BANISH FRUIT FLIES

I'm not sure what brought it on, but we've had an invasion of fruit flies for the past few days.  Maybe the pears I left ripening on the counter... Not many things are more maddening than those things flying in your face, and never quite being able to swat them!  My friend had a similar problem in her home last year, and she finally got rid of them with a simple home remedy. You only need two things that you probably already have - apple cider vinegar and dish soap. Put a small amount of apple cider vinegar (about 1/4 c. or less is plenty) in a small dish, I used a ramekin.  Add a small squirt of dish soap, and swirl it around with your finger.  That's it! Leave it out on your counter overnight and have patience while it works it's magic.  In the morning, your bowl should be full of drowned fruit flies!  The vinegar attracts them and the thick dish soap traps them in the mixture. After about a day, we had over 60 in that bowl (my son counte......

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UN-DOING WHAT I DID {HOW TO STRIP PAINT FROM BRASS}

Hey there friends!  I feel like things are finally getting back to some level of normal around here, even in the midst of summer craziness.  Thanks for sticking with me through vacation, guest posts, & link parties...  I'm ready to get back to some project talk.  Does that sound o.k.? So...several years ago before brass was back in style, I picked up this fantastic tray for a few dollars at a thrift store, and promptly spray painted it black.  Don't mind the dust, I pulled it out of storage. Fast forward a few years to today when brass is all the rage again, and I've seen that tray on some popular home decor sites for a pretty penny.  So what's a girl to do who has realized the error of her ways? After confirming with my dad-who-knows-everything that it would be ok, I decided to strip the paint off.  It couldn't have been easier!  I used this: and within just a few minutes the paint was already bubbling up, ready to come off.......

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DISH SOAP DECANTER {JUST ONE THING}

Today I've got another "Just One Thing" idea for you.  Remember, this series is all about quick, easy changes that you can do to make life just a bit prettier or easier! I for one need all the pretty I can get when it comes to the kitchen, or more specifically to washing dishes!  To lighten the chore, I like to keep my dish soap in unique decanter bottles.  This one was a gift, but I have a few others from garage sales or thrift shops.  Normally I would leave the plastic bottle under the sink, but with a pretty container, I can't resist leaving something green out.  You know I chose the brand of soap based on the color! Tall glass bottles with a spout on top are fairly easy to find for this purpose, but I like the small difference and little detail that old decanters make rather than the more common bottles.  Go ahead and add some fresh clippings from your yard and corral everything you need on a pretty tray while you're at it. So, our Just One......

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CLEANING OUT

I've finally reached a turning point.  The point where I'm ready to GET RID of things.  Sure, I've had garage sales and let things go in the past, but this time I'm serious.  I'm past thinking "Maybe I'll need this at our next house," or "Maybe I'll need this for a new vignette," or "Maybe I'll need this for     fill in the blank     ".  I'm actually ready to get rid of every little thing I'm tired of or I don't LOVE completely.  I'm ready to be brutal. That's a big deal for me.  I have LOTS of pretty things that I enjoy rotating and switching in and out of use, but it's stuff that crowding every nook and cranny of our closets and cabinets and garage and attic, and I'm D.O.N.E.  Actually, I'm feeling a bit suffocated by it all, so it's time.  I think I had to get to the point of feeling that way to be ready to let go of so much.  I'm ready to value the space rather than the stuff. ......

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NEW PERK VENT WRAPS AND A GIVEAWAY!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PERK for SocialSpark . All opinions are 100% mine. As much as I love decorating and DIY projects, I also enjoy posting about life in general, and little ways to make that better.  And one thing is for sure, with a new teenager, a near tween, and a busy schedule, we're in our car a lot!  And one thing that's made all of that time in the car better is a fresh, clean scent!   PERK Vent Wraps recently sent me three of their new auto vent air freshener s  to review.  There are 5 fragrances available, but I received Clean Laundry, Lush Valley, and Absolute Zero. PERK is a new brand of auto fresheners that is very discreet and very effective!  It easily slides right on to one of the slats of your air vent and stays put without restricting air flow.  It took longer for me to open the wrapper than it did to install! I was even able to attach a Vent Wrap  to our return air vent......

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HOW'S YOUR IRONING BOARD COVER LOOKING? {JUST ONE THING}

It's time for another installment in my Just One Thing series, where I focus on simple ways to make your life just a little bit better.  Whether it be trying something new that you might not have considered before, or finally getting around to doing that chore you've been putting off, these ideas are meant to be quick and easy! When's the last time you've thought about your ironing board cover?  I'll let you in on one of my dirty little secrets... Mine was bad.  Like B-A-D!  I'm almost sure it's original to the house...which is almost 20 years old.  And after seeing that photo I'm sure you won't disagree.  It needed to be changed when we moved in almost 7 years ago, and it's one of those things that just kept getting overlooked. The main problem was the size.  This is the first house where we've been fortunate to have a built-in ironing board.  When I would actually remember to shop for a new cover, they never had the right size in......

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BAR KEEPER'S FRIEND, MY NEW BEST FRIEND

Today I have a quick tip for you that's one of those "Duh, why didn't I already know that?" things, so I thought you might be interested in it too! The other night I was reading my Instagram feed and saw a beautiful old metal bowl that my friend Emily (IG elevengables) picked up.  Her photo showed the difference after she cleaned it up with some Bar Keeper's Friend.   Well, I've had BKF in my cabinet for years, but it's never occurred to me to use it to polish up brass or silver!  So, first thing the next morning, I pulled out my badly tarnished (not pretty tarnish anymore...just bad!) silver plated champagne bucket and gave it a try.   I was AMAZED at how quickly and easily it cleaned up!  I've used Brasso for brass pieces and silver polish on this one in the past and it took much more effort and time, and didn't do as good of a job.  It's still not perfect, but I didn't want it to look TOO clean and shiny. Then I pulled ......

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