Method's 'Get Clean' Winner!

Do you remember the fun series of spring cleaning tips and tricks I shared with you for the Method 'GET CLEAN' Contest a few months back? ( see posts here.) Today we are announcing the contest winner!

Katherine Brennan of Pensylvania won the sweepstakes which included a kitchen refresh with an organizational and cleaning expert, kitchen accessories as shown below, a year's supply of Method products and a copy of Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook, yay Katherine! I continue to be a big fan of Method products and am preparing for another big sort and clean this summer season.

*This post is sponsored by Method Home and Martha.

Spring Cleaning the Closet

I want to let you know about the Get Clean Sweepstakes, a really great prize awaits a lucky winner!

Laundry, laundry -- love it or hate . . . as for Monday, it is laundry day at our house. If clothes get dirty during the week, it has to wait its turn in the hamper until Monday comes again. This one day only system works for us and seriously gives me 'laundry peace of mind.'

Method sent me some laundry detergent and what I like about it is that the bottle is super small and smart so it really saves on space, it smells pretty darn good, and the concentrated formula works really well.

Here are a few of my other tips for how to organize the clothes once Monday gets them clean . . .  a few spring cleaning the closet tips you may enjoy:

For the last little while my closet has been in major transition (having a baby can do that). Until I get back to my goal, I am motivating myself by not buying any new clothes, and rebuilding my wardrobe in a way that I am excited about.

1: Dress like a French woman and seek after high quality items that will enhance your overall wardrobe, don't get wrapped up in purchasing quantity and those throw-away pieces. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? Have you heard that we only wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time? Make that 20% the best!

2: Edit through your closet seasonally and filter out things that you haven't worn. If you live in a place where your climate doesn't vary that much, you can probably do this less. Also organize your clothes in a way that works for you -- by color, type, season etc...

3: Have matching hangers, it makes all of the difference and makes your closet look nice and uniform.

4: Organize your shoes. Keep shoes off the ground and find a organizer that appeals to you. A simple shoe rack, a back of the door wonder whatever works in your space. It will feel nice, make things much easier to access, and let you see at one quick glance everything available.

5: Get storage containers that match whether in your drawers or to store seasonal clothing items and accessories -- to give your space uniformity. They create instant boundaries and help limit overall stuff consumption. If it doesn't fit in your closet or storage bins, don't buy it or rotate something else out. Also a little secret of mine is that I always try to have an empty storage bin handy for backup in those quick pick up moments, like when a last minute visitor stops by.

Tell me readers, what are your laundry and spring cleaning out your closets tips? I would absolutely love to hear about them!

*Method provided the laundry soap, which is already our first choice. This post is sponsored by Martha Stewart and Method, but these opinions and tips are how I really roll.

Photos by Rachel Jones – Black Eiffel.

Spring Cleaning the Bathroom

First off, be sure to enter the Get Clean Sweepstakes!

Over the weekend I worked on Spring Cleaning our bathroom with the brand new nice smelling French Lavender All-Purpose spray that Method sent over and here are a few of my tips when it comes to cleaning the bathroom.

1. Matching Towels: Discard any shabby towels and invest in matching ones. I prefer white ones because they feel like the spa or hotel at home and are super easy to clean. It also may be a good idea to have an unused set or two set tucked away for guests, so you will also always be prepared. (I'm kind of like Monica on Friends when it comes to this... ha)

2. Sort through your cosmetic and beauty products and make sure they are being used. Why have things that you've had in your bathroom closet for years if you don't use them or plan on using them? Save the space and discard that old eyeshadow color or shampoo you don't like. If you wear makeup, also make sure to clean your makeup brushes often.

3. Start being an educated consumer: This tip may not be for everyone but is a personal preference. A few years ago I sorted through all of our bathroom and cosmetic products and chucked everything above a 5 on the EWG Cosmetic Safety Database and I do my best to not purchase anything above that number. From what I've learned, what you put on your body gets so quickly absorbed into our systems and just like the food we consume, I want to make sure we are not putting unnecessary harmful toxins in our bodies.

p.s. If any of you have found a great 'aluminum-free' deodorant that works, hit up the comments -- I've tried 3 and I'm still searching.

