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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Let's Go Shopping At Nordstroms!

 
I thought I would join other bloggers and take a virtual shopping trip to Nordstrom's Anniversary sale. 

One thing I am doing is keeping it all under $100 items. 

Trust me there are plenty of over $100 items I liked, but today is for the UNDER $100 mark!

Let's start with these little pretties. Last year I looked all over kingdom come for these, they were sold out everywhere and trust me the closer it gets to Christmas these sparkly, fun earrings will be sold out again.

(Just click on the image or the word via below picture to go to Nordstroms link)

 ACCESSORIES

 kate spade new york mini small square stud earrings:



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I am just thinking ahead for you. Fun for the holidays!!




Nordstrom Agate Collar Necklace:




Fossil 'Jacqueline' Leather Strap Watch, 36mm:


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WINTER BOOTS 

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JACKETS AND COATS

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MICHAEL Michael Kors Box Quilted Stowaway Hood Jacket:



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SKIRTS

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DRESSES


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TOPS
 

TrouvĂ© Print Halter Tank 



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Vince Camuto 'Sonnet Stripe' Crewneck Top (Regular & Petite):  


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 Wasn't that fun, now if we just had enough virtual money to purchase it all!!!
 
 

Monday, July 25, 2016

My Monday Puttzing Routine!

    
After the weekend Monday mornings can sometimes be hard to face. However I take my Mondays in stride and I call them a puttzing day.




What do I do on my puttzing day.  I put on soft comfy clothes,  my hair in a pony tail, and I do as little or as much as I want. 

My day will include the usual laundry, and pick me ups, but I do a little swooshing too. Swooshing includes once over lightly cleaning, nothing too deep.

Over the years there a few things that I have learned and continue to do to make my house stay clean and tidy.

Let's start in the kitchen!

I give my kitchen sink a good wash down with my dish soap and a brush. 

Don't forget to stick a brush, or rag down in the garbage disposal, and wash down the walls and underneath the rubber rim. You will be so surprised at the gunk that hides in there.

The other thing I do is I turn on very hot water and run my disposal and as it is running I trickle my dish soap down the drain and it bubbles up and helps clean the walls and the drain in both my sinks.

I know it is done when the bubbles come up in the other drain. Then I turn the disposal off and run the hot water until the bubbles subside.

Don't Forget!

The other area not to forget is the rubber stopper, if yours has a rim inside of it pull it down a bit and clean the inside of the rubber rim, another place gunk and smelly things like to hide.

Putting a cut up lemon and letting the garbage disposal run is a nice fresh scent to leave behind.

I use white for kitchen, blue for bathroom and yellow for dusting and general cleaning.
 

Next, I wash down my counters with a wet rag and dry them with a soft white micro fiber rag. The refrigerator and microwave get a good swipe as well.


Let's Make Things Smell Fresh!




I spray a little room freshener under the sink, and add a paper towel underneath the garbage sack that I spray with the room freshener as well. I like this particular spray because it smells fresh and it is also anti-bacterial.

Bathrooms

I will have to admit that I am pretty picky about how clean my bathrooms are and I am a fanatic on the smell factor, or hopefully lack of  any smell factor.

 Believe it or not I actually like to clean the bathrooms. When you think about it, it is the one room that sparkles once it is cleaned.

The very first thing I do is to put an antibacterial cleaner in the toilet and let it sit while I clean the rest of the bathroom.

I start with the sink first by spraying it with Method bathroom cleaner. I give it good wipe down and then dry it off with the white microfiber cloth. I do the same with the faucet and counter tops.

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Next the mirrors!

My Magic Cloth 



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(Make sure it is rubbermaid Q630) 

There is another special cloth that I have deemed my magic cloth that is remarkable for mirrors and windows. All you have to do is wet one corner and wipe off whatever surface you are cleaning and then use the dry area to wipe and dry off the same area.

I don't know what is in this cloth but it is magic. It gets off hard water scale, and makes glass sparkle, literally sparkle. It is fantastic for shower doors as well.

One of the best cleaning tools to date. My DIL gave me my first cloth and since then I have ordered more so I can have one in each room. The upside of this cloth is you don't have to use any chemical cleaners, just plain 'ol water will do.

 The Scent of Summer




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In the summer time I like to use a summer scent and I found that the Lysol Hawaiian scent is very summery and pleasant, plus it is 99% anti-bacterial, which is a must in the bathroom area.

I empty out the little garbage cans and wipe down with the Lysol cleaner. I fold a paper towel to fit in the bottom of the can and spray it with my room spray.

