Cleaning Routine

One of my least favorite things to do is clean, but I also can't stand it when our house is messy. Not a good combination. What makes it even worse is that Michael could care less about what our house looks like. I guess in a way that's good - I don't have to feel guilty when I spend my day sitting on the couch watching Hallmark movies or out shopping, but it's also somewhat frustrating because it means when something is out of place, he doesn't notice/do anything about it. Case in point - this blanket sat on the floor right in front of the stairs for a day. Carter even walked right over it. It killed me just to leave it on the floor, but I left it until the next morning.

I decided to create a cleaning schedule to try to keep myself on track and thought I'd share it with you today. I just started, so fingers crossed it's something I can actually stick to.

Daily:

Day: Unload dishwasher, do a load of laundry (fold and put away), clean a closet/drawer, dust mop, vacuum downstairs rugs

Night: Run dishwasher, wipe down counters, trash/recycling, junk baskets*

*The kids both have baskets that we keep on the stairs. Even though they keep their toys in their bedrooms and the game room closet, somehow toys, books, etc. always end up downstairs. During the day as I come across anything that belongs upstairs, I put it in their baskets. Then at night before they go to bed we take one last sweep of the downstairs before bringing the baskets upstairs to empty.

Weekly:

Saturday - Shine the Sink (see this post for details on how I do this)
Sunday - Sheets
Monday - Floors (upstairs)
Tuesday - Bathrooms
Wednesday - Weekly Chore
Thursday - Dust furniture, clean mirrors
Friday - Floors (downstairs)

Weekly Chores:

Week 1: Blinds

Week 2: Sweep Front & Back Porch

Week 3: Clean Refrigerator

Week 4: Baseboards

I have been really curious about trying Norwex products since my mom mentioned it a few weeks ago. Then when I was trying to come up with a cleaning schedule, I searched Pinterest for ideas and came across a blogger who raved about their products, so I decided to order some. I'm all for anything that makes cleaning easier, and with Norwex products you don't have to use any cleaners, you just use water! Sounds almost too good to be true, but I'm hoping that's not the case. I just placed my order today, so I'll do a full review once I've had everything for a few weeks.

Do you follow a cleaning routine? If so, please share in the comments below!

XOXO,

Office Preview

We purchased most of our furniture when we built our last house in 2006, so it's time to update things a little. It all started with Michael buying two monitors, a keyboard, and a laptop docking station for his office. Once everything arrived I realized that our desk was way too small and I needed to find something new. Several of the decor items in our office are black and gold, so I decided to stick with that color scheme. The first two purchases I made were this console table and rug. 

I'd originally planned on getting a more modern glass desk, and found what I thought would be the perfect one, but then Michael set up the monitors and docking station and I realized that I needed something that would hide some of the cords and the actual docking station. I started searching and found this L-shaped desk at Adam's Furniture. It still fit with the overall color scheme of the room, so I decided to switch directions a little. We ordered this desk and the matching lateral file.   

Right now the only things that have been delivered are the table and the rug, but I'm so excited with how the room is coming together! Stay tuned for the full room reveal soon!

XOXO,

Friday Favorites: Random Edition

It's time for some more of my favorite things! This week's list is totally random, but I decided to just go with it.

Oral-B Pro-Health Pulsar Toothbrush Yes, a toothbrush. But this isn't just any toothbrush, it's an affordable alternative to an electric toothbrush. It has vibrating bristles! And did I mention it's less than $5? When I went to the dentist a few weeks ago the dental hygienist asked if I'd gotten a Sonicare because my teeth looked so good!

Olay Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Face Cleanser I just started using this again when I noticed that the Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser I normally used wasn't working well for me with the dryer weather. My forehead felt weird (the skin wasn't smooth anymore, it was bumpy and dry) and my face was red and dry in certain areas, so I decided to change my cleanser. 

Clarisonic Mia I was on the fence about this, but ended up ordering it during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. When I got it I used it a few times a week and liked it, but wasn't overly impressed. When I noticed how dry my skin was getting I started using it again, and that night I could already see a difference in the texture of my skin (remember the weird forehead issues?). The Mia comes with the sensitive brush head, so it's really gentle on your skin. I've been using it more frequently and my skin looks and feels so much better!

Origins VitaZing Lately I've gone back to a more natural makeup look, and I've been reloving my VitaZing tinted moisturizer. It's lightweight so I don't feel like I'm wearing any makeup, but it's tinted so it evens out my skintone and makes it look fresh and luminous.

DV Jameson Bootie I have a pair of Dolce Vita booties that I got from Nordstrom a few years ago that I really like, so when I saw that Dolce Vita had partnered with Target I knew I had to check them out! I ended up getting a pair of these in cognac along with a pair of slip on booties in August and the cognac booties have been my most worn shoe all fall and winter (except for those few days when it got really cold). I liked them so much I decided to pick up the black ones in December. They're on sale right now for $19.99, so now is definitely the right time to buy! They run a little small (at least for me), so I'd recommend going up a half size.

