Free Spring Cleaning Kit from Grove Collaborative

What motivates you to do a spring cleaning? For me, beautiful cleaning products in a fresh scent make it feel like less of a chore. Add some good music and I might even say I enjoy it!


If you’re like me, then you’re going to love this offer from Mrs. Meyer’s and Grove Collaborative. When you place your first Grove order of $20, you’ll get a free seasonal kit to help you get a jumpstart on your spring cleaning. Here’s what’s included:

• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Spring Hand Soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Spring Dish Soap
• Free Grove Collaborative Walnut Scrubber Sponges
• Free Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle
• Free Shipping & 60 Day VIP Trial

If you’re already a customer, you’ll receive a Grove Collaborative Spray Bottle for 50% off - perfect for making your own fresh scented cleaner!

The Mrs. Meyers soaps come in two limited edition spring scents, peony and lilac. Thanks to the blend of essential oils and plant-derived ingredients, they don’t smell artificial — just light and pretty. Along with this beautiful spray bottle and amazing sponges, you’ll be feeling inspired to clean in no time.

To get your kit, sign up for Grove Collaborative here and the offer will be automatically added to your cart. You’ll answer 4 quick questions about your current cleaning routine, which Grove will use to recommend products for your first basket. You can customize your order by adding or remove items, the items in your basket are just suggestions— as long as your order is a minimum of $20, you’ll qualify for the offer.

One of the unexpected benefits of my Grove subscription is that I’ve discovered so many great natural products. The Acure Skincare line is a new favorite, as well as, the Grove Candle! It's nice to try new scents or products knowing there is 100% happiness guarantee. Plus, their customer service is hands-down the best.

Want to know what’s in my basket this month? I’m stocking up on spring cleaning essentials like a new set of Grove Kitchen Towels (for cleaning with my new spray bottle), Acure Rosehip Oil, and my usual order of Acure Facial Cleansing Creme and the Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent. And I'm going to add the Acure Facial Wipes in my bag when I'm traveling this month. Since I started using Grove to deliver my monthly household supplies, I’ve saved so much money compared to my usual grocery store runs going in for one item and coming out with 10 extra! Not to mention, I don't have to juggle 3 kids inside the store. :)

My Grove VIP membership helps me save even more with free shipping, price matching, exclusive sales, and free full-size gifts. When you submit your first Grove order, you’ll be signed up for the free 60 day VIP trial. I highly recommend taking advantage of the free shipping and personal service that comes with this membership so you can see if it’s right for you. I have placed an order and the next day realized I forgot to add detergent- nice to have free shipping!

Ready to get started on your spring cleaning and streamline your household shopping routine? This offer ends March 19, and supplies are limited. (Last time I had an offer on my blog like this, one of the scents ran out so pick what you like quickly!)

1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative {here}. You will receive the {Spring Cleaning Kit} for free when you sign up!
2. Answer 4 quick questions about your home that Grove Collaborative will then use to customize your first basket -- this takes under 30 seconds!
3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can finalize your basket of products to suit your household needs by adding or removing items.
4. To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive in your first box.
5. You made it! Click Finish & Pay and place your order.

A little Holiday Spirit in your Home

Bring the Holiday Spirit into Your Cleaning Routine with Mrs. Meyer’s + Grove Collaborative

How do you bring the holiday spirit into your cleaning routine? Patrick usually turns up Frank Sinatra Christmas music and we get the kids excited to join in the cleaning! Growing up, my mom always swapped out candles and soap in all the bathrooms for fall and christmas scents, so I love buying special soaps and cleaning supplies for the holidays. Knowing we have amazing scented cleaners and new tools actually makes us look forward to cleaning!

This year, Grove Collaborative treated us to a new Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday Set — and they want to send one to you for free, too! The set includes a Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap, Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap, Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface spray and the Grove Collaborative Bubble Up.

My kids have been fighting over who gets to use this Bubble Up to help with the dishes! It’s fun to pump the dispenser and make lots of bubbles, and the brush is easy to hold when you’re really scrubbing those dishes after dinner.

I have been using the Mrs. Meyer's multi-surface spray for awhile now... with 3 kids and a golden retriever, let's just say we make plenty of messes! I love that it gets everything clean and smells amazing!

Patrick, JR & Vera agree that these Mrs. Meyer’s Peppermint soaps smell good enough to eat!  It's amazing how certain scents can bring up so many sweet memories from the past. The soaps also come in Orange Clove.  I can’t wait to grab a few bottles for our bathroom and laundry with my next Grove shipment.

If you’re not familiar with Grove Collaborative, it’s a subscription service that makes creating a healthy, beautiful home effortless and affordable. I can choose my favorite products from brands like Mrs. Meyer’s, Seventh Generation, and Method, and Grove delivers them (carbon offset) right to my doorstep, on my schedule. I even receive a text before my shipment!

Here’s what I’ve discovered after using Grove: When my kids get to help choose the products and scents we use, they’re much more willing to help clean! They get so excited when they see our mailman, Charlie, walking up the driveway with a box. It’s like Christmas for them (and me!).  JR usually wants to open the box and smell everything and Vera wants to line each item up.

When you sign up for Grove Collaborative using this link, you’ll get the Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday set for free + free shipping. If you’re already a customer Click Here, you’ll get 50% off of the brand new and amazing Grove Collaborative Bubble Up. Don’t forget to sign up for the free VIP trial, too. Not only is the free shipping amazing, you’ll get perks like free gifts, price matching, and personal customer service.

Grove only has a limited number of sets available and the offer ends November 21, so grab yours now! Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative [Click Here for your Free Gift]. You’ll receive the Mrs. Meyer’s offer for free when you sign up! If you’re already a customer, you’ll receive the Grove Collaborative Bubble Up for 50% off.

2. Answer 4 quick questions about your home that Grove Collaborative will then use to customize your first basket -- this takes under 30 seconds!

3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can finalize your basket of products to suit your household needs by adding or removing items. Check a few things off your shopping list and add them to your order!

4. To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive them in your first box.

5. You made it! Click Finish & Pay and place your order. 
 

Stitch Fix #11 and $25 off for YOU!

 

I'm going to be honest and say this was my least favorite fix I have received.

Out of 11 fixes, that is not bad!

It was my fault because I forgot to update my fix preferences

 (they even sent a reminder email before the shipment)

so my stylist didn't know what I was wanting for fall.  

Goes to show how important and helpful those style profiles really are!

I had some credit to use and I ended up only keeping one item.

($25 credit for YOU at bottom of this post!)

It was actually the most simple Gray Tee.  I was hesitant to keep it because I felt like there 

was nothing "special" about it, but I have already worn it several times  and LOVE it! 

It is super comfy and longer in the back which is one of my favorite styles.

Easy to throw on & great for layering!

Here are the other 4 items that I sent back...

 I loved the fit & wash of these jeans, just didn't need another pair :)

I'm always amazed how my stylist can pick such a perfect fit for me!

 These red shoes were cute and comfortable, but I didn't know how often I would wear them.

 I think the stylist recommended this shirt with the shoes and jeans, 

but it wasn't really a pattern I loved and it was too short on me.

 This dress was wonderful! So comfy and soft, but the fabric was thick enough to be flattering ;)

I would have kept this one in a heartbeat if it wasn't horizontal stripes... boo!

Just not the best pattern for me- too bad it wasn't solid black in the middle.

Thankfully you are able to review and comment on each item when you "check out"

so I can tell my stylist how much I love this style and fit, just not the pattern. 

The more specific you can be, the better!

 

So that was my 11th fix!  

Along with the style card (showing me 2 ways to style each piece)

guess what was in the box??

 Yes, that's right- Stitch Fix for MEN!

I'm excited to try it out for Patrick.

He is super picky and I usually have to shop around, 

bring them all home & end up returning all but one item... 

so needless to say this could be super helpful!

Follow this link {here} for $25 off your first fix, men or women. 

That means no styling fee & $25 credit towards a new fall outfit!

A few girl scarves & outfits

bracelet from (Petite Hero)

Butterscotch Moccs from (Max Moccs)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter) Slate Gray Moccs from (Wild Explorers)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter)

Updated Kitchen and Hearth Room (old house)

Before we moved, I went back and found photos from when we first moved into the house.  Thought I would share how the Kitchen & Hearth changed over our 3 years in the house!

