Before and After

Monday, July 5, 2010

Hydrangeas are in the House

I LOVE flowers! I showed you here how I love to decorate with them and one of my favorite types are the hydrangea. I have a lot of these in my yard. I especially love my Annabelles because they look like a big white ball of flower.

I decided to go a little crazy and today and I brought out most of my glass vases…..

and a couple other random ones.

Then I went out side and cute several flowers off to display in the house. I LOVE fresh flowers, especially when they are free from my garden. Plus, my Mother-in-Law is coming to visit and I want everything to look perfect!

I also cute some other flowers too.

Then I just filled all of the vases. I had to take several trips to keep getting more.

Now, I will show you what I did with them. The first thing I did, was add some fresh greenery to my downstairs bathroom.

I took out this lamp…

and added this greenery (weeds that I pulled from a empty lot, shh!)

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That’s better. (for now anyway)

Next I wanted to add some to my family room. I love these candles but….

I love how clean and fresh these look.

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Before.

After.

Then I though some flower up on my windowsill. I love having flowers to look at when I am the sink.

Before.

After.

Then I had a little fun and decked out my kitchen with flowers.

I put a glass vase on my kitchen table.

I also added some for my MIL on our guest room.

Before.

After.

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I added some in my room of course.

Before.

After.

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This is one of my favorite vases because I used 5 huge balls!

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I also added some to my dresser.

Before.

After. (Yes, I need to fill my frames, lol)

I even added a little one to my daughter’s play table in her room.

What do you think about the changes I made?

Do you decorate with your garden flowers?

Linking to these parties.

Bonnie :)

Please check out my favorite skin care line on my online Shaklee site.

Dash and Albert - My Review

CSN stores provided me with two Dash and Albert rugs to use and review. I was amazed at the speed of their delivery. I selected my rugs from their Vanity Store, and they promptly arrived two days later!

You may have noticed one of the rugs in my last post. It’s been sitting in front of our kitchen sink.

This pattern is called Monty, and it’s a woven cotton rug. The color pattern in this rug lends itself to much abuse (i.e. dirt). I really love this rug, and having had it for several weeks, it still looks good. But again, I think the colors are the key to my success with it. (Any water spots you see below are from this morning’s dishwashing- real life review here!)

The only complaint I have with this particular rug is that it’s lightweight, and even with a rug pad underneath, it’s liable to shift around and wrinkle up. Set in a regular thoroughfare, it could potentially be a tripping hazard.

Our indoor/outdoor Dash and Albert rug is a different story. It’s quite stiff, and lies on the floor in a more sturdy way. We got this pattern, Lighthouse Denim (on left):

, As you can see, there are stark white stripes. The white definitely shows dirt, but it cleans up very easily with just a little dish soap and water. We’ve had it in our bathroom, and it still looks good as new. I believe their indoor/outdoor rugs would work practically in any room! I really love that it doesn’t look like your typical indoor/outdoor rug.

After sampling these smaller rugs, I confidently predict we’ll be seeing more of Dash and Albert around here!

SUNDAY POETRY: "THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN"

(Image by camera_obscura/vic from here.)

THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN
by William Butler Yeats

You waves, though you dance by my feet like children at play,
Though you glow and you glance, though you purr and you dart;
In the Junes that were warmer than these are, the waves were more gay,
When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.

The herring are not in the tides as they were of old;
My sorrow! for many a creak gave the creel in the cart
That carried the take to Sligo town to be sold,
When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.

And ah, you proud maiden, you are not so fair when his oar
Is heard on the water, as they were, the proud and apart,
Who paced in the eve by the nets on the pebbly shore,
When I was a boy with never a crack in my heart.

SEAWEED

Seaweed from Tell No One on Vimeo.

"Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war." -Loren Eiseley

(Photo by Bruce P. Hall from here.)

Summer Kitchen

There is a beautiful blooming bush outside our kitchen window.

And last year it got pruned a little too much. Ahem.

Without it, the view outside the window is the back of someone’s house. Not very pretty.

But the bush is back. And it’s blooming.

And my view (or the lack of one) is restored.

Miss Mustard Seed Interviewed Me

A couple of weeks ago, Miss Mustard Seed at Mustard Seed Creations did a review and giveaway for my Get Clean products (which she loved)! She also wanted to interview me on her blog so her readers can get to know me. I wanted to share our interview in case that you missed it. You can check out her product review here.

What made you decide to “start your own business” with Shaklee?

I actually started my own Shaklee business about 7 years ago. I was working at a huge 24 hour gym as a Personal Trainer. I also taught boot camp and weight training classes and worked one on one with clients to help them loose weight. Even though, this gym sold their own products, my clients were not getting the nutritional results that they were looking for. They wanted quality nutrition, weight loss and sports supplements, so I started looking around to see what I could find for them. I researched different companies to find the best products. After researching, I found that Shaklee (the products that my mom was using and made us use) was the best on the market. No other company has done the studies and research as Shaklee. They are the number 1 natural nutrition company in the US. Their products are so safe and natural that many Olympians use Shaklee products, powering 54 Gold Medals. Every product that goes into every Shaklee bottle is designed to improve health, work without compromise, and be gentle on the planet. So, I became a distributor and started recommending these products to my clients. Their results were amazing! It wasn’t until after having kids, that I started to really share the cleaning products and children’s nutrition. I was using the Get Clean products because that’s what my mom did and they were cheaper. I didn’t realize all of the hazards at the time. Now, I am so glad that I have never used any chemicals around my kids. I am so thankful to Shaklee for offering these fantastic products and their opportunity to me to share it with others. I am on a personal mission to educate and help mothers switch from chemical cleaning products to safe and natural cleaning products that work and don’t break the budget and give their families the best nutritional products on the market!!! I also love working at home so I can be home with my 3 children and homeschool them at the same time.

