and the verdict is.....

So its been a little while since my last post about the home made laundry detergent and fabric softener...

well first off I HATE the laundry detergent.. It may be great for some people but for me.. I dont know, I just dont feel like my clothes are clean..
Then the fabric softener.. I put in the conditioner to give it the good smell and I used it like it said..2 tbsp in the load...the first load I tried the clothes still werent that soft and they didnt smell good..they didnt smell like anything!.. so I added more..ended up about 5-6 tbsp and the clothes were softer but they still didnt smell like anything :/.

So I've decided that I will be switching back to what I like. Liquid Tide or Gain Detergent because it smells good.. and 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the fabric softener cup. Works wonders for me!

Next up on the agenda here is we will be moving within the next couple of weeks so I wont have time to post much but hopefully I will think of more things I can share.
I have a lot of little craft projects I want to do to decorate our new place... :)

Thanks for checking!!
Casey

The Frugal Domestic...

Today, I am starting something new.
I have been doing a LOT of research and have decided I would really like to start doing some more homemade methods in my home to help save some money.

I have scoured many pins on pinterest and many sites through google search and have pretty much just made my own decision on creating things by figuring out what the common variables were. :D

Today I made 1 batch of Fabric Softener.... for about the past month I have been using 1 scoop of All powder detergent and 1/4 cup of washing soda to wash my clothes, and would add 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar as a fabric softener (it really works well folks!)
But I noticed I was missing the smell in my laundry...I love my laundry smelling really good..so I decided on this recipe for the Fabric Softener..

6 cups HOT water

3 cups white distilled vinegar

2 cups conditioner (lots of people use the cheap suave from the dollar store)

Mix together the 6 cups hot water and the 2 cups conditioner until the conditioner is "melted" or well mixed with the water... I used some tresseme condirtioner I had laying around because I started using new hair products and just never used this one anymore.... once the water and conditioner is mixed add in your 3 cups of vinegar and mix well... add 2 tablespoons per load or use in your downy ball. I have a downy ball i just dont care for using it..I use the fabric softener dispense in my washer.

Next I decided to make up a batch of home made laundry detergent... again I searched around to decide on the best recipe for my family and I, and the recipe I decided to use was the easiest as far as I could tell...time will tell how well it works..

1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!!)

1 cup Borax

1/2 cup Oxi Clean (or Oxi clean alternative- your choice)

1 bar Fels Naptha (found in the laundry aisle...some people use Zote, others use castille soap and some even use Ivory soap..I stuck with the Fels Naptha plus it smells pretty decent.)

Grate your bar of Fels Naptha (or whatever you chose..) I used the fine grate side of my grater. Some people also throw the grated soap into their food processor to break it up even more...If I had a food processor I would too but I dont have one :(. Once grated incorporate all of the other ingredients with your soap grate in a container (I used just a big plastic container I bought at walmart)

you can  use 1 tbsp per load, 2 for heavily soiled items..some people even use up to 3! I plan on using 2 tablespoons per load because i have this awesome scoop with a long handle that happens to be exactly 2 tablespoons..

Now I have read that it is important not to store your home made laundry detergent on top of your washer or dryer because all of the shaking action can cause it to "separate" which i see is apparently the case... when I added all the ingredients in the container I shook it up...what i wound up with was all the powder on the bottom and all the soap grates on top :S .. I basically just took my scoop and stirred it up really well...seems to be good for me!

Sorry I do not have any pictures in this post... maybe later on I will... We are about to begin the process of moving and once that happens I can get things more organized and then will have more pictures of stuff...

I do not have any opinions yet on either of the items I made today. I full intend on using them for at least a month before giving an honest opinion :).

Now before anyone decides to leave any nasty comments... (long shot since I think NO ONE reads my blog and NO ONE ever comments :-( ) I FULLY understand the debates out there regarding Borax... I honestly believe that people are confusing Borax (the natural cleaning ingredient) with Boric Acid (commonly used to Kill pests and rodents..) Yes Borax CAN be harmful for you IF INGESTED in LARGE QUANTITIES... well I DO NOT plan on ingesting it AT ALL... not so keen on the idea of eating my laundry soap so yeah...not seeing any worry here... I believe everyone should try to become fully educated on hot topics before they decide to bash anyone... again like i said I do completely understand what people are saying about it... IF you dont agree with me about the use of Borax for cleaning... I do not want a debate here, and while i beleive you are all entitled to your own opinions... please dont spill nasty ones all over my blog :)

Thanks for stoppin' by!!

