Sarah's April Challenge Results

Better late than never...right?! April's Challenge was to try at least 5 new recipes that I have pinned. When I decided on this challenge I thought I would do a bunch of dinner recipes, but I ended up doing a variety of recipes.

First, I tried the homemade taco seasoning. I went ahead and made enough for several meals because I was sure it would be great. I really liked the seasoning, but my husband felt that it was missing something. I told him that it was the MSG and other additives that he was missing. I didn't miss those things one bit! He agreed that it is just a different flavor and he wants to keep using it because it is a healthier, natural option.

My apologies for the super weird picture. Those beauties are yummy energy bites; the recipe can be found at Smashed Peas and Carrots. I didn't use coconut in my recipe because I didn't have any at home. I have made these bites several times and LOVE them!

This Southwest Chicken Flat Pie was delicious! The recipe can be found at Lauren's Latest. I have tried a few of her recipes and was happy with each. I suggest stopping by her site; she has an impressive recipe index. I have made this three times now; it is so easy to make and my husband and I both love it. I left out the onions and added frozen corn.

That my friends is a warm, creamy cup of home made chai. I have had a love affair with Starbucks Chai Latte for some time now, but this mix may be enough to tempt my loyalties. The original recipe for vanilla chai can be found at Mom Advice. I didn't want to vanilla flavor so I left out the vanilla creamer and doubled the original creamer. Delicious!

The fifth recipe I tried was the green monster smoothie from Iowa Girl Eats. I didn't remember to take a picture of this one, but it was bright green and blended nice and smooth. I am terrible at eating salads at home. I buy the veggies and have all the best intentions, but I never want to make/eat salad. This smoothie is the perfect way for me to get the benefits of spinach without having to eat a salad! I was surprised that I only tasted the peanut butter and bananas.

Have you tried any new recipes? Where did you find them? Pinterest?

~Sarah

TGIF: Week 6

Hi there. Sorry I haven't been doing this post every week. I have been doing a bit of traveling and am not always near a computer to get this done. My motivation seems to have completely disappeared the past few weeks! Ugh I hate that. I think it is coming back though. I was able to finish some baby gifts and mothers day gifts recently. And I got some yard work done. I still don't have my vegetable garden planted but that is happening later today! Yay. So here is what has caught my eye recently!

Quilts, Quilts and more Quilts!! Sarah and I have both decided we want to fill our houses with beautiful quilts!! Which requires a lot of work. They are totally worth it though!

red pepper quilts

via

bperrino via etsy

I love the simplicity of this one!

I am also really hoping to do some sewing for myself in the near future! Hear are some things I would like to make.

elleapparel

mimigstyle

sayyestohoboken

LOVE this clutch!! So cute and simple! =)

Thanks for stopping by! I will be posting what I have been up to this coming week! =)

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Finally I did it!! I have attempted and failed at making liquid laundry detergent in the past. I have also made powdered laundry detergent which worked but took a really really long time to make. I actually combined two concepts to make this detergent. This recipe from icanteachmychild and this recipe from budget101.

Basically I followed all of the instructions from icanteachmychild but at the point when you add the borax and washing soda I also added the 1 cup of purex scent crystals. I also used 2 bars of Fels Naptha soap instead of 1 because in the past I thought my detergent was too runny. It did take about 1 and a half total. But I think this detergent will last us several months! Totally worth it in my opinion. As you can tell I got more detergent than I thought I would and started to run out of containers.

I ended up with about 10 gallons of detergent for less than $10.

What I think made the difference this time....

-Heat everything until it is hot and steaming not boiling.

-Make sure the water you add is hot (steaming)

-Use a paint stirring drill bit and drill

-When you dilute the mixture at the end use cool water and run it really slow to prevent sudsing

Hope this helps. Please message me if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Martha

Martha Stewart is at it again. She has a fairly-new and totally awesome line of organizational and office-related goodies at Staples. I spent some time perusing the aisles a few weeks ago and picked up some craft paper labels, a pocket to stick on the inside of a cabinet, and removable decals for my to do list and menu. Sure, I could have done without these things because I already had a pretty good system working, but I couldn't resist. She has got one heck of a marketing team. They pulled me right in...what a sucker! Anyhow...here are some shots of my new Martha goodies. I recommend checking this stuff out.

I reuse spaghetti sauce jars for dry goods storage and wanted to dress them up a little without going over the top. I think these labels are just what I was looking for. 

I kept stamps and envelopes in a 'junk' drawer in the kitchen, but that drawer now holds our knives so I needed something different to corral the mail stuff- envelopes, stamps, and address labels. My husband said he really like this system. He even said he is really starting to understand my organizational strategy throughout the house and that it's pretty easy to find stuff he needs. Hmmm..how about that.

I totally love these little decals. End of story.

I hope you have a great week!

~Sarah

Happy Birthday Sista!



Today my totally awesome sister turned 25. I cannot believe how much time changes things...in a good way. Believe it or not, there was a time when we DID NOT get along. Thankfully those days are long gone and we are closer now than ever. I'm grateful everyday that Stephanie is my sister. She regularly makes me laugh with her perfectly timed wit and super sarcastic sense of humor. She knows when I need her strength and she knows when I need her to cry with me. She inspires me with her creativity and encourages me by cheering me on. She truly is the perfect sister and I'm so glad she's mine!

I love you Steph. Happy Birthday.

~Sis