About two years ago we were invited to a fantastic wedding and I had wonderful plans to buy the wonderful couple a present off their registry. I forgot. Then I kept forgetting. Until today!
After a visit to see them, I gifted the groom-two-years-ago one of my soaps. It was my first cold process attempt and he loved it! So much that he asked for a whole batch. My first custom order was placed!
But I’ve never really figured out pricing on my soap. It’s been just a hobby thing so to keep things easy, I just said “hey, I’m a terrible procrastinator and I owe you one. It’s free!”
Of course the bride-two-years-ago should get some stuff too. So here’s what I came up with:
I made some changes to the recipes as you can probably tell. The bath bombs are colored with turmeric, purple and green brazilian clay, and the bubble baths are 7 different scents and colors. Of course, the bottom of the box was filled with about 15 cold process soaps, all scented with essential oils of cedarwood and sandalwood, per the “groom’s” request. My mold makes about 5 lb total.
The labels are all made by me also. For the soap, I used a stamp and embossed it to add the touch of red. The soap I shrink wrapped also. The bubble bath black box was made by a Cricut, and the lotion bottles are printed vellum over nice paper. I didn’t bother with vellum for the bath bombs, that’s just printer paper over some scraps from a calendar. The chapstick though is special chapstick labels that I stamped then printed on. The fonts are all free and can be found either on Word or here.
Right now I’m too lazy to dig up my lotion and chapstick recipe (I have to get up, go get my notebook, type it all out.. ugh)… But I will share with you the pillow spray and scent sachet recipes!
Here goes for the pillow spray in a 3 oz bottle:
Lavender essential oil, maybe 25-30 drops (more if your EO is kinda cheap)
Vodka.
Yep, that’s it. Vodka.
Scent sachet:
Essential Oil, maybe 10-15 drops
Small organza bag with a drawstring
Dried flower pets
So easy, right? You don’t even have to write it down. But it’s something I never did for myself but would always see at farmers markets or at the store and think “oh, now that’s so nice. I should get that, it’d be neat to have that aromatherapy whenever I open my drawer or just have that calming smell before bed. Well… nah…maybe some other time…” WHICH MAKES THIS TYPE OF THING A GREAT GIFT!
In my opinion, a good gift is something the receiver has always wanted but never got for themselves. It doesn’t have to be expensive or flashy. Plus these are regiftable if the receiver doesn’t want them. So easy!
While making the lotions, I set aside a few ounces to make different scents for my Aunt who was visiting. In this photo you can see the vellum has some glitter, which I couldn’t see very well in the store (Hobby Lobby). I do like the little bit of sparkle though, and I love how it lets you see the paper design below. This turned out super cute with my other lotions too!
I wish I had better photos, but between making all this stuff, packaging it up, cleaning up my mess, and now writing about it, I’m spent. Now off to organize my new craft room!
Back to running after a 5 year hiatus! This blog used to be all about my running, until I met a guy and had a few kids. Those few kids were a big reason I had to switch gears for a few years. Pregnancy and hips, you know?? After some time, rest, physical therapy and finding some motivation, I ran the Sandhills Half Marathon outside of Valentine, NE.
It. Was. Glorious. Flat, beautiful, all downhill, with a blue sky and sun shining down after a thunderstorm the day before. It was a perfect morning chill- enough for racers to jump and chat and stretch at the start line but after the shotgun start (literally) the run itself was comfortable. Good spacing of the water and gatorade (and GU) stations. They had some mobile porta-johns that were available about every 3-4 miles.
The finish line was hard to make out, as it was a small race there weren’t big crowds or an announcer or a balloon arch. As my Garmin notified me I was almost there, I ran past a thicket of cottonwoods sending off ethereal wisps into the air, beautifully silhouetted by the sun ahead of me. Feeling a surge of energy and setting into a sprint, I ran through this magical natural marvel to finish my run in 2:12!!
The medal was different than any I’d received before, it was a simple engraved horseshoe. So we embraced that spirit and went to a rodeo later that night, which our daughter still talks about a week later! We arrived just in time for the Women’s lasso portion and cheered on as the teams raced to rope a calf.
