Burt's Bees Face Cloths

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite, go to beauty essentials.  I love, love, love the Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes!

These are great, especially if you're somewhat lazy like me, and don't always do the best at washing your face before going to bed.  They remove all dirt and makeup like a champ, don't dry out my face, and are quick and easy.  In fact, in the summertime I don't even have to moisturize after using them.  They are a must for freshening up on long road trips, after time spent on the lake or river, or a long hike.  And I couldn't live without these when camping.  You can pick them up at Ulta or Target for $5.99 per 30 pack of towelettes.

Homemade Hand Soap

Here is another little gem I found on Pinterest: how to make your own homemade hand soap.  I was super interested in trying this DIY recipe from Melissa over at The Happier Homemaker.  It looked super easy to do and required only 3 ingredients, plus any way to not pay an arm and a leg for liquid hand soap refill, and I'm all in.

Here are the 3 ingredients you need:

• 1 gallon of H2O
• 2 Tbsp. of liquid glycerin (I found glycerin at a CVS Pharmacy - 6 oz. bottle $5.50)
• 1 bar of regular soap, any flavor (I used Dr. Bronner's Rose Pure Castile Soap - 1 bar $4.50)

Put your water in a large pot to boil.

While you're waiting for your water to boil, grate your soap using a standard cheese grater. (I used a small pairing knife to finish off the bar, so I didn't grate my fingers.)

Add grated soap and liquid glycerin to the boiling water.  Stir until all soap has been dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool overnight.

Once it's cool, it will seem like it has solidified too much.  However, if you give it a good stir (I used a whisk) the concoction becomes quite viscous.  Now you're all set to fill your soap dispensers.  This makes quite a lot of liquid soap, so I stored the remainder in a sealed plastic jug.

Note: I used a funnel to get the soap into my dispenser and the jug.  You will want to do this step over the sink, as it can get a little messy.

I'm really enjoying my homemade hand soap.  I especially love that it cost roughly $5.40 for a whole gallon.  And I can pick whatever scent I want, by choosing different scented bar soaps.  I often see yummy smelling bar soap at World Market on clearance.  I will definitely be scooping those up from now on. :)

No Heat Curls

I found this great pin on Pinterest last night from Chelsey over at The Paper Mama on how to do a No Heat Curl.  She has really great instructions and a how to video.  I decided to give it a go and here is how it turned out.

Here I am first thing in the morning (seriously I just rolled out of bed).  

And here is how it turned out after I put some clothes on, washed my face, and threw on some makeup for all of you.

Not too bad, for having to do about 3-5 minutes of work the night before.  As you can see, my hair is quite a bit shorter and I have an extensive amount of layers.  Unfortunately my top layers on the sides and back didn't quite get 'curled' but they were fairly tamed down from the process.  I also have naturally wavy, really thick hair, that will hold a curl like nobodies business, so I didn't put any additional product in my hair.  I did spray a little of my favorite hair spray (Suave Professionals Touchable Finish Lightweight Hold Hairspray) all over, before I flipped my head upside down and finger combed out the curls.

In future, I will try using some Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Mouse in my hair before letting it air dry, and using two bands to try to get my top layers more curled.  This will definitely be going in my arsenal of easy hair styles.  Thanks, Chelsey!

Maternity Photos

I am so excited about my maternity photos!  I am lucky that my mom (Sagebrush Photography) is an amazing photographer, and did such a fantastic job of making me look beautiful.  I am pregnant with twin boys, so decided I should have them done before I'm as big as a house.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I can't even begin to describe how much I love them.  I'm glad my boys will have these to look back on when they get older. :)

Bread Maker Jam

Did you know that a lot of bread makers have a jam setting?  No, really, they do.  And guess what?  It's amazing and awesome and oh so easy.  I've made two batches of jam in my bread maker now, and both times it turned out fantastic, with hardly any work on my part at all.

Bread Maker Berry Jam

• 3 c. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. (can use a single type of berry or a mixture)
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 pkg. (2 oz.) powdered fruit pectin 

1. Remove stems and crush berries. (I just use my handy dandy Magic Bullet to blend the berries.  However, if you like chunkier jam, you may want to crush the berries by hand.)
2. Place berries, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin in bread maker baking pan.  Stir to mix.
3. Insert baking pan into bread maker and close the lid.
4. Select the JAM setting and push START.
5. Once the cycle is complete, use hot pads to remove the pan from the unit.
6. Pour mixture into a refrigerator or freezer container or a canning jar.  Leave a 1/2 in. head space.
7. If canning, boil jars for 10 min. or pressure can for 5 min.  Allow to cool and tighten lids.

