One of those fun round-up posts for you!  Here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

 

First of all – per the title of this post, Bed, Bath and Beyond is a dangerous place. I haven’t been in the store for years, but I recently swung in for some blog supplies and… OMG.  So many things you never knew you wanted but really *NEED.*  Know what I mean?  Some fun things I purchased…  An upgraded silverware drawer organizer!  This is an expandable one so it fits into any decently sized drawer and eliminates all those awkward edges where stuff (crumbs!) get lost.

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Now I actually have to actually keep that drawer organized!  We also got a new cutting board.  Our old one was super, super gross.  Also, this one is way lighter and easier to manage.   And we got new plates because our old plates were scratched and chipped.  These are nice and shiny!

 

Up next…

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Monday:  Rest

Tuesday: 2.2 mile run + 1200 meter swim

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 6 mile run

Friday: 3 mile run + spin class

Saturday: 25 minute swim + ab workout

Sunday: 1 hour bike ride outside

Totals: 11.2 mile run, about 1300 meters of swimming, and 1:45 of biking

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My goal this week is to do more because I basically repeated last week this week.  I need to up my bike mileage big time. 

 

Guess what? Claire is getting her first tooth.  You can’t see it yet in pictures, but it’s so cute.

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I haven’t been spending enough time on the bike, but I sure have been doing a lot of reading.  Here are my past two Books a Week:

 

Week 22: I Am Legend

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I picked this book (which is the oldie that inspired the Will Smith movie) because a friend wrote on Facebook that it was his favorite book and the movie didn’t do the story justice.  I remember loving the movie, so I promptly ordered it on Amazon.  The plot isn’t the same as the movie.  It’s a short horror tale of what happens when a vampire virus decimates the human race, leaving one man all alone to battle the creatures and try to keep a grip on his sanity.

 

My vote… I hated it!  Seriously, I hated this book. I do not think I have said that about a Book a Week so far (except for The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which I hated so much I stopped reading after 40 pages and didn’t even tell you about).  I Am Legend just didn’t grab me… And it ended at a point where I *really* wanted more information.  I feel bad putting down such a classic horror novel, but – meh.  Didn’t like it.

 

My Ratings: 2 out of 5 stars.  

 

Week 23:  Marketing for Solos: THE Ultimate How-To Guide For Marketing Your One Person Small Business Successfully

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This was, by far, the best non-fiction book that I’ve read for a while.  It’s a How-To guide to market a “solo” business (i.e. a one person small business) successfully.  It gives you exactly what is promised on the cover – a right to the point, practical, and easy-to-follow marketing strategy.  The book is a quick read, simple in its directions, and without fluff, which I adored.  There are lots of real-world strategies you can apply to marketing immediately.  Some of the highlights for me included: not focusing on your own qualifications first but instead focusing on the client’s “pain, problem, or predicament,” as well as the chapter on not trying things once and getting disappointed when they don’t immediately work.

 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.  All small business owners should read this book!

 

Oh, I want to tell you guys about this awesome product.  So – we have three pets (once of which has a lot of “accidents”) and a toddler who was recently potty trained.  I end up cleaning up a lot of pee (I hate it – so gross).  Anyway, I’ve tried a ton of different products and none really get up the smell OR the stain.  But this one – Kids and Pets – REALLY does.

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Here’s how effective Kids and Pets is… Shortly after we potty trained him, Henry had not one but TWO  accidents ON THE COUCH while watching TV.  I almost died.  I thought we were going to have to throw away our couch and buy a new one.  The smell was so bad, and how in the world would I get it out of the cushions?!  I dumped two whole bottles of Kids and Pets on the stain and – TADA! – it saved the day.  You can’t even tell it was peed on!  Seriously – this is such a great product that I had to tell you guys about it.  I’m going to stock in this company.

 

And I’ll leave you with these perfect memes…

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And this – Hah.

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Have a good one!

{ 26 comments }

 

  • Erica {Erica@EricaDHouse.com} July 14, 2015, 8:04 am

    We have three cats that love to pee outside the box, and a baby on the way, so I’ll definitely be picking up some of the kids & pets spray. Thanks for mentioning it!

  • Elizabeth Beil July 14, 2015, 8:35 am

    Bed Bath and Beyond freaks me out! They have so much stuff! So much good stuff but it still freaks me out for some reason! I love the salad!

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed July 14, 2015, 8:39 am

    I love my epicurean cutting board, it’s the best!

  • Amanda July 14, 2015, 9:04 am

    DEFINITELY need to try kids n’ pets! We have cleaned up so many accidents from our 6th month old puppy… but the current faint pee smell (I can’t believe I just typed that) of our study is letting us know that we’re missing a spot… or spots. UGH. Going to sniff it out (like a german shepard) and pour some of this stuff on it!

