Friday Favorite: Cleaning Products that I Love!

I thought it would be boring fun to share a few of my favorite household products. I know I shared about my new Shark vacuum awhile back. It is still going strong and I actually broke my nearly 8 year old $70 vacuum this week so at the moment the Shark is my go-to for everything.

It's funny, when I find a product I love, my mom always goes out and buys it. I'm like her personal tester. :) Here are a few newer products that I love!

I am all about Windex Multi-Purpose Antibacterial. It's one product that does EVERYTHING. I am all over that!

I just got this new Purex Crystals fabric softener this week for next to free at Walgreens. I LOVE it! It makes my laundry smell amazing and the scent lasts. There's a coupon available on Facebook right now!

Cascade Action Pacs are a lifesaver for me! They have seriously amped up my dishwasher's cleaning power. Our water is terrible - hard, lots of minerals, ick. My dishes don't come out looking sparkling clean but they come out soooo much cleaner when I switched to the Action Pacs. I do use vinegar as my rinse agent and it works much better than the other stuff.

Tide Stain Release has saved me time on pre-treating the piles of laundry from Cayson... he happens to be a "slider" so his jeans always have stains on the knees. Not to mention, he's a BOY, so there's always dirt and food. I guess I should also mention that Taryn is the messiest eater EVER so these have helped with her clothes too! I just throw them in the loads that I know have stuff on the clothes and normally, that's all that is needed. They come out sparkling clean and smell good too!  You can also snag a coupon here!

Friday Favorite: Shark Cordless Vacuum

This Little Miss made this mess….

 

… she looks quite innocent, right? I’m here to tell you that she is very much guilty!

I employed my helpful 3 year old and my kind of new Shark vacuum and we’re good as new!

This is the helpful 3 year old “smiling” at Momma when he was not interested in smiling at Momma.  Apparently, it was painful.

So, that’s my Friday Favorite! This neat-o Shark cordless vacuum. It is so perfect for cleaning up the after meal messes that occur on our carpeted dining room (carpet in bathrooms, kitchens & dining rooms is ALWAYS a bad idea).

P.S. I am posting this because it works for me and I had to share! Not because I’m getting paid big bucks… because I’m not!

Friday Favorite: Baby Be Blessed

I was excited to order a custom baby doll from Baby Be Blessed for Miss Taryn’s first birthday. These sweet dolls are custom made by some lovely Christian mommies.

 

This little missy is so well constructed and I adore her so and hope that Miss T will too! She has a custom patch on her belly with a verse that we chose. Isn’t that precious?

Fair warning, due to these being handmade, the production time is 12-15 weeks. I ordered in September or October to get Taryn’s by her birthday.

Friday Favorite: Making Laundry Soap

I have embarked as a pioneer woman by making my own laundry detergent! I know it sounds insane… and maybe crazy, but it’s not that difficult and it is CHEAP.

Finding all the ingredients was a bit of a challenge. I had the hardest time finding the soap – I ended up ordering the Fells Naptha Soap through a hardware store. They were $1.79/bar. The other hard thing to find was the Washing Soda which ended up being at my local grocery store! I checked Target, Walmart & Walgreens to no avail. Who would’ve thought? I bought my Borax at Target – the cheapest place, I found. I also ordered tea tree oil here to add to laundry loads as a disinfectant. I bought a cheap cheese grater to use just for grating the soap so my cheese doesn’t taste like soap. :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent (Powder)

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try Ivory or Zote soap)
1 cup Washing Soda (Not baking soda)
1 cup Borax

Mix well and store in air tight container (or cute jar!).

Use 1 tablespoon per load – 2 if extra dirty! I add a couple drops of tea tree oil most of the time. 

The last time I made this, I doubled the recipe and did add a little bit of baking soda to my formula. It seems to work great in my HE washer!

Friday Favorites: Etsy Fun!

I posted a few favorites on my personal site today. Click for some fun lookies!

Friday Favorites: Spring has Sprung!

I thought I'd share a few Friday Favorites that scream spring from around the web.

I haven't had a chance to check out the Liberty of London line at Target but I've heard it's smashing! I also heard that it's sold out at most Target Stores. Crazy! I think this blouse is so cute and classy. Dress it up or dress it down. Look at this bedding set! Love black & white!

Anthro has this gorgeous curtain.... I love it! It declares spring is here! I just wish my pocket book could afford this beauty!

How perfectly springy is this apron from Anthro? With a $28 price tag, it's so affordable! It cheers me up just dreaming of wearing it!

I love pillowcase dresses for little girls! My Miss Priss will be sporting one from UptownBaby this Easter. And, yes, this is an Amy Butler fabric!

Prudential Baby also had a pattern for making your own pillowcase dresses this week so I'm itching to try it out... if only I had the sewing machine I'm asking for Mother's Day...

I found this gorgeous quilt made with Amy Butler fabrics on etsy. I love it!

I keep thinking I am going to make pillows like these from Pottery Barn. I think it would be easy to do using freezer paper as a stencil. Check out my post on stencil monograms here.

Hope these inspired you a little as we prepare for spring. It's been spring weather around here but we're expecting a blizzard tomorrow. 70 degrees today, snow tomorrow... Oklahoma weather for you!

I'm linking up to The Tidy Mom's "I'm Lovin It."

Friday Favorite: BabyLegs!

Can you tell I have babies on the brain? I’m just eaten up with girlie baby things at the moment. I used Baby Legs with my son but he was a spring baby and by the time winter hit, his legs were quite chubby. I’m excited that my winter baby will hopefully get a lot of use out of these darling things. I’ve already bought her a couple pairs!

