I'm a little bit of a fire-bug. We have a huge fire pit outside with a big burn cage and a fireplace in the house. I'm forever burning something. There is only 1 thing I don't like to burn and that is fire-starters. Well, not really all fire starters....it's the boxed ones we buy in the store that I hate to use. I just don't get it.

Why do I want to buy something just to burn it? I just see it as burning money! My husband loves the things and always tells me "just put a fire starter in there" as I struggle to light the fire, ripping up newspaper and cardboard to try and get things going. *sigh* It's a problem, really.

Truthfully, all that paper and cardboard isn't that good for the chimney. Apparently it burns at too low of a temperature and can contribute to buildup in the chimney. Those guys are expensive when they come out to clean the chimney! So it's best I burn as little paper as possible.

Make your own fire starters

I think I have it figured out though. I made my own fire starters! I used dollar store cotton pads and the wax I was going to throw away from the wax burner. You know how you use wax melts and after awhile they stop smelling? That's the old wax I used for this project! 

I also added the scrapings from some container candles that were too low to burn anymore. I put that concoction in a glass baking cup, melted it, dipped the pads and voila! They don't smell fancy, but they get the job done.

Growing Cat Grass

I was in the pet store the other day and saw some pots of "cat grass". They were $4 each. I looked inside the pots and read the labels. There was no dirt. It was nothing but wheat seeds growing in there (the label even said so!) Now I ask you, how is this worth $4? It's not! You can do it much cheaper. 

Growing cat grass is super easy to do, plus your cat will love it!

Of course if you want to grow cat grass for your cats you should probably go the whole nine yards and get a cute pot and put some dirt in there so it grows longer. It's still going to be cheaper than the stuff at the pet store, and will probably last longer.

Cats naturally like to nibble on greens. Growing your own cat grass keeps them from going after your house plants which may be toxic. 

According to Purina cats eat grass for the nutrients, laxative properties or to relieve an upset stomach. Providing cat grass keeps them from getting outside to get at regular grass which may have been treated with chemicals.

Growing herbs indoors

I love fresh herbs. I use them for food and medicine. I just can't bear to be without fresh herbs in winter so I always have a bunch of different herbs growing in my house. It just makes sense to have herbs growing right inside my kitchen where I'll be using them, right? The kitchen is the perfect place to grow herbs since it's often warm, generally has high humidity and is right where you'll be using the herbs! The only other thing you need is a sunny window.

There are at least 11 medicinal herbs that grow well indoors, and plenty more culinary ones, so it's not hard to find herbs that do well indoors even in winter. I am such an outdoors 'always in the garden' person that winter is the hardest for me and I just have to grow some plants indoors. 

Plus you can't beat the taste of fresh grown herbs when cooking!

One of the great thing about growing herbs indoors is that they can be grown hydroponically or traditionally and they taste exactly the same!

3 ingredient Nutella Brownies

Did you know that Nutella has most of the ingredients to make brownies in it already? It has the chocolate and hazelnut, oils and sugar! That's more than half the recipe right there! Crazy right?

But it gets better (I feel like an informercial right now: But wait! There's more! LOL) Just add flour and eggs and you can actually make brownies from it. Consider me gob smacked!

Somebody gave me this recipe years ago and I've been making it ever since because it's so easy!

I dressed the dogs

I have a very sane reason for why I dressed the dog (this time! lol) It was cold out. Single digits, bone numbing cold. Actually, one night the wind chill got down to -20. Oh, did I mention we're in Western Pennsylvania right at the bottom of the snow belt? We get a whole lot more snow then our friends down in Pittsburgh. Sometimes as much as a foot more! 

Add the snow to the cold and you have one worried mama. I bundle up the kids and the little dog, but what to do about my snow loving Boxer mix? Large breed dog coats are super expensive, and she really only needs it for a few days a year so I hate to spend too much. 

So, what to do? Youngest son was throwing out some size 7 long sleeved T-shirts so I figured I'd see if one fit on Lulu and guess what....it did! 

I like the way the sleeves cover her legs without covering her feet. The shirt is snug without being tight, so it doesn't bunch up or get in her way...and I think she looks cute!

Lulu doesn't get dressed very often but Ashley is another story! I'm against spending huge amounts of $$ on dog clothes however, so my favorite shopping place lately (besides clearance sales at Petco) is 5 Below. I got Ashley this Snuggie brand dog coat for $5.

I like the fact that it has wide Velcro tabs, it's so hard to hook those small ones. She doesn't seem to mind it and I put it on her a lot in winter so ease of use is super important! She shivers a lot when shes outside in the winter, so she needs a coat every time she goes outside. Plus, I think she secretly likes dressing up. lol

~L