We have two very wonderful, but very furry kitties. I love the fur on their bodies. I don’t love it all over everything in my house. It’s gross.
But since they do super cute things like this, they are easily forgiven and doted over.

 

Change the scene to my sleeping habits. In typical girl fashion, I sleep under two extra blankets to Bicep’s one. Today was the day to wash aforementioned blankets.
I pulled what you see pictured here from my lint trap after blanket number one went through the dryer.

 

This is from one blanket. This is not built up over time. I clean out the lint trap with each load-I am totally anal about this.

 

This is disgusting. This is what I’ve been sleeping under.

 

This is pure fur.
The cats have managed to make a blanket for themselves out of their own fur.
It’s almost beautifully poetic, except that it is completely gross.

I almost didn’t show you this, for fear of judgement. But, it’s just too amazing though to keep to myself. I hope you enjoyed today’s “Gross Things-Volume 1″.

Don’t worry-there will be more Gross Things very soon.

He returned a few minutes later with this. Holy crap. It was really mine.
And, the best part-that savvy husband of mine negotiated the seller down to $300.

Everything was intact and working perfectly. I was more excited than a bear at a bee farm.

 

As I learn new tricks, I’ll be sharing them with you, dear readers. It’s going to be a fun journey.
But, instead of doing anything worthwhile with it today, I’ve mainly been playing.
And that’s why you are seeing even more of my weirdness. Hope you enjoy.

But, here is the full and expanded version of just what is going on in my  silly little brain concerning remodeling our living and dining room. And, I need your help (in more ways than one….)

Here are my inspirations for my living room in a nutshell. But, I married a non-typical man that actually cares how his home is decorated. He has given me the green light to redecorate the joined living and dining room spaces.

This is the dining room at present. When we first moved into this house, we went very basic with the color choice in both of the rooms.

Here in the living room at present. I’m read for something a bit more bold, full of style and warmth.

Here are some more of my inspirations. And since the pictures deserve a bit more justice, I will now expand and explain.

(Courtesy Home and Decor)
This was the beginning of my inspiration-turquoise painted walls with orange accents. This was also the turning point for Biceps to be ok with adding a little bit of color to our home.

(Courtesy Cococozy)
I love these colors together and think I can pull it off in both rooms. The dining room chairs are presently a deeper orange than the above ‘cozy’, but you get the idea.

(Courtesy My Champagne Taste)
I loved the color of this room with the silver, black and fuchsia accents. My accents will be a bit more orange.

(Courtesy the Decorologist)
I am ready to dive in and paint the walls something similar to this color.

(Courtesy Brocade Home)
…throw up silver framed mirrors…

(Courtesy IPS Albania)
…and add a chandelier made from my backyard twigs and a brass light fixture spray painted white.

Here is where I need your help:
Do I keep the black couch in the living room (will it match the blue walls?) and the rugs that are currently in both of the rooms?

I think the orange chairs I already have will go with the turquoise walls-do you?

I would like to add window coverings-probably a soft ivory with a geometric border. What do you think?

Let me know what you think. I need you!
I don’t want to let Biceps down-he’s depending on me to make some good decisions. Once I see that turquoise on the wall, I may just loose it…..

Thanks -I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus week to make sure it doesn’t stink-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Without further ado: here is Phase 2 of ridding my house of chemicals-Organic Dishwasher Detergent.

Although this Organic Dish Detergent isn’t as cheap as the current “Best Choice” Dish detergent I’ve been using, I can rest easy knowing I’m not putting chemicals down my drain-and it cleans my dishes better.

The “Best Choice” ends up being about $.15 per load, whereas this recipe will cost about $.25 per load. I’ll show a detailed breakdown at the end of this post.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Organic Dishwasher Detergent:

4 C Liquid Castille Soap (I found mine at Whole Foods for the same price you can buy it online)
1 C White Vinegar
1 C Water
1 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp Tea tree oil

1 Recycled Squirt Top Bottle (I used a 55 oz Ketchup Bottle)

Start by pouring the 4 Cups of Castille, 1 Cup Water and 1 Cup Vinegar into the squirt bottle.

I recommend using a funnel.

Next, add the 1 TBS Lemon Juice.

