Friday Favorites

Real Outdoor Living - has project lists and how-tos on making decks, fencing and other outdoor wood projects

10 S'More recipes - just perfect for a summertime treat

Raised Organic Vegetable Garden Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 - They have a very limited space and I thought it was really great what they did with the space they had available

30 days of Summer Entertaining - the bottom of the current entry she has the back entries to the rest of the days

Kitchen Tips: Cinnamon Sugar and other odd things my Grandma taught me

I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with material for a post and finally hit upon one the other day. It started with a simple recipe that called for a mixture of cinnamon and sugar to be sprinkled over the top of my fresh peach cobbler.

I have always had a small shaker of cinnamon and sugar mixture in my kitchen, just like my Grandma Pearl did. The first thing I learned to make on my own was cinnamon toast, under her watchful eye. She kept a shaker of cinnamon and sugar in her kitchen in case we children wanted a snack. It was easy, and relatively mess free.

I find myself using my shaker for more than just toast. Sir will sometimes sprinkle his cereal with the mixture, or when I'm baking, I'll sprinkle some over the top of what I'm making, like the peach cobbler from the other night or anything that suggests a sprinkling of sugar on top. Suggested ratio is 1 teaspoon cinnamon for every tablespoon of sugar, but you can tweak to your liking.

I was thinking about other tricks I got from Grandma and I realized, she's all over my kitchen.

* I keep a bag of onions that I've chopped up in the freezer to save time. Along the same line, I freeze ginger root to make it last longer and easier to grate into recipes.

* When I make things in the Crock Pot, I turn the pot on low while mixing the sauce then add the meat, makes the wet ingredients blend better.

* I also keep a shaker of baking soda near the sink to help wash off fruits and veggies. (ok, this one didn't come from Grandma, but from Aunt Phyllis!) It's also good for cleaning off cutting boards and scrubbing pots and pans too.

* Fresh herbs from the garden always taste better store bought. So I have a small herb garden out back where I have Basil, Oregano, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. I pick them at the end of the season and dry them to use through out the winter.

* When making sauce or other liquid based dishes to freeze, drape a large freezer bag over the rim of a small mixing box, it makes it easier to fill.

Those are just the tips I can remember off the top of my head. My little Kitchen Witch up there is a reminder of my Grandma Pearl, she always had one in her kitchen. It was said that if the witch was facing towards the kitchen, then it was your turn to cook dinner, if her bottom was facing towards the kitchen, go out to eat! I named her "Pearl" after my Grandma.

Pita Chips

One of our grocery stores has a clearance section of bread. And often I can pita bread from 40 cents to 70 cents a pack just depending how many packages they have left to sell. And I buy them to make pita chips.



Pita Chips

Pita bread
1/4 cup olive oil
Toppings



Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Cut pita pockets into triangles and then separate them where they are still connected to the other half.

Mix oil and toppings. (I did basil, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, parmesan cheese, sea salt)

Brush both sides of pita bread with the oil/herb mixture.

Bake for 6-10 minutes until they are crisp. Flip/stir at the half way mark. Let cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.


Some possible toppings:
Sea salt
Parmesan Cheese
Herbs of choice
Garlic
Cinnamon sugar with melted butter instead of oil

2 Book Reviews

Real Simple: The Organized Home


Just like the magazine, the book had really good photos. And the photos showed some good organizing ideas. But the downfall of this book is that it didn't describe really how to implement its ideas. There isn't hardly any text in the book and no captions or how-to instructions to go with the photos to tell you how to create that in your home. In the back of the book, it has a resource list but not an index of what item went with each resource. So although I found some great and interesting containers in the photos, there is no clear way to find those items without just going through each resource which is a big list. If you like Real Simple's photos you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy real simple's tips and ideas, you won't enjoy this book, as it really doesn't give much written content and how to create the ideas put forth in the photos.

Decorating Small Spaces: Live Large in Any Space (Better Homes & Gardens)

The book is only good maybe for section to do layouts. It has graph-paper and then cut-outs that so you can arrange your room. But if you are wanting a book that will tell you how to get the most space out of your small room - this probably isn't the book for you. I mean it has some nice ideas for hidden compartments behind mirrors, under the stairs or over doorway type storage solutions. I don't feel it was really a book for utilizing space in small rooms rather a book of utilizing space in any/bigger size room/house. Many of the photos show medium to large rooms that look airy and not in need of space.

