This spring I’m going to be putting in a raised-bed kitchen garden. I’m planning out what it will look like, which means looking at lots of pictures of gardens on the Internet. Here is some inspiration:
These people had to fight the city to keep this lovely front-yard garden.
Eric M’s garden in Washington.
I like the use of the tall flowers here.
This one was a 20th anniversary present.
So much to think about…
Check out this Antique Gothic Crib from somewhere around 1835-1845. Part of the Gothic Revival style that popped up in America between 1830-1870, it’s made of black walnut and costs $8,500.
I’m not sure how safe it is, but wow.
This has happened to me before: your new compact of make-up falls on the floor and shatters into powder. What I didn’t know is that this is a fixable situation. According to The Beauty Department, it’s just a matter of adding a few drops of alcohol to the powder and smoothing it out again. Click here to learn how.
I like this stuffed owl. You can sew one yourself with this free pattern. Cute.
This weekend, I was cleaning out my deep freeze and discovered a big jar of frozen peaches. I don’t remember buying them, but they were in good shape, so I made peach clafoutis.
Clafoutis is so easy to make. All you do is arrange fruit in the bottom of a greased pie or tart pan, pour custard batter over the top, and bake for 30 minutes. It always comes out great.
Here’s the thing about clafoutis:
1. It works with most fruits, especially cherries (traditional), other stone fruits (peaches, apricots), and berries (strawberries, blueberries).
2. It doesn’t seem to matter if the fruit is fresh or canned/frozen.
3. It can be a great brunch or a great dessert.
4. It seems fancy.
5. Did I mention it is easy?
Peach Clafoutis
Ingredients:
Grease a tart pan. Arrange the fruit on the bottom of the pan.
Beat the eggs and sugar for 2 minutes until the eggs are lighter colored and the sugar is integrated. Add the milk and vanilla, mix, then the flour and salt. Mix until you have a smooth, pancake-like batter.
Pour the custard batter over the fruit. Then stick it in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
Wait for the clafoutis to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
I don’t eat that much yogurt, but if I did, I would definitely look into making my own, especially with an heirloom yogurt starter. This is a bacterial culture that you can use over and over to make yogurt. Amazingly, these bacterial cultures originated years ago in countries like Finland and Bulgaria, according to NPR. They have “been around for a very long time and has been passed down for hundreds of years.”
To make the yogurt, you add freeze-dried starter or a spoonful of yogurt to milk.
The only catch is that you have to continually make a new batch of yogurt every week to keep the culture going. If you don’t, it dies. So to make this worth it, you could have to be someone who eats that much yogurt every week.
The Frugal Girl estimates that she saves hundreds by making her own yogurt: “Four quarts of grocery store yogurt per week would cost me between $416 and $624 a year, and this yogurt (from milk purchased at $2/gallon) costs me a measly $52 a year.”
ETA: In the comments, Ralph Lowd explains that he freezes his yogurt starter:
I take a piece of plastic wrap and place it over two egg cartons creating 24 depressions. into each of these I spoon 1 – 2 tablespoons of yogurt and put in freezer. When frozen I individually wrap each ball of yogurt putting all in a zip-loc baggie and put back in freezer. I now can use one yogurt ball to make a batch of yogurt if I don’t currently have live yogurt in the fridge. I also can use some of my starter for recipes that require only a small amount of yogurt.
Here’s a way to extend the life of a bath scrubby once it’s too old to use in the shower: turn it into a dish scrubber. Tracie Lampe unraveled the scrubby and found it was 240 inches long. She tied a few together and crocheted them into a nifty dish scrubber, like so:
I can’t believe I never thought of this before.
Deodorant. It doesn’t exactly break the bank. I probably spend under $10 a year on deodorant, so I have often wondered if making it is a good use of time. Yes, you might save a few pennies, but is it worth it to bother?
Wise Bread asked the same question. Marla Walters made her own deodorant using this recipe, which includes coconut oil, cornstarch, baking soda, and essential oils for smell. She tried it out in several high-pressure situations and found that it worked well:
The final test? I strode into my husband’s man-cave, holding up my arm, and said, “Wanna sniff my pit?” (Bear in mind that we have been married for thirty years.) After giving me a look, and actually not laughing, he said, “Sure, why not?” His proclamation? “All I smell is lemon.” He’s a real sport.
The price comparison is a little confusing here, but it sounds like homemade deodorant is cheaper than the store-bought “natural” deodorant, although she doesn’t say by how much. Walters also thought the homemade deodorant smelled better and had the health benefit of using all natural ingredients.
The downside is that while this recipe keeps you from smelling, this is not an antiperspirant and will not keep your armpits dry.
I would also like to hear more about how the homemade deodorant is applied. In the recipe, it looks like it is in a jar, which means you put it on like lotion? I’m not sure.
I’m still skeptical. The last time I bought deodorant it was around $2, and it lasts me a long time. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for convenience.
But what do you think? Have you made your own deodorant?
How adorable are these dragon tails? There’s a free tutorial on how to make them. I loved things like this when I was a kid.
