Grout Cleaner

Cleaning Recipe for Your Grout

Recipe:

7 cups water 

1/2 cup baking soda 

1/3 cup lemon juice 

1/4 cup vinegar 

Throw in a spray bottle and spray your floor, let it sit for a 

minute or two then 

scrub. You now have clean grout!

Valentine's Day Blocks

One of my cute friends invited me to do this craft with her!

Thank you so much Lauren - they turned out awesome!

Something simple and easy to make that didn't take much time at all. 

It made my living room so much cuter for Valentine's Day!

All you need is: 
Blocks of Cedar wood
Craft Paint
Paint Brush
Homemade Stencils for the I love U

Nursery Alphabet Wall!

I finally finished my Nursery Alphabet Wall! 

This is a cheap and easy craft you can do for your own child's wall! 

All I did to make this was collect letters.

Most all of them I found at thrift stores for fifty cents. 

The few I couldn't find I would buy with a coupon somewhere. (I tried to find a lot of different shapes and sizes to give it more character)

I painted all the letters the same color (just with spray paint) then I picked out a bunch of paper in my scrapbook paper collection plus just used leftover scraps I had.

I traced and cut the letters then used Modge Podge to apply the paper on.

After the Modge Podge dried, I covered them with it also so it would have a glossy finish to it.

Done! And I love it!

How to Clean Your Cookie Sheets

The Kitchen "Miracle" Cleaner! 

• You put about 1/4 cup of baking soda in a small glass bowl and squirt in hydrogen peroxide until it makes a nice paste. 
• 
  
• Then you rub it on the dirt/stain/grease or whatever it may be! 
• 
  
• You can usually just use your fingers, but if you would like you can also use a small sponge as well.

Sticky Sesame Orange Chicken

Here is a great new recipe to add to your collection for a great new year!

If you love  Chinese food you will love this;

It tastes almost identical to the Orange Chicken you can get at Panda Express! 

Easiest recipe ever - quick too.

Make some rice, serve it with it and enjoy!

Sticky Sesame Chicken Recipe:

(Makes 3-5 servings)

Ingredients:1 1/2 to 2 pounds frozen popcorn chicken
6 Tablespoons honey
4 Tablespoons ketchup
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onions
Sesame seeds

Directions:Cook popcorn chicken as directed on package.  In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together honey, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and salt and pepper.  Bring sauce to a boil while stirring and simmer for a few minutes until sauce slightly thickens.  Toss cooked chicken in sauce and serve over rice.  Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.

14 Reasons Why Happy People Are Happy! By Andy Proctor

I read this article a few weeks ago and it was amazing! Here is the link to the full article but here are the 14 points it covers. A definite read for all. See if you are truly a happy person! 

http://www.thereturnedmissionary.com/14-reasons-why-happy-people-are-happy/

1. They are Purpose Driven

They know that they are here for a reason..

2. They are Truth Seekers

They know that there is more out there than what they see. They think outside the box. They seek to know for themselves and are not just carried by what others tell them. They are constantly learning and seeking truth.

3. They are Okay with Messing Up

They are not afraid to just get out and do something because they know that messing up is just a part of the process of life. They get back up after falling.

4. They are Teachable

5. They Like Themselves

photo credit: vegvacious.blogspot.com.

Social scientists who study positive psychology have found that 90% of our happiness has to do with our general outlook on life. 6 We are the ones who control this.

Happy people have a healthy self-love. They know they are not perfect, but they chuckle about their imperfections and see the best inside of themselves. 

6. They are Creative

The happiest people express themselves in a creative way. They leave their creative mark on the world. They feel that they are unique and have something to create that no one else can. 

7. They know their Maker

They have the glow. They stay connected to God. 

The happiest people know their Maker.

8. They are Jam-Packed with Gratitude

 The happiest people find things to be happy about every single day.

9. They Have Moral Courage

The happiest people stay happy because of their moral courage. They have the guts to stand up for what is right. They defend truth even when it is unpopular.

10. They Work Hard

They just do it. They get things done. It is a part of who they are. 

11. They Scatter Sunshine

The happiest people lift others up. 

Be of good cheer. It will be contagious and then you won’t be the only happy one.

12. They are Optimists

They are filled with optimism. Their glass is half full. They celebrate what is right with the world and they don’t complain about what is wrong with it. 

13. They Take 100% Responsibility for EVERYTHING in their Life

They live a life of responsibility, not a life of excuses. They are the creators of their circumstances, not the creatures carried by circumstance. If they have taxes to do, they do them. . They know that they are responsible for their own happiness. They understand that they are agents unto themselves.

