Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for the ‘Home Life’ Category

October is Fire Safety month and it’s good timing. It’s been community service workers for the last few weeks in my daughter’s kindergarten classes and the fire station was the focus for a few days.

To supplement her learning experience we took her by the local fire station and checked out a cute video explaining the different cars associated with the fire station and what to do when one is coming down the road. I guess there are more in the series.

She’s made her own fireman hat. Seen how a fireman gets in his gear before responding to a call and learned about fire safety in our home (fire alarms, drills, and do NOT play with fire).

Here are some printables to help with fire safety in your home.

Fire Safety Checklist – A Fire Safety printable Adults

Fire Safety Coloring for Kids – Coloring Book

Fireplace Safety – Fireplace And Home Fire Safety Printable

I have to admit to feeling a bit smug as this is how I put on my daughter’s duvet cover after washing.

So I’m redoing the master bedroom the easy way (changing up bed linens, new lamp shades, a new piece of furniture or two, moving stuff around and CLEANING UP!). And I was browsing around The Company Store’s (thecompanystore.com) flannel duvet cover selection, because I REALLY want a flannel duvet cover but having spent so much already I’m just drooling for now, and came across a video for putting on their duvet covers. Now admittedly my daughter’s is a twin size so I decided to do a bit more research to find out if I would have problems changing out ours which is the larger queen size.

I’m came across this delightful decorating and home type blog (and by the way I was going to buy that duvet cover in the picture but I waited too long, because I like a sale, and they sold out in the store AND online!!!). Which of course leads you to this demo for putting on a duvet cover with the nice British accent.

So voila! Have problems no more!

p.s. When I was in college my stylish best friend made a queen size duvet cover from two Ralph Lauren flat sheets. So if you can sew a straight line you can make your own. Tres Chic!

In our Sunday newspaper there was an article (and I will paraphrase here) stating that most American kitchen’s couldn’t pass the same health inspection test performed on restaurant kitchens.

Now here in this household we very rarely eat out (due to food allergies) and the slim pickin’s select few restaurants that we can eat from we do go to based on their health safety ratings.

So we felt it only fair that we should take the online quiz linked to in our paper to see how we would do if the health inspector came a knockin’. 

Having taken the local food safety quiz a few times in the past when I helped out in a homeless shelter kitchen and when I was hawking my great baked goods at a very small sweet farmer’s market I (blowing on knuckles here) know a few things about food safetfy.

BUT I do not live alone and in fact my husband loves to cook as much as I do so our kitchen is very much shared….hmmm why do I do all the cleaning then.

Anyway we both thought we should take it separately and not tell each other the results until we were done.

So how did we fare?

I got a B and he got a C.

Where did we go wrong? Okay so some things we marked to be funny. Such as do the one about which restaurants do you eat at (he loves “hole in the walls”). And are your kitchen counters clean. We both marked no because it’s my pet peeve about having anything on the counter at all. I DO need to clean out the cupboards and wipe down the fridge and because of the test that is actually on the list for tomorrow. And I am knowingly bad about thawing and defrosting.

So how do you fare? Los Angeles County Home Kitchen Self-Inspection Quiz

“We are poor so we can only afford to buy the best.”

My aunt loves to tell me about a close friend who once told her that her mother lived by this quote. What does it mean? Buy quality. Quality lasts longer and you will save in the long run as there will be few replacements needed. Quality does not necessarily mean expensive though. Do your research.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner…I mean just! So what are you doing? Lavish gifts? Dinner out?  None of the above? Well if you’re like me and like to acknowledge all the mother’s you know, just not as lavishly as you do your own mother, then here are a few links for small crafts and cards to make for the special mother’s in your life.

Take Me Home: Printable Mother’s Day cards.

Mother’s Day Tissue Paper Card

Make Handmade Sachets for Mother’s Day

Spring Bouquet for your Mother’ Day table.

Darling and Cute Eco Mother’s Day Crafts

Mother’s Day Crafts for Kids to Make

Mother’s Day Cup and Saucer Flower Holder

Making Your Home Sing Monday. I didn’t think I was going to join another meme. They do take up time and many times they were took me out of my regular schedule so things would get out of sync. But alas during the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom I found out about Moms the Word and Making Your Home Sing Monday.

Monday is my day to get the home back in order from a busy weekend. I know a lot of people clean up house on Saturday and the vintage schedule was to clean up on Friday but for me it’s Monday. I clean the bathrooms, do oodles of laundry, straighten up and even start some deep cleaning that I’ll finish up later in the week.

So LA LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAAAAA! Today to make my home sing I’m doing the regular Monday duties of cleaning two of the three bathrooms, washing towels, kitchen linens, darks, kid’s clothes, and work clothes, and cleaning up from the birthday party we hosted yesterday. I’ll also start spring cleaning the master bedroom.

And get this. Our vacuum died a couple of weeks ago. We have a new being delivered this week but I’ve been making do with a handvac. Oh well. No biggie.

We also have been deep into perfecting our cooking and that really makes our home sing but I have write up another post for that. It is involved.

To find out more about Moms the Word and Making Your Home Sing Monday, and what other’s are doing for a singing home visit Moms the Word

I’m in the midst of shopping for my daughter’s birthday and boy is it hard to make a choice!

