Need some inspo?!
Me too. Happy hump day!
Tip Tuesday!
I am sure that I am not the only one that’s wanting to make her space cleaner, prettier and well kept, especially right now when all we see are these 4 walls 24/7! I am working on the cleaning thing. Juggling the homeschooling, a growing business, cooking all the meals (no takeout here!) I am open to trying new methods of staying on top of things, while trying to not lose my mind!
I actually found this tip on one of my favorite You Tubers Instagram account, Laura Vitale. I just adore her and she shares so many amazing cooking recipes! She (unlike me) loves cleaning and such, so as I embrace this more, I figured why the heck not?! Watch me turn into an OCD cleaning freak after quarantine!
You will need just a few items to clean your micro-fiber (suede) fabric:
Dish Soap (tiny bit!)
Scrub brush
Fabric softener (Again, tiny bit but this time for the scent!)
Step 1:
Fill a bowl of water with a little dish soap, dip the scrub brush and go at it!
Step 2:
Fill a second bowl with water and a little bit of fabric softener. Then, take a cloth and make those gorgeous swipes and lines! *see bottom photo
I just love the scent of this kind. (I’m sure you could do essential oils too, whatever floats your boat.)
I’ve tried keeping towels on the chairs, but I gave up on one in particular. Yes, more spills and drips may have happened on someone’s chair in particular and his chair was a TAD worse than most. (Do I love showing you this photo? NOPE. But if I can help another desperate mama who feels like everything is out of her control right now, then my ego can take a hike. Real life people–sticky little fingers, food, drinks, dogs–oh my!)
After:
Voila!
As you can see, the far left chair still needs another rub down (no names mentioned, but the one with the littlest hands seems to be the messiest!) I set them outside in the sun to get that extra Vitamin D and dry a tad faster.
Verdict? Totally impressed.
New Month Feels
Here’s a quick clip from a favorite of mine. if you’re someone who gets stuck in fear and won’t allow yourself to move forward in life because of what you believe others may think of you, try this!
Happy Sunday.
5 on Friday
1. This week mostly flew by! What started off on such a sad note, {The passing of Kobe Bryant & his daughter} really propelled me into being super productive and not just busy. I was able to finish cleaning/semi-staging our East Irondequoit house and we’ve been showing it. It is such an adorable home, it won’t be empty long! I had so much fun designing it, I cannot wait to do more! I love the way this kitchen turned out. I didn’t love cleaning the toilet, but hey, as Grant Cardone said in one of his videos, some days you just have to eat sh*t. It’s not all sunshine and roses all the time. In this case, it was sticking my arms in a toilet that I don’t think has ever been cleaned, but it’s sparkling now! Quite humbling. It’s funny how most people watch these HGTV shows and think flipping homes is a “glamorous job” but I can assure you, that is not an adjective I would use to describe!
2. I’ve been using my Rachel Hollis Priority Planner every day/week and I am loving it. I may do a whole post on it, but I wanted to use it a bit longer to really give some great feedback. However, I had to share that sis has it going on with some of her ideas! She has us pick a “motivating song of the week” each week to help pump us up and achieve our goals. I stumbled upon this song and it’s been so empowering when I have to go do something I may not want to do, but I know that I need to so that I can get to that next level! Plus it’s a super fun dance beat. The only bad thing is she is married to Russel Wilson and, well, that’s not cool when you’re a 49ers fan.
3. I have been making efforts daily to move my body for 30 minutes–no matter what! I hurt my foot wearing crappy shoes cleaning the property on Monday, so it was painful to even walk. Luckily I tried out this contraption and found that not only did I burn calories and work up a sweat, I also was able to work on our social media accounts much easier than when I’m walking on a treadmill! My gym membership is up at the end of February and I’ll be doing more at home workouts, but for now I still try to sneak in when I can. I did a lot of cardio this week.
Monday -Ran on the treadmill. Tuesday-This bike thing. Wednesday- bike thing. Thursday-Yoga (my arms and core are sore!) Friday- I’m hoping to walk the dogs.