Its Independence Day!!!!

Happy 4th Folks!!!!

Hoping you and your family are celebrating this day of American independence and are having a GREAT time!!

In our house we have more than one reason to celebrate today...

It is J's BIRTHDAY!!! woohoo!!

I LOVE holidays- and i love decorating and cooking with Holiday themes.... now though we are proud of our American heritage and love to celebrate as much as the next guy... J refuses to let me decorate his birthday in all Red, White and Blue...

I can understand- he wants his birthday to be special for him :) Thats fine by me.
Well this year came around and money is a bit tight so i didnt get to really plan ahead as to what to do.

I have nothing to make a cake, I have no gift...what do i do?!!
 Well the Princess and I woke up this morning and made home made birthday cards... then i dug through the pantry to see what i could possibly throw together :)..

I had 1 box (partially used for truffles) of Dark Chocolate cake mix. So i decide to make 3 chocolate coke cupcakes (cake mix + can of coke) ...i didnt use a whole can because well i didnt have a full mix..i just mixed it until i felt it looked like the right consistency....

Then i needed frosting.. so i looked up and easy recipe using peanut butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.... i measure out the peanut butter and go to dig again to find...oops! I have no powdered sugar.... TIME TO IMPROVISE!!! I used about a cup of peanut butter (crunchy is all we had), a 1/4 cup of plain white sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla and just poured in milk and mixed until i felt it was a nice consistency...It actually tastes pretty good!!..

And i actually found a lone candle stuck in the back of our "junk" drawer :) I am SO excited that i was actually able to throw this together and i can give him cake for his birthday!!

Here's some pics for ya'll!

 heres the frosting..its not the prettiest thing but it tastes pretty good :)

cakes in the oven on 350 for 15 minutes.....

and VOILA! here they are!!...

I will update later to let ya'll know how they taste all together!

**ETA** these tasted awesome!! the cupcakes themselves were super moist and the frosting was pretty great :) I will definitely have ingredients on hand for some buttercream next time though.

Thanks for stopping by~

ImPress Press-On Manicure and then some...

Today I decided to review the imPRESS press on manicure by Broadway nails that i got in my Mom Vox Box from Influenster.

     ~I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster

I recieved this product in the color -Velvet Rope. Sorry about the quality of the picture..i took about 20 pictures and this was the best one that came out. At first glance you can tell that they are very obviously fake nails. I was pretty disappointed in the size selection - the sizing was WAY off.. even though it said to use smaller sizes for best results..i just couldnt do that.if i used the smaller size the whole side of my nail woudl be left uncovered..so i would have to use the next size bigger..:/ so far they are sticking well..sometimes they feel a little bit loose as im typing, but then again, what do you expect from a stick on nail right?.. The package says its supposed to last up to a week... We will see if that happens and i will update this to let ya'll know how i feel once im done "testing" them out.

Another item i tried today was the Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie with raisins. I dont have a picture because my daughter got ahold of the package and ripped it up..but I can still tell you about it :).
This cookie tasted like your average oatmeal raisin cookie. The slight cinnamon taste and the raisins and it was chewy..which i love soft chewy cookies.. However for a soft cookie i found it to be sort of dry. Now if i had to choose between hard cookies and this cookie, i would choose this cookie... but its not necessarily my favorite. And with 170 calories in that ONE cookie...didnt look so great in my tracker today..

These are just my opinions and i want them to in no way deter anyone from trying these products out for themselves.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Stash Superfruits Tea Sampler

Today i am here to review this Superfruits Tea Sampler by STASH. I am going to preface by saying I am NOT a tea drinker. I dont really care for tea...never have! I know, I know.. I grew up in the south..i should LOVE tea and drink it morning, noon and night like every other southerner on the planet right?!...Yeah...not happening :) at least not in this lifetime. So lets get this thing started shall we??

  ~I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster

STASH Superfruits Tea Sampler came with 3 packs each of 6 different flavors..

~Blueberry Superfruit Herbal Tea

~Goji Berry Green Tea

~Acai Berry Green Tea

~Mangosteen Green Tea

~Pomegranate Raspberry Green Tea

~Yumberry Blackcurrent Herbal Tea

I tried every single one of them and i wasn't at all impressed...but AGAIN I am NOT a tea drinker..

