Posted in January 2012

to make your own laundry detergent

I’m not really a DIY kind of girl. I like all of the girls that are – soon I will share with you in blog posts to come some of my friends’ great DIY work around my own home! – I’m just more of a ‘find the perfect thing after waiting a long time for exactly the right price’ kind of girl. Both are an art, I think.

After getting sick to my stomach when I was pregnant over the smell of our laundry detergent, I switched to a free & clear brand. Sensory relief! Then, on Pinterest – where I learn a lot of little tips for around my home – I discovered it is EASY to make your own laundry detergent. And cheaper. Well, I already knew that – but I thought it would be weird and messy and I’d have to have a Sam’s Club size bucket of laundry detergent that I made it my back yard while wearing a bonnet and apron. Stereotypical, I know, but that’s what I thought.

Thankfully, I made this powdered detergent in my kitchen with the supplies that I ordered from Harris Teeter and picked up (for free with a promo code) in the Express Lane.

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delicious recipe – apple dapple cake

Remember the post a little while ago about the  variety of southern cookbooks I purchased with birthday money? Well, I am enjoying them, to say the very least. I love cooking through the recipes and sharing them with my husband, family, and friends.

This recipe – the one for the Apple Dapple Cake – is a must try, must make again recipe.

My mom came over and I said, no matter what crazy diet you are on – really, y’all, she’s done a tremendous job of diligently taking care of her body through good eating and exercise and as a reward to herself, she’s lost weight – you MUST try this cake! Thankfully, she thought the cake was worth straying from her healthy eating regime.

I told her I practically licked the batter bowl clean after pouring the majority of it into the Bundt pan. Delish!

This is the one! From A-Z (apples to zucchini!), this cookbook is a collection of southern recipes

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we could all use a bath

Yesterday I was sick. It really started Sunday evening. I just could not get warm. I drank a cup of hot cocoa, snuggled into bed underneath all the covers and my winter fur blanket. I still was chilly.

Tyler brought me the thermometer and I checked my temperature. Sure enough, I had a low-grade fever. With Tylenol in me, I fell asleep.

In the morning I let my sweet friend, Lauren, know I had a fever. She has been nursing everyone under her roof back to health. Even her parents and the in-laws came into town, promptly fell ill, and she became nurse to them, too.

She immediately offered all of her loving care and help. Yesterday afternoon, she brought over a cleansing bath potion. It wasn’t hard to follow her advice : Take a hot bath in a calming, cleansing solution. No problem!

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a few of my favorite spring style inspirations 2012

You read a while ago that I think that the woman makes the dress.

With all of that in mind, enjoy some of my favorite pieces this spring!

yes, please. i think these hot pink pants with the white tank and gold detail is wonderful. - michael kors

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preparation – is freedom

Let me continue with the same thought from yesterday’s post. I wrote, “When you are prepared, this is the truth, you are available to help and to love others around you.”

Preparation – the physical conditioning of life – provides you with the flexibility and freedom to love and to help others around you well.

When you are prepared you can open your arms, your home, your lives, to those around you – family, friends, neighbors, strangers.

If you are not prepared – if you are not ready – if you do not have any of it all together, then you cannot easily help anyone else. You are the one who needs help.

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