Lastly, add 1 tsp (about 7 drops) of Tea Tree Oil.

Screw the cap onto the bottle and shake thoroughly.

Make a cute label for your detergent and store in the refrigerator. Use about 2 TBS per load.

That’s it. Pretty dang simple.

Here’s the financial breakdown:

$10 for 32 oz of Castille Soap
$2 for 32 oz of Lemon Juice
$13 for 2 oz of Tea Tree Oil
$2.40 for 1 Gallon of White Vinegar

Needed per 6 Cups/50 ounces:

4 Cups of Castille Soap= $10
1 Cup of Water= free
1 TBS Lemon Juice= $.03
1 tsp Tea Tree Oil= $2.16
1 Cup White Vinegar=$.15

TOTAL = $12.34 or $.25 load

My Detergent=$7 for 75 oz (need 3 TBS per load/49 loads)=$.15 per load

Linking up to this party, amongst others:

Mine exists because I had to expel some creative energy when I finished a project. Oh, and also because the world needs to know about my weirdo cats and my awesome husband, Biceps. But, I’m the exception to every rule, right?

Here are the strict rules that Gwen, “The Gestapo” demanded of me and others involved in this thingie.

RULES
**You must post the rules
**Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you & then create 11 questions to ask the people you’ve tagged
**Tag 11 people and link them in your post
**Let them know you have tagged them

So, here are the questions from Gwen and my answers:

1. What’s on your iPod/Mp3 player right now?
This man is always playing some little ditty at my house. I cannot live without Antonio Carlos Jobim. (Photo Source)

2. What do you do when you get stressed?
Say I’m building a shed and it’s 114 degrees out and I’ve hit my hand once again with a drill/hammer/piece of wood. And, I’m hungry and have to pee. Say that’s all happening and it might be a little stressful. That’s when I do this and goof off.

3. E-reader or good, ole, printed book?
Please, sister. Printed book, fo sho.
Especially if it’s written in ancient German. I like the challenge. (Photo Source)

4. If you could cure ONE disease, what would it be?
Cancer.

5. What is your earliest memory?
The orange carpeting in our third story apartment in Germany. It looked something like this (thanks Plaid Stallions) and my parents looked something like this back then. Life was pretty much awesome.

6. Has a movie made you want to get up and walk out of the theatre?
Oh yes-and I did. The movie “Jade”, which I knew nothing about. My date chose the movie and I wanted to look cool. But, I almost threw up in the opening scene and walked out. I had to wait in the lobby until the movie was over and he then drove me home. I was never asked out by that butt munch again-and I say, good riddance.

7. If you could have a private conversation with Madonna, what would you tell her?
I would ask her if she knew that Jesus loves her, forgives her (just like he did for me), has died for her and rose again and-that he wants her back. (Photo Source).

8. If you could have a do-over on your wedding, what would you change?
Alive Butterflies instead of dead ones being released. That would be nice…(Photo Source)

9. What would you do if Publisher’s Clearing House showed up on your front step with that super-huge check?
Pay off Sallie Mae (Photo Source) ,

pay off our rent houses and our home mortgages,

and then buy this.

10. What is your biggest flop to date?
I can’t honestly think of one. I usually cover up my flops so no one knows what a screw up I am and re-invent them into something pretty, pretending that was my intention all along. (Photo Source)

and last, but not least…

11. What’s the BOLDEST thing you’ve ever done?
I live in boldness. Just ask Biceps.

Thanks so much Gwen, for including me in this insanity. Now, here are my questions:
1. If you had to choose one over the other for the rest of your life, House Shoes or High Heels?
2. What was the worst meal you cooked and who had to eat it?
3. What was the best meal that you cooked and who got to eat it?
4. It’s a perfect 65 degrees outside, with a blue sky, the kids are at Grandma’s and you have nothing on your calendar. What do you do?
5. When was the last time you updated your bio picture?
6. What is the first concert/live show you ever attended, how old were you and who were you with?
7. What is the most embarrassing piece of clothing that you still own and wear?
8. If someone looked through your purse, what would they find?
9. When was the last time that you cursed and what was the reason?
10. What’s your greatest accomplishment in life, sans kids?
11. What famous person do you feel a kinship to-past or present?