We otherwise had an amazing time exploring the Valentine, NE area while camping in our Airstream Trailer. The campground we stayed at, Wacky West Travel Park was ideally situated. It is near a stockyard but it actually wasn’t bothersome at all. It’s within walking distance to the Bolo Brewery along the Cowboy Trail, is near a multitude of river outfitters, you can hear the rodeo we visited from the campsite, close to downtown and has a small playground.
AIRSTREAMERS: Beware of your head when opening the windows! My husband gashed his scalp just walking around the trailer on the latch that pokes down. This campground is also ideally situated near the ER! Five staples later, my husband posted on a FB group that advised cutting up and placing pool noodles around these window daggers (or whatever they’re called.)
Though a bit of a drive but was near the finish line, the Nebraska National Forest was a fun trip and exploring more of the Cowboy Trail’s iconic bridge was just spectacular. Also a little out of the way, but the Bootleg Brewery was a fantastic lunch stop as we drove home.
On our way out of town we took a wrong turn somehow… or maybe the Right Path and found the Berry Bridge Campground. We only drove past it, but the falls and bridge were a serendipitous photo op. We kept driving to Smith Falls State Park which was far beyond our expectations!
This was our first trip after a truck debacle left us stranded in Sedona. I can definitely say that getting back up on the horse was worth it. Huh, seems like I can even say that about running! Setbacks happen, but together we overcame some hurdles and are enjoying every minute of the lessons learned. On to the next half marathon!
At the end of our first Airstream roadtrip, despite an engine meltown and Massive multi-day Ordeal, we realized reason #1482 of why we l-o-v-e our Airstream and can’t wait to take it out again. In the past, we’ve traveled the way most people do- hotels and air travel. We’ve uncovered a whole new way to travel and are a little too excited about it. So, what about reasons #1- #1482 you might ask? I’ll touch on a handful of highlights!
South Carlsbad Beach, CA Spot #220.
#1: Freedom
American icon. Classic. Unique to the USA. Hauls your stuff instead of dragging luggage through an airport. Two months prior to our trip we did just that….Meltdowns while in a TSA line, guarding carryon while trading kids to go to the bathrooms, the disaster of a potty accident at the curbside, forgetting to fill your water prior to a 6 hour flight with a breastfeeding infant, being covered in sand for an overnight flight and facing nasty looks… Just freeing ourselves from the airline travel Hassle.
Freedom from waking up at 3 am to make the 6 am flight (remember, kids make things take a lot longer). Freedom from judgy people telling us to keep our kids quiet (and hey, freedom for those judgy people from us!). Freedom from living out of a suitcase. Freedom to carry the liquids you want. Find a cute but heavy and bulky souvenir on your trip? Wine or whiskey you want to bring home? No weight allowances or fees to pay!
Freedom to change your plans. Get a tip to check out Jerome, AZ? GO! Weather shutting down your way home? Drive south! Drive north! Find new adventures and meet the nicest people along the way.
One caveat: you need to tow the thing you call home. If that goes out (as in our case, turbo literally melted down) you have a new backyard for an untold length of time. Depending on your situation this may or may not be a problem.
Not sure how many reasons were in there, but it’s a bunch.
No, I was not a Corpsman, I was Medical Corps. Bought the mug to support the Corpsman Ball but it’s my favorite. Feels like home, right on the beach!
#101: Bring home with you
Yes it’s a heavy one, but it frees you from hotels. Steep bills and crossing your fingers they have room and a deal on hotels.com or hoteltonight or whatever app you use. We camped ON THE BEACH IN SAN DIEGO for a fraction of the price of a hotel. We even had a campfire and a party and multiple friends over while breathing fresh ocean air.
Suffer from a bad back? Hotel beds give you neck aches? Toss your tempurpedic in there and bring the pillow that doesn’t send you to the chiropractor! Worried about what you might find if you blacklighted your sheets? Not a problem if it’s yours. No bedbugs either!
When it comes to design style, vintage Airstreams to the updated models, all have pros and cons. You may have seen gorgeous pictures of restored Airstreams, and you may notice the interior is as unique as the person designing it. Whether modernized or kept classic, they have something for all tastes. Can’t afford a new one or to restore a vintage one? The smallest accessory or stick on wallpaper can transform it to whatever your style is. In such a small space, a tiny change makes a big impact.
