Tip-sy Tuesday: household uses for lemons

Macey has a big lemon tree in her backyard and has been sharing lemons with me, which is amazing - one problem tho...I can't use them fast enough! The other day I hand squeezed 8 cups of lemon juice and still have tons left over. I'll share some of the things I've done with them later but for now I'm sharing some info I found when googling for ways to use lemons - I didn't know most of these...

• Clean discolored utensils with a cloth dipped in lemon juice. Rinse with warm water.
• Rub kitchen and bathroom faucets with lemon peel. Washed dry with a soft cloth to shine and remove spots.
• Fish or onion odor on your hands can be removed by rubbing them with fresh lemons.
• Remove scratches on furniture by mixing equal parts of lemon juice and salad oil and rubbing it on thee scratches with a soft cloth.
• To make furniture polish, mix one part lemon juice and two parts olive oil.
• To renew hardened paintbrushes, dip into boiling lemon juice. Lower thee heat and leave the brush for 15 minutes, then wash it in soapy water. 
• Create your own air freshener: slice some lemons, cover with water, let simmer in a pot for about an hour. (This will also clean your aluminum pots).
• Before you start to vacuum, put a few drops of lemon juice in thee dust bag. It will make the house smell fresh. 
• Get grimy cotton socks white again by boiling them in water with a slice of lemon. 
• Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of salt to make a rust-removing scrub. 
• Toss used lemons into your garbage disposal to help keep it clean and smelling fresh. 

2.14.22: red velvet cookies

2.14.21: 🔥week 7

2.14.20: wine glass lamp shade

2.14.18: dried cranberry and chocolate cookies

2.14.17: flower heart by Julie

2.14.16: tuna over nice (basically a Nicoise salad)

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Miniature Paper Gift Box

I saw Ronda Wade make a little gift box on a class she posted on youtube the other day, it's really easy and comes together quickly so you have lots of time to make these to hold a little Valentines gift or decorations. They aren't just for V-day tho, Ronda makes them to hold gifts, money, or candy for any occasion. 

She glued a tag on the front of hers, hole punched the tops and closed with ribbon; I used the box base as inspiration and cut out hearts to glue to the front of mine and decorated with punched hearts and gems -  they don't look nearly as polished as hers but since I just whipped one of these out to give you the idea I didn't take the time to make them look prettier! Originally I planned to glue the heart covering the entire front of the box but ended up moving it up - it'd probably be cuter with a different color base instead of white. Add ribbons, doilies, tags, stamps, embellishments - so many options!

Make them out of any color cardstock or designer scrapbooking paper, and decorate however you wish!

To make the box base: cut a piece of paper 5" x3 3/4". Score the longer sides at 1" each, then turn the paper and score the short way at 2" and 3", crease the score lines. 

Cut the lines at 2" and 3" up to the first cross score line (1" up), the little 1" center flaps you just created are the tabs to shape the box. Snip the corners off both sides of one end (see photo) to make the box cleaner when it's all done.

Turn the paper over and put glue on the outside of the tabs, and the outside of the two sides that you snipped. Fold that side and the tabs up, creating the bottom and one side of the box. 

Fold the other side up and attach to the glued other side. See photos for all of this, I'm definitely using more words than required to make this! I've literally typed longer than it takes to make it hahahah. 

Watch Ronda's video for much better instructions, along with some cute cards - you have to see her make  the most adorable turtle shaker card ever! Love it. I grabbed a screenshot of the box she shows how to make: 

Click here for her youtube class or go to https://youtu.be/Z0CZdUiRSDo

2.13.22: 🔥 week 7

2.13.21: valentine bubble tree 

2.13.20: hot dog heart

2.13.19: asian style meatballs with sweet chili sauce

2.13.18: shrimp cocktail in a wine glass

2.13.17: heart suncatcher

2.13.16: wine label for Valentine's day gifts

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 7)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

