Nothing brightens up a yard or table like a bunch of bright, fresh flowers. But what about your dinner table? While not every flower is edible, there are actually several that can be consumed, and many that are actually quite tasty! Of course, edible flowers are by far a new thing: the Victorians used flowers in their cooking extensively, and the trend made a firm resurgence in the 60s and 70s as well. Flowers can be scattered in salads, placed on top of cakes and desserts, used with ice ... [ Read More ]
In Defense of Dandelions
I have always adored dandelions. No matter how bad my day is, seeing those little unexpected pops of sunshine always brightens my day. To my chagrin, most people still look at these adorable and helpful little plants as weeds and, instead of taking advantage of all of the dandelion's uses and symbolism, harmful chemicals are sprayed everywhere. Well, today, I am going to defend the humble dandelion by proving that it is far more useful than all that grass you're protecting. ... [ Read More ]
10 Uses for Baking Soda
In the last few months, I've been working towards removing the use of harsh chemicals in my home in order to find more safe solutions. While it's a slow journey finding solutions that are affordable and effective, I do have one top-secret ingredient: Baking soda. Baking soda pretty much cleans and deodorizes everything. Here are some of the ways that I use it: Remove coffee stains - rub a water and baking soda paste on the inside of your white coffee cups to remove the brown ... [ Read More ]
Staying Hydrated with Infused Water
When it comes to water, I am spoiled. I grew up out in the country, and my parents get their drinking water from one of the purest wells I've ever tasted. I never understood what people meant when they said they didn't like drinking water because of how it tasted. I mean, it's water--it's not supposed to taste like anything! And then I went to college and had to drink city water for four years, and I really realized how awful water can be. No matter how many filters I used or what brand of ... [ Read More ]
6 Tips for Easy Spring Cleaning
While I'm not a huge fan of day-to-day cleaning, I absolutely LOVE spring cleaning. There's just something to refreshing about finally being able to get rid of all of those winter blues as you throw open the window and make everything clean and ready for the busy summer. But, of course, I don't just clean: I declutter at least one room during both my spring and fall cleaning sprees. Whether you're as enthusiastic as I am about cleaning this spring, or you're simply doing it because the place ... [ Read More ]
Create Your Own Fragrance
Spring is almost here which means that the flowers will soon be in full bloom, filling the air with sweet and fragrant smells that simply can't be matched. I am personally a huge fan of lilacs, as they always remind me of my childhood and the huge lilac bushes that still grace my parents' lawn. There's just something so relaxing about the scent, but artificial lilac perfume always tends to smell weird to me. Well, I found this fantastic tutorial on Fresh Bites Daily today that shows you how ... [ Read More ]
How Do You Define a Homestead?
When most people think about homesteading, the image that comes to mind is probably an old-fashioned farm. The kind with a million cows and a fireplace with a handful of people who get up before the sun and work all day in mud and manure before eating a huge meal and going to bed at night. And there's nothing at all wrong with that. But is that really the only definition of a homestead? I found a list on Pioneer Settler that has a whopping 121 Skills for the Modern Homesteader, and when I ... [ Read More ]
How to Blow Out Eggs
I absolutely love Easter. To me, Easter always signals the beginning of Spring, although Spring actually has technically already started, and makes me remember fondly all those years when my older brother and I would decorate eggs and eat entirely too much chocolate to sit still at church service. While I enjoy hard boiled eggs and the traditional dying method as much as anyone, my favorite way to decorate eggs is to blow the yoke out first, and then decorate. Not only do you have these ... [ Read More ]
Is Learning How to Work a Skill?
I came across a fabulous article earlier this week posted on Mother Earth News titled "How to Work: The Most Important Self-Reliance Skill Ever" and wanted to share it with you. The article itself is fantastic and outlines some worth ethics and skills that all homesteaders really ought to have, as well as some tips and tricks. But, it got me to thinking. Is learning how to work a skill? And if it is, what does that say about our society? I feel like now, more than ever, hard work and good ... [ Read More ]
7 Seasoning Mixes to Make At Home
I clearly remember the first time that I made my own taco seasoning. I had some friends over for a fun evening of movies and I had intended to make this yummy taco dip in the crock pot. A few hours in, I slipped into the kitchen to put the crock pot ingredients together and discovered I had forgotten to purchase a taco seasoning packet. Disaster! Ok, well not really. Fortunately I remembered that my mother used to make her own taco seasoning and dug the recipe out of a cookbook she had given ... [ Read More ]