Someday, My Prince Will Come..!

Well, okay... my prince actually came about 7 years ago. (I can't believe we've been together that long!!) But all this Royal Wedding stuff has me thinking about the obvious.  I haven't been following all the hype, but I am interested in watching the ceremony.  (I am even somewhat ashamed to admit that I had to google Kate Middleton just to get a clear picture of what she looks like when my grandmother's niece,a distant and much older cousin of mine, said that I was a Kate M. look-alike.) There is just something I find a little fascinating about marrying a prince. I guess we just grow up reading fairy tales where this happens, and neglect to remember that there are still royal families with princes and kings. 

So, I'm not about to stay up all night to watch the royal ceremony, but I am going to record it on the DVR so I can watch it tomorrow and fast forward through any parts I find excessively hum-drum. After all, it should be educational if nothing else. (That's what I'll tell people when they find out I recorded the ceremony--for educational purposes! Haha!)

Maybe I'll even forego my usual cups of coffee in the morning and try some tea instead in honor of the royal nuptials.  (On second thought, maybe not...maybe I'll just try the tea later in the day...I've never really been able to get into it.) Anyone else going to watch?? 

Not that my tulip picture has anything to do with the royal wedding, but it was pretty, so I thought I would share!
Hope you all are also enjoying spring!

The Magic of Magic Erasers

I am pleased to report that I successfully completed my housekeeping tasks for today, which ended up being all the usual things (dusting, vacuuming, dish-washing) as well as cleaning the bathroom, doing some laundry and ironing.  It turned out to be very productive day overall!

My grand accomplishment today made
possible by a Magic Eraser.

I still can't tell you how much that my cleaning basket has helped speed along the cleaning process.  Even cleaning the bathroom goes quicker because I have all my solutions and supplies right there in one place as opposed to having some here and there.  And today, I went the extra mile to really, deep clean the vinyl rug on the bathroom floor.  It is essentially white, with a touch of beige, and is somewhat textured wtih little dimples all over.  When deciding to purchase this particular rug for the bathroom, it never occurred to me that those dimples could quickly become dirt catchers!  But, never fear: I have discovered the cleaning power of the Magic Eraser.  If you have never used one (and you can find generic ones everywhere now as well), I highly recommend investing in at least one to give it a try and see if you like it.  I think if you haven't used them before, you will REALLY be impressed!  And you will quickly learn why they're called "Magic Erasers"! They really do seem to get rid of stuff magically.

A little box of magic goes
a long way!

 I steam mop the floor in there at least once a week, but all those little dimples in the rug are like dirt magnets... and because the rug is white, my floor appears to be dirty even when it's clean. You see how frustrating this could be. But now, I just whip out a bucket of warm water (the garbage pail which accompanies my cleaning basket was the perfect size) and a Magic Eraser, start wiping the floor and start watching the magic happen! It really is *almost* fun...and it does such a good job, and is so easy, that once you get started, you just want to keep going!



Needless to say, I felt much like Cinderella while down on all fours, wiping the floor off with a single sponge. (At least I was just doing the bathrooom floor, however, and not the entire area of a palatial estate.)  And I couldn't help but to think that if Cinderella had had a Magic Eraser, she wouldn't have had time to sing all those pretty songs, including my favorite, "Oh Sing Sweet Nightengale" which she sings while scrubbing the floor. (I'm thinking of Disney's Cinderella, of course!)  But I digress...and am embarrasing myself, so I'll just quit now...Haha!

Do you all have any secret, cleaning weapons that you highly recommend?

Housekeeping Epic Failure

Well, it seems about a month ago, I experienced a terrible migraine which lasted about 3 days, and ever since then I have been thrown completely off my schedule for everything.  It's so frustrating!  It also didn't help that I went to Cincinnati with my husband two weeks ago, which also got me out-of-whack. I had a blast, but when I got back home, it's like random things just kept popping up with the intention of keeping me from returning to my  more orderly means of housewifery.

Not only has it gotten me behind in blogging, which has been disappointing, but with my housekeeping as well. Also, my husband and I have recently started a home inspection business, so I've been consumed with working on that and putting together brochures and info to send to potential customers. It seems that once I get behind and have to play catch-up, it's soo hard to get back on track! (I always found excercising to be the same way: you can do it for 40 days straight, then you miss a day, and before you know it, you're only doing it when you have a notion.) And I was doing soo good!

