A Couple of Great Companies

We bought this little Cape Cod style house 15 months ago. It had great bones and wonderful charm but needed a lot of TLC. It had been abused and neglected. It didn't have a tree in the entire yard. Some knuckleheaded, peyote smoking owner before us put rocks everywhere. You can see the bed of rocks in the foreground of the picture that someone put in for extra parking. That is going to be dug out and replaced with luscious grass one day. There is also rock all around the house and in certain places in the backyard. Now, if you are one of those knuckleheads that actually LIKE rock - don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you smoke peyote! People will probably figure that out on their own when they see truckloads of rock in your yard. But enough about rocks and peyote, already. Back to my house. We have focused most of our attention on the inside seeing as how the weather was too stinkin' cold to do much of anything outside for months on end and all. Now that the weather is becoming more favorable - it's back to the outdoors for us. MW put a new roof on the hot tub house this past weekend. The garage is going to be painted next. And I am going to paint the front door, shutters and light post out front within the next few weeks. I know - very ambitious seeing how I don't even have my sewing projects done yet. We could have looked at the yard in one of two ways: A) A total train wreck. B) A blank slate. We chose option B. That means we have had (and still have) our work cut out for us. We have planted 8 trees, a lilac bush and various bulbs and perennials out front already. Some from local places. Some from mail order.

Today I wanted to give a little shout out to a couple of plant and flower companies that we have had great experiences with.

The first one is Spring Hill Nurseries . A couple of weeks ago we received our first order from them. We bought a perennial shade garden set that had a bleeding heart, or is that hearts? Oh, well. It also had 4 astilbe and 6 lily of the valley. We also bought 3 rose bushes and 4 diamond grasses that went into containers on my porch. One of my grasses died. Bummer. BUT...this company has a great guarantee. Unlike most big chains and local nurseries that guarantee their plants and trees for a year - Spring Hill guarantees theirs for life. They will either send you a replacement or a full refund, whichever you prefer. I called them yesterday and they are sending another replacement grass right out to me. No questions asked. You can order a free catalogue from their website. They usually have great coupons, too. We got half off of our entire order, plus the perennial shade garden was already 50% off. We ended up getting that $40 set of shade perennials for $10. I can deal with paying 25% for something!

The second company I want to tell you about is Breck's Bulbs. Last fall we received an order of about 125 tulip bulbs and 25 Discover Dutch Iris bulbs. The tulips were stunning this year. The irises have yet to show off because they bloom later. I noticed, though, that only 12 of the 25 irises have come up. They have the same warranty as Spring Hill. So I called them yesterday, too. I expected that they would probably send me 13 bulbs to replace the ones that didn't come up. They are going to send me a whole new set of 25 instead! Needless to say, I am VERY pleasantly surprised. The whole reason I ever tried this company in the first place was because I received a catalogue in the mail with a $25 coupon. If I spent $50 - my order would cost $25. If I spent $25 - my order was free. I figured that a company wouldn't do that unless they were so sure that you would love their product that you would be back time and time again. They were right. We are already planning our next order for fall. You can also request a free catalogue from their website.

What I like about these mail order companies is the fact that I can get a much greater selection of plants than I can locally. Don't get me wrong. I DO buy locally - for a lot of stuff. All our trees and our lilac bush were bought locally. And I plan on heading to the local greenhouse within the next week or so to load up on herbs and some annuals to replace my tulips as they die back. But...take my grasses for instance. I wanted to fill my porch containers with something that would look great clear through winter, but it needed to be able to take shade. The grasses I found locally needed full sun. The diamond grass I was able to order can take full sun OR full shade. Once I get some pretty flowers and vines in the pots with the grass it will be beautiful.

So, if you have a particular landscape need - let me encourage you to check out Breck's Bulbs or Spring Hill Nurseries. You'll be able to find a great selection at reasonable prices with a guarantee that can't be beat!

Happy planting!

Another Give Away!

