Travel

Hotel Vanity Kit

March 7, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

On our recent trip to the O’Brien Historic Boutique hotel in the wonderful San Antonio, TX (one of my favorite cities), I was delighted to find a “Vanity Kit” in the bathroom amidst the Joseph Abood soaps and toiletries. What would be found nestled inside this sweet little box? We will soon find out…

Honestly, I really had no idea what would be included. I mean, what do you think is in a Vanity Kit? I opened it up and at first glance I could see something that looked like q-tips and some cotton things.

I wasn’t sure exactly what was included so I gingerly took the small package out of the box. The anticipation was killing me! 😉

Inside the box was an emery board, some very soft cotton squares and several q-tips. I suppose that those items could take care of just about any vanity need that I may have.

I of course googled “hotel vanity kit” and apparently there’s a whole industry for this. Who knew?

(((hugs))) ~lisa

DIY

How to make wool dryer balls

March 6, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray House2 Comments

I have several friends on facebook that are doing the “no chemicals” thing in their household. They are making homemade cleaners etc. and it all sounds very interesting to me. Plus they say that it is less expensive and I’ll all about that. So I’ve already been kind of researching this subject when I was about to do laundry one day.

We were out of dryer sheets and I naturally googled what I could use in it’s place. Out of all the options I realized that I didn’t really have any of the ingredients needed to make a substitute dryer sheet. I did see a way to make wool dryer balls which are supposed to cut down on drying time, thus saving us money, there are no chemicals in it and it is supposed to reduce static electricity among other things. Sounded interesting so I put that on my project list.

Keep in mind I will be saying *ball* a lot. Every time I wrote the word I kept thinking, ha…you just said ball. Juvenile I know but carry on.

Here’s what you need:

Wool yarn. You need to use a yarn that 100% wool otherwise it won’t “felt”. The amount will depend on how many you are trying to make. I purchased one skein to do my test balls and it made two good sized balls.
Old pair of pantyhose
A small crochet hook
Scissors

After purchasing this I read that Fishermen’s Wool takes longer to felt. I haven’t made the balls out of any other kind of wool so I cannot say for sure whether or not it’s true.

I do know you have to be sure and get 100% wool. Or you can use felting wool but I hadn’t heard of that before. I purchased this for about $5.50 after my coupon so for two that comes out to $2.75 each. Not too bad. After a quick online search, it seems the cheapest you can purchase them for is a little over $5 each so I feel pretty good about that.

Here’s how you do it:

Have you ever wound yarn into a ball? Well that is pretty much what you will do to begin making your wool dryer ball.

Start by wrapping the yarn around your fingers about 10 times.

I then start wrapping it around the opposite way.

I then folded that in half and then wound around that. Keep winding until you have a ball the size you want. According to the various sites I checked before making these, the balls can be any size that you’d like. I tried to get two balls out of the skein I purchased.

Once you have wound the ball to the size you want you then need to cut the yarn and pull it through several layers using a crochet hook. I pulled it through one spot then pulled it through another for good measure.

Next you need some old pantyhose and you are going to put the balls inside of it so they won’t unravel in the next steps.

Tie off the pantyhose so the balls are separate and won’t felt together.

You then place this in with your next load of clothes that you are going to wash on hot and “wash” them. I think the point of that is to get them wet but I’m not entirely sure.

Next, place them in the dryer with the load of clothes and dry.

I read that it could take anywhere from 4-5 times for the yarn to felt. I checked after each washing but it wasn’t until the 4th cycle that I thought it looked felted enough. You can tell by lightly scraping your fingernail over the yarn to see if it moves. After the 4th time it didn’t move very much so I pronounced it finished!

I cut it open and was still nervous that it wasn’t felted enough but it held together.

Yea!! Ready to test out on my next load of clothes.

I washed a load of clothes today and when I threw the clothes in the dryer I tossed in the wool dryer balls. I honestly can’t say if they dried faster as I didn’t really check but it did seem to reduce the static. There was a tiny bit but not like it has been.

You can also put a couple drops of essential oils on the balls to give it a scent but I haven’t tried that yet.

**UPDATE** There seemed to be static with some of my loads. I read some more on that and they said if you have synthetic material clothing you might want to consider drying that separately. We now air dry those items and we haven’t had any more static issues.

**UPDATE** I stopped using these as they actually broke the baffles in my dryer. And it seemed that the balls never fully felted.

How was your experience?

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Food

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Zucchini

February 28, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

Y’all know when it comes to cooking, I like it fast and easy. While cooking in a crock pot is not necessarily fast, it is definitely easy.

Here’s what you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 or so zucchini
9 or so small potatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
seasonings to taste

Here’s what you do:

I start out with about 4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I put those in the crock pot first.

I then cut up and added several (and yes I used all 6 pictured here) zucchini and lots of potatoes. I would have put more potatoes in, but I was trying to control myself.

I added some seasonings to taste and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, not pictured. This time I used reduced sodium (go me!!) soup and added several cans of water to fill up the crock pot.

