Mal-licious

DIY Laundry Detergent

2012-06-24T18:59:00.000-04:00

As you know I've been on this DIY cleaner kick.

Well, I have moved onto laundry detergent.

I wanted to do whatever was the easiest/cheapest.

Cheap & Easy? So not like me, right? :)

Don't answer that.

The recipe I found on Pinterest (did I mention I'm on Pinterest too much?) is from {One Good Thing by Jillee}

Here's what you need:

3 Tablespoons Borax
3 Tablespoons Washing Soda
2 Tablespoons Dawn Dish soap

Empty bottle to fill up with water

You pretty much just add 4 cups of boiling water and those ingredients. Then you fill the rest with tap water once it's mixed and cooled.

Since I had just run out of Tide and had the bottle left over I decided to just make it in the old bottle.

You use about 1 cup a load.
And it's very watering so don't be alarmed.

So far I'm liking it.
I love the smell of Tide but I also looove saving money. :)

DIY Glass Shower Cleaner (and CHEAP!)

2012-06-22T11:58:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been on a "make your own cleaner" kick.
Which means I've probably been on Pinterest too long.

However, I've actually started to taking action!
Which isn't always the case.
AND I already had this stuff around my house - LOVE that!

So here's what I've done:

According to {Life Crafts & Whatever} there is a a great DIY "SOAP SCUM KILLA"

If you have a glass shower door.
You need this.
Mine usually looks like its "frosted."
It is not.
I like to tell myself it is at times to avoid cleaning.

Anywhoooo.... the recipe is on her blog but if you're too lazy here it is again:

It's equal parts Dawn (DISH soap - not hand soap) and hot Vinegar (nuke for 2 mins in microwave)
Put it in a squirt bottle
Spray on!
Leave on for a few hours! (my whole upstairs did smell like vinegar)
Then rinse off.

AWESOME-NESS!!!!!

It really worked.

Mr. Mal-licious & I just stared for a while in shock.

I think he was shocked because I've been telling him it was frosted glass all these years. ;)

**Side note: Don't use your hair spritzer bottle - it can't handle the hot vinegar and will be deformed forever like mine!

Cute wittle baby birds

2012-06-19T12:57:00.003-04:00

We've had some visitors this spring for the 3rd year in a row.

My husband hated them because I wouldn't let him use the front door!

But they were sooo cute and fuzzy.

Then they got bigger... and used our front door as *ahem*... let's just say their "powder room."

So we had to throw out our wreath and scrub down the front door!

Some guests are so rude.
But still cute.

I guess they gave me an excuse to find a fun DIY wreath for our house! :)

Church Banquet

2012-06-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

I know you've probably forgotten about me...
And I'm sorry I've been gone. :(
Life gets busy.

I'm pretty much just on Pinterest nowadays and I was searching for decorations for a church banquet I was doing. Which reminded me why I loved blogging. :)

Church banquet ideas were scarce.
A big banquet.
A tiny budget.

Here's what I came up with....

I bought white paper doilies and painted them various shades of teal & taped them together as a runner...

Flowers from a church member's yard in $1 vases...

Hershey Kisses while they wait for food...

Stole the youth pastor's commentary books (in 3 sizes) and wrapped them in pretty wrapping paper...

Made table numbers in card stock and some votives from a wedding...

Made "curtains" out of streamers in shades of teal...

Added lights for balloons in the "curtains"...

And there ya go!

A church banquet on the cheap with lots of color!

Bridal Gift!

2011-11-21T20:20:00.004-05:00

My BFF's birthday was last month.
She's getting married so I got her a hanger for her wedding dress.
It had her NEW name personalized on it.

(Thankfully I took this picture right before I drove it off the roof of my car!)

However,
When I left to give it to her...
I left it on the roof of my car when I drove over!!!
I was pissed.
And...
I am too cheap to buy another hanger.

So I decided to be crafty and make it myself!
What do you think?

Source: Uploaded by user via Meghan on Pinterest

Thankfully, this one made it to her house this time!

The Lazy Lady's Soup

2011-11-13T20:54:00.008-05:00

Since it's been a little chilly out lately.
We decided to make some Chicken Noodle Soup!
I picked out a Paula Deen recipe from Pinterest to try.
Surprisingly it didn't include butter. ;)

Ms. Deen's recipe is called "The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup"

I have named the way that I make it... "The Lazy Lady's Soup" :)

So here's my modified (aka LAZY) version.

Ingredients

Stock:

Rotisserie chicken (from the store... easy!)
3 1/2 quarts water
Sprinkle a little minced onions
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
Sprinkle a little minced garlic
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

(Or if you want to be realllly lazy... just buy chicken stock and skip this whole step!)

