Organizing Recipe Cards

I'm an obsessive recipe collector.

I love using these antique library card 

drawers to file my recipe cards.
I have two of these boxes.

I clip. I copy. I print.
I toss them into the basket on top
until I have time to file them.

 Pretty soon my recipe files start looking
like this. Crammed full and disorganized!

 Everything is jammed in and not very well
sorted. I needed a better system.
 I needed to reorganize. 

 I decided to use large colorful paint cards
for the dividers.

 I made a list of the tabs I needed and printed
out lots of stick-on labels.

These are all CHICKEN. I have them 

sorted into sub-categories so that I can 

find just what I'm looking for...fast!

Boneless Breasts, Stir-Fry, Oven,

Italian, Mexican, Crock-Pot...etc.

Now everything is so much easier
 to file and find. I pull out a category when
deciding what to make and then edit and
usually toss a few at that time. 

I did this in all the drawers.

  One drawer holds my very old
Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library.

Another drawer holds a very old set of
 McCall's Great American Recipe Card Collection
 as well as a large supply of

 blank recipe cards. 

Some of you may remember when you 

hand wrote your recipes on cute cards.
I always keep the old ones from family
 and friends. I love those! It's very
reminiscent looking thru them.
Some I've dated on the back and know
when I first made it or received it.
Recipe from:__________


Cheers!

Links: My 1929 Charmer,
Under The Table and Dreaming,
Southern Hospitality, Common Ground,
Between Naps On The Porch, Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life, Organizing Junkie

Weekly Table Setting

My last week of using the Amapola dishes

by Villeroy & Boch for April.

 I added more blue pottery and napkin rings 

from  Longaberger, blue goblets, natural 

plate chargers and woven placemats. 

All things I've used many times before

 in different combinations.

I previously had the ever-blooming orchid 

in a silver pitcher and now have it in a basket

 keeping with a more natural theme.

 I'm using a scrap of wood board for 

a table runner. I cleaned and sanded 

the rough edges a bit first.

 A few simple changes to keep things fresh.

I always keep my table set for our next meal.

It's nice to come in for breakfast in the 

morning and see it ready.

Then lunch...

Click on Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

for the sandwich recipe.

very yummy!

Cheers!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch,
The Charm Of Home, Common Ground,
French Country Cottage,
  At The Picket Fence, My Romantic Home

DIY Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

My vintage blue Ball jar is filled with 

my homemade DW detergent.

I ran out of dishwasher detergent last night. 

I had just squeezed  the last two brownie 

plates into the dishwasher and it was

 ready to do the day's worth of dishes. 

Ah! my back-up supply in the garage cabinet. 

But....the cupboard was bare. 

No matter how long I stared at the empty

 spot where another box of DW detergent 

should be, it did not appear!

So into my la-bor'-a-tory to mix up a batch.

 I have seen so may bloggers make 

their own. I Googled. I found.

Borax, washing soda, kosher salt

 (in the jar), and a packet of lemon

Kool-Aid  (unsweetened).

I didn't have the Kool-Aid last night

so I just used the Borax and soda.

 I combined my own batch

and that worked fine. 

  I bought Kool-Aid the next day 

and added that along with the salt

 to my next batch.

You can also use LemiShine.
I found it in the dishwasher detergent isle.

Finding a cute container is a must! 

I don't need to tell you that.

Any jar will do, they're all good.

 Of course, 'pretty is as pretty does'. 

It got everything clean!

Remember those yucky brownie plates?

Squeaky clean!
Advantages:
inexpensive
no harsh chemicals
does not emit chlorine gas
effective sanitizer
effective stain remover
effective water softener
phosphate free
 (environmentally friendly)
did I say CHEAP?

 One more tip; fill your rinse dispenser with 

vinegar. It's the best, and the cheapest.
 Rinse agent (Finish or Jet Dry) = $3.99
per fill. Vinegar=$.06 per fill
That's a saving of 6650%

(No, your dishes will not smell of vinegar.)

Rita's Dishwasher Detergent

1C Borax

1C washing soda

1T kosher salt

1 packet lemon Kool-Aid

(unsweetened) or
1 T LemiShine

Mix until well combined. 

Store in airtight container.

Use about 2T per load.
(Make a double or triple batch
to fill your container)

Keeping it clean...
and Easy to remember 1-1-1-1

Cheers!

Links: Southern Hospitality,
My 1929 Charmer, Coastal Charm,
Under The Table and Dreaming,
Between Naps On The Porch,
A Stroll Thru Life, Somewhat Simple

Spring Daisies

Daisies from the grocery store seem 

to last for weeks.

 I just need to trim them and use the 

remaining blooms in smaller vases.

 A few daisies are tucked into each bottle.

These are Pellegrino water bottles.

 I'm using my thrifted wicker bottle holder

 for the centerpiece.

Longaberger Daisy table linens and pottery.

Yard sale green goblets, flower pot

napkin rings and salt&pepper set.

 My new favorite thing is flavored water

 in a pretty pitcher brought to the table.

I keep this cut crystal pitcher 

filled with water and sliced fruit in the 

refrigerator. I use slices of lemon, lime, 

strawberries and a sprig of mint.

 I can refill with more water to use all 

week before needing to replace the fruit.

We are now drinking more water

throughout the day.

Cheers!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch,
Common Ground, French Country Cottage,
My Romantic Home

GUTEN APPETIT!

When you're German you need a different sign in your kitchen. 

 One that that says Guten Appetit, 

not Bon Appetit. 

Of course these are very hard to find 

at the usual places...so I made one.

This one I took to my daughter Kim's house
in Texas. I visited there for Easter.

I found a piece of 1"x10" wood in the garage,

 which is actually 3/4"x9".
This has always puzzled me.
Why do they measure wood like that? 

I need to get to the bottom of this. 

Anyway, Larry cut it to size, about 24".

 I couldn't make one bigger than my suitcase.

 I also found some trim pieces for the
 top and bottom.

 I painted the board with leftover wall paint
that we used to paint our kitchen in
North Carolina.
It's a golden color called High Plateau by Behr

and I painted the trim in black.

 I picked out a German-looking font,
Lucida Blackletter and printed it out
 in the outline option in about 250 pt. size

 and regular (not condensed) spacing.
I then used carbon paper

to trace the letters onto the board. 

 Now I just need to paint in the letters.

 I used a paint pen. Easy.

Its a DecoColor oil base paint marker

 from any crafts store, like Michaels. 

 This is the empty space above the
pantry doors where it will hang.

Spaced on the wall area, not the door.

(Looks better in person.)

Now I need to make one for my kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I make all my signs this way. 

See more signs by clicking on: 

 Christmas, Christmas, Valentine,  Fall, 

St. Patrick's Day, North Carolina.

Cheers!

Links: Southern Hospitality,

Between Naps On The Porch,

Coastal Charm, Common Ground,

The Girl Creative, Savvy Southern Style,

A Stroll Thru Life