Three Favorite Candles

I love having a few things around the apartment to make it feel a bit more feminine and "homey" and two of my favorites are candles and flowers. Both scented items- which with a new puppy who tends to smell like a salmon some days (its amazing how dirty they can get in the city!), helps mitigate some of the dog smells. While I understand that the expensive candles like dyptyque and other high end candles burn long and having some amazing scents- I am bit more about the affordable and somewhat long lasting candles. Here are three of my favorites:

1) Anemone by Illume (purchased via Furbish)

Illume doesn't carry the exact candle I bought two of (since I loved the smell and ceramic container so much) but the new enameled tumbler is beautiful and I can't wait to get my hands on it! This candle has quite a lengthy burning time and the scent is glorious and really permeates a room. A bit earthly but still light and reminds me of something I'd smell in a very soothing spa. One of my more expensive candles, but the size and burning time make it worth it.

2) White Tea by Lit and Co.

I've written about this candle and Lit & Co. before, but I can't get enough. I just can't. I have to ration my candles since I purchase in bulk and then drag them back to DC with me. And yes, while I know I can order online and have it shipped- I love the experience of going into their amazing downtown store when I am home and smelling things for myself before purchasing. My ultimate favorite still is the White Tea Scent. It is light, airy and makes your room smell refreshed and inviting. It isn't overpowering either; so I feel like it is something you could burn with guests over without the risk of turning off some one's nose. For the price, these are amazing candles. Other recommended scents: abalone, cabin in the woods, garden rose, and cotton tree. 

image via 

3) Pink Magnolia for Target ( by Illume)

Target. I mean. Target. There are always great things at Target and the candle isle is no exception. They have tons of great scents, but this one seems to win me over. Light, floral, and in a wonderful jar that when you are done with, can be turned into a lovely vase for roses and flowers. I've turned many a friends onto this scent because for the price (and with a coupon!) is so affordable and so lovely as an everyday candle. This one burns a little bit faster- but for the price point, you can't complain.

Does anyone have any favorite candles/scents I have to try? I am always looking for a new favorite and seasonal options!

Paying for My Dentist's New Car

I can't tell if I find this representative of the jerk dentist or my mouth

Remember last November when I waltzed out of the dentist office with a clean bill of health after avoiding the dreaded dentist for a few years too long? Yup, that trip. Well.

All good things must come to an end.

My six month check-up started out bad (because when is the dentist good?) and it quickly slipped to bad, very bad, and then to getmethehellouttahere. The peppy hygienist talked to me like I knew who the 900 million people in her life where, meanwhile forgetting to clean my top teeth, telling me they looked fine, and then five minutes later scaring the shit out of me to tell me that my gums were about two minutes away from withering up and falling out of my mouth. Yes. It was that good of an appointment. Only to get better.

The dentist I saw last time...no longer. No courtesy to tell me he was no longer with their clinic and they had to "rummage" up someone while I was sitting there. "Lucky for me" I got to see the owner of the clinic. He was rude, condescending and let me know that the dentist he clearly had fired, had sent me home with a mouth that was falling apart.

About $1,800 detailed out later...I walked out not sure if I was being scammed, or if I should eat one last steak before I undoubtedly lost all my teeth and started going by the name "gummy".

A few days later. With advice of my future dentist. A plethora of insight from some REALLY negative yelp reviews on this guy. I've decided I need a second opinion. While something could be wrong. I am very skeptical that this polo-playing, yacht-owning, golfing baboon is right about half my mouth rotting out before my eyes!

I just don't buy it. Sure. One issue. Two? Ok. But this is me. Never a cavity, a religious brusher, with zero sensitivity and pain.

Also, did I mention Yelp is riddled with reviews of people who went to him and he told them they were about to die from losing all their teeth, only for them to go somewhere else and be told everything was just fine?

We will see when I finally get a second opinion, but let's hope this guy just wanted to see if I would fund his newest car!

Magazine and Inspiration Organization

Like many of us "crafty" and "inspired" people, I have a lot of papers I keep around for "when I have time to make that cake" or "when I throw a 1 year old birthday party". Recently I have been organization, sorting, throwing out and trying to make sense of all of the "inspiration" I want to keep. I was able to throw away two huge piles of magazines after I took the time to tear out all the articles and snip its of inspiration I wanted out of each.