The solutions I did kind of like in the book of course then didn't go into detail on how to create the idea and I notice many of the purposed ideas were the same. Another annoying things was the layout of the text because it was confusing to follow and hard to read.

Overall I found some of the photos in the book inspiring. And even a few might be worth while to implement in a future house but won't work in our current house. The book offers some ways to utilize and organize un-used space more creatively. But BH&G didn't focus enough on actual small rooms to create space so for me it didn't live up to expectations.

Friday Favorites

A to Z - How to Decorate Series - A to Z has gathered some great bloggers together to do a month long series on decorating

TinyBuddha.com: Being Hard on Yourself - "focus on progress, not perfection–to forgive myself when I’ve gotten negative, and then start anew from right where I stand."

180 Popsicle Recipes - link up to recipes for homemade popsicles to cool off for the summer

Vermontucky Lemonade - from Smitten Kitchen - just looks like a great summertime cocktail

DIY Concrete Garden Spheres - from Design Sponge

Product Review: Bamboo Towels

In the interest of trying to have a greener, more eco-friendly house I picked up a pack of bamboo cloths while at the store a few weeks ago. The packaging promised that they would be anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial. The package said good for dishes and washable Great! I thought, I love my all purpose microfiber cloths, but they STINK even after washing them with vinegar in the rinse water. I was very excited and promptly began using them.

They clean up well, are generously sized and wonder of all wonders, don't smell bad after a few days sitting beside the sink!.



However, I am really less than impressed with them:

1) They are supposedly washable. They fray badly and tear in the washing machine. Now, maybe it would be better if you washed them by hand, but I don't have the time or inclination to do that.

2) The ones I have are about the size and shape of paper towels.. therefore, last week when I was in school and Sir saw one sitting on the side of the sink... he thought I had left paper towel there and... threw them out.

3) For the price I paid, I'm not convinced that they are worth it. I know Trader Joe's carries another brand and honestly, I haven't tried them, but the nearest Trader Joe's is over 40 miles from our house. Should I find myself in that neighborhood then I will stop and procure them, but going 40 miles out of the way for eco-friendly towels with gas prices near $4/gallon here does not seem like a smart thing to do.

Here's one of the towels after two trips through the washing machine...

Pasta Salad

We went on a picnic a few weeks ago at one of the many beautiful waterfalls here in Colorado. And I didn't want to just pack the usual sandwiches so I suggested pasta salad and that sounded like a good idea to everyone. I wanted to make something that I had all the ingredients on hand so this is what I came up with it. It is easy and good for summer dinner. Serve with some crusty bread.

I would say this serves about 6. This would be easy to double to make for a crowd also.


Ingredients
8 oz. uncooked pasta (I used small shells)
1 cup cooked cubed boneless chicken breast (I used 1 large breast)
3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup carrot - shredded or julienned (either work and taste good)
1 1/2 cups Ranch dressing*

Directions
Cook the pasta until done to desired tenderness and drain well. Cool completely. Toss with chicken, cheese, peas, carrots and dressing. Chill for an hour before serving.

*Ingredient Tips
* Start with 1 cup of Ranch dressing and then taste and keep going until you are happy with the consistency and taste. Also if you let it set over night sometimes the dressing can soak in so might need to add more the next day if you have left overs. I wouldn't make this salad the day before - unless just prepping all the ingredients and then tossing together an hour or 2 before serving.

* I used frozen peas and just ran a little water over the peas to thaw them.

* Left over chicken would be good for this - I used left over grilled chicken.

Friday Favorites

32 Organizing Tip Links from Tip Junkie

The Ultimate Burger with Roasted Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions and Smokey Chipotle Ketchup - just looks incredible - no wonder it is called the Ultimate Burger

25 Uses for Coffee Filters - I saved this to share here and then it was shared on the FetLife group recently too.

Making Tiered Trays - With all the cute summer plates out I think this would be easy to make and look cute with the industrial looking bolt.

