Best Toothpaste on the Planet

You know what I hate about toothpaste?  It's disgusting.

You either have the really foul tasting kind, that makes you want to gag as soon as it touches your tongue..
 ... or the gritty kind, with baking soda, that is so thick and pasty, that it makes you want to gag..
 ..... or the ridiculously flavored ones, that try to trick you into thinking they'll taste good, but they don't.. which in turn, makes you want to gag.

Solution:  Crest Whitening Expressions : Wintergreen Ice

The thing about this toothpaste is that it literally tastes like Winterfresh Gum.  It is the perfect mix of a flavor I actually like, with the effectiveness I need in a toothpaste.

I came across this beautiful creation November 7th, 2009.  I know this because I totaled my car that day.  I was vehicle-less and stranded about an hour and a half from home, and stayed a few days at a friend of a friends house (with the friends of course.. they were visiting from Pittsburgh).  Anyway, I didn't have toothpaste (obviously.. as I wasn't planning on wrecking my car). Before bed I entered the bathroom, applied some of this on my finger, and began my attempt at 'brushing' my teeth.  I was instantly amazed at the sheer wonder of this product.  I love it.  I had to have it.

Once my vehicle situation was figured out I immediately trekked over to the nearest Wal-Mart where I picked up a tube. Then another tube.. and another few months another tube.  I can't get enough of this stuff.

When you are passionate about a product, you have to let everyone know.

Whenever I go overnight anywhere, I bring along this toothpaste and force everyone to give it a try.  I get strange looks.  But their minds are surely soon blown.

It's Pie-day Pie-day

Well hello there!

Ever since Rebecca Black released that [ingenious].. song, every Friday I think of Pie (Pie-day Pie-day Gotta get down on Pie-day).. clever, eh?

Anyway, so I wanted to post about my love affair with baking these beautiful creations.

Now, let me express to you, that I have no idea what I am doing. I have no experience or teaching except the experience I personally gain from teaching myself.  I'm one of those bakers/cooks that follows the... idea of a recipe but runs on a slightly off course direction.  I have to make it my own after all.. right?

The biggest thing I would like to imprint on any of you fresh bakers out there, is CORNSTARCH.  If you are making a fruit pie, you simply can't do without it.  And if a recipe calls for tapioca beads, IGNORE that and go for cornstarch.

You see.. I tried the Tapioca beads before, and they make your filling kind of ugly.. like there's itty bits of Styrofoam floating about.  Perhaps I did it wrong, but it didn't attain the effect I wanted anyway, but behold, the beauty and wonder of a few tablespoons of Cornstarch.  There is nothing worse than a runny fruit pie.. It's embarrassing.

Anyway, here are some of my creations :


Toasted Coconut Cream Pie

I'm not usually a Coconut fan (love the flavor, not the texture), but toasting the coconut changes everything!!However, my crust is looking pretty weak ;)

Peanut Butter Lover

Peanut Butter pie seems to be a crowd pleaser! And though I am not the biggest fan, I can't help but to have a slice myself.  I like to melt down Nutella, and line the graham cracker crust with it before putting in my mixture.  

Delicious!

Berry Blend Bonanza

... That's not the actual name of it.. I just thought it sounded nice ;)

This is especially one of those pies you want to mix cornstarch in to.  I made this one with the Tapioca beads and it was so runny. It smelt and tasted amazing, but  it was definitely embarrassing that all the filling poured out as soon as you removed a slice!

 Deep Dish Caramel Apple
       (with a Cinnamon Toasted Crust)


There is nothing like a hot and fresh apple pie. Especially when you throw in actual caramel soft chews!

So the typical things that ruin apple pie is if the apples aren't cooked through, and if it's too runny.  You already know how to fix the runny issue, but I like to simmer my cut apples on the stove for a bit first to soften them up.  You just throw them in a deep pan with some brown sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch, for maybe 8 minutes or so, and that will give them a good start. 

 Sweet-N-Salty Strawberry Perfection

So, I definitely made that name up.. as I don't remember what this is called.  It was a special request and I had to google the recipe.  But would you believe it, the crust is made of crushed pretzel sticks.  Don't grimace, it was delicious.  It's followed up with a strawberry infused cool whip mixture, then topped with real strawberries mixed into strawberry Jello. It's surprisingly refreshing!

Blueberry Cobbler

So, anything Blueberry is pretty much amazing.  But I wanted to share this picture because it's a perfect example of what I mean by runny pie.

