I Am....

haven't done this in a while, but my last entry on a product review got me thinking I should rave about this new cleaning stuff I bought a while back (also at CVS of course!) It's called Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Soap. And.it.cleans.everything!



















I bought it with the intentions of making my own dishwasher detergent. A local AM mom posted a recipie online and several of us went out and bought all the necessary ingedients. I was waiting to empty out my bottle of storebought detergent so I could refill it with the homemade version, but decided to try it out on something else in the meantime. I cleaned my kitchen floors, the air conditioner register, the countertops, and the bathtubs. It can be diluted to various strengths depending on what it's being used for. So this 32 oz. bottle I bought can be diluted up to 40x! I am no math major but I *think* that would make it one cent per ounce! (if diluted that much of course) The most interesting thing about it is the bottle and the fact that the label is completely covered in writing of all sorts. You won't find much in the way of directions on how to use the product, but if you're looking for religious babble here ya go!

"It wasn't until I'd been using Bronner's for a couple of months that I actually thought to read the label. When I did, what I found was a whole lotta Crazy. See, the late Dr. Bronner was what you might call a little bit of a religious eccentric, and he liked to get his freak on with his product labels. So if you pick up a bottle of his soap, you are likely to be greeted with statements such as:

Absolute cleanliness is Godliness! Who else but God gave man Love that can spark mere dust to life! Poetry, uniting All-One! All brave! All life! Who else but God! "Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!"

Yes, the man lurved him some exclamation points. For the full dose of nuttiness, click on the pic and survey the entire landscape of the All-One Holy Jesus Carpenter Rabbi Hillel Extreme Love and Clean Shampoo! (All-One!) It's, um, entertaining." -- Me and My Jesus Shampoo

And if you'd like to spend a couple hours studying the actual label, click here.

i ♥ cupcakes

yes, i do! i picked up a wilton decorating bag and tip today, i figured as often as i make them i should at least try and make them pretty! this was my first go at it, not perfect, but definitely a start!

Toddler Muscle Shirts

This weekend we had a garage sale. As I was going through my toddler's clothes I thought what a shame it was that he had clothes he'd never worn but they were out of season now. I'm sure this happens all too often. I thought of the perfect solution! I got rid of the stuff that was absolutely too small, but I took his 2T long sleeve shirts (that were too big for him when it was cold but fit him perfectly now that it is hot, go figure...) and I cut the sleeves off to make them into muscle shirts. His daddy does this with lots of t-shirts so now they can dress alike! Now he has seven more shirts to wear this summer that otherwise would have gone in the garage sale box!

Here are a couple of them:

Staying Ahead of the Game

I was on the ball this week and cooked up a bunch of meals Sunday and Monday so I didn't have too much to do for the rest of the week. I love doing that b/c then I don't have to wash loads of dishes all week long and all we have to do is reheat stuff from the fridge. Even with tacos, you can cook the meat like 2-3 days before, and all you have to do is microwave it the night you want to eat it. It sure will come in handy when I go back to work!

being blissfully domestic on a budget

this week has been hard a little challenging. the half a paycheck corey got last pay period didn't stretch two full weeks. we ended up having to overdraw the account just to put gas in the truck to take anniston back home. we had to eat odds and ends from the cabinet, making some very unusual meals. i think b/t the three of us we've had scrambled eggs for 4-5 different meals lol. we still have two more days to go before payday rolls around again and i'm really debating spending my CVS extra bucks on a loaf of bread and a 2 liter coke. i decided to share some things you can throw together when you don't have much in the fridge or in the bank:

1-fried rice. a fave of mine, even when i'm not broke. so simple and good. cook some white rice and let cool (if you have leftover rice in fridge that works well) it's important for the rice to be cooled before starting. melt about 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup butter in a skillet, scramble one egg per cup of cooked rice. when the egg is cooked, add in the rice. stir in some soy sauce and salt. these are all ingredients that i usually have even when i have nothing. if you have meat or veggies you can add those but i personally like it plain.

2-cheese quesadillas. i always keep tortillas in the freezer, stock up on them when they are on sale. use cooking spray or butter in a skillet, sandwich shredded cheese b/t two tortillas and brown in skillet. makes a great snack! also, you can add meat or veggies if you like--chicken or ground beef, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes. good with sour cream and salsa.

3-mac n cheese. we USUALLY have a couple boxes of mac n cheese.....you can slice hot dogs or add cooked ground beef to turn it into more of a meal than a side dish.

OR you can do what i've been doing the past few days--eat pickles and cupcakes. those are two things that we ALWAYS have in the house lol.

Dish Washing Blues

I got the blues! The dish washing blues! It seems like every time I get everything clean, there's another sink load of dishes for me. Yesterday Anniston knew I was at my wit's end so she glanced over at me to see if I was looking before she put her plate in the sink. LOL (I did see her out the corner of my eye!) If I trusted the dishwasher, my life would be a lot easier. But, I just somehow think it doesn't get every corner or every dish clean. So I handwash everything and use the dishwasher as a giant drain board. I definitely think we will invest in some paper plates next time we go to the store!

Monday Already?

Mondays are not necessarily bad to me anymore. Since it doesn't mean I have to wake up and go back to work (haven't had to do that for 19 months now!) Mondays just mean a free redbox movie and trying to remember to post about something blissfully domestic.

Which brings me to the subject of DIY. Since we just moved here we are still slowly unpacking things and contemplating what color to paint the kitchen and what kind of of duvet cover to go with, etc. I got a whole bunch of books at the library for ideas for the kids' rooms and am working on Anniston's right now. I ordered her a loft bed and I have it sanded, primed, painted and halfway assembled. I have bedding for it and a few matching accessories. I'm now mentally arranging the room while I'm actually lounging on the couch b/c I ran out of energy lol.

Back on Track....

It's Monday and I am back on track with my


I haven't been feeling very domestic lately. I haven't cooked a real meal in weeks. (I do not count carrying a Stouffer's entree from the freezer to the oven, cooking lol. But thanks to my Aunt Brenda, for buying us those, so I did not HAVE to cook!) But I am starting to feel better and (almost) ready to get back into the regular routine. (almost, i said)

In the meantime, I will share my new fave snack with you. I found them at Walmart. I don't remember the price, but whatever it is, is worth it!!

I am Blissfully Domestic

Well this week I am inspired by these cute ice cream cone cupcakes over at A Tad Bit Prudish and I *think* I may have to try this out for myself. I have seen these before, but never knew there was a special pan to bake these in. Here is also another "cupcake cake" I would like to bake: maybe for Eli's next birthday.

Yes I Am....

So I popped on over to (my new obsession) Blissfully Domestic this morning and saw these sweet treats and I cannot WAIT to make some of my own! I also excited to have something new in my life on monday nights--I Am Blissfully Domestic . Hopefully I can keep up, I know I kinda slacked on my Menu Plan Monday but again, not being in my own home makes it a little difficult. So hopefully we will be moving soon and I'll get back on track with dinner. My parents have spoiled us eating out so much so it may take some time for me to adjust back to the grocery shopping grind lol!

a new obsession

http://blissfullydomestic.com/ can you say WOW? i love this place--it's pretty much a one stop shop, there are different sections at the top and my 5 faves are:

blissful kids
creative bliss
photo bliss
blissful lol
blissfully delish