4.30.2009

Smells like home

Every time I clean my house, I want it to smell clean. I use these, the clean linen candles by Glade. They smell like fresh laundry, which is fantastic, and they cost less than $4.00, which is even better. I love the frosted glass holder they come in, and the fact that the adhesive label peels off with ease really seals the deal!

My home smells wonderful, I'm not going to be modest. I also use Yankee Candle's Basil and Mint scent, but I think it has been discontinued, though I can't imagine why. Their new world journeys series features a great French Lavender candle which I use in my hallway.

I'm also enjoying these new Soy candles, they don't burn as long, but the scent lasts forever! I use an apple and cinnamon one in my living room, and the smell is so inviting.

I use Lavender Vanilla Febreze on everything in my home. I know that there are cheaper generic versions of this stuff, but I just don't think they work as well. With two pets and a husband who loves intramural sports, it really is a must. The smell lasts and it isn't overpowering, I use it on the carpet, the sofa, his armchair, the pet beds, you name it. Sometimes I use it on my bedsheets before pressing them, though usually I take the time to mix my own lavender water in a spray bottle (a few drops of Lavender essential oil and about a 1/3 cup of water gets both sheets scented nicely) You name it, I've Febrezed it.

It's so nice to have your home smell like home.

Things I like


(I already have the purse, it was a Christmas present from Ricky, but it still deserves to be in the "Things I like" post)





































Wedding Attire

So things are really rolling now, as far as our PCS to Florida goes. We have our tickets booked to the States, we leave here on June 1st... Ricky also booked our flight to his sister's wedding on the 19 of June in Albuquerque. This means I must shop.

I was looking at J.Crew, and I found a couple of dresses that I really love... but I don't know what color to get, and I've never tried on a dress there, so I'm afraid to order the wrong size. Or worse, to order the right size but not have it get here before we leave, since things have been known to take 6 weeks or more to arrive.

I'm looking at this dress in particular, the Silk chiffon Sophia dress. It won't ship from the site until June 9th, but there are 2 J.Crew locations in Destin, which is about 15 minutes from where I'll be living. I love the color (Vintage Blue), but the cut in the back might be a problem with my bras... alas, they just don't make great dresses for the well endowed anymore!



I also really like this one, which is basically the same thing, just a touch shorter and comes in a different blue. I really like the pewter color, though.

I'll need "cocktail" attire for both the rehearsal dinner and the reception, for that I was looking at this dress. Very Jackie-O, I think. Plus, it's on sale for $50, plus an additional 20% off... which is always nice.


I think I'll end up just looking for one once we get to Florida. It's probably much smarter to do that than buy something and have to send it back... which would be a nightmare.

4.25.2009

Ladies need nice hands!


I just got done washing dishes (with my Mrs. Meyer's Lavender dish soap, a-thank-you-very-much) and felt the need to write a quick note on how much I love my hand soap and lotion!

I use Avalon Organics Lemon soap and lotion. The lotion is probably the best I've ever used... non-greasy, super moisturizing, and it smells so good!

It's not cheap, $6.95 for the soap and $10.95 for the lotion, and that's a 12 ounce bottle... but you really truly only need the tiniest amount and you're good! I've had mine for nearly 6 weeks and I'm not even half-way empty yet.

P.S. Amy Poehler is hilarious.

Moving Announcements and Lemon Trees

So after a lot of looking, I've finally settled on these moving announcements. There were so many to choose from, but many sites won't ship to my APO address. Some great finds were hellolucky.com, thestationerystudio.com, and expressionery.com, all of which offer adorable digital and letterpress announcements. The cards I chose were at tinyprints.com... a little gem I discovered with the help of Google's "I'm feeling lucky" option. I ended up getting 25 announcements, envelopes, and return address labels for a little over $50.00. I'm pretty excited.

Another reason I'm looking forward to this move, on top of cute stationery, is the opportunity to plant things! Florida is in Zone 8 for gardening, which makes the possibilities nearly endless! I know that I want citrus trees, like key limes, Meyer lemons, and of course, oranges. Surlatable has some gorgeous little trees, but, of course, won't ship to Florida.

Speaking of Surlatable, I'm also in love with these bowls!

I love climbing plants, like jasmine and honeysuckle.. but I'm a little afraid to add such fragrant foliage with all of those bugs about...

The only downside is that everywhere I look, I hear that lavender doesn't do so well in that climate. I really had my heart set on yellow roses and French lavender in the front of my house... but ah well. I think I'll just go for something with a similar look, maybe some purple heather. Lavender would make my front porch a bee-fest anyway! I'll save the lavender for the inside, maybe it will feel better inside my climate controlled kitchen...

4.24.2009

Lavender Soap


I just wanted to write a quick note about the namesake of this blog. I've been using Mrs. Meyer's products for about a month now. Being in Germany, all I can get is the laundry detergent, liquid softener, dryer sheets, and my personal favorite, the dish soap. It smells divine, and is the most amazing dish soap I've used, just a couple of squirts and grease is gone. All Mrs. Meyer's products are made with natural essential oils, are non-toxic, biodegradable, and they smell fabulous! Now I actually like doing the dishes! The detergent is a bit of a splurge, at $15 for 64 ounces, but lately it's been on sale at the BX for $8.50. Even still, I have taken to using it only on my towels and linens. Imagine if I washed Ricky's uniforms with it! The scent of these products is, as previously stated, fabulous... you know how there are lavender scented things, and then there are things that really smell like lavender? Well, Mrs. Meyer's products are all very much the latter. And the smell lasts, which is great! The products also come in Lemon Verbena, Basil (which I want!) Geranium, Snap Pea, Baby Blossom, and Scent-Free (how silly)

In my book, any product that turns household duties into "aromatheraputic" fun is worth the money! Go buy this soap!