oh deer!

i love these great things from etsy, they brightened up my cold and gloomy day!

1. say yes to antlers
2. oh deer!
3. hippity hop hop
4. flown the coop
5. jill rosenwald was recently etsy's featured seller, i can see why!
6. i love rag trader
7. nice and nested
8. this great print just makes me glow!
9. i wish i had this in my window

come on green thumb!

with easter just around the corner, my mind has been on eggs. it’s also been on gardening, since this year i’m making my very first attempt at a veggie garden (come on green thumb!), so i thought, why not combine the two? i figured you could start seedlings indoors in eggshells, then just transplant the whole thing right into the ground when they’re ready! biodegradable, easy, fun, eco-friendly! here’s how:

1) pick out your best and biggest eggs!

2) remove the top of the eggshell, a hole about the size of a quarter. I used a knife for this, and it worked great! don’t fret- the shells are a bit tougher than you think.

3) remove the top of the shell and if your not cooking at the moment, make sure you save your eggs for those yummy omelets in the morning...

4) using a needle or a pin, poke a hole in the bottom of the shell to allow for water drainage.

5) fill each shell with organic seed starter mix and lightly moisten the soil. you can also label each shell with a pen or pencil- so you don’t forget what you planted! add 1-2 seeds per shell and cover them lightly with more soil (read individual seed packets for specifics).

6) you’re done! place them in a sunny window or under a glow bulb and wait for them to sprout- that's the best part:) keep the soil moist but not soaked. when it’s time to transplant them outside, all you have to do is crack the shell and place the whole thing in the ground.

i was able to use eggs from my hens, but you can use any eggs you have in the fridge. wouldn’t these be really great easter gifts? an already-sprouted herb garden!

treats for toaster

being newlyweds, we knew we were going to have to be really careful with our money, so we cut our spending where we could. we finally realized when we were giving our dog ice cubes as treats, maybe we needed to loosen up some! so, feeling sorry for toaster (yes, TOASTER- like toaster oven, toaster strudel, hey could you put my bagel in the toaster) i decided to make him some homemade treats. they are yummy but more importantly affordable, and he loves them! here’s how:

ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tb baking powder

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup milk

mix all the ingredients in a bowl until all the batter is smooth. place on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/4″ thick. use any shape cookie cutters you like to cut them out, then just place them on a lightly greased baking pan. bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes and you’re done!

i make them in bulk and freeze the extras so refills are easy. also, you can leave the molasses out if you don’t have any. all natural and inexpensive treats- sure does beat those ice cubes!