Jenni & The Bees! - Baltimore, MD. - June 2012

I think I mentioned that in my quest to clean my table I contacted Su Casa and spoke to a young lady named Jenni...

MEET JENNI!!!

(She so cute!!!)

My little ladies and I and a couple of our best girl friends here in Baltimore took a little field trip down to Su Casa - Fells Point last week to meet the young lady who'd been such a big help to us as we work through learning to take care of our new "Buster Dining Table". (More about that adventure tomorrow!)

The first time I talked to her she recommended this...

A product called Bee's Wax.

I thought it was one of those "nuts and berries", "fruit of the Earth" sort of things. I know, surprise surprise, WanderingLili the skeptic! And at just over $10 a bottle I just wasn't buying it! But as I struggled to find something to make my table clean and pretty, like it was when it was delivered to me I couldn't knock it until I'd tried it.

Let me tell y'all, my mind has been changed!

This stuff is the BEE'S KNEES!!!

After using the Magic Eraser to clean the mess off the wood and drying the table thoroughly, I sprayed a light layer of the Bees Wax over one end of the table.

I used a microfiber cloth,

(like one would use when cleaning car windows)

And going with the grain of the wood I worked it in with a little bit of Jenni's recommended "Elbow Grease". 

I worked my way around the table spraying as I went...

So it didn't dry before I got it worked in.

Stepping back after I was all finished, all I can say is... WOW!

See for yourself!

Not just nuts and berries, pansy, tree hugger wax! 

This is "I'll kick your A$$ if you try to get finger prints and Cherio crud on my table" wax!!! TAKE THAT!!!

Thanks Jenni!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage

Do you Believe In Magic? - Baltimore, MD. - June 2012

For the past month or so we've been testing and blogging about our new table from Su Casa - Baltimore as part of the Test it. Blog it. Win it. Contest.

So far we L-O-V-E LOVE love everything about it, but as I mentioned last week we'd run into a "dirty little problem". How to clean the table and keep it looking good, especially with a little one feeding herself at one end?

(Toddler YUCK!!!)

Well after spending a few days really thinking about it and trying a few different things, the answer presented itself in the form of the very toddler who's mess created the problem in the first place.

On Friday afternoon as I sat at the desk addressing MJ's birth announcements (only about 3 months late), the Monkey appeared next to me and began to doodle in Crayola on the wall. I sprang into action, going directly for my favorite tool for removing scuffs and other forms of "artwork" from the wall, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. As I gently scrubbed away her marks I could almost hear an audible "DING". I slowly rotated the white sponge in my hand and thought to myself, 'could the solution really be that easy''?

I jumped onto their web site to see if it was safe to use on wood? There, in the list of acceptable and tested surfaces it said "painted wood". Our table wasn't "painted", but it was finished so I did what every motivated cleaner should do, a test patch on the inside of one of the finished legs. a few hours later I checked and the table and it's beautiful finish were still in-tacked, so I moved on to the table top.

Going very slowly and gently, I began to wipe down the table top on the toddler's end. As I moved across that end, the crayon marks and food remnants literally began to disappear leaving behind nothing but a smooth and clean surface.

HOLY COW!!! IT WORKED!!!

It REALLY was that amazing! 

In my fit of excitement I sent the following text to the Hub. 

(Apparently we made all sorts of great discoveries Friday day!)

All evening, every time I'd walk past the table, which was A LOT I kept saying to the Hub, I'm so excited" and "I can't believe I figured it out" and "this makes me so happy".  I'm pretty sure there was a bit of jumping around like a 12 year old at a Taylor Swift Concert and there was definitely some fist pumping.

NOTE TO READER: I used the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser ORIGINAL.

ADDITIONAL NOTE TO READER: This worked for us, but I can't guarantee it will work for your table also. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser website only mentions "Painted Wood" not Finished wood, so PLEASE BE CAREFUL and do a test patch first.

Now that she's clean, lets dress her up and Make her SHINE!!!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

We LOVE Ruby Love - Baltimore, MD - March 2012

I need to start by saying I'm pretty sure my mom has a baby book for each of her four children somewhere. I think I've seen mine, but it's been so long that I'm not sure if it's real or just a memory I created. If it exists, I'd love to see it. I think it'd be a great way to get ideas for my girls and their baby books.

My good friend Katie introduced me to an AWESOME Etsy shop 

Ruby Love.

And that's where I found...

MJ's baby book!

They sell modern fabric covered baby books that are perfect for a busy mom that needs to just fill in the blanks but still wants it to look totally beautiful and customized.

Each book comes with color coordinated pages and stickers for the calendar to mark those oh so important "firsts".

Simple adhesive photo sleves...

And the window in the front panel is great for a photo or for $5 you can have it personalized with your child's name in one of these 4 styles

I'm generally not one to name drop, but these unique and one of a kind baby books have been featured on BABBLE.com, Apartment Therapy.com, and Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine! Those are some pretty big names in the baby and mommy biz.

There are also packets for Adoption, a stay in the NICU, Baptism or Dedication, First Holidays, First Outings, Reflections from their siblings, The 2nd Year and a packet for years 3-5. There is also a packet for pregnancy. These packets allow you to customize your book and tell your little ones story from the very beginning.

Here are a few more of the custom fabric covers that I liked.

If these don't strike your fancy there are over 150 covers to choose from so I'm positive they'll be one that is the perfect fit for you and your little one.

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

I Love This Bar - Baltimore, MD - September 2011

Since the arrival of the Monkey, I've been keeping my ear to the ground for good, time saving products that would make daily life and household chores a little easier.  About 6 months ago I discovered this...

The Bounce Dryer Bar, and I immediately fell  in love!  It's just about the best thing to happen to laundry since... Well, since Mr. Brooks Stevens developed the first electric clothes dryer with a glass window in the 1940s.  Round and round and round... SO FUN!!!

All you do is stick the holder in your dryer, slide in the dryer bar and wait 2-3 months (depending on your dryer usage) for it to look like this...

Yep, it really says "replace" when it's time to put a new one in.  Until then, you get wonderful smelling, static free laundry without doing a thing.  

No more messing with those dryer sheets. No more finding them in your pants leg while you're in the middle of an important meeting. No more having to covertly remove them from a sleeve or pant leg before someone says "hey, did you know you have a dryer sheet hanging out of your shirt sleeve/pants leg".  Okay maybe this has only happened to me.

Note to Cloth Diaper Users: You will want to remove the dryer Bar before drying inserts or liners in your dryer as it makes them repel liquid even better than than an umbrella and will require you to strip your diapers once, maybe twice.  Yep, I've done this... MORE THAN ONCE!

And not even the Monkey can resist yummy smelling, static free laundry!  In the great words of country music singer Toby Keith "I love this Bar"!

Til next time,

Bon Voyage!