Au Natural

...not like that! Get your mind out of the gutters! :)

Lately I've been contemplating using natural ways of cleaning the house. We started using a Shark steam mop instead of Swiffer products last fall, and I have to say that it's been so refreshing not to have to lock the cat away just to clean the floors. I shouldn't have to worry about poisoning my animal just by cleaning the floor!

So the next step for us was to start using a natural all-purpose cleaner. We have been using the Clorox 'Green Works' for some time, but it didn't really do a great job of cleaning up tough messes (grease, etc.).
I found some information about natural cleaners on one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love . I love the idea of using vinegar instead of a chemical-ridden cleaner. Not only is vinegar super cheap, but it's an odor neutralizer too. I was skeptical about it's cleaning powers, but I decided to give it a shot.

I dumped out the little bit of Green Works that I had left, and mixed the following vinegar cleaner:
- 1 part vinegar
- 5 parts water
- 10 drops lavender essential oil

I got to work, and to my pleasant surprise this stuff is a miracle! There is a stain that was on our kitchen counter from the previous tenants. I have tried everything (basic cleaner, bleach, baking soda and water) and nothing would remove the stain. Vinegar mixture - no problem...it was up after 10 seconds of letting the mixture sit on the stain. So after this affirmation, I cleaned the whole kitchen with this stuff. Greasy stove, dirty white cabinets, dusty/greasy top of refrigerator...ALL CLEAN! Not only was everything clean, but they were odor free and my kitchen now has a lavender scent.

The ONLY downside of using vinegar so far is that it doesn't dry as fast as a chemical cleaner does. But, it dries streak free, so I'm not too worried about it.

Needless to say I am very happy with vinegar as a natural cleaning agent. My next step is trying out an all natural soap like Mrs. Meyers Lavender soap. I've heard it's a miracle worker as well.

XO,

Kelsey

Pardon my absence...

I was giving my cousin some advice last night on what she should know about having a blog. My first response was to keep up on it, because it can take the backseat really easily. I realized I miss my blog, and will do what I can to keep it up!

So, here is the latest and greatest!

Drumroll please.....

My hubby got a job!!!! He's officially an Auxiliary Officer at the University of Oregon. Starting next week, he'll be back to the grind protecting and serving :) I'm so proud of you honey! Unfortunately the job is an hour away, so he's going to be commuting for now. We're looking into moving to Eugene but love it here in Corvallis, so we're torn.

We recently started attending a local church, as we missed having that as a part of our lives. It's called Corvallis Church, and it's a lively, young and community-based church. It's exactly what we were looking for in a place of worship, and we're happy! Another reason why we don't want to leave Corvallis.

As for me, work has kept me very busy. This has been my best quarter yet! People are starting to travel again, slowly but surely. Hopefully it keeps up through the summer and into the fall.

Not much else is new, but I will try and post things weekly to keep everyone in the loop!

Xo,

Kelsey

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's day all!

Erin and I are going low-key - watching a romantic movie and making dinner together. I don't think I could ask for a better night with my hunny.

In the spirit of the day, I put a little heart on my ring fingers:

A sweet vintage Valentine sent from my mom:

Xo everyone!

Kelsey

Project time: Art Wall

Howdy!

I have been following the Young House Love blog for a few years, and they have a beautiful art wall in their hallway, and I've always wanted to try to do one. I just love that they're a unique way to show off color and creativity, without committing to a big (and expensive) piece of art.

The perk of doing an art wall, is that you can swap out each picture for something new, whether it be seasonal, or you get tired of one of the prints.

I followed the Young House Love steps on how to do the layout, and just went with my gut on the setup of the frames.

I won't bore you with the details - let me know if you want any help doing your own!

Here's a zoomed out picture of how I laid it out:

Some of these look a little crooked in the photo. I honestly gave up on trying to make them perfect and straight...I get too OCD sometimes, so I consider it a big step :)

Here are close ups of the prints:

...all in all, I really like how they turned out. It adds an interesting pop to our big, vaulted walls, and looks much better than a big blank wall!

I'm pretty excited to have the option of swapping out some of these for holiday prints, and maybe pictures of family, etc.

xo,

Kelsey

STOP. It's dresser time.

...suddenly wanting some MC Hammer pants. Anyone?

I currently type this from our new apartment! Erin and I moved last weekend to our new place, and we're so happy we did it. It was the most back-breaking thing I think I've done in a long time. The new place has 200 extra square feet, is pretty new and is just overall a lot nicer. We're so happy! I'll either post a video or photos of the new place once we get more settled.

Anywho, in the middle of moving, my dresser took a dive off of the bed of the truck. In all honesty, it should have been strapped down... (ahem...**ERIN!**) but it's an older IKEA dresser that I've had since I think I was 15. So it had lived a nice long life.