 And you're done!  Delicious homemade jam with hardly any effort and all the rewards. :)

Just a note: For my first batch of jam I used the Real Lemon lemon juice and 3 Tbsp. was the right amount.  However, for the second batch I used the Santa Cruz Organic Lemon Juice that is not from concentrate, and 3 Tbsp. of this was a little over kill.  My jam actually tastes more like strawberry lemonade jam, which is still delicious, but not quite what I was expecting.  I think that 1 1/2 Tbsp. probably would have been the perfect amount for this type of lemon juice.

Laundry, Laundry...

It's a new year!  Time to organize and refresh.  My first project for this year was making my laundry room, which is right off of my kitchen, a prettier, more inviting space.  I figure if it looks nice, I'll hopefully not mind doing laundry as much. ;)

 

I found these pretty Threshold Milk Crate Baskets at Target ($20.29 each) to store my white rags and kitchen towels.

The cute metal Storage tote is from World Market ($25).  I used it for my Shout, dryer sheets, Woolite, bleach, dryer balls, and lingerie bags.  The glass jar for storing my baking soda was something I had around the house and re-purposed.  The Savannah Embossed Drink Dispensers are from World Market ($19.99 each).  I used these for my vinegar and laundry detergent.  The small Tablecraft Measured Pourer is also from World Market ($1.99).
   

I added this Threshold Turned Wood Table Lamp from Target ($24.99) to my counter, since my laundry room doesn't have the greatest lighting.  It helps a lot and is nice to leave on when I know I'll be getting home late.  The Laundry Wall Hook is from World Market ($15.99).  Not only does this give me a place to hang my hand towel now, but I'll be able to hang my sun hats for gardening on it this summer. :)

Make Ahead Crock Pot Meals

The other day while scrolling through my news feed on Facebook, I saw this post from a friend, 10 Easy Crock-Pot Freezer Meals - Mommy's Fabulous Finds.  I love using my slow cooker, so I checked it out and thought to myself, "This is genius!  Why have I never done this before?"

With this epiphany in mind, I made a list of all the things I didn't already have in my cupboard/fridge/freezer and made out for the grocery store.  In addition to the 10 meals listed in the link above, I added two of my own from a great cook book I found in the grocery store check out aisle last year.  I added Swiss Steak with Mushrooms and Onions and Country Captain Kitchen from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution (recipes below).

As you can see, I set everything out, prepped all the veggies, then added all the ingredients for each meal to a labeled gallon freezer bag with instructions for cooking on the bag.  And Voila!

Twelve crock pot meals all ready to be frozen for future use.  All together, with labeling the bags, setting out all the ingredients, prepping the vegetables, and assembling the meals it took me about 6 hours.  Which seems like a lot, but really only comes to 30 minutes per meal.  We've already tried the Sweet and Sour Meatballs, which was better than I expected it to be, and the Swiss Steak, which was awesome.  I will most likely supplement what I have left of these in another month or so, before the babies get here.  That way my husband and I can have a nice home cooked meal with no effort involved except dumping the bag of ingredients in the slow cooker.  Which I assume is all we'll have time for with two new babies in the house. :)


Swiss Steak with Mushrooms and Onions

• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 lbs. white mushrooms, sliced thin
• 2 onions, halved and sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 1/4 c. dry sherry (I used sherry cooking wine found in the grocery store)
• 1-2 lbs. beef stew meat cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1. Place all ingredients except cream and cornstarch in your gallon freezer bag.
2. When ready to use, thaw overnight in fridge.
3. Put contents of bag in slow cooker and cook on High for 5-7 hours.
4. When finished, skim excess fat from remaining liquid.
5. In a small bowl whisk together cream and cornstarch.  Slowly add this to contents of crock pot while stirring.  
6. Turn slow cooker off and allow liquid to thicken for about 5 minutes.
7.  Serve over rice or egg noodles.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Country Captain Chicken

• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in. pieces 
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. curry powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1 c. mango chutney
• 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed and fat trimmed
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cut in to 1/2 in. pieces
• 1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted

1. Place all ingredients except salt, pepper, parsley, apple, and almonds in your gallon freezer bag.
2. When ready to use, thaw overnight in fridge.
3. Put contents of bag in slow cooker and cook on Low for 4-6 hours.
4. When finished, skim excess fat from remaining liquid.
5. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve over rice and sprinkle with almonds and apple.