This week has been a bear!  Work was the king and today has been my first day off…even worked last Sunday. But enough whining. Today was yard sale day and I SCORED!!  Big time!  

Score Number One:

Harley Fleece Jacket.  $3.00. Yup $3.00 awesome or what?!  Hubs has a matching one. Now I can dump that fleece jacket from a past employer!

 

Score Number Two:  

I simply love kaleidoscopes and several years ago I picked up the most amazing one at Pikes Market in Seattle. Then I picked up a few more here and there. Today I landed this haul from a lady selling her collection.

This is the same artist as the one I found in Seattle but this baby was over $200. Mine was not this elaborate.

It has two wheels on the front that you can spin separately. It is so awesome!  

Look at this with interchangeable cartridges.  One is even empty so you can fill it yourself. 

These are all hand crafted and beautiful pieces of art. What did I pay?! $100.00 for the lot!!!  Now that is a steal!

Along with these treasures Doodle and I got:

I have grandsons who would love these books and vintage Tinker toys. The Pottery Barn cubes will finish my photo wall.  $6 for all this stuff.

I just cannot resist buying toys. My girls often don’t appreciate it as when they come visit the grands go home with a carload. But who can resist these goodies?

All those toys for $7.00. The Thomas Train Lego set is my fav. We also got clothing, jewelry, a killer coriander (yeah I love kitchen gadgets)  and Pampered Chef measuring cups…the large glass quart and gallon ones! Oh and a new in the box Disney Princess Barbie $3.  Yeah love Barbies too!  Do I love this town for the sales?!

Besides scoring big deals, I also finally got around to making dishwasher soap.  I loved my homemade soap so much that I had to try this.  Let me tell you this dishwasher soap is the bomb!!!  Not only did my glass wear sparkle like never before but my dishwasher was shiny clean inside!

I generally only use liquid but this is just too amazing and costs pennies!

1 Cup Washing Soda

1 Cup Borax

1/2 Cup Kosher Salt

1/2 Cup Citric Acid I use Fruit Fresh

Mix together. That’s it!  Your dishes will be sqeecky clean with no residue!  

It seems that all one needs for cleaning products is borax, washing soda, vinegar, bar soap, hydrogen peroxide, and a few other simple ingredients!  Next up is to try cleaning my hardwood with a strong tea brew.  I hear it does wonders. I’ll let you know…

 

On the crafty note I put aside the Tea Cosys to start this:

The doll size one. Doodle is deep into making Stop Motion movies and I am happy to do some costume design.   Also made this:

Don’t tell the hubs but I used one of his old T-shirts.  And some old jeans of mine.  If you are wondering how we found an American Girl boy, well just look at Etsy. There are several crafters taking the used dolls, restoring them, and replacing the wigs to create boys. In the filming industry you gotta have a boy my Doodle says!  That girl is so talented and her movies are amazing. She is currently working on a series that she wrote and is now filming. 

 

In the kitchen with the help of my weekly menu planner I never get in a food rut or am unprepared for what’s for dinner. Here is another of my newest recipe finds:

This is simply a Chicken Soup, but on steroids!  The original recipe is from Sunset but I tweaked it.  

Spring Chicken and Snap Pea Soup

8 cups chicken broth

2-3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts (I always cook up a half dozen breast in my crock pot and then use them over several days in numerous recipes)

4 scallions chopped

1 cup carrots cut into matchsticks

4 oz pasta, I used small bow tie 

3/4 cup half and half

2 cups snap peas cut diagonally in half

Salt and pepper

2tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Cook scallions and carrots in broth about 5 minutes until scallions are just tender.

Add pasta and simmer until tender about 8 minutes.

Stir shredded chicken, half and half, snap peas into soup.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook lightly watching that peas do not over cook, they should remain just slightly crisp.  

Add tarragon. 

Simple, easy peasy, and yummy!  Doodle ate half the pot herself!

 

It may have been a tough work week, but it sure ended well. And now off to accompany Doodle on her filming…..

Score on,

Patricia