gifts of gold, vacuums, and myrrh

Husband always does a wonderful job with gifts. This year was no exception. He bought me a beautiful necklace, which I wore every day of our Christmas vacation, a refill of my favorite perfume, and..... drum roll....

the most awesome vacuum cleaner known to (wo)man. It takes the cake. It's the bees knees. The best thing since sliced bread. Better than a bowl of cherries. Or a spoonful of sugar.

With attachments and an air filter just for:



the problems this little mammal brings to our home: silky brown hair and that precious canine musk.

When I told people what Husband gave me they whispered, "Are you mad at him?"

NO!

Quite the contrary. I'm ecstatic with him.

I've been beating and cursing our pathetic Dirt Devil for three years. It spit out more than it sucked up and I had to vacuum 24 hours before having company to give the house time to air out from all the heavy allergens it cast into the once-breathable oxygen. I kid you not. It was a weekly war.

And Husband did his research. The Kenmore Progressive simply rocks.

It cleans the air, the baseboards, the furniture, the carpet, the hardwood floor... I haven't tried it on the dishes, my teeth, or the dog yet, but I'm sure it would clean those too :)

Of course, Husband also proved his suave genius in giving me this trophy vacuum-cleaner along with the "pretty" things mentioned above. Smart man.

Just like I gave him classy clothing along with a gift certificate to a butcher shop.

Balance.



another side-of-the back roads spotting

A fun (space-friendly) way to dsiplay vegetation--

I would fill mine with herbs and flowers until they overflowed on the sides.

i've been searching for years...

for a mighty mosquito zapper.

It's so bad, I sleep with Benadryl Cream on my bedside table at night from May until October.

I was fighting them off with garlic and dryer sheets last year.

And last summer, a cashier in the grocery store looked at me and said, "You smell like summer camp!" Which was a much more poetic way of telling me I smelled like I had bathed in bug spray. Which I had.

But this year, I own:

THE THERMA CELL

Husband had the opportunity to use one on a hunting trip last fall and was very impressed.

We bought one at Home Depot on Saturday, and I haven't had a fresh mosquito bite since. It's almost miraculous.

They're on sale here.

your rug might need a deep clean, too

I really love our living room rug.

So, part of my "moving preparation plan" was to do some maintenance on the rug. I trimmed the little pieces that were coming loose

And THEN, we went to Home Depot and rented a steam cleaner. (The prices are actually quite reasonable.)

Here is the rug before steam cleaning:

And here is the rug after steam cleaning:


That's just from two years of living! I couldn't believe it made such a difference.
Want to see another shot?

Before:


After:


And here are some close-ups of the lines during the process.

The difference after the first round of cleaning:

The difference after the second round of cleaning:

Do you see the dirty vs. clean lines?

I feel like I have a new rug. I was utterly disgusted with how dirty it was. And I didn't even realize it. I was just cleaning it for allergens and to prolong its rug life.

Now, I plan to do this every spring.

MOVING DAY!!!!

See you fine folks tomorrow or Wednesday or whenever I find the box where I packed my brain!

In the meantime,

I thought I would share this laundry sorter/ hamper that I saw at Lowe's when we were buying extra boxes:

IT ROLLS! How convenient!

I think I will be asking Husband for one of these tomorrow, and I think he will say YES :)

cup-a-cake

Bite-Size Sour Cream-Pound Cake Cupcakes

How better to get in the groove of spring than to make some pretty cupcakes
and send them off in school lunches, Husband's briefcase, or in a picnic basket bound for the banks of a lake?

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Friends, Family, offspring or significant others would be overjoyed to find ones of these tasty treats snugly packed into their laptop bag, bookbag, or sitting in their carseat, wouldn't they?

Lemonade Cupcakes

But, even though Southern Living has a special feature on their site for 17 different cupcake recipes, how would you transport your fine sugary creations to those you want to receive them?

Hmmm. What a predicament.

The Solution:

Find these adorable contraptions for $2.99 each or in sets of 4 for $7.99-9.99 here. Aren't they the perfect little cupcake solution?