New Candles from Old Candles

There is a candle that Anthropologie sells that smells AMAZING. Truly my favorite candle, but they aren't cheap so I usually just appreciate them when I'm in the store - at Christmas they were doing a good sale though so I ordered one. When it arrived I could hear the candle before I even saw the candle because it was smashed to bits and the glass was making so much noise! I immediately called the company,  they felt bad and sent a new one. When it arrived I could hear the candle before I even saw the second one, it was also broken!!! I called the company again and once again they said they'd send another, but the third candle never showed up...so it's either floating around somewhere, stolen, or they just didn't bother. (I did get a refund so all good). I couldn't bear to throw the smashed candles away tho, they smell SO good - even broken I was enjoying the scent and kept them around. I got the idea to (carefully!) pick off the broken glass and salvage the wax, remelt it and make myself a new candle. I'm so happy about this I can't even tell you.

Other than the whole gingerly picking off the broken glass step, this was very easy. Cut up the candle into small pieces and put in a heatproof container (empty tin cans work well but I didn't have one big enough so I used a Ball jar), set the container into a pan that has about an inch of water in the bottom (creating a double-boiler) and melt the wax very slowly over low heat. Seriously, I probably don't need to tell you to be careful, pay attention, and don't walk away from melting wax...but I'm going to say it anyway so no one hurts themselves and blames me.

While the wax was melting I prepared the new candle holder (I got a heavy glass holder for 2 bucks at Tuesday Morning) by sticking down a wood wick to the center bottom of the holder. Keep it in place by adding a little dab of wax to the bottom of the wick, hold in place until the wax dries. Once the wax on the stovetop is melted and smooth, carefully pour it into the candle holder and let it re-harden. Then trim the wick down to about 1/4".

This was so easy and I still had more wax so I found another container (a terra-cotta pot) and made another candle, this time with a regular wick - I thought the wick was covering the hole in the bottom of the pot but once I poured in the wax I realized (see the picture for just how I realized) the wick didn't seal up the hole! So I scraped the wax off the counter and re-melted...duh. The regular wicks are soft and don't stand up on their own - you need to keep it upright and centered, so stick the bottom down the same as with the wood wick and wind the portion that is above the candleholder around a pencil. Lay the pencil across the center of the holder, pour the melted wax in, leave the pencil across the top until the wax has hardened.

I actually had a third candle arrive broken (from a different source) but it didn't
smell as good and was too hard to remove from the broken holder so I threw that one out

oops, the wick didn't seal up the hole in the bottom of the terra-cotta pot! 

Ham Pasta Salad

Dave is going to a photo party and needs a dish to pass - we have ham left over from Easter last week and I decided to make a cold pasta salad for him to take. Actually I was going to make a dessert but he's worried there won't be anything he can eat - if you're worried about that then the rule of thumb is to take something you know you can eat! That way at least there is one thing that'll work. So...ham pasta salad it is.

I made up the dressing for this salad and it turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself. I don't have exact amounts, just add until you like how it tastes. I mixed together equal parts mayo and plain greek yogurt (about 1/2 cup each), a big tablespoon of dijon mustard, some lemon juice, a bit of olive oil to help loosen the dressing up, cayenne, paprika, pepper, and just a little salt (the salad has the salty ham so don't add much). Whisk it all together and taste if you want to adjust the seasonings. Fold into a bowl of cooked pasta shells, chopped ham, thawed frozen peas, and a big handful of shredded cheese; mix well until the dressing is completely incorporated and covering all of the pasta. If it seems dry just make up another batch of dressing.

I'm not sure he's going to remember to bring home my bowl, so I put the salad in a large plastic container and topped with a bit of finely chopped italian parsley to make it look a little nicer ;).

Swedish Fish

I don't eat much candy and when I do it isn't gummy chewy things so I've never had swedish fish candy...but if it tastes anything like this yummy drink I might be missing out! This isn't overly sweet and with the lime juice it has just the right bit of tart to it - don't let the name stop you from trying this drink.  I found the recipe here, but I didn't put it with ice in a shaker like a martini - it tasted great just mixed together in a glass with a bit of ice. And I definitely didn't put a swedish fish candy in it for garnish...!

2 oz. vodka
2 oz. cranberry juice
1 oz. Rose's lime juice
1 oz. triple sec

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a swedish fish candy.

DIY Heating Pad

My neck and back have been bothering me so I went to an ex-ortho nurse turned massage therapist today that does NOT give the kind of relaxing massage that sounds like heaven right now but works on the painful issues instead...so I can't really say I had a "massage", more like intensive therapeutic work! Anyway, you don't care about that and it's not my point hahaha...she mentioned that heat would be helpful to loosen things up and I said I have an electric heating pad and she said what would be better is one of those microwaveable packs that only stay hot for a few minutes and really target the areas that need it. I don't have one of those here but I do have scrap material, a couple bags of small dried beans, and a sewing machine...so...about 10 minutes later my heating pad was made.

I cut up an old pillowcase into a rectangle about 6" x 19". Turn the right sides facing each other and sew around all open sides leaving a couple inch gap in one end so you can fill it. Turn the whole thing right side out, fill it with the beans (you can also use rice), hand sew the little opening or do what I did and just machine sew across the entire end to close it. I did this because (a) it's for me and no one will ever see it so it didn't need to look perfect and (b) I was sitting at my machine and it's way faster to machine sew than hand stitch hahahah - which is sort of (c) I'm lazy. If I was making these for gifts I'd totally do it the right way and hand sew to close the opening!

