So fresh and so clean clean

y philosophy is- Every detail counts. I always want to buy stuff that are well-designed and beautiful, even if it's a bar of soap. Maybe it's the designer in me that dictates that… But I've always been like that ever since I was young. That doesn't mean I like to splurge every time on designer items. Absolutely not! 

A couple of weeks ago I was at Winners just browsing and I came across this line of soaps from The Scottish Fine Soaps Company. I've seen it the past few times I was there, but I didn't have time to smell them. This time I had some time to kill so I opened up the beautiful tin that it came in to smell the soap- OMG, it smelled amazing! The oatmeal one smelled good too, but I settled with the seaweed soap scent. It was so fresh and minty. I got it for $4.99CAD, down from $9.99CAD. Yes, it's still expensive for a bar of soap, but I like buying good quality soaps and I know I can reuse the tin for something else in the future.

I didn't realize until I got home that it matched my guest bathroom accessories perfectly. I'm going to be leaving this out for when my in-laws are visiting :-)

Chalkboard labels

ne of the items on my to-do list was to make chalkboard labels for all my glass jars. I have jars for everything- flour, brown sugar, icing sugar, regular sugar, ground espresso, coffee grinds, oxiclean, the list goes on and on. I thought having chalkboard labels would make them easier to differentiate and they would look cute as well. I was waiting for the weather to be nice because I was going to use chalkboard spray paint. 

What I used:

- Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Paint (I think I bought mine at The Home Depot. They also sell the paint can version, but I wanted to use the spray paint because I wouldn't need paint brushes. Plus, it was cheaper than the paint can)

- newspapers

- painter's tape

- sandpaper

- chalk

- glass jars

First I taped the glass jars with painter's tape in the size that I wanted it. Then I made sure to cover the rest of the jars with newspaper so that I wouldn't get chalkboard paint on them. I lightly sanded the area to be painted with sandpaper (you can also use a primer after sanding to make the paint adhere longer, but I skipped this part). I then laid the jars on their backs (to prevent any uneven pooling of paint) over newspaper to start the spraying process. Make sure to spray paint outside when it isn't windy as it could blow paint everywhere and even get small particles stuck on your labels. I sprayed the paint evenly, making sure to overlap on each swipe and I sprayed it 3-4 times after a few minutes of dry time. The paint dried in about 20 minutes, but I waited for about an hour before removing the paint. Make sure to peel the painter's tape slowly and on an angle to prevent any peeling of the chalkboard label. I did have some seepage of paint in some areas, but it was easily fixed using my finger nails. I waited a full day before actually writing on the labels. I prepped the chalkboard labels by first going over it with chalk (using the sides of the chalk) and then rubbing it off with a cloth. Afterwards my chalkboard labels were ready!

A quick snapshot I took of the jars getting sprayed outside.

And here's an example of one of the jars after I peeled off the painter's tape.
You can also see the chalkboard paint can to the left.

My jars after they have been labelled with chalk. 

Now I can tell which is the espresso grinds and the coffee grinds!

Target haul

y younger sister and I checked out a Target near her house on Saturday. Her Target is bigger than the one I checked out last week. I was so excited because I didn't have my 2 kids with me and I knew that I would have more time to thoroughly go through each aisle. We started off our Target adventure with Starbucks :-)

My sister treated me to a tall non-fat latte :-P

I took a few snapshots throughout the store.
Pretty earrings. These are so perfect for Spring!

More jewelry.

I almost bought this mint green watch. It was only $19.99. I'm still debating whether to
go back and buy it…

This location that I went to had a shoe department. They weren't fully stocked as I had
hoped it would be…

Owls! Aren't these so cute? I would totally get these for my daughter when she gets a little
older. I'm not big on princess stuff and overly pink décor. This is more my cup of tea.

What a pretty pillow. The little yellow dots are tiny pom poms.

I know I showed these last time, but I'm showing it again. I love these appetizer bowls.
It also came in blue/green.

More melamine servingware.

I love that orange and oatmeal-coloured dish towels.

Huge beverage dispensers. These would be perfect for garden parties.

I was looking for a huge glass jar for storing my Oxiclean. I'm in love with that stuff.
Instead of storing them in their packaging I would rather have them in glass jars with
a wide rim. So much prettier that way.

Pretty wooden bowls.

I showed these bowls last time, but I wanted to show them with the different
coloured insides. Last time I just showed the yellow ones.

Pretty mechanical pencils.

I love Orla Kiely and I knew they collaborated with Method. This was the first time I saw
these in stores. I almost bought this hand soap, but I already have so many hand soaps
at home so I didn't end up getting it. I'm kind of regretting not buying it.
I might have to go back…

Other patterns.

Sonia Kashuk brushes. I didn't see any Sonia Kashuk makeup.
I'm a little disappointed by the beauty section. There weren't a lot of selections and brands
as I had hoped.

Nyx.
I think Rexall carries more Nyx lines.

Pixi. 

I thought the escalator for the shopping carts were so cool!

Jamie Oliver line of products.

Mental note: next time I need to pick these up.

Cute headphones.

I love Skip Hop products. Aren't these adorbs???

This pouf reminded me of something I had seen at West Elm. I couldn't find the price of these.

Now onto what I actually bought…

I've been looking for a large glass jar to store my Oxiclean in. I looked last week at
Ikea, but they didn't have the size that I wanted. I found this one at Target for $6.99CAD.

You have to twist the lid to open it.
I'm planning to make my own label and sticking it on the jar.

Appetizer plates from Threshold.

I got 4. They were $1.99CAD each.
They are look like glass plates, but they are actually melamine. 

Pretty dip bowls from Threshold.
I got 4- they were 2 for $6.99CAD.

Here they are from the side. Aren't they pretty??

Another view.

And stacked…
I think because these bowls are small they can easily be used for jewelry storage.
They are also made of melamine.

Threshold scalloped platter.
I'm a sucker for platters (I seem to pick one up from Ikea everytime I go…) so I knew
I had to have this. They only had one left. I wish I got 2… I might have to go to another
location…
This was $9.99CAD.

Here are the appetizer plates, dip bowls and platter in size relation to one another.

I also got Threshold kitchen towels.
They were $5.99 for the set.

I love how they have different patterns. I plan on hanging these on my oven door.

My only accessory that I picked up- a dainty necklace.
This was $14.99CAD.

I plan on wearing this on its own or as a layering necklace.

Here's how it looks on.