The Blueberry Superfruit one smelled the best. I loved the smell of it.. but the taste wasnt as good as it smelled (at least not in my opinion..). My 4 year old daughter (the princess) also tried them along with me.  For nearly every single one of them she said "they taste like crusty old socks!!" except the Mangosteen one. She actually requested that one in her sippy cup.

Now these teas may be for someone..they just aren't for me.. PLEASE do NOT let my review (opinion) deter you from trying them...

Thanks for stopping in today!!

Guess what's in my mail!!!

Back in March i signed up for a cool website i saw advertised on YouTube. It is called Influenster. You sign up and take all sorts of little "quizzes" to earn badges on their website, which then put you into demographic categories that qualify you for what they call a 'Vox Box'.... Well this month i finally qualified for the 'Mom Vox Box' and i just got it in the mail TODAY!!
Here is what my box looks like! 

And here is the inside (caution: android camera quality not so great :/)

And here is everything that came inside (again...crappy pic!)

Mom Vox Box Content includes:

~Dino Lingo Language Learning Demo for Kids~

~Stash Superfruits Tea Sampler~

~ImPress Press on Manicure in Velvet Rope~

~Nektar Honey Crystals~

~Ivory bar soap~

~Dentek Comfort Clean Floss Picks~

~Dentek Fun Flossers~

~Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie with raisins~

   ~I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster

I plan to test out all of these products and let ya'll know how i feel about them and if they work for me :). Now im not saying that my opinion is the only opinion but i am just going to share my own personal experience. I know just by digging through the box the Nektar sweetener smells soooooo good and i cant wait to try it out. And i also know that I am not a fan of tea but i plan on trying each flavor of the tea in that sample box at least once so i can give ya'll an honest opinion.

Keep checking back for the review posts on these items.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

 

Lose It vs. MFP

So i posted a little bit back about starting my Weight Loss journey. I posted that i started using the Lose It! app on my phone. At that point I did not have a scale and i didnt know my true weight. I was just using my Lose It app and trying..but i wasn't REALLY trying.. i was "cheating" a lot. Then my friend Jenny introduced me to a different app called MyFitnessPal (MFP) she has lost 30lbs so far using this app and starting an exercise routine. So i gave it a shot- June 1st was pay day, so I bought a scale that night and stepped on it the minute i got home. BOY was I suprised! I had been saying that i was about 250lbs... which is A LOT... but when i stepped on the scale i saw 255lbs!!! That extra 5lbs scared the hell out of me! Then i was browsing pinterest and found THIS and it scared me even more!! So saturday the 2nd was my start day with MFP. I started working out doing the walk at home program with Leslie Sanson - its fairly easy but still works me out and makes me sweat and i can feel my muscles really going afterwards. I have been doing walk at home about 3 days a week and watching all of my calories with MFP. let me just say this... I LOVE MFP!!! it is SO EASY to use! ... I love it better than Lose It.. there are more food options, more exercise options and even options to add in your own calories if you dont find what you are looking for!. I decided Fridays were gonna be my "weight days".. so i stepped on the scale this last Friday the 8th and was pleasantly suprised! it said 252.6!! that is 2.4lbs in a WEEK!... If anything that is a major motivator for me. I can not wait to get more fit and to lose more weight. I plan on being around for a LONG time and to assure that is a fact...this is what i must do!

Thanks for following me on this journey :)

cleaning tip!!! :)

If ya'll are anything like me, you probably have a toddler who likes to color....all - over - everything!!
And not only does the Princess like to color on everything, she prefers to do so with my my BIC permanent markers!!

I was babysitting for my sister the other day and so the Princess and my 3 year old nephew went crazy coloring with red permanent marker on my laminate floors and my counter tops...
Here is my little method for getting it out!

Here is what one of the big red marks looks like

Now a fun little tip to know is that permanent markers really arent all that permanent :)...
They are alcohol based markers therefor they can be "removed" with ALCOHOL!!!

Here is what you need! - some rubbing alcohol (i used 50% because it was in the dollar store but a stronger one would work better) and a sponge with a scrubby abrasive side (dont worry it doesnt hurt the floors- at least it didnt mine)

you can either pour the alcohol directly to the floor or soak some in the sponge and just scrub scrub scrub on that pesky marker mark.......

And afterwards you have this! - a floor free of permanent marker and no evidence that it was ever there to begin with :)! - hope this helps someone out!

Have a Great Day Ya'll!!

Lose It!