Soup:

2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
A little cream sherry (cuz that's what I had!)
Rosemary spices
Seasoning salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Pick off all the chicken that you want to eat. Put everything else in the pot. Cook about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken bones, skin, etc. from pot. Remove and discard bay leaves and anything else. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. (Again, if you just buy chicken stock you can skip this whole apart)

For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, sherry and rosemary. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

I've started running..

2011-10-29T13:36:00.003-04:00

I seriously never thought that would happen.
I HATE running.
But I had an "AHA" moment.
As Oprah would say.

My usual excuse is "I don't feel like it" or "the weather is bad" or "not today"
And then I realized...

I NEVER feel like it.

The sun could be shining,
birds singing,
perfect weather,
I'd still NEVER say... I feel like running today!

So since there will never be a perfect day... I'm just gonna do it!

Source: google.com via Mallory on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Mallory on Pinterest

Why can't sitting on your couch looking at Pinterest be good exercise?
I'd be ridiculously in shape.

Neighbors

2011-10-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

My new neighbor has more garden gnomes than lawn.
Who does that?

(via)

I'm concerned.

Wifely Advice

2011-10-26T21:30:00.003-04:00

Probably didn't help that the fire department parked their truck in front of our house tonight while they were collecting donations.

True story.

A new addition!!

2011-10-21T19:34:00.004-04:00

I think my husband is nesting.
He wanted an addition to the family.
But we have commitment issues.

We can't commit to kids or even a dog.

So we settled on fishes.
Yeah, I say fishes.
It's funner.

Meet: Mac & Cheese

:)

And the WINNER is...

2011-10-12T21:24:00.012-04:00

I'm so excited to announce the winner of the StarrParnell giveaway!!

What is even more exciting... you are all WINNERS because...
StarrParnell is giving a 15% discount on all first time order from now until Sunday 10/16!

Just message her with code: "GIVEAWAY" for the discount
Perfect gift for the holidays - take advantage! :)

Now on to the winner of the giveaway... *drum-roll*

Yay! Congrats! It's blogger Meg over at Henning Love!

Go check out her blog and tell her congrats! :)

Last Chance!

2011-10-12T10:31:00.002-04:00

Today is your last chance to enter the GIVEAWAY!
Click HERE to enter!

If you win...
StarrParnell is going to create one CUSTOM wreath or CUSTOM wine glass from her shop!

Click HERE to enter!

Good luck! :)

You know what tomorrow is?

2011-10-11T08:44:00.004-04:00

Do you know what tomorrow is?

The last day to enter the GIVEAWAY!
Click HERE to enter!

If you win...
Starr is going to create one CUSTOM wreath or CUSTOM wine glass from her shop!

Check out a few of her impeccable custom creations!

Click HERE to enter!

Mmm... warm pumpkin muffins

2011-10-09T21:17:00.008-04:00

If you are on Pinterest... you've probably seen this recipe.
If you aren't...
You're gonna love this!

Sweet Verbena has posted a great EASY (I love easy!!) recipe for...

PUMPKIN MUFFINS!

The best part: There are only 2 ingredients.
Yup.
You read it right.
No eggs, milk, water, nothing!

Here's the recipe:
Yellow cake mix & canned pumpkin (15oz).
Mix it up.
Baked it for 20-25 mins @ 350 degrees.

Next time I make it I think I'll add some cinnamon.
Or maybe some type of cinnamon frosting. :)
Enjoy!

Psst! Enter my giveaway HERE. It ends on Wednesday! :)

Linking up to: Amaze Me Monday

Fabulous Friday And Featured!

2011-10-07T11:29:00.014-04:00

I've been having a pretty exciting week.
For 2 super fun reasons.

1.) This week I'm having a fabulous GIVEAWAY!
Sponsored by StarrParnell
Enter the giveaway HERE!

2.) I am OVER THE MOON excited to be featured on one of my FAVORITE DIY blogs today:

REMODELAHOLIC

If you aren't following Cassity... you should be! I LOVE all the amazing projects she shares and I have been inspired to do so many things around my house by this blog. Thanks Cassity!

Please, go check out my bathroom over on Remodelaholic!

Have a great weekend yall!!

Halloween Treats!

2011-10-07T07:47:00.007-04:00

I'm still sloooowly breaking out the fall decorations
It's always hard for me to admit that summer is gone. :(

So I thought I'd share some Halloween treats!
These pictures are from a Halloween party we had a few years ago.
It was so fun making everything Halloween-y. Halloween-ish? Ya know what I mean.