Barefoot Dreams CozyChic Robe I got this robe as a birthday gift and I love it! It is so cozy and warm, and I love to wrap up in it while I get ready in the morning! I love it so much that I ended up asking for this blanket for Christmas!

Like I said last week, I have some fun posts planned, but if there is anything specific you'd like to see, let me know in the comments below. Talk to you soon!

XOXO,

Decorating My Home for Fall

In the past, the only holiday I really decorated for was Christmas. I had a few little things that I'd put out for Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, but Christmas has always been the holiday where I went all out. Well, this year when September came I was ready to switch out some of our decor and when I saw these salad plates at Pier 1 I decided to decorate for fall. It makes sense because we have Thanksgiving at our house every year, so we might as well decorate for it!

I found the cream pumpkins at Home Goods and the Give Thanks blocks were an Etsy purchase several years ago. The shop was called SimpleBlockSayings, but I'm not sure she's a seller anymore. I've included a few other options below.

Reversible / Always Be Thankful

I added a little pumpkin from Michael's to this little alcove by the stairs and have started burning my Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake candles from Bath & Body Works here and in the kitchen. I also have several fall wallflowers going in the house. I think the Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte is my other favorite pumpkin scent from their fall collection.

I found this adorable Football Turkey Shelf Sitter at Kirkland's and then Pumpkin Patch sign is from Down Grace Lane on Etsy. Right now she doesn't have anything for sale, but if you follow her on Instagram (@downgracelane) she announces her sales a few days ahead of time - her next sale is on 10/8 at 1 PM EST.

One of my favorite pieces in my kitchen is the lazy susan I purchased from Signature Swag on Etsy. Gather is a word that makes me think of Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be appropriate to include it in this post. However, I keep it on display year-round, and it's perfect for serving appetizers on when we have company over!

An easy way to decorate for the season in your kitchen is by adding seasonal towels. It drives Michael a little crazy that he's not allowed to actually use the towels that I have hanging up in the kitchen, but they're "for display only." ;) Target has several cute fall towels. I picked up these at Home Goods last year, so I showed some restraint and only bought two. ;)

I loved this one and this one, but I'm kind of partial to burnt orange, so I picked up the orange plaid and this fun pie one.

I found the pumpkins at Home Goods and Michael's, and the placemats were another Target find. The cute little give thanks sign is from Kirkland's and the Eat, Drink, and be Thankful sign and the pumpkin are from Michael's. The Rae Dunn BLESSED mug, pumpkin container, and topiary are all Home Goods finds.

I definitely didn't go over the top decorating and kept it pretty seasonal as opposed to focusing on the fall holidays, but I love the little touches of fall that I was able to incorporate in our home. How do you decorate for fall?

XOXO,

Make Packing School Lunches Easy

We got a new Samsung French Door Refrigerator over the summer, and I was so excited about the snack drawer.  It would be perfect for Sophia and Carter's snacks and juice boxes! 

And then we got it home and my excitement faded a little. No matter what I put in there, the divider always ended up moving and things would shift around. It just wasn't as handy as I was expecting it to be. 

I kept thinking that there must be a way to lock the divider, but never figured it out, so I decided to improvise and add these Fridge Binz that I'd purchased when we got the fridge. Problem solved! 

I now love the fridge and cannot recommend it enough! I love having the full width for our refrigerated items, and it's so much easier to keep our freezer organized! I actually know what I have in there now! LOL!

On to what this post was really supposed to be about - school lunches! Prior to the first day of school, we went grocery shopping and as soon as we got home we got to work. We got sliced apples and grapes, and petite carrots. We portioned them out into individual snack bags. For the apples I added some lemon juice to each bag to keep them from turning brown (this worked for about three days and on day four Sophia & Carter complained that they tasted weird). They fit perfectly in the divided fridge bin! 

We also bought string cheese, cheese sticks, snacking mozzarella, and Gogurt, which also fit well in the bins. We had some mini bottles of Ozarka water, so I put those in the front section of the drawer along with Horizon Chocolate Milk (these didn't go in lunches, they just fit well in the drawer).

The lighting is kind of weird, but here is the entire drawer after we filled it.

We also picked up some prepackaged snacks for their lunches, and portioned out the large box of Goldfish into individual snack bags. I organized them in these baskets from The Container Store.

I threw miscellaneous items into these elfa Drawers. 

We are now in week four of the school year and it is so easy to pack lunches in the morning! Confession: Sophia & Carter LOVE the Smucker's Hazelnut Uncrustables, so those work as the sandwich portion of their lunches (probably not the healthiest, but a definite time saver, and the fruits and veggies cancel it out, right?).

Hopefully my newly organized fridge and pantry inspires you to do a little organizing yourself! It certainly has made our mornings easier!