Take control of your own life. Remember ye are free to choose for yourself.

Start taking 100% responsibility of everything in your life and you’ll be happier.

14. They Know how to Live in the Present

The Christmas Orange

Oranges always remind me of Christmas because of this story. It always helps to remind me what giving, kindness and sharing is all about. Hope you enjoy it to!

               Jake lived in an orphanage with nine other young boys.  In the winter time any extra money there was went for coal to heat the old buildings.  At Christmas, the building always seemed a little warmer, and the food a little more plentiful, but more than this- Christmas meant that each of the boys received an orange.  On Christmas morning each child was given an orange, and it was coveted like no other thing that they ever possessed.

Each boy would save his orange for several days, admiring it, feeling it, smelling it, loving it, and contemplating the moment he would eat it.  Some would even save it until New Year's Day or later, much like many of us relish saving our Christmas trees decorated until New Year's just to remind us of the joy of Christmas.

This particular Christmas day, Jake had broken the orphanage rules by starting a fight.  The orphanage mother took Jake's orange away as punishment for breaking the rules.  Jake spent Christmas day empty and alone.  Nighttime came and Jake could not sleep; silently, he sobbed because this year he would not have his orange to savor with the other boys.

               A soft hand placed on Jake's shoulder startled him and an object was quickly shoved into his hands.  The child then disappeared into the dark to leave Jake alone to discover a strange looking orange. This orange that he was left with was an orange made from segments of nine other oranges- nine highly prized oranges that now had to be eaten that Christmas night, instead of saved, admired, and cherished until a later date as all the children usually did.

The boys in the orphanage shared true love and kindness by giving up a piece of each of their oranges to make one complete orange for Jake. He was able to experience the joy of Christmas that year because of the love the boys gave to him.

               This year, may the orange remind us all of the unselfish love we share for each other that was taught to us by our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Cafe Rio Black Beans!

Best recipe I have ever made! Great for your Mexican dish!

Black Beans

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup Tomato Juice
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Fresh Chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice!

I made this last week and it tasted amazing!!! I would have to say exactly like the rice you get at Cafe Rio! I made the whole meal!! So stay tuned for other recipes to come and get your whole Cafe Rio dish!

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 Cup uncooked Rice

1 tsp. Butter or Margarine

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 tsp. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

1 can 15 oz. Chicken Broth

1 cup Water

1 Tbsp. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

2 tsp. Sugar

3 Tbsp. Fresh Chopped Cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring this to a boil and cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender. Remove this from the heat. In a small bowl combine the lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over the hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

My Favorite and Easiest Zucchini Bread Recipe

Mix:
3 Eggs
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Oil
2 cups Zucchini (Shredded)
1 tsp. Vanilla

Sift:
3 cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

Mix both of these two separate bowls together. Pour in greased bread pans and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees! Enjoy!

Makes: 2 Large Loaves or 4 1/2 little loaves

Everyone's Favorite Pasta Salad

You will love this and everyone will love it at the Summer BBQ you take it to!

So easy to make and so good to eat!

Pasta Italian Salad

1 Package Bow-tie Pasta

1 Can Olives sliced

1 Cucumber peeled and sliced

1 package Cherry Tomatoes sliced

1/4 cup Walnuts chopped

1/2 Bottle of Italian Dressing

Instructions: 

Prepare your pasta the morning of by boiling in a saucepan of water. Boil it until it is just about tender but not all the way or over soft. Drain this very well and wash with water. Place it in a covered bowl and refrigerate for 3-5 hours to get cool. 

Prepare all of your other ingredients by slicing and dicing. About and hour before you need the salad combine all of your ingredients, pour your dressing over it all and refrigerate. 

When you need it remove the salad from the refrigerator and you are ready!

Wishing you a Happy Freedom month of July from our family to yours!

Hope that your summer is going as great as it can get!

I Just Love This Quote! Take the time to look at the beauty closest around you and all the many blessings that you have!

DIY: BUBBLES! Make Your Own Solution!

It's time for summer fun!!!

So why not make your own Bubble solution!

Ingredients:
12 cups of water
1 cup of dish soap
1 cup of cornstarch
2 Tbsp baking powder

Directions....
Now go mix and then let your kids make some bubbles!!

High Heeled Cupcakes

Fun treats to consider making for your 

Next Girls Party!

High Heeled Cupcakes!

Cupcakes

Icing

Graham Crackers

Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Rolled Wafers 

DIY: How to Make Pillow Covers! Cover the Outdated Pillows and Make them Brand new Again!

I love to create and I love to sew!

