Home Talk Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!!

I hope you're having a beautiful day.  I wanted to share some things home-related on the blog, so I figured I would just lump them all together in one post!! I know it's not easy keeping up with the cooking, the cleaning, the organizing, plus doing everything else that we have to do in a day with littles.  I have found a few tricks or routines that may actually work!

What I struggle with most at this stage, is being able to complete a task.  I will start several things, but sometimes (most times) I get side tracked with changing diapers and trying to keep the kids both occupied so that I can clean, I feel like I'm running on a hamster wheel.

I will say that starting to use "Snap Chat" @mrsdellefave really does make me feel good about my day!! I literally look through my story and realize, holy cow, I do a lot and even though the floors may not be clean at 9pm, they were at 11am!

Really though, I know that it's a season and soon the kids will not be here making messes all day while I try to entertain them and clean up.  So here are a few successes I had last week:

Brisket: 
I loved being able to throw it in the dutch oven, place it in the oven and let it cook for a few hours.

I steamed some carrots and then tossed them into some melted butter, honey, sage, & lemon.

I can't go wrong with my bread; everyone loves it!

The kids liked everything, but Brooke really only likes raw veggies. She "couldn't like the carrots" they were "yucky".

I like cleaning on Thursdays. I don't know why I prefer that day, but I do.  I also like grocery shopping on a Tuesday.  I think this is because Mon/Weds are late nights and that leaves more room for the kids and I to go and do something fun since Daddy works.

He pulls everything out of all the cupboards.  Thursday he discovered parchment paper.

I run my dishwasher 1-2 times a day.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the dishes, bottles and cups seem to multiply.  I need to get some more paper plates for Summer to help cut down on this haha.  I really don't enjoy dishes, but I do find it best if I prop my iPhone up and watch Youtube or TV on it.

I was really having an issue with my produce. We eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, and they were just falling out of my bowls. I decided to use a big platter to hold everything and it works much better!

Decor:

I had this bowl that my mom gave me awhile ago for a birthday present. I finally found something to put in it! I grabbed these for $8 at T.J. Max

When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I know that the first place to start is my room.  If I can clear the clothes, clutter and make the bed, life feels so much easier and more put together!

I ended with a quick steam mopping session. I go back and forth whether I like an old fashion mop or the steam mop, but I really love that there's no harsh chemicals.

Another simple dinner winner- Pasta with turkey meatballs.  Everyone loves it and I served it with some organic frozen veggies.  For my plate I gave myself 1/2 cup of pasta and filled the rest with veggies.

Want to know a secret?  Today is day #4 with no coffee. I know. I'm just as shocked. I ran out of creamer and decided that would be the day.  I don't miss the flavor or the feeling I was getting after drinking it (reflux) and I have replaced it with a matcha latte.  It's green tea powder and I heat up some vanilla soy milk---use my immersion blender and voila. Gives me a boost of energy and no yuck feeling!  Starbucks makes them and they're super tasty; I'm still perfecting mine.

Recipe here

How Jen Does it is really inspiring me to get my cleaning in order!! Check out her latest video.

My favorite thing?  This.  It was so hot out yesterday, I gave them two bowls of water and a few measuring cups.  They instantly soaked each other and ran around squealing.  I love that I have the deck to lock them in, and I can get some kitchen work done [since it's never ending!] I'm very excited to enjoy the nicer weather!

Any home tips you could share?

Target Haul {mini vlog}

Happy March!!

 I am just posting really quickly to share some goodies I found at Target last week.  I love seeing what other mommas find, especially if it's something I need or am looking for!  For me, y favorite finds are in this photo, and I share a little video below as well.  

Socks--they are so soft and super comfy; perfect for workouts.

Daily Devotional-- I am expanding my journey in faith and I felt that this would help. I love it so far!

Sticky notes- To leave myself positive reminders, quotes & mark pages of books.

Hand sanitizer- because...germs!

Easter decor- I love this little pink and gold piece for the mantel!

Sports bra--it's super comfy and I LOVE the back! I was looking at some LuLulemon pieces but they're like $90.  Try $13 here--yay!

What else do you find at Target? I am always looking for new cleaning supplies etc!!

