Jun 21, 2012

Succulents!



What better way to fill my garden window than with six new textured succulents and cacti?!

Jun 18, 2012

Geting Better Faster

It's morning.  Sore throat.  Stuffy nose.  Sinus pressure.  Sneezing.  Headache.  What is happening?? Who gets head colds in the summer?  Only children and great-grandparents.  And me.  Determined to be well in less than a week, I read up on my cold remedies.  I'm sure everyone's heard the usual:  drink lots of water, get lots of rest, don't exert too much physical energy, etc.  Well, I've added a few items to my cold fighting arsenal, and I really think I've shortened my typical 10-14 day cold to 5-7 days!!!

 
One tasty lozenge every 3 hours for the first two days (no more than 6 per day) made my sense of taste and smell nonexistent.

 
Seriously the best relief for sleeping with a stuffy/sneezy/runny nose.  I have read rave reviews as well as depressing addictions, so be warned.  I only used this the two worst nights.
 
I 100% believe this Green SuperFood has been the main factor in getting over my cold.  It is unreal!  I have never before had so many vegetables in one day in my life.  It is unfathomable that I could ever eat 30 vegetables (see the end of this post for more info ).  I mixed this berry flavored powder into my breakfast smoothie for the past three days--my new favorite!


Super Dark Green Breakfast Smoothie
1 scoop ORAC Green Superfood
1 T. wheat germ
1 T. flax seed
1 T. peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 dropper of Stevia sweetener
1 banana
1 c. unsweetened almond coconut milk blend
1/2 c. ice

Pour milk in blender first and add banana.  Then add powders one at a time, mixing until smooth.  Add ice last.

Tomorrow will be the one week mark of this cold, and I am so glad it is nearly gone!  If I am missing a tried and true remedy, please fill me in!

ORAC Super Food Info:
Borrowed directly from the Amazing Grass website, their experts explain that they use ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) to measure and compare that score to other fruits and vegetables...If you look at ORAC as a baseline, then the new ORAC Green SuperFood has an ORAC score of 15,000 and using the same math would equate to 30 servings of fruits and vegetables in one scoop.  Learn more here!


Jun 11, 2012

DIY Bina Wrap Cardigan

Every time I scroll through my craft/DIY pins, I can't find any spur-of-the-moment projects where I have all the necessary materials and hours on end. Ok, it's summer, so I technically do have hours on end, but when I'm feeling crafty, I really like to see the light at the end of the tunnel by the two hour mark.  Not many projects can be researched, completed, and cleaned up in one morning.  But the Bina wrap immediately caught my eye.  Of course, it was a Tumblr link, meaning I had to search and search to get the actual links, so here are the three I used: the Wardrobe Must-Have article (best visuals), the One Cloth Five Ways post, and The Bina How-To.  Using my scrap peachy-pink jersey knit I though I was going to use for this top, I laid it out and started piecing my "pattern."

This pattern shows a "no sew" approach (hindsight!).
I disagree with the above tutorials about using three times the width of your hips.  I originally went with these measurements, and I could not do any of the Bina styles because the back had entirely too much fabric.  Instead, I did what all seamstresses loathe--I took out my stitches, re-cut my pattern, and sewed it again.  Double work is not my forte.  My motto is do it right the first time.  
 
I used my 18" ruler to round up my measurements and make this project a little quicker.  The pieces I ended up with were 18" side panels and a 36" center panel.  Top to bottom, the wrap measures 30".  Each slit was 10" long, leaving 8" of fabric on either side of the slits.  I didn't bother hemming the edges because jersey does not fray. Next time, I will make the slits 9" and the length 36".  The snaps are sewn on opposite corners.  I had to guess at this part, but after trying the shrug and the blouse styles, the snaps worked perfectly. 

All in all, I spent 15 minutes laying out my fabric, measuring, and cutting, 15 minutes sewing, 15 minutes hand stitching the snaps, and at least 30 minutes playing with all the different styles in front of the mirror.  I'm definitely going to need more practice.  The versatility of this wrap is perfect for lounge wear or put-together-enough-to-go-to-the-store-in-yoga-pants.  Now really want to go to the fabric store and get more jersey!  I'm thinking gray would be perfect.

Jun 4, 2012

In with the Old

As I was searching for a place to store 11 hand-me-down round tablecloths, I started to go through the linen drawer in the china cabinet.  I haven't really touched any of the crocheted linens of my grandmother's since I got them a few years back.  After opening the tissue paper wrapping, I found all of these doilies that my grandmother made!!  Some of them seem to be store-bought, but it is really obvious which ones were handmade because of the way they feel.  Most of the doilies are ivory, but some are tea stained a deeper tan and some are just plain stained. 

These are the big ones.
My favorite.
I ended up refolding and storing all of the larger ones because they are too big for my tiny table.  But I still wanted to try to doily table runner I saw on Under the Sycamore blog. Using the small doilies only, I ended up just safety pinning them in place since I do not want to stitch them--at least not until I'm 100% sure I like the arrangement.  Now for a centerpiece...
   

Jun 3, 2012

Pinterest Plunder

I'm sure you've all heard of the vinegar + blue Dawn super cleaner on Pinterest.  If not, just search for those two words and you'll get a bazillion repins of the same few blogs.  It sounds really great--just microwave 1 cup vinegar, add 1 cup blue Dawn, shake, and spray down your shower walls.  What they failed to mention is that you may have a mild heart attack when you realize the blue Dawn is staining your bright white grout.  Yes, instead of just "rinsing" with a sponge for a sparkling clean, I had to scrub every strip of grout with a bristle brush! 

 
 
 
Now, I will not pretend like I usually am in charge of cleaning the bathroom.  In fact, this is the first time I've cleaned it since we got married three years ago.  But I am sure that the between the mixing, heating, spraying, soaking for one hour, plus scrubbing the grout while enduring the terrible odor is not any simpler than using good old Comet. 

Jun 2, 2012

Sticky Buns Remix

Since it's a trip-to-the-store-weekend and I haven't gone, our Saturday morning hot breakfast tradition was looking dim... Until I remembered THIS on Pinterest! :)  Yes, sticky buns are delish, but anything Paula Deen is loaded with sugar and butter all that other good stuff.  So here is my adapted [healthier] version:


Gorilla Bread Sticky Buns
2 T. agave nectar 
3 T. cinnamon
3 T. applesauce, unsweetened
Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1 skinny roll of refrigerator biscuits
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Spray a bread pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the agave nectar, cinnamon, and applesauce together.  Spread the nuts over the bottom of the pan. Spread each biscuit with 1/2 teaspoon of yogurt in the center, pressing dough to seal the yogurt. Place biscuits in the pan.  Spoon the remaining applesauce mixture over the biscuits, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Flip the biscuits over onto a plate and enjoy!

*I was reminded to add that this dish is missing the "real butter" taste, but that did not impede my husband from finishing the pan.