4. Clean your bathroom once a week : When you keep on top of the weekly cleaning it really isn't that big of a deal to clean the bathroom. It is my least favorite chore so I often make it fun by turning on upbeat music and just going for it.

5. Have supplies handy: Make sure you have certain bathroom supplies stocked up and close by. The worst is running out of t.p. when it is most needed or eek... has this ever happened to you when you were at someone else's home? Have backup supplies accessible for guests as well.

What about you, what types of things do you do when cleaning the bathroom?

*This post is sponsored by Martha Stewart and Method, but these opinions and tips are how I really roll.

Photos by Rachel Jones – Black Eiffel.

Mother of Beauty : Eva from Sycamore Street Press

Several months ago around Mother's Day I asked a few of my favorite creative online mothers to answer a few questions about motherhood. I am excited to share what Eva from Sycamore Street Press had to say! Her and her husband Kirk are super creative, talented and run the letterpress shop Sycamore Street Press in the beautiful mountainous valley in Heber City. They had a sweet baby girl, Ingrid back in November, recently launched their new letterpress collection, and are teaching letterpress classes with slots now open in September now too! I think Eva is such a cool and lovely person and I really enjoy what she had to share, hope you do as well...

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Method

I am excited to be working with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for the next several weeks highlighting one of my favorite brands Method. First up I want to let you know about the Get Clean Sweepstakes! Be sure to check that out.

I use Method cleaning supplies all the time in our home -- I am a pretty much a super fan, and with some major Spring Cleaning beginning around our home, this is right up my alley! What I especially like about Method products is they are non-toxic, and natural, but still work very effectively and come in pretty designed and eco-minimal packages. Are you a fan too?

As I share my thoughts about Method products I will also share some of my Spring Cleaning tips and first up I am going to explore the kitchen. Method recently sent me the above yummy smelling Clementine Dish Soap that is incredible – the smells is utterly addictive and it may sound crazy but it really makes me want to do the dishes. I love the sweet citrus smell! All of their products I've tried smell amazing which makes Spring Cleaning much more enjoyable.

Speaking of dishes, when it comes to dishes I am really going through a purging phase right now. I am working on pairing down what we don’t need or use. I’ve conquered the cupboard above and I’m off to set the rest in order. I’ve been using the Method multi-purpose spray as I go to wipe down the cabinets, which pretty much makes everything smell like heaven.

Tip 1 : Figure out what your needs are and eliminate what you don’t use or like. When organizing match like items together with ample space around them for easy access and organization.

A while back we got rid of all of our unsharp knives after we saved for months to upgrade to a few really great knives. It has made all of the difference and chopping, slicing and dicing much more enjoyable. 

Tip 2 : Discard unsafe knives (dull ones are dangerous!) and broken appliances, and save to upgrade to kitchen tools that you will use and last for a lifetime. Keep knives sharp by having them professionally sharpened once a year, and don’t put them in the dishwasher or leave them in the sink!

There is a tiny hidden wall in our kitchen where I put up cork squares and pin up rotating food ideas or articles that inspire me. The visuals help steer our choices in a better direction. As you can see from the current board above, right now we are really focusing on eating healthier in our family, although I do miss seeing photos of delicious desserts! 

Tip 3 : Be inspired while in your kitchen – Have a place where you can see visual reminders of what types of things you want to want to eat. It can be on a wall, on the back of a cupboard, whatever works best in your space.

 

While going through our cabinets I have came across my little problem of loving books too much – especially well-designed and pretty photographed cookbooks so it is hard not to keep adding to them. I’m in the process of going through all of the pretty ones that aren’t dogeared to see what recipes I really want to cook. Furthermore, it is even getting more tricky to focus with all of the pretty cooking apps for the iPad they are coming out with… have you seen Everday Food?! Gorgeous! (I will have to do a post on that.)