Some background: Back when I was a new mom I thought it was great to get that cheap plastic and cardboard play food in great quantities. Fast forward 3 years and we have had a ton of it that was just finding places to find around the house. One of those cases of quantity not quality.

So we had little talk with our Peanut and made the decision to donate our excess of pretend dishes, food and such and replace it with just a few pieces of well thought out pretend food based on how she plays. She says “Okay”.

Our daughter has this great love for Thanksgiving. Ever since her school program spent a month going over the Pilgrims, Native Americans, being thankful etc she prepares Thanksgiving dinner on a daily basis for her stuffed animals.

Sooo…

We decided to get some play food for that meal and some new dishes. You see her previous set included 2 teapots, about 8 plates maybe more, several pots, ice cream cups, regular cups, a juicer, a pitcher… really it goes on but there was so much I’ve forgotten all of them. Her kitchen set, which we spent more thought on, came with one stock pot and a ladle which we are keeping.

Now after browsing around I found myself on Etsy again (I love Etsy, people are sooo talented) and fell in love with felt food. This is not my first time seeing felt food. My aunt has several books laying around with it in there and has been trying to get me to make some to no avail but this time it spoke to me. So cute and fluffy. All the lovely things you someone else can make. It’s so beautiful.

So I’ve already ordered the main dish from mudpiekids…

We’re discussing dessert. She REALLY likes pumpkin pie so mommy24cs is looking good for this…

And The Birch’s Perch Shop has adorable crackable eggs, peeled bananas and shucked corn I have my eye on.

As tempted as I am to overindulge and get Breakfast, and lunch, some fancy desserts and more I think this will keep Peanut happy for some time and I really need to try my hand at making some (right before posting this I made a very ugly pancake with a pat of butter and some syrup).

If you’re looking to buy some felt food ,besides Etsy (which I think has the best), you can also find felt foods at…

• Oompa Toys
• Cillerenda’s
• Lillybean
• Felt Food Creations

Or if you’re creative and talented you can get patterns and supplies to make your own felt play food at…

• Lillybean
• Etsy
• Keeper of the Cheerios (links to tons of free patterns)

I’m on week three of Queen of the Castle and it’s like Lynn is watching me or something. She KNOWS what is going on in my life.

You see last week I realized I needed to start taking better care of myself. I fall of the vitamin bandwagon much too often and I have the telltale signs. Listless and last night after dinner I had a cramp in my foot which can be a sign of a calcium deficiency. I’m not a big milk drinker and they had stopped carrying the yogurt I like at my local grocery store. I hadn’t bothered to find a replacement, I’m not a big organge juice drinker and I let my calcium supplements gether dust.

Well Lynn KNEW! You see week three in Queen of the Castle is all about taking care of mom. Knowing when you’re feeling run down that it’s time to take care of you. Seriously who takes care of us if we don’t?

So mom if you’re feeling a bit run down about now make a few changes. It could be a litte more sleep (it’s okay to say no). Or maybe eating a healthier breakfast for good energy. Or even just making it a regularly scheduled even to have a pampering session while someone else watches the children.

Take good care of mom.

I had a lot of Barbies as a child. I had Japanese Barbie, Superstar Barbie, Christy actually and when Darci came along I snapped her up too. More interested in their surroundings than the dolls themselves I made sure Barbie had a decked out home choosing to make her furniture myself from cardboard, fabric and such rather than buy the plastic pieces.

My sister was the complete opposite. She actually didn’t like dolls much at all but would consent to play with me as long as she could do all the dressing and hair styles.

Fast forward 30 years (good grief!) and my young 4 year old daughter has discovered a rogue Barbie in her grandmother’s home. She has taken to endlessly changing her shoes and helping her with her hair. She decided that Barbie’s clothing was a bit innappropriate (we said nothing) and asked her grandmother  and aunt to help her do something about it.

This is the result (hair by 4 year old).  A sweater created from a pattern in Nikki Epstein’s book Knits for Barbie Doll
and some pants made on the fly with more outfits to come.

My aunt is the family knitter. We all have tons of socks, sweaters, gloves and hats from her. She drags me to a few knitting expos every few years where I tend to pick up the knitters hand lotion rather than anything else. The Knits for Barbie Doll is one she has been dragging around the last several weeks and the clothes in it are SO CUTE!

But I digress. Seeing how much my daughter is enjoying the doll I started thinking ahead to her birthday and how she might enjoy one. But being only four I wanted to get her a something a little less well endowed. Voila! The Only Hearts Club dolls

These cute dolls look like little girls so sssshhhh! I’m going to get her one of these

I like sewing…some.  I got into sewing about 18 years ago when I saw this gorgeous navy blue wool jumper at the Laura Ashley store in town but couldn’t afford it on a student salary. My aunt gave me evening sewing lessons, we bought a pattern and some wool and I made my version of the jumper. 18 years later I still have the jumper and another one I made from black wool, this time lined, and a wool lined, long sleeved, sheath dress made shortly after getting married 12 years ago.

All this to say I have forgotten how you can satisfy your fashion needs by making what you can’t find in the stores. Not to knock anyone’s style but I don’t seem to be able to find the elegant classic pieces I prefer in my once favorite stores anymore. I happened upon this blog where Carolyn has this great way of organizing her wardrobe pieces based on the seasons and colors she is using.

I still have a ton of patterns I never got to and I just might whip out one or two after being so inspired.

Thank you Carolyn~