How to Beat the Blooming on your Hunters...

Hi All! As promised here is my quick tutorial on how to beat the blooming when it comes to your Hunter boots. I got my black Hunter Original Wellies from Nordstrom in spring of 2010. When I pulled them out of the box to wear in fall of 2010 they were WHITE!  I tried several remedies from the internet to remove the white powdery looking stuff (olive oil, hot water, scrubbing, shampoo, etc..). They worked for 5 minutes, and then the blooming always came back, and worse! That is until I tried this little remedy... :)
*Make sure you are in a well ventilated room when doing this little project.* I prefer my guest bathroom. You will need a bathtub for rinsing, and in there I can just open the window, turn the fan on, and no one really goes in there. :)

First:  I borrowed my friend Genevieve's navy blue Hunter Original Wellies to do the job.

Before. 

You will need a microfiber cloth, an old bath towel, Mötsenböcker's LIFT OFF remover (you can find this at your local hardware store), and Armor All wipes.

Start with a half dollar sized amount of remover on rag...

Wipe fast because this stuff dries quickly!

I like to put my whole arm in the boot, so I can really put some "elbow grease" into it, and press firmly while I'm wiping the sides of the boot.

After the first coat the boot should look something like this...

Rinse them under the bathtub in warm water, and dry them with the old bath towel.

Repeat the first steps again, and after drying the boot a second time it should look about like this.

Next, wipe the boot down with one Armor All wipe.

Can we tell a difference? One down, and one to go! 

 After! 

(I put them next to my black boots, so you didn't think I did a switch on you!)

The glossiness will wear down after a few times wearing them, or you dull them by wiping them down with an old bath towel a few times.  Good luck! :)

~Betsy

Friends and Cinnamon Rolls...

 

Every now and then you come across something that you eat that you can actually claim is the best of it's kind you've ever eaten. I have made the BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten... Well, made them with a lot of help from my dear friends who actually know how to bake. ;)  My friends Damaris, Genevieve, and I have been getting together every now and then to make The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls (aka.The Best Cinnamon Rolls on the Planet.) Now I needed the girls again to help me bake some for a sweet friend who could use them right now. 

The Pioneer Woman rocks, and if you have never read her blog it's awesome! A word of advice though... NEVER read this blog hungry! She is hilarious, has the best recipes, and one of them happen to be her cinnamon rolls. She is known for these things, and you'll definitely know why! They take awhile to make (especially when you make a quadruple batch like we did), so I would recommend having friends help you out. Plus, it's just more fun! The ingredients for the maple frosting has coffee in it! Yep! It's strait from heaven... Well, I guess if your religious beliefs allow you to have coffee; Mine does, so I'll take a bucket full of frosting. YUM! We only bake one pan, and wrap rest of the cinnamon roll dough to freeze for mornings to come. It takes about 3-4 hours to make all of these, so we started early. It's totally worth the effort when you can just grab a pan out of the freezer on a Saturday morning, or give them out to the neighbors. Now call some good friends and get to rolling some dough!  Happy Baking! ~Betsy  :)

Damaris and Genevieve 

L O N G cinnamon roll dough! 

(Please excuse the mess. There is method to the madness :)

Panning them up! 

Filling up the counter top!

Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

Yummy!

Big Boots, Little Boots...

 It may sound like a Dr. Suess book, but it's actually the caption for this picture of me and The Misses. It's one of my new favorite pictures, because her little feet next to mine make me smile. 

                           ~Betsy :)

PS. I have a sure fire way to get the "blooming" off of your Hunter boots FOREVER! Check back soon for my tutorial. I just need to borrow a friends boots to clean for pics. I cleaned my boots in fall of 2010 and they have never needed it again! :) 

Champagne Tanning on a Beer Budget...

Hi All! It's been a crazy week around here so I disappeared off the blog-o-sphere for awhile, but I'm back to check in! A week or so ago, Friend gave me a few packs of Comodynes Urban Cosmetics Self Tanning Towelettes to try. The cost is about $47 for a 30 pack of towelettes, so I was excited to try this "champagne" tanning on my "beer" budget!  Now those of you who know me, know that I am addicted a huge fan of self tanner! I have tried some good ones that have worked great for me (Jergens Natural Glow, Loreal Sublime Bronze), and I have tried some not so great ones that have turned me a little orange (Neutrogena). I do think that the color you get from self tanner has very much to do with your body chemistry, therefore getting good results for some people and not others. Streaking and blotching though is just always BAD! *cough cough Coppertone*

Anyway, I used the two Comodynes Urban Cosmetics Intensive and Uniform Color towelettes over 2 days, and they are AWESOME! First off, they don't at ALL smell like self tanner. Now I've tried others that have claimed this, and you can always smell the self tanner a little bit. Not with these little things though! They swipe on super easy, and one large towelette was enough for me, but I am petite. If you are taller it may take two. When the towelette was very wet out of the package; I did one long swipe down each arm and leg then blended in as the towelette dried. They didn't leave me sticky at all, and my legs were moisturized enough for right out of the shower.  The results: Love Love Love them! ~Betsy

*Note: To be fair, I have also seen the sun this summer. :)

Model Family...

