For the love of bacon

Good Morning All! I am linking up with Silly Happy Sweet today for Favorite Things Thursday! Here is one of my favorite tips. It is actually from my husband... the bacon lover! ;)

When you fry something (like bacon) you almost always end up with a bunch of messy grease.  I never knew what to do with it,  the garbage was always a mess, and the sink is bad for your pipes. So.. here is how we handle that messy grease from our beloved bacon.

We keep a jar in the freezer, a spaghetti or salsa jar with a lid. After the grease cools a bit we pour the grease in and pop it back in the freezer. When it is full we toss it in the trash. No mess!

Winning the fight with dog hair...

Good morning all!


Today I am linking up with Silly Happy Sweet for Favorite Things Thursday.




Let me formally introduce you all to Doyle Brunson Johnson. He is named after our favorite poker player. 

He is the sweetest, most well behaved Golden Retriever around. He just so happens to be one the hairiest. I have always said that if you have a dog that you allow to live in your house as part of your family you must lower your standards. And I have believe me,  I vacuum the carpet a couple times a week and get an insaine amount of hair every time. Recently I have been feeling like I couldn't keep up with all the hair pooling under the table and in corners on the hard woods... so gross!!! My lifesaver... and maybe his too....... ;)


 The Swiffer SweeperVac.  My new BFF...

I love all swiffers products but this is by far my favorite! It picks up dog hair, crumbs and what ever other kind of chunks are laying around on your floor... instead of just pushing it into a pile. It is only $25-$30 bucks at Target, and worth every penny. It uses the swiffer dry cloths, that I think work great for dust and dirt. They sell replacement filters but I have just cleaned mine really well after each use and it has held up well so far.

 It works like a charm, saves my sanity and makes me love my lovable pup even more!

Swiffer didn't pay me to say this... I wish they did, but... I endorse them free of charge!

 I am feeling better today... sometimes just letting it out there and finding you are not alone helps! Thanks for the kind words! Love you all! ~Shelby

Pantry update!

I showed you my pantry here. When I did this pantry make over I had a hard time finding shelf liner I liked  I finally settled with the red and white checks. I did like it ok but the more I lived with it the more it bothered me. It was way to busy.

I decided to paint and I love how it turned out.

I emptied the pantry and got rid of expired food and moved some things that I no longer wanted in there.

I started by painting the walls WSU Gray... yes that is the actual color. Scott has a "man cave" That is WSU Cougar colors. I used his leftover paint. I chose not to paint the top section because I was afraid it would be too dark. I may go back and do this section when I do the touch up. (I always have touch up after my paint dries!)

I painted each of the shelves white, left over paint from Maddie's room. I couldn't find the saw horses..this worked. ;) The grass is dead from a game we played in that spot.

Then I put it all back together. This seriously took me like 4 hours.
Here is the finished product...

It looks so much cleaner with out the busy red and white checks.

I moved the pasta, rice and dry foods to the top shelf.

to make room for the cereal and breakfast foods down lower

I did some rearranging and got some new jars.

The cereal basket is from Hobby Lobby,  Kuerig basket is from Fred Meyer, all other baskets are from 

Jo Anne's. The black wash tubs that hold my flours and paper plates etc are from the dollar store. Spice packet holder from Jo Anne's. All wire shelves are from Target. Jars are from Target, Goodwill, Garage sales and my garage, I love me some bottles and jars! The cute labels are from the Farm Chicks store that is no longer open. My plan is to use my chalk board vinyl on the ones that do not have labels. Wire baskets on top shelf are from a garage sale about 5 years ago... I knew they would come in handy!

 Here is the before.... cute... but too much for my taste.

and now...

 I totally didn't have time for this project but I'm glad I did it. CHECK! 

Next up is my store room... uhg... one trip to Costco and that place is a mess again... I need some organization/purging/rearranging in there! Good thing those are 3 things I LOVE! ~Shelby

Milk bottle faker

A few weeks ago at the Farm Chicks show I found this great old milk bottle holder. I thought it would be great as a drink carrier.

After getting it home I decided it would also look so very cute on my table with milk bottles in it, filled with daisies. I only had one old milk bottle and it was to fat to fit. I knew I could scour garage sales and antique stores and find some but I like instant gratification and didn't want to pay very much.