#
292: Change it to fit your Life Plan
From the outdoorsy active person to those who like the comforts of civilization, you can make an Airstream fit your needs. Right now our kids are young, so having hot water and a kitchen is fantastic. However in time we hope to do more boondocking, or dry camping. This gives us the ability to go deep into the National Parks and have a home base for our travels within the park.. Many of the National Parks get busy and crowded during high season and we hope to avoid the lines to get in while also spending enough time there and not paying the high in-park hotel prices. When we retire, it’s a nice little single story home!
Zion Canyon Campground: Walk to park, shuttle out front, full hookups
#319: Investing in Family
We paid for this thing. We’re getting our money out of it. Hotel fees are sunk costs into experiences, we will never get that money back. With an airstream, you can almost think of it like equity on your experiences. They have a high resale value, so if you decide it’s not for you, or the first one you buy isn’t what you need, you’ll likely find a buyer quickly. We got a 25 foot after asking on the facebook group Airstream Addicts about camper length fitting into National Parks.
Sedona, AZ: Walk up to Chapel of the Holy CrossZabriski Point, Death Valley CA
#402: Community
People are out to help you. In our limited experience, anyone we met, whether an Airstream owner or not, will give you advice. Help you back up your trailer. Take a picture of your family, unprompted, while you struggle to take a selfie. Show you where your fuse box is. Kids who bring their toys over to play with your kids so you can chat with a new friend. Online, answer questions, send you links to websites that can give you further tips. Inspire you to take a new trip or tips to make your camping life easier. We never experienced this to this degree on a flight or staying in a hotel.
Zion National Park: Overlook Point. Heck of a workout carrying the kids, water, meals, diapers, camera, etc.!
#556: Hotel + Children = no sleep
Our truck had blown its turbo engine and we had no way to pull the Airstream, nicknamed The Buffalo, plus drive us all home. Leaving truck and Airstream in Camp Verde, we were supplied with a rental car. Checking into a hotel in Santa Fe, we now realized our kids who were sleeping in the car were WIRED!
Hotels are full of exciting things to crawl under and explore and jump on. We had hoped for a few hours sleep during our 18 hour drive but instead I was exhausted, worried about child proofing the room while my 1 year old crawled around since I forgot to ask about pack n plays, and the kids woke up all excited to jump on the beds and wreak general havoc in this new place. Our 3 year old even turned her nose up at the bed saying “I want my little bed.”
#612: Afterhours
Once we had kids, we realized “what do we do in a new town since this kid has to sleep?” Can’t leave them behind and go hit the town! A compromise we made with both hotels and the Airstream is to hire a babysitter. Worked fantastic in both Kauai and San Diego. However, what if you can’t find a babysitter? Once we just kept to the hotel bar, but I worried the whole time even though we had set up a camera in the room tied to our phone. With the Buffalo, you just set up some chairs outside and sit around the campfire. Or cook yourself a nice dinner and enjoy some quiet time at your own dinner table after a long day’s hike.
#762: Get. Away.
Wake up to birds chirping. Wake up to the ocean crashing. Fall asleep to the wind in the trees, blowing through the grass. Unplug, read a book. Don’t like your neighbor? Drive away! Take a vacation to the coast or to the lake, even just for a weekend. We plan to do both local and distant trips, fit in some family time whenever we can. Make memories together and make this part of our kids childhood. Be spontaneous! Adventure is the name of the game!
Sedona, AZ: Rancho Sedona RV Park
#808: Discover
We now have the ability to EXPLORE parts of the country we’d never visited. I’ve seen so many mantras people post in relation to camping: “The Mountains are Calling and I must go,” “Not all who wander are lost,” or even just the sample “Wanderlust.” We are no different! It doesn’t have to be the wilderness you seek either. Large cities have a wealth of campgrounds accessible if you look. We were in the heart of Carlsbad, CA within walking distance of the bus stop. Or travel across the USA to breathe in the stories of our ancestors. For example, I’m writing this in Goodland, Kansas. We just passed the site of the Sand Creek National Massacre Site. It’s easy to forget the history of our nation, but when you pass through it and pay attention you can learn a lot about the place we call home.
Grand Canyon South Rim
#911: Emergency! I gotta go potty!
