Category: Home and Yard

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Time To Clean Up the Grill

The weather is getting warmer and we’ve been using our patio a lot more often. We’ve enjoyed some lovely breakfasts and lunches outdoors. However, we haven’t had the chance to enjoy dinner on the patio. The main reason for this is because well the grill needs to be cleaned.

Neither my husband nor I like to do it.  It’s a dirty job yes, but it has do be done. We normally do an ok job after each time we use it, but it’s been soo long since it’s last use that everything is sort of caked on. To clean it up this year I’ve decided that I’m going to take out the grates and lay them on newspaper. Then, I’ll spray them with an oven cleaner and let it sit for about an hour. The oven cleaner should hopefully take all of the extra elbow grease out of the tough job. I can’t wait to enjoy the grill on the patio and eat some tasty grilled food again with my family.

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Designing My Dream Home For a Friend

One of my good friends is going to be retiring in the next year. She’s moving to Florida. Her and her husband are trying to decide if they want to buy a home or have one designed specifically for them. They looked up Boca Raton Architects and found a variety of places willing to work with them to make the choices that will be best for them.

It must be really exciting to design your own home. I know if I ever got to design my own home I would have a huge kitchen with space for every appliance I would need. Lots of cupboard space and storage throughout the home.  I hate not having everything have a place of it’s own. Of course I would want a large walk in closet for all of my clothes and shoes. A deluxe bathroom with walk in shower and over-sized, whirlpool bath tub would also be on the list. I would also want a place to entertain in the backyard. I love the new homes with almost a full kitchen built right in the back yard. I wouldn’t go too crazy but I would for sure want a grill, sink, and some type of refrigerator, along with nice counter tops for food preparation.

I’ll have to call Nancy and ask if she needs any help thinking of what she would like to have in her home. I bet I could help her come up with a few luxuries or necessities that she and her husband would love to have in their new home. When it’s finished I’m sure I’ll want to visit all of the time.

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Waiting for My Fruit to Grow

It’s been about a month and a half since I’ve put up the upside down planters in the garden. We are starting to see some growth. I can’t wait for the plants to start producing yummy fruits. I’m excited to be able to eat some of the strawberries this time around. Every other time we plant strawberries they are gone before I get any. This year we planted two strawberry plants. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to get some this time. I’m also anxious to try out all of those tomato recipes that I have stockpiled over the past month.

I don’t think I have anything to worry about when it comes to getting my share of the peppers. It’s just me and my husband who will be eating those. I haven’t thought about finding recipes for all of the peppers. Maybe I need to start working on pepper recipes now too!

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On A Hunt For Organization

This afternoon after I got off work, I planned to meet someone to pick up a baker’s rack that I found online in the classified ads. I’m going to use it in the garage as an extra storage area for the larger boxed items in our pantry. This will make a lot more room in the kitchen and make it possible for me to shop sales more frequently and stock up when there is a really good deal. I got out my notes that had the address scribbled on it  and read the address signs  on the street as I tried to make my way to the correct location.

It took me about fifteen minutes of driving up and down the street before I finally found the place. I eventually gave in and called the guy that I was purchasing the rack from because I was reading every one of the address plaques and couldn’t seem to find it. He came outside and said he was wearing a red shirt. As soon as I saw a man in a red shirt I turned the car around and headed in his direction. No wonder I couldn’t find the place, the address plaque was obscured by a big tree in front of the building. I paid the man, loaded it into the back of my car and came right home.

I’m really excited to have the extra storage and organization space in our garage.  I bet I won’t have any trouble at all filling it up with everything I have planned to buy this weekend to restock the house.

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Easter Bunnies in the Garden

With Easter just around the corner I’ve pulled out the cute little wooden bunnies that I got at the discount store a few weeks ago.  They look great nestled among the flowers our garden.  I also added some giant sized carrots and baby chicks.  It always brings a smile to my face when I decorate for the holidays.

The little Easter Bunnies I found are a soft pink with a bright pink nose. They have pale blue eyes and a cute pink ribbon tied in a  bow around their necks. In each hand is an Easter basket filled with grass and eggs decorated in many colors. They really look fabulous in the garden.  I wish I would have gotten a few more to place in the front yard as well.  Who knows, maybe I’ll snag a few for the front yard too.

