Halloween

October is my favorite month and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I have had a great time making pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup (Mat's favorite), leaf peeking and just enjoying fall.

I thought I would share a few pictures of my fireplace done up for Halloween. Sadly my candy corn wreath I made last year did not survive the move from Indiana. I had planned on making a new one but it did not happen. Oh well there is always next year I guess.

I have no idea where I bought this at but it is my favorite Halloween item.

Spooky ghosts.

I made these with round wood bases, candle sticks, glass jars and curtain ends!

My fireplace.

Happy Halloween!!!

Love,

Crissy

Laundry Soap!

Laundry soap is expensive! Well unless you buy the cheep brands. I tried that when Mat and I got married. Our clothes looked dingy. I loved the homemade laundry soap from Goat Milk Stuff but the shipping made it $$$ so I decided to make my own. It's easy and really does not take much time at all.

I found several recipes on the Internet and read a lot of reviews and this is the one I decided to go with. From what others have said it lasts about 9 months if you do a load of laundry a day! It cost me $16.75 to make!

4 pounds Borax (Found in the laundry isle)

4 pounds Baking Soda (You can find the big boxes in the cleaning isle of Target)

4 pounds Washing Soda (Easy to find in the Midwest in the laundry isle..here in New England had to order it)

3 bars Fels-Naptha Soap (also in the laundry isle)

Some people also add Oxi Clean as well. I did not

If you have a food processor use that to cut the Fels-Napatha soup into little peices. If your like me and you don't own a food processor (I have no idea why I don't have one!) use a cheese grater and grate the soap.

Then just mix it all together in a large bucket or container. You may want to add a little of each at a time to make sure it gets mixed well. I mixed mine in a bucket a got super cheep at The Home depot.

The bucket is great for mixing and holding it(the lid makes it air tight) but it's not pretty so I bought this neat glass container at The Salvation Army store (or Sally as Paula calls it) and I bought a cute wooden scoop from Goat Milk Stuff.

I filled it up and the rest is being stored in my big bucket. All you need is 1 TBSP or 2 TBSP if you have a large load or really dirty clothing! Thats it! I figure I should be able to fill up this 3 quart class jar about 3 or 4 more times before I run out! I put the date on the bucket that I started using the soap so I can see how long it lasts me.

So far I am very happy with this soap. I used it for the first time to wash our couch covers and they look great!

Bookcase

I have not forgotten about my coffee table project however, I have been saying that I was going to do something with my mom's old bookcase forever. So I figured I would start (and finish) that project first.
My mom had this bookcase for as long as I can remember. It was such a nice piece. However with time the knobs became dated.

And after being left in her old house with renters and being moved around and well just being old it acquired lots of dents and scratches. So when mom decided to sell the house. I brought it to my house with the idea of fixing it up. But life got in the way and it sat alone in the garage collecting dust :-(

When the movers came they asked if I wanted to take it. As dusty and as banged up as it was I did not want to part with it. I figured a little sanding and paint and it could have a new life.

So last week I went and bought myself a new sander (my old one died a sad death in Indiana-RIP Sandy the Sander) took the adjustable shelves off and started sanding. Right after I took these photos today I removed the doors and sanded them down.

I am hoping by next week to have the whole thing sanded down and the nicks and deep scratches filled in. I'll update then.

Love, Crissy

Doggy Ice Cream

I love to spoil my pets. I also love saving money. This recipe helps me to do both. Also this is much better for your dogs then the Frosty Paws they sell in the store and it's so easy!

All you need is:32 oz Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt
2 T Peanut Butter
2T Honey
1 Banana (or other dog safe fruit)

Mix together and put into ice cub trays or small plastic cups.

I bought these cute little plastic ones at the dollar store. They were 8 for a dollar. They hold exactly 1/4 cup.

Then pop them into the freezer overnight

And that is it! You can try different types of fruit or just peanut butter and honey depending on your dogs tastes. Tyson loves these and I love that they are good for him.

Love,
Crissy

My New Blog

I decided to start another blog for all my cooking, crafting and projects. Not personal like my other blog http://mykidshavepaws.blogspot.com/ I will still post there too just now it will be sticky life stuff. Miss Mumaugh came up with the name of this blog. I liked Crumb's because it's a little bit of this and that.

Love,
Crissy