XOXO,

Shine Your Sink

**Editing to add that I just recently read that you shouldn't mix Dawn and bleach. I haven't ever had anything bad happen, but you don't want to create a chemical reaction and have noxious gas floating around in your kitchen, so if you try this skip adding the dish soap.**

Several years ago I found directions on how to shine your sink on the Flylady website. I don't know about you, but something about having a clean and shiny kitchen sink just makes things better. Here is how I do it:

1. Clean your sink with your cleaner of choice. I purchased the Honest Multi-Surface Cleaner the last time I was at Target and so far I've been really happy with it. It smells great, I can feel good about using it because there are no harsh chemicals, and it WORKS!

It looks pretty good after I clean it, but once a month I like to make it shine, so I move on to step 2.

2. Plug up your sink and fill it with hot water. When it's about half full, I add a cup of Clorox Bleach and a tablespoon of Dawn (if you have a double sink, use a half cup of bleach and add the Dawn at the end).

3. When the sink is almost full, add another cup of bleach and another tablespoon of Dawn. 

4. Once the sink is full set the timer for 60 minutes and walk away.

5. When the timer goes off, you're ready to drain the sink. The water will still be incredibly hot, so you'll want to use something to pull the plug on the drain.

Okay, I'm gonna be real here and tell you that I couldn't quite maneuver the tongs the right way and ended up just reaching my arm in there and pulling the plug, but the water was still REALLY hot so I'm not going to recommend that method to you. 

6. Once the sink drains, take a towel and dry the sink. At this point your sink should look pretty good, but since mine is stainless I finish it with the Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner.

In the end your sink will shine for days! 

I hope that you enjoy your shined sink as much as I enjoy mine!

XOXO,

ZGallerie Sale

It's been awhile since I've done a home decor post. To be honest, I went a little crazy decorating my house after we moved in and decided I needed to slow down the spending (you may remember my spending freeze during LENT). Anyhow, I did really well with that, and then summer came, and between entertaining the kids and vacations, I just didn't have time to think about decorating. Now I've gone a little crazy with the fall wardrobe spending and should probably hold off on any house purchases, but my in-laws are redoing a lot of their decor, so I can still shop for them, right?

They just opened a new ZGallerie in Southlake Town Square, and I've been dying to check it out! When we moved into our first house in Frisco there was a ZGallerie at the mall, and I fell in love with everything in the store! Of course, at the time we were two years out of college, so the only thing we ended up buying was a couple pieces of art, but my love for their store has not changed! It's definitely not one of those stores you can browse around with two kids in tow (unless you can talk your husband into joining you), so I'm planning on on going to check it out on Monday. Right now they're offering 15% off art, lighting, mirrors, and wall decor. The sale ends Monday, so it's the perfect day for me to stop in!

I always like to do some previewing online, so I decided to share some of my favorites from each category.

Art

What style of art is your favorite? I was always more drawn to black and white photography, and typography art, though the two pieces of art we purchased from ZGallerie for our first house were paintings, and now I'm starting to expand my art horizons a little. Of course, if I change one piece it will probably create a domino effect and I'll feel the need to change everything, so I might hold off awhile. I'm shopping for my in-laws, though, so there's no danger of me spending my own money, right? ZGallerie definitely has a wide variety to choose from, and many pieces are under $100.  

Contemplation

Paris Kiss

Espresso

Le Mur

Champagne Fire

Canal Grande 1

Wings Over Manhattan

  Flower Power
Prada Marfa

 Lighting

We still need to replace the builder grade lighting in our house. It's definitely not at the top of our list of things to do, but eventually I'd like to replace the kitchen lights (pendants and chandelier), the chandelier in the dining room, and the foyer light. ZGallerie has some unique options. I'm not sure that I can talk Michael into getting any of them, but a girl can dream!

Helios Chandelier

          Alton Chandelier  

Ventura Chandelier

Whisper Pendant

Mirrors

This post is starting to get dangerous because I was supposed to be browsing, but it seems that much of what I'm picking out would fit perfectly in my house...I'll just call this a wish list!

Montclair Mirror

Montclair Leaner Mirror

Quinn Mirror

Quatrefoil Mirror

Simplicity Leaner Mirror (I love how it looks over the couch!)

Wall Decor

Dahlia Plaque

Palais Plaque

Cicero Wall Clock

Sanctuary Panel

Angel's Wings Panel

World Map Panel

If you followed any of the links, you know that ZGallerie's prices can sometimes be a little steep. A lot of the time I'll just look to them for inspiration and then try to find something similar for cheaper ("Pottery Barn/ZGallerie Style on a Target Budget" - blog post coming soon!), but occasionally there will be something so unique it's worth the splurge. 

Even if you don't end up buying anything it's still fun to window shop! That's what I'll be doing on Monday. Happy shopping!

XOXO,