 My solution .. Starbucks frappachino bottles.

(this was my day 7 on the photo a day June from fatmumaslim.) So fun, check it out! It's never to late to join!

 I showed here how to get labels off of bottles and jars.

Cute, cheeerful little center piece.

 I am shelbyjojo7 on instagram, follow me!! Also I'd love for you to be a follower on my blog so I can get to know all of you too! ;)

Buttermilk Pancakes and my 80-20 Rule

 I am a big fan of making things from scratch. Yes, I love to cook but mostly I like to know what is going in our bodies. I guess I have sort of created an 80-20 rule when it comes to food. If 80 percent of the time we eat real food, prepared in my kitchen and aren't eating the weird chemicals put in processed food then I don't have to feel too bad about the 20 percent we do eat. Realistically we all know our bodies weren't created to handle the chemicals we have in so much of our foods. Convenience foods have their place, even in my home... I just don't think they should be the base of our diets.

Artificial flavors, colors and preservatives are put into everything! Which is where I decided the 80-20 was a good ratio. My family wants to eat Doritos now and then. I will occasionally buy treats like frozen corn-dogs or grosser than gross... handi snacks (seriously that cheese smells like vomit.) I don't think depriving kids is the answer. Nor is depriving yourself, (I could learn to deprive myself a bit more but that is another story!) I put coffee-mate in my coffee every morning and until I find and alternative that tastes as good I'm going to continue to do it! 

We go through periods of time, usually when our schedules are off as well, when we (I) allow more fake foods into our diets. Then I have to reel it in. I allow more sugar and treats and then have to reel it in. We are back at a reeling in faze at our house. I have to get our schedules back on track and our diets. 

I clear out the cupboards and get back to real life, real bedtimes, real TV limits and real eating. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These pancakes are pretty much as easy as a mix. You need to measure 5 dry ingredients... how much longer will that take you? We love breakfast for dinner I will sometimes double or even triple this and freeze the pancakes for a quick breakfast, they are also great for a snack with peanut butter on them.

Buttermilk Pancakes


1 c. flour
1 TBSP. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
1 c. buttermilk
2 TBSP. oil

 whisk together dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. mix well. pour batter on to coated (pam spray or butter) griddle, fry until edges start to bubble, flip and finish other side. Serve with real maple syrup or fresh strawberries and whipped cream for a special treat.


* if you do not have buttermilk you can make your own by combining just under 1 c. milk and 
   1 TBSP. vinegar or lemon juice. Add milk to measure 1 full cup. Sit about 5 minutes. That's it!

Yep, that is spray whipped cream, that's where the 20 % comes in. That stuff is FUN and is a special treat.

Happy Monday! ~Shelby

Ice cream in a bag

As the weather gets warmer we love to make Ice cream in a bag.

 Fast, fun and yummy.

Here's the line up.... EASY PEASY....

ICE CREAM IN A BAG

·         1/2 cup milk

·         1/2 teaspoon vanilla

·         1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)

·         6 tablespoons rock salt

Put milk, vanilla and sugar into a pint or quart-sized freezer bag. Seal well.

Fill a large, gallon-sized freezer bag with ice. Add the rock salt. 

Put the smaller bag into the larger bag and seal.

Shake, shake, shake and mix until the ice cream thickens, about 10 minutes. You can also let the kids gently throw the bag back and forth to help mix the ice cream. The bag gets very cold, so you might want to use towels to hold it. Remove smaller bag and rinse off salt. Cut the end off of the small bag and squeeze into a bowl. Add toppings like sprinkles if you wish. Enjoy!!! 


*this is definitely "soft serve" ice cream and it does melt rather quickly... almost didn't make it through the photo! You can serve it in a cup for kids so they can drink the end.

** My kids like to add food coloring! ;)

Makes 1 serving.

 Send the kids, and the dog ;) outside to run around the house a few times while they shake their bags. 

                     

Easy way to get labels off of bottles and jars

I love to re use bottles and jars. Sometimes though I find it nearly impossible to simply soak off the labels. Here is a trick I use to make those sticky label slide off with ease.

Ammonia, zip lock bag and your bottles or jars.

This couldn't be simpler,  place bottle in bag, pour a small amount of ammonia in and seal. You do not need to soak the bottles. The fumes of the ammonia is what will take the label off. A small splash will do! Let sit for a few hours. Some glue is so strong it may need over night. I set mine in the sink or on my back porch.

