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Keeping Clean with bObsweep PetHair

September 1, 2016 by jessica 4 Comments

Home purchases are becoming more abundant ’round these parts as we continue to get rid of our transitional furniture and invest in nicer items with a future home purchase in mind. In fact, we’re planning to finally order a king-size mattress and frame this weekend! So, you can imagine how excited I was when bObsweep reached out with an opportunity to try the bObsweep PetHair, a robotic vacuum cleaner that’s akin to having a live-in maid who vacuums, sweeps, mops, and UV sterilizes the floors.

As any pet owner knows, keeping up with hair and dander is a seems like a never-ending chore. (How Bacon manages to shed as much as he does without going bald is a miracle.) And, if we’re being brutally honest, I’m not as good at staying on top of my vacuum duties as I probably should be. (#RealLife) This is exactly why I was thrilled to invite the robot affectionately known as “Bob” into our lives.

Bob arrived with a little birth certificate to announce his arrival. (He wasn’t exactly a petite newborn at 7.6 pounds and 4.2 inches tall!) After letting the the little guy fully charge overnight, he was ready for action. He seemed a little scatterbrained buzzing around our living room and bumping into just about everything, but he began to learn the placement of items and would adjust his trajectory as he continued through our apartment. Honestly, I wasn’t sure he was doing much at first and we laid down a pile of crumbs (rather, a smashed goldfish cracker) to see if he could sweep it up. There’s a setting that forces him to spot clean one area and yet he struggled with the larger pieces. Overall, though, he did a great job with pet hair (as promised), dust, and the fibers my rug doesn’t seem to stop shedding. (We actually had to empty the dustbin five times during his 20-minute excursion because of how much stuff he was picking up. I realize that makes me sound like a bad housekeeper.)

When Bob starts get tuckered out and only has 15% of his battery remaining, the vacuuming component shuts down and he begins to search for his docking station. We didn’t heed the instructions and had placed the docking station in the middle of the room, which makes it harder for Bob to locate. Out of pity, I picked him up and set him on a course to make a beeline for his dock … which he missed. Afterward, we read that picking him up screws up his internal map. Oops. Placing the docking station parallel to a wall with plenty of open space around it makes it easier for Bob to take a break.

Overall, it seems that Bob will be best at keeping up with daily or weekly chores. We’ve actually set a timer for Bob to get to work at 9:00 on Saturday mornings so we can lounge around enjoying brunch while he picks up after us! You can adopt a bObsweep of your own at www.bobsweep.com.

I was giving Bacon so many treats (enough to take the place of his dinner) to get him acclimated to Bob and he was doing so well … until I turned it on. As you’ll see below, Bacon wolfed down the last of his morsels before making a mad dash in the opposite direction. He eventually warmed up enough to tolerate the bObsweep PetHair as long as he was on a perch looking down on it with plenty of room to bolt if Bob got too close.

Rug: West Elm
Coffee Table: West Elm (it’s the raw mango version)
Book: Styled by Emily Henderson
Vacuum: c/o bObsweep PetHair

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Thanks to bObsweep for partnering on this post!

A monthly chocolate delivery? Yes, please!

August 3, 2016 by jessica 2 Comments

If there’s one way to a girl’s heart, it’s through the sweetest subscription box yet: Chococurb. As you may suspect, Chococurb is a monthly chocolate delivery featuring a selection of gourmet chocolates from around the world. You can choose from a full-size box with five to seven treats for $35 per month, a mini box with three selections for $20, or the nano box with sample-size pieces for just $10. As with most subscription boxes, you’ll save money by signing up for multiple months at once.

I was delighted to get my chocolate fix with Chococurb’s nano box in July. The box arrived inside a small Styrofoam cooler with an ice pack to protect the chocolate from the summer heat. (Sidebar: I’m not terribly keen on Styrofoam for environmental reasons, but Madison does have a recycling program for the product and, if we’re being honest, chocolate is a hard product to mail without an insulation.) Nestled inside were four small samples of different brands of chocolate and one full bar. Selections change each month and while this box was comprised of all milk chocolate pieces, they varied in flavors and places of origin. There was a chocolate-covered cake batter candy from Seattle, one infused with coffee from the Bay Area, and yet another with ginger from Belgium (an especially fun surprise given that I had purchased Dolfin chocolate when I was in Brussels a couple of years ago). My favorite was a decadent bar of milk chocolate with a hint of vanilla from Madagascar.

I’ve been a hard one to impress when it comes to subscription boxes, but I’m totally on board with Chococurb. It’s a great way to try different high-quality chocolate brands at a relatively low investment of $10 per month. Heck, you would probably spend that much on two venti drinks from Starbucks in a month, and I promise that chocolate is more satisfying! And if you’re craving more, visit their blog for all things chocolate.