4. My acupuncturist has a farm and gifted us the most amazing eggs! How pretty are they?! They taste even better. She is just the sweetest and honestly helps make so many people feel better by doing what she does. The eggs are such an added bonus. Thank you T, we love them! I’ve been really watching what I eat, mostly following Dr. Aviv’s Acid Watcher Diet, since my GERD is really acting up. It’s basically eating real whole foods, lots of fruits, veggies, low acid, no spicy trigger foods etc. I think it’s helping, but it’s not easy! I love carbs but they truly don’t love me. I find that when I eat white starchy (absolutely delicious foods) I feel the burn and am super uncomfortable. I want and need to feel my absolute best, so I am finding it imperative to get my eating in check. Small frequent meals seem to also do best with my gut. I have an endoscopy scheduled next week to check and see what my esophagus/stomach looks like and my GI Dr said we’ll go from there with what meds may help. I miss the sunshine and warm weather, and really feel like Vitamin D helps solve all the problems! Summer please hurry.
5. It’s been cold, as in the teens–high of 25 degrees, so we’ve been a bit more housebound than I like. These two are the best of buds and though they (mostly the dog) drive me crazy, moments like this stop me in my tracks. It’s a bit tricky working from home and still managing the house plus having Bradley home most of the time. I really try to limit technology, but when we are stuck inside a lot, he gets a little extra time to snuggle with Bailey and play his games. Bailey just turned 2 so she’s still a puppy, but oh man she’s still a handful! Right after this sweet and innocent photo, she ran up to our bathroom and started eating the garbage. Fun times!
Other than our boys playing in the Super Bowl— GO NINERS!– we don’t have much planned, which is nice. It’s been 7 years since the 49ers played in the Super Bowl and 25 years since they’ve won it! We are all a little excited over here as game day approaches. I’m trying to figure out what food to cook for Game Day! Any suggestions?
“Someday” isn’t Coming
It’s just absolutely crazy that I was sitting there meal planning in front of the fire with my little family around me, and I just happened to grab my phone to look up some recipes and I saw a friend post about Kobe Bryant. What was a peaceful and normal Sunday suddenly turned our minds into grief, worry, frustration and determination. I will be honest and say that I did not follow Basketball, nor did I know much about Kobe and his life. I didn’t know he had four beautiful daughters and was still married to his stunning wife. I knew he was a ball player, but I didn’t realize the dedication and determination he put forth to become the best. Of course I know that pro athletes are a special breed and in order to achieve that level of success, well you must sacrifice a lot. I also did not realize how much my husband looked up to a man such as Kobe Bryant. To say that it was a somber evening is putting it lightly. I’m not sure how anyone could have a dry eye after thinking about that horrific crash, with those 9 people and especially him sitting there with his daughter. I don’t recall which reporter said it best, but heroes aren’t supposed to die. We are supposed to be able to watch them grow old and live out their lives. In a sense he just started this next chapter of his life it seems…after retiring from playing basketball he was working with his daughter to help her live out her dreams. He just had a baby last year. It all just makes no sense; when I hear this news it just stops me in my tracks because we are not promised tomorrow. So after the tears dry and the day to day routine sinks back in, we are asking ourselves what is that we are going to do? Nothing changes if nothing changes.
If you wrote out your goals for 2020, do you look at them? Have you written down action steps to achieve any of them? Are you pushing yourself a little further than you would in 2019?
What is your why? What purpose do you have to get up, get out of bed and fight for your day to be better than before?
I know that Joe and I have been hugging the kiddos extra tighter, saying I love you a little more, and though we never take our time for granted, it just seems to hit you a little more when a tragedy like this strikes. Be in the moment. Yes, BE IN THE MOMENT. Enjoy the kiss goodbye. Look your child in the eyes as you hug her. Call your mom! Have the coffee date with the friend you keep meaning to see. Share and spread your love and don’t think twice about it. Show everyone how much they matter to you, how much you care.
Even something as simple as getting up earlier has been impacted by Kobe. My alarm goes off and I don’t want to get up out of my warm cozy bed and tip toe down the stairs and feel the cold tile floor on my feet. But I get to hear my alarm. I get a whole new day in front of me. I feel like you can either sit around and complain about how awful life is, how unfair things can be and how miserable you are (aka be a victim) or you can show some respect, grab life by the balls and go after all that you desire. #sorrynotsorry
If your eyes opened today, you get to choose. We are not promised tomorrow and we have no idea when our time is up, so instead of worrying about dumb petty stuff (which at the time will not seem dumb or petty) and focus on the bigger picture. Dream your dream and then lay out your plans and just start. Do something. Do it badly. Don’t worry about being perfect or what you may look like doing it, just go freaking do it.
The time is now.
Rachel Hollis Instagram