Ha Ha Ha!! That's the joke of the year! We did do a little photo shoot yesterday though.  We were asked to sit in as "family" for an ad for a new Audiosource surround sound speaker bar. We did a shoot with our good friends Matt and Gen, and one of our families will be chosen, but we don't know who yet. You won't even get to see our faces, but "family movie night" will be up on display in a Fred Meyer coming to you! LOL!

The best part of the whole thing is that the photographer was nice enough to walk down to the park with us, and take a few family pics for us to keep. It was fun! We chose to do one nice family pose, and a few silly pics. Which will surely make my mother happy...or NOT! Which may have included one of us walking on a crosswalk like the Beatles Abby Road album, and another one as a silly shadowed profile.We'll just have to see how those work out, but I'm hoping we got a few good pictures. We haven't had professional photos taken since Katie has been here. Fingers crossed! 

Today, I have to take two rowdy kids back-to-school shopping. I think I would rather have a root canal, but it has to be done. I have put it off long enough. Here's to Godspeed and swift shopping!

          ~Betsy

Loving the Luster...

Do you ever whiten your teeth? If so, What do you use? I always have used Crest White Strips when whitening my teeth. They work great, but make my teeth so sensitive that I have to take Advil to squash to pain. Sometimes it would make my teeth sensitive for 2 days or more, which stinks when you drink as much ice water and coffee as I do! When I was asked to try Luster Premium White 1 hour LED whitening treatment, I was excited. It boasts NO sensitivity after treatment, so I have to admit that I was skeptical. I have even tried whitening for sensitive teeth, they still made my teeth hurt, and my opinion is that they don't seem to whiten as well. Oh well, here goes nothing!

After completing the 1 hour treatment I'm impressed! My teeth whitened 5 shades (based on their shade guide), and the best part is NO sensitivity afterwards! Score! You have the try this stuff! :)

After

Please excuse the "natural" look. I did it first thing in the morning after my run. The instructions said to wait 24 hours before drinking coffee, so I had no choice but to do it first thing. Priorities people! :) 

             ~Betsy

Friday Loves

Here's what I have been loving this week!

I can't tell you how much I am obsessed with this seasoning. I put it on everything these days! Sprinkle it on your veggies too. TRUST ME!

I tried this little product this week, and am done with whitening strips for good! More on this later. :)

Peanut butter and Honey Sandwiches

Yep! That's right! I'm off the Better n' Butter train!  It's great to cook with, but I got tired of the taste of it in my sandwiches. Bring on the Costco sized tub! I'm off the wagon, and loving every bite! Oh, how I've missed you peanut butter. 

Lucky Brand "Ellena" Booties

Appearing in my closet this fall! ;)

Pontoon- Little Big Town

I have been addicted to this song since June. It makes me laugh because my parents have a pontoon. I need a BOAT, especially with the hot weather we've been having lately. I love it! 

Have a great weekend Yall! I'm going camping again! It's going to be a hot one!

                           ~Betsy

Booty Barre Anyone??

Booty Barre

Have you taken a Booty Barre class yet? My sister-in-law owns her own fitness studio, and she is just a walking fitness inspiration. She always looks amazing, and has amazing strength even though she has a thin yoga physique. Anyway, she starting having Booty Barre classes at her studio, and they are SO fun! It's a blend of Pilates and cardio done mainly at the bar. It will totally kick your rear hind quarters! I used muscles that I never use! It was awkward for me, but the magic happens outside your comfort zone! If I could have walked the next day; I would have taken another class, because I liked it that much. I need to see about finding a local Booty Barre class here in Portland. :) Try it! You'll see!

            ~Betsy

Back to School already!?!?!

Crud, It's time for back to school shopping already! This year is the first year that I am back to school shopping for TWO kids instead of just my son. Yep! It's The Misses first year of preschool this year. This being said, I am trying to lesson the blow to the bank account by shopping a little bit at a time over the next month or so. My kids are 6 years apart in age, so I spent a long time only shopping for boys clothing. Now I get excited to get to shop for girls back to school stuff too! I am a little bit of a dork in the sense that I like to dress The Misses up like me. This totally explains why I bought these for her back to school. Mommy has a grown up pair that she is constantly putting on, but they are as tall is she is so she can't walk in them at all. I tried to buy these for her last year, but Hunter boots run big, so they didn't fit. I can't wait to see her face when she sees her new boots! Now we can match in style during the long, rainy winter months around here. She's such a big girl, and she's going to look SO cute! These were a fun little purchases, but now the rest of her school clothes will probably be bought from Target or Children's Place. Let's be real.  Now on to the boys shoes... :)

Toddler Hunter Original Wellies 

 Nordstrom $60

They'll look cute with her toddler Joe's skinny jeans.