Our 3 year old just said she needs to go pee. In the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. If we had the Airstream behind us, we could pull over and use the bathroom there. Or change a diaper in the comfort of our own home instead of the Turd Station offered by most gas stations.. Instead, we’re crossing our fingers she doesn’t have an accident as we frantically drive to the nearest rest stop.
Not for us, however I have friends with intense food allergies. This leads to difficulties while traveling, as you have to ask for all kinds of ingredient changes while eating out. With a camper you can control what you eat, cook your own food and not worry about that pesky Epi-Pen.
Hate climbing stairs in hotels or hauling luggage? As mentioned before, it is a single story home where there’s no hauling luggage! Laundry however can be a problem, which is fixed by a rolling bag, or doing it by hand in the shower. You can also buy a special RV-friendly washer/dryer that fits in your shower.
This was all neatly stored at one point
#1000: Yet to be discovered
We’ve barely scratched the surface of things to enjoy while using our Airstream. There are as many reasons as there are places to visit! It’s exciting to know what lies ahead and not know what the future has in store for us, what we will learn, what memories our children will take with them, and how our family will spend time together. On to the next adventure!
Less than a year ago, my husband brought up the idea of purchasing a camper. When we met, hiking into the Grand Canyon with a tent on our back was how we would enjoy the great outdoors. Fast forward 7 years and 2 kids later… Had to find a new way to appreciate our National Parks!
A few months of discussion, a lucky Facebook post, and voila- we are trucking west with our 2009 25 foot Front Bed International Signature Airstream! Like boats, many people name theirs. Our last car was nicknamed The Donkey since it would haul all kinds of gear and was as dependable and rugged as a pack animal. With a road trip to the Badlands last year, our daughter fell in love with buffalos. Our camper now has a name and we are setting off Westward bound.
We sought out a 25 foot especially so that it can camp in the National Parks. This is new to us, so we’re staying at places that offer “full hookups” for now (water, power, etc) until we figure out this glamping thing. Once we know how to stay in the camper sans hookups, it’ll be easier to “dry camp” or “boondock” inside the parks.
Still need to figure out sleeping arrangements for tonight, but so far learning how to dewinterize, hitch and unhitch, plus adapt to cooking in a trailer has been fun! Looking forward to the rest if the adventure.
Lusting after those before and after photos of a pantry on Pinterest, I finally managed to find some motivation. That, and The Container Store was having a 25% off sale. Let me tell ya…. It gets expensive. A little time consuming, a bit of help was nice, but I admit that I spent over $400 on this and could have spent more (did I say could? I mean will.)
My photo is not as dramatic as others I’ve seen, but functionally it’s been a complete makeover! Also it was quite enlightening to realize how much we had in there just taking up space. We threw away two huge garbage bags full of expired and ruined food.
This is the farro that I realized had MOTHS living in it!!! I thought they had just gotten into my marshmallows (ok gross, but I don’t need another s’more anytime soon) but these little buggers had gotten into some croutons too. I don’t know exactly what else, but the Ick factor alone made me toss a bag of hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds that was partially open.
So now we have these nice Oxo Pop containers that mice, moths, ants, humidity, and perhaps small children can’t get into.
The impetus was my daily protein powder. I’m not a morning person so wait until the last minute to get ready. I wanted something quicker than a screw top and less messy than a bag. We used one of these handy pop top for months and realized how much better life was with changing just one detail! They open with just one hand and have a satisfying open/close pop top.
We even have a hot sauce drawer now after all that organization.
So it was a little expensive but SO MUCH NICER!!! I actually enjoy going in my pantry now and can meal plan better! We also consolidated vitamins- instead of opening three bottles to give our daughter her gummies, just two quick taps- Bam bam! And she’s vitaminized:
Cans got organised and sorted, though I need to find a way to keep that from succumbing to entropy. Labeling is another challenge also. For now, I just cut the label from the bag it came from, plus any recipes off that I wanted to keep and taped it on the outside. Works great until I have time to tackle another daunting labeling project!
I may head back to the store tomorrow however. This project isn’t entirely complete, we still have these baskets of stuff to find containers for and oh no, I have to go shopping again 😉
It’s that time of year! I’ve been dreaming of gardening since the last harvest of my veggies, but really started itching once I got my Baker’s Creek Seed Catalog in the mail back in January. After some planning through GrowVeg.com, today I finally got started!