I cooked on low for 6 hours and the chicken was soooo tender! The first night we usually just have it in a bowl as shown. You can also serve this over rice or noodles. It was yummy for my tummy!

I do make more than we would eat for one meal as I love this as leftovers! It reheats well.

Let me know if you try it and what you thought!

(((hugs))) ~lisa

DIY

Easy drawer knobs makeover

February 27, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

So my hubby, aka Mr Awesome, painted the desk that we purchased off of Craigslist that went into my office. The knobs were plain and I went to the store to purchase some newer ones. Wouldn’t you know it, all the knobs I like were 8 bucks a piece!! No way was I going to pay that. So what did I do? I bought some super cheap ones for about $.70 each and covered them with fabric.

I gathered my supplies:

Drawer knob, $.70 at my local hardware store
Fabric, $.80 and I clearly bought more than enough
Scissors
Pen
Mod Podge
Applicator

Basically I traced the lid of the Mod Podge onto the back of the fabric to get a circle larger than the face of the knob.

I cut it out and then used the applicator to put some Mod Podge on the face of the drawer knob. I placed the knob on the material and let it set for a few moments and then turned it and set it on the base and let it dry.

Next, I cut notches around the material that had since dried to the top of the knob, so when I glued those down they wouldn’t be too bulky. I applied the Mod Podge and tucked the material around the knobs. I then let those set until dry.

Now to attach them to the desk.

I think they turned out pretty good and I like how it pulls the color of the wall (True Turquoise by Glidden).

When I mentioned above that they didn’t turn out perfectly here’s what I’m talking about. On one of them it’s a little bit uneven on the underside.

On another you can see the gaps in the material.

All in all, for about $3, I’m very pleased with how they turned out.

Have you tried any DIY projects lately?

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Food

Easy Peach Cobbler

February 12, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray House2 Comments

You’ve seen the pics on Pinterest of the easy peach cobbler, right? Well I decided to try my hand at making them for dessert tonight. We had just finished eating my easy crock pot pepper steak and I had high hopes for this cobbler.

Here’s what you need:

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 dash salt
3/4 cup milk
1 stick melted butter
1 can peaches pie filling, diced
Cinnamon to taste
Brown sugar to taste

The recipe I used actually called for 2 cans of peaches but I apparently didn’t read that closely when I was buying the ingredients so that’s how I ended up with the peach pie filling. What can I say, things happen. haha!!!

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Put 1 tsp of melted butter into each regular-sized muffin tin

Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk by hand

Put 2 T of batter into each muffin tin on top of the melted butter

Next, put 1 T of the diced peaches on top of the batter in each tin

Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon to taste

Bake for 12 minutes

Now I must share a little secret. I put too much butter in about 1/2 of the tins. Again, I *thought* I had read the directions to say 1 T of butter when in fact, it is 1 tsp of butter. I didn’t panic or start over. I just went with it and followed the rest of the directions.

I put them in the oven and then I thought…well they aren’t looking *right*. I didn’t have any pics to compare them to so I just had to hope for the best.

Again, I apologize that my photography skills seem a little off lately. I had the flash on and it made everything look so much brighter than it actually looked in person.

Well I waited the 12 minutes and pulled them out. They smelled so yummy and when we tried them I found out they turned out great!!! I was doing a ::happy dance:: I was so happy!

Here’s the finished product.

Yes that is correct. There are three mini cobblers on my plate. Don’t judge me! haha!!

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Food

Easy Crock Pot Pepper Steak

February 12, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray House1 Comment

Today I made a really delicious supper that was super quick and easy!

Here’s what you need:

1 lb beef stew meat
1/2 c chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into big strips
3 T soy sauce
Garlic powder to taste
1 large can stewed tomatoes with liquid

Now please remember that I “modify” my recipes and usually make them the same way each time. But not always! This is how I made it this time.

Here’s what you do:

I lightly coated the stew meat with cornstarch and put it in the bottom of the crock pot.

I then added the bell pepper and onion and then the stewed tomatoes. I added about 1/2 a can of water.

I poured the soy sauce on next and also sprinkled some garlic powder over it all.

I set the the crock pot on low for 6 hours, serve over a bed of rice and that’s it! See? Easy peasy!

And yes, I know that this pic is not the best but by the time I realized it I had already eaten my meal! It was that good! 🙂

(((hugs))) ~lisa

DIY

We are bananas for you!!

February 2, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

I made a super cute little craft for my grandkids and nieces and I thought I’d share with y’all because it was so easy!

You will need:

Several boxes of Runts candy – Depending on how many you are making will determine the number of boxes that need to be purchased. I bought 7 and it was enough to harvest enough to do 9 projects with 15 pieces of candy in each. Now if someone tells me there’s a way to just buy the banana part that would be genius.

Monkey stickers – the inspiration for this project came from this “I’m bananas for you” that I have on my Pinterest board – Cute and fun ideas to make. If you take a peek you will see that my version will save you some time and possibly some sanity.

See through pouches or sandwich bags – I opted for the little bags that you can find at most craft stores. If I hadn’t had these on hand then I was going to use a sandwich bag and just tie it up an attach the card to that.