Not wanting to buy a fancy new dresser at the moment, I took my booty down to Goodwill. Luckily, I found a gem that day. Our local Goodwill gets brand new, still in the box, items from Target all of the time. So, as I'm sure you guessed, I came across a brand new dresser still in it's box! It was marked at $60, but since I couldn't see if it was damaged, I talked them down to $50.

Fast forward a few frustrating hours and a very sore back later, it was set up! I forgot how much work those DIY furniture kits can be. Without further ado...

...In all of her glory! I couldn't help but feel like it looked...bare. So back to Goodwill I headed, to see if I could find some knobs that would work. 

I found this bag of brass knobs that were rough, but I knew I could jazz them up to look nice with the dresser.

So the next day I had Erin go to the hardware store (his favorite place!) to pick up some Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint/primer. This stuff is all over Pinterest, with some great brass pick-me-ups. It's a great way to quickly give old, tired brass a facelift.

And three layers of paint later, here were my pretty new knobs!

It's a little hard to see, but I had a hard time getting paint into the creases of the knobs. I put them onto a pantry shelf with slats that separated out the knobs, but it blocked the center crease. Fortunately it's not too obvious in person. 

Next I drew with a white Sharpie paint marker, where I wanted the knobs to go. On this dresser I just measured 6" in on each side. I had Erin drill holes, and then I screwed the knobs on. 

And finally, I was DONE!

...please don't judge my mis-matchy frames. That's my next project!

Feeling pretty good about my thrifty new dresser.

Thanks for reading :) 

Xo,

Kelsey

Going Dairy Free.

Happy New Year!

Christmas was amazing. Erin and I went home to Napa, and got to spend the holiday with our families. Nothing gets better than that. Warm, hearty dinners with the ones we love, fireplaces, watching your family open the gifts you got them, and getting thoughtful gifts as well. So many great things that accompany Christmas.

New Years Eve was spent at our friends' house in Corvallis. Whitney and BJ are friends of ours here, and are very fun people to hang out with. We had a great time! Jenga, girl talk/boy talk and watching the ball drop together was a perfect way to ring in the New Year.

Well, for my New Years resolution, I decided to do something that I should have done a long time ago - 2 years ago, to be exact. You see, 2 years ago I discovered that I have an allergy to dairy. It's not full-blown lactose intolerant, but my body does NOT like when I have any of that creamy goodness known as milk.
So, for this year's resolution I chose to make my diet diary-free.

I thought this would be the toughest resolution I'd ever picked. I mean, anyone who knows me, knows that I would have brie and french bread for dinner every night. Not to mention all of those amazing cheesy pastas and pizza that I would be missing out on. But ultimately, I decided that my everyday well being is much more important. Not to mention that dairy makes my jeans not fit so well - so it was a chance I was willing to take.

After much research, I have found many alternatives that I think should suffice. Obviously cheese-free pizza will NEVER be as good as a big greasy slice, but it is still pretty tasty, I must say! I tried Coconut Milk ice cream last night (So Delicious German Chocolate), and honestly it was better than regular ice cream. Better texture, doesn't melt as fast, and I still get my chocolate fix. Swoon!

I have invested in a couple of helpful recipe books:
- Going Dairy Free by Alisa Marie Fleming
- Recipes for Dairy-Free Living by Denise Jardine
- The Everyday Dairy-free Cookbook by Miller Rogers and Emily White

So far my favorite is Go Dairy Free, because it is super informative about the allergy and what substitutes are best. The writer also started a website about her dairy allergy, and has lists for what foods at fast food restaurants are dairy free, what foods have 'hidden' dairy (such a soy cheese - how sneaky!!), and what brands of these hidden dairy foods are actually dairy free. For example, most cereals contain whey, a milk bi-product. This website says that 'Barbara's Puffins', etc. are dairy free cereal. So to say the least, this woman has made going dairy free super easy. Her website is www.godairyfree.org, in case you were wondering. 

I've been on the dairy free 'diet' for almost a week, and I have to admit that I've never felt better. My jeans (almost) fit again, my stomach doesn't always hurt, and I feel like the foods I'm eating now are so much more healthy - making me feel more healthy :)

I'll follow up in a couple of months and let you know how the dairy free lifestyle is, and if I'm still feeling as positive about it!

xo,

Kelsey 

Merry Christmas to all!

We're just putting the last few items in our luggage to head down to Napa for the holidays. So excited to see my family and spend this special time together!

We're sad to leave our little kitty behind, but he'll be fine. 

In the spirit of Christmas, here's a picture of our Christmas card!

Holly Jolly :)

See you next year!

xo,

Kelsey