{Tiffany's vlog here}

Stay beautiful friends! xox

Mama's Day Off

When I know I will have a few hours to myself, I immediately go through 100 things in my head that I'd like to accomplish.  It's funny how much time we have to ourselves before kids.  Before kids, I didn't realize what a luxury it was to run simple errands without having to take the kids in and out of their carseats.  I really hate taking them in and out for quick trips that take longer to get them buckled and unbuckled than actually doing the task!!  So I really made the most of my kid free day.  I am so grateful that my dad and step-mom took the kids so I could get so much done!! Thank you!

I had an early morning Dr appointment at 7:40 with a new practice.  I love the office and they were all really nice.  I scheduled an upper GI scope and am not really looking forward to it, but I want to know what is going on in my digestive tract!

After that I went to Starbucks and sat.  Alone.  I scheduled some things for KEEP, I organized my planner, and I finished my grocery list.   It was really nice to just sit and be.

I had to get some more blood work done and then I hit up the grocery store.

After grocery shopping I ran home, unloaded all of the food and then went to pick up some yummy Cuban subs for hubby and I.  We ate them rather quickly and then it was off to the spa for a quick appointment!

After that I grabbed the dry cleaning and decided I wanted to look around the library.  I love taking the kids, but they don't like the adult section (go figure!) so I picked out a few books that caught my eye. Of course I had to get some for the kiddos too!

My truck was disgusting from all of the salt all over the roads, so I took that to car wash (again, no screaming kids who hate the car wash!!) And then it was time to go clean up before hubs got home.  I really like the floors clean and I knew if I did them before he got home, we'd have a clean floor for a little while.  You betcha I blared that rap music!

I celebrated National Drink Wine Day with a glass of sauvignon blanc and hubby seared some scallops in a pan.  Cheers!

We watched a movie with the surround sound on and didn't worry about waking up the littles!  We were in bed by 10 and up by 7 this morning.

And now?  I'm ready to get our little babes.  I feel refreshed from having a bit of a break from changing diapers, meeting the constant demands and the never ending feeding cycles of two growing kids.  Mama is ready to be a mama once again.

What do you do with a day off?  

Stay beautiful xox

Spring Cleaning Tips & Tricks

I love a freshly cleaned home, who doesn't?  It's just super hard to keep a house looking pristine when you have two furry dogs, a baby, and two active people! The outside is already like a mud pit, and leaving towels by every door to dry off muddy paws helps, but certainly doesn't eliminate.  I must say however, since using my steam mop, I feel like the floors are much more manageable to keep up with. I love it!
Last year I wrote this post to help me.  I didn't stick with it 100%, by any means, but if I can do the following, I feel like I can stay on top of things.

Daily:

Run the dishwasher

Wipe counters/clean after every meal

Make bed

Do at least one load of laundry (wash, dry, fold, put away!)

Tidy up living room

 Check floors--vacuum as needed

Get mail & sort (throw away junk asap!)

So keeping up with the daily cleaning is one thing, but how about a nice deep clean around the house that isn't always taken care of?

Spring Cleaning List:

Clean and organize office 

Windows in/out

Guest room: organize clothes w/ bins

Organize shoes better

Donate clothes

Tidy up basement storage

Clean oven

 Clean refrigerator and freezers

Organize kitchen--cabinets, cupboards

Begin outdoor work-pick up sticks

I have already begun de-cluttering, which I believe is the biggest help around my house.  Three people can accumulate a lot of junk over the years (months-for baby!)  I started with our 'office' which was really just a catch-all for all of the stuff I never knew what to do with.  Extra books, papers, nick-knacks, craft supplies...the list goes on and on!

My best advice is to just start some place. 

Then make three piles.

1.) Keep--stuff you use on a daily/weekly and find a home for it.
2.) Throw away (or give away, like books)--stuff you don't use.  If it's in good condition, donate it. If it's broken, why are you still holding onto it anyway?!
3.)  Store--Grab a box, bin, bags, whatever, and place items in here that you just can't let go of, but don't need to look at taking up space in your new area.  (You can then throw/give away next spring when you realize you didn't use them for an entire year!)

Of course, since I am no expert...I'm going to resort to these.  Thank you Pinterest!  There are some really useful tips here that I hope to implement. 

Source: embracinghomemaking.net via Koren on Pinterest

Source: livingwellspendingless.com via Eric Delcroix on Pinterest

Source: blog.homes.com via Randi on Pinterest

TIPS:

Be sure to generate your own list of areas in your home you want to deep clean.

With that, make sure your dinners are planned ahead, ideally with little to no effort. (Think freezer meals or crockpot meals) because you'll be tired!

