Most recently, I mixed up a batch of laundry detergent using the recipe from Saving Naturally.  I purchased a big stock pot and a grater from Goodwill just to use when I’m trying out things like this.  As a side note, I did turn my back after adding the washing soda to measure the Borax, and it quickly boiled over, so I will have to watch that in the future.

So far so good – though we don’t have kids and aren’t really messy, so I can’t attest to how well this works with really dirty cloths.  It maybe separates more than store-bought detergent so I just shake the jug before pouring it in.  I read somewhere that if you add a little store-bought detergent to the homemade it helps keep it from separating.  I haven’t tried that though.  I figure it would still be much cheaper than just using straight store-bought detergent.

My mom was kind enough to make some 21″ pillow covers for the living room.  I don’t like a lot of throw pillows – they always just end up tossed aside or on the floor, but a few can really help add a little color to the living room.  I have a few drab pillows that I bought when we first got these couches from Bradley’s parents, but they look deflated, cheap and lifeless – although they are really soft for laying around, so I keep them, just not for their looks.

I have been seeing a lot of articles recently about using throw pillows and the takeaways for me included using larger sizes (18″ is the very least), over stuffing them with feather inserts (I used 23″ inserts in these 21″ covers), and not doing the ‘karate chop.’  I didn’t realize I had been committing such a faux paus!  I got my feather/down inserts from Crate & Barrel.  These couches have such a strange lined pattern with an odd color scheme, so finding pillows that don’t totally clash is hard to do.  I like the houndstooth with it though, it is fun.  I have enough fabric left for a third pillow, so I am thinking I will make one more.

We searched consumer reports and dishwashers by Bosch were all at the very top of the list, so that is what we chose.  It is nothing fancy, but the interior seems to be almost seamless compared to the old one (which had four different filter/ grated areas in which food particles were building up) with just one, easily removable filter in the bottom.  The other plus is that the new dishwasher is much quieter than the old.  So far we have run it a few times and everything is working out well.

Then last year, I came across this Dallas designer that had used a fun geometric turquoise fabric that I thought would be perfect in our bedroom.  I had my mom make an oversized lumbar pillow for the bed and by chance found a chair upholstered in the fabric recently.  It is Velvet Geo Turquoise by Robert Allen.

It dawned on me that the fabric from the guest bedroom is also by Robert Allen: Mosaico Powder.  So when I was browsing the green fabric selection online at JoAnns, and the one that popped out at me was another Robert Allen design, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.  There are so many fun patterns and colors, not to mention, the fabrics are really nice and sturdy.  The only down side is that the quality is reflected in the price, but when JoAnns has the fabric 50% off it is easier to swallow.  With a couple of projects in mind for the living room, I ordered a few yards of Square Pegs Kiwi.  I am really excited about what’s coming up!

Emergency Kit List (PDF)

I have not pulled together my important documents folder, so that is next on my agenda.  I went ahead and put together two backpacks of items that can be carried if for some reason we needed to evacuate our home on foot.  It has our immediate needs like snacks, toiletries, some first aid items, flashlights/batteries, blankets and a set of clothing.  I like these Jansport backpacks because they have straps that clip around your waist and chest to steady and support them on your back, as well as two water bottle pouches on the side of each one (I used one while hiking around at Yosemite and it worked out great).

In case of an emergency evacuation in which we would take our car, in addition to the backpacks and the car emergency kit, I have two totes packed up with essentials that would provide for a longer time than the supply in our backpacks.  Things like: water, water filters, food, tools, pet food/carrier, wipes, first aid, sleeping bags and tarps.

Here it is all packed up:

I am able to fit all of this on one shelf of our large downstairs closet.  The backpacks are on the next shelf down, and our jackets and shoes are also in the closet, just not in the packs.  My intention is that this will never have to be used, but like my mom always taught us, it’s good to be prepared!

First I decided to dig a little trench from the patio to the retaining wall and repurpose some of the retaining wall blocks that were doing nothing to keep the edge of the patio from caving to give the transition from grass to mulched bed some definition.

 I ended up buying five bags of stones to build up against the edge of the patio and then filled that in with six bags of topsoil to gradually grade the bed down from the patio for drainage.  I guess I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I packed it in tight enough for it to hold everything up, including the pavers on the edge of the patio.  After I got the grading finished, I staked down some weed-blocking fabric.  We haven’t had too many weeds popping up here, except that the crape myrtles we cut down still send up a few springs every year.

I bought a soaker hose to put in this bed because the Thuja pictured above decided to fall over one day last fall after being in the ground for two years.  I have it staked upright, and thought if I could start watering it deeply, maybe it will grow deeper roots.  Once the soaker hose was in place, I put the cypress mulch back down, adding a few bags to freshen everything up.  Next on the yard agenda is replacing the fence!

And for comparison, here is what this bed looked
like when we first installed the Thuja Greens:

I measured each drawer and all of my gadgets to figure out how many and what size organizers I would need.  I was left with a little space around the edges of course, but that turned into the perfect space for the few utensils I have that are longer than the organizers.