Tip 4 : Utilize what you already have before adding more. Set your limits and define the space it will take up, when you purchase something, pass on another.

My final tip is my black book of recipes. I’ve tried many things … computer programs, recipe cards, custom recipe books, apps and more. What I keep coming back to and what works best for me is to the print off, clip and type recipes, and put them into a binder with plastic pages. I have tabs categorizing sections like entrees, salads, soups and more and it is a snap to quickly find what favorites I want to make. When I meal plan for the week I just go through and take out the recipes I’m going to use, write down the ingredients I need and put them in the front of the binder for easy access during the week. The plastic pages have also saved me from many spills.

Tip 5: Organize and collect your favorite and well-used recipes in one place so they are easy to access when cooking in the kitchen.

So there you have it… my five Spring Cleaning tips for the kitchen! What are some of your tips? I would love to hear about them in the comments! Favorite recipes, cookbooks shout those out too. Also what are your favorite cleaning supplies in the kitchen -- do you seek after the good smells like me?

*As a heads up, Method sent me the dish soap for review and I really love it. This post is sponsored by Martha Stewart and Method, but these opinions are my own -- you should see my Method Cleaning Arsenal before they even approached me.


Photos by Rachel Jones – Black Eiffel.

Have an outstanding weekend!

I took a spontaneous road trip with the girls this week (meeting up with Mac who was on a business trip) and the 80 degree weather and sitting by the pool for a few days is exactly what we needed. Over the next few days remember to enter this giveaway and to enter this giveaway for your chance to get clean with Martha and Method if you would like. I hope you will all have an outstanding weekend!

 

Today I came across the inspiring photos of renowned German photographer F.C. Gundlach from the 1960s. If you are in Germany there is currently an exhibit running at the Neue Museum Nürnberg through June, you can read about it here.

photos : F.C. Gundlach

Top 10 Plant-Based Diet Cookbooks

For the last month or so our family has been focusing upon eating plant-based meals. Yes, we still have some organic chicken, wild fish and shrimp in the freezer to use up, but we are moving more fully towards a plant-based diet. Normal I would infuse 2-3 meals a week that were meatless in the menu plan, but now it is turning more into like 6. We've already nixed most dairy, and we've really seen and felt the difference.

For us this movement has been a gradual process over the last few years. After recently watching Forks over Knives, along with a few other haunting documentaries about meat production, (and bouts of hot dog food poisoning) we have not been in the mood for juicy meaty burgers, well at least right now. Ask me again next year and we'll see. (I promise we aren't turning into California hippies, well maybe a little, ha). Since at home we will be working towards eating pretty clean, we are the pretty easy-going type so we won't be freaking out about things as we dine out, or over at someone's house. We are implementing the 80/20 rule. 

The main thing we've noticed so far overall is more energy, and I noticed that my skin cleared up too. (Although, sadly as I had some major slip-ups on my recent road trip my skin began to meltdown again).

I am already a huge fan of Heidi Swanson's books and she has usually been my go-to for excellent plant-based recipes but, I also wanted to explore more options. Here are the top ten plant-based cookbooks I've checked out over the last few months at our local library, are in my queue or am interested in.

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Oeuf

I pretty much swoon and drool ever time I see Oeuf's products. I like their motto : "Good Design For All Ages". Unfortunately, I do not have any products from their line yet, but soon I hope to save up and get some. The look of these beautifully crafted, heirloom-like items encourages me to clean out my closets and adhere even further to the philosophy 'less in more'. I saw all of these new items at the stylin' shop This is Auto.

Listening to...

Do any of you have things that you do before you go on a vacation? I usually always do two things... I have to clean my house, and spend some time (probably too much) filling up my iPod with music and audio books. Here are a just a few that I bought and put on for the road trip I am going on this week. I've never listened to any of the albums in their entirety, so I am excited to give them a through listen.