Be proud of yourself after you've cleaned an area.  Make it pretty! Get rid of things you are not in love with. If there are things you're staring at on a daily basis that are not appealing to your eyes, why is it there?  Now, I understand when living with other people, tastes can be different (husband's desire to collect odds and ends from our trips) so you must compromise. Husband now has a man cave where all these 'special things' rest and I have my office back.

Now I have a clean space to write, make notes, plan menus, do bills, and stay motivated! This way I won't mess up our kitchen table on a daily basis.

Happy Cleaning!!

Makeup, Movie & a Meal! My views on it all.

April Showers....

may kill our May flowers?

I am not so sure what the weather wants to do lately.
I got a sunburn while having lunch with my sister last Friday.

We sat outside and enjoyed lunch in 84 degree, cloudless weather.
Today? 

There are numerous school closings and 

apparently every place south of us, has heavy, wet snow!
We just have rain...and lots of it here.

I hope it clears up a bit Saturday night when we 

throw my lil sis a bachelorette party!!

I had a wonderful Saturday with my girlfriend Kristin.
We stopped at the mall for a little Bare Escentuals visit

She bought a few fun items, including a gorgeous 

nude lipstick. I love how they let you try it all first!

I left with...

My foundation.

I run out of this most often because I love it!!

 I wanted a new blush,

but was sidetracked by this fun package

of bronzed & brilliant

She did my left side of my face with it,

and the difference was seriously

amazing! I love the little fan brush too.

 And I am ready to rock some red, red lips.

I haven't worn red lipstick 

(other than in dance recitals or shows)

and this one called, Strength

was calling my name.

I cannot wait to pull this off on my pout!

Next on our list was to see a moooooovie.

We wanted to see 

*all images via google images*

 Quick review:

• Super cheesy (we figured)
• A few tear-jerking moments, but no actual tears.
• A bit of a far-fetched plot at times
• A tad over-dramatic, I may have laughed out loud at a 'sad' scene
• I did love the scenery & simplicity of their country lives.

I'm glad we went to a matinee & had $2 coupons off.

I am also happy I didn't subject hubs to it, as he would have fallen asleep!

I will admit, watching the characters truly "live" without technology all the time,

makes me want to throw away my phone and keep my computer off.

Don't get me wrong, they had Iphones & fancy flat screen tvs in the movie,

but they weren't the main focus of all the characters.

They were reading books & talking a lot to each other.

I'm starting to notice the importance of unplugging more and more.

I've deleted the Facebook App. on my phone.

Hubs put on jazz music for dinner last night & afterwards,

we went into the living room and just talked

[and I showed him some yoga moves she should try]

I don't care how talented you are, no decent convo

can occur when the television, iPad, iPhone, laptop, is on.

I don't want to be 'that girl on her phone.'

There is nothing worse than seeing people out to eat,

all members of the family texting, tweeting, facebooking...

what happened to the art of conversation?

I know with blogging, I should be recording all

awesome moments that I want to share with you,

but sometimes?
I just want to be in the moment.

Speaking of, 

after the movie, Kristin and I went to dinner.

It was a cute & trendy restaurant 

and I had one of those half-off deals.

Now, hubs eats a lot of pizza at work,

so he never wants to go out for it.

I am a true pizza lover and love trying new creations!

So, we walk into the restaurant, and it's a little after 5pm.

We walk up to the host, and tell him a table for two.

Him: Do you have reservations?

Kristin: Oh, no! We didn't think we'd need them this early!? So sorry!

Him: hmmmm...sigh....geeeeze, lemme see...it's a small place so we fill up fast!

{I turn around and see a sea of open tables, and two tables occupied}

Him: I think we can squeeze you in right over here.

Kristin: Oh, thank you so much, so sorry..etc etc

I laugh to myself all the way to one of the many open tables.

Kristin looks at me, like what is so funny...

and I realize how much my husband has influenced me.

I explain to her, that there are a lot of open tables,

and just because they serve over-priced pizzas,

this is considered trendy.

The host is trying to make us feel guilty for no reservations,

but there is no need for a reservation at an early bird seating like this!
Look around!?! 

For instance, when we call to make reservations at one of the local

"cool"

restaurants, no matter what time you tell them, for instance, 7:00, they will so say,

"Oh, well, about 7:45 or 8:15"

Because apparently it's really cool to eat at quarter after/of.

