Leslie Loves...{1.05}

I apologize for the delay in this "Leslie loves..." post. I was traveling for work last week, loving on Baby Nais over the weekend {pics coming soon!}, and then I was sick earlier this week {fever, achiness, painful cough, feel-sorry-for-me icky sickness}...those are my excuses. It makes my heart happy that you missed my posts, but I promise I will do my best to stay on schedule going forward! Without further delay...

    

Erin Condren Stationery

I’d seen several Instagram posts about Erin Condren’s fabulous life planners, but I wasn't really in the market for a planner because I tend to rely on my Outlook calendar to run my life. However, the bright colors and fun designs of everything associated with Erin Condren kept catching my attention and finally drew me to her website. Given my Year of Gratitude project, I've always got my eye out for pretty stationery.  I fell in love with the paisley folded greeting card, so I had to get some of my own.

How cute is this stationery?
AND...how cute is my new last name?!!?

{Sorry for the terrible photo, but...}
it comes all neatly packed in this cute little clutch.
So F.U.N!

The paper is thicker {130 lb. cardstock, I think} than standard stationery sets, and it is a matte finish so your ink doesn’t run or smudge. This is good stuff. Click here to create an account and get a coupon for $10 off your first purchase!

Miz Mooz “West” Boots

Regular: $259.95  Now: $149.90

I ordered these boots last summer during the Nordstrom anniversary sale {the current sale price is better than my “sale” price…just sayin’!}, but then I forgot about them. They got lost amongst a bunch of other boxes in the “wedding room” {i.e. disaster area}.  It was an awesome surprise when I found them one day while sorting through duplicate wedding gifts. It happened to be freezing cold that day, so I put them on to wear right then and there. Although I don’t exactly remember telling Ryan I’d ordered something and then forgotten about it {who in their right mind would tell her husband that?!!?}, the following conversation took place a couple of weeks later:

Kelli: “I love those boots, Les! Are they new?”

Leslie: “Thanks!  Yeah, they’re new…I ordered them from Nordstrom.”

Ryan: “WELL…they’re not that new.  She lost them for several months, but now that she’s found them, she wears them every single day!”

Leslie: “WHAT? I do NOT wear them every day!”

Ryan: “I’m just saying you’ve gotten a lot of good use out of them the last couple of weeks…”

{sidenote: Kelli has since acquired a pair of the boots, and I’m sure she’d give them a “buy” recommendation as well!}

After that, I had it set in my head that I wasn’t going to wear the boots for awhile.  I didn’t want to be “that girl” who {seemingly} wears the same pair of shoes every single day.  That lasted for…oh…about three days!  I can’t keep these boots off my feet!  It seems like they go perfectly with every outfit I want to wear.  The wedge heel…it’s perfect…it gives you a little bit of height, but it’s still C.O.M.F.O.R.T.A.B.L.E. to wear all.day.long. 

Ok, I know it is {hopefully} nearing the end of boot season…but these boots are 40% off! Do yourself a favor and buy them now. I’m telling you, you’re going to regret it if you don’t. You’ll be mad at yourself next year when you want a new pair of tall boots and every pair you like is $250++.

P.S. They also come in black. 

Dustbuster

Black & Decker CHV9610
Cordless Hand Vac

Go ahead…laugh a little because you think I’ve reverted back to 1988 in saying that I LOVE a Dustbuster. It is kinda funny, I get it…but in the words of Rachael, “it’s life-changing!” {more on that later}. By the way, I don’t think they refer to it as a Dustbuster anymore…I think the current term is hand vac…but in my world it will always be a Dustbuster. And since this blog is my world…you got it…it’s a Dustbuster!

I asked for a Dustbuster for Christmas in 2012. At the time, I was telecommuting and staying in Kansas with Ryan two weeks per month and he didn't really love having my hair all over his bathroom.  Although most people thought I was silly to have a Dustbuster on my Christmas list, Ryan’s incredible mom came through for me.  A-MAZing Christmas gift!  Not only does this little dude get rid of all my hair from the bathroom sink and counter-area {Ick! I know!}, but you can vacuum the stairs with it, clean up messes in the kitchen {which seem to occur the moment I even step into that room}, suck up dead bugs you don’t want to touch…the possibilities are endless.  It’s a cleaning machine! 

Miss Rachael may have been one of my biggest critics when I put the DustBuster at the top of my wishlist {or perhaps she just likes to make fun of me on occasion}…but guess who asked for a DustBuster for Christmas in 2013?!!?

I think this adorable lil mess-maker may have had something to do with Rachael needing an instant clean-up tool...

Lil Midget Max...perhaps a bit ornery!

The Gonzalez family bought a new house with wood floors and tile throughout most of it. Apparently the dustbuster is a bit more efficient than mopping an entire room. I'm guessing that's why she claims, "it's life-changing!"

I realize the dustbuster isn't a revolutionary new product that I'm introducing to you for the first time...I just wanted to remind you there may be an easier/quicker way to clean a small space than busting out the ba-zillion dollar Dyson vacuum.  

Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt

I mentioned above that I was sick earlier in the week, so I feel like I need to give a bit of "Leslie loves..." attention to a product that made me feel a little better, or at least eased the achiness in my muscles. We happened to already have this on hand at the house {the husband may have had some achy muscles after skiing in Colorado a couple of weeks ago}, so I decided to give it a try.  I soaked in it for about 20 minutes, and I can honestly say I felt less achy when I got out of the bath.  My skin was also noticeably softer. Oh...and the scent...it smells so fresh and clean, and it doesn't fade the moment the salts dissolve.  

I think Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt is available at most stores.  We got it at Tom Thumb, the grocery store.  I saw it online at Target, Amazon, Drugstore.com, etc. The links in this post go to Ulta because that's where I noticed it is the cheapest...$4.99. At that price, you can't afford not to try it if you have sore muscles and need to relax!

Did you know you can also use epsom salt to help prevent dark denim jeans from fading? You should always wash the jeans inside-out to prevent fading {and avoid putting them in the dryer}, but you can also add 1 cup of epsom salt to the regular wash cycle the first few times you wash the jeans to help "set" the dye in the fabric. I'm not sure I'd use the Dr. Teal's scented epsom salt for this purpose, but I just thought I'd share this tidbit of info while I was on the topic.      


Next week I've got a follow-up recommendation from Arnold Beam for a lower-cost long-lasting lip color {see last week's "Leslie loves..." post}.  Stay tuned!