Paint Chip Decorating Tip - tip for keeping your room colors handy

DIY

This idea is great if you have old chairs that you want to spruce up, or you can purchase a chair pretty cheaply at antique stores or flea markets. In my case, I needed a chair for my sewing table and wanted something pretty and decorative too.

Choose a chair with a good solid structure and whose seat you can remove and recover. The one I chose is an old dining room or kitchen chair.



Items needed:

1 old chair
Sand paper
Paint and pain supplies
Fabric (enough to recover the seat)
Staple Gun
* You may want to enhance the padding on the seat as well with foam batting

First, remove the cushion from the chair. Using sandpaper, sand as much of the old paint/varnish off the chair. Start off with a heavier grit of sandpaper and finish with a fine grain to make it as smooth as possible. I also removed the medallion on the back of the chair since it was damaged.



Prepare your paint. I wanted something bright and cheerful and LIME GREEN.



It may take a few coats, here's my chair after the first and last coats.






Make sure paint dries thoroughly between coats, before starting additional coats sand off any drips. Let dry completely after last coat before re-installing the seat.

Now it's time to cover the chair. Trim the fabric so there is a 1 1/2 - 2" overlap on each side. Place the fabric right side down on a table and center the cushion over it. If necessary, add the foam batting. Wrap fabric around and staple, making sure to pull tight and that the corners lie flat. If there are screw holds to hold the cushion to the chair, make sure they remain unobscured.



I have to admit at this point when I originally covered the chair it didn't dawn on me to take pictures of the seat reversed to show how to do the fabric. It was many years ago before I was invited to blog here. I think I took pictures to amuse a friend of mine.

Once chair is dry and cushion is covered, it's time to bring them back together!


Tada!



So this is where I sit when I work on my sewing projects. I'm not confident enough yet in my skills to share how to do anything but mend a seam or make a hemline or sew replacement buttons

Whole Wheat Waffles

Master has a thing for waffles. It's his breakfast of choice, choosing to eat that about 5 mornings out of 7. For awhile I was making them with a standard waffle mix (Aunt Jemima or some such something), but then I got all caught up in the white-flour-is-teh-debil! craze that swept the nutritional world and started buying frozen Kashi whole-grain waffles.

Because I need to keep him as healthy as possible, you see. I'm totally not done with him yet!

Master was not a big fan of Kashi, evidenced by referring to them as "that cardboard shit you're feeding me for breakfast". And though I may have told him to "suck it up, buttercup", the outrageous price of frozen Kashi whole grain waffles offended my cheap-skate sensibilities.

There were 8 in the package, for somewhere between 3 and 4 dollars a box. And because they're small (standard size for frozen waffles, but at 6'4" and 220lbs, Master is not a standard size guy.) he'd eat two waffles a serving, so, 4 servings a box.

I went on a mission, not only to find something cheaper and just as healthy, but to also, hopefully, move out of the cardboard category.

I'm pleased to share the following recipe:

Whole Wheat Waffles

Ingredients

1-3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1-3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tsp Sugar (or Splenda, if that's your thing)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: a bunch of cinnamon, or whatever else you like

Directions
In a large mixing bowl stir flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

In a small mixing bowl beat egg yolks, milk, vanilla and applesauce (and cinnamon, if using). Add to the flour mixture all at once. Stir mixture until blended.

In small mixer bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold beaten egg whites into original mixture and do not over mix.

(I have no idea why the recipe calls for beating the egg whites separately, but we are not to question such things! Just do as you're told, like the good little submissive you are.... :P)



Pour batter onto preheated waffle maker which has been sprayed with non-fat cooking spray. Cook according to your waffle maker's directions.

The recipe site I got this from listed this as 5 servings with a calorie count of 216 per serving.

Well! I beg to differ!

I got 13 waffles out of this recipe, and a single waffle for us is a serving. I mean, jeez, they're huge!



So my new estimated calorie count for these is right around 100 calories, plus whatever your topping of choice is.

(The recipe analyzer also said there was alcohol in the recipe and damn if I can figure that out. Though I do cook with wine, and I sometimes even add it to the food, I most certainly did not add any to the waffles!)