Saks Fifth Avenue $49

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

Sandpoint, Idaho

Where in the Sam hell have I been???  Well, I may have forgotten to post for all of you readers (aka my mom and Friend) that I was heading to north Idaho. The Hubs family lives up there, and I took the kids to hang out with the family for awhile. We had a great time! Here's a view from the condo we stayed at. It was lovely.

Now... Back to the real world!  We got home late evening on Sunday, and Monday morning I felt like someone had shot me out of a cannon! At least I got to have a cup of coffee and take the dog for a morning walk before the kids woke up to start giving me grief from sun up to sun down. I was damn near in tears by the end of the day yesterday. Those of you who know me, will know that this is not the norm. 

Somewhere between Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and Portland, The Misses forgot to learn how to use the toilet without going in her pants first, and R forgot his manners, thoughtfulness, patience, and overall good attitude. It made for a pretty crummy day here in the household. They have just been a hoot to have around the house, and since a bad attitude is contagious like the flu, I totally lost it by the end of the day. 

I have started a new book, and it's a memoir by David Sedaris called Dressing Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. It's hilarious so far! It takes place in the late 60's early 70's in North Carolina. Anyway, at one point in the book his mother was so fed up with he and his sister's behavior, she kicked them out of the house to play in the snow and locked the door! She left them out there until dusk while she sat inside alternating between glasses of wine and coffee while reading her book. Well, times have changed. These days you would get into big trouble for doing that, but I really thought that it sounded like a good idea yesterday. ;)

Today is a new day, and I can do this!  Here is the link to a great Huffington Post article that I read yesterday thanks to a good friend posting it on Facebook. I really could relate to it, and I think all moms of young kids can to. It's a great read, and it was a Godsend for me yesterday.  :)   ~Betsy

Deep Thoughts by Betsy

Welcome to the world of some of my random thoughts this week.  Inspired by Jack Handy...

Why can't I ever find rubber bands for my hair when I need them? When I don't need them I seem to constantly be picking them up everywhere!

I should be less judgmental sometimes... or all the time.

Why is it Murphy's Law of the grocery store that whenever I am in a rush,  I  will inevitably get in line behind the person least in a hurry. Conspicuous...

TEAM USA!!!

I need to run today.

I hate my hair these days. It may be getting time to hack it.

I love self tanner. Giving me color since 2006. Ha!

I want to get a dog again. At this minute in time... It would be nice to have a running partner!

Okay, enough with the Olympics already. I'm starting to miss Ellen... I guess I'll just watch Bravo...

Yay! Sunshine!

This We Need to Talk About Kevin book has gotten even more eerie after the theater shooting in Colorado.

Yay! I'm getting my hair cut next Thursday!! Woohoo! :)

I can't believe it's August 1st already! Wow!

If I could marry one food, it would be COFFEE!

OMG! I love the show Anger Management! I'm sorry, but Charlie Sheen is funny. I don't care that he's a total mess. He makes me laugh!

FRUIT FLIES!!!! UGH!!!

I love being an Auntie!! It's super fun! BIG smiles! :)

I want a big roasted marshmallow for breakfast.

Maybe instead of working out, I should just have the girls meet me at Ikea...

SO sick of composting!!!!! Damn city rules! Yuck!

Yay! 95 degrees this weekend! I need to find some water... and a boat... and some money to buy the boat...

~Betsy

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner...

It's Post Time!! Can you hear the trumpets?  When was the last time you went to the horse races? For us, it had been about 4 years!  When I heard that the horses were back at Portland Meadows I really wanted to go.  As I looked into it, I saw that Sundays at the track were family day, and I was totally in!  You would be surprised at what a family affair good old fashioned horse betting can be! (Insert Parent of the Year Award here :) On Sundays from 1pm-5pm Portland Meadows has live horse racing, coloring contest, balloon animals, junk food, and lots of playtime outside waiting for post time. Our kids had a great time!  We let them pick a name for us to bet on, so they could be involved, and they thought that was fun. As for our luck, we won some, we lost some, but we lost more than we won. Papa's Flying Angel was Mama's big winner of the day, and it was a pretty fun day. I would totally recommend taking the kids if you get the chance. After all, everywhere you go you pay for the entertainment, and often have nothing to show for it. At least at Portland Meadows you have the opportunity to have "lady luck" pay you a visit. Example: We spent $50 to go to The Oregon Zoo on Saturday, and didn't have squat to show for it either! LOL!