I guess the entire process wasn’t as easy as the powder variety, but it was still pretty easy. It took less than an hour start to finish and was still way more economical than the natural soaps you can find on the store shelves. I did learn one thing though, I need a bigger container. One batch made over two gallons of laundry soap. At 1/4 cup a load, I think we’ll be all set on the laundry soap for a while.

I used a slightly altered recipe from Planet Green:

1 quart boiling water plus 2 gallons from the tap

2 cups borax

2 cups grated soap (I used 1 cup Fels Naptha and 1 cup Dr. Bronners Castille Soap)

1 1/2 cups washing soda

1/2 cup baking soda

1. Add grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.

2. Take the pot off the heat and stir well until all is dissolved. If you have a big bucket for mixing, this would be a good time to make the transfer.

3. Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.

4. Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry. Give the jug a shake before it load, it will gel. I didn’t have any essential oils, but if you did, toss a couple drops in there.

Not too hard right? I’ve only done a load or two, but I was pretty happy with the results. I’m considering one of those giant glass jars with a spigot at the bottom that some people use for lemonade to store my gallons of laundry soap. I guess I could just ask someone to save one of those Tide bottles with the spigot at the bottom. But honestly, I’m feeling a little attached to my laundry soap now. And I just can’t allow it to live in any old Tide bottle.

When I moved into this place last summer, I was a little short on time and a lot short on couch pillows. So a trip to the fabric shop and a cut up new bed sheet later and I ended up with these. I was pretty happy with the results at the time. However, as the months rolled by and our two brown dogs spent a lot of time shedding and drooling on said pillows, I realized a few things. The new pillows have to be easy to remove and wash, made of a more sturdy home decorator weight, and of course, patterned to deflect from the fur that accumulates between washes.

I love the combination of colors on all three fabrics, a deep yellow, tan, brown, and wheat. Set against our deep red couch and chairs, it’s a wonderful change.

I tried to keep it really simple with the pattern for these pillows. I bought a yard of each fabric and cut long rectangular lengths with the selvage at each end. Gotta love the selvage: built in seams. Then I folded the fabric once in the length of the pillow and again on top of itself to leave the opening half way down one side of the pillow. This way, even if the opening gaps a little, you still won’t see the actual pillow. Then simply sew down the two sides, turn right side out, and shove your pillow inside. No ironing, no buttons, no velcro, pillow cases in an hour.

I wasn’t the only one checking things off the project list this weekend…check back later this week to see what else we got done. What are you doing to get ready for spring?

The Maine schooners represented a special bond between my father and my grandfather, and then between my mother and father, and now between my father and me. My grandfather helped my Dad restore and maintain many wooden boats over the years and had a special skill for woodworking. My grandmother, my mother, and I have all worked as cook, with my father at the wheel as captain, aboard passenger and training schooners.

The unfinished model was of the Grace Bailey, for some time known as the Mattie. She still sails every summer from Camden, Maine as a passenger schooner. During World War II, the Grace Bailey served as the first training vessel of the Maine Maritime Academy, where my Dad works and my boyfriend and I both attended. We considered leaving the model in the condition we found it. It has a vintage feel that we liked with aging green paint.

In the end, my boyfriend took on the project and spent the last week sanding and painting the half hull and cutting and varnishing the oval mahogany mounting. The finished product is so beautiful and holds a special place in our home and our family’s history. And I think my boyfriend may have found a new hobby. What do you think?

And they’re kind of pretty too, huh? This product was a good choice for me because I’m skeptical of the the idea of tossing tennis balls in the dryer to keep down comforters and pillows fluffy. I can’t explain why. It just doesn’t seem right. Maybe this is because virtually every tennis ball that enters my house is immediately covered in dog slobber. Hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day!

Still I don’t ever foresee a day when I won’t have to call my Mom for advice mid-turkey roast. This time, after wrestling with the mysterious metal piece holding the turkey together, I was unable to ascertain whether the neck was included in this particular turkey. Let’s just say the turkey and I are now very close. Mom to the rescue, neck removed, legs tied back together, turkey in the oven.

With the combined assistance of a Martha Stewart cookbook, my Mom, and the outside of the turkey packaging, I decided to stuff with apples, shallots, and onions. Then I made an herb butter with my new spice grinder (!) and a handful of chopped up bacon, spread between the skin and meat. And I only checked the temperature 1,000 times before removing it from the oven.

Because 18lbs of turkey is a little excessive for two people, I had all the fixings to make a freezer full of turkey pot pie, stock, and turkey salad. My goal is to not have to cook for the month of January. Just kidding…but seriously.

So it was a productive day:

I had planned to use all of the turkey cooking downtime though out the day to start on some new pillow covers for couch. But THEN I spent an hour on the couch with my sweetheart watching one of the TV series on DVD we have going. Definitely a good decision on a quiet winter day. I did eventually get motivated with the pillow cases when I realized that I’m tired of all of my fabric. How can this possibly true with all of the stacks of fabric piled neatly upstairs? Yet somehow, it is. Looks like I have to go fabric shopping. Darn.

As always, Christmas was wonderful and filled with friends and family. This year we added a few new(ish) traditions with the old:

A good old fashioned lobster bake on Christmas Eve:

Homemade Glühwein with a German sugar cone that we purchased (and somehow managed to find again) last year in Germany at Christmastime:

And our first Christmas tree at our apartment. There’s always room for improvement right?

After Christmas, we raced home from my parent’s house to hunker down for the first real snow storm of winter. When all was said and done, we got a little bit less than a foot with the wind howling all night long. I may regret this statement later in the winter, but I love watching the snow come down and relaxing inside because there is no where to go. That night we all got bundled up and took the dogs out for a much needed romp in the snow.

And of course, we took advantage of our first snowed-in morning to use our new waffle iron (with Fiddler’s Green Organic Fiddle Cake mix) and stove top espresso maker. What’s not to love about snow days?

Another great thing about Christmas this year? It got my sewing machine out again. More to come on that next time..

My Mom went with the taller, rectangular one and had to go show us all up by sewing in a canvas lining the next day. I chose to use the two red stripes and my cousin went with the rope. Definitely an excellent Saturday. I think we’ve all earned our next planned outing: wine tasting.