I couldn't even begin to break down the cost savings as I had quite a few of the ingredients on hand. The only thing I had to buy was the bag of flour and a jar of applesauce, which totaled less than a single box of Kashi, and I'll get who-knows-how-many batches out of them.

I flash froze the waffles, stacked them separated with flattened out coffee filters because I was out of any other non-sticky food separator stuff, popped them in a freezer bag and called it Domestic Service.

To serve, I cut them in half, pop them in the toaster and voilà! Healthy(-er than white flour) and cheap(-er than Kashi) whole wheat waffles, that, best of all, have been declared "better than cardboard!"

Ah. Sweet success!

Friday Favorites

Make Your Own Daily Shower Spray

Real Simple's New Uses for Things in Your Office - some of these things are very impractical to me but some are creative and could be very useful.


Garage Sale How To from Ready Made - With garage sale time here this might have some useful tips for those wanting to do a garage sale


SixThreeFive sent me the next 2 links to share...
Scandi Foodie - the photos alone on this site are amazing. Make me hungry!

Princess Cake - "It is a sponge cake that has a cream filling and the layers are brushed with a simple syrup and raspberry jam. The cake is frosted with whipped cream and then a light green marzipan topping is rolled and stretched over the entire cake."

Quick Mops vs Standard Mops

Here's an interesting article comparing the costs of various mopping options.

Personally, I love the ease and convenience of the Swiffer wetjet, but I don't love the cost of buying disposable pads or new bottles of cleaning solution. Since I mop almost every day, it'd cost me a fortune to stay stocked in pads and solution.

So, I simply refill the bottle myself (Instructions here and here) with a mixture of vinegar, water and rubbing alcohol (so it dries faster) and use reusable, washable pads. I have a couple of pads that a friend crocheted for it, and if those are dirty, then I fold up a microfiber cloth and use that. It sticks to the velcro on the Wetjet just fine.

I don't like using an old fashioned sponge mop because they can't be cleaned and that bugs me. Besides, most of our floors are laminate and sponge mops are just too wet for laminate flooring.

According to the article, the Swiffer Wetjet is the cheapest of the quick mops to purchase, but more expensive eventually because of the price of the refill pads and solution bottles. Other quick mops that include reusable pads and refillable bottles are more expensive to purchase but cheaper in the long run.

I figure because I made my cheaper-to-purchase Swiffer into a cheaper-to-maintain resuable/refillable quick mop, I'm coming out ahead of the game!

Ultimately, an old-fashioned mop and bucket is going to be the cheapest route. But for me, sometimes spending a little bit more for peace of mind in cleanliness is the better choice. :-)

Easy Wall Decor - Wooden Tiles

I got this idea from a magazine several years ago, I wish I could find the article but 2 hours worth of searching has not gotten me anywhere. You can modify to your heart's desire to match your decor. It just so happens that the original color scheme from the magazine fits my bedroom colors (cream and brown with touches of teal). Also, you can modify the number of tiles. I know I cut it down from the original number.



Supplies

9 Wooden Tiles, 7 1/4" x 8" x 1" (cut from 1x8 inch board.. apparently 1x8s are only about 7 1/4 inches wide)
Brown acrylic paint
Black acrylic paint
Medium sized paint brushes
Gold Leafing
Gold Metallic Lettering Pen
Gold Stencil Paint and stencil brush/paint dauber
2-3 Stencils that will fit on cut boards
Wall Paper Samples Book*

*Discontinued wall paper samples books can be obtained by visiting shops that sell wall paper and asking if they are willing to sell any or purchase off eBay.

Sand all edges smooth.

Paint two tiles black and let them dry. Paint 2-3 other tiles in brown and let them dry.

Go through the wall paper book and select 5-6 patters and remove from the books. Cut to fit the tiles, so that they wrap around the tiles and overlap on the backside of the board. Use a heavy-duty stapler to secure.




For the brown tiles, chooses stencils and apply with gold stencil paint. Let dry. When dry, use a paper towel and light brush edges with a small amount of gold paint to give it an "antiqued" look.



Take one black tile and apply gold leafing to the entire surface. Follow instructions on the package.