Granny dropped her teeth again

"Finger" licking good cupcakes

Tombstone Krispys

I loved going around and buying all the creepy fingers and fake teeth at the party store.
I thought it was pretty hilarious.

Except I'm pretty sure that was the year all of those things were recalled.
Because of lead poisoning.
Whoops!

I guess the party was scarier than I meant it to be! :)

P.S.: Did ya enter my giveaway? Because you should!!! :)

Linking to: Stuff & Nonsense; Inspiration Friday; Show & Tell Friday; Feature Yourself Friday

No Soup for You!

2011-10-06T00:12:00.011-04:00

Ok so, I feel like I need to redeem myself after posting about my pathetic noodle burning experience. Sorry pasta! I love you (although you do make me fat) and I promise to be more careful next time! :)

I'm going to share with you my favorite easy peazy recipe for dinner.

I know its good because EVERY time I bring it to work someone asks me for the recipe as they put their face uncomfortably close to my bowl of soup.

So here it is: Vegetable Soup

This is my husband's plate. He really ate all those crackers. What a piglet.

How to make it like me (and now many of my co-workers)

1 big bottle of Campbell's tomato juice
1 bag of frozen veggies for SOUP (get the kind that says "Soup" on it)
2-3 big potatoes, depending if you want more of a stew or soup
1 package of vegetable soup spices (my mom says to get Knorrs)
1lb of Ground beef
Minced garlic
Chopped onions

Brown the ground beef with the garlic and onion. Drain the beef. Cut up the potatoes into bite sizes. Pour all the ingredients together in a big pot bring to a boil then simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Love it for rainy days or cooler weather. You can also do it in the crock-pot!

PS: Did ya enter my giveaway? Do it now! :)

linking to these fun parties: Catch A Glimpse

Give-away! You like free stuff right?

2011-10-03T21:30:00.016-04:00

I am THRILLED to announce my FIRST give-away!

It's sponsored by a FABULOUS new Etsy shop: StarrParnell

Things to know about Starr:

She is an amazing artist and is ridiculously talented it's not even fair!
She finds ways to work "Roll Tide" regularly into sentences.
On occasion we have been known to stay up to 3am together playing Mario Brothers video games.
If you go to her house she will lend you pajama pants.
She has an abnormal obsession with snow.
She loves Jesus.

You are going to LOVE all the adorable things in her Etsy shop!
Here's the best part...

If you win...
She is going to let you select one CUSTOM wreath or CUSTOM wine glass from her shop!

Check out a few of her impeccable custom creations!

Here's how to WIN:

1.) Check out StarrParnell etsy shop and leave a comment below on what type of custom creation you would like! (Note: you have to be a follower to comment!)

Other ways to win (leave a comment for each!):
2.) 'Like" StarrParnell on Facebook
3.) Add StarrParnell to your Etsy "Favorites"
4.) Blog about this give-away on your blog
5.) Twitter about this give-away
6.) Facebook about this give-away

Give-away closes 9pm Wednesday October 12th!
Good luck! :)

Tomorrow...

2011-10-03T21:28:00.003-04:00

Soooo.... I'm going to have my FIRST give-away.

It's
going
to
be
tomorrow.

Stay
tuned.
:)

Clothing Swap Par-tay (part 2)

2011-10-03T20:38:00.011-04:00

The fun party about a clothing swap party is that it is also...
A GIRLS NIGHT!

Which means, a lot of pink and feather boas.

I wrapped my chandelier in 2 boas.
Cut some sparkly pink fabric from the fabric store.

(Why do i always take crooked pics?)

Instead of cupcakes, I filled waffle bowls full of fruit.
Something a little different from my fruit kabobs.
And everyone seems to be on a diet so this is better than cupcakes.
OMG did i just say better than cupcakes?
No. No they are not better but healthier.
Yes, that's better.

Made little labels for the food and printed them off.
And tied them on with pink ribbon.

I didn't know who all would come.
So instead of writing everyone's name on their cups...
I picked TV character names!
It was fun for people to figure out who they were. :)

Also, I gave out cute tote bags as party favors.
Perfect for taking home all their new clothes!
I lurve party favors. :)

Source: None via Mallory on Pinterest

(This isn't the one I gave out but I really want to make these doily totes!)

And for the PRIZE for the person who brought the most "swappable clothes" won a cute Coach wristlet!

