I have several aprons. I have made them all (except my pampered chef apron) myself. I value my aprons. They protect my clothes while doing the everyday chores that need to be done in a household. But there is just something about an apron that screams "I am the mother!". I love them to be honest. Half aprons, tea aprons, frilly ones, cleaning ones, baking and cooking ones, vintage aprons, bib aprons, and even smocks, bring them on! I don't mind if they get dirty or even stained, they keep my clothes nice, and if one gets wet from dishwater, I can easily change into the next one.
So, in looking at my stash, I tried on an apron that I made about a year ago and realized- my pregnant body will need something a little larger in the months to come, and in fact I'll probably need two or three. Now don't get me wrong, I know I won't be pregnant forever (unless my husband has his way!) and I am looking for something I can use both now and in the future without looking "maternity". I'm thinking a flowy smock apron (or 4) like the one seen simplicity 2390 however there was a book from the library that I borrowed one time called A is for Apron by Nathalie Mornu. It has the smock style apron that I want, and for free! gee- wonder what I'll be doing here. LOL! This is the Smart, Savvy Homemaker Diva blog afterall.
Of course, I was also reading Apron Evangelism by the Hillbilly Housewife Here and it made sense. I DO need a "uniform" so to speak, to show my feminine authority in the house. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I also home school my children, so they know when the apron is on, I am someone to respect. (not that I'm not normally, it just shows more authority. Like when a soldier is in uniform, he gets more respect than when he's out of it.)
Now, as a clothing cover, I have also made some for my daughter- who is known for making messes out of her clothes, partly becuase she's super artistic and partly becuase she's a klutz. I guess it comes with the territory for a 5 year old. My 4 year old son is the same, he messes his clothes and I will figure out something for him that looks "manly" in a my-clothes-are-covered-to-make-mommy's-life-easier kind of way.
but this is my thought for the next few days as I clean up and break out old blue in my spare time. I will be coming up with a pattern and an exciting "tutorial" as I make it. Maybe I'll skip the pattern and just go with the book from the library. either way, I'll take pictures and post how and what I do. :)
Hopefully, I'll inspire other SSHD's to regain the femininity of the home, and take your place as the domestic diva in your home, and make yourself an apron. and you know.. protect your clothes. :)
Saturday, June 19, 2010
I want to be Bree Hodge so bad.
So, my favorite fictional character is Bree Mason-Van de Kamp- Hodge from Desperate housewives. I already have the red hair, but my house is NOTHING like hers. I sew, I clean (for the most part) I garden (when I have a place to do it), I cook (very well!) but she seems to have her life together, despite her problems.
Anyhoo- I'm working on the whole keeping your house home and gardens magazine ready. that is my goal for the summer, and since it takes 21-28 days for something to become a habit, I am slowly making myself a clean-freak. Very slowly. no. V-e-r-y S-l-o-w-l-y. but, I'm working on it. practice makes progress, right?
So, I need to stock up on some certain cleaners. Since all I use is vinegar, baking soda, elbow grease and dish soap (because I'm allergic to basically everything else!) I need to get better scrub brushes, tooth brushes -detail work- and maybe a steam cleaner. i.e. the shark hand held thingie.
Since this is all about being savvy, and smart, I think I will look into it and write my own review. It slices, it dices, it makes jullienne fries kind of thing. Well, we'll see how the fries taste.
but anyway, Bree is my idol. Marcia Cross, not so much, but I guess you can't have one without the other, can you? (no offense if Marcia Cross actually reads this blog, I just don't know her personally and can't-and won't- form an opinion about someone I don't know, especially if they are most likely a lovely person!)
Anyhoo- I'm working on the whole keeping your house home and gardens magazine ready. that is my goal for the summer, and since it takes 21-28 days for something to become a habit, I am slowly making myself a clean-freak. Very slowly. no. V-e-r-y S-l-o-w-l-y. but, I'm working on it. practice makes progress, right?