I shaped a piece of paper into a cone as a makeshift funnel 

In the middle of making this heating pad Dave brought me Sarge's new stuffed hedgehog that needed a trip to the "hospital" because his nose was bit off and the stuffing was coming out - I had to stop what I was doing to fix it because Sarge was driving me crazy wanting it back!

 Right now I have it on my neck while blogging this and it isn't even warm - just the weight of it feels SO good....ahhhhhhh.....some relief! Oh, I forgot that when I was filling the pad with the beans I added a few drops of doTerra lavender oil in case the beans smelled funny after heating them. So it feels good AND smells good :)

one year ago: household emergency kit
two years ago: Sheryl's stuffed mini sweet peppers

Low-Carb Pizza

Feel like pizza but don't want the crust? Check out the low-carb pizza I made - let's be honest, it doesn't taste like pizza with regular pizza crust,  but for way less calories and carbs this is a great substitution! I loved it actually and will def be adding this to my lunch ideas. Didn't feed it to Dave so can't give you his take, but for me it's delicious and a keeper.

I saw the recipe online but changed it  - you can google and find other recipes (look for "keto pizza") but this is what I did to make a small 8inch pizza for my lunch:

Mix together 1 egg and a big handful of shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend, mozzarella will also work - probably 3/4 cup). Spread the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet into a thin round circle (or whatever crazy shape you'd like your pizza) and bake at 400' for about 15 minutes until the crust turns golden. Remove and let cool for a couple minutes. Top with pizza sauce (if you're really trying to keep the carbs low find a pizza sauce that is low in sugar), whatever toppings you want (I did turkey pepperoni and chopped canadian bacon), then a handful of shredded mozzarella. Return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or so until cheese is melted and the pizza has turned even more golden brown.

before baking

after baking a few minutes remove from oven and add toppings

topped with turkey pepperoni and canadian bacon, bake a few more minutes

voila! "pizza"!! 

                                                                         

April Challenge - Water

I forgot to tell you that our 30-day challenge for April is drinking more water. Macey picked it but apparently there aren't any actual rules to this challenge other than "drink more" so you aren't really behind yet hahaha! Decide for yourself how much water you should drink every day - the standard is 8 glasses but that isn't necessarily what your body needs, there are formulas and charts all over the place to figure out what amount you need - and shoot to drink it. Easy, right? Except we all forget, hence the need for a 30-day challenge to help us be more aware of how much we are actually getting compared to what we need. Look at this list of some great reasons to drink more water:



January = no sugar
February = squats
March = steps
April = water

Kitchen Tip - Peeling Potatoes

Two tips today - (1) if you don't want to peel the potatoes and just want to make chunky smashed potatoes with the peels on because you are tired and a bit lazy (plus you like them like that!) then do not ask your guests if they prefer them peeled. Because if they say yes they do, you are stuck peeling. Just sayin'. That leads me to the second tip:

Patty told me this easy way to peel potatoes and it totally works - boil the potatoes with the skins on, after they are cooked put them in cold water until they are cool enough to handle, then put a potato in a towel or paper towel and just rub the peels off. Much easier than peeling potatoes by hand - good tip!

two years ago: chicken soup

(Another) Spring Wreath

In addition to being on a dollar store fake flower kick (see the upside down wreath post here) I also cleaned out my craft room the other day and need to use up a bunch of odds and ends...so I made a Spring wreath by wrapping a cheap foam ring with chunky white yarn. Once it was completely covered (the wreath form is green so you want to wrap it pretty thick to cover) I continued wrapping the yarn a few times around some tulips to attach them, tie off with a little bow. Easy peasy.

It's too small for the front door by itself, but looks great either layered onto of a driftwood wreath I have on the inside of the front door, or hanging from a door handle. Adds a little springtime touch. And now I've used up all the flowers so will end my fake flower kick (for now).

Happy Easter 2018

Need a last minute Easter decoration? Have some sticks and jelly beans laying around? Here's a fun idea...Sarge and I gathered sticks yesterday on our walk and then made this fun simple jelly bean tree. 

Arrange the sticks in a vase, hot glue jelly beans to the sticks, and then finish by adding jelly beans to the bottom of the vase. Done, super quick, and a cute addition to my Easter table decorations. 

Happy Easter!

my helper fell asleep on the job...

I saw this adorable picture on another blog and thought 'what a perfect Easter picture'...and then my next thought was 'if that (bleeping) bunny was in my garden eating my lettuce I'd be really ticked' ...LOL!!

photo credit

Chocolate Covered Strawberry "Carrots"

One last quick post before Easter - if you haven't decided on dessert or just want a fun little thing to make and/or take check out these fun chocolate covered strawberries. This is very easy and fast to do. I am making chocolate frosted, and green "grass" frosted cupcakes, and will plant one of these "carrots" on top. Gonna be cute :)

You just melt orange chocolate disks (they come in a bag, I find them at the craft store and sometimes the grocery store) and holding the green top part of the clean dry strawberry, dunk it in. Shake off the excess (gently, you want to keep the green stem if possible) and lay on a piece of parchment or waxed paper until they dry. Repeat for as many berry "carrots" as you want. To finish, put the remaining melted chocolate in a plastic baggie, snip a small corner off, and drizzle it over.

one year ago: Brooke makes a candleholder