Gorilla Dust Bunnies & an Apron Giveaway

(Scroll to the end of this post to see the winner of January's blog giveaway & to read about February's prize.)

For all the years I worked a corporate job and reared our children I fantasized about working from home for many reasons, not the least of which was the time I'd have to keep a perfectly clean house.

Back in those days I depended on some sort of inspiration ~ relatives coming for a visit, parties, a neighbor calling to say she was stopping by in 20 minutes ~ to motivate me to clean the house.

Today, the kids are long grown up and gone.  I'm working from home and crazy-busy sewing.  And amusing myself with taking these goofy pictures!  Our house is nowhere close to sparkling clean because the dust bunnies seem to have grown into gorillas.

I really love a clean house, but I haven't been disiplined enough to keep it as clean as I'd like.  I needed a plan. 

Look what I found:

  

For two weeks now I've been following this schedule, modified a bit, and my house is super clean.  Not sparkling yet (jeez, if I typed that I'm sure lightening would've struck!).  Instead of spending an entire day cleaning, I'm finding doing a bit every week day is much more manageable.

So seeing that it's Tuesday again, I'm off now to dust.  Just as soon as I finish browsing Pinterest and surfing other sites for new crafting projects I'll probably never make!

In case you need a bit of cleaning inspiration, I'm offering the sweet apron I'm wearing in these pictures for my February blog giveaway:

For a chance to win this "Cleaning Cutie" Retro Revival apron I made, do one or all of these things (each one counts as an entry so the more you do, the more chances you have to win):

• Mention my giveaway on your blog
• Share this giveaway info on your Facebook page
• Pin any of my pictures on this post to Pinterest

Leave me a comment telling me what you've done so that I can verify.  I'll draw the winner on February 29th ~ good luck!

Oops!  Almost forgot to announce the winner of January's giveaway...

Congratulations to Missy Shay from Missy's Homemaking Adventures!  Random generator chose you!  Please email me at sales@RetroRevival.Biz with your address so I can send you your prize (the little flying piggie).

 

A Practical & Pretty Cure for My Back Ache

This vintage photo really captures my thoughts as I iron.  Poor, poor, pitiful me!

I happen to iron a LOT as I sew my aprons and it literally gives me a back ache!  Like in this picture, my ironing board was much shorter than me, and I found myself bending over awkwardly.

Tired of my aching back, I finally got a clue and bought a new board.  And it's awesome!  YES, I am blogging about my ironing board, don't judge me:)

Instead of the usual 32", this sucker stands up to 39"!  I no longer have to bend while ironing - woo hoo!  And it's wider than normal boards!

Because I iron so much, I need to wash the cover every couple of weeks.  Unfortunately, I washed the cover (cold water and air dried), and it shrank.  Dang it!  So I bought another one ~ same one actually because it was the only one I could find to fit my wider board ~ and of course, I've been afraid to wash it, knowing it'll shrink!

Ta dah!  I discovered CityChicCountryMouse on Etsy.  They make gorgeous ironing board covers!

Looky, looky, how pretty!

I bought two so that when one's in the wash, I can still iron:

CityChicCountryMouse, owned by mother-daughter team Jamie (daughter, the City Chic) and Carmen (mother, the Country Mouse), really have eyes for THE most dazzling fabrics.  They specialize in sewn items designed to make household chores more cheerful, fun and lovely.

(Carmen & Jamie.  Photo courtesy SLGdesigns)

Carmen and Jamie's joint venture began after Carmen handed down her old sewing machine to Jamie.  From there, a beautiful business blossomed and they have filled over 1,500 orders on Etsy (they also sell wholesale)!  Ironing board covers, oven mitts, hot pads and sewing machine covers are just a few examples of what they offer ~ their treasure trove of sewing and craft studio, laundry and kitchen essentials are guaranteed to bring cheery beauty to everyday tasks.  I do hope you'll visit their shop and check out their blog at http://citychiccountrymouse.blogspot.com/.

Back ache cured, I'm off to do some more ironing!

Please share your comments with me ~ LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hearing from you! ~ and you're entered to win this month's blog giveaway, a Retro Revival shower cap of your choice.

I'll draw the winner on April 30th.  Good luck!