The First Of Many!

This past weekend we celebrated Mother's Day and my Nana's birthday with the family and, as always, it was a wonderful time! There is never a shortage of laughs and tears when we all get together! Here is a quick picture of my Nana with her grandson and great grand babies.

It definitely took a few tries to get one where almost everyone is looking at the same camera. I think this one is a winner!

So as usual when the time comes for presents I draw a complete blank! But this year was a bit different. I have come to love sewing and my newest creations are scarves. And my Nana loves her a pretty scarf! So my present was pretty much decided for me. I then got to work!

The hardest part was trying to find the right pattern and fabric. I finally settled on a polyester fabric with a black and white design. I knew I wasn't going to need much fabric, but decided to grab a yard just in case I messed up.

I am really not a measurer (if that is even a word!) but an "eye" person, if that makes any sense at all! I just draped the fabric around my neck to determine the thickness and the length. That's high tech right there!!!

So once I figured out how long I wanted it, I cut the remaining fabric and began to sew!

All I did was fold over the edges, about half an inch, twice so there was a smooth line and began to sew all the way around. I made sure to double stitch on the ends so it would not unravel. 

So there you have it! My first scarf of many! Maybe as I get better I will be able to give better instructions!!! Bear with me people!

A Little Cajun For Ya!

My husband loves him some Cajun food and so do I! So we have been in search of a good shrimp and grits recipe that the entire family would love. My husband got this recipe from a friend at work and I am sure glad that he did! The other night was the second time that I made it and it turned out just as good as it did the first time. I was afraid that the first time was a fluke, but it wasn't! I have got this recipe down and my husband is already asking when I will make it again.

It is so simple to make!! 

Ingredients:

Shrimp and sausage:

1 lb of beef sausage

1 1/2 lbs shrimp (I used frozen)

2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon pepper 

Grits:

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of chicken stock

2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of quick grits

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

cheddar cheese to taste

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

First get your shrimp ready. Put your peeled and deveined shrimp in a bowl and season with Cajun, paprika, basil and pepper. Set aside.

Next, make your grits. Bring water, chicken stock and butter to a boil. Slowly add grits and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add your tomato paste, cream and cheese. Don't be shy on the cream and cheese! The cheesier, the better! Keep whisking until creamy and set aside. Make sure you continue to stir every so often until served. 

Now it is time to sauté the shrimp and sausage. In a large sauté pan melt butter and then add garlic. Cook garlic for about 30 seconds and then add your shrimp and sausage to the pan. Cook your shrimp and sausage until done. Do not over cook! Remove the shrimp and sausage, when done, and place them in a bowl. Make sure you leave the liquid/drippings in the sauté pan. 

The sauce is the final step! With all those wonderful drippings from the shrimp and sausage, add your 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook until roux gets a medium tan color, then slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Cook together for about 3 minutes and then add Worcestershire and hot sauce. 

Now you are done!!!! Serve however you would like. In my family we load our plate down with grits and the top with shrimp and sausage and the add the sauce on top. It is fabulous!!!!

I know the recipe may seem a bit much but it really is a very simple dish to make. I hope that you try it out! I wish that I had a finished product for you but before I realized it, I had cleaned my plate...maybe or maybe not for the second time! 

A Jean Transformation!

So today's post was totally last minute! Trust me, I am not that blogger that sits down the night before or two nights before and writes more than one post at a time. No no no...I am the blogger that gets up in the morning and then decides what to write and then I frantically try to finish usually before noon. Well the past two days it hasn't quite worked out that way. And you know what? I am okay with that!

So last night I was cleaning out my closet, which I do before the summer comes so I know what I am looking at for the upcoming months, and I found one of my favorite pair of jeans. Here is a picture that I blogged in the very beginning! They seriously are my favorite pair of $15 jeans from the Gap Outlet.

Well the hole in the knee was getting a bit crazy. Every time I would put them on, my foot would go through the hole, making it bigger and bigger each time. I definitely didn't want to throw them out because I seriously have had these things for a few years and they were apart of the family! So this morning I woke up with a mission; figure out how to save these pants! Oh and I did!! I decided to turn them into shorts. Yea jeans shorts. I wear them. What are you going to do about it?

So anyway I got to work! 

Holding back the tears, I cut them to about mid thigh. It definitely was hard to do! But it had to be done!

I folded the ends up one time and then began to sew. After I finished I cut the excess fabric off so when I went to fold them up again, it wouldn't be too bulky. 

I then folded them up one more time and then put it under the machine one last time. There you have it! Ridiculously easy!!!

Here are a few shots with them on.

Caution white legs ahead!

Told ya. They are pretty white! So there you have it. Jeans turned into shorts in literally 10 minutes! Now the next time you are thinking about getting rid of a good pair of jeans, remember they can always be transformed into something else!!! See ya tomorrow!

What Color Is Your Thumb?

So today completely got away from me. I feel like the last time I checked it was still 8am and I look up and it is already 130pm. Seriously? Where did this day go? Well sorry I am posting a bit later than usual but here it is.

We finally got the Hart family garden set up and a few things planted! I am so excited to share with you guys how much the children enjoyed helping!

My dad came over and helped us out. He has a massive garden himself and he definitely knows how to start this thing. He actually started his garden a few years ago just the way we started ours and now his garden takes up almost half of this back yard. I hope to be at that level in a few years. I first need to see what color my thumb will be!