Instead of adhering to my house cleaning schedule, I have slipped back into my old routine of just doing things as I notice them needing to be done, rather than being proactive. (Key word there--proactive--which I am continuously and desperately trying to be more of.) Tomorrow, I plan on getting the old schedule back out, and starting to get back into my routine because I was really pleased with how well it was working. 

Sometimes I think I'm not exactly the best housekeeper because I'm a procrastinator by nature.  In college, for example, I would be the person who would put off doing a paper until a couple nights before it was due.  I just always felt like I worked better under pressure, because I knew I HAD to get it done.  I no longer had time to let my mind wander or get distracted by other things. When I went to Honduras after my freshman year of college, I put-off packing for my trip until the night before I flew out. (Which worked out in the end, but I do not recommend it by any means.)  I have noticed that I like to be very busy just before an event (such as submitting a major paper or going on a serious trip) and I think it's because if I'm busy, I don't have time to think, worry, or be overly-excited about all the stuff that could happen.  How that's influenced my housekeeping, I'm not sure.  I do know I hate that when unexpected company pulls in the driveway, I feel like I have to look around and see what I need to stash away in a mad dash. That's why I've been trying to make an effort through my housekeeping schedule to be a more proactive housekeeper.

Am I the only one who does the "mad-dash stash," or are you all also familiar with that little number?

How to Wear Red Lipstick

Hello, everyone! It's been crazy for me these last couple of weeks, and it's got me seriously behind in my blogging which I have missed so much! Following up on my last post about wearing red lipstick, I thought it would be fun to discuss how one should correctly wear red lipstick--not that I'm an expert, but I do love makeup and do lots of research on such things in my spare time. So I thought I would pass along what I have learned for those of you who are interested. 

I have always heard that red lipstick is flattering on everyone, so long as it's the right shade.  Well, any 30-second stroll down the cosmetics isle at your local drugstore will show you that choosing the best shade of red may be a little more daunting than initially thought.  The good news, however, is that as long as you know the basics of selecting the right shade, it's all easy from there. 

Essentially, you want to choose a shade of lipstick that compliments your skin tone.  Skin tone is basically broken down into three categories: cool, warm and neutral.  Not sure which one you are?  A quick way to tell is jewelry: if silver jewelry looks good on you, but gold clashes or washes you out (like me!), then you have a cool skin tone.  On the contrary, if gold looks best on you, then you are warm-toned.  However, some lucky people are flattered by either gold or silver jewelry; in this case, your skin is neutrally toned. 

If you still have doubts, go by the color of your skin.  If you are fair, then you will be most flattered by a cool, blue-red. (An orangey-red would be to glaringly bright against such fair skin.) Look for something with berry tones or a very deep crimson red.    If your skin color is medium or tan, you will probably look better wearing a red that has more of an orange (warm) base.  However, you could also get away with wearing a peppery red.  You will probably want to stay clear of the extremely dark reds, however. If you have very dark skin, you will definitely want to choose a red that provides enough contrast to your skin tone, and orangey reds are a good bet for this.  If you choose something too dark, it will wash out your complexion.

So you have your color, now what...? Something I'm just dying to try is an invisible lip liner. (And can I just say WHAT a brilliant idea that is! One lip liner to go with every lipstick!!) However, I have yet to purchase and test this alleged miracle product.  One of the most common problems with wearing red lipstick is that it tends to bleed.  Not that other colors of lipstick don't, but since red is the brightest of lipsticks, the bleeding is more obvious than with other colors.  A quick fix for this (and a neat trick for any lipstick) is to:

1) Exfoliate your lips before applying makeup (you can do this by dabbing some sugar on them and lightly brushing them with a warm, wet washcloth).

2) Apply foundation over your lips as you apply to your face. (Long-wearing is especially good for this.)

3) Apply lipstick, then blot twice.  Re-apply lipstick and blot again. 

4) Apply lip gloss if desired.

By the way, can I just add that two of my favorite reds at the moment are: Maybelline ColorSensational Lipcolor - Hot Tamale and Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick - Coral Crush.  I hope you enjoyed this post, and I wanna know what your favorite red is too!  Happy Friday everyone! =)