It brings me back to this scene of the movie 

Date Night:

{I remember watching this movie on our flight home from Rome on our honeymoon!}

 Anyways,
K & I were dying laughing, and continued this joke all throughout our meal,

as the water took forever to be filled.

{He finally brought a pitcher with a slice of cucumber ooooo}

Our wine was served in mini carafes, 

{so we could pour it ourselves into a glass}

our appetizer was delivered..

and our my burnt bottom pizza took FOR-EVER 

to be brought to us.

Meanwhile, once the place was hustling and bustling 

there were pizzas flying out left & right...

So we attributed our semi-slow service

to having no reservations.

It just cracks me up.

It's one thing, if you have 5-6 waiters waiting on you, 

folding your napkin & placing it on your chair as you

use the restroom, scrape your table with a crumb catcher,

and order a meal that is so incredibly well cooked, you shed a tear.

But in a pizza place with brown paper table 'cloths'

I wasn't that impressed.

Was it terrible?
Absolutely not.

I would not have changed a thing in the world!
I had so much fun and we even commented how

all day we were together, but until we sat

face-to-face and were able to just,

it felt like we hadn't been able to talk about anything important.

And that brings me to my next point of,

I will no longer have an expectation of restaurant food,

but rather the experience.

The ability to sit down and be waited on.

The focus isn't on how well my meal turned out,

or when I'm going to get those dishes done,

but rather, how is that person doing that I'm with?
To just sit and talk, and talk, and put our phones away.

That is what is so important.
OK,
It is time to get to work!
I will consult my master cleaning plan:
HERE
Since we have a lot going on this weekend, I better
get my booty into gear!
Have a great week!!
And remember...

 ******Don't forget to enter my giveaway!!******

Cleaning & Organization

If you say it and act it, you will believe it. 

Well, maybe not, but it does feel SO good to have a clean and organized house.

I must admit that choosing to stay home this year is a bit of an adjustment.  All of those housework "things" that I just didn't have time to do properly, are quite literally staring at me in the face. Every.Single.Day.

It can be overwhelming, but like anything, you have to start somewhere.

I of course turned to Pinterest and shared some of those ideas in this post.

Well, I am not quite finished with the paint job yet, but I did go and spend $50 at the Dollar Tree in bins and cleaning supplies. This is what I have accomplished thus far.

Top bathroom drawer 

(just needs more of these cute little bins! 2 or 3 for $1 and they link together!!)

Now this drawer needs them too! Ick.

Yes that is a dreaded stick.

And yes, that is fake hair that I bought but it's not the right shade of blonde 

and I don't need more hair anyway! haha

Isn't funny how a simple organized drawer brings peace?

Or am I just a freak...

I also grabbed some cute bins for under the sinks. It is SO much easier to grab a bin out and take the cleaning supplies that I need, rather than knocking over half of the items in the front becuase what I really need is in the back.

 I also took the time to group things in bins of what I use the most, 

and extras keep in the back.

And most of my day was spent in the shower. 

It's older. 

It was gross. 

My nails hurt from scrubbing so hard.

But it was so worth it. 

We had so much junk lined on the top, it drove me nuts!

Another $1 store purchase!

I also scrubbed the floors and cleared away magazines etc.

Zen.

That's my goal.

We are thinking of "re-doing the bathroom" as our Christmas gift to each other.

I'll pin about that later.

And for my final act, I organized hubby's second closet.

Yes, he has two.

I can't judge though.

The "guest room/future nursery" is my closet for the time being. 

Sigh of relief and satisfaction.

For now.
There are many more closets and rooms to be organized.

Cleaning supplies I cannot live without:

• Clorox Wipes {I keep them under every sink!}
• Scrubbing Bubbles {shower soap scum}
• Quickie Mop & Extender Duster
• Pledge Wipes {for dusting}
• Lysol {to mop with}

Oh, and my secret weapon? My daily living room sidekick:
Roomba

It does cost a pretty penny, but I run it every day.
Then every other day I go through with a dry mop and the hardwood floor cleaner afterwards.
If you have dogs and hardwood floors, I HIGHLY recommend getting one.


Any great cleaning supplies I'm missing out on?
What are some ways you organize?

Cyber Monday began with some shopping for my man and a few others {who may read this lovely little blog} but I can say that I saved A LOT and I officially started my shopping.
 I made a delicious dinner and ended the night with a glass {ok, two} of:

I also purchased Michael Buble's Christmas CD.
I'm hoping it gets me in the mood to decorate!
A little snow would be nice too, thanks.