I am going to share my new creation that took about 

ten minutes to make -tops!

I've had my pillows on my couches for a couple years so they are looking a little aged - more like out of style. So I wanted to revamp.

Instead of buying new pillows I wanted to spend about 1/5 of the cost.

I made two of these for $6.00! 

Make sure you take a coupon and it is cheaper. 

JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby usually have great 40% off coupons online.

Also, on the pillows I didn't want to go 100% cotton because of the visual look. With these I used the canvas type material for home decor.

Here is the How To Make pillow covers for a NEW look! Hope you enjoy

For an 18 x 18 inch size Pillow
Supplies:
1 yd of fabric
Sewing Supplies and your machine

Directions:
1. Cut out 2 18 1/2  x 18 1/2 inch squares. (These will be your fronts)

2. Cut out 2 rectangles that measure 18 1/2 inches x 22 1/2 inches. (These will be your backs)

3. On the 2 that have the longer sides cut them in half.

4. Now roll over one edge on each cut half and pin. Since you cut these in half you should now have 4 pieces. Pin all four of these each on one side. Sew down these edges and set them aside. (This will be where they overlap on back to get the pillow in)

5. Grab you 2 squares pieces that you cut out first and lay them so the wrong side is on the table. 

6. Now you should have 4 extra pieces that each have one side turned over and sewn. 2 of each go with one square. Lay 2 of them on the first square right side down so the right sides of the top and bottom are touching. The two back pieces should overlap just and inch or two.

7. Pin all around the sides of your now newly made 2 layered square.

8. Sew all the way around. Trim the corners off. Turn it inside out. Iron and you are finished!!

 Place them on your pillows and enjoy the newness!!

Before    and     After

Guest Friday with Emily

It is Friday! And today is my Invite a Guest Friday for the week! I would like to introduce you to Emily over at www.myamericanconfessions.blogspot.com. 

On Monday she wrote this great article that she is sharing with us today. 5 great ways to think about for sure! Go check our her blog - it is awesome!

Monday: 5 Ways to be Happier as a Stay at Home Mom

Being able to stay home with you children is an incredible blessing. In the hectic world we live in, more than ever, it seems like every family needs a dual income to survive, so to be able to leave one potential earn
er at home while the other goes away to work is sometimes miraculous.

But.

Let's be honest.

While every stay at home mom loves her children (I'm sure) and wants all good things for them and feels grateful for them and enjoys time off from work and, and, and..... well, it can be tough. Frustrating. Hard. And it can make you feel unappreciated, dumpy, and undervalued. While hard work in an office can result in promotions, raises, and other forms of appreciation, hard work as a stay at home mom will result in great things- but often not seen or appreciated for years.

So.

While I acknowledge the blessing of staying home and the wonder that it is, here are a few tips to help you be happier as a stay at home mama. www.myamericanconfessions.blogspot.com

Go on walk!

1. Go outside every day. I'm sure you've had those days when you go to bed at night and realize you never once turned the doorknob to go outside. Whatever your reason, whether it's a walk, to run to the post office,  to get an ice-cream from Mc Donald's, I do not care. Just make sure that you see daylight (or moonlight) once a day.

2. Get completely ready BEFORE your kids are up. Whatever stage of life your children are in, make sure that you are up, dressed, hair done, and make-up finished by the time they are up running around. If you don't do it first thing in the morning, it will often not get done at all, or else haphazardly done throughout the day. You will feel worlds different if you can face each day knowing you look your best. It is a real challenge sometimes, but fully worth it. (Need help? Here are a few easy tips on how to not be a frumpy mom)

3. Always pursue at LEAST one personal interest. You love your little ones and most of your day revolves around them: changing diapers, giving baths, cleaning your home, making meals, and other incredibly repetitive tasks. In the midst of all of this, find one thing for YOU that YOU enjoy. This is NOT a free pass to neglect your children and focus selfishly on yourself; rather, it is a way to find joy and accomplishments outside of your children so that you can always feel that you, as an individual, have worth. Options? Gardening. Reading. Running. Gourmet cooking. Blogging. Photographing. Swimming. Just pick something you love and budget some time at least  once a week for you to do something for you. www.myamericanconfessions.blogspot.com

4. Get adequate rest.  I say adequate because I know that you will not get all the sleep you want until your kids are out of the home. (And maybe not even then) You'll certainly be up late working on projects that can't be done with your children running around and then up again in the morning before they get up- but find some kind of balance.

