Showing posts with label list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label list. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2015

8 Things I do When my Husband is Away

My husband is out of town for a conference-in Tokyo. I hate him. Not really, but he better bring me back something better than bottle panties. Yes, I said bottle panties, apparently all the rage in Japan right now.

Anyway, he has been out of town a lot over the last 6 months and it got me thinking, I do a few things that are a bit out of the ordinary for my everyday schedule when he is gone...so here is my list, even if it is  a little lame.

I don't hog the bed. Shockingly. I know most people starfish when their partner is gone, but me, most of the reason I'm all over the bed is to smother cuddle him-so when he isn't here...no reason for me to be over there. Makes making the bed incredibly easy!

Binge watch Netflix/my fave shows from Amazon or iTunes.. Bad. I do this once in a blue moon when he is in town, but when he isn't here it is really bad. I'm in the middle of Season 1 of Suits now and will soon move on to Royal.

Spend at least one full day in my pajamas. I have a pretty strict routine when he's here of get everyone out the door, workout, shower dress, clean, go do something outside, come home cook dinner, etc. When he isn't here though there is always that one glorious day I never get out of my pajamas. Such a treat.

I don't cook or eat any meat. My husband is a carnivore, teenager and I are herbivores. So, when he isn't here we don't eat any meat, makes for cleaning the kitchen much quicker!

We also eat a shitton of leftovers. My husband is one of those weird individuals that hates leftovers. I don't get it. Do you know one of these people?

Aimlessly wander. We don't do this much when the husband is here because he hates just walking, he wants to have a destination. So we often just go downtown and wander around and sit by canals until the sun sets. Then we usually get dessert.

See every movie in the theaters. We don't like to leave the hubby home alone much so when he isn't here, even if it is a bad movie we go and see it. We probably go to the theater once every other day when he isn't here. We have a monthly unlimited pass, so we really make use out of it.

Go to bed early every.single.night. My husband is a night owl, I am not. Plain and simple. We compromise when he's home I go to be early a few nights a week, stay up later a couple nights, and on Saturday I am always up later because that is our night out usually. But when he isn't here by the time he gets home I am so well rested he gets a full week of my company in his night owl ways.

Do you do anything silly or out of the ordinary when your significant other is away? These don't seem like much, but they sure are fun!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Top Travel Essentials!


On my last train ride from Brussels to Amsterdam, after a long day spent outside in the rain, I was sipping my wine and thinking about the number of things that make traveling easier for me. Whether you are on a day trip or a multi-week trip here are my must have travel essentials!

This post may contain affiliate links, if you love one of the products I suggest and decide to make a purchase by clicking the link I provide I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you.

My Enrico Benetti rucksack. This is the perfect size for a day trip. It has a chest strap and a waist strap. It can expand in the centre a bit, has a great spot for a small laptop or iPad. It is padded in the shoulders, upper back, and lower back, and has two mesh cup holders. It is small enough so it fits in all the lockers at museums. 
This waterbottle. It is a Bobble Water Bottle and is wonderful because I can fill up from any water fountain or sink and know that my water is being filtered! Plus, most places in Europe now charge for water and since that is all I drink besides wine it is good to carry my own. Let me address the water thing real quick: most places here when you order water will bring you a bottle, I hate paying for water, especially when it is the same cost as wine or coke, you can ask for tap water and they aren't supposed to turn you down but they do-often. They will say it isn't "hygenic" or "they don't do that here" and if you make a stink they will bring you tap water, but with this bottle (that I carry everywhere with me) it makes it easy to just not have to deal with the water situation. 
This scarf. I got it during our trip to Paris last year, it is light but when tied just right and combined with a jacket (heavy or light) it really keeps your neck quite warm, but it is also convenient in the event you come across a place in the summer while wearing a tank top and need your shoulders covered you can use it to cover them. Or if you are wearing shorter shorts and need something that goes to your knees you could easily create a skirt out of it. Seems strange, but it really is a versatile piece for any season so make for a good investment piece.

