For the love of Turquoise

This summer, we took a little trip to O.C. MD. 

When we got there, we quickly discovered there was a car show called,
Cruisin' OC
going on that weekend.  

The cars had completely taken over town! 

 I must confess though, 

I'm a bit of a car enthusiast!

If you knew me, you would know that I'm crazy for 

MUSTANGS!

Soo while our weekend was motor revvin' LOUD-

I totally enjoyed it! (at least for the first day)

Well, I fell in love with this beautiful 

California Mustang....and the color was luscious!

After seeing several old turquoise cars,

I looked at hubs and said,"I have to paint something turquoise!"

SO I decided on the laundry room.  Most our home is earthy, with the exception of the grandchildren's playroom.  

I didn't get a "before" picture.  

Forgive me, please!

But suffice it to say, my laundry room was very boring. It was antique white with a cutesy border like this..

... And it had endured several years 

of grown children using it.....

need I say more?!

So Here It Is......

my new

Vintage Laundry Room

These pictures make the paint look a bit periwinkle.  But trust me, it's not.  It's very turquoise-ee and cheery.

No makeover in this house is ever complete before a trip downtown for some junkin'!  I found some sa-weet junk to go with some of the stuff I already had.

 Check out those dresses on the wall...

They were my doll dresses when I was a child.

An elderly neighbor lady made me many of my dresses, and would also made a matching dress for my dolls with leftover fabric.  Cool huh?

Gotta love blue jars and blue insulators!

Do you iron?  Some people say they NEVER iron.  I don't iron anything that I deem unnecessary.  But I do iron..as needed.

 Love this old chair!

Brooms and mops discretely tucked behind the door.

I keep this handy tray beside the washer and dryer.  

I created it several years ago after seeing something similar on Martha Stewart.

I also keep a cheat sheet for stain removers,

and one for stain removing supplies.  

Do you make your own laundry detergent?  I have been making my own for years.  I have tried several recipes.  But I have settled on a recipe from MaryJane's Magazine.

I luv rag rugs!

And speaking of cleaning....

While I had the room cleared out for painting, I did some major cleaning, and cleaning out!

I used these tips for cleaning the inside of the washing machine.
It worked beautifully. (btw, I love this blog)

And  I purged all the stuff I didn't need in an attempt to keep things
simple....

Living Simply and Deliberately...
Enjoying a new clean and cheery
Turquoise
Vintage Laundry Room...

For more Martha Laundry room tips, click here.  But I'll warn you, it may make your head spin!!