For the Love of Photography...

I wish I was a better photographer. I would love to know what all of those buttons are for on my camera. I mean, really, how many different settings could you possibly need?

I know what I like but I just can't seem to create it on my own. It doesn't help that my kids have absolutely THE WORST cheesy smiles when it comes to pictures. For some reason their beautiful, gorgeous grins turn into toothy, eye squinting, crazy faces as soon as the camera comes out!

Nevertheless, we still have almost 30,000 pictures stored on our computer since Matthew was born 6 1/2 years ago. Remember the days when you were thrilled to get back the 24 picture roll of film that you had just developed? Now an outing is not complete until I have at least 100 pictures!


Anyways, I am lucky to have a Dad that lives behind a camera and a great photographer friend (check out maddiegray photography) who takes awesome pictures of my kids. Thought I would share some of my favorite pics from our most recent photo session. All photos are by Kim from Maddiegray Photography.

Scentsible Sunday

I have always loved my "smellies". From my smelly stickers and scented erasers when I was a kid (does anyone remember these??)... to yummy lotions and bath products... to all of my endless candles, I have always gravitated towards scents I love. A great smell can totally improve my mood or help me to relax.

Why does smell have such an effect? Our sense of smell is directly linked to our limbic system in the brain which is, in turn, linked to our emotions. A unique smell can trigger specific memories and emotions from as early as childhood.

So...when I found Scentsy, I knew I was in love! There are over 80 scents available and you can always mix and match scents to create one all of your own. My favorites at the moment are Calypso, Watermelon Patch and Peachy Ginger (yum! yum!)

Sundays will be devoted to all of those fabulous scents out there! Hopefully, I will figure out how to upload pictures onto here and can add some pictures next week. If you have any Scentsy questions, let me know. Until then, enjoy your smellies!

Perfection is Not Always What it Seems

I have always LOVED looking through home magazines and catelogs. Pottery Barn and House and Home definitely top my list of favs. For some strange reason, no matter how hard I tried, I could never get my house to look like any of the pages in those books (never mind actually keeping it that way with two little boys, a big black dog and two fuzzy grey cats running through the house!)

Anyways, I came across this blog, Catelog Living, that made me think twice about the brilliant staging of my favorite catelog. Both Dave and I were killing ourselves laughing! Hope you like it and remember that perfection is not always what it seems!

Microfiber Magic

Oh, how I love my microfiber cloths! The Norwex antibac enviro cloth is definitely the most used cleaning product in my house. It pretty much cleans EVERYTHING and has replaced almost all of my chemical cleaners as it just needs water!

Here is what I have learned about microfiber:

1. Microfiber picks up dirt, grime and all of those other miscellaneous grungies better than anything else I have used due to the construction of the fiber. The Norwex microfibers are 1/100th the size of a strand of hair which obviously creates a huge surface area for collecting debris. When the cloths are used dry, these fibers produce an electrostatic charge which attracts and holds dust particles like a magnet. When wet, the fibers use a capillary vacuum force which pulls and traps the dirt, bacteria, moisture, and grease from the surface into the fibers leaving the surface residue free and squeaky clean! The traditional method of cleaning with chemicals and cotton cloths breaks down dirt and grime and spreads it evenly over the surface rather than actually removing it and the cloths can actually transport the germs to the next surface you are trying to clean. It may look clean but we all know appearances are not always what they seem!

2. Microfiber picks up 99.9% of bacteria from any surface you are cleaning...using only water! One of the things I was not aware of with the traditional chemical cleaners, is that in order to have the antibacterial effect the product needed to be left wet for up to 10 minutes or scrubbed vigorously for at least 30 seconds. I guess I should read the fine print a bit better as this is definitely not something that I did!

3. One of the unique properties of the Norwex microfiber cloths is the antibacterial silver agent that is embedded into the fibers. Silver has long been recognized for its antibacterial properties. The saying`born with a sliver spoon in the mouth`actually stemmed from the plagues in Europe when wealthy families ate from silver plates and utensils because they knew an infection could not survive on silver. The Norwex antibac microfiber not only picks up dirt and grime without releasing it onto other surfaces but also basically sanitizes itself! After 24 hours, 99.99% of the bacteria was destroyed which means cleaner cloths, less frequent laundering, and a reduction in cross-contamination.




Well, there is my little lesson on microfiber. Not the most exciting topic, I know, but hopefully it was interesting! Happy cleaning!

Up and Away!

Well, here we go! I have been stocking blogs for a while now (thanks mostly to a friend of mine) and have been blown away by all of the amazing bloggers out there. I have finally decided to take the plunge and create one of my own! I hope this blog will have a good balance of informative tidbits as well as lots of fun and inspirational decorating, crafting, and organizational ideas that I come across.
I think my 6 year old son, Matthew, has more computer knowledge than me, so please bear with me as I attempt to set this thing up. It has been more than a little mind-boggling for me!

In the last few months, I have done quite a bit of research ( I like to call it "research", you see, as it sounds so much better than hours of time wasted in front of the computer!) on what chemicals I was using in my home. I was really amazed (and not in a good way!) at some of the products out there. Although I am not completely "green", I am trying to make more educated decisions on what I am using in my home and putting into the environment. I have just recently started working as an independent consultant for Norwex. It is a Canadian based company aimed at reducing the amount of household chemicals and making cleaning quicker, cheaper, and simpler (and who doesn't like that?). I have found some great products that I love and hope to share some of them with you. If there is any particular cleaning dilemma that you are having trouble with, let me know!

Thanks for checking in.

Up and away...