My great hand soap Adventure!

So, I wanted to try making my own hand soap for several reasons...it is supposed to be cheaper and I am becoming increasingly aware of what chemicals are in so many of our "cleaning" products. I found a "recipe" that I liked (thanks Pinterest), at this site...Making Liquid Soap. Then I had to find the ingredients...I bought some lovely lavender bar soap at Trader Joe's (they have several "flavors" to choose from, some I am excited to try some different ones eventually...and they even have non - scented soap, a bit cheaper, which I may try after I get some essential oils to add.) I had a bit of trouble finding the glycerin, but I did eventually find it at Walmart and Hobby Lobby...even though when I called both places they told me they didn't have it. I hear you can also buy it online, but I was in a hurry to do this project this weekend when I was off from work.

Here is the process as I went...

Grating the soap...it smelled WONDERFUL!

Melting all the "ingredients" together.

Mostly melted...

Cooling off...

Cooled and ready to use.

I used the funnel to pour it into my soap dispenser. After filling the dispenser I still had about 3 quarts of it left. I only used about half of the bar of soap, grated...I grated the whole thing and have the rest stored in a baggie for another batch. You only use a small amount of glycerin, so all in all I am guessing I made 3+ quarts of lavender scented, non-toxic hand soap for less than $2.00. Besides, it smells so good! :-)

A busy but productive weekend

Well, it has been a busy weekend so far, but a good one. Yesterday our glider arrived for the nursery and DH put that together…it feels wonderful! I already love sitting in it, and suspect that it is easier to rock both babies at the same time right now than it will be in a few months. :-D The crib mattress and wool puddle pad arrived earlier in the week and we were able to get that all arranged in the crib.  That part is almost ready for the babies.

Today I got to spend some “girl” time with a couple of friends. EF and I went to a consignment sale and I was able to grab a few baby clothes at half off. Then KM and I went to a Blessingway meeting downtown and after that another consignment sale. I guess this is the season for consignment sales.

I stopped at Hobby Lobby and Walmart on the way home…I needed just a few more ingredients for some of my latest “crunchy” projects. I already made laundry soap, which we are greatly enjoying. In addition to being cheaper than commercially prepared detergents, it doesn’t have the harsh chemicals, so will be safe on cloth diapers. Today I was looking for the last few ingredients I needed to make liquid hand soap/body wash and dishwasher detergent. The hand soap has been made and is currently cooling…I haven’t made the dishwasher detergent yet, as I felt like I needed to rest with my feet up a few minutes.

Of course, sitting down on the couch only created a need for two cockapoos to join me, so they are currently snoring away, crowding me off the loveseat. :-D I guess I should spend cuddle time with them, since they will have to make room for two little humans in a few months.

From my Valentine

A Frugal Valentine’s Day

We have been trying to stick with our budget for well over a year…yet it seems like since the pregnancy it has been harder and harder for me to stay focused on that, especially when it comes to food. Additionally all of our “extra” money is being used/saved for baby stuff, so I knew we would not really have money for a “special” Valentine’s date, if it needed money. Instead I tried to come up with something special for my hubby that didn’t need any money.

I made his card out of paper that I already had in the house. I “decorated” the house with heart shaped sticky notes (that I already had) that had snippets of things I loved about him. When he came home from work in the morning I made “Eggs in a Basket” using a heart shaped cookie cutter to make the “basket”. For supper I made homemade chicken enchiladas…including making the flour tortillas and the enchilada sauce from scratch…because I hadn’t planned that far ahead when grocery shopping the previous week and I was out of money in our food budget. The food was great and I was “proud” of myself for finding a way to make his special meal without going over budget!

Here are the recipes that I used for supper.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb chicken breast (cook and cut)

8 oz cream cheese

1 (4.5 oz) green chiles (chopped)

12 soft flour tortillas

19 oz enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven 400* Add cream cheese and chiles to cook chicken. Stir over medium heat until blended. Spoon filling into tortillas. roll up and place seam down in lightly greased 9x13 pan. Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

*I like to put some cheese inside tortillas as well

Authentic Mexican Tortilla recipe

Mexican Enchilada Sauce Recipe