Multi-tasking with Downy Wrinkle Release

As a mama who's got a lot going on all the time I appreciate products that do more than one job, otherwise known to me as a "multi-tasking" product. Plus, with a husband who irons like it's his job (he just really hates wrinkles) finding products that work for our family is a must! 

Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus has over 101 uses for your home everyday. As a fabric refresher, ironing aid, wrinkle remover, eliminates static cling and many more. 

Known as the new #wonderbottle.

We have a dog in our home, he occasionally finds his way onto the furniture. I love that with a few spritz of Downy Wrinkle Releaser I can get rid of pet odors. I also pray it on the carpet before vaccuming for a fresher and cleaner feeling. 

When my son threw up all over his shoes last week, after taking them off and washing them they got a spray of Downy as well to refresh the fabric and take care of any lingering smells! It's a great ironing aid as well, and leaves less residue than regular starch. 

I love that it comes in a variety of sizes, even a 3 ounce size that's perfect for my diaper bag! 

Downy Wrinkle Releaser can be found at Target, Walmart and other retailers. For more info visit them here. 

What are some of your favorite multitasking products you use in your home? Tell me some of your favorite cleaning tips and tricks! 

This discussion is sponsored by Downy, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

My Office Progress

I've been working on my office for a while now, which I'm ok with because I wanted to take my time and get the stuff I really wanted and was fine waiting to complete it. You can see the first post about my office here. 

As  a refresher here's what the office looked like last time you saw it.

A blank slate. 

Here's what it looks like after we added a desk and some shelves from Ikea. I painted the brackets gold, they are from Ikea as well. The boxes are all filled with crafts supplies. They are labeled on the front so I know exactly what's in each one. It's nice to have all that organized and together now.

Below the shelving is my desk. I needed a desk and haven't had one for years. I loved this extra long desk from Ikea. Lots of space to spread things out and work on stuff. Plus, I love the simple white it makes a great back drop for taking photos! 

I've been dreaming of the right ways to accessorize this space, here's a few of my faves below. 

Office Accessories Inspiration by andreaworley featuring H&M

Black bedding / H M throw pillow, $8.54 / H M small item storage, $6.81 / H M small item storage, $22 / IKEA RÅSKOG Kitchen cart, turquoise / IKEA KNODD Bin with lid, white / H&M Storage basket, $12 / IKEA Angenäm / VÅRGYLLEN / poppin.com / poppin.com

What's next for this space? Since this really is a multipurpose room, I need to make it work and functional not only as an office space but a guest room. I need to get a couch for this space, we still need something for people to sleep on when they come visit. I've been searching for weeks for the perfect couch for this space and haven't found anything yet. 

I also need to hang some curtains and get some artwork on the walls. My goal is to have this space done before Thanksgiving, which might seem a long way off to some but for me since I have a limited budget I think it's a good goal to shoot for. And since we have family coming to visit at Christmas it gives me incentive to really get moving!

What projects are you working on right now for your home? I'd love to hear about them. 

Back to School Prep with Steripod

My daughter is heading to preschool for the first time next week! It's hard to believe we're already starting this stage of life. Many of you reading may already have little ones in school already, but for us we're just starting to wrap our minds around the new routine that is to come.

I love back to school time! It's always a nice time to refresh and get re organized around your home, not to mention that I had a lot of fun shopping for school supplies with Ava.

I've been thinking a lot about how to simplify our morning routines and get out the door in a timely fashion. I love the idea of prepping the night before and setting out clothing, and all our essentials.

One solution we've come up with is setting out our tooth brushes in the morning on the bathroom counter to make them easy and accessible in the morning. A great solution I love is the Steripod toothbrush clip. 

The Steripod is a toothbrush clip that helps kill germ causing bacteria and helps protect from odors in the bathroom. Did you know that germs can spew up from the toilet every time you flush? Kinda gross. I love covering the toothbrush because of this. Great for the gym, school and traveling.

