Operation "Ivory Soap" and Other Happenings...

Good morning, folks! Lately I have been on a mission to figure out how to deter the bunny family that lives under our garden shed from eating up the plants in our backyard flower beds. Mike and I don't mind sharing our backyard with the bunny family, actually we like seeing them out and about, but we don't want them wreaking havoc on our plants. Below is a photo of just one of the plants that they have munched away on during the winter months...believe it or not it is a holly bush! I would have never dreamed that rabbits would eat the pointy/stickery leaves of a holly bush, buy by golly they gobbled it up! (Actually, they've gobbled up 3 holly bushes in this bed, as well as several other plants.)

Anyhoo...I've been reading/researching on how to keep the bunnies away from our plants without harming the plants or the bunnies. There are several remedies out there, but the one that I have decided to try out first my hubs has named "Operation Ivory Soap":

Basically what I read is that if you cut up bars of Ivory Soap and scatter it around your plants and flowers the critters will stay away. The day lilies planted in the bed by our garden shed have started to come up, so when hubby re-mulched this weekend he tossed a few chunks of Ivory Soap around them:

In the near future we'll be replacing/adding mulch and plants to the other beds as well, so Ivory Soap chunks will be added in those areas too. I'll keep you posted to let you know if "Operation Ivory Soap" is a success! :)

In other news this week...WOO HOO!! I am on spring break this week!!! Along with working on some craft projects and cleaning my craft room, (which looks like a bomb has gone off in it - LOL!), I've got some other fun things planned. My mom, who lives about an hour away, is coming down for the day so that we can go to some of the antique shops here in Broken Arrow. I'll be meeting my pal Sharon S. for fun conversation and a delicious lunch at Olive Garden; and one afternoon my best bud Jamie and I are gonna grab a bite to eat and then go see "OZ" at the theater. I 've got a couple of books about Mary Queen of Scots to finish reading, and I might even make time to squeeze in a nap or two before the week is over!

Many schools are out for spring break this week, so please keep an eye out for the kiddos that will be riding bikes, skateboards, etc.

Wishing you a TERRIFIC week!

BRILLIANT IDEA!! Crockpot Baked Potato Recipe...

When I saw this BRILLIANT idea over at Skip to my Lou, I thought to myself, "Self, why didn't you think of that?!?!?" Baked potatoes in a crockpot...who'd a thunk it??

Photos from Skip to my Lou

 Here's the link to the blog where I found this FABULOUS idea:

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/07/09/crock-pot-baked-potatoes/

I'm gonna have to try this out soon!! Just think how easy this would be for a family get-together...baked potato bars simplified for sure!!

Have a happy day!

Pantry Organization Tour

Recently I spent a little time reorganizing my walk-in pantry. I started pulling everything off of the shelves and washing them down with Lysol kitchen cleaner. Here are a few photos of my pantry and how I keep everything organized and readily accessible:

When you open the door to my pantry, the light automatically comes on - I just LOVE that!! The pantry has deep "L" shaped shelves, so the first photo is of the left side:

And the second photo is of the right side:

I don't alphabetize the canned goods on the shelves in my pantry, instead I organize them by type. For instance, I keep all of the canned veggies together, canned soups together, sauces together, canned fruits together, etc. For me, that makes more sense than alphabetizing things, and in turn makes it easier for my family to locate the items that they need.

I store a lot of things in some of my Longaberger baskets...everything from cookie cutters to holiday napkins, to plastic tableware. I also have white plastic baskets where I store plastic bowls and lids for us to put leftovers in for our lunches. I purchased these white baskets at the Dollar Tree for a buck each, and they work great for corraling the bowls and their matching lids:

A friend of my hubby's gave me a bunch of glass canning jars that he found while cleaning out his mom's barn. Some of them are really large - 4 qt. sized - so I purchased white plastic lids for them at Wal-Mart and put them to good use by storing dry goods. They work great for holding various pastas, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. - and they look cute to boot! I added some fun red ribbon and tags to each jar to dress them up a bit:

I used some of the jars to store a few of my baking goods, such as powdered and brown sugar, marshmallows and red hots candies:

I use one of the short, wide-mouth jars to neatly store my cupcake liners:

To keep my rolls of aluminum foil, plastic wrap, parchment baking paper, zip-loc bags, and such neat and tidy, I store them upright in a large plastic magazine holder that I purchased at Wal-Mart. (I got this BRILLIANT idea from Pinterest!)

My spices are stored on 2 lazy-susan turn tables, and my Kool-Aid, coffee filters, chip clips and seasoning packets are stored in easy to reach baskets. My canisters fit nicely on one of the shelves, which frees up counter space in my kitchen, and I also keep all of my crock pots, mixing bowls, pots/pans, and baking dishes within easy reach on these shelves as well. Drinking straws are stored in a glass jar, next the the basket that keeps our loaf of bread from getting squashed:

My pantry is one of my favorite rooms in our home because it is so neat and organized...it just makes me happy when I walk into it!

Thanks for letting me share these organizing tips with you today...I hope that they help you too!

Blessings,

BRILLIANT IDEA!! Cupcake Christmas Ornament

WOWZERS!!! Is this a CUTE ornament or what?!?!? My blog buddy, Ann, over at November Rose created this fabulous cupcake ornament and has posted a super easy tutorial on her fantastic blog! Please take a minute to check it out, along with her other amazing creations...she is such an inspiration to me and I know you'll love her too!!

Have a SPECTACULAR day!

Brilliant Idea!! New Use for Dryer Sheets!

Last weekend my sweetie hand washed my Mustang and tried out a new technique for removing dead bug splatters, (ICK!), from the bumpers. A friend of his from work told him that the dead, stuck-on bugs would come off really easily simply by wetting a dryer sheet and rubbing it over the "buggy" areas:

Well, I am here to tell you that it worked like a charm - no heavy scrubbing at all! BRILLIANT!

Hope this great tip helps you the next time you wash your car!

Have a wonderful day!

Brilliant Idea!! New Purpose for a Metal Measuring Tape

My sis-in-law, Sandy, has recently gotten into quilting/sewing. (Remember the adorable matching aprons that she made for all of the gals in our family at Christmas? Click HERE to see them). Well, here is another one of her super cute quilted projects that I am the proud owner of...a set of matching cosmetic bags:

You simply pull on the little dog-eared tabs on each side of the bag, and it springs open:

Okay...now for the BRILLIANT IDEA part of these little bags! Sandy cut a metal measuring tape into pieces long enough to run through the inside of the contrasting fabric bands along the top of each of the bags. This is what causes them to "spring" open and closed:

Is that a SUPER CLEVER idea or what?!?!? Thanks, Sandy, for the adorable make-up bags...I love them!

Have a wonderful day!

Brilliant Idea!! Something Clever for Your Wallet...

You know what a pain it can be to fish your driver's license out of your wallet when you are asked to show your identification! Sometimes it gets stuck to the plastic window and almost takes the strength of Hercules to pry it out! Well, now that problem is solved by this SUPER CLEVER idea:

My friend/co-worker Janice R. showed me this clever trick a few months back. Her sister, Liane, came up with this BRILLIANT idea, and I just had to show it to you! You simply cut a piece of organza ribbon about 13" long, run the ribbon through a flat bead on each end - securing the beads with knots, and then trim the ends of the ribbon:

Wrap the ribbon around your driver's license and slide it into the window pocket of your wallet, leaving the beads/tails of the ribbon hanging out the end of the pocket. Now when someone asks to see your identification you'll have no problem whatsoever getting it out of your wallet!

Thanks Janice and Liane for this TERRIFIC idea!!

Wishing you a wonderful day!