Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Can't Wait for the IKEA 2012 Catalog?

I can't either. It's like porn for me. Sad, right?
Whatever. I haven't gotten it in the mail.
And I guess as little as I've been blogging, I'm no longer cool enough to get the catalog early.
But here it is online! Just found it and wanted to share.
xo

IKEA Catalog 2012

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

How to Fix Hard as a Rock DIY Dishwasher Detergent

Remember when I wrote this post about making your own dishwasher detergent?  I said I wasn't having clumping problems.  Yeah, well, within a day or two or writing that post the whole thing turned rock hard.  I thought, there has to be a way to fix this, so I searched the comments at Jabs.  Most people either said suck it up or add the citric acid to each load w/o mixing it in w/ the rest of the recipe.  Yeah...I'm not doing that.  I'll forget for sure. 

Ever hear of Occam's Razor?  That sometimes the simplest solution is the best one?  Well, I dumped the contents of my very airtight Tupperware container into the food processor (I thought airtight would mean no clumping, obviously I was wrong) and ground the stuff back up to a powder.  Then I dumped it all back into the container and it's been a few weeks and so far, it's not re-clumping.

So, yes, extra step.  You know I hate those.  But whatever, consider it an easy solution that will help you keep making your own dishwasher detergent and a way to really clean your food processor.

My only other problem is that the glassware is not always crystal clean...that's kind of hit or miss.  Sometimes it's a little cloudy, but I think more citric acid would probably fix that.  And seriously people w/ the vintage stuff getting etched...don't put vintage anything in the dishwasher!  If it's valuable, hand wash it always and you won't have to worry about it scratching...Yeesh. 

And for the record, I'm using a very rounded heaping tablespoon of it since I use an old scoop from one of the Hubby's powdered sports drinks.  So, I don't know how that's affecting the cost breakdown.  But all in all, I like this stuff.  I think making dishwasher detergent yourself is too easy not to do.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Our New Cucumber and Cantaloupe Trellises

I was searching for a better way to trellis our cucumbers and cantaloupes when I came across this as well as some others that were very tall, similar to a pergola.  I was inspired!
 
Using some deck wood we picked up from Craigslist's free section, the Hubby built me these. 

They're about 4x5 feet and 2 feet tall.  I only planted two regular cucumbers and two pickler cucumbers, but next year, I'll definitely start more.  I took these pics the day he built it...it's been a week or so since they went up and the cucumbers seem much happier than before and are slowly creeping along the top.
Even the cantaloupes which were looking a little downtrodden are perking up.  Although, I think I need new seeds, only two out of the eight I planted actually sprouted.


I'll keep you posted on how well they work.