1: Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
2: The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
3: Water for Elephants - This happens to be audiobook of the month so it is only $5.95 on itunes.
4: Florence + the Machine - Lungs
5: The Alchemist

6: Adele - 21


(#3 and #6 were actually previous books my bookclub read that I didn't get to, so I am excited to listen to them, thanks Bonnie for the recommendations and reminder.)

What music are you excited about listening to? Are you an audiobook fan or reading anything that you can't put down? Hit up the comments...

Guest Blogger : Karisa Winkel

This week I am excited to introduce guest blogger Karisa Winkel! I met Karisa in college as we took some letterpress and design classes together and she is just one of those fantastic gals who lights up any room that she walks into, exuding a charismatic spark, and fun personality of someone you just want to get to know better. She is stylish, memorable, and has a great eye and sense for design. I am thrilled that she has recently opened up her own letterpress + design studio because her impeccable taste and flare shown in her unique designs. Say hello and welcome Karisa!



After 3 years of being an Art Director in NYC, I finally gathered the courage to start my own design boutique (a life-long dream). Though I market myself as a wedding stationery designer, I also do custom projects and love to take on a unique project. You can check out the work at KarisaWinkelDesigns.com—but check back because we're updating our wedding suites in a few weeks.

I believe that your personal style reflects upon what kind of person you are, what you believe, and who you'd like to become. Style-wise, I love anything that has modern, clean lines, reflects your unique personality, and has a story behind it. I love design that is concept-driven and means something to the bride-- projects are much more fulfilling when they have a soul and represent more than just "looking pretty."

I just finished a project that was a lot of fun-- the bride wanted something with old New York style, is meaningful, and is totally unique-- so needless to say I was eager to accept the job. For her Save the Date, we decided to use vintage handkerchiefs and silkscreen the message on them. Although it wasn't easy finding 82 handkerchiefs (I was this close to robbing a Grandmother) we finally found them all and I silkscreened them myself. (It's this kind of stuff that I love-- give me a challenge and a creative idea and I'll go nuts) For the invitation, we decided to use a fancy, romantic images with lots of detail to show off the letter press. I'm crazy about letter press because it really shows off the design and has such a rich, tactile feel.


Things are going really well so far—thanks to a lot of hard work and support from family and friends. Karisa Winkel Designs has been featured three times in Modern Bride and the fourth will be in the June/July issue '08. For now we're located in Provo, UT but we're moving the company to San Francisco in June of this year. Thanks Rachel for this opportunity to be a guest blogger this week!



(Me and my husband, McKay Winkel—best friend and business partner)

3 Apps that have made my life better...

Several weeks ago both my husband and I independently deleted Facebook off our phones and later discussed how it felt like we could breath clean air again. I've heard of others going towards the more minimal social media route and I find it refreshing. I'm not opposed to social media, but there is a fine balance to it, right? This article about going off the Facebook grid really resonated with me to welcome more deliberate living and clearly addressed many of the quarrels I have with it all.

After I deleted the Facebook app off my phone I also scrutinized other apps on my phone that I don't use or need. Besides other apps I've previously mentioned before, these three stood out as making my life better so far in 2013. (They are all free too.)

1. Day One : I've teetered back and forth between a digital and handwritten journal for years and have now decided I'm going digital. I will definitely still always have sketchbooks and adore handwritten things but what I decisively love about digital journals is that they are searchable and you can recall experiences, words and notes with ease and speed. Day One is award-winning and has a well-designed interface with the ability to tag your entries. For example, when my kids say something I want to remember I type it down on my phone really quick and tag their name on it. When I want to take a photo of something memorable and catalog it with words sans Instagram this is what I use. I also bought the corresponding app for my computer and although it has a few kinks (like not being able to tag) I believe they are working on improvements. I adore this on my phone and it syncs with everything seamlessly.