2/5: 🔥 week 6

2/6: afghan fleece blanket mash-up

2/7: TT dust mop hack

2/8: citrus marinated chicken

2/9: cinnamon sugar pretzels 

2/10: perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs

2/11: creamy mushroom chicken pasta

What's Cooking ~

• baked salmon, parmesan couscous, steamed broccoli
• grilled marinated chicken breast, whole wheat pasta with Alfredo, green salad w/vinaigrette
• burger salad
• chicken stuffing casserole 
• pork tenderloin, crockpot risotto, green beans
• chili (with fixings - chopped onions,  chopped pickles, cheese, sour cream), green salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read Kevin Hart's "This is how we do it - a pep talk" and really liked it. It's a good self-help book with some comedy mixed in. It's fun and motivational in a down-to-earth sort of way. I recommend (although there's some colorful language you might have to overlook if that's not your thing haha). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's it for this week - hope you're having a fun Super Bowl Sunday and win the squares pool if you're playing hahaha. I'm off to make guacamole and deviled eggs - later! 

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

2.12.22: pinwheel icebox cookies

2.12.21: triple berry muffins

2.12.20: yarn heart

2.12.19: add a pin to pearls

2.12.18: Valentine ball jar vase and candleholder

2.12.17: goat cheese tart

2.12.16: Brooke and Sydney make 'cootie catchers'

Creamy Mushroom Spinach Chicken Pasta

Macey sent me this recipe for Creamy Mushroom Spinach Chicken Pasta, and yum - it looks and sounds delish! Thanks for sharing with us Mae :)

White onion chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 milk (in attempt for less calories haha) 

1/2 cup white wine 

1/2 chicken stock (chicken bouillon is my fav) 

1 8ozpackage of mushrooms 

Chicken breast (I used 2 and cut them thinly slice) 

1 bag of spinach (cooked in sauce — don’t add until the never end!) 

Fresh parsley (both in the sauce cooked and garnish on top once the pasta is on the plate) 

In a cast iron pan, I sauté one white onion in Olive Oil — when it’s just about looking “done” (or carmelized) I add chopped garlic (2-3cloves) and then I take onions and garlic off the heat and set them aside in a bowl. 

Using the “grease” from the onions / garlic, I then add the heavy cream, chicken stock, white wine , mushrooms, chicken (which I’ve already cooked about 70% through so it doesn’t take as long!) then when it’s just about ready to serve, I throw back in the onion and add spinach in the very last minute so it keeps it’s shape! 

Served over your favorite noodle. For me, I have to have GF noodles and I chose a chickpea lentil spaghetti noodle which was pretty darn good!

2.11.22: wine cork x and o

2.11.21: pasta sauce with meat and eggs

2.11.20: how to make an origami heart

2.11.19: make an ear crawler

2.11.18: confetti heart picks

2.11.17: blueberry jilly's jam

2.11.16: valentine nail art

Perfectly Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs (re-run)

I forgot to schedule something to post this morning so I'm going to give you a quick re-run of how to get perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs in case you're thinking to make them for Supper Bowl Sunday. This way of boiling and cooling in ice water absolutely works to get nice pretty eggs when making deviled eggs. 

I just boiled a dozen eggs that I just bought this morning and look - every one of them is perfect!

from 2016:

I have been making hard boiled eggs for years the same way (put the eggs in a pan, fill with water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and cover, let rest in hot water for 20 minutes) and they are foolproof, perfectly done everytime. But if the eggs are too fresh then it's always a crap shoot if I could peel them easily (did you know that fresh eggs are the culprit behind difficult-to-peel hard boiled eggs? Yep!) and if I wanted pretty deviled eggs then it was such a pain hoping to get enough nice ones.  I'm making deviled eggs to take to a friends house and of course bought brand new eggs this morning...and then I saw this method with the claim that even fresh eggs will peel perfectly...well of course I'm going to try it!

