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!

Let's Talk Dirty - Baltimore, MD. - June 2012

I'm not sure if you remember, but at the beginning of this whole "Test it. Blog it. Win it." thing I mentioned that almost every article of furniture we own was a gift, hand me down, or Craigs List find. Most of that furniture was the kind of stuff you'd either clean with equal parts bleach and warm water, a Swiffer duster and a Pledge wipe down, or you take it out back and spray id down with the hose.

(So pretty)

So you can imagine my surprise when cleaning up after the inaugural dinner at our new BEAUTIFUL dining room table

(which just so happened to be the Monkey's 2nd birthday dinner, Red Robyn take out)

When I finished wiping it down with a wet cloth, aside from the Red Robyn steak fry remnants being gone, the table top didn't really look all that clean.

(Especially the 2 year old's end of things.)

I immediately went into mild panic mode. Maybe I'm not grown up enough yet to have such a nice table. The words of my father began to ring in my ears:

"If you want nice things you must learn how to take care of them otherwise you're not ready for nice things." - WanderingLili's Dad

I want to be ready to have nice things, (she says while stomping her feet like a 2 year old)! So I promptly went to the laundry room and got the pledge. I was gonna fix this!

(Uh Not so much...)

I made our table so shiny and slick that a glass LITERALLY slid across it and onto the floor. ZOOM!!!

(Round 1 - Table Wins)

Next I tried good old soap and water. Well at that point the mix of furniture polish and water and oil from the fries was making things worse.  YUCK!!! 

(Round 2 - The Table Wins)

Then I remembered the kind words of the folks at Su Casa when they said "Let us know if you have any questions or need anything". So I laid the problem of the dirty table to rest for the night and resolved that in the morning I would take them up on their offer.

Sweet Jenni at Su Casa - Fells Point was the lucky recipient of my call and just so happened to be in possession of a solid wood table and a 2 year old of her very own (not there in the store with her, but at home), so we were instant friends. She help me understand the following:

1.) The more I polished the worse it looks because polishing isn't cleaning. It's basically like putting hair gel, poose, hair spray, and sculpting wax in dirty hair. It just becomes a nasty mess. (My weirdo analogy not hers.)

2.) There's always a sort of adjustment period when breaking in new furniture, when your dream of the furniture meats the reality, so don't panic.

3.) Because wood is porous, less water is often better.

4.) She also helped me understand that it takes a little bit of "old fashioned elbow grease" to really keep it looking nice. (My dad would love this girl!)

5.) She said that she ultimately wanted us to be happy with the table and suggested that we invest in an every day table cloth or a good set of washable place mats, both of which they have in all the Su Casa stores.

So a BIG thank you to Jenni. The girls and I will be field tripping our way down to Fells Point to attempt to fix our dirty looking table. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

THE WINNER!!! - Baltimore, MD. - June 2012

Thanks to everyone for entering.

The winner of the Su Casa Duck giveaway is:

Amy E.

Naming her baby duck

"Dietrich"!

Congratulations!

(Amy please send your mailing address to wanderinglili@gmail.com and I’ll order your Su Casa Duck.)

Stay tuned for more Su Casa fun (and just maybe another giveaway)!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

Less Than 12 Hours Left To Win Your Very Own Su Casa Duck - Baltimore, MD - June 2012

Only a little bit of time left to get you tail in the running for one of these super cute little ones.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

"Su Casa ducks have been a long time favorite and in store best seller. We are excited to now be able to offer them online so no matter where you live you can bring one of these adorable guys home. Su Casa Ducks come in an assortment of positions and colors, each with their own name!" - Su Casa -Baltimore

THIS is a super cute story about one little Su Casa duck, Howard's journey to his his forever home. It's complete with a cameo from Su Casa Owner Nick.

The Winner will be posted tomorrow, Monday, June 11, 2012 by NOON.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

Our Table: A Place to Fold - Baltimore, MD. - June 2012

First off the GIVEAWAY entries are pouring in so make sure you're in the running. Only 5 days left to get your name in the hat. We're giving away a Su Casa Duck and we don't want you to miss out. All the GIVEAWAY details are

HERE.

I'll post the winner this Monday, June 11, 2012.

GOOD "DUCK" LUCK!!!

