Pin-Spirational: Microfiber Couch Deodorizer.

The Pin: Microfiber Couch Deodorizer

The Reason: In our front room we have a huge microfiber couch with tons of pillows, a chair and a half, and an ottoman.You may have noticed that I am most certainly a dog person. My pup Violet is basically treated like royalty in our house and is allowed on all the furniture. While this makes for some quality puppy snuggles, it also makes for some smelly couch cushions. Our couches don't have slipcovers and no amount of homemade air freshener could cover the dog stink (isn't that so sexy to walk into a house that reeks of pets?) so I decided to find a way to wash down the whole dang piece of furniture without using a ton of chemicals or damaging the fabric.

 

The Process:

 

Gather your supplies which will be easy because it's just water, vinegar, a white towel, a sponge, and a bowl.Also, take a minute or forty to vacuum your furniture really well to get rid of crumbs, dog hair, and the like. This was my least favorite part.

 Mix equal parts warm water and white vinegar--1 cup of each or so depending on the size of your fabric.

Dunk and wring your sponge in the vinegar mixture. Warning: your sponge will get GROSS (unless my home is just disgusting and this was a me-only exception). Rinse it often and change your water as often as needed, I changed it about 6 times to do all the furniture, cushions, and pillows.

Wipe down the surface with the damp sponge. Easy peasy. Wiping down the furniture will also help lift all the stubborn dog hair that the vacuum didn't pick up. Man, dogs shed like crazy.

Blot dry with a white towel. Easier peasier. I left it a little damp so the mixture could air dry. Let all the fans in your room dry that madness, why waste the time blotting like a cuckoo pants?

 

 This is optional but you can slip some fresh dryer sheets under your cushions to boost the fresh scent. We typically don't use dryer sheets but we got a sample in the mail so I figured I'd give it a shot.

 

The Verdict: Not too shabby! I won't lie, this was more time consuming than I thought it would be (mostly because we have eighty bajillion pillows) and Rhyno wasn't a huge fan of the vinegar smell but I thought it disappeared after a couple of hours with the ceiling fan on. I totally think I will work this into my regular seasonal deep cleaning routine. I noticed a big difference when I came in from outside that the house didn't have that Violet stank (HUGE PLUS!). I don't know that with a baby and multiple pets around that we'll keep replenishing the dryer sheets under the cushions and I haven't really noticed a big difference there anyhow.

Have you tried any great pins lately?

 

Nursery Peeks.

Only 62-ish more days to go until we meet our little bundle! Though there are still tons of things to be done like maternity leave prep at work and freezer meal cooking and general organization, I am happy to say the nursery is one place where I feel like things are really almost totally together. We haven't had our "big" baby shower yet so there are definitely things missing but overall, it's nearly done. 

The crib is up, the dresser is full of cloth diapers and tiny onesies, the glider has been ordered and will be here soon, and we have our old toys sprinkled around the room. Also, how magical is it to dig up toys and stuffed animals you played with as a toddler knowing that your baby is going to play with them too? My mom gave me so many of my old treasures and I get so teary eyed unpacking them all. 

A peek at our nursery details...

 How whimsical and adorable are these little statues? These were two of the first items we bought for our nursery (I think I was about 3 seconds pregnant when we picked them up at Earthbound Trading Company).  They were originally black and gray but knowing I wanted pops of color around the room, I spray painted them with some leftover colors I had in the garage (wearing a mask and in a ventilated area, of course).

I have a few of these dino air-planters around the room in different colors. I absolutely love them. The arrow nightlight was an impulse purchase in the clearance section at Target (it was $4!). 

Rhyno and I both love to read so we've been reading to Babysaurus since he or she was the size of a peapod. I can't wait to hold babe in my lap and read some of these. The bookshelf was another Target purchase, I read some iffy reviews but we have plans for a built-in bookshelf in the coming years so this will do for now.

 Just a treasure from my childhood, that Disney castle. 

Baby's closet is still coming together but how impossibly cute is that laundry hamper and toy box from 3 Sprouts? I stumbled upon the company while searching Amazon for the perfect toy box and I am in LOVE. So many cute items, so little time. 

 A little chair from my childhood and the first thing Rhyno ever bought baby. We went to Babies R Us to register for our stroller and as I went to walk out of the store I realized he was waiting in line at the register with this sweet little stuffed animal in his hands. Heart = melted.