Bring a pot of water to a boil and then carefully lower the eggs into the pan. Let them boil in a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Drain; then put the hot eggs into a bowl of ice water and let cool for 5-10 minutes. And sure enough, every one of the eggs peeled super easy - I'm shocked. A couple have a sort of dent on the side (I put them on the top in this picture), not sure what that's about, but when I halve the eggs I'll just make sure to put the dented side on the bottom.

Click here to see where I found this - my new method when I need perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs!

2.10.22: taco stuffed shells

2.10.21: dessert (football) cheeseball (shoutout to Meghan and Mickey!)

2.10.20: fabric flower pins

2.10.19: 🔥week 6 (and there's a cute Valentine bookmark idea)

2.10.18: organizing food containers

2.10.17: two toned swirly frosting

2.10.16: layered jello parfait perfect for Valentine's day

Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels

Here's a very quick and easy snack just in time for the Super Bowl party you may or may not be hosting or attending - or just a yum snack for any ol' time!

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 16 oz. package small pretzel twists

In a large roasting pan, stir together oil, sugar and cinnamon. Add the pretzels; toss well to coat with the cinnamon-sugar.

Bake, uncovered, in a 300' oven for 30 minutes, stirring a couple times. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings.

Microwave directions: In a very large bowl, stir together oil, sugar and cinnamon. Add pretzels; toss well to coat. 

Place half of the pretzel mixture in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on full power for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Repeat with thee remaining pretzel mixture. 

note: I mixed the oil, cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl, put the pretzels
in the big roasting pan and poured the oil mixture over top; then toss well to coat. 

recipe from a Midwest Living magazine 12/2010

2.9.22: valentine felt gnome

2.9.21: tip-sy tuesday: baking center organizing (see my sprinkle storage update here!)

2.9.20: 🔥week 6

2.9.19: monthly maintenance projects

2.9.18: colored pencil tattoos

2.9.17: sweet potato toast

2.9.16: 'bee mine' honey bear

Citrus Marinated Chicken

I've got a chicken marinade recipe that I've used for years (I posted it back in '17, click here for that one), so when Macey gave me a big bag of oranges and lemons from her tree I thought I'd change up my old recipe a little bit.

Put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a large ziplock baggie. Cut a big orange and lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the baggie. *Note: here's a little tip-sy tuesday tip on a Wednesday - hold the cut half of the orange and lemon facing up when you squeeze it and most of the seeds will stay in the fruit, or yes, you could just squeeze thru a strainer). Add a splash of soy sauce, spring or two of rosemary, and a teaspoon of thyme leaves. Mix it all up to blend, and add the chicken. Seal and refrigerate until you're ready to cook the chicken. 

Just like back in '17, I don't have a picture of what it looks like haha, all these years later and I still don't always remember to take photos! 

2.8.22: heart treat holder or bookmark

2.8.21: Valentine caterpillar by Brooke

2.8.20: double chocolate kisses cookies

2.8.19: diy: air freshener

2.8.18: make a heart-felt Valentine card

2.8.17: mini bundt brownies

2.8.16: Valentine slider box (to hold chocolates)

Tip-sy Tuesday: dust mop

I ran out of swiffer sweeper dust pad things (what are those called? sweeper dust pads? you know what I mean, right? The swiffer sweeper has holes in the top and you press the pad into the holes to keep it in place) and had the thought that I don't actually need the official pad things to dust the floors - I grabbed a microfiber cloth, wrapped it around the sweeper and pushed the fabric into the holes. Totally worked! Then I just threw the cloth in the wash for next time.

I've seen another swiffer hack putting a sock over the swiffer base and that seems like it'd work too - I was just too lazy to walk upstairs to see if Dave has any lone socks that I could dust with, the microfiber cloth was in the cabinet where the swiffer things usually are. I'll try the sock thing next time and let you know how it goes. 