What is your favorite household chore? Least favorite?

Ha, you would think that this question would be easy for me. The truth is that I always switching up my favorite “chore”. Lately it has been vacuuming. I think that it is my favorite because I need to do it the most. With three young children, including a one year old that tries to eat anything he sees, I NEED to vacuum everyday. I also love wiping down my counters. I spray and wipe them down at least 3 times a day. My least favorite chore is probably no surprise….toilets! I think that is because I have a 3 year old son who is still learning how to aim, lol.

What is your favorite product and how to use it?

This question is EASY!!! By far, my favorite product is Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. I have been using this product for over ten years and no plans of ever stopping. It is natural and cheap!!!! This little 16 oz bottle creates an unbelievable 48 gallons of super-safe, really powerful, all purpose cleaner. 1 bottle of Basic H²equals the cleaning uses of 5,824 bottles of 26 oz. of Windex. It is a versatile and powerful cleaner!! It removes dirt, grease, and grime from any washable surface, inside and out. It’s a no rinse, no residue and streak-free formula. I personally can’t live without it. I use it for windows, granite countertops, hardwood floors, stainless steal appliances, marble, dusting, degreasing, carpet cleaning, pressure washing my house, getting pen off my couch to removing gum. (Go HERE for more ways that I use it.)

It is so easy to use:

For all-purpose cleaning:

Add 1/4 tsp. to 16 oz. of water.

For windows and mirrors:

Add 1-2 drops to 16 oz. of water.

For degreasing:

Add 1 1/2 tsp. to 16 oz. of water. For bigger jobs, add 2 oz. to 1 gallon of water.

What is your decorating style?

Hmmm, What is my style? I guess it is traditional, simple and a little modern at the same time, if that makes any sense. I have dark cabinets and floors, a lighter countertop, and neutral colored walls. I love bronze accents and I get EVERYTHING from garage sales or the Goodwill (or my Mother-in-Law). I like classic decor that is very simplistic because I usually have so many toys out that I don’t want to seem to cluttered. For me simple is less stressful. I had reds and greens in my family room and I just switched to the blues and browns. I love decorating with plants and topiaries. I just got my first dining table so I am really excited about doing real tablescapes.

What is your favorite spot in your house?

My favorite part of my house is my kitchen. I spend most of my day there. Because our house has an open floor plan, I can watch the kids play in the family room when I am working in kitchen. When I am not doing dishes, cooking, baking or cleaning, I do school work and arts and crafts with the kids at the counter or kitchen table. I love my kitchen because it is our family’s gathering place. I love our family dinners!!!! I also love to entertain and eat food!

What is your best decorating decision to date?

Good question, you are really making my think! Ummm, I guess it is to not buy anything NEW. My husband and I had to make a decision: buy a less expensive house and nice furniture or buy a more expensive house and buy used furniture. We went with the house we really wanted and decided to get ALL used furniture. I am so glad that we made that decision because I love my house and finding used stuff is sooo fun. I have found some many neat finds at the fraction of the “new” price. I seriously didn’t buy one piece of “new” anything in our whole house. I am now addicted to garage sales, lol!!!! Plus, with the kids banging stuff up, I am not as uptight about my stuff. I feel like I can really enjoy my home rather that always saying, “Don’t touch that!” I am also realizing that I love to change my mind. I am always switching things up. I know if I paid full price, I would never want to get rid of it. Check out my family room, my dining room, my guest bedroom and guest bathroom to see what I got for cheap.

What is your favorite find/bargain?

My favorite find was this awesome Pottery Barn table. It has 2 leaves and 8 chairs and I got it from a garage sale, of course,…….it was only $200!!!!! That’s right, only $200!! It was a light wood and we painted it black. I love that it has so many chairs for entertaining! This was defiantly my favorite find.

Why did you decide to start a blog?

This is funny because a year ago I had NO CLUE what a blog really was. I have heard of them before but I never read one before. Last fall, my sister-in-law told me that she was going to start a blog and since we do everything together, I said, “me too” not realizing what I was getting myself into, lol. Once I started reading a couple of blogs, I was ADDICTED!!!! “Blogs, where have you been my whole life?” I can’t believe that I didn’t know about you sooner!!! I love reading about decorating, cooking, organizing, crafts and motherhood. I wish that I read blogs when I was a stay-at-home mother with one baby. I had so much more time then. I had no idea that blogging could help my business when I started. I love how bloggers are so supportive to “mommy businesses”. I also love being able to help so many people with my products that I would not of met if I wasn’t blogging. I have met

some of the most amazing people through blogging. I am so glad that I started!

I hope that you enjoyed this little interview. If there are other questions that you might want to know about me, just ask in the comment box or email me.

Bonnie :)

Baskets

I just love when I find out others were inspired by something they saw here on this little blog of mine. Remember the burlap lined baskets in my laundry room? Well, Jamie over at the Right at Home blog used the idea for some baskets on her steps. Which, by the way, is a great system for keeping that stair clutter under control.

And look what clever thing she did with the leftover jute ribbon! Love it.

Over at the Fern Valley Farm blog, we find a creative twist on the hanging basket idea. Not only did she line the baskets with sweet ruffles, she hung them on a weathered board: