Weekend Activities

Hey y'all! Even though I don't dread Mondays, I find that I appreciate my weekends a bit more now that I go into an office in the afternoons. I have also learned that since I am not at all a morning person (as Melinda learned while hosting me for a summer), I have to devote some of my weekend time to chores. It is almost as if I am a real adult or something. 

Despite my groundbreaking realizations and the mountains of housework that had piled up, J and I managed to have some fun. We tried out a local restaurant Cang Tong for the first time and it was wonderful! The menu had both Chinese and Japanese dishes and sushi as well. Sometimes ethnic restaurants can't make it in our more rural setting but I was happy to see that there was a long line when we left.

J also squeezed orange juice. So yummy! Our local farm was selling juice oranges by the bucket, but we were able to grab half a bucket's worth for $4 - more suitable for a two person household. We still have over half the oranges left, too. By the way, that monogrammed glass pictured is part of a set my sister Kimberlee gave me as part of our wedding gift. She found a set of 9 at a thrift store and knew I would love them.

 It was prom weekend in my town, so I got to do my niece's makeup. She was so pretty! Of course, I snapped a picture of her with the awesome sunglasses I gave as a birthday present, so you can't see the eye makeup.

Normally, my two older sisters and I take turns hosting everyone for Sunday lunch. This month is a bit busy so we decided to skip until May. My sister Bekah organized a Taco Bell event Saturday night so we could still all get together. After eating out two nights in a row, J and I were in serious need of a healthy meal. I made hummus, chicken, quinoa, along with a variety of cut up vegetables.

One of my favorite parts of this meal is getting to use one of my Anna Weatherly platters. So overall, great weekend! Did y'all do anything fun/new/exciting? Make sure to come back tomorrow for my exciting DIY project that I actually completed! 

Posh Purpose Review: Shark SC650 Deluxe Portable Steam Mop

I'm about to share with you something I never thought I would post on the Internet.  Something that people would never dream of me sharing.  Something that I'm ashamed of....my bathroom grout. (cue slasher horror movie music)

Eeeeeks!  My apartment bathrooms are white tiled with white grout...something I've grown to despise.  No matter how much I Swiffer, Tilex, Magic Eraser, or Scrubbin' Bubbles the floors, the grout has taken on a grayish tinge that won't go away and looks horrible - even if I know the floor is technically clean because I've used so many chemicals.  (While Briana and I believe in eating organic when we can afford it and using natural ingredients like baking soda, lemon, and vinegar to clean in the kitchen...we take no mercy in the bathrooms and aren't afraid of using harsh chemicals to fight the war against poopy germs as I like to call them.)  I've tried scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush and also a stiff bristled floor cleaning brush and nothing has worked.

The graying of the grout seems to be common in these apartment bathrooms.  Briana likes to remind me of the time she scrubbed my bathroom floor in my old apartment when she lived with me one summer.  She says it took a looooooooooooong time and I believed she had to walk uphill both ways in the snow to get to the bathroom as well.  However, I was really appreciative of her efforts and the bathroom looked much better for about 3 months.  

My aunt (also Briana's mom) told me about a Shark steam cleaner she used to clean the grout at their vacation home and said she had a lot of success with it, so I headed over to Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon to buy the same brand (although, I'm not sure the same exact model).

Shark SC650 Deluxe Portable Steam Mop
$79.99
Image Source: Bed Bath and Beyond

The Shark SC650 Deluxe Portable Steam Mop comes with a ton of attachments for all sorts of cleaning.  Steam kills germs so this makes it not only a cleaning tool but one that sanitizes as well.  I was most interested in the attachments that project the steam into crevices - which there was one with and one without a scrubby brush attached to it.