So, I need to stock up on some certain cleaners. Since all I use is vinegar, baking soda, elbow grease and dish soap (because I'm allergic to basically everything else!) I need to get better scrub brushes, tooth brushes -detail work- and maybe a steam cleaner. i.e. the shark hand held thingie.
Since this is all about being savvy, and smart, I think I will look into it and write my own review. It slices, it dices, it makes jullienne fries kind of thing. Well, we'll see how the fries taste.
but anyway, Bree is my idol. Marcia Cross, not so much, but I guess you can't have one without the other, can you? (no offense if Marcia Cross actually reads this blog, I just don't know her personally and can't-and won't- form an opinion about someone I don't know, especially if they are most likely a lovely person!)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
crock pot cooking.
So, today is day two in my husband's old house. It's supposed to be day 3, so my crock pot has gotten it's workout for the week, and I have to say that I'm loving coming home to a prepared meal, that while I cooked it, it didn't use the last little bit of energy I had for the day.
yesterday was stuffed cabbage. I'm told I can't give you that recipe because it's a family secret. we'll see. I may add it later. Today is chicken burritos. I put 3 large chicken breasts (would have used 4, but they filled the bottom of my pot, so that's all I needed) 2 cups of minute rice, 2 packs of taco seasoning, 1 can of red kidney beans (would have used black beans, but didn't have them in the pantry) 2 cups of frozen corn, and 5 cups of water. 6 ingredients, cooked on low, thrown on a tortilla at the end of the day, it's going to be amazing! clean up couldn't be easier either. there aren't 30 pots and pans to wash, all you have is your prep stuff and that can be taken care of as soon as you're done putitng your ingredients into the crock pot! easy peasy lemon squeezy!
For us working girls (I'm a SAHM, but the next two weeks I am working outside of the home!) it's easy to throw some food into the the crock pot so it simmers all day, hits you when you walk in the door with it's delicious smells, and all you have to do. dinner clean up is the crock pot, and whatever dishes you dirty. HOW EASY IS THAT?!
this is not only savvy (the crock pot takes less electricity than the oven!) but it's a SUPER smart use of your time!!
Divas- send me in your crock pot recipes! I want to share them, and test them out myself!
yesterday was stuffed cabbage. I'm told I can't give you that recipe because it's a family secret. we'll see. I may add it later. Today is chicken burritos. I put 3 large chicken breasts (would have used 4, but they filled the bottom of my pot, so that's all I needed) 2 cups of minute rice, 2 packs of taco seasoning, 1 can of red kidney beans (would have used black beans, but didn't have them in the pantry) 2 cups of frozen corn, and 5 cups of water. 6 ingredients, cooked on low, thrown on a tortilla at the end of the day, it's going to be amazing! clean up couldn't be easier either. there aren't 30 pots and pans to wash, all you have is your prep stuff and that can be taken care of as soon as you're done putitng your ingredients into the crock pot! easy peasy lemon squeezy!
For us working girls (I'm a SAHM, but the next two weeks I am working outside of the home!) it's easy to throw some food into the the crock pot so it simmers all day, hits you when you walk in the door with it's delicious smells, and all you have to do. dinner clean up is the crock pot, and whatever dishes you dirty. HOW EASY IS THAT?!
this is not only savvy (the crock pot takes less electricity than the oven!) but it's a SUPER smart use of your time!!
Divas- send me in your crock pot recipes! I want to share them, and test them out myself!
clean up that cat pee...
Well, I'm here the day after going into my husband's old home, and I've been scrubbing to my heart's content there. Long story, but his ex wife, their daughter and his ex MIL were living in that house until 2 days ago. I went in to clean it and was bowled over by the stench of cat urine. talk about gross. Well, I'm not here to bash the choices that were made by his former family, but I'm going to tell you how I got the mold, and cat urine out of 2 rooms, and I'm going back for more today.