Do you remember this give away? You know - the DaySpring platter give away that Nester was hosting? Yes. That one. Well....I won, I won, I WON!!!! Yay, me! I don't usually win anything, so bear with my excitement, please. Don't feel bad, though. You have a chance to win, too. Not on this give away, though. 'CAUSE I WON THIS ONE! Sorry about that.


You can have a chance to win on this give away. Layla from The Lettered Cottage is hosting a give away in honor of her 1 year blogging anniversary. Congratulations, Layla! (She has a great name, doesn't she? It's also my dog's name. I love my dog. I also love The Lettered Cottage.) Anyway, what you will win is a personalized burlap table runner by Grace of Coastline. Isn't it darling? I've been noticing that burlap is all the rage in decorating lately and Grace has lots of burlap products in her etsy shop. Check out a couple more of her burlap products.




She also sells other lovely things that aren't made of burlap, if that's not your thing. But if it is - head on over to The Lettered Cottage and enter Layla's Anniversary Give Away. Maybe you'll be a winner, too!

Thank You and Another Update

First of all, today I want to say thank you to my new blog friend Kathleen. Kathleen so graciously posted a link to my blog from her self-titled blog, Kathleen Ellis. If you are looking for inspiration for anything pertaining to home - decorating, table-scaping, knock-your-socks-off recipes that make everyone you know ask when you started taking cooking lessons, then you really need to go check her out at Kathleen Ellis. Her blog is also full of beautiful pictures that I can only hope to aspire to. So, thank you, Kathleen. Thank you.

Now, on to the business of the day. Do you remember this post? All about the miracle soap that changed my life because I'm a homemaker and simple thinks like soap can change a homemaker's life? Well, if you don't - go read it. READ IT NOW! Thank's. I'm better now. I have used Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap a little bit more over the past few days and felt you needed an update. Although this stuff absolutely amazed me at how well it made the yuckies come off of my dishes, there is one thing that I'm not quite thrilled about. It seems to leave a haze on my glasses. It doesn't do this on anything else - just the glasses. I tried it again this morning and actually put a little vinegar in the rinse water to see if that would cut it. No, my dishes don't smell like vinegar. I know you were wondering. So, I'm not so sure if I will be using this stuff as an actual dish soap or not. I will play with the ratio of soap to water and maybe add a little vinegar to the dish water next time. I love the way it cleans, but I also don't want hazy glasses. I also don't want to keep using dish soap full of chemicals. I may have to keep searching on this one. I'll keep you posted.

Having said that, I do really like the castile and will continue to use it for other things. I now add it to my:

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER:

Place a 50/50 solution of distilled water and white vinegar in a plastic spray bottle. Add a tsp. of castile soap.

This solution is great for everything. I use it on counter tops in the kitchen, cleaning the bathroom, windows, damp mopping the floor...

Read this post post if you want to find out why this is so great.

I have vinyl tile squares on my bathroom floor. They look like black marble. They are beautiful - but haven't been as shiny as when MW first layed them a year ago. When I mopped the bathroom on Saturday I used hot water and castile soap instead of my regular solution. I was extremely happy with the results. It didn't leave my floor hazy like the glasses. It actually brought the shine back. I will definitely be using this as my choice of floor cleaner from here on out.

Even though the verdict is still out on castile soap being my choice of cleaner for dishes - don't write the stuff off just yet. It is wonderful for many other things and I will be looking into all of it's many uses. It's also safe for your family. That's the most important thing for me right now.

The whole reason I have been on a quest to rid my home of chemicals is because of my son. When we lived in FL he had horrible bouts with asthma, although we didn't know that was the problem for a long time. He ended up spending a week in the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. I found out that chemicals can really exacerbate asthma and breathing disorders. Our house and yard was a chemical nightmare. Thus, our journey began. He is so worth it. The fact that he hasn't had any issues in a long time makes me very happy as a mom.

So, I encourage you to start to look into the option of natural cleaners. Start small if you're hesitant - try the all-purpose cleaner. Do it for the health of your family. They'll thank you and so will your wallet.

Happy Monday!

DaySpring Give-Away

Nester has decided to let us in on a little secret. DaySpring has this new fabulous collection of inspirational plates and they are giving 3 away. Yes. You heard me right. I said they are giving them away. God bless their hearts. To enter to win - head on over here. I'm seeing more black, white and red in my future, y'all!