I didn't follow a recipe here, just kind of went for it, and did not use any thickening ingredient.  You can see the blueberry juice in the spoon!

This still tasted heavenly, but Cornstarch would have made a huge difference in the appearance!

RAINBOW CHEESECAKE!!!

This was really fun to make.  It's my same old Cheesecake recipe, which was given to me from a co-worker years ago, who found it LONG ago out of a magazine!

 It uses FIVE packages of cream cheese!!! 

Anyway, after mixing the batter like usual, I divided the batter into four different bowls, and used a [generous] amound of food coloring.  

You could use much less and get a more pastel tint which would probably be great for 

Easter, or maybe just doing Green for St. Patrick's, fun fun!

Anyway, after mixing the food coloring in, you just pour in the colors one at a time. You could toothpick in some spirals if you'd like, but this was my first time, didn't want to get too crazy.

Doesn't it remind you of the food fight seen in the movie Hook? hahaha

Anyway, Enjoy PIEDAY!!!!! and Have a great weekend ;)

So you want to make a tutu, don't you?

I find it completely normal for a twenty-something year old to want and or [need] a tutu.  It's natural.

Anyway, So I began my googling, my eBaying, and my Amazon searching, and come on retailers, I knooow these are astronomically overpriced.  I have this argument with myself daily.  If there is any shred of possibility I can do it myself, ughhh then I do!

As much as I love JoAnn's with the rest of you,  I do however tend to resort to the internet prior to shopping there.. Maybe it's because I live in a tiny little horse town and the closest JoAnn's is a good 35 minutes away, or maybe it is because the internet is a beautiful, wonderful creation.

So eBay it was.  The main ingredient to a good tutu is tulle.  Now you can buy tulle in the same form you buy fabric, but that just causes more work.  I'm about efficiency and keeping as many pretty pennies as possible.  So my recommendation is to go straight for a 6" spool of tulle, the length completely depends on how poofy you want it. Me? I like em poofy, abundantly poofed up.

eBay has tons of tulle, so look around for the best price (factor in shipping!).
<-- Look at these!!

Choose your favorite color(s), but keep in mind it won't be this bright. Tulle is a very thin material.  My friend bought light purple and light pink and white tulle, and her tutu just looks all white. That's why, I also recommend ORGANZA!! The color will definitely pop with Organza, not so much with tulle.

The only other supplies you need is the waist band.  Now you can do the legit thing and measure out some elastic, orrrr you can do the easy, quick, cheap, convenient thing, and grab one of these ->>>>>>>>>
from your drawer (or buy them if not readily on hand). If it seems like it will be too tight, IT DEFINITELY WON'T. I worried about the same thing, but I ended up having to cut and retie to make it more snug.  As you tie on the tulle, it stretches out the band, so don't worry about a thing!

Oh... and if you are a girly girl like me, you may want to buy some sparkly gems to glue on. 

Ok, next, do you have a rubbermaid storage container?

Just a standard sized one will do. Keep in mind I like to be efficient.  Of course you can sit there and measure out a million pieces of tulle, or you can take that spool, tape down an edge on one tip of the lid, and just wrap the spool until you get to the end. Go LENGTHWISE, otherwise your tutu will fit... your infant.

 I didn't take a picture of this process, so I apologize for the Microsoft Paint depiction.
I used 50' of tulle, and 50' of Organza (in different colors). Wrap them (again lengthwise) around the lid of the storage tote (have one end taped), until you run out of spool. Then cut EACH END at the handle. This will give you plenty of about 20" (guessing.. I didn't measure) strips.

Next, you'll want to take your headband / elastic and place it on something like a chair. 

Ok, you are now ready to get this party started.

Take a strip of tulle / organza and fold in half.
Place the looped end up behind the elastic
Then, take the free ends and pull them around the elastic, and through the loop, pull tight.

Go around and around and around. 

I did all of my tulle first, then the organza to ensure even distribution, alternating the two different colors within the white tulle.

Remember, the more you add, 

the larger the elastic becomes.

Push each strip tight against the strip beside it.

And, like I said, if you wanna be a girly girl (like me), then go ahead and use some craft glue to attach some sparkly happiness.

 All done!!!

This is the perfect length to fit under those cute adult Halloween costumes that need a little extra poof!

Also... it's just kinda fun to prance around in.