I decided to do a raised bed because I have seen my dad have great success with his.

Once the grass was almost gone, I sprayed the area inside with Round-Up and along the outside border as well.

This is the dirt that I used.

I then lined the inside with newspaper. 

We then started layering the dirt on top of the paper.

Then mixed it well.

I learned an awesome tip from my dad; plant marigolds and bees will come and pollinate! Who knew! So those were the first things that were planted. One flower for each baby.

They had a blast!

We had a furry baby hanging around too!

So now that we have a garden, it is time to decide what we want to plant. I cant wait to get started! Hoping to put some things in the ground tomorrow, so I will be back at the end of the week with an update!! 

Homemade What?

Monday, Monday, Monday!!! I absolutely love starting a new week. Call me crazy but for some reason it feels like a fresh start. Oh and maybe every single weekend in the Hart house there is way too much running around and so when the week starts I get to breath a little sigh of relief.

So anyway I am here to talk to you about making your own years worth of laundry detergent for around $20! Trust me, it is way easier than it sounds. This is my second time making this stuff so you must know with my crazy, dirty house of five, it WORKS! And it works well!!!

As my kids get older, the washing machine is usually running at least once a day. With potty training to soccer games, we are always needing to wash something!

Ok so let me show you what you will need...

Ingredients:

1 container to store detergent (I use a Lego box)

1 trash bag

1 glass container (I use an old cookie jar that I had)

1 box of Borax (detergent aisle)

1 box of Arm & Hammer super washing soda (detergent aisle)

2 boxes of 2lb baking soda (baking aisle and sometimes in detergent aisle)

1 thing of OxiClean (you can use a big container or small, up to you)

3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap (detergent aisle) 

Directions:

1. You can use any container that you want to put your detergent in. I used an old Lego container from one of the kids. Make sure you line the container with a trash bag and that you can tightly close the container. 

2. Once you line the container with the trash bag just start dumping the Borax, Arm & Hammer washing soda, baking soda and OxiClean into it and mix together.

3. Now comes the hardest part, grating the bars of soap into the powder mixture. It really isn't that hard, it just takes some time. 

4. Once you have grated the three bars of soap, thoroughly mix together and then you are finished!!!! That simple!!!

I put the detergent, that I use everyday, into an old cookie jar and I use the scoop that comes in the OxiClean container. You will literally only need to use about 1 to 2 tablespoons for each load. With making your own detergent, you will not be dealing with a ton of "fillers" that you will find in the stuff you buy in the stores. So it makes it last a lot longer!!! My first batch lasted me a little over nine months! Seriously!!!! I paid about $20 for everything and it lasted me almost a year! And I promise, it works!!!!

So here is the price breakdown:

Borax $3.49
Arm & Hammer super washing soda $3.49
Baking soda $1.99X2
Fel-Naptha soap $1.69X3
Oxi-Clean $4.79

Total: $20.82

Cant beat that!!! Happy Washing!

Maxi Out!

So as you guys know, I have been struggling with my maxi skirt and I honestly think I have been trying to hard for something that just seems extremely simple. So I finally decided to youtube a video and I found this one!





I  mean seriously, can it get any easier than that. Where was this girl last week when I was about to pull my hair out!! So instead of going out to buy more fabric that I may end up wasting, I am going to take her advice and pull out an old sheet and try a run through first!

But honestly this girl has a ton of videos and she makes it look so simple. She also has a video for a maxi skirt made with stretchy fabric. I will definitely be making that one as well. What I also love about her is that she is a Christian and most of her videos begin with a scripture. Makes me smile :)

So there you have it! I guess that can count as a maxi skirt update. Also the garden has been put on pause while the weather here has been fall like. Its crazy! Last week it was in the 80s and now this week it barely has gotten into the 60s. I mean come on!!!! I am ready to grow me some food!

Be back tomorrow!

Bring On The Annie's!!

OK so I am totally bummed that the rain we are having here completely ruined my planned garden work. And of course...it is raining today as well. Seriously??? Where has our spring gone?

So with my planned post being derailed, I thought I would tell you guys about a deal over at Target. With this eating healthy and clean thing, snacks can be the most expensive items! I will probably start making some snacks, but baby steps for this momma!

I follow this group on Facebook called "No-Mo GMOS." This group is filled with so many people and the information that is posted is endless! Click here to check them out. I believe you have to ask to join the group but it is worth it. Anyway I was on there yesterday just browsing and I found that a few people were talking about how Annie's snacks and mac n cheese were on sale, so I went and checked it out!

Seriously!!!!!! You cant beat the deals they had going on! I grabbed four boxes of the bunny crackers, a box of the granola bars, and 5 boxes of mac n cheese for under $20!!!! I call that a win!

Oh and I also bought this stuff which was on sale as well and I am in love!!! It seriously is too yummy!!

Holy goodness!!!! It took everything in me not to eat the entire bag before dinner last night. You can totally tell that I had already opened the bag before taking the picture. Oh and I may or may not have already had some this morning...

SO there you have it! Some great deals to totally take advantage of! I am not sure how long these things will be on sale so get your to Target....NOW! 

I am hoping to be back sometime this week with a garden update. Praying that this rain will cease! Also for those that have asked about the maxi skirt, it is coming along. It is taking a bit longer than I thought!! I will get it done, I promise!!