Powerful Oatmeal

How do you enjoy your oatmeal?  We have discovered many ways to enlist this power house food into our daily diet.  I have to say though that our favorite way lately has been to use these ingredients.  It hits the sweet spot in of the longest, coldest winter I can remember!

It keeps well in the fridge for several days.

First I soak it for up to 24 hours.  Picture above is 10 cups oatmeal, 10 cups water, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and 1/3 cup chia seeds. After the soaking period we pop some in a pan, add a bit of water to desired thickness, throw in some cinnamon, vanilla, honey, and butter.  It is so yummy and so good for you!  Add a bit to your favorite smoothie each morning for a great nutritional boost!

Fun, cheap, and simple Christmas gifts

These are crafts that even I, the crafty challenged person can do.  And even have a good time doing it!

A simple vintage looking place mat or napkin with a frayed, embroidered sample.

And these are amazingly simple.  Felt, hot glue, needle and thread is all that is needed for the hot plate holders and the coasters pictured above and below.

And who would have thought that a Christmas tree skirt could be so simple to make.

Homemade Candles

I never realized making candles could be so easy! At least these candles were easy. Plain and simple as can be!

This is what the melting wax looks like. Using a double broiler OR if you don't have one like me you can stick one pan inside another pan that is larger.

I bought soy wax 444, wicks, and holders for the wicks. I ended up buying a whole string of the wicks rather than pre cut ones because it was so much cheaper and I will have more for the next time I make them. It can all be bought from most craft stores or from amazon.

For the jars I just used random ones I found around the house.

After the melting was complete I poured it into the jars and baby sat the wicks by keeping them straight until it had solidified enough to stand on their own. From what I understand from the directions each jar should burn for 6-8 hours. Not real pretty or fragrant but they'll work great the next time the power goes off in a storm. (Which happens a lot where we live)

Measurements were right on!

I managed to 'stretch' this cute thrift store dress and this time I didn't flub up the measurements like I did on the last dress!

I fell short - AGAIN!

Perhaps my tape measure is broken!

I am known for making silly mistakes like this all the time and I have a wonderful husband who never lets me forget about them! I was showing him the dress I was trying "to stretch" and how I fell short in my measurements and right away he thought of the last time I fell short in my measurements! (the wall border) But he is such a good sport, I love when I can make him laugh! Which I did - AGAIN! Any ideas how to fix it without undoing everything?

Wonderful Wednesday~A rare find!!

I found these awesome books at a thrift store the other day. They are so cool. This is Geography like I've never seen it. My kids are already pouring over them. (Me too!) Here is a bit of info on them I found on Wikipedia. ~Just wanted to share~

Wonderful Wednesday~I LOVE a good deal

And this one, while small in it's own way, is great enough for me to blog about! For a couple of months I've been checking Scheel's to see when, or if the Sherpani bags will go on sale. No such luck. I've had my eye on this particular one for some time but will NOT pay 40.00 bucks for it. Who would have thought that I would find exactly what I was looking for at a thrift store. I love shopping at thrift stores and have never ran across exactly what I'm looking for and as far as that goes, something I've been looking for lately. This Sherpani bag looks like it's NEVER been used and I paid a whole .99 for it. How cool is that?