Each and every one.

As I mentioned in a much prior post, our dishwasher in the old apartment stopped doing its thing so well. It was either the dishwasher or lack of really hot water or a combination of the two but after the baby was born things stated being really cloudy, and it wasn't just from lack of sleep {har har}. 

We got the hot water heater replaced but things still weren't great. Upon moving into our new place and getting a new dishwasher, I was hopeful, but realized that either 1} our glass-ware might be "etched" and the cloudiness could be permanent or 2} I'd have to do some serious scrubbing before I could reap the benefits of our more efficient dishwasher/hot water combination. I tried out hot water/white vinegar/baking soda on a few glasses early on and it seemed to improve things. Meanwhile, the rest of our glasses and plates, etc., remained shady and life got busy. Earlier today I soaked some clean things in that aforementioned concoction, then I hand washed them tonight and voila! {Or "voula" as a local dry-cleaner has painted on the side of their building...it gets me every.time...}...I can see clearly now!

Great success.

But, I think this means that every afflicted member of our kitchen "staff" needs some hands-on attention. Something that I can only predict will happen gradually.

Oh well! At least it ain't permanent and I don't have to break out the Barkeeper's friend {that stuff is pungent!}.
xoxo, natty ♥

Concessions.

For a long while, since I've been in charge of my own "household" I suppose, I've been really into "green" things and trying to save money. In that vein, I've always purchased the granola cleaning stuff {7th Generation, etc.} and used white vinegar/baking soda as a cleaner.

But. 

I started to use Tide for the baby's cloth diapers because that's what I had read does the best job. Then I purchased some blue Dawn dish soap in an effort to remove a stain.

And I'm a changed woman. This stuff works so dang well {better than the other things I was using} or at least I'm perceiving it to. As far as the money saving tips go, a lot of the "traditional" stuff is cheaper than the hippie stuff anyway. 

Have you gone back on any self-imposed "rules"? It actually feels wonderful to have things be really clean and easily-cleaned...go figure.
xoxo, natty ♥

Cloudy!

Back at our old apartment when our hot water heater stopped heating really well {February}, I noticed it partially because our dishes weren't as clean. Despite being fixed our glasses still didn't look fabulous. Being in a new place with nice hot water and a good powerful dishwasher I had high hopes for cleaner plates and bowls. But our glasses are still cloudy.

I did some research and it could be "etching" which is something that happens when there's soft water and too much detergent or some such thing...and it's permanent but I really hope it's not what happened with our glasses. I soaked a few in a vinegar/baking soda solution and then washed them but they don't look too improved. I've since left one in that solution for  few days now and hope that really makes a difference and then next I'll try Bartender's Friend which is a bit more powerful. Hopefully then all of our Pyrex and glasses won't look crummy.

Anyway, at the end of a boring blog post {since the rest of them are so riveting}, has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions out there?
xoxo, natty ♥

Artsy fartsy.

Today we enjoyed a slow morning at home, some more visiting family, a walk with my grandmother's dog, a quick dip in the pool {too cold! #bayareaproblems}, and walking around and arts/music festival downtown.

It was a good day and we're excited for the weekend ahead; meeting more people and some rising temperatures.
xoxo, natty ♥

Alma Mater.

The little one and I visited my old high school today, a.k.a. my first job after college and where I taught for six years. A place I find it hard to be away from.

And we had so much fun visiting and walking to get lunch!

What a lovely visit we're having so far, and how few pictures I'm posting as well! Hopefully more in the next few days will find their way up here.
xoxo, natty ♥

Hey-o hey-o hey-o.

We just put my stepmom on the curb at the airport and we're really sad about it so let's think of something good...

1. It's a gorgeous day out and we'll hopefully make it for a walk.

2. Our hot-water heater got replaced last week and there's a really nice handyman currently making some small much-needed repairs here and there...yippee for a new and functioning shower handle vs. just using pliers like we had been doing for way too long.

3. It's Marathon Monday! And a gorgeous day for the many runners out there slogging through 26.2 miles. One day maybe I'll be amongst them?

4. There's a long and somewhat shaggy dog on the couch next to me.

5. And a beautiful baby asleep {& probably ready to wake-up} in the other room..and she's mine!!

Hope your Monday is treating you well dear Reader.
xoxo, natty ♥

His voice.

I'm still taking full advantage of my amazing stepmom and grabbing moments here and there. A big thing I need to work on as a new mom is relaxation and some self-care...if I can't take care of myself then poor baby! And today's incarnation is the Tom Petty P@ndora station and some headphones. Ugh, I love Tom Petty.

In other news, our hot water heater is officially replaced; woo hoo! The poor thing had been struggling for several months now and what with being at the end of my pregnancy/having family in town/having a baby/getting horribly ill/having a  newborn to care for, it didn't get the attention it deserved until just now. Our dishes hadn't been as clean and showers were nowhere near as long as they could be. In fact, a big plan of mine for my labor {before it took an entire weekend plus a day and wasn't progressing...} was to do so in a hot shower here at home before transitioning to the birth center. Our hot water lasted about ten minutes up until last night so that plan went out the window. We can also start cloth diapering {because I need something else with which to preoccupy myself these days} since prior the washer wouldn't have been hot enough to do the job well enough.

Do you feel wonderful when you get household things taken care of Reader? I {acceptingly} imagine this feeling won't be coming too often for yours truly these days, what with some far more important {& adorable!} work taking precedence.

Happy weekend!
xoxo, natty ♥

Oh to have a garden!

I love the New Year. Even though it's chilly and the days are short, it just feels SO good to get back to normal life and routines after the hullabaloo of the holidays. Getting things de-cluttered and a bit more organized is one of my favorite things to do and in that vein I'm looking forward to getting our apartment clean and in order in the next few days.

Something else I think about, even though we live in an apartment, is what I would like to plant this spring. I know that it's really and truly hard {and sore-muscle-inducing!} work but also that it's rewarding to have a few rows of vegetables to brighten my day and the idea of our very own garden gets more and more ideal to me each year.

I think my garden style would be fairly clean-cut and organized {think: rows of vegetables that have labels [♥!] in a dedicated corner of the yard} but I saw something this past fall that I would love to add to any yard we might have.

A tree face! A dash of whimsy! That and a few hummingbird feeders, bird baths, and an owl box {if any ever decide to come to our place}. I think it'd also be nice to have another little corner where I can let some plants run wild and that's where I'd like to put a butterfly garden, one that has blooms and blossoms that attract those winged creatures.

Do you have any garden dreams Reader? I know some of you HAVE your own; are you plotting {no pun intended} your spring plantings already?
xoxo, natty ♥