Save 10% off orders through Sept. 4, 2016 with code BEDKNOBS.

Cocktail Hour: Pineapple Punch

July 6, 2016 by jessica 4 Comments

If there’s one thing I love about summer, it’s the excuse to sit outside with a tropical cocktail in hand — and it’s especially fun with a few colorful outdoor linens to liven up an otherwise humdrum patio, like this indoor/outdoor tablecloth and these punchy napkins from JCPenney’s summer collection. They’re the perfect complement to a pineapple-based drink for a sweltering summer day. Read on for the recipe!

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces of white rum
2 ounces of pineapple juice
.5 ounces of orange juice
sprig of mint
a few dashes of Bittermens ‘Elemakule Tiki Cocktail Bitters (perfect for any Tiki drink, really)
squeeze of lime

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice
Shake vigorously
Pour over ice (preferably an oversize cube or pineapple-shaped ice if you’re feeling fancy)
Garnish with blueberries speared by a pineapple frond and a wedge of pineapple

Tablecloth: c/o JCPenney
Napkins: c/o JCPenney
Glasses: Target

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Thanks to JCPenney for partnering on this post!

Popsugar Must Have Box Review :: June 2016

July 1, 2016 by jessica 2 Comments

Subscription boxes are typically hit or miss. Most hold up on their end of the deal to provide items above and beyond the price paid for the box, but some fall short on offering items that you’ll actually want to use. So, when POPSUGAR offered to send a June Must Have Box over, I jumped at the chance to evaluate the goodies first-hand. First things first, the practical information: the monthly box comes in at $39.95 and promises a value of over $100 in full-size products. It’s not a bad deal if you love getting surprises in the mail, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by the variety of products in the June box:

Hat Attack Neutral Diamonds-Printed Sarong ($58): I love the neutral print on this lightweight sarong. It pairs perfectly with my favorite beach items.
Sisters of Los Angeles “Cheers” Gold Bottle Opener ($12): You all know I’m a huge beer geek and this is perfect for me, even though we already have far too many bottle openers!
Wild and Wolf Ridley’s Games Room “Who Am I?” Quiz ($12.95): This is a “guess who” game where you read off the clues to see if others can figure out who you’re referring to. At first blush, they seem to be mostly actors, actresses, and singers, so I don’t think I’ll fare well!
NCLA Born on the 4th Nail Lacquer (16): This color was created exclusively for POPSUGAR. It’s a red, silver, and blue confetti that’s just itching to be layered over my white manicure for the holiday weekend.
Knock Knock Are You Ready (For Your Close-Up?) Compact ($10): This little compact is awfully durable. I’m going to toss it in my beach bag for seaside touch-ups.
Pacifica Underarm Deodorant Wipes ($9): These wipes can neutralize underarm odor for hours with an aluminum-free formula. I haven’t used them yet, but it’s another item worth keeping in the beach bag.
Pressels Sriracha ($1.29): Eh. I like spicy items, but this fell short. They’re pretty bland.

Would I order a box for myself in the future? Probably. I loved how the items worked seamlessly together and created an experience perfect for a game night on the patio. I’m also thrilled to have the exclusive nail color in my collection and I’ve already used the sarong as a pool cover-up. Curious about the July box? Get it here and use code Use coupon code MUSTHAVE5 to save $5 off your first box. Still unsure? They typically spill the beans on the most valuable item before the the end of the sign-up period, so keep your eye on their Instagram.

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Thanks to POPSUGAR for partnering on this post!

Decor Dreams: Dining Room

June 13, 2016 by jessica 4 Comments

As you may remember, last week Dave and I were faced with a difficult to decision: put a pin in the house hunt and renew our lease for another year or roll the dice and hope we find a house before the end of June so that closing lined up with the last day of our current lease. After long discussions about our options (and taking into account your thoughtful words of advice), we decided to sign our lease for another year and start looking again in a few months. And it’s a good thing, too. Nothing came on the market last week that even piqued our curiosity. As some of you pointed out, we’d probably find ourselves settling on a house and compromising on our must-haves with that kind of pressure. I think it’s the right decision, but I can’t say I’m not disappointed. I was looking forward to finally ditching our weird transitional furniture and hand-me-down pieces in favor of things that actually fit our aesthetic. We’ve waited to do so because we we wanted to buy furniture that would fit in the rooms of our eventual house. Now, we’ll just go in the opposite direction and make sure we buy a home with rooms that can accommodate our things.

I’m antsy to start working on the dining area. I’ve had the image above pinned as my main source of dining room inspiration for over a year now. I love the mix of traditional and modern furniture that creates a sophisticated space. I’m using the table and chairs as my jumping off point, as you’ll see below, but I’m going in a direction that’s less Scandinavian.