This charger. I got this at a bookstore chain here for a measley €19. The charge you get from it is crap and it loses charge fairly quickly, but, when you charge it it has enough power to charge your phone to full power. Without a power cord. Without sunglight. You just have to remember to charge it beforehand. Convenient if you just used your GPS for an entire day in a foreign city and want to keep in touch with your husband so he knows you made your 3 train connections ;)














What are your top travel essentials? Anything I should add to my list?

P.S. Linking up to My Little Babog Blog.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

10 Things that Make Me Smile

Bet ya didn't know that today is World Smile Day!  Pretty awesome day...and since I love to smile I thought I would share a list of 10 things that make me smile!

1. The Teenager. She is hysterical. She has a great personality, is quirky, and is strong in her convictions and all those things make me smile.




2. My Husband. He is wacky and insane....he has a hobby and career (that are closely related) and he encourages me to dive into my projects and hobbies. Plus he loves to make me laugh and smile and so that helps me to always be happy.



3. Living in Europe. The opportunity and experience this and share it with my husband and teenager is a true dream come true.



4. A great friend that despite the miles that have separated us over the years we keep in touch and get together whenever we are in the same vicinity or make a point to visit one another.

5. Parents who are kind, giving, and helpful.

6. My bike. I love the fact that I get to travel everywhere via bike and see the city from a different point of view.



7. My iPhone 6. Seems small but I love the larger screen and how much faster it is than my old 4! Originally I wasn't going to take the plunge and get one, but after seeing it and holding it in person and taking pictures with the amazing camera I couldn't not get one!

8. Our new duvet cover. It makes our bedroom look ten times better than the ugly plain black one we had before.

9. These coffee syrups...they are good and easy on the wallet ;) Plus they lead to a really amazing coffee time with afore mentioned teenager!



10. Fall flavors. You can make them spicy or sweet and serve them warm or cold...tasty all different ways.

So, what makes you smile?

P.S. Linking up to My Little Babog Blog.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Organization: Deep Clean: Bedrooms

Wow, first off how many colons do you think I could have used in that title...I was trying to see if I could fit anymore, but they didn't make sense, sadly. 

Anyway...I am talking more Organization today. Who would have thought one little stock app like "Reminders" would become such a great tool in my household organization. 

I started this series with my cleaning power hour and added to it with my morning and evening routines. I have had these two written down for years but often forget to do them because a written planner doesn't buzz for me. I need something that makes a noise and physically reminds me to do a task. So, in comes Reminders.

Today I begin breaking down the deep down cleaning I focus on each week. Years ago when I was a new homemaker I found Flylady. This woman really helped me get my butt in gear and figure out how to break household tasks down into manageable lists and get productive with them. So, I am going to share with you those tasks I perform each week to keep my house in what I call move out shape.

What is move out shape? Well, since we are renters and tend to be a bit nomadic, moving every 1-3 years if I were to box up our stuff and move it out tomorrow our house would be ready for an inspection and pass. Over the years I have found that 15-20 minutes everyday saves me hours upon hours in the future. 

Last week I was focusing on the bedrooms in the house. This list can be done for both bedrooms, at the beginning of each day I check the list and add whatever chore on to the kiddo's list of chores for the day for her room. She is old enough now that she can complete these tasks, plus they will help give her an idea of what will need to be done to keep her home clean someday.


I picked week 3 of the month to do my bedroom. Here is what is on my list:
  • Monday: Dust Baseboards, moving furniture when possible
  • Tuesday:
    • Clean mattress
      • Using a mixture of baking soda and lavender sprinkle over mattress and let sit for half an hour. Using vacuum attachment, vacuum up.
    • Fluff pillows
      • Put pillows, one at a time, in dryer on high heat with a dryer sheet to fluff and disinfect. After, spray with water/lavender mixture or tantra spritz from Saje.
    • Fluff comforter
      • Put comforter, with dryer sheet, in dryer on high for 20-30 minutes. 
  • Wendesday: Dust ceiling
    • Using a broom with a microfiber cloth around the bristles, held in place with a large rubber band, dust around the corners and edges of where the ceiling meets the wall.
  • Thursday: Deep down vacuum, steam clean if necessary
    • Vacuum at the edges of the baseboards, get in the corners, under the bed. If needed spot clean stains or drag out the steam cleaner for well worn areas of carpet.
  • Friday: Project planning 
    • Look around, what needs to be improved or worked on? 
  • Saturday & Sunday: Project execution
    • Declutter closets if needed, take clothes to donation, fix worn clothing, do any other organization type projects at this time.
Tuesday is a very busy day. I do all that stuff for the bedroom on Tuesday as that is the same day I wash all the sheets as part of my weekly "power hour" that I do a day late. Weird I know, but it works for me. 