(Now on with the show!)

 It MUST be said that I LOVE folding laundry. As a little kid I can remember being taught how to fold the towels.  I can still remember the way the warm terrycloth felt on my fingers. I may have mentioned it before, but when I was in high school I folded laundry for a young couple from our church to earn money. So as you can imagine I've put a lot of thought into what my ideal laundry room would look like. I thought it would be perfect to have a laundry room with a big table for folding, that way if something came up and I wasn't done folding, I could just close the door on all that laundry mess and when I got back everything would be exactly as I left it. And, in the mean time all my perfectly arranged piles wouldn't be in anyone's way. Paradise! Right?!

Well now I'm not so sure. For the longest I've been folding laundry on the living room floor. I just LOVE how that giant pile turns into a bunch of pretty little piles. The Hub on the other hand HATES this because I take over the entire living room in the process.

But now, I think I like this EVEN BETTER!!!

I know Su Casa doesn't mention it online, or anywhere in the literature, but our Buster Dining Table offers 21 sq. ft. of folding heaven!!! (There's 28 sq. ft. with the leaf in.)

(Aren't little girl clothes the cutest things ever! All pink and tiny... SIGH!!!)

Plus it allows me to be right in the thick of things rather than stuffed back in a laundry room somewhere in the east wing (ha ha). Above all, and much to the Hub's delight, if I fold on the dining room table, I have to put everything away by the next meal.

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

GIVEAWAY: What Would You Name Your Su Casa Ducks? - Baltimore, MD - May 2012

With a 3 month old and a 2 year old we are definitely fans of ducks at our house! 

But the Ducks of Su Casa are in a class by themselves.

 As many of you know, we're in the home stretch of the Su Casa - Test it. Blog it. Win it. contest. There's only a month left for us to share our story of ordering and living with custom furniture from Su Casa - Baltimore. This really has been such a great experience!  We wanted to say thanks and share a little Su Casa love with you, the readers, and what better way to do that than with a little GIVEAWAY!!!

I've been hinting around it for weeks, but today's the day! We're giving away a Su Casa Duck!!! What's a Su Casa Duck?

These are Su Casa Ducks!!!

Baby Ducks

Teen Ducks

Adult Ducks

***THE GIVE AWAY***

We will be giving away 1 "Baby Su Casa Duck" - "Baby Ducks come in an assortment of positions and colors, each with their own name!"

TIME:

The drawing opens as soon as this post is up and will end at 11:59pm Sunday, June 10, 2012.

ENTRIES:

You can enter once as a general reader by posting a comment below and answering the question: "What would you name YOUR Su Casa Duck?"

BONUS ENTRIES:

There are THREE ways to get bonus entries:

1.) Mention this giveaway with a link back to my blog on your Facebook, Twitter, and/or Penterest and let me know in your comments below which you've done. You will receive an extra entry for each (for a max of 3 additional entries).

2.) Post about this giveaway on your blog. Just let me know in your comment and give me the link to your blog post.

3.) PAST BLOG COMMENTS: I have posted about this Su Casa - Baltimore contest 10 times. For each of the following posts you made a comment on you will receive an additional entry (for a max of 10 additional entries). Meaning if you've comment at least once on all 10 of the following posts you would receive 10 additional entries. 

Just A Moment to Share BIG News - Baltimore, MD. - March 2012

I'm A FINALIST!!! Ready? Set? BLOG!!! - Baltimore,MD - April 2012

A Table for the Wanderers - Baltimore, MD. - April 2012

Table Talk: Our Block "Buster" Pick - Baltimore, MD. - April 2012

Old Table vs. New Table - Baltumore, MD - May 2012

Have A Seat... Or Two! - Baltimore, MD. - April 2012

Su Casa: The Shopping Experience - Baltimore, MD - April 2012

Our Table: The Waiting Game - Baltimore, MD. May 2012

Our Table: We Set A Date! - Baltimore, MD. - May 2012

and More Table Talk: Out with the Old, In with the New - Baltimore, MD. May 2012

THE WINNER: I will use a random drawing to decide the winner and will announce the winner next Monday, June 11, 2012 and will order your duck from Su Casa - Baltimore within 24 hours of receiving the winner's address.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!