My New Best Friend

BAKING SODA!!


   Oh the joys I've found in baking soda the past few months! It all started with a not so white bathtub.. I was totally grossed out by the tub and well just kind of avoiding it all together since it meant hours of scrubbing my life away lol.  But one afternoon I had enough!! I just got the tub wet and poured the baking soda all over.. scrubbed for about 10 minutes.. and TA-DA!! Wow, that darn tub didn't even look that clean when we moved in! Now I can enjoy my showers and not worry about leaving the doors closed on the tub =)
    So since the baking soda totally cleaned the gross bathtub, I bought it into the kitchen... One random fact about me is that while my husband is away, the two things I want to eat more than anything in the world are: chocolate and bacon.. yes yes I know.. lol ... So the only bad thing about cooking bacon is the greasy pan that you have afterwords, YUCKY! It makes your washcloth and sink all greasy too.. never a fun clean up.. UNTIL>>> baking soda saved the day!!! I hardly had to use any dish washing soap and my water was only luke warm, What a money saver! I also cleaned the oven with a baking soda paste, keep a small cup in the back of the fridge to eliminate weird odors, and sprinkled some in the bottom of the kitchen trash can to keep the smell down as well.

   Now to the living room.. stinky carpet.. yes we've all been there! I just sprinkled baking soda on the rug, let it sit for awhile, and vacuumed it up! Its so amazing how it takes the smell away =) So those are just a few ways I've used baking soda in my house, I know there are many, MANY other ways to used it around the house. So check it out.. instead of bleaching the toilet or using a very smelly chemical cleaner on the gross bathtub.. BAKING SODA!!! You'll never go back =)

Thankful

   Now that we are heading into November already, I found myself looking back on this last year and reminding myself of all that I have to be thankful for. Even though its been a year of separation, financial struggles, and learning the hard way, I have many things to be thankful about. First of all for my husband.. though this is our second year of marriage, it has been the first year we have lived under the same roof! But we have grown more in love and learned so much together.. and boy has it been fun! =)

Second, I'm thankful for the blessing of a beautiful garden this year! I had no idea when I planted those little seeds in the spring how big they would grow by the end of the summer. I really can't take any credit for it.. Just watered and picked =)

Third, I'm thankful for my sweet little kitty cats! =) They keep my company on those lonely nights and always make me smile... even when their naughty! lol

Those are just a few things I wanted to share today.. I'm thankful for each day of life, the sun coming out, and the One who made it all.

Getting Started

  Within the first week of moving into our sweet little rental house I began planning out my garden. The previous renters had cleared a small patch of dirt in the back yard for a garden and I was going to put it to good use! I drew a panting map, bought seeds and away I went. I had a few good ideas to get steady little starts.. I bought a few of those throw away foil baking pans with the lids, put some gravel in the bottom with dirt on top and placed my seeds just under the dirt. Everyday I would place my mini green houses out in the sun and water them with a spray bottle. These worked WONDERS!! I had little leaves poking up in less then a week! It was very very exciting =) \
  Here is a picture of my wonderful garden space and our sweet little house...

 

Welcome to my life

  As a girl.. well sometimes even now, I pretend that I'm Laura Ingalls. I would put on my long dress, apron, and carry my basket out into to the woods by our house. For hours I would haul water, bake mud bread, gather berries and firewood. I always said one day I will live just like her. Now that I am married and have a house of my own I don't have to pretend anymore. Today I bake my bread with flour, grow my own food, wash my laundry with homemade detergent, and mend my own clothes. Some may say its hard work, but I enjoy every bit of it.
  People call me some domestic queen, but to me its a simple and basic way of life. Its easy if you put your mind to it! The joy of saving money, making it myself, and leaving a smaller footprint are all worth the work. I would like this blog to inspire you to make it from scratch, instead of out of a can or box... to grow it yourself, instead of spending more at the store.. and most importantly have a blast doing it!