Homemade Laundry Soap

 I am always looking for ways to save a little extra money, so when I kept seeing all these recipes on pinterest I decided that I just had to try it out.

I tweaked the recipe a little bit, but if you would like to see the original recipe just click here.

All of the ingredients that are needed for the laundry soap I was able to find at the local grocery store.  I picked up a container and a set of measuring spoons (so I had a scoop) at the dollar store.

To get the soap into small pieces I just used a cheese grater (which I picked up at the dollar store).  Some people use a food processor but I didn't want to get soap in it and then have a soap taste on my food later.

Grating the soap was really really easy and made my living room smell AMAZING.

 

 I added the powder ingredients first, then the soap and the sent add-ins.

After snapping the lid on and giving it a really good shake.  This is what my finished soap looked like.

I used 2 tbs per load for this.  But what I found was this is GREAT for things like linens, towels, jackets etc. it did not do a great job on clothing.  After washing I found that some of my shirts still had some deodorant smell (TMI??)

It does however smell GREAT and I love how my bedding and towel smell afterwards so I will be keeping some on hand to help stretch my  regular detergent.

My tweaked version of Homemade Laundry Soap:

2 cup of Borax
2 cup of washing soda
1 sunlight bar
1 cup sent add-ins

Grate the sunlight bar, I just used a cheese grater bought specifically for this. 
Once grated add the bar to a container and dump in all the other ingredients.
Snap a lid on and give a good shake.
Use 1 to 2 tbs per load the same as any other powder detergent.

It Was a Sad Day in Ottawa.

Picture belongs to CBC

October 22nd was a sad day here in Canada. It was the day that an unarmed solider was shot at point blank range just feet from our nations capital.
The gunman then calmly proceeded to parliament where he was shot and killed by the Sargent of Arms.
Federal buildings went on lock down and cell networks were jammed with people trying to contact friends and loved ones. 
Very fortunately there was only one fatality (a side from the shooter). While a very sad and stressful day we were lucky and myself am very grateful that it wasn't a lot worse.
The response of the Ottawa police, RCMP and Canadian Military was very impressive and the media coverage along with their (armed forces) response to the situation helped me feel calm in a situation where we knew little information. 
In the after math of this there has been a lot of media reports about the shooter being an Islamic convert. But PLEASE don't become so scared of another attack by some crazy separatist that you link all Muslims into the same category of extremists.
Being understanding and compassionate is what helps define Canada and Canadians. One mans senseless and selfish agenda should not alter that.
A BIG thank you to all of our men and women in the forces that work everyday to help keep us safe.  I am sorry you lost a comrade yesterday. To Cpl. Nathan Cirillo's family I'm sorry for your lost.  Thank you for your sacrifice. To the Ottawa police and RCMP thank you for all of your training and daily duties that help keep us safe and for your quick response to yesterday's events.

RIP Cpl. Cirillo - Picture is from CBC

It was a stressful/emotional day yesterday but let's remember what makes us Canadian and strive to keep those values. Let's not let one asshat change who we are.

Our First Thanksgiving (in our new home)

Last weekend was Thanksgiving.  Normally we go up north to some cabins and spend time with the Hub's family.  It is a weekend that the Hubs looks forward to every year.  We go on long walks surrounded by beautiful nature, spend time with family and eat A LOT of food.

However this year we unfortunately we couldn't make the annual trip.  The hubs was a bit disappointed but also understands that as we settle into our married life here in Ottawa, that sometimes we might have to miss some traditions (though we won't be making a habit of missing traditions).

By not going to the cottages this year that left me with the responsibility of doing Thanksgiving dinner.  Now I have never made a turkey before.  A few years ago (before we were married) the Hubs and I hosted a Christmas gathering for my family.  But he cooked the turkey, while I graciously entertained everyone (and taste tested the wine).  But the since the Hubs was already missing his annual Thanksgiving tradition I didn't want to have him miss out on a yummy Thanksgiving turkey.

We didn't know until the last minute that we wouldn't be able to attend the cottage Thanksgiving, and we did not have a turkey ready to go.  So 2 days before our dinner we went to the grocery store and were very lucky to find a small fresh turkey.  We decided to have our dinner on the Saturday so that we could just relax the other 2 days off. 

Friday night I made (again for the first time, I was feeling very brave this weekend) homemade pumpkin pie.  It was soooo easy and I can't believe that I have waited so long to try it out.  I used a super simple recipe found here. The other desert I made was caterpillar cake for the Hubs.  He looks forward to it every year so I knew he would be excited about it.

Saturday morning after drinking coffee and laying around for a little bit I put the turkey in the oven at 12pm (we were shooting for a 4pm dinner time).  I used a meat thermometer, and hoped my calculations were correct and I had timed my dinner correctly. 

Well it turns out all of my worrying was for nothing, because our dinner was a huge success.  We didn't have a lot of people over but our friend M ate about 3 plates (plus took some home which he also ate that night). 

It wasn't the usual Thanksgiving, but it felt really nice to still be able to celebrate with family and friends and to remember all of the good things we have in our life.

What I am thankful for:

My loving husband

Our beautiful new home

Both of our families

Our friends

My job

And being able to help other

It's definitely not perfect but I am very blessed with the life I have.

PS. my favourite part of Thanksgiving dinner was the boys cleaning up afterwards.