THE BIG REVEAL

Yeah, so this may not be a big reveal, but considering my rate at doing and then posting projects in the last year. I'd say this is pretty big.

So that hint. As much as I love that cotton candy guess. (You see, I am a sucker for anything fair related. For all you Bachelor watchers, that surprise fair date with Ashley this last season...yeah, pretty much my ultimate dream date.) But the answer to my hint...was actually none other than..dum, dum dum...batting!! Batting for my new pillows!

Several blogs online show quick easy ways to create pillows from placemats and fabric napkins. It is unbelievably easy and thrifty. You can get super cute pillows for around $5 a pop. Plus, it only takes about 5 minutes to make (no joke) from start to finish. I fell in love with these placemats from Target but am not in the stage to be committing to colors for a kitchen. However, as a pillow, they would be way more versitile. Just the small bit of convincing I needed. I am obsessed!

A HINT

I just started a new domestic project that I'm in love with!! I'll reveal the final results later, but here's a hint to entice you...

Any guesses??

Plus, I scored these babies on my shopping trip for 50 cents a pack. That's cheaper than the dollar store! I couldn't pass up a bargain like that for these cute thank you notes.

I'M NOT A BELIEVER

So after reading an article in Real Simple about cleaning your tile grout using the Magic Eraser, I thought I would try it out to see how well it worked. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with it. But after trying my problem grout areas with not much luck, I decided to give the whole shower a quick scrub to see how well it worked. Shocked. Utterly shocked. What I thought were just stains from my tub being 20 years old lifted away with no effort at all. This whole non-toxic cleaning thing...well I apparently haven't figured it out yet. My tub is now a shade of white I never knew existed...in about five minutes. Those magic erasers are safe right?? Because I seriously swear by them. They are my desert island cleaning product of choice. Not that you really need cleaning products on a desert island. But you know what I mean. I haven't given up on my toxic-free friends yet. No way, I love a good challenge. There has to be a way! This was at least comforting to read. I guess you could say I am more humanitarian than environmentally conscious. Don't worry...I still recycle. But I am not tossing my magic eraser quite yet. Maybe I'll just use that instead of bleach...

And yes, I am embarrassingly aware this is the third time I've written about the Magic Eraser. I'll stop. I promise!

LAUNDRY DAY

Today is pretty much a laundry day over here at Casa Diva. You know, when you are down to your last pair of socks...or whatever. You end up wearing tie dye or mesh shirts or whatever happens to be in the far abyss of your closet. Well, that is me today, but only in the kitchen. That's right..kitchen.

Let me explain.

I enter my kitchen. Starving....stomach growling starving! So I open the pantry. Then shut. Open fridge. Then shut. Open freezer. Slam shut. Open freezer again...BRUSSEL SPROUTS! Yep. That's it. It was my first time to try these infamous veggies...and they honestly weren't so bad. Maybe with enough lemon juice, oil, and salt anything can taste good. That or considering your other option is...ok, so there aren't any other options. They have to taste good! But to balance out, I've got cookies in the fridge almost ready to stick in the oven. Mmm...I can't wait. (I also finished off the flour, sugar, and butter making my cookies. Yeah, it's THAT bad. I am hoping no nuclear explosion happens today. I'd be the first one dead.)

So this might not the most well rounded meal, but it's my laundry day meal. It isn't supposed to make sense. And don't worry, I plan to go grocery shopping soon! (Well, at least before my cookie supply runs out)

THE LINE UP

Ok. So here's the line up of the top five products I found. I'm even ranking these so you'll know the down and dirty...


#1 - Distilled White Vinegar
Not just made for those delicious salt and vinegar chips. Nope, this baby is the first prize winner for a "non-toxic, clean your whole house with one product" solution. Simple as that. It is effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs. It works best on mirrors and as a multi-purpose cleaner.All you got to do is mix a half vinegar, half water solution. Easy peasy. I mean you don't even need to measure for this baby. Just the way I like it! Plus, if you dump about 1/4 cup in your toilet, it'll clean that annoying ring that appears. It is safe to use, plus this baby is cheap. It was around a dollar for the vinegar, and H2O is free! Can't beat this one.


#2 - Club Soda
I consider this one a great find. There you are finding yourself scrubbing away, working up a sweat, getting a little parched. All you have to do is dump a little of this on a stain and gulp down the rest. What other kind of cleaning products can you do that with? Pretty impressive if you ask me. Besides the rehydration benefits, this one is known to pull out a nasty carpet stain or two. The other benefit is that it shines bathroom fixtures like nobodies business. No crazy mixtures for this one. Just pour on a cloth, shine...and be amazed!



#3 - Hydrogen Peroxide (4%)
This baby is the safe alternative to bleach. Yes, bleach is still mentioned as a safe choice, but I do think it has some disadvantages which bumped it from this list. We will get to that later though. This solution is simply 1 cup hydrogen peroxide for every 2 cups of water. You just apply this little mixture and mold disappears. They say you should let it sit on the grout for about an hour though. But that's not too difficult if you just spray it first, clean the rest of the bathroom, then go back and scrub away.