Nautical Themed Pashmina Afghan

So here's the conversation:
     "Hey, since you're the Queen of eBay and all, any chance you find could a Nautical Themed Pashmina for me?"
     "Uhhhh, sure. Like any nautical themed scarf, or do you have something specific in mind?"
     "You havn't seen, "I'm On a Boat?"
     "... no" - I begin googling Nautical Themed Pashmina and find this:

     "Ohhhh, you mean Lonely Island, I'll do my best"

So began my eBay search, with no luck, my google search, amazon search, yahoo search, bing.... and all to no avail.  These crafty little fingers started tingling, and I knew what I had to do.

Back to eBay I did some searching for the best deal on navy colored Pashmina's.  As it turns out I needed to make five of these suckers! I sent several messages to sellers looking for a wholesale discount, and finally came to getting them for about six bucks each. 

Next came the anchors.  I was able to find what appears to be the EXACT anchor used on the Pashmina above on eBay, but I didn't like the price.  I messaged the seller, letting her know I needed about 100 of the anchors, and she replied back that I can purchase them direct from her website, and with the provided coupon code get them substantially less!  So if you ever need patches http://www.patchworkpandatrims.com/servlet/StoreFront is the place to go!.

So! Everything came in (took a few weeks), and finally I was ready to get things started.  Honestly it was a really easy process.  I placed the anchors spiratically on one side of the Pashmina, being sure to leave them heavily patched on the bottom, not so much in the center, and ironed them on.  

Voila!

Here is the finished product, and below; the video and therefore inspiration:

In Limbo... so let me use your house

 I am, what I like to call "in Limbo" in life.  I moved across the country a year and a half ago. Just packed up my SUV with as much as the Space Saver Bags would allow me to, and trekked 3,400 miles from Virginia to Seattle.  I am in transition right now as I decide where to go from here; as here, doesn't seem to be right for me.

 I attribute this to the severe lack of family in my constant presence. ....... and dammit it rains too much.

Anyway, so I am getting ready to move, again stuffing that same SUV with a "new and improved" batch of Space Saver bags.. wish me luck.. as last time the bags re-inflated mid trip.

3" QUEEN sized Memory Foam Mattress Topper Before and After

But seriously? These things are amazing. Just look at this  ^ ^ ^

All this to say, I still have that itch to create, so I have this ... convenient habit of doing my creating at my friends houses.  I am the first to volunteer for any sort of painting, de-wallpapering, and well any way I can get my crafty little fingers in the mix.

I have this inability to buy overpriced products to do a task which can be completed... at no cost.  I mean, maybe it's just me, but my wallet isn't large enough to succumb to pointless purchases. A year or so ago, I was helping a friend redecorate her living and bath.  There was this terrible wallpaper left from too many seasons past, and she had purchased a Wallpaper Removing Kit.

Now... you would think this would make the removing job easier, and I was quite interested in trying it out.

So the process is this:
With a provided tool, you score the wallpaper.  The kit we choose scored it in a flurry of circles as you moved it up and down.  I was instantly nervous... I don't wish to remove wallpaper in a fashion of peeled off polka dots, yet that's exactly what we did.  After scoring, you spray this solution that is supposed to soak down in to the adhesive so it is 'easy' to peel off. Easy........ uhhhh no.  I don't know how long the three of us were crammed in that little bathroom peeling and scraping and scoring and muttering under our breath, but we eventually, tiresomely, and without a doubt fffffinallllly finished.

A month or so ago a different friend needed to de-wallpaper her kitchen. OOH! Memememe! Yes, even after the nightmare in the bathroom I still wanted to have a go.  Though this time I called my momma.  "Momma, good God, please tell me you have some tips and tricks for dewallpapering". Her response? Fill a spray bottle with warm water. DON'T score.  Just spray it, no... soak it, and wait.

Before we had the patience to let it soak.

So we started off spraying and scraping, but it began a tedious task of peeling off tiny pieces.. which is definitely not the desired effect.  I went ahead and sprayed the work space ahead, then sprayed it again.. waited a bit and sprayed it again. And to my surprise, I peeled off the most wonderous sheet of wallpaper I could have hoped for.  Now this isn't a magic make it fast trick here, you still have plenty of peeling and scraping to do, but this was without a dime spent, and much muCH MUCH easier, and faster, and did I mention thriftier?? You just keep spraying and keep soaking, it will peel right off. Now I used a knife to get my sheets started (I'm an avid nail biter.. 'nuff said), but I would imagine a putty knife might be a safer bet if you... you know.. are like me (avid nail biter).

So, the moral of this story? Don't buy the Wallpaper Remover Kit.  Just empty out a Windex bottle (or in my case Giddy Up 409) and go to town!

See the joyous expression! Much better now!!!

