DIY Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer

I'm on the fence about buying a vacuum sealer. I understand vacuum sealing is a good way to keep dry goods fresh, especially the garden vegetables and herbs I dry in my dehydrator.

So on the one hand a vacuum sealer is a good idea on the other hand it is spendy for something I may not use very much since I have an itty bitty front yard garden.  On the third hand (mind if I borrow your hand for a bit?) if the vacuum sealer thing works keeping things fresh in my pantry it might be useful in flighting my nemesis freezer burn.

115 Ways to Save Money That Won't Get You Arrested

Husband and I had no idea changing our diet and cooking from scratch would not only reduce our food bill (as we hoped) but it would also turn us into accidental foodies. 

So yeah, I think you can have a good life for less and you don't have to be a con, work the system, or commit petty theft to do it like Keenley Newstead, the so-called Britain's Thriftiest Mum. Keenley sees the world as her smorgasbord of free stuff and has no qualms about stealing rolls of toilet paper from restrooms, massive amounts of condiment packs or advertising giveaways, or complaining about something so she gets it free. 

I am upset with this woman's con, because it reflects poorly on the rest of us. I am even more upset with the belief that money saving mavens are cheats and liars instead of the honest, hardworking, clever, (and sometimes a little crazy about how far they will go) people I know them  to be. 

How to Grill Your Way to a Kitchen Makeover

I can deal with the layout of my kitchen. I'd like more storage - who doesn't? - but the number one must have when I eventually remodel the kitchen is to replace the appliances. Husband and I are not fans of most of the appliances that came new with the house, especially the HE dishwasher.

 

You can lean how I painted my kitchen back splash with chalkboard paint

 on my DIY blog Condo Blues here.

I liked the idea of a high efficiency dishwasher saving water like our HE washing machine (which I love), unfortunately the HE dishwasher didn't like the idea of getting our dishes clean after the first two years of its life. We dealt with it until last month with the dishwasher decided it didn't want to clean anything at all.

And then the kitchen turned into this because I hate hand washing dishes.

Russian Vinaigrette Salad Recipe

I am trying to keep some sort of make ahead food for those afternoons where I stare into a cupboard or refrigerator full of ingredient type food but I don’t want to make at the moment because I don’t want to heat up the kitchen on a summer day.

Or it is a random day that ends in a Y and I just want food to appear in my belly so I can get on with my day and do something important like give my best gal Lacey belly rubs until my arm falls off.

Helloooo, make ahead cold salad!

I found this recipe for Russian Vinaigrette written on a napkin in the back of my cupboard after an avalanche of reusable water bottles recently fell out of the cabinet and onto my head. Note to self: Clean out the cupboard. I wonder what other recipes I used to make but forgot are in there?

I asked a Russian student for the recipe after I tried it at an International student event at Ohio State because I liked it so much and I used to make it all the time. It is the perfect summer cold salad because you don’t have to worry about mayonnaise curdling in the sun or in a not so cool cooler.

Russian Beet Salad Recipe

How to Make Banana Chips

You are what you eat.

We're bananas.

Bananas are an excellent source of potassium.  I learned from my renaissance festival performer days, if you are sweating out of every pore and losing electrolytes (all day every day when you are performing on a 90 degree day wearing 4 layers of clothing) the best way to replace them is to eat a banana. This is why race organizers have bananas for the runners to eat after every 5K race or fun walk.

Now you know.

Unfortunately bananas are squishy fruit and don't survive well in a backpack, purse, or tote bag for later in the day. Fortunately banana chips do. We don't perform at the ren fair anymore but I still like to toss a container of banana chips in my bag when play in the park or whatever in case I get a little woggy from the heat.

Later I found out some banana chips are fried to make them crisp or have a sugar coating to make them sweeter. That's not quite what we want in a banana chip.

Luckily, dried banana chips are easy to make if you can slice and forget for a bit. No extra frying or adding sugar either!

13 Steps to a Better Me

The thing Husband and I forgot when it comes to working with and rehabilitating a dog with behavioral fear issues is how hard and frustrating it can be in the beginning!

We love Lacey and our committed to helping with her issues. But we are empathizing with all of those second time around parents who also forget that as wonderful and sweet newborns are, there are times when they drive you crazy! Parental sleep deprivation when the baby refuses to go to sleep night after night after night anyone?

Thankfully, Lacey sleeps through the night. However, her fears gives her the attention span of a gnat. That can be frustrating when we are trying to work on something or after an evening of barking jags because the neighbors are having a BBQ.


I wrote on my DIY blog Condo Blues about the light bulb moment I experienced when I realized why Lacey didn't always do as I said and how my frustration feed into her frustration to boomerang back at me. Of course the first instinct is to blame the dog but to be honest,  a big chunk of the problem is me (you can read about it here.)

I need to get my head back in the game. I can’t expect Lacey to consistently confident if I don’t give her a good example to follow.

I've spent the last year putting everything but me first that I haven't even been on my own list.

Sound familiar to anyone?

The Easiest and Cheapest Kitchen Cabinet Organizer in the World!

The lower corner cabinet in my kitchen is a hot mess. It is great for storing small appliances and things I don't use often but still accessible, you know, in case we run into a waffle making emergency or something.

Well, it is accessible in theory.

Most of the time the corner cabinet looks like I shoved stuff in and slammed the door before the pile exploded into the kitchen.

I am not proud of this.

Do you know why?