2. Pocket : This app is my go to for clipping articles I want to read later. As I explained to someone the other day it is like Pinterest for words. When I'm craving content with more depth or something to read that is lengthy, Pocket will help me digitally clip and save until I have a bit of downtime to read it later. This app is likewise well-designed with a lovely interface.

3. My Fitness Pal : I am currently doing a 30 day detox (more on that later) and before my cleanse I was really keeping an eye on my nutrition and tracking with this app which showed me what nutrients I lacked. Also (nerd alert) my husband and I wear these and have this and they all sync up flawlessly with app so we can see our activity, weight, and food and nutrient consumption all in one app. We've tried quite a few gadgets, and apps and have found this one to be the best yet at overall health tracking that we've come across. Although my husband now just bought this so we'll see.

While I'm on the app subject, have you heard of the trend in app land of waiting lists, ugh.  My husband Mac clued me in to get on the list for Mailbox - which supposedly puts email in its place and Tempo - a new calendar app, although when hundreds of thousands of people are in a virtual download waiting line I wonder if it is going to be like a Disneyland wait without a good ride. Thoughts?

What are your favorite apps for 2013?

Spring Cleaning 'itunes style'

My external hard-drive that had all of my music on it, started to get sick. Luckily, I noticed early on, and everything was taken off before it went on to suffer an ignominious death. May it R.I.P.

This couldn't have come at a better time, because of my current "Spring Cleaning" mood, time to spring clean my music . . . why not? With my eyes closed (thinking to myself what am I doing?) I deleted everything from itunes (keeping the files) and am now starting from scratch, adding back only the good stuff and deleting songs/artists that don't really jive with me anymore. It has been a very fascinating aural journey, exploring music I never knew that I had. I'm almost finished with letter 'B'.

Lovely readers... I'm curious, what are your top 5 most played songs (check your play counts)?

Eating our way through Seattle...

Looking back over my trip photos from Seattle a common delicious food thread was interlaced throughout. Many thanks to my good food-loving friend Stephanie who took me around and showed me her favorite places. Crazy to me is that growing up near Seattle, I had never been to any of these, my foodie side has obviously emerged since back in the day. We were able to see some of the best of Seattle in just a few short days -- I feel as if we delightfully ate our way through this rainy town!

Here is the top ten (not in any particular order):

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Week #4 Wrap-up

First up, I wanted to mention how amazing the ALT Design Summit was last weekend! I was happy and impressed to be around such a down-to-earth, fashionable, and fun group. Thanks to all who came to hear our panel, and in case you want to know more -- there have been lots of great recaps around the web, here are a few : Apartment Therapy / Mint / ISLY. I hope to attend and meet more of you next year! (Wish I had taken some photos)

On to the 'top ten style' wrap-up of the 4th week of 2010...

1: Branding and packaging really does make a difference. Check out what Amy at Eat Drink Chic did with her McFancy post, super cool.

2: Joslyn (who is even more lovely in person -- that I got to meet at Alt ) did this wonderful post about happiness that was very uplifting -- read it here.

3: Yay! Liberty of London is coming to Target. (thanks for the reminder Steph)

4: Like Dear Ada I am yearning for Spring and these flower photos by Bill Beckley are stunning.

5: Have you been noticing pops of hot pink in fashion -- so fun. Loving the Vanessa Bruno collection first spotted here.



6: I meant to share this a few weeks ago, but in case you have missed it, they are showcasing a new version of Emma on Masterpiece Theater - you can watch a segment of it online here. I love Masterpiece Theater!

7: Picked up Food Rules at the Library, can't wait to thumb through it.

8: If I get more serious about sewing and purchase a sewing machine, I would want my workspace to stay clean and tidy like this space Ellie posted at Mint -- I love the industrial look.

9: I can't stop thinking about these beautiful Mociun rings Lena Corwin posted. Gorgeous!

10:Have you listened to the Hope for Haiti Now Album? Justin + Charlie do a pretty great job with Hallelujah.

Have a wonderful weekend, my dears!!