Using the metallic pen, choose a poem or piece of prose and write in very loose, almost sloppy handwriting. My hint on this is don't start from the beginning, pick a section that speaks to you and write until you can't fit anymore on. Mine is from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnets from the Portuguese".



To hang, determine the arrangement and apply fasteners. I used 3M's Picture Hangers (I think that is what they are called), they are two pieces with velcro and easy to remove tabs should you need to take them down.



I apologize for the picture quality in some shots. I didn't want to take them all off the wall because putting the back up (for me) is difficult and getting the 2 I took down back up took longer than I wanted due to the fact that I am extremely OCD and getting them straight drove me crazy. So I stood on tip toe to get most of them!!

As you can see I chose to do 2 stencils, and 5 wall paper, the book I chose had a lot of selections that I thought worked well and I didn't trust my painting/stenciling skills very well. The gold leafing was not as hard as I thought it would be, although the hardest part of that for me was making sure that the leaves did not stick to itself while I was laying them down.

Gooey Chocolate Muffins

On Wednesday I had an interview for a job I've really, really wanted and in the afternoon, the phone rang with the news that I got it! So to celebrate, I made gooey chocolate muffins, filled them with raspberry topping and had a glass of cider with that.



Here is the recipe for the muffins, unfortunately it doesn't translate well into cups and oz, so you'll have to do with the metric version. Makes about 12 muffins:

100 g butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 dl sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanillasugar (if you haven't got any, ignore it or put some vanillabean in casters sugar over night and use that)
4 tbs cocoa powder
2 dl wheat flour, all-purpose
1/2 tsp baking powder
Melt the butter and stand aside. Set the oven for 200C. Whip egg and sugar till white, then add the dry ingredients. Stirr well, then stirr in the cooled butter. Fill the forms about halfway and put in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. They shouldn't be cooked through, that's what'll make them gooey!

Then take them out and put them in the fridge. Mix ½ a pack (100g) of Philadelphia cream cheese and powdered sugar untill you get a soft, slightly fluffy paste. I think I had like 2dl of powdered sugar, but taste as you go along! Then mix in 1dl of thawed raspberries. Scoop into the muffins, which should have sunk in and formed small caves. Serve fridge-cold, with spoons.

The white ones on the picture are without raspberries and with vanillaessence, but they weren't half as good as the raspberry ones!

Car Trash Can

I thought this was a clever little tip....
Taking a plastic cereal dispenser and converting it into a trash can for your car.



Photo from BHG.com

Twix Candy Bar

This recipe is from the cookbook Baked:New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and these bars are the only thing I have tried but all the photos in this book make me want to try everything. I have checked this book out from the library and I going to admit this out loud or I guess more like in black and white print....I loved the look of this cookbook. It was the typography, the graphics, the styling just made me want to pick it up and dive into baking! But I know I won't touch some of the recipes because they are just going to take too much time for me. I am not a patient baker. I love to bake but I am not patient. And some of these recipes (including this one I am about to tell you about) include patience. And although I am sure the recipes in Baked:New Frontiers in Baking are worth the patience - I just am not sure I am the woman up for the job of testing that out. But I did for this recipe and the bars in the end were worth the effort. OH MY!

These are not bars you can just easily whip up in 30 minutes to an hour. This requires a whole afternoon. They are time consuming and messy to make. As I said I wasn't sure they were going to be worth all the effort but these bars are HEAVEN! Probably the best bars I have had in a very long time. If you are wanting rave reviews, have the time and don't care to make a mess - take the time to create these.

And I suspect that many of the recipes from the cookbook would end up this way - with rave reviews and worth the time and effort.

In the book they called them the Richman's Twix - Millionaire's Shortbread and that is what they tasted liked - an upscale Twix candy bar.




for the Shortbread
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk, slightly beaten

for the Caramel Filling
28 ounces sweetened condensed milk (two 14-ounce cans)

for the Chocolate Glaze
6 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

for the shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until blended.

