Homemade Laundry Detergent

I made this months ago but didn’t want to blog about it until I seen first what all the Pinterest fuss was about, lol. I had been seeing homemade tutorials like this forever but I’m always late on the bandwagon. It wasn’t until my banker that was helping us buy the house gave me a sample and the recipe that made me fall in love (I’m not sure where she got her source but I’m sharing it with you and there are plenty of Pinterest sources if you click the link above). Oh, and the smell “had me from hello!” Love that clean smell!

Ingredients:
1 (4 lb 12 oz) box of Borax
1 (3 lb 7 oz) box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 (3 lb) container of OxyClean
3 bars of Fels Naptha soap (or you can use Zote soap)
1 (4 lb) box of Arm & Hammer baking soda (or you can get two 2 lb boxes from the cooking section because our store was completely out of the bigger boxes in the laundry section)
1 bottle of Purex Crystals (next time I definitely think I want to add another bottle of this magical smelly good stuff)

You mix the Borax, Super Washing Soda, OxyClean, and baking soda together. This was tricky because I had just bought a Rubbermaid container, one of the smaller ones, and it was hard mixing everything together in that. So I highly recommend doing this all in a bucket or tub, then adding it to your storage container of choice. I added the Purex Crystals. Now comes the aggravating part, lol. You have to grate the cheese soap. It only took about 15-20 minutes to grate but it was the most time consuming step. You pour the soap in and mix everything really well and VOILA, you have enough laundry detergent to last a year (so my banker says =) You do not have to use much at all so I believe it will last a year. I only use about 2 tbsp. and it works great. It even does well with my cold water washes.

Happy washing! Because I know I’ll not only be starting to move into the new house this week but I’ll be washing too, lol.

Not getting much done….

Hey there, guys! Whew weee, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. We’re still battling with the underwriters from the bank and trying to buy our house. They are like little investigators! Want to know EVERYTHING! They don’t care if something is paid off, they want to know how you paid it. It’s becoming very stressful and I’m trying not to let it get to me but it’s hard. On a different, much happier note, still trying to craft here and there and definitely have some clothing refashions I want to do before we get our Christmas pictures done in two weeks. I’ve also been thinking of alternatives to this pallet craft so I can get it out of the way. Thinking I might have a solution that involves an old standby. Anywho, I celebrated a birthday in mid-October and found some awesome flea market finds with birthday money!

My pretty necklace from a co-worker!

My department pitched in and bought me this milk glass basket! I’m still drooling over it =) It’s housing momma’s Kenna’s Halloween candy on the kitchen table right now!

Bought some more vintage Pyrex and do believe it has become an addiction, lol. That milk glass platter under the pink Pyrex dish I scored for $5!

And some more =) I just love looking at the pretty colors =)

Blank spaces

Finally decorated my work space after 1+ years back here! Love it =) Now I just need to remember to bring in my fake potted plant I snagged at Ikea!

Because I’m at work, in lieu of using nails (or trusty push pins), I tried out Command Strips damage-free picture hanging strips and I am in LOVE. I wondered how they could possibly work because I was thinking they were more like Velcro and how much would they hold, but NO, they are amazing. And thanks to Amy for telling me about them! This is my opinion, no money or gifts exchanged =)

New paint tool!

While perusing Pinterest, I came across It’s Great To Be Home’s review about Sherwin-William’s new online paint helper, Chip It! I have seen other sites somewhat similar to this but not one that ever gave me exact colors of a brand. So, needless to say, this is something I’ve been needing. I have a Kitchen board on Pinterest and most of the kitchens have the same feel, same colors, etc., but it would be nice to find out what paint color they used. Okay, here goes…

I picked this pretty kitchen pic from my board. It’s from Grace Happens! You should check out their before and after. Very pretty =)

So I entered my url in the paint tool…

It then asks me to select an image…

And VOILA, I got this…

I clicked on “More Colors” and got some additional chips…

I don’t like ALL the colors represented here but the cooled blue, fashionable gray, and extra white make me happy =)

Isn’t this the coolest ever. I’m probably late in the game with my discovery but I like it!

Happy 2012!