Oh... and if you live in the area and need some painting, refinishing, grouting work done, pick me pick me!

So I taught myself to Sew.

Growing up, I so vividly remember excitedly perusing through countless McCall's catalogs at JoAnn Fabrics, looking for the perfect dress.  I've always been a dress wearer, so much so that there is video record of a five year old me bawling my eyes out when I saw my mom had laid out jeans for me to wear. Jeans. for ME.to.wear.   I held my head in my hands an you could hear a muffled "but I'll look like a boooooyyyyyy".

Five children, not to mention five girls - each just a year apart, well, it can get pretty spendy clothing us; so these JoAnn trips were like Disney World to me.  I got to pick my dress AND several different fabric patterns I wanted the dress in.  I could care less that I wore a different variation of the same dress all summer, it was incredible.  I felt like I had my own custom clothing designer, no one wore what I wore; while other kids made fun of my 'home made' clothes, I felt privileged, and proud.

Needless to say, it was pretty destined I would end up sewing for myself one day.  It all happened one day my freshman year of high school.  I missed the bus, and my dad was long gone on his way to work.. I had no ride, and have never been a huge television junkie; so somehow I ended up cutting up a few towels and hand sewing a beach bag.  I was abundantly proud of what I had made. From nothing.  I had no sewing supplies, but I found a small sewing kit in my dads things and went to work.  I showed my grandma that night, and she was so impressed we went straight to Wal-Mart to get my very first sewing machine.

Now, from far away it may seem I know what I am doing, but don't be fooled.  I most certainly don't.  A favorite saying of mine, "fake it til you make it".  If you just have the balls to go for it, it will sometimes just work.  So here are some of my creations!

This is one of my favorites.  It fits perfect. It is simple, but the pattern is appealing.  I am a sucker for brown, and a lover of empire waists.

I was so pleased with the outcome I made it in red too!

Sometimes, it just works out the way I want it, but don't be discouraged when it most definitely does not.

<-- Case in point. This fabric is the same as the above brown but in light blue. I don't know if it is solely the change in color, or the fact I made it in to a dress with pleats, but this looks like it should be hanging on a window... not my body. Needless to say, I believe this has ended up at Goodwill.

And then there is this -->

While it doesn't look horrendous in this photo, I mistakenly used a shiny leopard fabric, which in combination with  the wide sleeves and loose fit of the dress, it looked like I was parading around this horse town in my bathrobe. 

You win some, you lose some!

Sometimes I just really get in the mood to do some sewing.  I'll go blow a hundred dollars at JoAnn's, knock a few out, then don't look at the machine again for a while.  I have a pile of dresses waiting to be made, and I keep making the excuse that my machine is at my friends house (another exciting project, homemade headboard, pillows, curtains, and ottoman cover!!). Ahh well, at least the sewing patterns are pretty to look at: 

Why Rhapsody's Rescue

Rhapsody's Rescue is the name of Locksmith business my mother started in the 80's.  It was just her and her light blue cargo van, with "Rhapsody's Rescue" scrawled in cursive along the side. She was known for being... not what you would imagine to show up when you are locked out.  My pretty little momma, long red hair, doused in freckles, and the best damn locksmith you'd ever imagine.


I went to visit my mother recently, in Carlsbad, CA.  Every time I see her I try to draw as many stories from her as possible.  Her life interests me abundantly, and I simply can't get enough of the things she has to say.  She tells me of the agreement she made with the local limo company; that she would locksmith for free, as long as when my father came back from sea they would take her to pick him up; his Navy buddies seething with jealousy.


My mom is smart woman.. always using the resources provided to come up with the best possible solution. Talk about making something from nothing;  I have countless "poor man" recipes that she used religiously to feed all her little chickadees.. and their friends.






Speaking of chickadees, I am the youngest of 5, no 6, no 7..  I grew up with four sisters, but as life would have it, I have two brothers as well, one from mom, and one from dad... both named Joshua.  My sisters and I were all 'gifted' with musical names; which throughout my life has proven to cycle from gift to curse to gift again.  All in all, I suppose I like having a unique name, and a themed family, though I am not sure how Harmony, Melody, Rhapsody, or Symphony feel.  That's right, there is a Rhapsody.. hence the inspiration for Rhapsody's Rescue.


And that is pretty much what this is all about.. making something from nothing... or at least something from just a little.  I love to create, and though I realize there are far more talented beings out there, I enjoy the accomplishment of the end result.  This is about the things I make, the brands I like, and the money I save in doing so.  So, here goes something.