 I love this mobile. It was my pet project on Sunday night and even though it took 5 minutes and three steps to put together, I was so proud of myself.

 A tiny bucket for rattles, a teeny bucket for pacifiers, and some unbelievably adorable softies from Aleks Slocum. A surprise delivery from baby's Auntie Mantha and cousins Charlie and Jackie!

More trinkets from my own toddler days (I was really into Disney World).

Just over two more months, I can't wait!

A Place for Everything.

I don't know if you know this but I'm obsessed with organization and tidiness...

You knew that, right?

Over the next few weeks, in prep mode for our bouncing babe, I am overhauling our home trying to get things as organized as possible and in the best possible order for when things are chaotic after Babysaurus is born. I originally planned to get this all done over the weekend and then realizing that the third trimester means you can work on one tiny bathroom and then it's time for a nap. After learning this I've decided to take things a bit slower and work on one room at a time, getting every inch organized and clean. 

When I'm not scrubbing every tile with a toothbrush and cruelty-free soap, I've been searching the interwebz for ideas to keep things organized long after babe is born. See, I do this cute thing where I organize things and then don't keep them that way. I get lazy and start just throwing things around and this time I'm hoping to avoid that. 

Some great spaces and corners I'm using as inspiration: 

 

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This is one of those spaces that is constantly unorganized for me, I just throw things in there willy nilly and then whine that I can't find what I'm looking for. 

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I've been planning this for some time--a little space in the kitchen to hang recipes and keep my running grocery list. 

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Our garage is an eye sore, it's almost embarrassing to leave the door open for any neighbors to see. Rhyno has been put on garage duty (he needs to make room for my car!). 

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Do you have any organization tips?

Pin-Spirational: Drain Cleaner.

The Pin: Homemade Drain Cleaner

The Reason: I've mentioned before that I prefer to make our cleaning supplies at home to avoid chemicals, animal testing, and indoor air pollution. I used to use Drain-o whenever I would deep clean the house in an effort to get every single nook and cranny of the place clean but that stuff is literal poison so when I stumbled on this pin, I knew I had to try it. One downside of country living is also that we have well water. We do have a softener which helps a ton but I like to deodorize the drains when I clean too.

The Process:

 

Gather up all your supplies which, in this case, include only baking soda and white vinegar. I buy baking soda in bulk at Sam's Club. This huge bag cost me $9.99 and will last for at least two months. 

 

 

Put your baking soda (I use a little less than 1/3 of a cup) in your drain. I usually walk around the house and throw soda in all the sinks, tubs, showers, and toilet all at once. 

 

 

Add your white vinegar, just a splash or five.

Let the mixture bubble up a bit and wait for it to settle. I remember once in fourth grade our teacher made a huge volcano with this mixture of vinegar and baking soda. 

Scrub the remaining baking soda in the drain and rinse with warm water. 

The Verdict: I LOVE this pin! It's inexpensive, quick, easy, and effective. I do it once or twice a month and we rarely have clogs or stinky water.

Have you tried any great pins lately?

Spring Cleanin'.

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I've seen people post those memes that say something like, "A clean house is a sign of a wasted life." Barf. Who needs to pay for therapy when you can clean? I actually look forward to spring cleaning this year.

I have been itching to rid the house of all the dust and remaining signs of the long, long winter. 

At least twice a year (usually more because I'm deranged) I scrub every inch of the house with a toothbrush. I always look forward to doing this in Spring because I can FINALLY open the windows again and get all the winter blahs out of here. I plan to start tackling this big, ol' project and doing some redecorating this weekend.

Do you Spring clean?

A Garden of (Sarah) Roses.

Oh, P.S., this title only makes sense if you know that my name is Sarah Rose...

Roses are, like, my favorite. I love rose-scented anything and since I was a kid I have always wanted a yard full of rosey blooms. Mostly just because my name is partially Rose...and also they are beautiful and classic and a little decadent (just like me...just kidding). 

