Laundry Soap Recipe on this fine White Wednesday!


I am sure many of you already know this but for those who don't I wanted to share.  I've read on multiple blogs and in the land of Google that you can make your own laundry detergent which is natural and oh so much cheaper.  I wish I would have done this years ago actually when all the children lived at home, ha!  After searching and searching, I found a recipe I like here - at the Beehive Cottage and I followed her recipe.

What you'll need:

4# Borax
4# Washing Soda
4# Baking Soda
3 Bars of Ivory, Fels Naptha, or Zote Soap

All of these items can be found in the laundry isle at your local grocery store.  Walmart should have everything too.  I used Ivory Soap simply because I couldn't find the others but I did subsequently find  Fels Naptha at Walmart and will most likely use that next time.

All you need to do is grate your soap (Ivory was super easy to grate being it's a soft soap) and mix everything together.  Couldn't be easier!  To laundry your clothes place 2 Tbsps in and you're set!  I like to dissolve mine in hot water first and then add it.  You will not see suds when you wash with this but all is good and everything comes out squeaky clean!

Now in keeping with all natural laundry cleaner, I am now using White Vinegar for my fabric softener.  When I did a post on this I forgot to mention that I use 1/4 cup which I add to my fabric softener dispenser in my washer.  Otherwise, you just add it to the rinse cycle.  Once again, your clothes will not smell like vinegar, I promise!  That come out smelling clean and there is no static cling! 

Also, I have been using the Fels Naptha as a pre-treatment for stains.  If you know me then you know that I am rarely without a cup of coffee in my hand and thus I spill quite often, ha!  I have found that the Fels Naptha works rather well!

I found an awesome 2 gallon apothecary jar at Target.com for a good price.  I also happened to notice them at Walmart too.  Of course I had to "pretty" my jars by making and adding labels from graphics from the Graphics Fairy.  I even made a cute little jar for my clothes pins!

I'm linking up today with Faded Charm for my very first White Wednesday - be sure to stop over and see who else is linking up today!

Hugs,

Jacalyn

Laundry Day Pink Saturday

Another wonderful Pink Saturday has arrived!  Please be sure to visit our lovely hostess Beverly to view all of the participants this week!

My contribution this week is a lovely label I made using graphics from the Graphics Fairy.

Ah, I forgot to take a picture of the label on the bottle, oops!  I made this for my pretty little jar that now holds my White Vinegar, aka Fabric Softener.  Did you know that if you put vinegar in your rinse cycle it eliminates the need for any other fabric softener?  Google and various blogs told me so, ha!  I am on an all natural cleaning kick and I just had to try it!  I know what you're thinking:  "my clothes will smell like vinegar, yuck!"  Guess what, that don't!  I promise!  And there's no static cling and vinegar is purposed to whitenen as well.  I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and I am thrilled!

Stay tuned because I will be posting my home-made laundry soap in the next few days.  Love, love, love it!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!

Hugs,
Jacalyn

Changes for my Boutique

If you follow me on Facebook or you are newsletter subscriber you already know this but it occurred to me that I did not post it on my blog.  After some careful consideration I have decided to significantly downsize my on-line website - RME Boutique.  This was not an easy decision to make but I felt it was time for a variety of reasons.  First, my private practice is really consuming more time than I imagined.  I can't complain because I love what I do and I am so grateful for the trust people place in me.  But, when I moved my practice I didn't imagine that it would grow so fast.  So, since I can't do it all (and I've tried, ha!) I have had to make some difficult choices. 

I do plan on selling my items somewhere, on a much smaller scale.  Etsy perhaps?  I am not sure yet but I will keep you up-to-date on where I am at.  I love my boutique and I love meeting new people too so I want to stay engaged somehow.

Thank you so much for all of your support over the years.  Believe me when I say I truly appreciate it!  Please stop by the Boutique because everything is at least 50% off!  Plus, I have just reduced many items to 60% off and all of our Seasonal items are now  75% off!

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Jacalyn

Yummy Strawberry Cake that you too can make!

I decided to make the most awesome cake for Easter.  I found the recipe here and I just had to share.  I have never made anything quite like it.  Believe me when I tell you it was a massive, I mean a MASSIVE cake!  It was super easy, though a bit time consuming, and loved by all!

Isn't she pretty?  I am not sure you can tell the massive size from this picture.  And, frankly, I didn't realize how big this baby would be! 

Now of course I am well aware that my cake is not nearly as pretty as I am Baker's but she sure did taste amazing and I think she looks okay! 

Here's what you'll need:

• Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• Box of White or Yellow Cake Mix
• Whipped Cream
• Strawberries

And that's it!  Couldn't be much easier!  Now here's an awesome tip for you that I read on someone's blog (and I am sorry I can't remember where) and that I googled too.  Prepare your cake mix as usual but replace the water with Buttermilk!  Yep, buttermilk.  It makes the cake sinfully moist!  And, I always undercook my cakes a wee bit because I can't stand a dry cake.  Trust me, the buttermilk works so well!

So prepare your cakes as directed, in 9" pans.  Cool and you're ready to assemble.

Start with whatever layer you want - as you can see I chose the red velvet.  Next, layer with whipped cream and then strawberries.  Repeat with each layer, until it looks like:

This!  Now, I think this is pretty like this but I wanted to cover the entire cake with whipped cream.

Like so.  I threw some large chocolate chunks that I had on top.  I am thinking I might add them in between each layer or in the vanilla layers next time I make this.  Oh yea, there will be a next time!

 I don't think that this picture really shows the visible appeal of this cake.  It has it all - beauty and taste!

Did I mention that is was delicious?  A big hit in my family for sure!!!  Go a head and give it a try!

Have a happy week!

Hugs,
Jacalyn