Hair Cut

So, like everyone else I've been super busy. I've been thinking that starting the new year, I'll post my money saving ideas. It's a New Years resolution kind of thing anyway!
However, I do have one of my money savers to show off today! This one is pretty extreme and took a ton of online research....
I cut my own hair. And here

is the result! Not bad if I do say so myself! I'm actually more pleased with it than I've ever been with a salon cut. I never get what I ask for. This way I figured out exactly how to cut it the way I wanted it, and I'm not disappointed. AND I saved about $40! Win, win!

Since I have the picture up-I'll let you in on another money saving tip I came across. I have acne. Bad acne. In the picture I'm not wearing any makeup and I feel like I look pretty good for no makeup! The tip? Baking soda. I discovered scrubbing with baking soda exfoliates, shines and gets rid of all that bacteria. You can also make a heavy paste and use it as a mask to dry up oily skin. 50 cents a box, and my face looks better than it has in about 20 years. (sigh, yes 20)

Christmas at My House

Christmas is one of my favorite things. I love everything about it. All year long, I plan and wait for December to come around. All my presents are bought by September so come November, I can enjoy the season without stress.
In honor of Christmas, I wanted to share pictures of my house decorated.

My New Favorite Decoration!

I found huge pine cones and used them to decorate this year

Even our dogs get a stocking!

Merry Christmas to All-
Erin

Hair Bows

Here are some hair bows I made for my niece for Christmas.

The pink one is different, but I'm tired of seeing the same ole thing!

Getting Creative!

Every magazine I read has a ton of tips on budgeting, cutting back, saving. I grew up poor, these tips are so old news to me I do them without thinking.

I am on a quest this year to find new and creative ways to cut back on the spending. You see, I'm now a shopaholic. There are some things I'd like to do in the next few years that require a lot of money...My best friend lives in London. I have to go visit her, cause really? When am I going to have that opportunity again?
Here's where the creativity comes in. I know I have to cut back on the shopping and stick to a budget. No prob...well, on paper anyway. But, I really wanted to think of new ways to save money. Just for the heck of it. Like I said, I'm tired of seeing the same ole tips. I'm going to think outside of the box!

So, I started looking around my house. What do I buy that just gets thrown away? I started making a mental list...which I think I'll post tomorrow. One of those things was laundry detergent. All the time I see recipes for homemade laundry detergent, and I could just see myself in the kitchen for hours slaving away making a huge batch. I decided to give it a try though. I am on a quest after all. And the cost-holy cow! A tiny fraction of what I spend now.

Before I post the recipe I used let me fill you in on another concern. In addition to how time consuming I thought it would be, I was scared that my clothes would stink.
Let me tell you, it took 15 minutes TOTAL to make this. I was confused as to what I was going to do for the next 2 hours that I had planned to be in the kitchen making laundry detergent. And, I just happened to make it on laundry day, so I used it right away. My clothes smelled great.
I'm in love.
Here's the recipe:
(I used half, it's just me and the hubby)

Grate a bar of fells naptha soap (I got mine from amazon.com) into a saucepan filled with water. Heat until the soap is melted.
Fill a 10 Gallon tub half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, 1 Cup Arm and Hammer washing soda, and 1/2 Cup Borax (found on the laundry isle). Stir. Fill the rest of the tub up with hot water. As it sets it will gel. Use 1 cup per load. Stirring with each use.

I used an old detergent bottle and didn't fill it all the way, give it a good shake before pouring.

I should note that this is for liquid detergent. I hate powder.

So, for next year I'll be blogging about my quest for creative cutbacks in addition to everything else!

Caramel Popcorn

Finally-I know...here is the caramel popcorn recipe!

This is for about 7 quarts of plain popped popcorn...not the microwave popcorn.
2 cups dry roasted peanuts...really, I use a lot more than 2 cups
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup   the original recipe calls for light, I use dark...so take your pick!
a dash of salt
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Place the popcorn and peanuts in 2 baking pans. Set aside.
Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. It will be light and foamy. Immediately, pour over the popcorn in the pans and stir to coat.
Bake for one hour, removing the pans and stirring every 15 minutes.
Lay out waxed paper on the counter and dump the popcorn out onto the waxed paper. Separate the pieces and let cool. Store in airtight containers and enjoy!

Cake Balls

Last Christmas, a friend of mine mentioned on facebook that she was making cake balls. I had never heard of them ( I know, where have I been?)! This year I decided to make them. While I feel like everyone knows how to make these, I'm still going to post the recipe for those still in the dark...no one needs to be in the dark about these!

So, the super simple recipe goes like this:

Bake a cake. From a box.

Once cool, crumble into a bowl and mix in a can of icing.
Roll into balls and dip balls in chocolate.

Eat.

Easy. Peasy.

Now for pics!

Drizzled with Red and Green Chocolate

Bagged

Boxed and Ready to GO!

I know I said I'd post my caramel popcorn today, but I'm going to wait till tomorrow. Gives me something to blog about! I really want to try and post everyday!

Christmas Goodies

This year I wanted to do something other than baked goods for the holiday season. Instead of 50 batches of cookies, I made chocolate covered pretzels, cake balls, chocolate marshmallows, and caramel popcorn. If you've ever worked with chocolate before, you'll know it takes FOREVER....and ever. Here are the pictures from my last two days of labor!

                                                         My dining room table taken over!







Chocolate Covered Marshmallows



3 Kinds of Chocolate Covered Pretzels:
Peppermint, Chocolate with Peppermint and Plain Chocolate



The Super Cute Box I put the pretzels in!



Pretzel Rods: Toffee, Peppermint Bark, and LOTS of Sprinkles!



The TON of Pretzel Rods I Dipped!



Marshmallows All Packed Up!

And Boxed Up!

                                                                 
Tomorrow, I'll post the pictures of the cake balls and caramel popcorn-with recipes!