Remove bottles from the bag and rinse in warm water. I use my cleaning gloves with this process. The ammonia is powerful! I wouldn't want it to mess up my pretty shellac manicure!! :)

This process couldn't be easier, and leaves zero glue residue.

easy peasy!

                 

Bottles make great vases, here are a few of my favorites...

A tiny, sweet vanilla bottle

A stubby, brown beer bottle.

covered with moss and twine.

I found this great tan and red stuff, (it is like a think trim or ribbon) at Hobby Lobby. It looks great wrapped around a pickle jar and finished with a little twine. {I actually did a set of 3 of these in various sizes for a centerpiece.}
I love a bottle or two! I'll be sure to show you some more great bottle/jar ideas soon! ~ Shelby

***Also use ammonia to easily clean stove burners at   TheVspot . Vivienne has tons of great tips, check her out!

Laundry room tour (and some tips)

This is really the room that sold me on this house! My laundry room in our old house was in the guest bath closet. This room is huge. It has so much potential, that I have yet to tap into!! I want new rugs, new paint, (I painted it this yellow and am not in love with it) and bigger art work. Yet another work in progress!

 We did add these wonderful cubbies.

that piece of barn wood next to the door is for a super cool project, details to come!! ;)

Laundry tips:
~I hang up all of my kids clothes minus their shorts,  pj's, socks and underwear. I even hang t shirts. They can see better what they have and the drawers don't look a mess with wrinkled,  unworn clothes.  This has helped my laundry situation so much. I put them on hangers as I fold and they take them down and hang them up. Then they bring their basket up to be filled again. Yes, I remind them to do this... almost every time!

~The baskets are labeled so I know who didn't put their clothes away. OCD? Maybe,... I have one for Scott and I, one for each kid, one for towels and sheets, and one to haul all the loads from the dryer to my spot in the family room where I fold and hang.

~Scott and I have a hamper in our room, mostly to keep my dog from eating my underwear. Too much info? Sorry but true. Anyway, my kids do not have a hamper, we have tried one, didn't work like I wanted it too. They bring their clothes to the laundry room each day. Believe it or not it makes for less dirty clothes on the floor. Yes, I need to remind them but that isn't really any different for anything else. I feel like I am reminding a kid of something all the time!!! You?

~I iron with a spray bottle. Yep, I hate to iron and this totally works. I only iron if it is to sew something, maybe a table cloth and napkins now and then. Here is how it works....

That is my "iron". I take the clothes out of the basket and spray away... hems of shirts and skirts, collars to my sons school shirts and pockets to his school pants. Then I smooth and shake, and hang. No it doesn't come out perfectly starched looking but so what... it is good enough. I have even been known to "iron" my sons shirt while he is wearing it, on our way out the door!!

~I do laundry almost every day and I still never seem to be on top of it, but I do put people to work, swapping from washer to dryer and helping fold while we watch TV. I have a friend that only does laundry on Mondays, all day!!

What's your laundry schedule? What are your tips and tricks for making this never ending chore run smoothly?


So there you have it, my dirty laundry...

~Shelby

Save your Green!

Onions that is!!

(please ignore the dirty window.. we have had some crazy weather!)

I got this tip years ago on an episode of The Next Food Network Star. 

After you cut the tops off of your green onions place them in a small glass, vase or jar with water and the green part of the onion will grow back. It does grow back rather quickly, this picture was taken about two  days after being cut and you can already see the new green popping out. Freshen up the water every couple days, as it gets murky.
~Shelby

Flower Rescue

Good morning!

While at Trader Joe's the other day I bought some gorgeous, red, Gerbera daisies for my kitchen. This morning I woke up to this!!

Bummer! Two droopy stems! The flowers themselves are still beautiful. So here is the easy fix...

Take a clear or green straw, for these thick stems I used a milkshake straw. (Maddie uses them for her soup, I will wash the green ones and save them for this purpose.)

Cut the straw so the a portion of the stem is in the water and slide on to the stem.

I was able to use one straw for both flowers.
And there you have it...  new life for droopy flowers, you would normally have to toss these out!

Now I can enjoy them for a few more days.

Cheerful!! ~S