Lastly I swish out the toilet bowl.

 
Helpful Hint:
The other thing I have learned to do is to keep all of my cleaning rags/cloths separate in a little white garbage can in the laundry room and I wash them all together with no softener or softener sheets.

It helps keep the lint at bay and there is no streaking from the softener residue that is left behind. I wash the magic cloths totally separate from other cloths.

So if you happen to drop in on me you will catch me home on Monday's either puttzing, reading, writing or napping!!!


 
 
 

Monday, July 18, 2016

Bringing Lovely Back to Our Homes

 


With all the high speed technology in the world today I think we often forget about the gentleness we all need in life.

The simple yet lovely elements that make us feel content inside. These are never costly items, just simple little touches that any of us can do.

Having a lovely home is more than a home that is well designed. A lovely home is a feast for all the senses.

I think we often forget the little things we can do to bring back the LOVELY to our homes.

Today I thought I would share some of the things I try to do in my own home to make it lovely not only for my guest, but for me!

These are simple ideas that cost very little, or in many cases cost nothing, like this first idea……….

BRINGING IN NATURE


My bottle is empty as well.:


Go out in your back yard and cut some greenery, or a single blossom and put it on your desk or guest bathroom sink, or on your dining table tonight for dinner.



When executed correctly, choosing something like olive branches can make an amazing impact. | 9 Ways to Save on Flowers  http://www.nowkissthebride.com/9-ways-to-save-on-flowers/:

Add a little sparkle to your water with sequins. Just think about how this would glimmer next to a flickering flame of a votive candle.

 ferns, recycled glass bottles:
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Even a sprig of fern can look lovely in a simple glass bottle.

greenery:



Often we tend to think we have to have company to do these special little touches. 

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

I think it is important to do add loveliness to our homes on a daily basis.

 music:

Every morning I wake up and open my blinds and turn on my stereo. I always have soft ambient music playing in the background.

 music:
You would be surprised at how it can lift your spirits, just to have the soft sound of beautiful music playing. Another no cost way to add a special feel to your home.

AMBIENT LIGHTING  
LIGHTING
candles:

Candles are always an extra added bonus in a room. Whether they add a scent or just the beautiful light that glimmers in a room.

 CANDLES:
Often times we think it has to be dark, or a candlelight dinner to have a candle lit. I light my candles even during the day. I have one on my desk that I love to light when I first wake up in the mornings.

 PRETTY REFRESHMENTS
Throughout the day we will all be drinking, coffee, tea or just plain water. Why not make it a little more special by drinking out of a special cup or glass, adding lemon, or ice cubes with fruit in them. Simple and very little cost to do this.

Lemon Water, or with lime. Anyway to get my 8 glasses of water a day:
 Add lemon slices to your water, and make it a little more special not only in taste, but visually.


 Fill glass with pink cotton candy and slowly pour Lime Perrier over it. Pretty and non-alcoholic! Perfect for friends who don't drink (or are preggers), so they don't feel left out from all the fancy party cocktails! My kids would LOVE this and think it was really cool! Maybe for New Year's Eve or some other special event/party.:  

FRESH AIR AND LIGHT 
 If the weather allows, open up those windows and let fresh air flow through your home….

 Open windows:

 FRESH SHEETS

Fresh sheets on the bed sprayed with your favorite linen spray or fragrance.

Sometimes I just spray my fragrance on my pillow case because it is such a pleasure to lay my head down at night.
You already have the perfume, why not use it. Just think about how your spouse will be surprised when they lay their head down at bedtime….

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Another thing I do is to take a dryer sheet and rub it on the edge of the sheet that I fold over and on my pillow case.

Don’t forget you can also change your pillow case every night if you love the freshness of just laundered bedding.  You don't have to wait until you change all the sheets.
All of these things are no cost, yet they add loveliness to your day!

FRESH PRODUCE
If you have fresh fruit and/or veggies in your refrigerator bring them out, and put them in a colorful bowl for a pop of color on your counter.

 fresh produce summer goodness, just as pretty as flowers:
These are things you already have so why not utilize them in a lovely manner.

 produce on kitchen counters can be just as pretty as fresh flowers,  Goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com:


None of the above ideas are costly and they are so simple to do in your own home today!!


 ASSIGNMENT FOR TONIGHT
Tonight when you have dinner, light a candle, put a little vase of greenery next to it. Pull out your cloth napkins instead of paper. Use a tablecloth! Have music playing in the background, and have a LOVELY dinner!!