Wednesday, November 30, 2011

DIY | Laundry Detergent

During my vacation for Thanksgiving, my sister, sister-in-law and I all decided to make some home-made laundry detergent using a recipe from Why Not Sew? that we found from Pinterest:

 

Here is what you will need:

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot (that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers

Step 1: Grate your bar of soap into a large bowl, or directly into the pot.

Step 2: Add one gallon of water to the large pot on medium heat and stir occasionally until the grated soap is dissolved.

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Step 3: Add in the washing soda and Borax (both found at Wal-Mart…look on a bottom shelf). The mixture will thicken as you stir. Bring to a boil.
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Step 4: After the mixture is boiling, add the other one gallon of water and remove from heat. Mix well and let cool.

Step 5: Use a funnel to put the detergent in your containers.

We ended up making 2 1/2 batches (with different types of soap – thus the different colors).

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Step 6: The directions recommend using 1/2 cups per load.

This detergent solution won’t get sudsy, but will do a great job of getting the clothes clean. You may have to shake up the jug before using as I noticed the soap clumped up, but it got my clothes clean!

The Why Not Sew? blog estimates the cost t0 be $6.00 for 576 loads. Worth the little effort for the savings!

Monday, November 28, 2011

A Thankful Week

We were blessed to be able to spend some extra time in Colorado for Thanksgiving this year. Since I’ve gotten married, I’ve only been able to spend short weekends here and there at home. Six days was much needed.

As planned, we:

1. Worked cattle. I was the vaccinator!

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It got really smoky with the branding and I eventually put on a mask.
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And Ronny got to do some branding. In Colorado, it is state law to brand the cattle as a form of identification and required at point of sale.
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It was warm enough after working cattle that we ate lunch outside. Pretty rare for this time of year! And Hank serenaded Emily for our after-dinner entertainment.
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2. Ate a great Thanksgiving meal!

3. Took a much-needed walk.

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4. Saw some great Colorado sunsets.

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5. Crafted….pictures to come!

I also spent some great time lounging with my sister and sister-in-law while the guys shot guns. I didn’t join them this time. :)

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessing to you and your family!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

A Colorado Thanksgiving

These are things that consists of Thanksgiving vacations with my family:

1. Working cattle…in the cold.DSC03741DSC03754

2. Lounging around with my sister.
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3. Shooting a variety of different things…trap, paintballs and brother’s handguns.dyingducknicesockspaintball gunrp

4. Going on walks in these beautiful trees.
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5. Most importantly…eating.

Which is obviously more important than taking pictures which results in why I have none! I will work on that today.

Today, I am thankful for my family, the abundance of the blessings I have in my life (wonderful husband, job, warm home, food on the table) and our God who provides all of this for us.

What are some of your family’s Thanksgiving traditions?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Craft Fair Finds

It's Saturday and my alarm clock goes off at 6:50 a.m. Ronny is up and about ready to take off for a long day of breeding cows and making rounds...what am I up so early? It's the Craft Fair day! But I want to get an even earlier start so I could go to the gym first and then get all stretched and ready for the event full of ladies pushing each other around the crowded aisles.

Usually, crowds get me anxious. But not at craft fairs because I know it's ok to push and shove. But today really wasn't too crowded and I only bumped into one small girl who happened to be the same height as my elbow...sorry little girl!

But I did find some great finds. First, a knitted earband. I probably could make one myself, but I don't have enough time, especially with my six goals I'm trying to get done before New Year's. I like the little details on this one - and it can go with black or brown - my staples. $12

Being a good K-State girl, I of course had to come home with something purple! I love this little ring. $5...bam! 

The last thing I got for myself were these hand-croqueted dish scrubbers....these are the best and you can't go wrong with $2 ones. I was a little disappointed that two booths down from the one I bought these at, they were selling them for $1. I'm sure these are higher quality though.

My main purpose, however, for attending the craft fair was to get two important gifts for two important people. I came home with three gifts. But I can't reveal them yet!

Now, if only I could have also attended the Holiday Bazaar in Kansas that Lori from Home on the Range Exchange & The Craft Coop was at today!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Six goals

Wow…six more weeks until 2012. And I have SO many things I want to get done before that!

To help keep myself accountable, I’m going to post my six goals here and attempt to get them done (and a few more things!) before the new year. Call it pre-New Year’s resolution, resolution.

1. Put together an advent calendar for December. I really like these from Pinterest:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Source: flickr.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

2. Finish my two quilts I’m working on. One is a gift that I cannot say what it is, but the other is my bedroom quilt which I just need to finish the back of and send in to get quilted.

3. House reorganization: Move Ronny’s office downstairs and reorganize his current office room for better storage and a seating area for reading/blogging.

I would love for a little area like this:

4. House cleaning: I really need to deep clean. :(

5. Christmas cards & gifts: Have Christmas cards sent and all gifts purchased/made by December 17th! 

6. Mend clothing & thrift trip: I have about 4 outfits that I can’t wear because of seams that were ripped out or a tear here and there. Also, I’m inspired to find some fun stuff at a thrift store – I just need a buddy to go with me?!

Anyone else have some great year-end goals that I need to get inspired to get done, too?!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Wildcat Weekend

We got to go to the land of purple this weekend – Bill Snyder Family Stadium – for the K-State vs. Texas A&M football game.
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And we got to see Bill of course:
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And a great 4OT game…heart-wrenching! But so glad the Cat's pulled out with a win. My sister-in-law, Misty (and her hubby who didn’t want in the picture) was there and it was great to get all caught up.

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And I had to get this picture…two of my favorite things:

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I didn’t realize how much I missed going to the games until we were there.
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Go Cats! Check out that score, too.  :)
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Saturday, November 12, 2011

Our garden timeline

I wanted to show off the transformation from beginning to end (April to November) of our Garden. Enjoy!

DSCI0048DSCI0081June 26 (5)Garden Aug 16 (24)Garden July 24 (5)Garden October 3Garden Oct 19 (7)

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Garden Update | Final Harvest

Today, I decided it was time to clean-up the garden and harvest the gourds.DSC00535-2DSC00537

I harvested 24 unique gourds and a couple of little carrots that I found growing beneath the gourds.
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I gave them a diluted bleach bath and will leave them on the pallet to dry out and cure for a few months, rotating occasionally. DSC00540-2DSC00547

I’m excited to use them for fall decorations next year and make a few birdhouses!