Any who, Rhyno and I decided this year we will overhaul our yard--beautifying the weird parts and making it as profitable to our bods as possible (meaning we want lots of fruit and veggies all over the dang place). We have this little patch of rocks in our backyard underneath the over-hang of our house that just isn't conducive to produce but flowers seem to thrive there.. It currently houses three spaced out rose bushes and two random plants that I have no idea what they are or how to care for them (I so good at plantz). We have our vegetable garden in a brick box Rhyno built in the back of our yard and our herbs are housed in boxes on the patio but decorative flowers? All planned and planted by the former owners.

Since we moved in I have dreamed of putting in a rose garden complete with a tiny fence (mostly to keep plant-eater Violet out) and lots of dark mulch and luscious roses. We are SO fortunate to have a beautiful and spacious yard, I can't wait to see how it looks with my little Sarah Rose garden....oh, um...just rose garden.

The problem is that I kind of have a black thumb. At our old  condo, I loved planting herbs and blooms on our balcony every year. After unknowingly over-dosing on Miracle-Grow, all my plants died year after year. Since then, and since my awesome mom and grandma taught me how to properly care for my yard when I bought a house, I am revved up about making this plot o' Guffey land gorgeous.

Some enviable gardens I've found?

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Do you have a green thumb?

Like a Purgin'.

I hate/love myself SO much over this title. Seriously, I rock/suck.

Before 2013 is gone for good I had one big goal: purge my dang house of all the dang junk and clean every inch. I'm happy to say I've nearly completed this task (I only have half of the basement to finish). It has been SUCH a cathartic experience. I forced myself to get rid of the JUNK. I am a sentimental beast and will keep random things forever. Over the last week I've purged the trash and wiped off the dust. Our home is more simple, more spacious, and better decorated.

 

The accent wall in our front room--after over a year it is almost done!

 

 

I'm looking forward to starting 2014 with a fresh, clean slate! What about you?

The Entryway.

In the last year and a half-ish that we've been living in our home, I've been trying to spruce up every corner and make it a real home. One area that I've put off (um, mostly cause I never realized I could do anything with it) is our small entryway. Our front door is in our front room, with a half wall separating it from the living space. For now we just have some cute coat hooks on the wall but Rhyno and I both agreed we need something more--a small table to put keys and things on.

 

So of course I ran to Pinterest and started drooling over the many ideas for the entry space of our house. Some ideas...

 

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I love how gorgeously organized this space is with calendars, hooks, and designated spaces for everyone's things.

 

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So much storage space! I love having an enclosed space to put our shoes because if left out in the open, Violet helps herself to chewing them up.

 

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My favorite! I love the bench with multi-colored pillows to add an extra punch of color to the house.

 

I can't wait to make this little space even more welcoming!

The Old Home.

WARNING: Weirdly nostalgic, too-wordy post ahead.

 

A few nights this week, for no real reason I know of, I've had dreams about living at our old condo. When I woke up each time I was so homesick for our little place. So...this post.

 

The lobby in our building. So fancy. Those chairs? The older people in our building (we had lots of 'em, much to my joy cause I love elders) would sit and wait for their mail every day. One sweet man with Parkinson's Disease would sit there every single day with his nurse and on my wedding day he was waiting for his mail when he stopped me to tell me how "absolutely breathtaking" I looked and hugged me. Again, I LOVE ELDERS.

 

 

Once upon a time we used to rent a little condo (from 2010 to 2012). A two bed, two bath in the just-outside-of-Chicago suburbs. An 18 minute train ride to downtown Chicago with a Target and a movie theater and a Trader Joe's right down the street and easy access to all highways (nice for my commuter self and my commuter then fiancé). A stone's throw from one of my favorite cousins with the best neighbors and the world's most wonderful landlady. A big, fat forest preserve with the best walking trail across the street. A big, fancy (to me) lobby with a big mailbox wall and a buzzer system.

 

Our ground floor balcony where I spent many nights with a glass of wine and a best friend. This was taken in late winter when I was trying to find a new renter when we put an offer on a house. In warmer seasons the flower boxes were always full of blooms. We had a tiny grill that just barely fit and spent many nights eating (veggie) burgers and people watching at the pool.