Add 2 cups of the flour and beat until well combined. Add the egg yolk and beat for a few seconds, or until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough and your hands with a little flour. Use your hands to gently work the dough into a 6-by-6-inch square. You will have to turn the dough and sprinkle the top with flour as you go. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flour on the surface of the dough. Fold the dough over and knead until incorporated, then flatten the dough into a rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to the prepared pan and press it into the pan.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

for the caramel filling:
Stove top Method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a medium heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of boiling water over low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, until thick and caramel colored. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat until smooth.

Microwave Method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave safe bowl. Cook at 50 percent power (medium) for 4 minutes, stirring briskly halfway through, until smooth. Cook on 30 percent power (medium-low) for 12 to 18 minutes, until very thick and caramel colored, stirring briskly every 2 minutes, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the cooled shortbread and place the pan in the refrigerator until cooled, about 2 hours.

for the chocolate glaze:
In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled caramel layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.

Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the glaze hardens.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so as not to crack the chocolate glaze. Cut into squares and serve.

The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

NOTES:
- made caramel via microwave method and much like when I make my maple fudge recipe - it boils up and over the bowl - so be prepared for a mess in the microwave
- I would add 1 tsp vanilla to caramel next time after it comes out of the microwave
- I added just a bit more chocolate as I used dark chocolate chips instead and had a little left in my bag and didn't want to put them back in my cupboard so used the rest so my chocolate is a little thicker then pictured in the book
- I just melted the chocolate mixture in the microwave instead of on the stove top and it worked fine

Friday Favorites

Plant Information Online - "Use Plant Information Online to discover sources in 1102 North American nurseries for 106952 plants, find 370432 citations to 156910 plants in science and garden literature, link to selected websites for images and regional information about 19131 plants, and access information on 2647 North American seed and nursery firms. Plant Information Online is a free service of the University of Minnesota Libraries."

Homemade Microwave Popcorn Recipe - popcorn in a paper sack is almost all it is - so easy!

How-to Tune Up your Bicycle for Spring - ABC Quick Check to get your bicycle ready for spring that anyone can do at home

How to Avoid the Dry Cleaners by ReadyMade - use of course with your own care

Smitten Kitchen Crispy Potato Roast - I made something very similar to this over Easter and it was fabulous. So no doubt this would be just even better as all her recipes are fantastic!

Product Review: Kaboom Foam-Tastic

I've mentioned before I live in Central Georgia. Along with hard water stains, there is also the build up of orange stains on your white porcelain in the bathroom Why? Because Georgia has RED CLAY which gets on everything. Seriously. When I volunteered for the Humane Society, we had a lovely white dog who would promptly roll in the dirt after her bath. People would stop and say, "What an unusual color dog, what do you call that?"

I'm constantly trying to find the best product to get rid of soap scum, hard water and orange dirt stains in the shower. This week I tried Kaboom! Foam-Tastic with OxyClean.



I liked the idea that it sprays on blue and turns white when ready to wipe off.



It cleaned fairly well, but there are several things I don't like about it.

* The fumes are horrible. I wouldn't suggest spraying around small children or animals. Or without having the bathroom fan on or window open.

* It seems to me that on spots where there is a lot of hard water or soap scum it should take longer to turn white, but it doesn't. It makes cleaning these areas slightly easier, but you still need to scrub.

* The nozzle gets clogged the more you spray. I didn't notice this the first time and ended up with a huge foamy ball of cleaner dropping onto my shoes. This is how it looked after just spraying what little I did in the sink for this post.



So I guess I'm going back to my Scrubbing Bubbles because they work just as well and don't have the added bonus of headaches from noxious fumes!

Discipline and motivation

An exchange with a friend about self discipline and motivation... I thought it might be interesting to others as well.

"I wondered about keeping yourself motivated. I am usually a fairly self disciplined person, but in the past 6 months or so, I have noticed that I am "slacking" off in certain areas of my life, exercise, housekeeping, diet etc...It hasn't really become a huge issue yet, but for those of us without Dominants/Masters to help keep you in line - what "tricks" do you use when you find yourself backsliding?"

I'm extremely goal oriented and driven. I write down my goals and commit to making them happen. Sometimes certain ones take a backseat for a while but that is just a matter of priorities. I can't make more hours in the day.

Another reason why I write down my goals is because I like to cross them off my list, and see what I've accomplished in a month, two months, a year, five years. Accountability and commitment.