Now the problem is...I have a stack of torn out magazine pages! What does one do with that! Amen for Pintrest.

Ideas for binders, accordion files, sketch books that you treat like a scrap book, and for the overzealous magazine hoarder... plastic bins for each subject matter.

I not being a huge magazine reader, but being a loyal MS Living and Real Simple reader (oh and let's be real...I buy the occasional wedding magazine), have accumulated my fair share of pages and clips of inspiration. I don't need a major organization system, but something better than stashing them in a file box that I open once every 6 months.

I like the idea of a single binder. Organized with tabs for each subject matter area.

Source: make-life-lovely.blogspot.com via Katie Howard Clemens on Pinterest

I like the clean look of the tabs in this one. My goal is to keep my magazine hoarding contained to one binder. When it gets too full-time to purge.

I also want to take it one step further.

Source: paper-source.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

I want to buy one of these and jazz it up al la PaperSource style with some fancy paper and maybe a ribbon embellishment!

 

Source: paper-source.com via Andrea on Pinterest

I mean look at that! So beautiful! Perhaps the prettier, the more likely I am to stay organized and use the system!

Also on my list to consolidate, reduce and organize.... my personal files, my keepsakes box, and physical photos that I have from the days before the iPhone.

As a ps...who ever thought this girl would be one to post about organization and how to get her messes under control? I guess we all grow up right?

A Greener Clean and Other TV Goodness

I should probaly never have gotten cable. It was a luxury that due to a year end special I was able to afford on my budget. I love coming home from home from work, flopping on the couch and watching an episode of House Hunters, Say Yes to the Dress, The Bachelor/ette, etc. Obviously this can get very out of control if I am feeling lazy. Today was massive lazy afternoon. (I did have a productive morning prepping for some things I have upcoming this week). But then I took a quick nap and it all went downhill from there.

So in honor of my wasted hours this afternoon I figured I could turn it into some sort of productivity and write about a few things that have caught my eye on TV lately.

First off. I always thought the Beggin Strips commercials for those rediculous bacon shapped dog treats where hilarious. (The poodle loves those things). They recently came out with a new version of the Bacon! commercial and there is a poodle. Must share.

 Second, I have seen the commecial for the new Scotch-Brite Greener Clean sponges. I have started looking for them in the grocery story and Target and I have yet to seen them. I can't wait to try them out! Made with natural and recycled fibers these seem like a great thing to incorporate into my household as I seem to have a clean/new sponge fetish since I have to hand wash every single on of my dishes. Check out the products here. If anyone finds these let me know where!

Found @ hiphomeowner.com

Last, but certainly not least, since I could watch (and laugh) this a million times in the new Geico commerical. Hopefully this brings back some childhood memories and makes some of you laugh.

Still in the Box Straight from IKEA

I have a theory that IKEA furniture, *most* furniture, is good for three moves. At that point for some reason those little special screws, wooden pegs and pesky turn-and-lock-devices get tired of doing their job and it becomes only a matter of time until you piece of furniture decides it is the end of its lifespan. Now to clarify—I adore IKEA. Like could work there. Live there (yes just play “house” in one of those “Look!! This is 216 sq feet and we put EVERYTHING you could possibly need in it!” displays. But we have to be realistic here. Anything that you put together with a little tool that comes in the box can’t last forever.

Well as you all saw. My trusty dresser, which has survived the following moves:
1) Shifts around the Alexandria Apartment
2)Alexandria Apartment into T Street Apartment
3) T Street Apartment to Current 415 Abode

It was also the $70 dresser. I shouldn’t be horribly surprised that when I tried to fix the collapsed drawer I showed awhile back, the whole drawer just went caput. (PS have I really  been living with a collapsed drawer in my dresser for over a month!!???!! Can anyone say living the bachelorette lifestyle and loving it?) Luckily I have been hankering for a trip to IKEA. Luckily I was able to swindle A1-1-1 to go with me to go pick out a new dresser and purchase some other unnecessarybutimusthavethisorIwon’tliveacompletelifeandIwillfeeldevoidandempty items.

