the blog

It is a daily struggle to keep our kitchen clean. I'm a messy cook by nature but we also eat most meals at home and I make most things from scratch so you know that means our sink works overtime. There are days when I clean in out just to start over but all this means I sure do appreciate a clean sink when I can get it.  I've used about every "sink scrub" out there and they're all fine. I would say most are effective but the scents are either limited or down right offensive or they're over all...

I have used just about every cleaner ever made… all the smells, all the chemicals, all the “not chemicals.” I cleaned as a job. In college, I even had the most random job of supervising the dorm bathroom cleaners which once meant going to Walmart and literally purchasing just about every cleaning product available (using a university owned credit card!)  to see what could best purify and sanitize the nasty shared dorm showers. All this to say: while my house is never quite spotless, I know a few things about cleaners.  I am still just as enamored with my beloved...

I have a tendency to collect. Not just all the things, but little collections that make me so very happy. You already know about the books and the room I’ve made for all the books. I probably have also held on to a few more sets of dishes than I should (someday I will have a dish panty!) But this other one might be a little lesser known. I love little pitchers! Some are technically “creamers” but they can serve so many purposes and I seriously use them all the time.  This is why I’m so exited to offer these...

This story is going to be way too long and not nearly interesting enough (how is that for a strong hook?) and there won't even be a true before picture and the after is probably even anxiety inducing for some of you but let’s walk through this all together because we’re going somewhere that matters. We'll walk away with the two most simple keys to dig out of your own Monica Closet. But first, let's begin a few weeks ago as our neighborhood planned a yard sale. I didn’t commit at first because  Yard sales are notoriously more work than...

I can still remember the very first candle we ordered. It was for our Christmas Market and I blindly selected the scent from one of our big suppliers hoping it would be good. I didn’t know quite as much back then as I do now about what goes into candles; then the name of the scent and availability were top and only priorities. But regardless of my ignorance, we always sold out. The next year we had a bigger Christmas Market and offered two scents. I even lit one that day and filled the whole room with the most magical...