#4 - Baking Soda
Arms getting tired? Why just let that baking soda take over. This gentle scouring powder will lift those stubborn stains away. It also will clean silver, make your fridge stop smelling funky, and can clean your drains. The list could go on and on. Seriously, check out their website or the back of a box. And can I say cheap for this one. Like ridiculous. Like I may actually be able to afford gas to get to the store now!


#5 - Lemon Juice & Olive Oil
Polishing up that wood? Look no further than you kitchen. Just 1 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of lemon juice and you got yourself a polish for your hardwood. Also, soap scum. I know I recently mentioned my battle with that lovely buildup. Apparently adding a little lemon juice to your multipurpose solution should help solve that, but you only need a teaspoon or so. I thought about adding lemon peel instead, though, because I don't know how long the lemon would last in the solution. And as for me, I don't want to have to make these solutions every week. I am way too lazy for that.

Now with these 5 ingredients in stow. There is no surface left to be cleaned. I'll talk about a few that didn't make the list next just so you know a little more why I chose these. Even on "mother earth" type sites they list a few others to choose from...however, most of them have mixed reviews.

Let's just review my list for a minute...Simple. Check. Nontoxic. Check. Cheap. Check. Effective??

So far this sound too good to be true! No way can these can compete to the crazy chemical, lab-tested products out there. But a girl's gotta hope!

A KICK

It wasn't too long ago that you could say baking was my thing. I was on a kick. (I have NO idea what that means! Who comes up with these phrases??) I even asked for a baking book for Christmas...that was exciting to me. And don't get me wrong, I like baking, and am still making my way through that beast. I haven't forgotten about you three blog readers either...I'll post about it once I start my experimenting stage. (Figured it would be more interesting with a photo or two)



But let me tell you about the new love interest in my life. Cleaning. I know, I know...I just heard you gasp. Some raised eyebrows, maybe? You're probably wondering how I just managed to include love and cleaning in the same sentence! Maybe all those toxic cleaning fumes have been going to my head. But here is the thing that has me so intrigued...not the cleaning itself, but the cleaning products.

I really wish I knew where this all began, but I simply found myself researching cleaning products and solutions. Not high on my list of interesting topics, but for some reason it had me at hello. And now....well, you know the rest. Here I am, proclaiming my new fling to the entire blogosphere. Nuff said.

So when I started thinking more about that whole spick and span cleaning process, I had a few prereqs. Much less than most college degrees, so I figured they should be allowed.

1. Must be simple.
Let's face it. Who has the storage space to fit 20 bottles in their cabinet?

2. Must be non-toxic.
Let's just say I got my fair share of brain cell-killing fumes from art school. I'd like to still remember who I am and such.

3. Must be cheap.
Two words: I'm poor. Did I mention I studied art?

4. Must be effective.
Let's face it. I don't have Mr. Clean's arms, even if I wished. Besides, who has an hour to kill scrubbing?

Four basic things I ask of cleaning. I'll give you the breakdown of the goods next...

SNAP

...CRACKLE. POP. MMMM. (I always thought they forgot the last phrase!)

Rice Krispies are my all time favorite snack. I love them! But there are two qualifications for my treat I swear by:

1. Lazy is where it's at! No need to preciously form these krispies into a pan or quirky shape. I just use the cheater's version. Butter a bowl, sprinkle in some marshmallows, heat, then add the rice krispies, and eat with a spoon. Less work, less pans...this equals more happiness. It may not be exactly math, but it's accurate.

2. It is all about ratio. About 5:1 marshmallows to krispies is the way to go! And it's not a science, it's just all about what you like. And me, why I like marshmallows. The more jittery, hyped up, crazy feeling the better.

Rice Krispies are my anti-drug.

SPRING IS HERE

So you think I would have come to the realization that spring is here by how many times I have sneezed in the last few days, but considering I am allergic to work (the place, not the job) I didn't put it together. Not until this afternoon...

I was on my way home from work and to be honest, I am little embarrassed. Normally, I am pretty self-aware. You know, I wait until I get home to pick my nose or flex my bulging arm muscles. However, today was not one of those days. I decided to go shoe shopping today, in hopes of finding something else to wear besides my clunky, uncomfortable shoes I wore today. Pain apparently has a way of motivating.

So I stop by good ol' DSW to see what they have. (Quite a disappointment, but not what this post is about) As I walk out to my car empty handed, I notice a leggy little creature right by my door handle. If there is one thing I don't handle well, that would be bugs...more specifically, spiders. And little Charlotte was just hanging out on my door. (Hopefully naming this spider does not endear you to it, because spiders are NOT endearing!) So obviously I am not getting in my car with a spider in my way. But I don't have anything to kill it with so I start attacking it with my keys. Not the smartest thing to do to you car...I seem to learn things the hard way. So after mauling my car door to no avail, I start sticking my leg up in the air trying to squish it with my shoe...now this happens to be pretty high...ahem, not something you can be too discreet about. Although, to be honest I have no idea how ridiculous I looked at this point, because I was completely focused on the kill.

However, despite my intensity, both methods were unsuccessful. This winter has made me a little rusty apparently. So after the spider runs to hide, I have no choice but to get into my car...very slowly and with a scared look on my face. Now as I am about to pull out, I turn the other direction and notice a man beside me in his car...with a VERY amused look on his face. Oops! It looks like I was 'crazy lady' entertainment for someone today. Oh well, I am too excited it's spring!! (well, minus the spiders)