I was so excited to start organizing that I forgot to take a before picture, but here is an old shot of many of my gadgets jumbled together.  I’m sure a few extra items have been added since this picture.

I have also been getting tired of everything teetering on the pantry shelves, so I found some inexpensive baskets at Old Time Pottery that are the same depth as the shelves in our pantry to give everything a little more structure.  I bought all they had but still need a few more to keep the canned foods from tipping off the shelf.

Outdoor Decorations (inspiration here)

The letters came from Jo-Anns.  I spray-painted them and attached them to a board so they wouldn’t get knocked over.  I wanted to attach some balloons to it like the inspiration, but my last minute run to the Dollar Tree revealed that they do not sell plain balloons filled with helium as I had thought.  At that point, I didn’t have time to find anywhere else to buy some.

Fingerprint Guestbook (inspiration here)

I decided to play off the outside decoration and cut ‘ONE’ out with my Silhouette.  I drew strings and had four colors of ink pads for guests to make their ‘balloons’ with.  I found a huge bag of toy blocks at Goodwill, so after sorting through them I found a good assortment of colors to spell out Vera’s 1st Birthday.  I snagged the fabric V when I saw it at Anthropologie and sent it home with Vera after the party.

Lollipop Bouquet (inspiration here)

I used the biggest circle punch I had to cut different colored tissue paper, then used a small hole punch to make a hole for the lollipop stick.

Favorite Photos Display (inspiration here)

I found the faux grass at Garden Ridge and the Ball jars at Goodwill.  Bethany sent me her favorite photos and I printed and cut them out and nestled them in the jars.

Pennant Banner

I used coordinating sheets of scrapbook paper to make a pennant banner for the mantle.  I used my Silhouette to get even sized pennants.

Honeycomb Balls and Paper Poms (inspiration here)

I found the honeycomb balls and fans on Amazon and the tissue poms are homemade.  Originally, I was thinking of hanging them around a chandelier like the inspiration, but they ended up in the doorway, clustered in the corners to keep some head room in the center.

Flowers

Our yard has done really well this year and the entire bouquet consists of flowers that are blooming in our yard right now.

As for food, the afternoon was very casual with pizza and soda, but I always have fun making a few treats for parties.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe here) and knock-off Cold Stone Cake Batter Ice Cream (recipe here)

Sausage Balls (recipe here)

Homemade Lemonade (recipe here) and Strawberry Slush Punch (recipe here)

This is the same punch I served at Vera’s baby shower.

I think Vera had a lot of fun with her smash cake and opening gifts.  We gave her a First Book of Sushi board book and a wooden sushi set.

I haven’t bought disposable cleaning wipes in years, because they are expensive and wasteful, but I do like the thought of having a quick and easy solution for wiping down the bathroom counter.  Then it dawned on me – I can make reusable cleaning wipes.  I purchased a plastic food storage container with a rubber seal and a set of flour sack towels.  I cut the towels up, getting six wipes from each towel.  I folded them to fit in the container and poured all-purpose cleaning solution on them. (At this point I use diluted Simple Green which is non-toxic and biodegradable)

In addition to household cleaners, I am also interested in making healthier health/beauty choices.  I have been using organic shampoo and conditioner for years now to get away from the sulfates.  Recently, I spent a morning making homemade lip balm using this recipe.  I ended up making 14 tubes – the price per tube was a little more than $1 (which is what you would spend at the store for Carmex), but I still have a collection of empty tubes and a good bit of cocoa butter left over to make another batch one day.  I have also substituted coconut oil for lotion some.  I am trying out homemade bug spray, using witch hazel and peppermint essential oil.  My next adventure may be making shaving cream.

The same preparedness has always been a part of my car as well.  Since I first started driving, I have always had a tote of emergency supplies in my car’s trunk.  It includes two ready-made kits specifically for cars with things like first aid items, a help sign, fix-a-flat, tools specific for cars, a flashlight, poncho, and jumper cables.  In addition to that, I have always kept a jump-start box (in case there isn’t anyone around to jump my car off), a blanket, paper towels, an ice scraper, and a 4-way tire iron (a lot of cars come with skimpy, inefficient tire irons).

After reading this blog post, I decided to add a few things to my stash.  I had never really thought about having a road flare in the car for visibility, but even if I had, I don’t think I would have wanted something that has the danger of fire associated with it inside my car.  Evidently, a police officer invented the PowerFlare® for this reason.  It is about the size of a hockey puck and uses LED lights to emit bright light in all directions.  I ordered one for each of us from Amazon.

The blog post also reminded me that if at some point I needed to abandon my car in an emergency, I might be wearing less than comfortable shoes for walking.  So I put together a little personal tote of things I might want in that kind of situation.  A pair of tennis shoes, socks, gloves, a poncho, a bottle of water, bug repellent wipes, hand wipes, a travel-sized roll of Charmin, and a hair clip.  It also occurred to me that I don’t want to have to worry about whether the batteries in the flashlight from my ready-made kit are dead during an emergency, so I have ordered a small hand-crank charged LED flashlight to add to this box.