Fabulous New Bent On Lasagna - And A Side Note

Let's start with the side note, shall we? Not that you really have a say in the matter, but I thought I'd be nice. :0) My dearest, loving, supportive, phenomenal, virile husband, Mr. Wonderful (MW), mentioned to me last night that he thought I made him sound like a villain in this post. I told him I didn't think he sounded like a villain. I think it's quite humorous, myself. It's one of those endearing quirks that gives us both a good laugh. Him especially! Just kidding, honey. I also reminded him of all of the other posts where I illuminated just how rockin' he is, like this one. Keep in mind that he was NOT whining here. He was actually laughing. He laughs a lot, if you haven't figured that out by now. BUT, and that's a big but, he did want me to share with you one of his most heroic adventures EVER. I love him dearly, so I shall accommodate his request.

MW has always been extremely squeamish. I like those TV shows where you can watch people having surgery performed on them. That totally grosses him out and he can't watch it. Well, when I was pregnant with Little Britches I got really sick and they had to deliver him early - by Cesarean section. You know what this entails if you've ever had it done - so I'll spare the graphic details. I am going to be graphic here, though. There were several days post op that I couldn't wipe myself when using the toilet. I told you. Despite his squeamish nature, MW came in like a champ and did it for me without a moment's hesitation. All he said is that I would do the same for him. That, dear friends, is love.

Now that we've said all that - are you hungry for lasagna? HAAAA!

Last night I tried a new recipe from our friends at The Gooseberry Patch. If you aren't familiar with them - you really need to check them out. I love their cookbooks. Not only is the food yummy, they use familiar ingredients. You don't sit there thinking, "What the heck is jicama?". The pages are also filled with easy craft and entertaining ideas. So, basically, go to the library and check out The Gooseberry Patch.

MW isn't a fan of red sauce, so, I've never made lasagna before, even though I love the stuff. When I came across this recipe I knew the flavors in it would be ones that would go over in a HUGE way with my family. I wasn't wrong. It isn't very difficult to make and will make you look like a culinary genius if you prepare it for guests. No joke. Are you ready for it? Here goes.

Garlic White Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs. hot Italian sausage in casings (I used regular Italian sausage without casings and added my own fennel seeds and Italian seasonings. You probably wouldn't have to do that, though.)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
12-oz jar roasted red pepper, drained and chopped
1/2 c. white wine
10-oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach
15-oz container ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 (16-oz) jars creamy Alfredo sauce
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked (Save yourself some effort and buy the kind that you don't have to boil first.)
2 (6-oz) pkgs. sliced mozzarella cheese
1 c. grated or finely shredded refrigerated Parmesan cheese

Remove and discard sausage casing. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, using a wooden spoon to crumble sausage as it cooks.

Drain sausage, reserving one tablespoon drippings in skillet. Cook garlic and onion in reserved drippings over medium-high heat until onion is tender. Stir in sausage, chopped red pepper and wine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, cook spinach according to package directions (* I skipped this step since it was going to be in the oven for an hour anyway.); drain and squeeze between paper towels to remove excess liquid. Combine spinach, ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; stir well.

Spread one cup Alfredo sauce in a greased 13"x9" backing dish. Top with 4 uncooked noodles. Top with half of spinach mixture and half of sausage mixture. Place 4 slices mozzarella over sausage mixture. Repeat layers.

Top with remaining 4 noodles and mozzarella slices. Spread remaining Alfredo sauce over mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (If desired, cover and chill overnight. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.)

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour, uncovering during the last 15 minutes of baking. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.

*Note - I did all of my chopping in the food processor to cut down on prep time. I also mixed the ricotta/egg mixture in the food processor - no sense dirtying more dishes than necessary. It looks like a lot of steps - but it's really mostly just the layering process. So, don't be intimidated - it's truly an easy recipe.

Have a Happy Friday!

The Soap That Changed My Life! Or At Least My Dishes!