For those of you unfamiliar with BabyLegs, they are leg warmers for babies. They can be worn with just a onesie – makes diaper changes a breeze or they can be worn underneath pajamas or clothing for extra warmth. They also protect knees when crawling. Oh, yeah, they are super adorable too!

You can find them many places – Target, boutiques, eBay, etc. I’ve even seen tutorials on making your own using women’s fashion socks.

Friday Favorite: Smitty Baby

I haven’t done a Friday Favorite for a very long time and thought I’d post a baby related one since babies are on my mind!

One of our previous neighbors just opened the neatest baby store online called Smitty Baby. It has to.die.for contemporary and creative baby & children items. I am so in love with this site!

Definitely check out some of their fabulous items, like this book.  This one piece

These adorable blocks

Oh, yeah, they have the cutest little boy who does the majority of the modeling. Isn’t he precious?

Be sure to watch the video on the homepage. It is crazy! How do people do that?

Friday Favorite (a little late): A Handy Crafting Tool

I just got a new tool toy the other week and I put it to use this week. It’s a Crop-A-Dile! Here’s the description from Stampin’ Up’s website:

“Finally, an all-in-one tool that punches holes, silently sets eyelets, and is portable! With 1/8" and 3/16" built-in hole punches, it silently and easily sets eyelets and snaps of both sizes—and there are no loose pieces to keep track of. The Crop-A-Dile also punches through chipboard, tin, and multiple paper layers with unexpected ease.
■ Punches 3/16" and 1/8" holes
■ Punches easily through card stock, chipboard, fabric, leather, and other thick materials
■ Made of hardened steel”

The cool thing about this tool, you can punch a big stack of cardstock all at once – and it’s easy! I’ve made two banners this week (will post pics soon!) and I just stack all the parts and punch through all the layers at once! That way all the holes are at the same spot on each piece.

I haven’t tried it on fabric yet but am planning on using it on chipboard soon.

Friday Favorite: White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer

My parents gave us a 6 quart White Mountain ice cream freezer for Christmas. I used it a few weeks ago – I actually made two types of ice cream in one week!

I love how quickly this freezer works compared to the Rival that we had. The ice cream is ready in 20 minutes! I think it would sometimes take me an hour or more to make a batch with the other freezer.

I tried this Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream recipe and it turned out wonderful! Love it! I was unsure about the graham cracker crumbs in it, but they really added to the flavor and texture of the ice cream. I also made 6 quarts of vanilla ice cream for my son’s birthday (pics on the Mickey party to come this weekend! I promise!). Oh, I loved the vanilla ice cream and can’t wait to make some more. I have several more recipes that I want to try this summer.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

Friday Favorite: Hydrangeas!!!!

I love hydrangea bushes! My wedding flowers were blue hydrangeas and since then, I’ve been smitten by these luxurious flowers.

My three bushes haven’t fully come out yet, so I had to post stock photos. I have three hydrangea bushes… two used to be blue but because of the composition of my soil, all three are now pink. I am thinking about adding something to make my soil more acidic so I can have blue flowers! I really want an Endless Summer Hydrangea – they bloom ALL SUMMER LONG! I just need to figure out a place to put it!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother’s Day!!!

Friday Favorite: Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer!

What? I don’t have one of these? Oh well, I thought it would be a great feature for my Friday Favorite because I really, really, really want one! I currently have a KA wannabe mixer which has served me well for the past 6 years… but it is past it’s prime and the bowl just isn’t big enough for my double batches of cookies! Hint, hint, hubby. :)

Friday Favorite: Martha + Key Lime Bars Recipe

My mom bought me Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook for Christmas this year. I Love this book with a capital L. I wasn’t crazy about the 1st recipe I tried (Chocolate Sugar Cookies), but I just love to flip through the book looking at all the yummy recipes. So many to choose from!!!

I may have mentioned that I made Key lime bars for our church dessert auction. I love Key lime – one of my favorites is Cheesecake Factory’s Key Lime Cheesecake. Oh, yum! Heaven by the slice!

This recipe is pretty straight forward and simple – except for squeezing 23 key limes. That was a bit time consuming, but worth it in the end.

Key Lime Bars

Ingredients
For the Crust:

1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand)
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 23 key limes total)

For the Garnish:

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Make crust by stirring together the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press evenly into the bottom of an 8” square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about ten minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

3. Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake about 10 minutes or just until filling is set, rotating halfway through, Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Make garnish: cut into 2 inch squares. Put cream in clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. (I added some sugar here to make the whipped cream sweet.) Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Here my guys are crushing the graham crackers for me. Such helpful guys I have!

My laptop is going to visit the Dr. today... I don't know when we'll be reunited but hopefully, it wlil be a happier computer. So, I'll be behind on my blog reading and commenting. Boo! Guess I'll get a lot done while it's gone...

Friday Favorite: Italian Countryside

Versatile is the word that comes to mind when I think about my Mikasa Italian Countryside dishes!!!! We bought a set with 8 place settings one year on Black Friday for a steal at Dillard's. It was some of the best money spent. We use them everyday and I've used them for big dinners instead of my china... I love that I can dish wash them unlike my china.

Friday Favorite: Cookie Scoop

Who would have known how thrilled I was to receive this as a Christmas gift from my sweetie! I love to make cookies and usually make a double recipe everytime I make them. I could not believe how much time this handy little tool saved me the first time I used it. I should have registered for one of these when we got married instead of waiting 6 years! I know it's something simple, but I thank D for it everytime I use it!

I love how perfect all my cookies turn out now! I feel like Martha Stewart everytime I use it. :)