Cleaning Tips from Pinterest

I must be honest. I always have good intentions. For example...pinning tons of cleaning tips/ideas on Pinterest.  Tonight I finally decided to take action.  Here is that I tried out:

#1: Cleaning my Keurig. Yea...so about that. I have never cleaned mine.  Or knew how. I liked this website because they had a video and step by step instructions. My kitchen currently smells like vinegar. It is gross. Really gross. But I am hoping it cleans it well.  I am running through another few batches of water until the vinegar smell goes away. Hopefully soon!

Clean a Keurig Directions



#2: I had to clean my bathrooms tonight anyways so I gave this tip a try.  I know this isn't ground breaking or rocket science to figure out. But I know a refresher is always nice. Putting baking soda in the toilet. Duh.  Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.

I found it at this nifty site that has 75 uses for baking soda. Check it out here!



#3: Yes, I only got to 3 of them tonight. Then I will reward myself with some Netflix and wine. A typical weeknight for a teacher on summer break. Right?!

Number 3 is cleaning out our smelly garbage disposal. And who would have thought...baking soda helped me out again?!  I have seen fancy sites that teach you how to make tablets, but I was looking for a quick fix.  So I went to Fun Home Things for simple directions that use lemon juice and baking soda. I must say there is no awful stench anymore.  However, I am still smelling the vinegar from cleaning the Keurig.  Ew.



Happy cleaning!  I am hoping to try a few more out soon. Hoping being the key word. We will see when (or if) I get to them.

Ninja Turtle Party!

So I haven't posted on this blog in over a year. I can't make any promises that I will continue to post, but since I have more time on my hands this summer, I may attempt to.

This weekend we had a Ninja Turtle Birthday Party for my youngest who turned two.  I got ideas from Pinterest and the Internet.  Check out our fun!

I printed off letters for the banner from  Shanty 2 Chic then used twine, small clothespins, and construction paper.

Balloons and crepe paper to make cheap and easy turtle balloons.

Gift bags were green bags from the dollar store and then I used construction paper to cut out the bandanna. 

 Cupcakes were a simple cake mix and then I used green frosting.  For the bandannas I used gel icing and candy eyes.

 We cut up t-shirts to make bandannas for the kids (and adults) to wear!

Green napkins and construction paper to wrap the napkins and utensils in.

Instead of eating pizza...we made our own pizza cookies!  Sugar cookies, red icing for the pizza sauce, grated white chocolate for the cheese, and then a various assortment of candy for the toppings.  The kids loved decorating their own cookies!

Buzz Lightyear Command Center for $21 (normally $50)

I've told a few friends about this deal and they have snagged one for their little one for Christmas.

Check out the Toy Story Buzz Lightyear Spaceship Command Center which is normally $50 and on sale for $21.00!



Thanks to Savings Lifestyle for originally posting the deal!

Retail Coupons: Old Navy, Carter's and More

  

Old Navy: $10 off a $50 Purchase Valid through 10/24/12

Carter's: 15% off OR 20% off a $40 Purchase Valid through 10/17/12

Bath and Body Works: Free Signature Collection Item with any $10 Purchase Valid through 10/28/12

Payless Shoe Source: $10 off a $50 Purchase

Online Only: Yankee Candle: $15 off a $35 Purchase with code SAVEIL

EASY Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was looking for an easy recipe for a pumpkin fix and gave these a shot. Apparently you can use any cake mix and all I had on hand was yellow cake mix.  I added cinnamon but they were definitely lacking some spice.  If you use yellow mix- I recommend adding cinnamon and nutmeg.  Next time I am going to use a box of spice cake.

   

1 box spice cake mix
15 oz. canned pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips 

Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes

They are more like "cakies" than cookies due to their cake like texture.  But they are moist and SO easy! Enjoy :)

Pictures and recipe from http://www.instructables.com. 

Restaurant Week in Cincinnati

August 6-12 is restaurant week in Cincinnati.  For $35 you get a 3-course meal.  Head here to see a list of participating restaurants, view the menus, and make reservations!  

Printable Retail Coupons: H&M, Carter's, Kohl's and More!

Carter's: 20% off a $40 in store purchase (valid through 8/1)

H&M: 20% off your entire kids purchase (valid through 8/12)

Yankee Candle: $10 off a $25 purchase (valid through 8/5)

Gymboree: 20% off your entire purchase (limited time email offer)

Kohls: 20% off (valid 8/3-8/5)

Coach Factory Stores: 30% off (valid through 8/5)

Ulta: $3.50 off a $10 purchase (valid through 8/4)