Haha great day for it right? With a trip to the garden store and buying more seed starting trays, I got to work. It all started in my basement and I hadn’t cleared out the space yet … Our bar turned out to be the perfect workspace!
Today I planted Walla Walla & Red Burgundy onions, chives, and also got a few Sweet Alyssum flowers started. I plan on putting these around the kids new playset.
I’m wearing gloves out of fear of “dampening off”, something that devastated my sprouts last year. Lettuce doesn’t need to be started until March 1, but that’s only a week away so I got a handful of arugula, little gem lettuce, and butter king lettuce going. I loooove salad!!
After reading just how deep to place each seed on the seed packet, I filled a container full of water and let the seed trays soak up water from the bottom for a few minutes each. Hopefully this method of watering also helps prevent dampening off! Then I placed them on warming mats. No need for grow lights yet, those are for when the leaves actually start sprouting and the chlorophyll starts asking for those UV rays 🌱☀️
Also this year I have plans to start a kids garden, tucked behind the playset in a cheaper, more classic garden bed. Thinking this could be our “experimental” area to try new veggies and plants to see if they grow, if we even like them, etc.
Realized that I’ll need more seed trays starting March 1 so another trip is needed to the garden store. Oh darn 😝
We are always on the lookout for quick and easy but tasty weeknight dinners. Something to enjoy at the end of a long workday without creating too many dishes while also feeling like you’re treating yourself with something fancy. Occasionally we come across a simple ingredient that can accomplish this, like harissa paste or aleppo pepper.
This recipe though introduced a simple concept: Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with shrimp! Most of the time with my shrimp recipes, it’s either butter and garlic or butter and Zatarain’s Blackened Seasoning. Both of these however, don’t really make the shrimp stand out and yell “hey, I’m awesome!” and more like “hey, I’m not too tasty so drown me out with other ingredients.”
The only photo we took, we ate them too fast!
Also this recipe allows me to re-highlight the tomatillo salsa I never underscored in my previous Chilaquiles post with a nice shiny photo:
Yummy fresh ingredients to amp up any meal
So you can go to the Martha Stewart Living link that inspired this post, or follow my quick and dirty instructions that I will be following in the future, incorporating my amped up chipotle tactic and the optional tomatillo salsa!
Reviving this blog just before I had a baby was such a great idea. Update with a post maybe three times, then go off the radar.. oops! Sorry about that. Regardless, my first year ever of gardening was fantastic!
I expected to learn a lot of lessons, and I did. Wish I could remember them all now (ha.) To recap, I went big with a butterfly garden (approx 500 sq ft) and three DIY raised garden beds. Since my last post, the butterfly garden changed shape, more curves which makes it look nice but harder to remember exactly where I planted stuff.
Lessons learned? SO MANY. Let’s see if I can give you my top 3 for each type of garden:
Subirrigated Garden Beds
Companion planting is overrated. Plant things that are the same height next to each other! Tomatoes are supposed to be great next to basil.. and then they grow up and overshadow everything.
Planting beneficials Right In the beds is probably not needed given a surrounding butterfly garden. I had calendula, zinnia, marigolds, and nasturtiums on each end of the bed. They grew great and beautiful and had lots of flowers, but also grew like crazy and overshadowed smaller herbs. I’ll probably still do a handful in the beds, since I just like the look of it.
Pests… didn’t have much except for those darn Japanese Beetles!!! Thankfully they only went after my edamame (Midori Giant from Baker Creek) which ended up looking like a swiss cheese plant instead. They still produced good beans though, which was unexpected given how skeletonized they got.
Butterfly Garden
Patience is a virtue. A virtue I lack very much. I wanted to grow most of these from seed, saving money while also knowing the exact scientific name and variety planted. My poor seedlings, rest their souls, had other ideas. All germinated, then most keeled over with damping off. So I had a handful of plants survive, only to be run over by rain and get lost once planted. DESPAIR. Right then, the Nebraska Arboretum had a plant sale and I was a kid in a candy store! Lesson: it’s just plain easier to buy plants when you fail miserably. Have no shame.
Black Eyed Susans to the rescue! Here in Omaha, they did great. Bountiful, long lasting, and butterflies loved it. Made me look like a fabulous gardener. And hey, I just needed some confidence my first year. Thanks, Rudbeckia!