Steripods come two in a package, already sterilized, ready to use! They also fit on most electric toothbrushes! Which is nice because that's what I use. My husband and I also love using the Steripods! 

Each Steripod lasts for 3 months, and they even have ones that fit your razors! They come in a variety of colors and come two in a package! You can find Steripod at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart and Walgreens to name a few. 

Want to try out Steripods for your family? Well, here's your chance to win some for your family. Use the Rafflecopter below for your entries, giveaway ends Monday. I'll announce the winner here & contact via email. Good luck! 

Connect with Steripod on Facebook here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent a pack of Steripods to try out for my family + host a giveaway. As always I only share products and services that are a good fit for my family & ones I think my readers will enjoy as well.

BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing

I love a nice big salad! It's my opportunity to pile on the veggies and protein, this fills me up! I often have salads for lunch, but the other day I made this for dinner. My husband loved it, and asked for it to be on the regular dinner rotation. 

If you love salads too I think you'll love this! For this salad I used a low fat ranch dressing to make the cilantro dressing. BBQ sauce is filled with sugar, so I used the one that I could find with the least amount of sugar in it, and I only used enough to coat the chicken. 

 3 grilled chicken breasts marinated in BBQ sauce for 30 minutes. After chicken is grilled thinly slice chicken breasts. 

Here's what you'll need: 

1 can black beans washed & rinsed

2 tomatoes diced

1 handful of cilantro, chopped

1 lime

1 can of corn rinsed & washed

5 green onions chopped

1 cup low fat ranch dressing

Mexican cheese if desired

2 romaine lettuce hearts chopped

Assemble to salad with the lettuce first and then pile on all your other toppings. 

For the dressing you'll mix your ranch dressing with the juice of 1 lime, add half a handful of cilantro and mix together. Drizzle over salad. 

A U G U S T G O A L S

At the beginning of the year I sat at my momma's kitchen table (while were were snowed in Iowa, and there were no flights leaving) with a pen + blank sheet in my notebook. I sat down and starting writing out my goals for the year, things I wanted to do, things I wanted to accomplish, and family goals. 

I'm happy that I have been crossing a few things off my goal list already this year, but I have to tell you I wish I would have accomplished more by now. We're already in the month of August, my kid will be starting school soon (first year eva) it's crazy how time is flying by this year. It'll be Christmas before I know it.

So where am I going with this? I need more focus. Each month of the year I've been writing a few small goals down and trying to keep my focus on the "big" picture. I thought I'd start sharing them to hold myself accountable to more than just myself. 

So here goes:

Adorable notebook made by Shutterfly, given to my by Kim from The TomKat Studio. 

01/ Read one new book. I've been doing this every month since January and I've been loving it. This month I'll be reading 7 by Jen Hatmaker (I know, late to jump on this train.) I started reading while coming home from vacation yesterday and I'm almost done with it, it's rocking my world! 

02/ Clean out Ava's closet & dresser. Her closet is an abyss! I don't even know how stuff ends up there, time to purge and get ready for school time.

03/ Celebrate Back to School with a special dinner. My blog friend Erin does these 'Back to School Eve' dinners and they are awesome, I've been waiting years to celebrate and start this tradition. 

04/ Work on one new house project. I've been lazy people, my house isn't done and I haven't put any focus lately on the things I want to do. Projects keep piling up and it's time to make them happen! 

05/ Purge my closet. Nuff said here. I haven't done it in a while, and there's a lot I don't need or use. 

06/ Get stuff ready for a garage sale. See above. 

07/ Take a Facebook Break. I've been to plugged in, I've seen some things come out in my spirit & flesh that I don't like and it all circles around Facebook. I don't think I've ever taken a break in the 10 years I've been on Facebook. I need a break, I need to have time time to figure things out, take a step back without worrying about the red notifications that I "just have to check." I'll let you know how it goes. :)