I steamed the tile in the bathrooms on two different Saturdays to make sure I wouldn't kill someone I would have enough time.  The picture above is of our master bathroom floor prior to any cleaning whatsoever (I probably should have put a warning label to finish any snacks before reading this article...oopsies).  I started off by dry Swiffering the floor to pick up any dust and hair (I shed like a golden retriever).  Then I heated up the steamer (using distilled water) and used the crevice tool (no brush) to start steaming the grout a few tiles at a time.  My aunt had warned me not to try to steam big sections and then clean up the water and dirt, because it would settle back into the grout if too much time passed.  So, I followed behind the tiles, mopping up excess water and dirt with a microfiber towel/shammy (I bought them a few years ago from Target in the automotive section) and also making sure to push the towel into the grout to push out the dirt.  I worked from the tub back to the door, doing no more than three tiles at a time.  I cleaned one bathroom and most of the second one this way before trying the crevice tool with brush.  I could have saved myself a lot of time if I had started with that brush.  The rest of the tile cleaning went much quicker and had the same results, but I still had to use the shammy to push out the dirt.  I should note that about halfway through I had a sudden thought that maybe it was the towel and not the steam cleaner and I tried a few tiles with just the towel.  It did get the dirt up, but not entirely and I had to use a lot more force.  The steam must help loosen up the gunk enough to be scrubbed out.  Here's a picture showing the results.  Notice the top tiles are much whiter than the bottom tiles.

It took me about an hour and a half to do one bathroom and my bathrooms are small.  Overall, the floor looked like this when I was done:

The steamer was easy to use, heated up quickly, and came with a long cord to stretch it across the bathroom.  I only had to refill the water tank once.  I think I will only partially fill the tank next time so the steamer isn't as heavy and just refill more often.

After using the steamer, I also figured out which tiles were actually stained or had old discolored grout and just couldn't be cleaned.  Those would to be regrouted or re-colored.  Neither of which I plan to partake in since this is a rental.

I'm really happy with the results, but I'd prefer not to spend my Saturdays losing my sanity cleaning my bathroom floors.  However, now that my floors are nice and white (just in time for my Easter potluck for next weekend) I don't think I will have to steam clean them again for another 3 months. I'm considering purchasing another Shark surface steam mop to do the routine weekly cleaning so that I could extend that to maybe 6 months (this is just a theory I have...not sure if will really work).  Shark makes one that cleans hard surfaces and carpet which would probably come in handy for the white carpet wonderland I live in now.

All in all, I recommend the Shark portable steamer.  Although cleaning the floors wasn't scrub-free, I actually saw results for my efforts in comparison to all the other tactics I have tried.  I also had many thoughts about future home ownership and my time with the tile has solidified my decision to only use grey grout in any future bathrooms that I actually own as opposed to rent...or just ditch the tile altogether and go for hardwood or bamboo.  Has anyone else had any luck with their grout?  Share below in the comments section!

Thrift Store Finds

Sorry for the delay in today's post! I had some internet issues. I had so much fun reading Melinda's thrift store finds!  I have major end table envy here - totally would have snatched up that $15 table she photographed if it were in my area. Here are yet more pictures from our thrifting adventures during Melinda's spring break. When you go to Habitat three times in a week, plus visiting other stores as well, you end up with a ton of pictures.

This purple painting was quite large and in great shape. I love the colors, but I am just not into florals. However, someone else clearly was because it was snatched up a few days later. And for $40, I am not surprised.

Mom and I debated over this lamp, and she ended up taking it home for $20. She will be replacing the shade most likely, but the base is beautiful!

This lamp also went home with mom. She bought it for $30 to coordinate with the one above. The two lamps just belong together, which is why I decided she should buy them. I am not currently in the market for two large lamps. She has already set the pair up in her house so I am able to enjoy whenever I visit.

This $20 floral chair is covered in a plasticky material that is in great shape. You can update an upholstered chair by just removing the skirt, so always check the legs underneath to see if it is finished enough to take scissors to the skirt.

This plastic set of some pouring thing and a pair of salt and pepper shakers was pretty cute, and cheap too! I believe each piece was 50 cents - great for an outdoor set or something to put at the kids table.