I used an entire bottle of a popular pine cleaner on the floor of the MIL's room. it didn't get the smell out. After running out of floor cleaner, I figured it was time to go with something I have on hand. I used my baking soda mixture (if you haven't read my previous blogs, it's right here: homemade baking soda scrub) and a toothbrush. Calm down, the toothbrush was only for the corners and the edges where the tile met the baseboard, on the rest off the floor, I used a scrub brush.
the trick to this is: when your water gets really foamy from rinsing the floor, dump and refill. My husband did this, as I was moving along pretty quickly, and had 2 buckets, he kept making sure I had plenty of clean hot water.
cat pee is gone from my stepdaughter's room and her grandmother's. I will, be going in the day before to do a quick mop and make sure that everything else was taken care of, and just to be sure that I don't have any last-minute cleaning.
I am not putting this to test on carpet. I think my steam cleaner would be taxed a little too much, but I will definitely use baking soda. it's the best!
I used an entire bottle of a popular pine cleaner on the floor of the MIL's room. it didn't get the smell out. After running out of floor cleaner, I figured it was time to go with something I have on hand. I used my baking soda mixture (if you haven't read my previous blogs, it's right here: homemade baking soda scrub) and a toothbrush. Calm down, the toothbrush was only for the corners and the edges where the tile met the baseboard, on the rest off the floor, I used a scrub brush.
the trick to this is: when your water gets really foamy from rinsing the floor, dump and refill. My husband did this, as I was moving along pretty quickly, and had 2 buckets, he kept making sure I had plenty of clean hot water.
cat pee is gone from my stepdaughter's room and her grandmother's. I will, be going in the day before to do a quick mop and make sure that everything else was taken care of, and just to be sure that I don't have any last-minute cleaning.
I am not putting this to test on carpet. I think my steam cleaner would be taxed a little too much, but I will definitely use baking soda. it's the best!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
plumbing joys!
It never ends.
I was awake at 4 in the morning today for some weird reason. Well, fast forward to 6, and my hubster comes out in uniform (every girl's dream!) and tells me "sink's clogged."
still used it for shaving though, didn't ya?
well, my 3 year old son force-fed toilet paper (as much as his little hands could get ahold of into the poor unsuspecting tube of my sink drain. Of course, he didn't tell anyone either. poor thing. it never had a chance.
Well, I'm SO glad that the place I live in- the maintenence crew has installed screw-off type of "s-trap" in the bottom of the sink. Insert bucket to catch the yuck, and unscrew until my little hearts' content.
If you've never done this before, let me tell you- it's an interesting experience. weird goo comes out, along with water of every scent imaginable, hair, chunks of black stuff, all come out. If you're a girlie-girl spend the money on a "professional" to come get the TP out of your sink. spend the 200 or suck it up.
anyhoo- with the ever popular butterknife (an all-purpose utility tool) I was able to scrape out the soggy mass into the bucket on the bottom. (a crucial element in this was the bucket. as soon as I started unscrewing, it started leaking, so in order to avoid an even bigger mess, I put the bucket down first)
after all clear and yuck into the bucket, (which gets flushed, btw) I reassembled, tightly screwed in the s-trap again, and ran water just to be sure. no leaks, it drained well, and all is right in my world.
professional: $250 for an hour's worth of work.
DIY: free.
saved $250! This is both savvy and smart! though, having my hands in gunk doesn't qualify this for "diva" status, does it?
well, maybe next time.
I was awake at 4 in the morning today for some weird reason. Well, fast forward to 6, and my hubster comes out in uniform (every girl's dream!) and tells me "sink's clogged."
still used it for shaving though, didn't ya?
well, my 3 year old son force-fed toilet paper (as much as his little hands could get ahold of into the poor unsuspecting tube of my sink drain. Of course, he didn't tell anyone either. poor thing. it never had a chance.
Well, I'm SO glad that the place I live in- the maintenence crew has installed screw-off type of "s-trap" in the bottom of the sink. Insert bucket to catch the yuck, and unscrew until my little hearts' content.