It took me a long time to come up with this system and really figure out the best way to keep our small space spic & span all the time. It's still a work in progress but this keeps me a little more sane and focused. 






Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Organization: routine

This year, one of my goals was to institute cleaning routines soothe house basically takes care of itself with very little effort on my part.

My first routine was to institute my Cleaning Power Hour, so far this has been extremely effective and it only takes about 45 minutes to get through the whole routine, so not even a full hour! That routine hits all the high points people notice when visiting your house and the things that bother me the most when they don't get cleaned regularly enough!


Today I am introducing to you my morning and evening routines. 

Let's talk about the mornings first. I love mornings but wouldn't say I am a morning person. My brain is super foggy when I'm trying to wake up so having a routine is sort of like my caffeine. It gently gets my brain functioning and I get to start the day off checking stuff off a list and we all know how satisfying that can be! 


I have all my tasks listed in the order in which I will do them. 

The first seems silly: brush my teeth and get dressed. But, when instituting the routine I really wanted it to be authentic and give me a full guideline to follow. I have on here specifically to get dressed in workout clothes so that way once everyone is gone for the day I can immediately start my workout-No Excuses!

Unload dishwasher-start the day with an empty dishwasher, this way as you cook during the day you can throw everything in there and the sink stays empty!

Start coffee-I do this after unloading the dishwasher so it finishes percolating just as I am ready to sit down to breakfast.

Get lunches in lunch bags-when I cook dinner I prep/pre-pack lunches for my husband & daughter. I just take these & either toss them in the lunch bag or warm it up, put it in a thermos & then it goes in the lunch bag.

Make breakfast-it is the most important meal of the day, don't skip it! It's also a great way to spend some much needed time with the kiddos before the school day starts. This can be an essential time for communication and teaching them about proper nutrition.

Clean up breakfast-if you do it as soon as the dishes are empty of food it's easy and your kitchen is ready for the next meal! It keeps the counters & sink clear, plus it takes just a minute or two. Plus, if you have kids and work it right you can train them to take their dishes straight to the sink to rinse & GPS traight in the dishwasher! 

(Now, you may be wondering my it says my routine is 3pm. I am writing this while in the UK and I am 8 hours ahead of my normal time zone, so normally my reminder goes off at 7am. This whole routine only takes about 15-20 min to complete in total.)


This is my evening routine. It's short and sweet, but gets the whole house ready for the next day!

Load and start dishwasher-I clean as I cook, but there are always those few dishes at the end that still have to go in, I do this and immediately start the washer. 

Wipe down counters & table-I use my cleaning wipe & give all my granite a good wipe down & get the table ready for breakfast.

Sweep kitchen floor-just for maintenance. This take about 40 seconds to do and keeps the kitchen looking in tip top shape.

Make coffee-this is when I grind my beans & get the whole thing fixed up and ready to press start in the morning during your routine. 

Basic pick up around the house-walk from room to room putting away anything out of place & clearing off cluttered surfaces. Good time for the kiddos to pick up their rooms & bathrooms. 

This evening routine at first took 40 min because there was always so much out of place, but now it takes approximately 15-20 min. Fast and it helps make me happy when I wake up!

I love using my reminders app for this because I have a ringing renminder to do these chores. It's hard to ignore and these few steps help make my days so much easier! Plus, they help to give me a home I'm proud of and am not worried if someone drops by without calling first.

Do you have routines like this? If so, what is on your routine list? 

If you don't have routines are you going to implement some now? What will be on your lists?