Y'all have I got something to share with you! Ooooh, this is goooood! If you read my blog much AT ALL, then you know I am on a mission to rid our house and yard of chemicals. That means I am on the lookout for products that will not only be safe for my family, but that will actually work, too.

In this post I told you about a book I have been reading, "Clean Home, Green Home", and it mentioned Castile soap. Evidently, it is a purely vegetable based soap that bonds to dirt on a molecular level and actually dissolves it. Dr. Bronner started making this soap in the late 1800's. It has 50 gazillion uses so I decided to find it and give it a try. I found it at Meijer in the aisle where the bar soap and body washes are located. I thought the price was a little steep at $10.00 for a 16 ounce bottle. But, once I got it home and read the bottle I realized that it is concentrated. You dilute 1 1/2 teaspoons to a gallon of water. So, now I'm thinking, "Wow! What a value!"

I had read that you can make it into dish soap. So, I just put a squirt of it into my dishwater. No other cleaners - just Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap. It didn't suds - at all. This was little weird for me. I grew up thinking that I had to see suds to know something was working. I'm learning that the suds don't do the cleaning. So, I just kept going. Keep in mind that I have been a Dawn fan every since I have lived on my own. I also grew up using it. Nothing cuts grease like Dawn, right? That's what I thought, too. But, I was amazed at how this stuff was cleaning my dishes. My plates were actually squeaking! SQUEAKING, I SAY! I have NEVER had plates squeak from being clean. Even tough stuff that I usually have to work at to get clean was just coming right off. I even had a jar that I had just emptied of pizza sauce and it came right off.

Another thing I noticed was that my water was staying clean and the dirty gunk was clinging to the sides of my sink and my rag. See what I mean?

Believe it or not, my sink was clean before I started the dishes. And that rag? It was perfectly white. Well, except for the red stripe on the sides. But let's not get hung up on the details, OK?

After I took the nasty pictures so you could take a look-see, I cleaned my sink...again. Then I realized something. My hands were actually softer. Could it be that it was because they had just experienced a spa-like dip in a mix of natural oils and lavender essential oil? Hmm....I wonder.

I am going to look for the actual recipe to make dish soap with the proper proportions. I am also looking forward to seeing what other small miracles this stuff can perform. I think it has actually changed my life. Yes, I know. How pathetic. But I am a homemaker.

If a soap product has ever changed your life...you might be a homemaker.

If you can't remember the last time you used the toilet by yourself...you might be a homemaker.

If you have to sneak off and lock yourself in a closet for "me" time...you might be a homemaker.

If you've ever been peed on by a potty training two-year-old and considered it an occupational hazard...you might be a homemaker.

We could probably go on with those for days. But, I'll be nice and spare you. But seriously, you need to give this stuff a try. I have been, once again, amazed by a natural cleaner. If you know of any other great uses for Castile soap - drop me a comment and let me know what they are.

Have a great Thursday!

Hot Marinated Beef Salad

As the weather is getting nicer, my wardrobe is getting lighter. So are my food cravings. Instead of the multitude of soups that we eat during the winter months - we begin to incorporate more main dish salads for supper. Evidently, my family isn't alone in this because Allyson at A Heart for Home is trying to wrangle up "A Slew of Summer Salads". If you are needing some Romaine inspiration or have a fabulous favorite salad recipe yourself, head on over to A Heart for Home and join the carnival.

Here's my contribution. It comes from the Prism Cookbook.

Hot Marinated Beef Salad:

Mixed greens (spinach, romaine, Boston, yada, yada, yada.)
1/2 lb. round steak
2 green onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. bean sprouts (I just use mine from a can and rinse them well.)
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 c. olive oil
Dash of pepper

Slice meat paper thin; marinate for 1 hour in garlic and soy sauce. Saute in hot oil (few slices at a time), turning to brown evenly. Toss green onions and sprouts with oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Arrange meat strips on top.

Makes 4 servings at 255 calories and 22 grams of fat each.

I promise that you won't be disappointed with this dish. As some of my friends down in the Sunshine State used to say, "It's sooo good it'll make you want to slap your Grandma!"

Enjoy!