So I have decided that its time to make some changes... I was introduced to an app called Lose It at the beginning of the year and i used it briefly then...but for about a week now i have been using it daily..I put everything that i eat in there every single day and ive realized that im starting to hold myself for accountable for what goes into my mouth... Its really hard around here because my husband isnt exactly a healthy eater and any time i try to buy anything thats healthy he has to "compete" by putting double the amount of unhealthy products in the cart.... I am also a dessert lover... Cakes, brownies, cookies...you name it, I love it! The other day i found myself really wanting some ice cream..so i was reading the side panel and a serving size said it was 1/2 cup. So i pulled out my 1/2 cup measuring cup and scooped the ice cream in and sat to eat it.. My husband looked at me like i was nuts and began digging straight into the carton like usual..... I sat there and slowly savored my 1/2 cup of chocolate reeses peanut butter cup ice cream and when i was done i realized i was satiated... I didnt feel the need to eat more like i would have usually...

I am trying really hard to keep up with this- but it is only the 1st step. I am hoping that i get a lot more comfortable with recording all my food soon because as soon as it becomes a "second nature" to me i will begin incorporating more regular exercise..

Most people set their big goals (ex: I want to lose about 80 lbs total)..but i decided that to begin with my goal would start out small.. I saw on Dr. Oz one day that losing just 10% of your body weight could dramatically improve your health and quality of life... So my first goal is 10%. That is 24 pounds. My lose it app says if i work hard i can achieve that goal by August 22nd of this year...We shall see!

Just wanted to put this little update in here since i really have nothing else to share at this point :)

Thanks for your interest!

Breakfast for Supper???

In the Paine home...we LOVE breakfast for supper... so when i saw THIS pin on pinterest i just knew i wanted to give it a try...so heres my experiment with that.. :)

The breakfast wreath that this blogger called it is fairly simple..bacon, eggs, cheese...crescent rolls :) yum!

Bacon Egg and Cheese Wreath:
1 can of 8 count crescent rolls
5 large eggs
shredded cheese (i use finely shredded colby jack)
8 slices of fully cooked bacon 

First you lay out your crescent rolls on a parchment lined pan like this.. (p.s. please excuse my dirty stove..i had an accident in the kitchen with some sauce..lol)

next they say to line the rolls with some fully cooked bacon (i used the microwave kind)

then you put a layer of cheese :) mmm...i love cheese!

then youre supposed to scramble your eggs in a pan (season as you'd like) and youre supposed to add them on top of your cheese...i forgot to take a picture of that...oops!!
next you close up your wreathe and add more cheese on top...(did i mention i love cheese?!)

and bake it in the oven on 375 degrees for 17 minutes.............................................................
and when it came out.. it looked like this :)

Things i will do differently next time :
 First off next time i would buy the Big & Buttery Crescents instead of the regular ones..i prefer that buttery taste..
Also i would add a LOT more cheese..but that's just my preference...
Then i would bake it on a well greased pan instead of parchment paper..the biscuits just stuck to it like glue..
and last..I would watch it while its baking..or better yet bake it a little for the biscuits to get done..then add cheese on top and cook it until its just melted....

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Sorry its been a while ya'll...i know i promised lots of goodies for Wrestlemania but i just wasn't up to it.. After taking care of the kids and cleaning all day long and not feeling so great to begin with i just kind of went "blah!" but i have been spending a lot of time on Pinterest and finding lots of lovely stuff i either want to make or bake! :)
J loves cookies..so does The Princess...we go through a LOT of cookies in this house...and i wanted a really easy recipe, so i found this one by Baking with Blondie via pinterest and though i ought to try that! so here we go....

The recipe calls for 1 box of cake mix ( i used yellow but chocolate might be yummy), 1tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of oil and 1 cup of chocolate chips... i mixed all but the chocolate chips up well then added the chocolate chips afterwards and made rounded spoonfuls for my pan...

Bake these in the oven preheated to 350F degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a plate (i know ya'll just love my 'fine' china! :))

These turned out really yummy... i love me a chewy cookie. There is nothing worse to me than seeing a very delicious looking cookie and biting into it only to find that its hard as a rock..i HATE hard cookies. These were really gooey and yummy on the inside. This recipe made me exactly 28 cookies but i do tend to make my cookies a little bigger than the average baker..

If you havent already joined pinterest then you should! theres lots of fun things on there!!
Have a great day!!
-Casey

nails on tuesday...