Here are the peeps that I’m tagging:

Allison at The House of Hepworths
Molly at The Waffler
Tara at The Trendy Treehouse
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors
Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville
Jamie at C.R.A.F.T.
Kristen at Ladybug Blessings
Mindi at Bacon Time
Maggie at Passionately Artistic
Amy at One Artsy Mama
Julie at Just Wingin’ It

That’s it!

To all the men that are stand-ins for photo shoots, on a hot day-thank you.

Thank you to all the men that rise early to provide for their families-and do so happily.

For the men that stay longer than they want at a beach, a mall, or a girl movie because their wife isn’t quite ready to go-thank you.

Thank you men that have chosen a lifestyle of protecting and serving others.

Thank you men, that retrieve snacks and treats for your wives because she is already seated and “snuggled in”.

To the men that honor their mothers-thank you. We know you will in turn honor your wives.

Men-you have an important role in this society. Thank you to the men that stay strong, stay focused and stay committed. Your legacy is better than money, status or fame. Instead, you will boast of a solid family, a happy marriage and a good reputation.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!

Curious, but not unaccustomed to such shenanigans, I made my way out to find the reason for the scuffle. Nothing in the house seemed to be destroyed, knocked over or out of place-this time.

That’s when my “cat-dar” went up. After much searching, I only located a very wigged out Max, hiding on the top ledge in the bathroom.

Look at the size of those pupils.

His tail was puffed out and upon further inspection, which I later regretted-was found to be sticky and wet.

Ew.

After several minutes of calling for Bianca, this little lady greeted me by the front door.

Ms. Perfect White Pants was covered in soot, head to toe.

Now, Ms. Bianca will vacate the house and hide in the dirty chimney in order to escape one of three things:

1. Kayle’s drumming
2. Small, Noisy Children
3. An unnamed source on this day in question

And the story began to unfold….

I decided to inspect the amount of soot she must have brought down with her from a romp in the chimney, and assess vacuuming vs sweeping.

If you’ll notice, in the upper left hand corner of the fireplace, there is something protruding from the chimney.

A Wal-mart bag was hanging out of, and partially stuck inside of the chimney. I had known one of my earlier grocery bags went mysteriously missing this morning.

I’m weird that way.

Secondly, the hearth was covered in wet, sticky residue-reminiscent of Max’s tail.

Upon removing the bag, one can easily see it had been ripped to shreds.

And Bianca returned to the scene, trying to cover up whatever it was she did with her little sooty paws.

Max would not join either of us for the rest of the day. He stayed perched on his ledge, with wigged out eyes if Bianca ever entered the room.

The Nancy Drew side of me wanted to know the full story. Someone knows something-but no one was talking-to me or to each other. I will just have to chalk this up to an unsolved case.

Say this outloud-”Valentine’s Day“. How did that make you feel? Weird? Whimsical? Oddly Nostalgic?
Those two words can bring horror to men everywhere and extremely ridiculous expectations from women across the globe.
Because Biceps and I like to circumvent the traditional in almost every area of our lives-Valentine’s day is no exception. Instead of dressing up, waiting in line for hours only to be surrounded by several hundred other “romantic couples” and interrupted by the waiter, we usually participate in this ritual at home. We like to plan our time together and alleviate stress and expectations, which in turn-eliminates arguments.

I mean, why flaunt this around town when I can keep it to myself at home? Seriously.

Last year, we chose meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner from different cultures and required of ourselves to wear appropriate clothing. (I have photos, but they are way to incriminating of our weirdness…)
-For Breakfast-Egg Pancakes (German)-lederhosen for Biceps and a wool skirt for me.
-For Lunch-Tacos (Mexican)-top buttoned flannel shirt, tank top and jewelry for Biceps and a mexican dress for me.
-And for Dinner-Sushi (Asian)-ninja costume for Biceps and chopsticks and asian dress for me.

This year, Biceps will be doing this on Valentine’s Day.

And, he’ll be doing this the morning we’ve chosen to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

So, if you wanted to make Valentine’s Day special for this guy-my question is-what would you do?