 

I loved that little home so, so much. The home where we became a married couple (we moved in about 6 months before our wedding and all our DIY wedding decorations were created within these walls) and I started my first (now defunct) blog and hosted game nights and did rad DIY home projects and befriended old people floor-mates who gave us cool stuff (a never opened 1970's kiwi-shaped fondue set!) and spent the most wonderful, most mundane weekday nights of home-cooked dinners and sitcoms and early bedtimes. On weeknights we could hear our neighbor, Jo-Bee (her real name), singing along to Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell and it would crack me up as I fell asleep. We didn't have a TV in our bedroom and we turned electronics off at 9pm week-nightly. We passed out sugar free candy on Christmas Eve morning to our neighbors and stuck big gift bows to their doors. I would purposely make extra baked goods on any occasion and bring them to our sweet neighbors across the hall (Bruce and Laura) and when they went on vacations they would bring us back shot glasses and beer steins. We made big pots of coffee on Saturday mornings and I walked around Trader Joe's after work on Fridays. We had our first sleepover with Addie and Katie before the LaGrange Pet Parade. I had a big sleepover after my bachelorette party full of laughter and cheese sticks. We would drag our bedroom mattress out to the front room and watch movies all weekend.

 

Sometimes I just terribly miss that place.

 

The entryway, with (you can't see it) the biggest coat closet ever. I loved that thing.

 

I would never change our current home. I love being one house away from my best friend and having so many trees and having room to breathe. I love having enough space for a pup and a washing machine in my own home. But, after less than a year in a really craphole apartment with HORRID neighbors, my heart grew three sizes when we moved into that rented condo.

 

This is the kitchen where I learned how to cook and bake like a grown-up. Also, I loved that window shaped cut-out that overlooked the dining room.

 

When Rhyno and I first rented our own place, just the two of us, we didn't choose correctly. Our first apartment was thin walled-thin floored (which meant a constant aroma of pot from the downstairs neighbors), poorly neighbored (weird scary story: I was watching the 20/20 special on Rihanna/Chris Brown when the cops were first called to our building because my neighbors across the hall were beating one another...the cops were called weekly after that...mostly by me), and we were right off a set of freight train tracks (when I had all of my impacted wisdom teeth pulled in one day, the SO loud noise made my face hurt). When we moved into the condo and broke our apartment lease early it was heavenly. Quiet and cute and spacious and wonderful. Bruce and Laura across the hall brought us a wine and fruit basket as a "welcome to the building" gift on our move-in day and would always sign for our packages and leave us their house keys when they went on vacation and never told on us when my parents would bring my family dogs, Little Bear and Lucy, to visit.

 

 Our first apartment was our first "place" the condo was our first "home."

 

Our huge front room/dining room.

 

You could say this condo was nothing special, but to me it was everything. I loved nothing more than pulling into the parking lot after more than an hour commute home after a long day and seeing the lights on in my home. I loved sitting on the balcony with a cold drink and a best friend on a hot night. I loved snuggling with my then fiancé/now husband slurping tea and watching sitcoms before a 10pm bedtime on a Tuesday. I loved walking into this place every single day. You know how they say you always yearn for your childhood home? I do. And also, this place.

 

 

 

The very last time that I used my key to open the door to Unit 106 I cried. When we were signing the final paperwork and getting our security deposit back after two years we had a small dinner on the condo counter with our landlady, her husband and their baby in the condo. We brought her champagne and chocolate. She gave us a big housewarming basket to bring to our new house and I died from cuteness (a birdhouse, kitchen staples, wine, a wreath, and stamps). I think you leave pieces of your heart in little places all over the world and for me? This is one of them. A teeny part of my heart is still there--in the place where I finally became a wife, where I learned who my best friends really were, where I mourned the loss of a longtime family pet (Little Bear) in, where I fell so in love with my life in every single way.

 

 I've been thinking about this little place a lot lately, having dreams about it. This is the place where we started to really build our lives and it was so wonderful and magical and lovely. I so appreciate every moment I had within those walls and will always love these little photos of our little rented home.

 

Do you have any little places that your heart calls home?



Water Works.

Let me paint you a picture. It's a Wednesday morning, you have the flu so you are cuddled up working from home under a blanket on the couch. You decide to move your temporary home office to the basement so you can watch some TV clips on Hulu while you media pitch.