:) Hey There..anyone...
So for anyone who may be reading and doesn't know me..I have most recently gotten into taking care of my own nails. I used to LOVE going to a salon and getting my nails done...L-O-V-E...loved! yep.. and i cant honestly say that there isn't any particular time that i dont pass a nail salon and smell all the chemicals wafting out :s and wish i could just pop into a chair and let them drill away..but ive decided to stick to keeping up with them myself ..yay me!! i also get this strange little rush when i get to go to a store and stare at all the nail polish and choose just one...sometimes two if i can get away with it... so i was looking around online one day and found a bunch of colors that i loved by a brand called Island Girl..unfortunately for me they are only sold in ABC Stores which are located in Las Vegas and Hawaii..BUT also on the fortunate side my lovely sister happens to be stationed in Hawaii with her husband and kids :) yay!! My mother is out there visiting for a little while so i facebooked her my choices and this past saturday a package arrived with my beautiful polishes in it.. (thanks mommy!!!) So today im gonna show you one..and should i say this color is straight up my alley...
my two favorite things Pink and Glitter....

This one is called Mahalo Dream....heres some pics for you to enjoy!

 

the pictures dont really show the color as well as it is in person...my phone takes cruddy pictures and my camera is dead :(( but this color is awesome..it's a Jelly pink/clear base with glitter and flakes in it..this is 1 coat of essie grow something base coat, 3 coats of mahalo dream and 1 coat of essie ready to go top coat...

 That's all i've got for Ya'll today but coming up this weekend is my husbands Wrestlemania get together so ill have some sweets to show off here :)

 Till next time!! :)

mmmmmm...... Brownies...

So i was in some severe need of something chocolate the other night...had no full cake mixes or any candy laying around so i had to dig around for a recipe containing things i already have in my cabinets....
Thus this really awesome and tastey brownie was born :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine; melted
1cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Creamy Brownie Frosting (recipe below)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit and grease a small baking pan.... instructions called for 9 inch squared but i think mine is somewhere about 8x9...im not too sure..

In a mixing bowl (I used this small batter bowl by pampered chef for everything) stir together melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and eat well with a spoon. In a separate small bowl stir together Flour, Cocoa powder, Baking Powder and salt; gradually add to the egg mixture, beating well until blended... you can add 1/2 cup chopped nuts if you want to but i dont like nuts in my brownies :).. your batter should look something like this...

at this point i add a good spoonful of Hersheys Hot Fudge Sauce because i like my brownies to be really rich and chocolatey...you dont have to, its just what i do..
Now spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan - Mine looks like this..

Next you want to stick it in the oven and bake it for about 20 minutes...until the sides start to pull from the pan and a toothpick should come out pretty clear...if you add a lot of fudge though keep in mind that the toothpick can get fudge on it if you stick it in a fudgy spot..
Here is what my completely baked brownies looked like..

While the brownies are baking however there is enough time to make the frosting :) my favorite part!!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter or margarine; softened
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon Honey (you can use light corn syrup but i use honey)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

In your bowl beat butter, cocoa powder and honey (or corn syrup) until well blended. Add powdered sugar and milk- beat until spreading consistency.
Here is what mine looks like when its done being mixed...

Once your brownies are cooled you can frost them and enjoy...they are super yummy!!!!!

Heres a couple more pictures of the finished product...

And again YUM!!!!! :) J and I just had a piece each with a BIG glass of milk... and The Princess will be very very happy when she wakes up in the morning and sees these on the counter.....

Hope Ya'll Enjoy!

Hey Y'all!

I'm just going to introduce us here. This isn't my first blog but my last blog was mainly for my papercrafting hobby and i didnt pay to keep it going so here i am :) My name is Casey (a.k.a Mommy) and I am now a Stay At Home Mom with plenty of fun adventures and things that happen in my own home every day! So here i am about to blog about the stuff that goes on in my every day life...So now i will introduce my family
1st up is my husband- we will call him J. :) we have been married for 2 years this coming June

this was a picture taken during my maternity photo shoot so there is a little me int he background..hehe :)
2nd is my 4 year our daughter "The Princess"

she will only be referred to as "The Princess" she insists that is her new name now...
last up is the newest addition to the family...he was born in November so he is 4 months old now...he will be referred to as Baby J :))

I am excited to share stuff here and let ya'll see what kind of fun things we do. I am hoping to share just random things the family does, recipes, crafts..maybe even review some of my favorite things...
hope ya'll (if anyone is reading this...) have a great day!!!