A little cheating never hurt anyone...

except in marriage, school, competitive sports, ok cheating usually hurts everyone.  However I'm talking cheating in canning applesauce and tomatoes.  Did you know you can just freeze them?!? It's amazing and easy and all fear of botchalism is removed.  That's a good day in my book!  For the applesauce just wait til it's cool and then pack it into a freezer bag. Tomatoes can be put in whole.  Once you pull them out rinse them and the peel will come right off. I made tomato sauce last night by pureeing  frozen tomatoes, onion, basil and parsley.  Once on the stove I added greek yogurt, garlic, paprika, and sharp cheddar, so good!  Happy Freezing!

I've been busy...

Sorry it has been a while since there has been a post on ScrappyLove! My parents were visiting and then we went to WI to spend a long weekend with the other half of ScrappyLove and all our families.

I have been busy freezing and canning vegetables from our garden and tons of tomatoes a friend gave me. I wanted to share the recipes I used. I'm NOT an expert canner by any means. I was actually very intimated and overwhelmed when I started. Much to my surprise though every single jar I canned, sealed! I just bought a ton of peaches from the farmers market and I'm planning to can/freeze those in the next few days. Other things I froze were shredded zucchini (for zucchini bread), green peppers, green beans, collard greens (not sure for what yet) and kale (for smoothies and soups).

Basically this week, my house was neglected b/c free time was spent trying to get this stuff done!

Here are the websites I used for canning...I just looked through a bunch on line and decided on these for no real reason other than they had easy steps/pictures to follow!

beingfrugalbychoice.blogspot.com (canning diced tomatoes)
lifeingraceblog.com (salsa recipe)
pickyourown.org (referenced this site for freezing the things mentioned above as well as for canning tomato sauce and general canning protocol)

I also made a marinara sauce in the crock pot using a recipe our friends gave us. They have a blog that is basically their favorite recipes. I'm sure they will be putting this marinara sauce recipe up soon. They are really good cooks too by the way! Check out their blog!!!

Anyone else canning/freezing stuff? also, any good recipe that uses collard greens????

Sneak Peek - Wood Floors

Remember we replaced the old nasty carpet a few weekends ago with hard wood? Well, they look awesome and my husband did a great job! They aren't quite finished. A few touches here and there plus sanding and putting a clear protective coat down. So I won't give you the full view until it is completely done and decorated!

Before...

After...

Next House Project

Wood floors are about to go down in our family room to replace the really old/stained carpet that was there. Pretty excited about this project. More exciting then the last (jacking up the garage wall to replace rotten wood so it wouldn't fall over)

DIY - Plastic Flower Pot Facelift

I planted some wild flower seeds I was given in these plastic pots that once held perennials that I planted into the flower bed in front of our house

 But I thought they were really ugly and boring, especially because there weren't any flowers in them yet, so I added fabric to them! Easy and simple fix!

I just tied them on just incase I changed my mind and wanted the fabric back.

I think once all the wild flowers bloom in them, they will be really pretty, if they survive the chickens and the 2 year olds!

A simple touch

To me the tree house just needed something and I couldn't figure out what! We repainted it the blue color after I tried to mimic a picture I saw in a magazine, but it still wasn't doing it for me. We had replaced the stairs and railings to make it sturdier/safer for the kids and then there was the wood for the coop. It seemed to me like there was too much going on with old/new/painted/unpainted wood.

Then I got the idea to add a banner, and it seemed to fix all my problems! I kinda really love it now!

I would still take any suggestions on painting though if you have any. Like should I paint the new wood white? change the tree house color? change the trim color? paint the coop the same color as the tree house or a different one?????

Impartial and sincere

I am working on memorizing a section of scripture and thought it would be fun to work on it with you as well!  My friend Brit and I do a boot camp every morning, but wanted to encourage each other spiritually as well.  We are memorizing James 3:13-18.  The part that stands out to me was the encouragement we receive in verse 17 that talks of Godly wisdom.  Let us know what you are reading, memorizing, etc...  Have a great weekend!

Who is wise and understanding among you?  By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish  ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

On a side note; cut peonies are another one of my summer favorites!

Toy Organization

I had been noticing that the kids would pull all their toy/books out, but really only play with a few things or read certain books. It just made a big mess for me to go around picking up. I have always been a minimalist in the toy department, so much so that friends were starting to think I was depriving my kids. I figured less is better. I don't know! I'm a first time mom!! Anyways, in a conversation with a sweet and wise "mom" friend of mine who now has kids graduating from high school she said something in passing about splitting up the kids toys into bins. We didn't go into depth about it as there seemed to be SO many things to talk about in our short period of time together. 

So, I came home and bought 5 small bins...

and split their small toys/puzzles/books into them.

I rotate the bins most days, sometimes the same bin stays out 2 days in a row. 

It is actually working!!! They don't mind not having "So much" to go through in a day and they actually play with stuff they barely gave any attention to before (which was one one of my goals). It's great!!!! I left their bigger toys (baby doll stroller, singing dog, block set) out and a few books in their room to get to whenever. 

This makes me feel like life is a bit more simple with less stuff laying around and I like it that way.