    • Caitlin July 14, 2015, 9:50 am

      It’s so gross, isn’t it?!

  • Nicole July 14, 2015, 10:50 am

    How exciting for Claire! My littlest, Emma, is 10 months old and still hasn’t got any teeth, lol. My six year old is impatiently waiting for her first loose tooth to no avail, too. Poor kids. Haha.

    Oh, and I hate pee. Baking soda is my usual go-to. Say there’s a mess on a mattress (ahh!), I pour a big pile of baking soda on it ASAP and it just soaks up all the moisture and smell. Then I just vacuum the baking soda up! 😀

    • Caitlin July 14, 2015, 10:51 am

      Dude, awesome. I will try this next time!

    • Jessica July 14, 2015, 4:07 pm

      Yep, same here with my 3 year old son’s mattress. Spray with a little water/vinegar mixture first, then baking soda and vacuum it up. Some time in the sunshine can help too if its a smaller thing.

    • Emily July 14, 2015, 6:36 pm

      I do this too. So far only on carpets/rugs (fingers crossed it stays that way!), but I’ve found it works soooo much better smell-wise if you saturate the spot with vinegar first, then top with tons of baking soda. It usually takes a few days to dry into a “cake” (speed this part up by turning on a fan) before you can vacuum it up, but it really, really works to eliminate that faint leftover ammonia smell!

  • Katie July 14, 2015, 10:58 am

    I’m curious why you hated The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up? I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard so many good things about it that I’ve been curious to read it. I’d love to hear your opinion!

    • Caitlin July 14, 2015, 11:08 am

      Ughhh i just hated the way it was written. it was really repetitive and kept claiming my whole life would be magically transformed if i just cleaned the house.

  • Jamie July 14, 2015, 11:08 am

    What were your thoughts on the Tidying book? I’ve heard it recommended quite a bit, so I’d love to hear an alternate viewpoint!

    • Caitlin July 14, 2015, 11:11 am

      maybe i was just in a bad headspace when i read it, but it drove me crazy.

  • Christina July 14, 2015, 11:33 am

    I’m listening to “The Luckiest Girl Alive” audiobook right now – by Jessica Knoll. So good! It’s strange and weird but it’s really keeping my attention. I recommend it!

  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul July 14, 2015, 12:19 pm

    Target is like that for me too! It sucks you in!

  • Cristin July 14, 2015, 1:49 pm

    I need that spray!
    We adopted a kitten recently and the poor thing finally emptied her bladder after like 12 hours, on our down comforter! Some tide and drying in the sun helped, but that spray would’ve been much more useful.
    I cannot go into BB&B without walking out with something that I definitely need but don’t need. And my 20% off coupon magically disappears right before I need to go. Always.

  • Haley July 14, 2015, 1:53 pm

    Ok, now you’ve sparked my curiosity! I was planning on giving “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” a read. I’ve heard both positive and negative reviews. Some say it’s life changing, while others think it’s crazy (your socks have feelings and you should fold them a certain way based on that??). Can you tell us why you didn’t like it?

    • Caitlin July 14, 2015, 2:05 pm

      I explained above – I just didn’t like how it basically said if your house is clean, your entire life will be better. I mean, I get the point, but it was insisted so fervently and over and over again and drove me batshit.

  • Gillian July 14, 2015, 2:07 pm

    I remember reading your original silverware post a few years ago! Strangely, one of my fav posts on this blog 🙂

  • Lesley July 14, 2015, 2:16 pm

    I’m getting married soon and we are thinking about doing our wedding registry at Bed Bath and Beyond but it is SO SO overwhelming!

  • Sagan July 14, 2015, 3:13 pm

    Every household store and office supply store is dangerous to me 😀

    Thanks for sharing that book recommendation for small business owners – sounds interesting! I’ll have to pick it up and give it a read.

  • Tabatha July 14, 2015, 9:19 pm

    I’m loving that silverware drawer organizer – I think I need to pick up that and the Kids and Pets spray (for my two accident-prone shih-tzus) this weekend!

  • Tricia July 15, 2015, 12:20 pm

    I also seriously hated I Am Legend. I read it because a friend also raved about it, I loved the movie, and I love plots like this. But the book was painful. Really not a fan.

  • Mel July 17, 2015, 8:58 am

    I think your swim total is off. Tuesday’s 1200 meters plus another 25 minutes should be more than 1300 meters total.

    • Caitlin July 17, 2015, 10:00 am

      ohhh yeah! love it when i do more than i suspect LOL

  • Cassie July 17, 2015, 1:17 pm

    I will encounter a book every once and awhile that everyone else raved about, but I hated. I think most recently it’s been Life after Life by Atkinson. Guess we all have different tastes.

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