New Shower Curtain

So I have decided to try and make the house just a little nicer, homier (not really sure of the word I am looking for). This could be adding curtains, artwork, pillows, or some type of character to a room,  a little bit at a time. I have been told that our house is very inviting and warm, but sometimes it just doesn't feel that way to me. And honestly I get very tired of looking at the same old stuff, so sometimes change is good.

Before we moved into our house we owned a condo and while living there we bought a very nice Nautica Denim Shower curtain. Yes it is actually a very nice lightweight denim fabric. When you are a poor college student spending the type of money we actually spent on this shower curtain was a lot, but we really liked it and it went with the casual feel of the condo. Fast forward a couple of years and now we have a house. I took that shower curtain because:

1. The buyers of the condo were jerks and I wasn't going to leave it for them.
2. The shower curtain was expensive.
3. I wanted a shower curtain to hide the hideous avocado green tub we inherited in the house.

Here is the denim shower curtain. I was so excited to get the new one up, I forgot to take a before and after picture. So here it is on the floor, with Abner checking it out, and me probably telling Abner he better not pee on it. :)

Here is the new shower curtain. I had originally thought I was going to do a white shower curtain since the bathroom can be a little on the dark side. The room is long and skinny, there is a decent size window, but the room could still feel dark.

There is no flash or anything, but just replacing the dark blue curtain with a lighter one has made that bathroom much brighter already.  I love the design as it is something, but not over done. And I love that there is a hint of a coral color in the flowers for just a pop of color.  It is amazing what making a simple change, like changing out a shower curtain, can do for a space. The change made me happy and that is exactly what I am looking for.  I have more ideas for stuff I would like to do in that room so stay tuned for eventual updates.  And eventually we will redo the ugly tile and tub but that is a lot of $$$$$ , time, and not to forget marriage stress.

Pinterest Challenge #10

I am going to say this is a Pinterest Challenge because I learned about the book while looking at a particular Pinner on Pinterest.

Becky|Clean Mama is amazing and I love her book! It is a book that has natural cleaning recipes, using vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, etc. I love the idea of cleaning my house but not using all the nasty chemicals  to do so as they do make my asthma unhappy.

Her book- The Organically Clean Home

This book is amazing! It is divided up into different sections like Kitchen, Bathroom, Garage, Laundry, etc. I have been trying a couple of recipes out of the book since I got it and have been very happy with the way it seems to work, but even more importantly my lungs are happier while I am cleaning since I am not using the harsh chemicals.

So one day I decided to wash down the bathroom cabinet in the Master Bathroom. The pictures don't really do any justice to the actual result, but you get the general idea.

Before

After cleaning and polishing

The results aren't well seen in the pictures above the the color is richer and the wood just looks happier.  

If you are looking for a way to clean your house without all the chemicals, you need to check out her book.

Pinterest Challenge #9

Okay,  this whole blogging thing....I kind of suck at it. I am not good of updating things on a regular basis. But for those of you who do read this collection of very random things, thank you for putting up with me.

So I saw this pin on Pinterest about removing the black marks on your dinner plates. I thought I love that idea as my plates are covered in those. But then I had this little voice saying to me, "those marks are on there for good, good lucky trying to remove them, hahahahaha".  Well needless to say, I tried this little tip and I can say that the voice that was laughing at me is now silent. There was success!


Here is a bowl that I tried this on:

Before-see all the little black scratch marks

After

I say that is a success! I used Bar Keepers Friends like mentioned in the pin. I have used this product before on pots and have always been happy with the results, but this is the first time I have tried it on something different.

I also did a plate and another bowl, but didn't take pictures. The results were just as impressive on those as well. So now I am slowly going through my entire stack of plates and bowls a few at a time and scrubbing them down. I use the Weiman Cook Top Scrubbing Pad and really like them.

So if your plates and bowls have those annoying little black scratch marks, give Bar Keepers Friend a try! Our Bed Bath & Beyond had the powder canisters for $1.99 each.