If you've never done this before, let me tell you- it's an interesting experience. weird goo comes out, along with water of every scent imaginable, hair, chunks of black stuff, all come out. If you're a girlie-girl spend the money on a "professional" to come get the TP out of your sink. spend the 200 or suck it up.
anyhoo- with the ever popular butterknife (an all-purpose utility tool) I was able to scrape out the soggy mass into the bucket on the bottom. (a crucial element in this was the bucket. as soon as I started unscrewing, it started leaking, so in order to avoid an even bigger mess, I put the bucket down first)
after all clear and yuck into the bucket, (which gets flushed, btw) I reassembled, tightly screwed in the s-trap again, and ran water just to be sure. no leaks, it drained well, and all is right in my world.
professional: $250 for an hour's worth of work.
DIY: free.
saved $250! This is both savvy and smart! though, having my hands in gunk doesn't qualify this for "diva" status, does it?
well, maybe next time.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
baking soda. the SSHD's best friend!
So, there are like a billion uses for baking soda. From a mild and gentle facial scrub, to a non-abrasive surface cleaner, to something I scrub my engagement ring with to make it bright and shiny!
Yes, baking soda is my bff in the home.
how I make a non-abrasive scrub (much like the commerical kind but without being harmful to you or the environment. So, my recipe is as follows, and no divas, I really don't measure. **please note that this is MY recipe. If you have one and it's similiar to yours, great! We think alike- I really didn't jack your recipe I made it up myself. Also, if you like this, please link others to my SSHD blogspot and follow me!**
hardware:
1 butter knife
1 pint mason jar.
software:
baking soda
dish soap (I prefer a clear one that from palmolive- my skin blisters if I use different ones)
a little water.
Okay, so put the baking soda and fill the jar 3/4 of the way to the top. add some soap, a little at a time and stir with your butterknife. add more soap until thick and keep stirring, but don't foam it up. add water a little at a time, until you get a creamy paste consistency.
I use this typically with a toothbrush but it will work well with a sponge on your counters too!
cost: about 35 cents for the whole batch, not including the jar. cost for commercial: 3.79 in my area. Now, THAT'S savvy!
Yes, baking soda is my bff in the home.
how I make a non-abrasive scrub (much like the commerical kind but without being harmful to you or the environment. So, my recipe is as follows, and no divas, I really don't measure. **please note that this is MY recipe. If you have one and it's similiar to yours, great! We think alike- I really didn't jack your recipe I made it up myself. Also, if you like this, please link others to my SSHD blogspot and follow me!**
hardware:
1 butter knife
1 pint mason jar.
software:
baking soda
dish soap (I prefer a clear one that from palmolive- my skin blisters if I use different ones)
a little water.
Okay, so put the baking soda and fill the jar 3/4 of the way to the top. add some soap, a little at a time and stir with your butterknife. add more soap until thick and keep stirring, but don't foam it up. add water a little at a time, until you get a creamy paste consistency.
I use this typically with a toothbrush but it will work well with a sponge on your counters too!
cost: about 35 cents for the whole batch, not including the jar. cost for commercial: 3.79 in my area. Now, THAT'S savvy!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sewing... my fav!
I'm super excited today! I get to chain myself to old blue (my name for my sewing machine) and forsake all household chores because I'm making my marriage dress. Isn't that like a wedding gown, you say? kind of but not really.
See, my fiancee and I are getting married before our "wedding". He's in the Army and he's supposed to deploy but they left him behind so he can finish up some business. So, since I've designed and am going to make my wedding gown (closer to the time) I'm also going to make myself a tea length vintage dress for tomorrow.
Yeah, tomorrow, the 19th. It's insane how I wait until the last minute when I have tons of stuff to do. Well, must get sewing! :)
See, my fiancee and I are getting married before our "wedding". He's in the Army and he's supposed to deploy but they left him behind so he can finish up some business. So, since I've designed and am going to make my wedding gown (closer to the time) I'm also going to make myself a tea length vintage dress for tomorrow.
Yeah, tomorrow, the 19th. It's insane how I wait until the last minute when I have tons of stuff to do. Well, must get sewing! :)
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