Domestic Adventures: Gardening

Lately my hubby and I have been on a bit of a learing to be self reliant kick. With all of the things going on in the world these days we feel its important to be prepared and lets face it people these days (including us) are lacking some necessary survial skills.  We have become so dependant on modern conveniences. So this spring/summer we decided to try our hand at gardening.

Due to weather conditions in Alaska simple gardening takes on a few added twists. But frist things frist, we needed a place to garden. So step one was to build a raised bed garden. This helps give your gardening dirt the best exposure to warm weather in the spring to help it thaw. We decided to make ours 4'x8'x12". It took one trip to Lowes, 6 weather treated boards, and 15 bags of dirt to build.

(The tires have potatoes (hopefully) growing in them.)

We planted tomatoes that we picked up at the Farmer's Market over the weekend. I attempted these last year and almost made it.  I planted them too late. So I did get tomatoes but they never turned red:~( So hopefully better luck this year. We also planted cucumbers and green beans.  I have no idea if this will work or not. The weather has been absolutely fantastic this past week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Favorite Finds Friday!

1. Envirosax - http://www.envirosax.com/certified-rpet-series.html

I bought one of these a few months ago and I LOVE IT!!!! I am forever forgetting my grocery bags at home and this cute little bag rolls up and fits nicely in my purse so I always have at least one with me.  The company has several different types/sizes of bags, prints and colors, and combo packs available.   

source

2. Giovanni Shampoo - http://www.giovannicosmetics.com/

I try really hard to use sulfate free shampoo and they aren't easy to find. Its is also not easy to find one that lathers nicely and works through my thick hair without having to use the whole bottle.  A friend of mine introduced me to this shampoo and I gotta say I'm digging it.  It has no sulfates and is organic.  It smells awesome. The conditioner is thick and creamy.  And it lathers really well and works through my thick hair with only a small amount.  

source

3. Fruit Leather - http://www.stretchislandfruit.com/

Mmmmmmm! They taste fantastic and dare I say it.....are healthy too! These yummy little snacks are 100% real fruit and no added sugar. They are great to keep in the car or your purse for a quick snack. Just try not to eat the whole box in one sitting:~)

source 

4. Angry Birds for the iPhone - http://www.rovio.com/index.php?page=angry-birds

My husband put this on my phone the other day and I am completely addicted!! It is a great puzzle-esque game that has loads of replay value.  Each level offers up a new challenge and there are tons and tons of levels.  Plus its only $0.99 on iTunes.

 

source 

    

Party Weekend!

What a weekend! Along with all the other festivities of the holiday weekend was my friend's daughter's 3rd birthday party.  Everyone had a really great time and the weather was great up until we got hit with a huge thunderstorm.   The decorations were a hit and came together nicely.  Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

A Duvet fit for a King

I finally finished the new duvet for my king size bed.  It was super easy and a super pain in the butt! The thing was so big I had absolutely no place in my house to lay it out.  Some how I managed to make it work and I would do it again because that is how in love with the fabric I am.  Plus it only cost me about $60 and with duvet covers running about $120, thats a bad deal.

So 12 yards of fabric, two JoAnne's coupons, 3 hours of my life, and 7 hammer on snaps later, here is the finished product.......

(Please excuse my wrinkled bed.  I tried my best to iron out all of the wrinkles, but have you ever tried to iron a king size duvet.....it is not a easy task.)  So now that that is finally finally finished its on to sweet talking my wonderful hubby into helping me make head and foot boards:~)

Cookin' with Moose

Last September Ryan shot his very first moose. Size wise it wasn't huge, but he was pretty excited.  Now we have a big ol' freezer full of meat.

I've tried several times using the meat in my regular recipes, using moose instead of beef.  It never goes over so well.  Neither one of us can get past that "gamey" flavor.  So, what do you do with a freezer full of meat that you don't particularly like?....You suck it up and learn to like it.  So, last time we were at Fred Meyer we made a stop in their tiny book section and found a Moose Cook Book.  I figured that someone had to have come up with a way to season it to mask some of the not-so-yummy flavor.

I have made three recipes out it and so far so good:~) I have made an Enchilada casserole, Chili con Carne, and Macaroni and Moose. The Macaroni and Moose was an interesting one.  It called for cinnamon and nutmeg which I thought was rather odd.  I wouldn't think to add those spices to ground meat.  But Ryan said it was actually really good.  His favorite at this point was the Chili con Carne.  I added jalapeno's to the recipe which, Ryan informs me, made it perfect.  And it was quick and simple, which made it perfect for me. 

 

Finished (for the most part)

So here are the after pictures.  There are still a few minor things that need to be done, like touching up paint and finishing trim. We plan on refinishing the log portion of the house and building a larger porch.  But the house is more or less complete finally and we are pretty stinkin' excited:~)

It only took five years...

Five years ago Ryan and I decided to become homeowners.  At the time Ryan was still in the AirForce so we had a housing allowance and it seemed like a good financial move.  Ryan found a house he liked that was well within our price range.  I have to admit I was not thrilled, but figured we could fix it up, make it cute and move on.  What we thought was a house that just needed a little TLC turned out to be a house that needed a major overhaul.  So after two horrible contractors and five years of sweat, hard work, A LOT of stress, and A LOT of tears (on my part:~) we finally have a normal house with normal problems (i.e. mowing the lawn or unclogging the drain).  It is a huge weight that is finally gone, gone, gone.

Here are some before pictures.  I'll post some of the new ones tomorrow. 

 

Sunday Projects

Well Sunday was a miserable rainy day. So while Ryan lost himself in video games, I lost myself in two projects:~)  A check book cover and a receipt wallet. They also had iron on vinyl, which was pretty fantastic because no one in town sells laminated fabric.  I gathered up my supplies and got to work:~) The check book cover was first on my agenda.  It went together super fast.  I used some left over black out fabric I had as a as a lining.  The fabric alone was just to flimsy.  Next was the receipt wallet.  I absolutely hate it when my purse gets cluttered with loose things.  The receipt wallet was perfect idea for keeping all of those things in one place. I ended up using iron on vinyl for this one because no on in town sells laminated fabric.  

I'm really happy with how they turned out and how quickly they went together.  Now I have a super cute check book cover to match my purse and the receipt wallet to keep it organized.

If anyone wants the tutorials here are the links...checkbook cover , receipt wallet

Favorite Finds

1. http://www.preserveproducts.com/  - I stumbled across this website while meandering through the internet and was pretty excited to find that they have ultra soft toothbrushes, which are impossible to find, and they will ship to Alaska.  The fact that they are made of recycled yogurt cups and can be mailed back to be recycled again just makes them even more fantastic! Whats really neat is that you can purchase a toothbrush "subscription" where they mail you a new brush every 3 months for a year.  

2. FoodSaver canisters - We finally broke down and brought a food saver. Whats so neat about them is that now they do more than just bags.  They have canisters and left over containers that you can vacuum seal as well.  Right now I have all mine full of produce.  You know that stuff that usually goes bad in a week and ends up getting thrown out because you either forgot you had it or didn't use it fast enough.  I've had strawberries in one of the larger canisters for a little over a week and they still look and taste as wonderful as they did the day I bought them.