Source: coach.com via Mallory on Pinterest

I had loved planning it and everyone that came had a fabulous time! :)

Clothing Swap Par-tay! (part 1)

2011-10-03T19:35:00.011-04:00

Remember how I was planning a clothing swap party?

Well... I had it!
And it was suuuper fun!
I definitely recommend you try it with your girlfriends!

Sadly, I took pictures AFTER the party was over. :(
I was really busy being a hostess.
And obviously a bad blogger.
It's hard to be both at the same time!

For those of you interested in being a "recessionista" as some would say...
Here's how the party worked.

Everyone was required to bring AT LEAST 5 items of swappable clothes.
You can bring a friend (you probably want to bring your stylish friend that is your size!)
You can also bring accessories, jewelry, purses, belts, shoes, etc.
The person that brings the most swappable items gets a prize!

Now when they arrived, they set up their clothes in the designated areas (by size):

Again.. this is just what was left over!

As you can see, there was a lot left over! We had a lotta stuff!

So when the ladies arrived I gave everyone 7 raffle tickets.
Why 7? No idea. Just pick a random number.
Anyhow, they each got 7 and put their name on each ticket.
Then they clothes-pinned what they wanted with their ticket.

Does this picture help explain?
See the name/initials on the back of the raffle ticket?
Who ever put the most tickets on the item... got the item!
After everyone collected the clothes that they "won" or "ticketed"...
It was a free-for-all!
Take whatever you want ladies!

I know I got a lot of good stuff! :)

Have you ever been to a swap?
Got any questions?

Burnt Noodles

2011-09-26T23:17:00.007-04:00

I bet you didn't even know you could burn noodles.

Being the professional chef that I am (not)... I have now successfully found not 1, not 2, but 3 new ways to burn your pasta!
It's a skill I have. I can burn anything.

Here's how:
1.) Spill uncooked pasta on a burner.
Then accidentally turn on said burner... instead of the one that you actually want to turn on.
When you come to check if it is boiling, you will then have one noodle on fire and no boiling water.

Source: s3.amazonaws.com via Mallory on Pinterest

2.) Start cooking then forget you are cooking.
Go run errands around your house.
Come back and all your water will have boiled out.
You will then have burnt noodles.

3.)Have long spaghetti pasta hang over your pot.
Don't come back to check and stir the pot.
Make sure your flames are really high.
They will reach the long spaghetti noodles sticking out the top.
Then.. Viola!
You have burnt noodles.

Please do NOT try this at home.

Thank goodness my husband doesn't love me for my cooking skillz!

Fruit Kabobs

2011-09-12T21:32:00.008-04:00

So remember my other pineapple post?

I finally got to try out the new pineapple technique!
I like saying technique.
I feel like I have some sort of skill now.
But not really.

Anyhooo...
I signed up to bring fruit to a baby shower a few weeks ago.
So I brought FRUIT KABOBS!
Also known as FRUIT SKEWERS!
Also known as Yuuuuummmmmm!

So I used my technique ;)
It takes a while to do...
But I love how it looked and it saved some pineapple goodness!

Too bad I had to then chop it up.
But the Fruit Kabobs were delicious!

So many scrumptious colors & flavors!
Great easy party food :)

ps- I like to say Kabobs like I'm from Wisconsin. It makes it more fun. Kabaaabs don't cha know!.

Linking up to: Remodelaholic

I get it from my momma...

2011-09-07T23:21:00.014-04:00

Like my mother and her mother before her...
I've inherited the love of chunky jewelry.

Since it would have been my Gama's b-day this month,
it's only appropriate to blog about one of the things I knew she loved...
Accessories.

She always had accessories.
And they were usually chunky, bright, and fabulous.
Just like her. :)

Well, I've had a huge problem
How do I store all these chunky necklaces?

I spent ~~a ridiculous amount of time~~ a few moments on Pinterest.
Found these great ideas for jewelry organization.

Source: etsy.com via Mallory on Pinterest

But I'd have to have a heck of a lotta hooks.
So that ain't gonna work. :(

Then I went to HomeGoods.
And had a BRILLIANT idea.
Use a hand towel stand!!

Works great!
And I even used a little tiered stand for bracelets and things.

No hooks, it's easy to slide off, and I can pile on the big necklaces.

My Gama would be so proud! :)

Clothing swap party!

2011-08-30T16:06:00.002-04:00

I'm throwing my first Clothing Swap party!
This is my first one.
I want it to be super fun.

Who's got ideas?

Source: lovelyclusters.blogspot.com via Mallory on Pinterest

(Do you love my closet? I wish!)

I'd love any advice/tips/rules/etc. you have!

Thanks!

xo,
Mal