Not all garden stores are equal. Our local nursery seemed good at first. Then I’d buy plants to fill in gaps, and they’d die despite me watering them. Or I’d plant it and it wouldn’t get as tall as advertised.. turns out it was a mislabeled dwarf plant (gotta pull up all my back wall echinacea now.) The pricier, further garden store was outstanding. Great customer service and no mislabeled plants. Also a joy to shop their aisles.
BONUS LESSONS LEARNED!
Weeds happen, but not in square foot gardening.
Putting down wood chips to prevent weeds didn’t prevent as much as I hoped.
We fertilized the butterfly garden bed only once, a handful more times with a Miracle Gro sprayer, and they did fine (we worried about our clay soil).
These marigolds are the easiest thing ever, I actually took the time to write a review!
Husband liked borage, will put more in the butterfly garden.
Have someone cut out your sod if it’s bigger than 4 x 4 feet. Just trust me.
Composting is easy and fun! We’ll see this year if it’s as amazing as advertised.
Rabbits don’t go after raised garden beds, and not too bad with a butterfly garden.
Wild Turkeys love to eat caterpillars (will be making a butterfly habitat this year I think).
Two dogs incessantly trampled into our butterfly garden which stressed me out. Plants did fine.
Homemade red pepper flake pest spray didn’t do much but make me sneeze.
APHIDS I REALLY DISLIKE YOU! They decimated a number of our milkweed. Apparently not much to do but hand pick them off and it is a PITA. Might also get some ladybugs since any spray I tried didn’t seem to do much.
Lesson I still need to learn: How to progressively plant salad plants. Arugula, little gem, spinach, etc. We’d have tons of salad for a few weeks, then nothing. Any tips are appreciated!
Another lesson I need to learn:Getting good at cold stratifying and just germinating seeds in general. One plant we want to try is protea, which honestly intimidates me a little, but my husband bought seeds in South Africa so why not try?
Just placed my order for Baker Creek seeds and am putting together my new garden plan! Dreaming of sunny days with snow on the ground 🙂
Now with two little girls I find less and less time to run and exercise, let alone post a blog about it. However, recently I showed myself I am back in the game and picked up an old goal I set: a Half Marathon In Every State!
Why the hiatus? Pregnancy. Three years ago I was 6 weeks along when I started having serious pain in my hip while running. I figure, OK, I’m pregnant, I’ll pick it up later. Fast forward 9 months, pain doesn’t go away. Wait. Lift weights, swim, wait. Get pregnant again. Hip pain comes back. Get really annoyed. Deliver baby. Pain… vanishes!
At least so far. Baby #2 is now 4 months old and about 2 months after delivery I tried to run. WOW was I out of shape! Then again, it was in the hot midwestern summer and I still had (ahem, have) some pounds to lose. But I did 3 miles, slowly. I signed up for a race after visiting the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, inspired as I pushed a stroller up the big hill. (Why was I inspired by hills? I don’t know!)
So there I was, lacing up my running shoes for a 5 mile race at 7 am in a parking lot full of vibrantly clothed Omahawegians a week or so ago. Nevermind that I haven’t run 5 miles, let alone 4, just a piddly little 3 miles, in years.
It was hilly. It was gorgeous. It was so much fun. I lost my Garmin many moves ago and there were no mile markers so it was basically a fun run. Best part was seeing my husband and two daughters cheering me on as I ran back through the zoo entrance, approximately mile 2.
I had expected to have to stop and walk, to cramp up, or have to slow down and none of that happened. I ran the ENTIRE THING! HILLS AND ALL! AND I LOVED IT!
At the finish line, for the first time ever, I was greeted by my little girls. Last time I did this, it was just my loving and supportive husband. Finishing just that 5 miler made me feel like an awesome mom who can hopefully get back on track with showing these kids fitness and pushing yourself is fun and exciting. Looking forward to many more finished lines crossed and family events in the years to come!
Checking on my garden beds and found 2 anise swallowtail caterpillars on my dill! I planted it both for us to enjoy and for this stage of the butterfly development.
Can’t wait to see them fully grown. So excited my new butterfly garden is actually hosting butterflies!
The Inspired Dr.Mom 