| I'm doing my washing today and ... |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|01:07 pm] |
I'm wondering how on earth you wash gingham material?
It's usually a colour on white. For example my red gingham top is white with red check. Do I wash it with the lights, the reds or the coloureds? Same with my black gingham shirt. It's white with black check and then has red trimmings.
I'm forever worried that if I wash it with darks or other colours, colour from other garments will run into the white part of the gingham. Or vice versa if I wash the gingham with the lights that the dark or colour will run into the other garments. What on earth do I do?
I'm a bit paranoid with colour separation ever since a pink pair of knickers tye dyed my blue and yellow knickers during a soak. |
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| Rinsing the dishes before loading the dishwasher? |
[Aug. 20th, 2008|08:22 pm] |
My mother and I are having a disagreement about rinsing dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. Mom has always rinsed the dishes and let them dry before loading them. Before this, I've always done the same. Now, I have read that it's unnecessary, and wasteful of time and water, to pre-rinse. But my mother insists that (a) her dishwasher lasted nineteen years because she pre-rinses her dishes, (b) this was confirmed by the repairman who checked out her dishwasher when it finally died, and (c) people who don't pre-rinse the dishes are slatterns.
What do other people do? And has it affected (a) how clean your dishes get or (b) the life of your machine? I don't want to be wasting water (up to 6500 gallons a year, according to Consumer Reports) to do something that has no bearing on either of those things. At the same time, I want to keep the peace with mom--and get my dishes clean.
(Edited to remove a rather mean-spirited remark of mine--hope that's o.k.) |
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| Where to find insect netting for balcony? |
[Jul. 1st, 2008|04:56 pm] |
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I have a small (roughly 6'x7') balcony off of my bedroom that I'd like to enjoy, but goes unused because it's about 20 feet away from a little pond and in the summer we get monster bugs. I've looked at places like Home Depot and Lowe's and they have insect netting for tents or patio sets, but I've found nothing like individual curtains. This would not be something I'd hang permanently, maybe just something I could hang easily with velcro and put up and take down as needed. |
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| Find of the year! |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|10:08 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  happy | ] |
So while my dog and I were taking a walk, I came across a big pile of yard waste that someone had set out for the brush man to collect. Upon further inspection, I saw that there were whole iris plants buring between the grass clods, gravel, wood pieces, and broken bits of landscape timbers!
"Hurry, Dixie, we gotta get back home!"
After I dropped her off at the house, I grabbed a trowel and a 5-gallon bucket.
I drove back over to the pile, popped the trunk, and started rummaging through, picking out the plants.
When I got back home, I wrapped the plants in wet newspaper and put them in a big bag to keep until I can plant them this weekend.
So excited! That made my night. |
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[Jun. 9th, 2008|12:08 pm] |
I'm pretty new to gardening, but I've lived in a house for nearly 3 years with a pretty big garden that has been neglected, so I thought it was time to get out there. I'm just starting to take control of it one step at a time!
( this weekend's project )
My project for next weekend is to plant some sweetcorn, carrots & cauliflower. Any tips? I've never grown vegetables before. |
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| Follow up to my question about mixers, food processors and meatloaf. |
[Jun. 4th, 2008|03:04 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
The other day I think I confused people about the whole hand mixer vs food processor idea with a meatloaf I was making. I was surprised how good it was and my family loved it, so I figured I'd share and tell what I did.