We settled on this:




I wanted the version that was taller and had a few more drawers but since my spacious closet is quickly growing increasingly crowded and stress-inducing we decided a looming dresser would only make it feel smaller. This one is only a few inches in each direction bigger than what I have now. The major point is that is has new drawer construction which will hopefully prohibit the same drawer problem to happen again.
I also got a bundt pan/spring form round cake pan that I can’t wait to use. I may be baking myself a cake. And then while I stady for the the GMATs end up eating it Miranda style out of the trash can in my kitchen.
This is why I am not sure why they let me have a ticket to being an adult.
Speaking of GMATs. This stuff is getting serious. I need to get my act together and take this thing before my level of stupid gets any worse! I swear! I also have the chance to take my PHR coming up very soon and I don’t think I can manage my  work, ADPi volunteering, running, social/dating life with studying for not one but TWO tests.
Anyone with studying techniques when you feel like you have been out of school forever and have no idea how to retain standardize testing knowledge---let me know.
Did I mention the dresser is still in its box? Off to the side of my TV- just so I can watch TV. Still a little put off that IKEA directions indicate you need a friend to put their stuff together. It would be nice if they included that second person in the box with all the other parts in that nice little plastic bag of do-dads. Maybe this weekend we will drag out the rejected dresser and get the new one all set-up.

And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon

Hand washing dishes was not something I was super excited about when I moved from Alexandria into DC. But I survived it when I lived at my old apartment and when I was looking for my new place having a dishwasher didn't even make it on to my "must have" list. It was somewhere on the "It-would-be-nice-but-if-I-have-to-pick-between-roaches-size-or-a-dishwasher-I-will-take-hand-washing-my-dishes".

So we hand wash our dishes in my household.

It really isn't that bad. With just one of me I really don't produce that many dirty dishes unless I got on a baking or extravagant dinner binge. But I wanted to make sure I had the mother of all dishracks. At my last apartment my roommate had a decent dishrack but it was always too small, the water built up underneath the plastic water catching mat (not good when you have a roach issue, and I am sure you all remember THAT!), and the water never really made it back into the sink even with the little mat that has the lip to drip water back into the sink from the dish run-off. So we searched high and low for a great dish rack.

Thank you Storables!

I brought hope this Polder Advantage Dish Rack and while the price should indicate it a top of line dish rack, I can say I love my purchase!

First of all the rack is angled so it forces the water to run "downhill". The water catcher thing also spreads all the way under the silverware holder so now missed drips from all my utensils. The pull out drying rack is awesome! You can pull it out just part way and put light weight items like knives and small kitchenware's or set it on another counter and dry all your glasses on it. For its $50 price tag- this has made all the difference with my hand washed dishes compromise.

Shopping List

So a few things I have on my "need to purchase/budget" for:

1) A bed. As it is right now my ridiculously comfortable bed just hangs out on my floor, thank goodness it came with a box spring! But after many months of contemplating...I think this is the final decision:

Photo: Ikea.com

2) New Laptop- My parents gave me some money for Christmas and I just have had a lack of commitment to purchase this guy:

Digging the white. Just need to have some commitment to press the "purchase" button.

Photo: HP.com

3) The Wonderbar

I am a little nervous to spend $40 on this, BUT due to some of my allergies to certain prescriptions I am about to break down and see if the Wonderbar is really a "wonder". All the reviews RAVE about it, so I believe this would be a solid $40 spent. I am sure I will write a review once I make the plunge!

Photo: Culturemap.com

Heard & Seen: UrbanGrace

4) This jacket from American Apparel

With a pair of black leggings and my new headband. Excellent

New Abode

Today made it official. I put down the deposit for my new U-Street/DuPont apartment. I am going to be moving stuff in throughout the week hopefully, depending on work and then next weekend try to get to bulk of my stuff moved out. My roommate is really nice and I am excited to get to know her better and also adapt to my new surroundings.

I don't have pictures of the inside yet, but I do have a picture of the outside. My apartment is in the top left.

I am writing about my houseplant...oh no.

Our friends Dave and Kym gave us this darling little (yes it was little and cute) house plant as a thank you for watching their two cats while they vacationed to England the end of last year. I have never really had my own house plant so I am kind of surprised that it is still alive. I moved the plant to our sunroom once it got above freezing so it could see some actual sunlight. And what did I do....I created a monster plant! It gets bigger everyday! I feel kind of bad because I know I need to replant it since I know the bowl it is in is probably full of roots now. It really is a pretty plant. It finally started to grow some...blossoms (I don't know what they are) but they are very interesting.I also have been reading how plants can help keep the air clean in your living space so I am glad to have the little guy around.

Here's some photos of my green friend: