I easily got through this run/walk without a problem. It was nice to have the alternation between running and walking so that I didn't feel overwhelmed. I was pleasantly surprised at this and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's run! 

{Floor}ed

As I left off in the "our new labor of love" post, we had purchased our house and I glazed over all of the stuff from then, until now.

The first night we owned our house, we ripped out the disgusting 70s orange carpet that was in the living room and dining room. Unfortunately, this color just didn't go with much that we had, so it had to come out! Nick came home from work that night, and picked up the utility knife, and started removing it, piece by piece. We have ripped out carpet before, in our condo, twice, so this was nothing new for us. We just had to make sure we followed the guidelines so that our new best friend, the garbage man, would take it away for us. Later that weekend, as we started taking the pieces to the curb, our neighbors said a "thank god" when they saw the orange was coming out.

We had a tight schedule to get everything done. We were having the counters being measured on the following Monday, and the new bamboo floors were going to be installed the following weekend. We had to make sure we had everything done and prepped for the work that was going to take place. That meant ripping out all of the flooring and getting the wallpaper down. Sounds easy enough...our Friends at Build Direct unloaded a pallet of bamboo for us, and that was just waiting to be installed. If you are installing floors, or having it done, it's recommended to move the wood into the area it is to be installed a couple of days prior to install so that the wood can acclimate to it's new environment.

Since we were using bamboo, on a cement slab, we had a few things we had to do differently, which added more time to the project. We had to use glue to adhere the planks to the slab. Typically some sort of underlayment is put down, but that can't be done with concrete. We also had to get a glue that had a moisture barrier to make sure the bamboo was safe from absorbing any moisture. This glue is quite thick and can be even more difficult to work with. Our guy was less than thrilled with one of the brands we bought because it was so thick it was like moving taffy.

After day one, the floors were starting to come along, the dining room was finished and we were moving into the the other half of the living room. The other major project was that the granite was installed that weekend too! We now had new counters to go with our new floors:





It took 4 days to complete the entire project. We had the floors put in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and foyer. When it was finished, it looks beautiful and such an improvement to the ugly carpet and Pergo that was there before. We now had shiny new floors to transform our main floor into a beautiful place to live.

from the front entry into the living room

Dining room looking into living room



Our kitchen {almost} finished product!

BONUS:

We had gross, white carpet in our master bedroom. The rest of the floor had the original hardwood floors, which we absoulutely adore! We were hoping that when we ripped up the carpet, we would find a treasure, but we couldn't get out hopes up.

This house is Jefferson's so he likes to get in a pic whenever he can!

One night we decided to risk it, and start tearing out the carpet (we seem to really like this task). Underneath, to our delight, was the same beautiful, thin, planks that were on the rest of the floor. Because they had carpet down, there were some imperfections due to nails, staples, and glue. Some people might be sad by the imperfections, but I actually love them. I think it give the flooring so much more character and gives it a more rustic feel. We will evetually have them refinished to make sure that they are treated properly and keep their beauty. For now, we are enjoying them, just the way they are!