 

You grab your laptop, mug of tea, and tell the crazy pup to follow you downstairs. Then it happens. You are walking down the stairs and you put your foot in something wet and freezing. Your first thought is that the dog had an accident (hey, pee happens) and upon further inspection you realize it's water. Water all over the basement. Under the washer and dryer, under the kitchenette stove and fridge, covering the baseboards. There's two inches of (luckily!) clean water from a leaking toilet all over the bottom level of the house.

 

The one photo I took because I needed my husband to know that the basement is flooded and I just realized our towels don't match.

 

This is a true story. This happened a few hours ago. Know what's a great cure for the flu? Wading around in cold water. Thank my lucky stars that two of our best friends live one house away and were willing to let me sneak into their garage to grab their ShopVac. I spent a good two hours drying the place out and I can still hear all the box fans whirring as we try to dry out the walls.

 

It's easy to let things like this weigh on you--I could feel myself beginning to let this ruin my day. I caught myself saying aloud, "Oh, this is a nightmare" as I followed the water and realized how much of the floor was drenched. But I stopped. Maybe it's the Secret or maybe it's the cold meds, but I realized this shouldn't weigh me down. This story might be funny in a few days, things could've been MUCH worse, and I was lucky to have people willing to loan me exactly what I needed.

 

It's all about perspective, I suppose. You could say, "I spent the whole afternoon cleaning up freezing water in the basement!" or you could say, "Hey! I finally got the indoor swimming pool I always wanted!"

 

 



Swing Sets for Dayz.

So, despite not having children yet, we have a swing set in our backyard. 

The previous owners had three children so the swing set came with the house.Though a bit of an eyesore, it is totally functional. Our nieces Addie and Olive are basically in love with it--adorably whenever they stop by Addie will ask, "Can I go play on your park?" and Olive with chant-ask "Swings? Swings? Park? Swings?"

We are planning to take the set apart and move it to the other side of the yard to open up our view of the garden (and maybe make room for a hammock...please?). While thinking about it I asked Rhyno if we could paint it since we're taking it apart anyhow. "Sure, I don't care." Alright then! The tarp has needed to be replaced for a while due to storm/snow damage and I figure if it's going to be a staple in our yard anyway, why not make it super cute?

I've been turning to, where else, Pinterest for inspiration and I am definitely feeling inspired!

 

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I love the detail on this--I'm hoping to paint the monkey bars in a rainbow and then add tiny white hearts to each bar. 

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I love the color! And the grown-up swing! And the flower boxes! Yes, this. All day long. Having a wooden roof would help the whole "tarp getting damaged all winter long" issue, too.

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 I've been wanting to replace one of the swings with a tire swing for a while. One of the best parks by my house growing up had a tire swing and I desperately petitioned my parents to install one in our yard. "But all the kids will love it! I'll be so popular!" 7 year old S. Guff, you are sad. 

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Fun story: when my mom was a kid she tore her face open on a slide. TORE. HER. FACE. WIDE. OPEN. Since hearing that story as a kid I've never been a huge fan but, oh!, the possibilities for cuteness. I'd love to add a little pool at the bottom to create a summertime water slide. We actually tried this summer with our current set and a tiny blow-up pool at the bottom but our slide was bolted down so A & O had to slide down, hit a big bump, and then kinda flail around into the kiddie pool. Fail.  

Also, if you Google "painted slide" a bunch of gun photos pop up. Happy Thursday!

The Secret Garden (Except Not a Secret).

Gardens all over the damn place, right?

One of my favorite things about warm weather is our herb garden. When we moved into the little rented condo that we (loved so much and) called home for two years we decided to plant a summer herb garden on our balcony. When we moved into our forever home we decided to plant another on our patio. It's so nice to have basil to pluck for fresh pesto and rosemary for roasted veggies all summer long. It helps save money and I love adding a healthy, fresh flavor to our daily dishes.

So when summer's over, there goes the garden. We've tried a few times to move our little garden indoors but our jerky cats have proved that motion invalid. They will knock over and chew whatever plant life we try to bring indoors. In his six years Joodle has shattered four vases because his love of chewing on flowers is just so powerful. What a butt.

Recently though I thought of a solution: something under glass. I'm trying to get Rhyno to build our kitchen window out and cover it with glass so we can slide the slats open to water it and it'll be a tiny greenhouse in our kitchen. He hasn't been receptive to it yet but, hey, I'm still working on it.

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Do you have pets and keep plants indoors? What's your secret?