Build it and they will come.

I guess that's an invitation for anyone wanting to stay at our house! =) Our guest bedroom now has a full size bed and twin size bed that ISN'T just mattresses on the floor!! Thanks to my wonderful father who owns a circular saw and was willing to get and cut the wood for me (not to mention my AWESOME Kreg Jig that was an anniversary gift!), my husband and I ventured into making our own twin platform bed. I stumbled across as awesome blog with instructions and plans for pretty much anything. You can make your own furniture for a fraction of the cost and it's FUN. Yes that's right, fun! The only problem I stumbled upon was that fact that I didn't use my wood close enough to when it was cut and my long boards warped so after a quick trip to Home Depot and another $6 bucks (no biggie) we were back in business. So lesson learned. I'll post the a link to the wonderful website then post a couple of our pictures...we are so proud! Can't wait to start my next project! I even impressed the man at Home Depot by whipping out the words pocket holes and countersinking screws. ;)

http://ana-white.com/2012/02/plans/fillman-platform-twin-platform-bed

We decided to leave the "platforms" off for now due to space issues.

Also no paint yet because it will eventually go to Q and J's room and we'll decide on color at that time!

Recent Pinterest Trials

So I've been trying a few things I've seen on Pinterest around the house. The first is most exciting to me because I've been out of my own body wash for probably a month or more and have been stealing Paul's (hence me smelling like a guy!). I came across a recipe for making your own Dove body wash with the Dove bars. Even better when I scrolled down I found that you don't have to grate the soap (lesson for next time!) but you can melt it in the microwave with same effect! After 24 hours mine didn't seem to be as thick as hers but the consistency of mine isn't bad just a little thinner!!
So here's the website
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/make-your-own-body-wash.html
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/03/his-and-hers-no-grate-homemade-body.html  (men's version with picture of melted soap)

Filled this container to the top with soap!

Was fortunate to catch a sale with a coupon and get 5 bars for 2 dollars!

Next I adventured to the citrus vinegar cleaner. I've been LOVING cold oranges lately so getting the peels was extremely easy. I let mine sit on the counter for about 7 days. The citrus smell overpowered the vinegar smell until I filled the rest of the bottle with water. I must say it is a good cleaner (I use it as an all purpose cleaner and mostly in the kitchen/bathroom) but I wish it didn't smell so much like vinegar! =)

And lastly, after using my homemade dish washing detergent for a while I just didn't LOVE it. It left a film and I felt it wasn't cleaning my dishes as well. So again I found an alternative which I DO LOVE! I've used it in a few loads of dishes and all come out very clean and sparkly. I do what she recommends with the vinegar and I too got my oxygen cleaner at the dollar store (for a dollar!) and I already had the dawn and vinegar. Here is the website and a couple of pictures of my dishes afterwards! Even with the Dawn I didn't have suds overflow so don't worry about that. Just make sure you are putting the recommended amount!
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/03/homemade-dishwasher-soap-not-detergent.html

The glasses are sparkly and no film!

 

Next I'm going to try different grout cleaners for our bathroom shower. I'll let you know if I have success!

Making Baby Book

So for Q I ended up purchasing a really cute baby book off Etsy for $60 (what was I thinking??). I loved it and then didn't have time or energy to make my own. Well now that I'm living more frugally, $60 seemed a little pricey. So after searching the internet I found a template you can download (and better yet, customize) to make your own for half the price. With a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby (yes Paul and I BOTH used them on the same trip!! =) I was able to get all the supplies for $30. I probably could have done better but shopping with a 2 year old, I don't have the energy to go to all the different craft stores to compare prices. Here is the website link in case you have a little one coming soon. I'll post pictures of mine soon when I get it completed!

http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/06/something-free-five-lifesavers/

Here are some pictures of her book.

Once a Month Cooking

This is not my freezer but my meals look the same with directions on the outside for easy cooking!

Ok so unfortunately pregnancy (more like my spine ripping out of my back!) has stretched my one day of cooking into 3 (and not all day!...just taking my time making the meals). I must say when tomorrow is over and I've got all my meals made I'm gonna love this way of cooking! The meals we've eaten so far have been really good and I like variety. Plus the recipes incorporate lots of healthy items and lots of veggies! My freezer is full but I can't wait to decide what we want for dinner in the morning, put it out to thaw in the fridge all day, then cook at night with the container being disposable so clean up will be a breeze! Thumbs up so far!!!!