This retro china set was so wonderful. I feel a slight twinge of sadness that I did not buy it, but I was happy to see that someone had picked it up when I visited two weeks later. I hope the new owner loves these dishes as much as I would have. As you can see, the set is pretty complete and priced at $15.

The gravy dish was particularly fun. See how it angles down? Sadly, the base had a tiny chip. The creamer and sugar bowl are in the background to the right. My favorite part of this set is how everything is shaped.

close up of sugar bowl

stack of plates

This picture is of the table stacked on top. Habitat was clearly running out of floor space that day. Melinda was very drawn to this style of end table, as she mentioned in her post yesterday. This one had a cool swirly pattern to it and the legs angled out nicely on the bottom. Even though it was not made of great materials (no hardwood here), the price tag said $10 which seemed quite reasonable.

Mom also bought this solid wood frame for $1! The pattern in the center is actually part of a towel bench that I bought for $15. I did not take a picture of my purchase from the side, and I would go run do it now except I think the piece is stored somewhere else? I'm not sure, it went home in mom's vehicle and I haven't seen it since. Neither has J, although I'm not entirely sure he knows I even bought it.. Ah the joys of thrifting when you have no space for your newfound treasures.


Check out our other Posh Purpose thrift store finds!

Thrift Store Finds: Fort Myer Thrift Shop Part 1

This past weekend, I went with a couple of my girlfriends to the Fort Myer Thrift Shop.  I had been there once before when I was buying china for my wedding reception, but I didn't check out anything besides their dish section.  The Fort Myer Thrift Shop is unlike any other thrift shop I've seen...mostly because it's on a military base and you have to get your car searched for WMD's, bombs, and anything else that might be considered terrorist.  That's right, you have to pull over, get out, give them your license, let them search your trunk, engine, and interior as they write down your license plate number for record keeping.  Once you get past security, you drive around the base until you get to the back corner and park in some teeny spaces.

The thrift store is only open Tuesday-Thursday from 10:00 - 2:30 and the first Saturday of the month from 10-3.  Occasionally, the store will hold special hours on another Saturday especially around Christmas.  The thrift shop takes both donations and consignment, but only from military personnel and their families.  Since I don't fall into one of those categories, I can buy but I can't unload any of my own stuff there.  The thrift shop is actually housed in two buildings - the smaller of the two is called the Boutique and carries consignment goods which are usually higher priced, but also nicer quality goods.  You might find fine china, a fur coat, or a gold ring.  The Boutique also has some clothing, all the jewelry (both real and costume), and the nicer housewares.  The second building has tons of clothing, kid's clothing and toys, a whole room of housewares, a room of household linens (i.e. sheets, curtains, table linens, comforters, etc.), artwork, picture frames, and all the furniture.  The stores are run by a small staff and a group of volunteers and profits go toward community grants and scholarships for military families.

I found the prices to be significantly higher than Briana's thrift stores, but the quality was way better than the Goodwill I went to last week and I felt that the prices were on par with what I would expect from the D.C. area.  There was also a lot more selection at the Fort Myer Thrift Shop than what I've seen at any other place in D.C. so far.  The great thing about the consigned pieces is that each tag has two dates listed with automatic price drops.  Since the shop is open on such a limited schedule, you might be able to snag a great deal by just holding out a couple of weeks.  Also, the shop runs discounts and specials based on the volume of the type of item.  For example, they were running 2 for $1 on women's clothing tagged with red tags...which tended to be winter clothing.  One of the volunteers explained to me that donations don't usually tie to the correct season (for example, most people are donating winter clothes now, but we are headed into spring) so the thrift store will store them in their attic until the appropriate season and run specials at the end of the season.  Here are a few of the finds I spotted during my trip:

This settee has a horrid fabric choice, but the cushions and caning were in excellent condition and I love the shape.

$175

 This hanging light fixture has a great shape and the shade could be easily replaced.  If you didn't like the finish, it could be spray painted.

