12Dec 2018 by holly
The best Cinnamon Buns in the world!

The best Cinnamon Buns in the world!

Recipes, Uncategorized
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls The best bread machine cinnamon rolls! Dough1 cup warm milk2 tbsp warm milk3 tbsp cooking oil (Any cooking oil you like)2 eggs eggs1 tbsp water.5 cup sugar4 cups flour1 tsp salt3 tsp yeastFilling2 tbsp butter1 cup brown sugar2 tbsp cinnamon Icing1 tsp milk1.5 cups confectioners sugar4 tbsp butter softened1 tsp vanilla Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with 2 Tablespoons melted butter and 1 cup brown sugar mixed with 2 Tablespoons cinnamon.Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Spread the…
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30Apr 2014 by holly

How we are dealing with Mosquitoes this year!

DIY, Recipes, Uncategorized
Homemade Mosquito Repellent Thanks to a friend last year introduced me to this awesome recipe for a Homemade Mosquito Repellent.   I can spray this on my clothes or on my skin and I won't be bit.    It is amazing stuff.  Materials: 15 drops lavender oil 3 Tbsp of vanilla extract 10 drops of citronella oil or lemon-eucalyptus oil 1/4 Cup lemon juice Spray bottle Directions: Combine above ingredients in spray bottle. Fill remainder of bottle with water, water/vodka or water/witch hazel mixture. I used water and vodka and it worked great.   I purchased this Essential set from Amazon it is perfect for this application. If you would prefer to purchase a good insect repellent I strongly suggest this AVON skin so Soft with picaridin   This has worked very well for me. Prepare…
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04Apr 2014 by holly

Biglot: Cheap Makeup Finds

Beauty Products, Uncategorized
  Thanks to G from Nouveaucheap!    I love G's blog because she has some great tips and tricks on drugstore makeup.   She found out that Big Lots has some Loreal lip gloss, Wet N Wild eyeshadow and Revlon Lip Butters for a half the price or less than at the drugstore.    I also found the new Covergirl makeup for $4.   That isn't a bad price.  I don't think I could get it for that price with sales and coupons at CVS. Most of these items are seasonal, which means it was in the drugstore for a couple months then returned to the manufacture who sold it to Big Lots  or sold from the retailer to Big Lots. What impresses me is I can do my makeup…
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03Mar 2014 by holly

Store Makeup Brushes for under $2

Cosmetics, Uncategorized
  Check out this cool trick.  Taking a flower pot and adding rice into it.  The rice  holds the makeup brushes up.   I suggest enough to make it about 3 inches deep so that brushes don't tip over easily. The cost is under $2 since you use a cup or so of rice.  
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28Feb 2014 by holly

ReStore – Habitat for Humanity – DIY Home projects

DIY, Uncategorized
One of my favorite places to buy cheap discounted house materials is the ReStore – Habitat for Humanity.  If you haven’t been to one of the local locations in NOVA, I strongly suggest you do. They have a location in Alexandria, and Chantilly. ReStore – Habitat for Humanity has donated materials that come from home owners and builders.   Materials including tile, cabinets even paint that was used once.  You can donate just about anything to them too.  Light fixtures, ovens, and dishwashers are available.   We’ve found electrical material that my hubby was looking for and couldn’t find at any other store. Click HERE if you are interested in donating items to the ReStore.   You can even schedule a pickup. For our current house we bought some beautiful Bruce (named brand)…
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21Jan 2014 by holly

Dollar Tree: XXL Bulk Stor It Bag for $1

Cleaning, DIY, Dollar Tree, Organization 2014, Uncategorized
  I've been working around the house to re-organize as my 2014 goal.  I have to share this.   I've been going to a couple different Dollar Tree stores and finding some great products to help.  I found this XXL Bulk Stor It Bag.   You can see here it is pretty big.  I have it next to a regular gallon Hefty bag in the picture above.  This is holding my extra slip cover for my Ektorp sofa.  I can then store it under the sofa perfectly.   The best part is this seems to seal better than the Space Bags that easily cost $2-$4 each.  This is only $1!   Imagine all of the other things you can store in these type of bags.
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22Dec 2013 by holly

How to make yummy cupcakes?

Recipes, Uncategorized
I'm a huge fan of Georgetown Cupcakes.  My sister-in-law introduced them to me a couple years ago and whenever there is a special occasion I ask her or others for at least one. This evening we spent some time over at a friend's house and I offered to bring over some desert so I tried at my stab at a yummy cupcake and icing. I found this really good Allergy Free cake recipe - no dairy, and no nuts - called Wacky Cakes Allergy-Free Dessert Recipe: Kathy P's Wacky Cake Recipe Information Category: Cakes Recipe Created By: Kathy Przywara Ingredients 1 1/2 cup flour (see below for gluten-free options) 3 Tbsp cocoa powder (optional) 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp vinegar 5 Tbsp oil…
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14Sep 2013 by holly

Making My Home-Made Dishwasher Detergent

Cleaning, DIY, Uncategorized
April 2013 - As I was working on cleaning up the kitchen last week, I was thinking about the fact I was getting low on dishwasher detergent and needed to find some good deals.    I just haven't seen or heard of any recently.     In addition, I've become very interested in using healthy products in the home such as Shaklee Basic H2.     I did some simple searches and found several websites offering their recipes for Homemade Dishwasher Detergent including DIYnatural.com .   This got me very excited because I have most of the ingredients at home!  Not only would this be healthy but also cheap!   Now the question was would this really work??? From Homemade Dishwasher Detergent including DIYnatural.com: Soap recipe 1 cup borax 1 cup washing soda 1/2 cup…
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28Apr 2013 by holly

Day #18-28 -30 Day Cleaning Challenge

Cleaning, DIY, Uncategorized
Day #18-28 I’m going to challenge myself by following the 31 Day Cleaning Challenge with Money Saving Mom.     She is using the chart from Fresh and Organized. So, I’m a little off the same schedule but we are getting most of the things done. Day 18:  clean out your refrigerator and/or organize your pantry I'm amazed how fast time has past!  It has been over 10 days since I updated my blog.  Trying to keep up with it all is hard work.   Even though I haven't been good about posting here I have been great at keeping up with my daily activities for this challenge or doing something on the list. I did go grocery shopping and re-filled the pantry and refrigerator.  I do need to clean out the refrigerator! Day…
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17Apr 2013 by holly

Day #15-17 -30 Day Cleaning Challenge

Cleaning, DIY, Uncategorized
Day #15-17 I’m going to challenge myself by following the 31 Day Cleaning Challenge with Money Saving Mom.     She is using the chart from Fresh and Organized. So, I'm a little off the same schedule but we are getting some of the things done. Day 15:  surface clean the living room and kitchen. We had a huge playdate at our house that was a bit larger then I was planning for so I quickly had my daughter and I clean as much as we could. I ended up filling up a basket of items from our dining room and put them in the upstairs guest room and papers were put back into the office. My half organized office is back to piles again. :( I had my daughter help me…
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