( The recipe )
( My small changes )
cross-posted! |
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| food processors vs hand mixers |
[May. 29th, 2008|11:53 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  curious | ] |
I'm planning to try a new meatloaf tomorrow for dinner. The recipe says to use a food processor to mix everything together. Only problem is I don't have one. I was going to just use my hands, but it says not to "squeeze" the meat either. Should I try to use a hand mixer since that isn't squeezing but still mixing? I'm kind of afraid that will over-mix and make a mush. Should I just stick to my hands and hope for the best?
cross-posted! |
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| Stove cleaning |
[May. 24th, 2008|04:05 pm] |
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My stove's grates have some small grease spots on them, and no matter how hard I scrub with the more abrasive side of my sponge, it doesn't come off easily. Does anyone have suggestions on getting the grease off of stove grates? |
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[May. 20th, 2008|08:26 pm] |
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Okay I am in need of some advice here :) My lamp shades collect dust and I can't seem to clean them very well. I tried taking a damp washcloth to them but I think that made it worse. Any tips? |
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| Ralph Brennan's Seafood Cookbook Blog |
[May. 6th, 2008|04:03 pm] |
Famous restaurateur Ralph Brennan, owner of Redfish Grill, Bacco, Ralph's on the Park in New Orleans, and Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen at Disneyland, has a Blogspot blog that's been dishing up tasty postings for over a month now.
http://ralphbrennancookbook.blogspot.com
The blog is pulling content from the newly-published "Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook," co-written by food critic Gene Bourg. A long-time restaurant critic for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bourg adds historical flavor to the recipes in the book.
The blog is publishing on a daily basis and includes the mouthwatering photography of Kerri McCaffety, the "color photography Queen of New Orleans."
The blog posts delve into the culinary culture of the Gulf Coast, including the history of many popular Creole and Cajun dishes. Anyone interested in the perfect preparation of seafood will enjoy the lively writing and breathtaking photos on this blog. |
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| Watermark! Argh! |
[May. 1st, 2008|04:30 pm] |
Im having a problem with a huge watermark on my coffee table. Its a very dark stained table.. almost ebony but not quite. I looked up watermark removal online and found a site that says oil or mayonaise works. I tried the mayonaise to no avail.
So my question now is... what kind of oil? Motor oil? Canola oil? Oil of Olay?
No one seems to specify. Please help! |
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| Bathroom tile floor grout whitening |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|10:19 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  blah | ] |
Our local paper ran a blurb about the uses of baking soda around the house.
One tip said to mix 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup Borax and hot water into a paste to clean grout lines with. The blurb said to apply the paste, scrub it in, and then rinse.
I followed the instructions, but I was disappointed with the results. The grout lines do not look any whiter.
Have any of you tried this concoction? Did it work for you? |
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| Shoes for Crews? |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|07:29 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
Hello everyone! I need some advice. My husband works in a grocery store (specifically in the deli). He's required to wear black work shoes as part of his uniform. We're talking the generic non-slip type. Even at places like Wal*Mart or Payless, these shoes are around $25-35. My husband ALWAYS wears them out within six months to a year, no matter where they are from. Frankly we're both sick of spending $30 every time we turn around that we're thinking of biting the bullet and spending the extra on the Shoes for Crews. Are they worth it? The few people who he works with who have ordered them before say they run small, and unless you spend more on the full leather, they end up falling apart fairly quickly. What are your experiences with Shoes for Crews? Do you know of any other company that is cheaper that yielded good results? He works in a deli, so this has to stand up to water, cleaning products, meat blood, chicken breading and all around grossness. Preferably under $50, but if they'll last we're willing to go higher. Thanks! |
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| Homemade Granola Bars |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|02:17 pm] |
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My husband and I have decided to make more of an effort to plan healthy, lower-fat, lower starch, higher fiber, more veggie-filled meals. I made a list of healthful snacks we should try to have on hand. On the list was granola bars. But do you know what??? They’re not all healthy! Some of the granola bars you can buy in stores may as well be candy bars, with the amount of sugar and “fluff” they include in their ingredients. And most of them (except Kashi) also have high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient. Disgusting. While I love Kashi granola bars, the guy and I tend to go through a bunch of those, so it gets pretty expensive.
So I decided to make my own. After reading tons of recipes to get an idea of granola-bar-making-technique, I made my own recipe and came up with...
these!
Yummy delicious things, and I know they're not fillled with disgusting ingredients.
Click for the recipe with step by step photos if you want to make your own.
Add my blog to your friends list if you like my style!
