Clean & Green: Soft Scrub for Fixtures

Soft Scrub for Fixtures

1/2 cup baking soda
castille soap
10 drops of antibacterial essential oil (optional)

Add enough castille soap until you have a frosting-like consistency. Scrub, then rinse with water.

Big Buck Huntin'

No, not actual hunting. And not the video game from a bar either. Our moosehead came in. Now he's all set up in his new home above our bed. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking in this post.

This picture makes me realize that I need to get our night stands sanded and painted white. Which was the original plan when we got them. Months ago. I blame winter for coming in so quickly. I was less than interested in standing in our garage painting. Maybe this month. Or next month if the warm weather doesn't stick around.

The big guy looks so happy. I'd like to say that all of our decor adventures have made him this happy. Something tells me that's probably not true.

Just in case you didn't get the full effect of the joy that acrylic moose brough into our home. And our lives.

And the setp ladder inthe background means that I was doing something. I'm not tall. I use that step ladder A LOT. Definitely a wise investment for any petite home owner.

Even Loki's smiling. :-)

I tease, but really I like it too. I'm a big fan of the slightly outrageous modern hunting lodge vibe it gives our bedroom. Let's be honest with each other. If I wasn't a fan, we wouldn't have him in the first place. Yes we think the moose is a him. We also think his name would be Bob. Bob seems like a good moose name.

Light and Breezey

Our new sheets came in! They came in a while ago, I'm just slow getting them on the bed and getting the post up.

Here's what they looked like when they arrived. HSN.com does a nice job with their shipping, at least on sheets.

Once we got them on the bed, I wanted to see what the various patterns looked like together. I'm really happy with it. We've got the very straight squares of the tufting on the head board and the duvet. Then we've got the slightly more organic deatial in the diamond pattern of the lattice sheets. Goes nicely, but is just different enough to be interesting.


These sheets are so soft and light. Perfect for a change to Spring! Now if only the weather would catch up with my decor. . .

Clean & Green: Tub & Tile Cleaner

Tub & Tile Cleaner

Apply vinegar, full strenght, to a sponge and wipe. Scour with baking soda.

Loki's Thoughts: Decorating the Bedroom

Mom, let's be honest. This blue duvet is pretty, and sure it's calming and relaxing, which is nice for a bedroom. But don't you think it needs more color? Maybe a nice golden tan with a little pop of red? I'm the perfect addition to your color scheme. This is why I should sleep on your bed all the time. Just keep it in mind as an option.

Another Small Change

One small change usually leads to another in our house. After moving the clock into the guest bathroom, I started looking for other pieces that could use a new home. This is the comforter that used to be on our bed. Here's a picture of Loki napping on said comforter.

Apparently, laundry fresh out of the dryer is very cozy.

During the move, and proably a little before the move, the comforter got pretty dirty. So we took it to the dry cleaners since we don't have a washng machine that will hold a king size comforter. Thank you dry cleaners! After picking up the khaki comforter from the cleaners we needed a place to put it. I tried to fold it and put it on a closet shelf, but it took up all the space we had there. So I looked at it in the third bedroom, since it was the right kind of color.

It makes the bed just a little cozier if anyone is sleeping in it, since it's actually an appropriate size. Unlike the light blue plaid twin size comforter I got for my college dorm room, which you can see peeking out from the corner. It fits just fine on the closet shelf. ;-)

Just another small change that hopefully makes the randomness that is our third bedroom feel a little more welcoming and guest friendly.

Irish Stew

I made this Irish stew for dinner on St. Patrick's Day. It's simple, and very tasty. Both things that I love. Almost as much as my Irish heritage!

Ingredients

2lbs lamb or beef stew meat (I used beef, but I bet the lamb would be very tasty too)

1.5 lbs potatoes

5 medium onions

parsley and thyme to taste (I also added rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 cups water

Directions
Trim the meat and cut inot fairly large pieces. Peel and slice the potatoes and onions. Put layers of potatoes, meat, onion and herbs and seasoning inot a pot, finishing with a layer of potatoes.

Pour the water over the meat and vegetables, and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 2 hours or bake in a slow oven at 300F. (I boiled/simmered mine.) Check during cooking, adding more liquid if necessart. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: A good Irish stew should be thick and creamy, not swimming in juice.

Recipe from http://www.discoverireland.com/

Small Changes

I just can't leave well enough alone. Especially when it comes to moving things around in the house. Take the guest bathroom. Everything was done, walls were painted, shelves were hung, accessories were in place. But something was missing.

Enter the little black clock on the second shelf. I needed something to break up all the white. So I did a little shopping through the house. I had this little black clock that I'd gotten at a PMO (Purdue Musical Organizations) end of hte year banquet in college. It's the right size for the shelf, actually fit perfectly in front of the smaller white plate on that shelf. It's the right color- and since there are only three in this bathroom, that was kind of important. Then I thought that our guests might like to know what time it is while they're getting ready.

So this little guy has a new home. And the guest bathroom is complete. For now.

Clean & Green: Toilet Bowl Cleaners

Toilet Bowl Cleaners

liquid castille soap
baking soda or borax

Scrub with a toilet brush

Loki vs the Paparazzi

Loki's thoughts: I get it. You love me. You think I'm stylish and dashing, and who can blame you? I really am ruggedly handsome. But really, enough is enough. I can't go anywhere without being followed by you and your camera. I'd really like a cookie, but if I have to, I'll eat your camera. It's up to you.