Now... back to staying on track domestically. :) I consider myself domestic mostly because I like living well. And for me that means creating a home environment (for myself, or my owner) that is soothing, peaceful, calm, clean and comfortable. For me, it is a matter of mindset. I used to have a hard time doing things for myself. I would do it for my master, but when it came down to just doing it for me, I would be more apt to let it slide.

When I was single, I realized I could always be *awaiting the one*, and in the meantime, I'd be letting things slide here and there if he wasn't there to enforce me getting stuff done. I could cook and serve a formal dinner to someone else, but when it is just me, I'd just grab a snack here and there because it didn't seem worth going through the trouble.

But my happiness is just as important as any future master's. So now if I am single, I do it because I am worth taking the extra time and energy for- its a form of self love. So is exercising, eating right, improving myself- I'm not only improving my life in the meantime and creating my own happiness, but I am improving the value of the potential property.

My house is my sanctuary and my refuge from the craziness that comes from trying to do more things than I have time or energy for. So it is very important to me that I keep it in order, uncluttered, clean-- my time in my home balances out the chaos from work and social life, and lets me unwind. Because I am so busy, I found it easiest to write out all the weekly tasks that I need to do to keep my home the way I want to.

Then I break them up into what I can fit into a 30 minute time period. I open the windows during the half hour and air out the house, and set a timer for 30 minutes for focused, steady work. If I need to, I do 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night. Anything I skip gets added to the next night and weekends are my catch up times.

Just as an example, I might plan out the following:

• Monday: scrub the bathrooms, put out fresh towels, wipe down the kitchen and put fresh sheets on the bed
• Tuesday: mop, sweep, wipe down the kitchen and bath
  
• Wednesday: clean out the fridge, make up my shopping list, and wipe down the kitchen and bath
  
• Thursday: tidy my bedroom (change pillowcases) and living room, and wipe down the kitchen and bath
  
• Friday: dust, vacuum, wipe down kitchen and bath
  
• Weekends: Laundry, grocery shopping, filling up the car/washing it, cleaning ceiling fans

Then I build those into my calendar so they pop up and remind me.

If needed: Once a month, I set aside an afternoon for one task (organizing spare room, purging closet, cleaning out garage) as well as an afternoon for things like shampooing carpets, wiping out fridge and oven.

Mostly, I try to do certain things every day: air out the bed, make it, wash dishes and put them away, put away shoes and laundry into hamper. The rest is just simply making the rest into a habit of cleaning 30 minutes a day to maintain. 30 minutes is not so much, and it will make a world of difference. And if not 30, then 20.

Even when I was single, this practice helped me stay on top of things so that if I ever served someone who wanted me to keep the house clean *and* spend time with them, I could keep the housework minimal and spend the extra time doing more fun things :) If you stay on top of it, it doesn't seem overwhelming-- especially since you already have a lot on your plate with working two jobs, socializing/dating, exercising, getting enough sleep, etc.

And if housework is not your thing... there are options so you don't have to do it, which opens up time to do the things you do want to do. Pay someone else, do a trade, have a friend come over to help and then go to their house the next weekend... but do something to get it off your list of things to do.

German Pancakes

I know I post an awful lot of recipes as compared to cleaning and crafty tips, but I love to cook and cooking for Sir has always been an adventure because he is rather picky and doesn't always want to try new things.

One thing I've found that makes a great Saturday morning brunch is Pannekoeken or German Pancakes. They are easy to make, they puff up very nicely in the oven for great presentation and they are tasty!

I was taught this recipe a long long time ago and while you can go out and buy special pans for this, I have found using a cast iron skillet or other oven proof skillet works just as well. The plus side to this recipe is that you can easily cut it down or make more, depending on need.

Ingredients:

5 Eggs
5 Tbsp Butter
1 1/4 Cups Flour
1 1/4 Cups Milk

Preheat oven to 425, place butter in the skillet and skillet in the oven.

Mix together eggs, flour and milk. Whisk until smooth. When oven is ready, pour batter in the preheated skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The great thing about this bare bones recipe is all the fun you can have topping it. I've used jams and jellies, powdered sugar, maple syrup, fruit, etc.