Sun Tea Recipe

I don't remember my mom ever buying us iced tea from the store. She would always make it from scratch. The first day of spring that the sun was warm enough, she would fill up a big pickle jar with water, add some tea bags and sit it out on our deck to steep. At the end of the day, she would bring it inside, work her magic with a few ingredients and voila, iced tea! It always tasted better than what you could buy anywhere.

When we got old enough, she started letting us help her make it. We knew that we had to put exactly 11 capfuls of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of sugar for it to taste just right.

Now that I have my own house, I still make my own iced tea. On days like today where the sun is shining, I get out my pitcher and fill it with water and tea bags. I've made a few changes to the recipe, but the premise is the same.

To make your own "sun tea", fill a pitcher with drinking water. Add two or three tea bags. You can even used flavoured teas. Today, I'm making chamomile honey. Place some plastic wrap over the mouth of your pitcher. This is important so that bugs don't climb in. Set it out in a warm spot in the sun until the tea is fully steeped to your liking. In the hot summer, it only takes a few hours. Once it's ready, bring it inside. This part is completely up to you. I like my tea quite lemony (is that a word?) so I put quite a bit of lemon juice into it. I also put honey or maple syrup into it as a sweetener but you can use sugar if that's all you have. Add some to taste and stir quite a bit! You don't want any sugar granules floating around, you want it all to dissolve. Then put the pitcher in the fridge until it's nice and cold. Enjoy!

I love drinking this tea to cool me down after I've mowed the lawn. That's on my list of "things to do" today since the grass is so long it's just embarrassing. Unfortunately, it looks even worse since our neighbour's lawn is always perfectly manicured. You can tell they don't have kids! Anyone else have that problem?

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

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Pamper Yourself

Life seems to be so busy and hectic sometimes. If you are a mom to 1, 2, or even 5 kids, you know how demanding it really can be. And if you don't have children yet, it is your work schedule that is taking up all of your time during the day. Sometimes it is just a deep breath that you need to keep you sane, or a nice cup of tea to help you refocus amidst the chaos. 


But! If you do find you have more than 3 minutes of time to yourself during the day, week, or month, do something for yourself! Last night I spent "my time" painting my toe nails. Now every time I look down at them I see how pretty they are, and it makes me smile. 


Here are a few great ideas that I am keeping in the back of my mind for the next time I can sit down and relax for a bit!



Yogurt Face Mask for All Skin Types

• 1 tbsp natural yogurt, room temperature (not lowfat or non-fat)
• 1 tsp runny honey (microwave for a few minutes to soften hardened honey)

Combine mixture, then apply to face.
Let sit for 15 minutes.
Wash face with steaming washcloth.
For dry skin, use an extra tsp of honey.
Oily skin? Add a few drops of fresh lime juice.

via: homemadefacemasks.ca

DIY Coffee Grounds Body Scrub

• 5 tsp. ground coffee (used coffee grounds are fine)
• 1 tsp. sugar or salt
• 2 tsp. essential oil (avocado works well)

Mix ingredients together and using loofah rub in a circular motion all over your body. Leave on five minutes and then wash off.

                            via: care2.com           

                                              

Homemade Foot Scrub

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon almond oil (can be substituted for olive oil)

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix till they turn into an even consistency. It's best to soak your feet in warm water first to loosen any tough, calloused areas. Then just slather on your homemade foot scrub to get pretty feet in no time!

                       via: julieannart.com

Hope this inspires you to take some time for yourself this weekend and pamper yourself! I know it inspires me! What are some of your favourite ways to relax? Maybe you like getting a professional to pamper you at the spa, or you like to get a bunch of girl friends together and make a night of having your "me time"! Whatever the case, remember to take time for yourself, and relax! Happy Friday!

Homemade Iced Coffee

I love summer drinks. There is nothing better than iced tea or coffee and lounging out on my chair in the warm sun. When you are out for a meal, it's always easier to assume that buying an iced coffee or an iced tea is actually healthier than a soda but it's not.

Iced tea sounds healthy because it's just tea that's chilled, right? Actually, by the time the iced tea reaches you, there aren't any of the polyphenols (the good part of the tea) left in the drink. It's mostly sugar water with some artificial ingredients and flavours thrown in there to make it look and taste good. It's better to grab a bottle of water to go along with your meal or make your own at home before you leave.

As for iced coffee, here's a great article for you to read from www.smallnotebook.org on some of the not so wonderful ingredients that you get in McDonald's Iced Coffee.

Since I don't really want or need to have diarrhea from my iced coffee, I decided to make my own and save money at the same time.

For you to make your own at home, all you'll need it coffee, cream, and maple syrup (you can also use honey or stevia). Pretty simple right?

Brew 12oz of coffee (you can even use any coffee that you didn't drink that day). Add maple syrup to the coffee so that it's sweet enough for you. Add the amount of cream that you would normally add to your coffee. Place it in the fridge for about 3-4 hours or until it's chilled. You're done! The total cost is about .. 25 cents? All I know is that I'm saving a lot of money!

Hope you enjoy it!

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A Messy Space and a $10 Dresser

So, do you remember when I showed you my craft room? 

 Clean. Pretty. Organized. 


Want to see how it looks right this very moment? 

That is real. 

I seriously can't walk into the room right now. To be fair though, I've been cleaning out cupboards and closets to prepare for our yard sale that we'll be having in a couple of weeks. 

So that is why it's not looking it's finest. 

But that's not the point of this post today! That was just something extra for you. You're welcome. :)


A couple of weeks ago, we bought this dresser for $10: 

It has found a home in my craft room (since it's too large for Gavin's bedroom, which was it's original purpose). I have big dreams for this dresser.  (Sorry this picture isn't the greatest quality. I could barely get into the room to snap a picture.) 

Here are a few clues for you: 

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 Check back on the weekend and hopefully I'll have some progress to show you. I can't promise the room will be clean by then, but I can always dream. Isn't that what cleaning fairies are for? 

(P.s. We've been doing a little 'prettying up' on our blog space here. So if things look a little different, you aren't going crazy. We wanted something a bit more cheery!) 

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Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Since the warm weather has arrived, I have been using the barbeque as much as I can. Grilling up chicken, steak, burgers, anything! And with all that meat, I love to have a fresh salad to go along with it. 

Here is a salad recipe that I love to make. 

• 1 large cucumber or several small
• 4-6 tomatoes
• red onion, sliced thin
• drizzle olive oil
• generous sprinkle red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Chop the cucumber and tomatoes into bite-size pieces.  Mix together in a bowl with red onion slices.  Drizzle a stream of olive oil over all.  Sprinkle on red wine vinegar.  Add a teaspoon or so of Kosher salt and some black pepper.  Stir, taste and adjust seasonings.

(eatathomecooks.com)

This salad is also great if you make too much and have leftovers, just refrigerate and eat for lunch the next day!