So... what's your favorite healthy homemade snack?
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| Messy Easter Bunny |
[Mar. 18th, 2008|02:47 am] |
Now, I like Easter as much as the next person... I do. It's never been a huge deal in my family, but we're always excited to see what the Easter Bunny has brought to us. Well, he doesn't bring me anything anymore, but he does bring a basket of goodies to my daughter, and for that I appreciate him. I do.
... It's just...
Why does he always have to track mud all over the porch and sometimes even into the foyer? I mean, you'd think after all the time he's been doing this that by now he'd have figured out that it's just not a nice thing to do. No, the kids don't mind it, but it's hard on the moms who have to clean up that mess.
Such uniform little footprints too. It's almost as if someone took some compressed cellulose sponges,
enlarged an illustration of some bunny tracks and printed them out on regular paper,
then cut them out and traced them onto the compressed sponge,
and then cut out the shapes of the tracks, moistened them to make them decompress, and dipped them in mud and put bunny tracks all over my porch and the floor of my foyer like some kind of misguided craft project!
Instead of paint, though, it seems like it's a mixture of:
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup dirt from the yard
- hot water
Then it seems like it was mixed together until it had the consistency of pancake batter before the sponge shapes were dipped into it and pressed all over the floor to look like bunny tracks.
That's what it seems like, but really it's just that messy ol' Easter Bunny not caring a bit about anything but getting gifts and candy to the children. Oh, the things we mothers have to put up with. |
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| Thanks for your input! |
[Mar. 17th, 2008|07:40 pm] |
Thanks to everyone who commented to give me ideas of how to make my guest's stay more comfy! The updated guest room is here:
Finishing Touches
If you like it, you can subscribe to my blog. ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) joyfulabode
Thanks again!
 |
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| Setting up a guest room |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|09:55 pm] |
I am having my first real guest this week, and she's staying all week. I couldn't be more excited, and I want to make it a comfy stay for her!
So I've transformed this:
Into this:
I am planning on buying a quilt for the pillowtop air mattress tomorrow, and putting together some goodies to make her stay more homey. I've also bought groceries that I know she'll like.
Read about the transformation here, Getting Ready for a Guest, or How I Pulled a Guest Room Out of My Bum
joyfulabode to subscribe to my blog, if you like it.
Also, what tips do you have for making guests' stays comfortable? Do you have any advice for making the room better for this week? (But I'm moving in about 2 weeks, so nothing like curtains or furniture additions, please.) When you visit someone else's house, what do they do that makes you feel like the most special person in the world? |
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| Please Help! have you seen this brand anywhere? |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|03:25 am] |
"Le Petit Marseillais" That's the brand/logo of the soap. The one I'm looking for is (French)extra doux olive lavande. which I guess translates to olive oil & lavender.
I had this face soap in my bathroom for a while now and I was about to through it out when I decided to give it a try. I have moderate adult (AGH!) acne and it freaking worked a miracle on my face! It cleared up in like two weeks believe it or not! My face was the clearest it had been in a LONG time and I was getting compliments & questions of what I was using left & right. Anyway, I have absolutely NO idea how I came across this miracle soap and I can't find it anywhere! I've searched online and found that apparently it's like our USA Dial brand in France. And that is the only place I can find it other than some shady looking websites.
has anyone seen this at a local store? I checked out other face soaps similar to this one and none have worked (such as.. Kiss my face, some other French olive oil & lavender I found at Whole Foods) I have tried pro-active, and every other mass marketed junk and none has worked like this le petit marseillais.
I hope someone out there can help.
sorry in advance, cross-posted cause I'm desperate. |
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| help please? I'm a garden dunce. |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|10:26 pm] |
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Do you know what any of the plants in my garden are? I am a renter, and the garden is in not-great shape, but I'm not sure what they are or how to take care of it...
Please take a look at these photos and comment on each photo (in flickr) if you know what it is or how to take care of it.
Thanks so much in advance! |
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