Gardening

We've always talked about having our own garden and growing some of our own food but hadn't had the chance to actually put the idea into action. Recently we were able to set aside some funds and thanks to the Home Depot Black Friday Spring sale, were able to get most things on our list for a pretty good discount!

We're also trying to spruce up our home and yard for our family reception/party in June and I can't wait to show off this baby!

We were able to get a 4x4 raised planter bed and they had a great deal on already started veggies, so we picked up 3 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of cucumbers, green bell peppers, and red and white sweet onions. I cannot wait for these to start producing fruit! I want to get a few more (or even use pallets if I can find a way to get them home) to start some other fruits and veggies like garlic and maybe even some herbs.

We also picked up some carrot and watermelon seeds and are trying to start these on our own. The carrots should be germinating (7-8 days) and hopefully start sprouting soon. They're in the pot (an idea I got from Pinterest - seriously, I've learned so much since joining the site). We're hoping the watermelon (planted to the side of the planter box and pot) actually take. My husband was such a good sport and we worked for 4+ hours to get this all set up.

This beauty was an idea I got again from Pinterest (see my comments about it here). This was great! It was also very quick. I laid the pots out and painted one coat, let them dry while I went to work in another area of the yard, when dry painted a second coat, let that dry, and they were ready! The plants were 2/$1 during the same (talk about a good deal!) and we picked a variety to add color. I didn't paint the entire inside of the pot since it would be covered by soil and plants anyway, and only painted the inside rim to the bevel.

Pinteresting Projects

Thanks to Pinterest, I've been trying out all sorts of new things! I was determined to not be one of those people who spends hours a day pinning things, but then never putting it to use. So here are a few things I found on Pinterest and decided to try. The pictures below are mostly of my finished projects with links to the Pinterest post below (unless stated otherwise)

Crocheting: I've always wanted to learn to crochet. I've known how to knit for a long time but people kept telling me that crocheting was so much easier. I did not believe them. At all. Especially after looking at some of the tutorials I found online, but after trying it, it is WAY easier and so much faster. Also, I thought I would share that on my trip to the crafting section at my local Walmart, when looking for some starter crochet needles, I was so confused because the sets only came with one needle of each size. I thought I was going to have to buy 2 packs to be able to do anything until I picked up a how-to book and read through it. NO ONE EVER TOLD ME YOU ONLY NEED ONE NEEDLE TO CROCHET. Yeah. So some of you might find that pretty funny.

Crocodile Stitch Scarf

This scarf was only my second project after starting crocheting, and let me tell you, it was hard. I started this scarf over 5 times before I got the pattern down and I watched Yarn Muses (see link through Pinterest) videos over and over for help. BUT once I got it down, it was a piece of cake!

Chunky Infinity Scarf 

I made this after the crocodile stitch scarf. No pattern  used, just made it myself! Couldn't have done it without Pinterest's help teaching me to crochet in the first place.

Coffee Cozies

This was actually the first project I worked on when learning to crochet. Let me tell you how easy it is. With never having done a single crochet stitch before, I was able to make this in about 30 minutes. Talk about easy gifts! Not to mention they save paper from not having to use those cardboard sleeves. They work on mugs too!

Outdoors:

DIY Planters

The original post for this had a birdbath on top, but I liked the idea of topping it off with flowers. Some advice, the tutorial says to add the potting mix as you add the pots to the rebar, but this makes inserting the plants very difficult. With the exception of the bottom pot, I would wait to add the soil until after you have the plants in the pot. I also didn't use a primer on the terracotta pots, used 2 coats of Rustolium spraypaint from Home Depot, and they turned out great!

I've tried a bunch of other stuff including recipes and things I've found but didn't take photos of my finished product. I've even created a board of things I've tried and put little notes in the pins. Feel free to check it out!

DIY Teeth Whitening - Super Fast, Cheap, and Simple

My aunt told me this secret about a  year ago, maybe two now, that I think really works. Mix 1 part warm water with 1 part hydrogen peroxide, swish in mouth, and repeat a few times. When she first told me this, I thought it was nits and maybe a little dangerous (I thought it could make me sick) but if you look on the bottle, you can actually use hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash! So I tried it. I didn't notice much of a difference at first, but after doing it a few days in a row I could really tell it was making a difference. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to give you amazing results the same way bleach would, but it's much cheaper than a kit or strips. I bought a bottle of hydrogen peroxide at my local Target for less than 60 cents. Plus, it doesn't leave your teeth feeling achy or sensitive the way bleach can. My teeth are sensitive as it is so I love that I can use this without worrying my teeth will ache for the next few days.

Source

I like to do this at night, before bed since it helps clean my mouth as well as whiten my teeth. Since I'm going to bed, I know I won't be eating or drinking anything that could just reverse all the cleaning up I've just done. After I use it as a mouthwash, I like to take my toothbrush and dip it in the mixture and brush my teeth a bit with it, just for extra measure.

Has anyone else tried this? I find it works great since I drink coffee or tea on almost a daily basis, it lifts the surface stains that can accumulate. Let me know if you try this and what you think!