Have your husband work on that late-night project so you can sleep. Or find a time every day when you can get an hour nap. However you swing things, do not allow yourself to run off of too little sleep. If you do, you will lose your temper far too easily, which will cause you to say/do things with your children that you will regret. You are staying home with your children to give them the best upraising they can get. Make sure it IS the best by giving yourself rest so that you WILL be your best self.

Make him cookies!

5. Love your spouse/significant other. It is easy to become wrapped up in your children's wants and needs. Very easy- because they want and need so much! Do not, however, allow this to take away from your relationship with your significant other. If you do not show love and affection for this person who is an integral part in your life, regardless of how perfect of a mother you are, you will not be happy. So whatever may work well for you, make sure to show your love to your husband each day in a different way. Bake him cookies, kiss him when he comes home, or hold his hand when you watch TV together. It doesn't mater how you do it, just make sure that you get it done!

Do you have other tips for what has helped you find joy in the journey of being a stay at home mom? Share them below so we can all benefit!

Mothering Joy
I don't co-sleep. It makes my husband worry, so we just don't do it. But, the other day, at about five am, my little bundle of joy just would not sleep. I picked him up and put him in the crook of my arm, and laid back down in bed. Though he was wide awake, he quickly calmed himself and fell asleep. Once he was asleep, I laid him back down, only to have him wake up again. I repeated this several times until I realized that all he wanted was for me to hold him. Though it seemed like an uncomfortable position to me, my little boy clearly just wanted his mommy, which to me, was a great feeling of joy. www.myamericanconfessions.blogspot.com

Guest Post by our one and only Mary Jo!

I want to Welcome Mary Jo here at Great Tastes Tuesdays! She was so awesome to be our guest this week for Invite A Guest Fridays! Her post is awesome and her project is so cute! I am loving it! For all of you out there that don't think you could every make something like this - you can. Take a chance and try to do something you have never done before! Find a pattern, material and give it a try! Thanks Mary Jo! Go check her out at www.allthisforthem.blogspot.com 

Also, don't forget to come and link up with me tonight at 8:30! I would love to have you at my Share it With Us Saturday here at Great Tastes Tuesdays!

When I saw that Project Run & Play was doing a chevron challenge, I knew I had to give it a try. My friend gave me almost two yards of this deco weight chevron fabric from Christmas and I'd been saving it for something special. I thought a jacket for my daughter would be a perfect reason to cut into it and PR&P gave me a deadline!

 I used the Abbey Jacket pattern by Shwin&Shwin. First of all, let me just say that I absolutely love Shwin&Shwin designs! They always impress me when I hold up my very stylish garment when I'm through! 

For this Chevron Jacket, however, I made a few additions to the pattern to gussy it up a bit -- pockets, piping, full lining, and a name tag. The pattern calls for a fleece outer, but I wanted to use my chevron fabric and have a spring-looking jacket, so a lining was a must. And pockets...what kid doesn't love pockets?? 

I also decided to only use fabric from my stash for this project. So I've got this rich mustard-yellow Kona cotton for the collar, sleeve bands, and button placket, but I had to go with a butter-yellow flannel for the lining. (I like the flannel, thinking the jacket will be that much warmer on early-spring, and late-fall days). 

But I didn't have enough yellow flannel for the sleeves and pockets, so I had to use a giraffe flannel print. Which, I actually quite like.

The Sharpie name-tag idea came from CailaMade. The piping I had in my stash (not sure why...I don't remember using it before, but thought I'd give it a try here. I love the look of it!). And the last detail, the idea for this pink heart on the inside of the jacket originally came from Max California. I embroidered the words using a backstitch during an episode of Elmo!

Because I'm a little weird about clothes (both bought and made), I like to make them bigger than the size my daughter currently wears (which is a 4) so that she can grow into them and therefore use them longer. I might have overdone it this time by cutting a size 6. My kid is swimming in the jacket! But you might notice that in some of my pictures, the jacket fits quite well...on my 5 1/2 year old volunteer (eh-hem).

Maybe I need to make another one?? (Update: I did! See my Embroidered Fox Jacket!)

www.allthisforthem.blogspot.com 

Anyway, my daughter will get use out of this jacket probably (hopefully?) next Fall or Spring 2014. Something to look forward to, right?

 hehehe, I love the look on her face in the last picture! She wanted to pose with that clementine, so I let her, but have no idea why she's looking so freaked out!

Anyway, I had a great time making this jacket! And I really love the look of the chevrons on an outer layer! I'm really proud of myself for getting it done in under a week and for adding some extras to the jacket to make it our own!

And I so love seeing my kids wear mommy-made garments. Makes me sooo happy! Please come visit me at All This For Them to see more of my creations!

www.allthisforthem.blogspot.com