After crashing at 11:35 last night (we just couldn't go another 25 minutes, lol), I realized that this is the first time we've been home for a New Year's Eve holiday in awhile! We normally go down South to celebrate post-Christmas holidays with my granny and daddy. But sadly, not his year. My granny lives in the middle of the city and right down the road from the new LegoLand and you'll hear fireworks for hours before and after midnight. Last night, we heard absolutely nothing…but crickets. Well, and the donkeys in the pasture but they're more of a nuisance, lol. Just makes me realize how nice it is to live in the peaceful rural areas rather than the congestion of central Florida. Anywho, with the new year here, there is many things that I have on my to do list! My most exciting news is that we're trying to purchase our first home and although I'm trying not to get my hopes up, my Pinterest boards are reflecting otherwise. I have big plans for the kitchen =)

Source: thecreativechronicles1.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: decorpad.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: ikea.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: ikea.com via Kristin on Pinterest

I have plans for some Kenna crafts! Especially for this highchair! Kenna has a tall one that's been painted a soft sage green and this would be a great project for my sander my granny sent me!

Source: betterafter.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

I am in the progress of finishing a cover for Kenna's big girl carseat. And I have really been wanting to get it finished but man, it has taken me forever with all life's interruptions. Let me tell you, though, having two carseats for each car is the way to go. It is such a pain to have to switch out all the time from car to car.

Source: makeit-loveit.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: happytogethercreates.com via Kristin on Pinterest

I absolutely love these for Kenna! They'd be nifty if they were magnets for the refrigerator too!

Source: chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Welp, that's where my mind has been this weekend. A new home hopefully and my little munchkin, of course. I hope all had a wonderful, safe new year's eve and hope and likewise for a brand new year!

Organization! I need it!

I have been thinking of ways to organize our bedroom/bathroom more now that I’m in the process of re-doing the bedroom décor. I’ve seen things here and there on my blog reader and Pinterest that I’ve thought looked awesome but we don’t have a closet out of a mansion and space is limited.

I came across one idea that I can’t find now (grrrr) but the blogger had bought three laundry baskets, cut vinyl wording out (whites, darks, jeans) and slid them in her closet much like how these look from Life With Both Hands Full…

NOTE: I found the original pic I wanted to use and it was from Life With Both Hands Full to begin with! Yayy! I just didn’t go to her Part 2 post =)

They are tall laundry baskets so I might could fit two in the bottom of my closet comfortably =/ Maybe. This would be so nice though because the hampers would be hidden from view in the closet and right there in the room so one’s husband wouldn’t have any excuse whatsoever about piles of laundry in front of the dresser…ahem, anyways, I digress.

I love idea as well but I think it would be too tall for our closet. It would be NIFTY in our laundry room but I would need incentives to give to the hub to walk all the way across the house to put his clothes in the laundry room. See my dilemma, lol.

Side note: I showed these plans to my hubs last night and I pointed out that they said beginner label =) But Trav seemed confident that he could build them for me!

Our bathroom is the tiniest bathroom known to man, I’m sure, so there are loads of ideas I’ve seen that would be helpful. After finding this pic, I noticed that this item is from Collections, Etc. and very inexpensive and 50% off right now!!!

I love this as well since I already have an existing towel bar that holds decorative towels that never get used.

Source: myhomeideas.com via Susan on Pinterest

I love these jars below. I’ve been meaning to make some but you know how that goes, lol. However, I did find a new tutorial over at The Single Nester that didn’t use Vitrea but used glue, water, and blue food coloring and was very surprised at the outcome! They look about the same and I imagine you could seal the outside to avoid fading of color.

Source: cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

I have seen this before and thought GENIUS!

Source: familyhandyman.com via Melinda on Pinterest

But I was thinking about doing this so I can stuff my hair dryer in there as well.

Source: thesuels.blogspot.com via Kristin (Me) via Megan on Pinterest

Source: imbusyprocrastinating.com via Abby on Pinterest

Until next time…

Yaaayyyyy!

My last package finally came in I had ordered for my birf-day!

Oh, how I love West Elm! Such pretty things…like my new duvet cover [insert swoon here].