White cardstock – I had these that are a fun shape but square cards would work just as well.

Ribbon – I bought a color that I thought would coordinate with my monkey stickers.

Hole punch – to punch out the holes to put the ribbon through

I laid out how I thought I would place the monkey sticker on the card

I then wrote on the cards and determined where I wanted to place my holes for the ribbon. I punched out the holes and placed it on the banana filled bag and marked where the holes were so I could punch them out.

For some reason when I put on the monkey stickers I placed them all the way in the corner and that resulted in some “empty” space that I’m not totally happy with.

And here’s how it all turned out! I hope the grandkids and nieces like it!

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Food

Chicken Nacho Bake

January 31, 2014February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

It’s what’s for dinner! Tonight I made Chicken Nacho Bake and oh does it make the house smell yummy when it’s cooking!

This recipe is from Kraft Foods and is pretty easy to make.

Here’s what you need:

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1/2 cup shredded cheese

I like to pause and remind folks that I do not follow the recipe exactly as stated on the website. I am far to creative than that! Haha! Not really, I just tend to mix it up a bit depending on what’s going on that day. As you can see, I have five pieces of chicken and I didn’t use the measurements given on the website. I like to think of the recipe as more of a guideline.

Here’s how you put it all together:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken on a foil covered baking sheet. I recommend also spraying it with no stick spray as once it bakes it sticks to the foil. Slice three cuts on the top of each chicken breast.

2. Top each piece of chicken with sour cream, salsa and crushed tortilla chips.

3. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Here’s how my attempt turned out.

The house sure smelled good while this was baking! Let me know if you tried it and how it turned out!

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Travel

The Kennedy Center

December 28, 2013February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

We had another tour set up by our Congressman while were in DC. It was at the Kennedy Center and I really hadn’t thought much about what we would or wouldn’t see when we went. As you enter you are greeted by a gallery of flags.

It was for me, just a regular tour as far as tours go. We were able to see some interesting things and some behind the scenes things as well. We were able to see one of the auditoriums but were unable to see the main one as they were preparing for some sort of performance.

Here’s a cool shot of the seats. They were pretty comfy.

What do you notice when you tour somewhere? I tend to notice or take an interest in things other than what are pointed out for us. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the docents sharing with us the history and interesting anecdotes etc. I just tend to see some other things that many folks miss.

Like the lights. I love chandeliers and unusual lighting.

We walked out onto a terrace where they often have parties. It had a wonderful view.

As you look to the right of the terrace you will notice some buildings. One of them is the Watergate Hotel.

Part of the tour included the opportunity to see a performance. I thought we would be seeing this in one of the auditoriums but it was actually held in an area off of the main foyer.

Again, some cool chandeliers.

Our tour ended and we hurried to get in line for the free performance. We were told that it gets crowded and they were right.

As part of its effort to make the performing arts available to everyone, the Kennedy Center offers a free performance every day on the Millennium Stage in the Grand Foyer. These performances of music, theater, and dance feature emerging and established artists from the Washington area, across the nation, and around the world. For more info you can go to Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

Our performance featured Peter Horr, Violoncello and Henri Sigfridsson, Piano.

The gift shop is always one of my favorite places to visit.

They had these beautiful miniature dresses. I so wanted to get these even though I have no practical use for them.

I’m not a trained ballet dancer but I totally wanted to buy these shoes and wear them. They just look so awesome to me.

They had a cool patch that I bought to add to my collection. 🙂

Another cool thing that I found was this awesome payphone!! When was the last time you saw one of those? It even had phonebooks! I was doing a ::happy dance::

Have you ever been to the Kennedy Center?

What cool things have you seen on your latest trip?

(((hugs))) ~lisa

Travel

The White House…and our non-tour of it…

December 21, 2013February 25, 2018 Our Gray HouseLeave a comment

Because of the sequestration we were not able to take a tour of the White House. Now please don’t think this post is an open invitation for a debate on politics. This post is merely a description of my very brief visit to the White House. Here goes…

TA DAH!!! We are on our tour of the front of the White House! WoooHooo!! This was as close as we could get and would have to do. I was disappointed but hey…stuff happens.

It’s really a very beautiful building.

I’m not sure what this was about…

I don’t even remember if the scroll was written in English or not. Just kind of interesting seeing this right on one of the streets.

And I don’t know what this was about either…

The lady “manning” the display was nice. Chatted with the guy in the pic for a bit but I never really understood what the issue was.

One of the things that I LOVE about travel is the different and interesting things that you can see. Much different than where I am from but that is what makes travel so awesome.

And there were folks on segues. I may have to try it sometime. I think I might feel kind of silly until I got the hang of it. But even then I might still feel silly. Or I might feel super cool and important. I guess I’ll just have to try it and see.

I really wish we had been able to tour the White House. It would have been cool but I’m sure we’ll visit again and then maybe we’ll get our chance.

Have you ever toured the White House?
Have you ever visited DC?
What are your travel plans for the coming year?

(((hugs))) ~lisa