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More Tomatoes Please

The tomato plants we have having from the patio, by the garden, are growing nicely.  I can’t wait to taste the plump and juicy tomatoes that these plants are going to produce.  I was looking through a couple of my magazine and found a few recipes that I wanted to try them out in.  There was a sweet and sour tomato salad that looked absolutely delicious. There was also a very tasty sounding pasta sauce that I’d love to try and maybe even can.

I’ve been collecting recipes to try and the pile keeps growing.  It’s kind of ironic that at first I went looking for recipes to the tomatoes in because I thought I was going to have too many.  Now, with the size of this tomato recipe collection, I think I’m not going to have enough.  Either way, I know I’m going to love eating the hard work from our garden.

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Pulling Out the Spring Bedding

With the official start of Spring just a few days away, I decided to pull out our Spring bedding for our bedroom and do a little redecorating.  My husband isn’t huge on any floral prints so it’s mostly made up of light and vibrant colors and patterns.  It’s not really cool anymore either, so I put up all of the extra heavier blankets.  I think we’ll be fine with just a top sheet, thin quilt, and a comforter.  Most of the nights we’ll probably only use the top sheet and quilt, but I like to keep a light comforter on hand to use to snuggle up with in the mornings we get to sleep in.

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Kitchen Cabinet Make Over

After spending the weekend organizing my kitchen pantry, the rest of the cabinets seemed jealous and were screaming to be made over too.  I started the same way I did with the pantry by taking everything out.  I found these great wire shelving units that I used to sort out all of our cups, bowls, and plates.  Now when I want a plate I don’t have to dig it out from underneath the bowls.

A handy lid sorter helped to keep all of the lids to my pots and pans in an easily accessible area.  I mounted it to the back of the cabinet door and it didn’t take up any additional space.  Instead of putting all of the baking pans in the cabinet laying flat, I got another sorter from the organizing store that helps me put everything away vertically.  It has a bunch of dividers to put things like cookie sheets and muffin pans in and not have to dig them out from each other.

After organizing my kitchen I’m feeling inspired to tackle other areas of the home.  I don’t want to go overboard but walking into my kitchen now and being able to get anything in a second is a breath of fresh air.  I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.

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Kitchen Pantry Organization

Organizing our kitchen pantry has been a chore I’ve been putting off doing for awhile now.  I hate opening it up and seeing stuff everywhere and not being able to find what I’m looking for.  Here’s my plan to have a headache free pantry.

First, I’m going to start by taking everything out the pantry and sort them items into similar types as I remove them.  This pre-sorting will save me time when i go to put everything back.  Once I have everything out of the way I’ll take the items I have sorted and put them in some type of box or basket.  I haven’t decided if I want to use wicker baskets or plastic boxes to be honest.  Either way the purpose of these bins will be the same.  Each bin will house each category of items.  This will make it easy for me to find items in the pantry and will make putting things away much easier.

I also want to get a few shelving units to organize all of my canned foods and spices.  I’ve seen some really neat can sorters that make it so you can hold up to triple the amount of cans in the same space.  As for my spices, I want to make them all visible so I’m not pulling  five and six bottles out at a time trying to find the right one.  A tiered shelving unit will make them all visible but I’m also concerned about it taking up a bunch of space.  I think I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of unused space underneath the tiered organizer to make getting what I’m searching for not only easier but faster.

Finally I’ll label all of the bins and shelves.  I’m going to use a combination of pictures and words so it helps everyone in the family regardless of reading level.  This will hopefully make unloading groceries and such easier for my husband and kids.  I won’t have to hear, ” Mom where does this go?” or, “Where is the peanut butter?”  Everything will have it’s place and I will be headache free, at least from the pantry that is.

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Homemade Cleaners to the Rescue

So after I realized my bathroom needed some extra cleaning, and I didn’t want to use harsh chemicals I did some research.  I found that I can use white vinegar to clean my bathroom and most any dirty surface.  Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 1 cup of  water and out it in a spray bottle.  I just put this is an empty spray bottle and will use it to clean my bathroom and kitchen.  It’s supposed to cut through soap scum and hard water deposits, not to mention dirt.  This will be good for the counters and floors.

For tougher areas like the inside of the toilet, I’ll use the vinegar undiluted and straight from the bottle.  I’m also going to soak my shower heads in this to remove all of the gunky build up.  I bet once it’s been soaked for a few hours they fixtures will brand new.