Now, here’s a cheesy photo montage, well, just one photo, of myself and my cover =)

Ikea [insert melodramatic swoon here]

I absolutely have been begging for my hubs to take me to Ikea when we make our trip down south. I’ve never been and I’m like a moth attracted to the light. It’s a beacon in the sky. You get the picture, I’m sure =) I have browsed through their catalog multiple times dog-earing paged, highlighting what I definitely want while he looks on in a lackadaisical (don’t you just love that word. It’s a shame I don’t use it more) way. With regards to Mr. LCH, I ‘m going to share my Ikea Wants & Needs with the bloggie world who might appreciate it more.

First, I really want a duvet! I think it’s be awesome to switch out the cover at a whim and even make your own duvet cover like they did here and here.

Rug from the awesome Ikea place! And such an awesome price.

Are these not beautiful or what!?

We really really need one of these since ours broke =( But when we replace this, we want to go ahead and get a deeper sink. Those old ceramic sinks are so shallow.

AND NOW FOR THE BEST PART OF IKEA!

I love wooden kitchen play sets! I can’t wait to get Kenna one and get her all kinds of play fruit, food, pots and pans. In the catalog, Ikea says the stove top actually lights up (led lights) and the sink can hold water (we might not add water though, lol).

For my woMAN cave, I need some more accessories for sure. It will forever be a work in progress, I’m afraid.

Okay, that’s the end of my Ikea spiel for now. Hopefully, I’ll make it to the store next weekend. If not, I’ll be scouring the internet some more =)

Note: Picture are linked to sources. I was not paid to brag about Ikea. I love them just because =)

Windows Live Writer, how I love thee…

It is extremely awesome that Centsational Girl had a post about Windows Live Writer! I had no idea that such a thing existed. However, I am sure there are lots of things on my computer that I have no idea what they are actually used for like ABBYY Sprint Reader! What is that? I see it all the time…oh well. Anyways, it’s awesome!

Windows Live Writer is designed for PC users but CG did mention that there’s an article about how it is available for Mac users so yaaayyyy for Amy!

After opening up WLW and going through the installation/setup process which was no trouble at all, the first thing I noticed was that it imported my blog’s theme! How cool is that? Uber cool, that's what it is!

Check out my first ever screenshot below! I’m getting very technological here =)

As you can see from the pic above, WLW reminds me a lot of the format of Windows Paint. Very user friendly for the lazy blogger procrastinator blogging newbie.

I honestly think I’m in love. Maybe I’ll actually become less of a blogging backslider and post more =)

Crafting with the Cricut

Here lately, I've done a lot with my Cricut! I made Kenna's Happy Birthday banner, her invitations, and her small pennant banner for the cake table. I was definitely proud of myself!

Anywho, a few weeks prior when my mother-in-law and I were at Michaels, she picked up a cup with a lid and straw for my niece, Kelsea, and I offered to cut some vinyl to decorate the cup for her! Unbeknownst to her, I had never tried to cut vinyl before with my Cricut.

After scouring blogs and tutorials, I first cleaned my mat with just a small amount of mild soap and water. It had lost it's stickiness after cutting Kenna's birthday supplies. After it dried, it definitely looked cleaner and it was still sticky! I thought for sure the soap would take the sticky off but it worked. I had also read that using a spray adhesive or a glue stick also works. Maybe I'll try these before I break down and buy a new one. Gotta stay thrifty =)

Speaking of more thriftiness, I also sharpened my blade with aluminum foil because it was snagging when I was cutting just scrapbook paper so I was worried it wouldn't be sharp enough to cut vinyl but it worked like a charm!

and TA-DAH!

It turned out so well! I'm in love (and Kelsea is too) with it and want one for myself and already have one standing order from lil cousin Audi who decided she wanted one after seeing Kelsea's =) The first "kiss cut" I used didn't cut all the way through the vinyl so I increased my pressure by one and kept my blade depth on 6 and it cut through the vinyl but left the backing in tact so the second setting worked better on my Cricut than some of the suggestions I found on Google.

Home decor pics I found hidden on my camera...

Bedroom decor I'm either going to change or try to find a comforter set that pulls everything together again. These frames used to be navy with our mongram. I kept our initials but after taking the pics, it's become a lil more obvious that my color choices are a tad light. My willow tree! Gifted to me by Gern, of course!
I love my piggy bank with just a few pennies rattling around in it. When I had him on the bar in the kitchen, I used to make Trav "feed" him everynight. He gets neglected now that he's in the corner of our bedroom =(
Oh, and his name's Herbie.