And as always-keep it PG ladies….

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus week to make sure it doesn’t stink-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Up on the docket for replacement over the next month or so is: mascara, dishwasher detergent, washing machine detergent, eye makeup remover and tortilla chips (I know-they don’t quite fit in but they are my weakness and I need to replace the hydrogenated and fried naughtiness with something healthier), along with anything else I can get rid of.

Fasten your seatbelt. Here’s Phase 1 of ridding my house of chemicals-Cheap, Organic Facial Moisturizer.

 

I am quite picky when it comes to my face. I have always had very sensitive skin that dries out if I even look at it wrong.
After several tries, I came up with a recipe that works wonderfully-without greasiness or smelliness.
And it costs $.75 per 2.5 oz. Yep. That’s right-seventy five freakin’ cents.
I’ve been spending $12-14 for 2.5 oz!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Cheap, Organic Facial Moisturizer:

4 TBS Aloe Vera Gel (drinkable kind)
1 tsp Vegetable Glycerin
6 Drops Jojoba Oil
1/4 tsp Sweet Almond Oil

Container to keep the moisturizer in (I re-used my pricey lotion container).

If necessary, use the funnel to add the 4 TBS of Aloe Vera Gel.

Next, add the 1 tsp Vegetable Glycerin.

Add 6 drops of the Jojoba Oil.

And the 1/4 tsp of Sweet Almond Oil.

Shake everything up in the container and before every use. The moisturizer will be watery-either apply by squirting into a cotton pad or into a cleansed hand and applying with clean fingertips. As it dries, it will be absorbed and leaves you with soft, silky skin.

That’s it. Simple as pie.

Here’s the financial breakdown:

$8.50 for 32 oz of Aloe Vera Gel (drinkable kind)
$9 for 16 oz of Vegetable Glycerin
$13.50 for 4 oz of Jojoba Oil
$5.75 for 16 oz of Sweet Almond Oil

Needed per 2.5 oz moisturizer:

4 TBS (2 oz ) Aloe Vera Gel= $.52
1 tsp (.16 oz) Vegetable Glycerin= $.09
6 Drops (.04 oz) Jojoba Oil= $.13
1/4 tsp (.04 oz) Sweet Almond Oil= $.01
TOTAL = $.75 per 2.5 oz

Linking up: The Thrifty Home

That leads me to this point: we think we need a second car. I know-it’s decadent, provocative and immensely American of us. But, this frugal household might just spring for “Four more wheels! Four more wheels! Four more wheels!”.

This is what Biceps wants-not because it’s necessarily cool, but very practical:

B-O-R-I-N-G.

A Prius. I think Rory Gilmore drove a Prius. I think that kid sitting across from me at the coffee shop that smells like Patchouli drives a Prius with his soul patch riding shotgun next to his caramel-no whip-soy latte.

Practical?-Yes. Good gas mileage?-Yes. Boring?-Yes.

This is what I want-a 1964 1/2 Mustang.

I don’t care if it’s candy apple red, avocado green or midnight blue-as long as it’s original. With white Pony Leather interior, 289 D-Code 4v Engine, Automatic Transmission, and factory air-what more could a girl want?

(I hear you in the background saying, “Electric windows/locks, seat heaters, a faab, airbags, murmur, murmur”. Don’t think I don’t.)

When I was 14, I saved up and bought this car-a 1966 Ford Mustang. It was a complete lemon-everything fell apart on it-the transmission, the horn, the brakes. But it was mine, and I loved it.

I would even give up the Mustang to drive a more practical vehicle like this-a 1963 Wagoneer. This gets about 9 mpg’s, so we wouldn’t really drive it-just look at it.

Or this-a 1978 Mercedes wagon. It gets better gas mileage (19 mpg) and it’s still pretty cute.

But really, what we need as a family is something classic, something practical and very affordable. With its 19 mpg’s on the highway-it’s downright economical. And let’s not forget that I’m recycling an old car instead of demanding a new one. And, I’m keeping local small businesses open with my never-ending need for repair parts.

This is just downright embarrassing-with its automatic locks, airbags, great gas mileage and resale value-only a goofball would buy this. Seriously, what am I going to do with Biceps?