DIY Frame Project and Blog Party

I am in the process of adding decorations to my walls to make my house look more inviting. I came across prints on Etsy by Katie Daisy that I loved so I splurged and bought a few. She also designed my favorite blog that I follow! Here is one that is now hanging on our stair landing and gives me a helpful reminder as I see it everyday.

Isn't it pretty?! I the frame at Goodwill for $2. Spray painted the wood with white I already had and then spray painted the matting this nice green color that matched perfectly to the print that I also already had! That's a win win in my opinion!

 

Here it is hanging nicely for me to see every day! 

It's Friday so don't forget to check out the Blog Party. Only 1 more week to get more ideas on baby nurseries from these great style contributors.

Here are the other contribors if you want to check out their blogs

• Forever’s Like a Dream- Kelley
• Rhymes with Smile- Katherine
• Design Post – Beth
• Tiffany Leigh Interior Design -Tiffany
• Vivid Hue Home- Heather
• Fancy Free Me- Elisa

Chicken Wire Frame

Since we had a bunch of extra chicken wire from making the coop I thought I would make a chicken wire frame I have seen on Pinterest. It was SO easy! Seriously, if you can use a staple gun, you can make one. 

I got this frame with no glass in it at the Habitat for Humanity re-store for $2 a while back thinking I wanted to do this project sometime. I painted it white, laid out the chicken wire (hard to see against the cream carpet. Sorry), stapled onto the back (requires a little muscle strength), and trimmed off the excess wire. Done!

I hung it by my desk replacing the old window I had hanging there and attached favorite pics, a calendar for the month of May, a magazine clipping of flowers for a future flower garden, and fabric strips.

 

I love how it adds color to the room and how easy it is to switch out pictures or add stuff to it.

You should make one! You won't be sorry.

A recipe worth repeating!

Are these bananas the sign of a terrible housekeeper?  No!  They are a sign of banana bread! Pretty healthy banana bread too!!

I had an aha moment!  I was adding oatmeal instead of flour all over the place which made recipes lumpy... My friend Jill was like, 'Why don't you pulse it to make it finer?'  It worked and was a quick easy step!

So here's the recipe:
1 cup butter (for the super healthy version,coconut oil or applesauce)
1 cup honey
4 eggs beaten
3 cups pulsed rolled oats
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Chia seeds (as many as you desire;I sneak in a lot)
5-6 ripe bananas
1 bag of dark choc chips(if you're crazy and prefer nuts, I guess walnuts would be it(;

 I first pulsed my oats and set the butter out to get soft.  I then whisked together the flour, oats,baking soda and salt together.  Cream butter and then add honey,eggs, yogurt,chia seeds and bananas, beat well.  Stir wet ingredients into dry til everything is combined   a.k.a. no flour clumps. Finally stir in choc chips.  grease 2 loaf pans and there is usually enough for another mini loaf.  bake @ 350 and check at 45 min.  Be patient, the hot chocolate chips will burn your mouth, not that I would just eat it right out of the oven.

Kid-tested and approved!

I feel a need to share...

Ha!  I hooked you in, you totally thought I was going to say I'm pregnant.  Instead I am going to sing the praises of white vinegar.  It's my best-non-human friend, here's why;

-I add it to my dishwasher so the dishes come out sparkly

-I add some in and let the washer run to wash my washing machine

-I wash any metal surface with it to make it shiny

-I wash my hardwood floors with 1/2 cup vinegar to 1 gal of hot water

-I clean our drains using baking soda, vinegar and then boiling water.  

-I wash toilets, tubs, windows and mirrors with it.  

-It is $2.80 for a gallon and safe!!  

I think it is clear that although it stinks (which goes away quickly) vinegar is actually a magical substance made by cleaning fairies.  I love it and hope this has been a little, enlightening rant on vinegar(=

Twins Quilts

The quilts are finally done!!! (thanks to lots of help from my mother-in-law)

As soon as I came across this picture on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to make something like it for the twins.

source

My goal was their 2nd birthday, so I'm ahead of the game. Yes! My idea is their bed will have a big fluffy down comforter with a white duvet and then their individual quilts. I decided once they no longer like it (growing up, having their own style, etc) I'll tuck it away in my hope chest to keep for my grandkids.

So here it is. If you click on the above picture it will give you an exact tutorial of how to make the above quilt if you like it. The ones I made are different. I only used squares and it is bigger as well. Like I said, It was just my inspiration for what I decided on. I have to say, I LOVE how they turned out!!!

Just because I want to remember...

Bathroom Makeover

Here's what the bathroom looked like when we looked at the house...not that bad, just not my color.

Here's what it looks like now...a new coat of paint and shower curtain.

Slow Sunday Morning

Sometimes we just retreat.  No alarm clocks, no rushing, just being.  These were the perfect thing to look forward to on just this type of morning.

You set them out the night before.

They bake for 20 minutes @ 350.

Set a pretty table.

Perfect setting for Sunday morning convo.

Thank you Aaron and Jessica for making me feel so welcome with this tradition from your family!

Cork Board Facelift

I had one of those plain ol cork boards a friend was throwing away hanging up over my desk. I just kept thinking I wanted to do something to it to give it a little life, so I did. 

There is the boring cork board in the back. Please excuse my lack of decorating...this was soon after we moved in. 

I spray painted the brown wood, white, and covered the cork with fabric I had in my stash by hot gluing it down.

There, that's better!!!