Price Unknown

 Super cute end table.  This one almost went home with me, but I wasn't 100% sure about the wavy bits; however, I have seen this style at Briana's Habitat store and I tend to gravitate towards it each time.  Unfortunately, Mr. 3 and I don't have the space or a storage unit to store any furniture and I would have had to give up something I already own to get this one.  There were actually two of these up for grabs.

$40 for each table...wooden squirrel not included.

I loved the unique legs on this table and I tried to talk one of my girlfriends into buying it (she needs a small table for her bedroom, but unfortunately, she needs one even smaller than this!).  This was the cheapest piece of furniture I saw while we were there.

$15

Love love love this headboard and foot board.  I like it how it is, but this would also be great painted white or with a darker stain.

$150 but 5/29 will be $112.50 and 6/18 and after $75

I thought this would be cute in a nursery, but originally at $38.75 it's a bit high (even if it is original artwork, signed, matted, and framed)...but this is a great example where the price has now dropped to $23.25!

$38.75 originally, 3/16 - $31, 3/31 - $23.25

I thought these wicker cups were adorable and came with real glass inserts.  I wasn't as crazy about the paper plate holders and they weren't priced.  However, you could definitely spray paint them a fun color for outdoor patio use.

$4 for 4 cups, plates not priced

 If you had a reaaaally long table, you could get this set of brass candelabra.  These were in excellent condition and caught my eye right away, but I have absolutely no use for them at this point in my life.  They also remind me a bit of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast.

$15 now, 5/18 -$12, 6/2- $9

I spotted these two Tiffany pieces in the Boutique store.  I was surprised to see Tiffany at a thrift shop and I had to flip them over to inspect them for stamps before I believed it.  While not exactly my taste, these were in great condition and would make lovely gifts...especially at these prices!

Pitcher: $45 now, 5/29 - $33.75, 6/18 - $22.50
Vase: $30 now, 5/29 - $22.50, 6/18 - $15

Such a pretty deviled egg platter!  This also almost came home with me, but I have a white ceramic one already.  For the price, this would make an excellent shower gift for a Southern bride.

$8.50 now, 4/16 - $6.38, 5/6 - $4.25

Now you've seen all the things I walked away from, but I'll be posting a second post with all my fun finds soon!

Posh Purpose DIY: Tea Party Favor

I hope you got a chance to read our How to Host: A Tea Party! and our tutorial on styling a low flower arrangement.  I wanted to share with you the super easy DIY favor I gave to the girls I invited over.  I wanted a cute tea party themed favor, but I also wanted to be something useful and also something that my friends probably didn't have.  I found these tea bag rests at World Market for $1.99 each and I had a 20% off coupon, so I got them for $1.59 each (plus tax) for a total of $7.95 (plus tax) for favors for 4 guests and myself.

I decided to glam them up a bit using some leftover Martha Stewart glass paint from my painted jewelry bowl project.  I laid down a bit of newspaper to protect my table and I cleaned up the tea rests with a bit of rubbing alcohol before washing them as well.  I drew the first initial for each girl in the center of the tea pot and then added gold details to the "pot."  I had a hard time getting some of the initials on and centered, but each time I just wiped the surface clean and started again (I waited until I had the letter placed perfected before decorating any other part of the tea rest).  I waited until the next day and then I put all the rests on a lined cookie sheet and baked them according the the Martha Stewart instructions to seal the paint.

I used the personalized tea rests to mark each girl's seat at her place setting.  Aren't they cute?

"A" is for my friend Amy!

Although I had a bit of difficulty getting the initials on straight and centered, it still only took me about 30 mins to decorate the 5 tea rests.  I'm extremely happy with how they turned out.  I'm even happier that my friends are actually using them!  I went over to one friend's house this weekend for dinner and saw that she was using it as a spoon rest on the coffee and tea station she has set up in her dining room.

Super easy, cheap, pretty, and useful...can't ask for more out of a favor!