I wish I could find a photo of the hearth area when we moved in.  The brick was orange-red with wood above it and just old recessed lighting. I white-washed the brick, painted the wood paneling and Patrick swapped out the recessed lighting for the hanging lanterns. It brightened up that corner a lot!

In the kitchen we painted the cabinets, spray painted all of the original hardware, added a lantern above the sink and covered the painted laminate counters with a fresh coat of black countertop paint.  Then right before we moved we swapped out the off white appliances for stainless steel.

A little paint goes a long way!!

Stitch Fix #10- Review

Oops- I missed Fix #9 which was so good! I wanted some pieces that I could wear halfway through my pregnancy, but also throughout the summer after having Bauer.  They picked two great shirts that were long enough to cover my belly (well until the last month or so!) and they weren't maternity so I can still wear them now!

After a successful Fix #9, I waited until Bauer was born & also for some referral credits!! so that I could get my next shipment.  There is nothing more awkward than post-baby clothing style & fit... you hate to buy something that will be too big even after a few weeks, but nothing fits just right! I updated my profile and left a message for my stylist with some details.  She sent the sweetest note & styling ideas in Fix #10 ...

I loved these Toms espadrille flats and I still am sad I sent them back :) The color was great & super comfy, just out of my prize range!

This next one was a thin sweater that was super long and had a hood.  It is really comfortable!  I kept this one because it provided good coverage for awkward fitting clothing post-pregnancy.  It will be perfect for traveling and thin enough for summer evenings.

 This next top was black and dark grey- the softest fabric ever!  I didn't love the fit but the back detailing was cute.

The top above was a great fit- I just didn't like the snakeskin pattern :)
The other top I chose was this pretty emerald one...

It is a cool lightweight fabric for summer, nursing-friendly and one of my favorite colors to wear!

Thanks Stitch Fix for another great shipment of clothes & for the great discount after referral credit! I'm ready to try out some summer sandals or a maxi dress in my next Fix!

Half Bath- Downstairs Bathroom Renovation on a Budget

 

When we first moved into our house almost three years ago, this downstairs bathroom was painted a yellow gold (over wallpaper) and the sink base was a dark wood with brass fixtures.

One of my first projects after we moved in was to paint the cabinet base a coral color and add new knobs to the cabinet doors.  It was super easy to paint other than the fact I was 9 months pregnant :)  It stayed that way for awhile until we had leftover paint from our dining room and decided to use it in the bathroom.  

The current color is Comfort Gray from Benjamin Moore.  It's amazing how the paint color can look so different from one room to the next, but I love the subtle mint gray blue in both the bathroom and dining room!  

Once the walls were painted, the coral cabinet base had to go!  I found a sample paint can in our garage that was a deep blue- kind of like a navy with a hint of gray.  Unfortunately I have no idea what the name is, but I had just enough to paint the cabinet and a little antique shelf that I use as a toilet paper holder.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when we had a Lowe's gift card and the toilet wasn't working too well :)  We picked out a simple American Standard white toilet and I noticed a countertop in the clearance section (70% off the exact style I had been eyeing for awhile!!) as we were leaving... great news for me- bad news for Patrick!  Now he had to install a new toilet and a new countertop and faucet haha!  

He installed the new white toilet really fast- thanks to youtube videos.   The old counter popped right off the cabinet base, so once the faucet was unattached it all came apart pretty easily.  The new counter included the sink and we found a cheaper faucet to fit.  I was so glad we found the counter on sale because once he installed the white toilet, the cream outdated sink sure stood out!  I love the speckle and sparkle in the new sink countertop- even prettier in person.

Here is a look at the after...

Leftover Pure White Chalk Paint on the Bronze mirror

Leftover Comfort Gray Benjamin Moore on the walls

New Faucet (waited until it was on sale) {here}

New Toilet {similar here}

New Towel Bar from Target

New Counter & Sink- I can't find it online but this sample is similar {here}

Cabinet Knobs from Hobby Lobby

And I spray painted the floor vent (it was dirty tan) to a white that matched the trim.

 This was probably our cheapest renovation with the biggest results!  Keeping the cabinet base, flooring, lighting & only buying clearance or sale items from Lowe's (plus a gift card) saved us a ton of money.  And the fact that Patrick installed it himself and did a great job!  It's amazing how changing from cream to white can make such an incredible difference.