Canning:
This is a few weeks old by now, but I just had to share. Never thought I would ever do anything so home-made! I always remember canning being like....an old person thing? But it is actually pretty fun! We have made tons of tasty things now that may or may not be coming to a kitchen near you ;)
Cooking in Bulk:
Derek and I recently came to the possession of about a million pounds of potatoes. So I took advantage of our time and froze some potato chunks, hashbrowns, and mashed potatoes. I also made about two dozen baked potatoes that I was going to make twice baked potatoes with, but I was a little tired after over an hour on my feet so I will have to come back to that in a bit. Here is our potato pile!
Making Laundry detergent:
For this one I paired up with my awesome friend Brianne, and we each made our laundry detergent using the recipe from Coupon Closet! I thought it would be hard, messy, and kind of like I hippie thing to do...but I was intrigued by the fact that about $20 of laundry detergent could last the entire year. It is a super concentrated formula so you only need about 1-2 TBS every load.
We were able to find all the supplied we needed at our local Walmart, and we got to work. Now, since I always have to be contrary, I used pink Zote instead of the fels-natha. I guess I had been looking at so many different recipes, I didn't use the amount of oxi-clean it called for (I only used 1.5 pounds...which I swear I read somewhere...oh well!). Brianne and I want to compare our laundry detergent after we get the chance to really test it to see if any of these changes really made a difference.
We were able to find all the supplied we needed at our local Walmart, and we got to work. Now, since I always have to be contrary, I used pink Zote instead of the fels-natha. I guess I had been looking at so many different recipes, I didn't use the amount of oxi-clean it called for (I only used 1.5 pounds...which I swear I read somewhere...oh well!). Brianne and I want to compare our laundry detergent after we get the chance to really test it to see if any of these changes really made a difference.
Oh and P.S., this project was EASY. Probably took about 30-40 minutes, and over half that time was spent grating the bar of soap! Definitely willing to do this again.
Arranging the china cabinet:
Can we just bask in this Christmasy glory? Perfect for the winter season! Looking at my china makes me feel very spoiled and rich (I am only one of those things, but I appreciate feeling like both). Seasons greetings, and Merry Christmas!
