Before & After

       

I’ve learned a few things this past week:

1. My tile floor, specifically the grout, is not supposed to be a light shade of BLACK.

2. The darker vs. lighter shades of the stone is not just a “design”…it’s DIRT.

3. OXICLEAN is my newest BFFE!!!!

Needless to say, my floors were in need of a DEEP cleaning. Like, the type that requires you to get on your hands & knees, break your back, blister causing, brush scrubbing – type of clean!

I took a 1/4 scoop of Oxiclean and mixed it in a medium sized bowl of hot water, spread it over my tile floor & grout, scrubbed the hell out of it, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then I mopped it off, let it dry, and then mopped it again with just water to clean any residue away. LOTS OF HARD WORK…but holy cow my grout is like 10 shades lighter!!! 

It should be known that I still use & LOVE my McSteamy, but it doesn’t do much for grout grime. Even my husband was impressed and he’s not exactly the type to get all giddy over a house cleaning product…so you know it’s gotta be good!

{it’s CSN Product Review time…well, almost}

Last month I had the pleasure of working with CSN Stores and hosting a fabulous giveaway for one of my lucky readers. Well, today I have been given the opportunity to review one of their products, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Do you know that they have tons of amazing products for a home makeover? Like these Bathroom Vanities if you're undergoing a bathroom project, as I've seen many bloggers doing lately. We just completed a backyard makeover to get us ready for summer!

Speaking of summer…we have lots of vacations planned for the next couple of months. And every mom knows that vacation + kids = hauling lots of stuff! So I’m on a mission to find something lightweight, compact, and a lifesaver when it comes to traveling with a baby. Stay tuned for my rant or rave of a fun product that I can’t wait to share with you!

Now you know too

I am in shock that I have never heard of the website, Card Pool, before. If you have how come nobody told me?! Thanks to my brother-in-law, who sent me this link yesterday, I now know how to buy discounted gift cards! Love it…and so will you.

Check it out here:

The perfect SleepMate

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for awhile now, but it completely slipped my mind until today.

I bought this white noise machine for my son’s nursery a few months ago on Amazon. I paid $49.95 with free shipping, and honestly it has been the best money I’ve ever spent.

All moms out there, know, I mean really know, how important nap time is. Especially uninterrupted nap time. So I’m sure you can understand the predicament I was in when I tell you that I live on a small cul-de-sac and everyone but us has dogs. Multiple dogs. Big, barking dogs. And every time I laid my son down for a much needed nap these dogs would go crazy – ultimately waking my son. Grrr.

I tried many things to block out the noise – fans, heavy curtains, music mobile, etc. Nothing muffled those dogs. So I turned to Amazon to help solve my problems.  I stumbled upon the Marpac SleepMate 980A Sound Conditioner. Amazon had over 900 positive reviews on this thing…and now I know why. It’s really a sleep God in disguise. This thing works wonders. It quiets every outside or external noise. I swear my son has not been woken up once by a dog, lawn mower, ambulance, loud screaming-swearing husband during football season, etc, etc. It has dual speeds with multiple adjustments in order to get the perfect “whooshing” sound. And it’s also perfect to travel with.

                                                                            image provided by Amazon

The reason I was reminded to blog about this today is because we just recently finished renovating our backyard. Which consisted of about 2 weeks of major construction, with pounding, sledge hammering, digging, and sawing. It was LOUD. And I am thanking my lucky stars that I purchased this noise machine because not once did my son wake up. I think every mom can agree that nap time is oh-so important, not only for baby but for the sanity of mama. Now only if I could find something that drowns out the sound of a snoring husband ;)

Winner Wednesday!

 

Congratulations to Lucia D. for winning the CSN giveaway! Thank you to everyone who entered, became a follower, and blogged about my giveaway!

Enjoy some free shopping Lucia :)

Giveaway Friday!

It’s about time my new blog had it’s first giveaway, and what better day to announce it than Friday?! Thanks to the peeps at CSN Stores, one lucky reader will have the opportunity to treat yourself at one of their 200+ stores! If you’ve never shopped at CSN before, let me tell you – they carry just about everything…from tv stands, to home decor, and even swing sets! It’s like an online shopping mecca.

Just last month I purchased this Step2 swing set for my son from CSN. Not only did they have the lowest price, but also they were offering free tax & free shipping!

So here’s the giveaway…CSN is treating one winner to a $20 gift certificate towards any product at any of their stores. That’s free shopping money, people! Plus, {not all} but a ton of their products are free to ship! Bonus!

Here’s how to win:

Leave me a comment telling me what you would treat yourself to if you were given free shopping money! C’mon, it’s always fun to day dream on Friday, right?!

Extra entries:

1 entry – Become a follower of my blog & comment letting me know! If you already are a follower, then leave a comment reminding me :)

2nd entry – Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the twitter link

3rd entry – Blog about this giveaway with a link back to my post…leave me a comment with the link.

*Please leave me your email address in your comments so that I can notify the winner.

 

Giveaway ends Wednesday May 5th {Cinco de Mayo!} @ noon {pst} and I will pick one luck winner…Good luck!!

A+ to Plus White

I was at the dentist last month, and they had this enticing poster displayed in their lobby.

Once I regained my vision after being temporarily blinded, I thought…hmm I want my teeth that white. So I naively bopped up to the counter and asked if they had any “specials” on their Zoom whitening. Uh…apparently “specials” don’t exist for Zoom, and apparently they don’t read or care about my blog. Hmph.

So my dreams of blinding people with my sparking white smile quickly went down the drain. I went home and did a little research on at-home whitening kits.

I’m no stranger to the standard white strips, but in the past I have never been consistent with using them. I just feel like I throw money down the drain because I don’t like having those slimy, mushy, plastic strips on my teeth.

So I came across this:

Everywhere that I looked, this product popped us as the cheapest, most effective at-home whitening kit. I’m sure it doesn’t work as quickly as some of the more popular white strips, but all of the reviews I found raved over this stuff.

The best part? It costs under $10. I bought mine at Rite-Aid for just under $10 and Amazon has it listed under $7.  You really don’t have much to lose {except yellow teeth}.

You apply it with a Q-tip, for 5 minutes, twice a day for 2 weeks. I apply it just before I hop in the shower in the morning and at night. It keeps me distracted and I’m guaranteed to have it on for the recommend time length because I never take a shower shorter than 5 minutes long. After day 4, I saw a pretty big difference! After 8 days, I am amazed at how awesome this stuff works! My teeth are definitely much, MUCH, whiter. I’m only on day 9…I didn’t want to wait 14 days to blog about this because I saw results almost immediately {and also because I’m just impatient}.

After the first 2 weeks, you can continue to use it once a week as necessary. I’ve barely made a dent in my tube of gel, so this stuff is going to last awhile.

I go back to the dentist in 6 months and maybe they’ll comment on how white my teeth are. And maybe I’ll suggest they read my blog ;)