2.7.22: Miss Lori's painted wood hearts 

2.7.21: 🔥 week 6

2.7.20: candy slider box

2.7.19: hide a key container

2.7.18: oatmeal chocolate cranberry cookies

2.7.17: sliding side lunge

2.7.16: "Palentine"/Valentine dinner menu

 

Crocheted Afghan/Fleece Tie Blanket Mash-up

Hmmm what to call this afghan and tie blanket throw/lap blanket? Haha I'm going with 'mash-up' - I literally sewed a crocheted afghan to a piece of fleece material, then cut a fringed edge all the way around the overhang of the fleece. Easy and pretty quick (once you have the throw part crocheted - that's also easy but will take a little bit longer!).

I crocheted the afghan using soft fluffy yarn so it would be soft and fluffy like the fleece side, in a basic single crochet stitch. It measures approx. 48 x 28". Make yours bigger or smaller, this is a totally winging it kind of project! Crochet til it's as big as you want.

Cut your fleece material so it's 5" bigger all the way around than the afghan (so add 10" of material in both directions). The extra 5 inches is to make the fringe - the fleece adds some weight and coziness, the fringe only adds fun and texture :) 

Examples: 

• my afghan is 48" long so the fleece material needs to be around 58", and mine is 28" wide so the fleece is 38" = you'd need a piece of fleece that is 58"x38" rectangle. 
• if you want to crochet a 48" square throw then your fabric should be a 58" square
• a larger throw will need a bigger piece of fabric (obviously) - you'll need to check how wide the fleece is before you start, it might only be 58 to 60 inches wide and that will be important so you know how wide you can crochet the afghan side. 

                          

Once you have the afghan crocheted and finished (weave in the ends), pin it evenly to the fleece material. Sew around the edge to join the 2 sides. I put tape on the bottom feeder of my machine so the yarn wouldn't catch, and sewed on the fleece side, just be careful where the afghan is since you can't see it'd edge. I just went slow and felt the afghan with my fingers as I was sewing to make sure it stayed in place. 

After joining the two sides, cut strips in the fleece that is overhanging the afghan. My fringe is about 1/2" but you can do larger if you want. You could knot each strip but I didn't want to feel knots so I just left it as fringe. 

2.6.22: 🔥 week 6

 2.6.21: bumblebee valentine and pickup truck by Brooke

2.6.20: alligator pear salad

2.6.19: sheet pan curried shrimp biryani

2.6.18: making a master grocery list

2.6.17: making heart artwork from dots 

2.6.16: Nana's pralines

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 6)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap of what happened at camp last week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~

1/29: 🔥 week 5

1/30: origami heart

1/31: TT chinese takeout container tip

2/1: sausage and spinach stuffed shells

2/2: salad bundles

2/3: heart mosaic

2/4: pumpkin snickerdoodle muffins

What's Cooking ~

• sausage and spinach stuffed shells, green salad bundles, crusty bread
• meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies
• pork chops, gnocchi with peas and roasted tomatoes, chopped salad
• grilled marinated chicken, basmati rice (made with chicken stock instead of water), broccoli
• steak, stuffed portobellos, wilted spinach 

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Paris for One and Other Stories" by Jojo Moyes, it's a light book and I enjoyed most of the stories. I don't always love short stories because they are just over too fast if I'm enjoying the characters and storyline - this one was pretty good though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Dave put up a hummingbird feeder in our deck planter box on the kitchen patio and we have had so much fun watching them! Seriously, they are entertaining little things, full of personality (and they're mean to each other protecting the feeder!). We've been making lots of hummingbird food, click here for the simple recipe). He got a couple great pics of them:

That's it for this week, hope to see you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever I can think of to make at camp! Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

2.5.22: wine and design (on a dollar store budget)

2.5.21: valentines wreath by Brooke

2.5.20: baked pork chops

2.5.19: heart shaped cork trivet

2.5.18: paracord camera wrist strap

2.5.17: crock pot mac and cheese

2.5.16: valentine poppers