{home & making scented wax}

It's so nice to be home. But I always feel a little sad when a much awaited trip is over. Thank goodness my sweetheart & I will be traveling to see my parents in Texas for Thanksgiving! I was even planning out our meals and day trips on the plane with my Mum, so it is a good thing it is only three weeks away.

I haven't even started to go through all of my pictures from New York. There are probably hundreds. The trees were gorgeous, and with the castle like walls of West Point, I felt like I was back in Europe. So I will have to share soon!

Anyway, the other day I was frustrated with a candle that would not light. The wick was buried in the wax. What are you supposed to do about that? Well, here's what I did to create some more wax for my scented wax burner.

Most tutorials try to use the stove to melt the wax and do this instead of buying the scented wax, but I think that's too complicated and buying the wax is sometimes best because the smell is stronger. But in this case, I just didn't want to waste. Who likes waste, anyway?? & it didn't seem like the wax could damage my wax burner.

ingredients.
a scented wax burner {flameless}
unused wax
container

I

First, scrape out the wax of the candle that you want to make into the wax bar.The blue wax in the lid of the container below is what I wanted to melt. I also emptied a container into a plastic bag {see next picture}, so that I could use the mold for the cooling wax. 

II

Put the wax into the burner. Let it melt all the way. {Patience...}

III

After the wax is completely melted, slowly pour it into the mold. Be sure the wax isn't ridiculously hot, or it might melt through the bottom of the container and leak everywhere. {nope, never happened to me...} I usually wait a few seconds before I start to slowly pour.

Tada!!

Please notice I'm not saying any specific brands. My favorite is Scentsy, though. They have some pretty bases. I have two, and love them! I'm hoping to buy more holiday scents, and maybe even lavender wax.This post is not meant to be a copy right infringement.

All thoughts & prayers to those in Hurricane Sandy's path! Please stay safe.

{pre-chaos sunday}

I absolutely love a productive Sunday. 
Chapters read, chapters re-read for tests, notes typed, projects started, notes written, plants pruned and loved...

I also love my teapot. A good friend of mine {the same one that found The Little Green Book of Health, 250 Tips for an ECO Lifestyle} gave it to me a few years ago for Christmas. The cuppa is on the bottom, and the cute little pot on top. Genius, I tell you. No excuses while studying, just pour another cup and I'm good to go. 

I can't wait to share all of my new ideas! But first, my family is headed to New York to celebrate my Dad's reunion at West Point, so I won't be able to share them soon. In the next few weeks, a bunch of school projects will be wrapped up, and I'll already be signing up for my next two classes next year. 

There's only a few months left of 2012! Better make the most of it! & just in time for the holiday season. 

{goin' to the movies}

I wonder if I may be watching too many movies lately. At least three in the past four weeks. It's hard to resist when they are free, though. Mostly, I should thank Redbox. With some googling skills, I found coupondad who showed me the light: now we have about three codes we can use per credit card! I've signed up to get free movies every first Monday too!

Basically, free movies are awesome. 

I also read on another blog about this hilarious little movie! I watched it last night as soon as I saw Mavis' post about it, and just cracked up! Some parts are a little serious, but most aren't.
It's definitely not a movie to make you feel like you should be a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for several years, but stopped after I had to consult a doctor told me that I wasn't getting enough nutrients thanks to my many allergies. Let's just say that being really active with not enough protein can be a horrible combination!
There were parts of this movie that made me frown a little, but it was mostly just for giggles. I think one day, I will convince my sweetheart to let me have a few clucking hens. So, with Amazon Prime*, I watched it on my kindle fire (free too!) but here is the movie if you don't have a kindle!

The Natural History of Chickens

Hope you get a giggle to. Let me know what your favorite part was! I'm starting to think only my dad and my best friends read this.

*Amazon Prime is awesome-you can get some books for free, do a book swap, watch some movies and tv shows for free, and even get free shipping! For us, it actually saves us money. If you're a student too, you get an amazing discount! See for yourself.

{green life & organizing}

plenty to do...

I really love organization. It's one of the things I do when I'm stressed, if I'm not able to garden.

By the way, a good friend of mine gave me a cute little book called The Little Green Book of Health, 250 Tips for an ECO Lifestyle. She gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago, and I pull it out every once in a while for a few green lifestyle tips. It's a small book but I love having it in our collection of books. I've learned quite a bit from her, and I'm even interested in composting now. {Don't worry, I haven't even thought to try that in an apartment...}
Here are my top two favorites this time, and I included what I learned {again}:

15. Garden Away Stress. "There are even claims that a harmless bacteria normally found in dirt, Mycobacteriam vaccae, has been found to boost the production of a mood-regulating brain chemical."

35. Freshen Breath with Aloe Vera. "Daily gargling with Aloe Vera juice will help reduce toxins in the digestive system {that can lead to bad breath} as well as relieving any inflammation.  Look out for an organic variety, to ensure it is toxin-free & kind to the environment."

Just another reason why my dear friend Aloe Vera should stay alive! He is doing quite well, by the way. I guess my Ode to Aloe perked him up.

Onto organizing!! I saw this on one of my new favorite blogs and pinterest, and just had to share mine! I plan on changing the background to a pale photo as soon as I can. I also want to buy a few more markers, but I just happened to have one from back when my roommates and I would keep track of our "to do" stuff. At first I started reading this new blog just because of the name, but now I love it! http://montrealnest.blogspot.com/

how to make a dry erase board

If you make one, let me know how it worked out! 

{garden update}

It's starting to get colder here in NC! But the garden is still doing well. {by the way, so is the little aloe plant in the corner. apparently he doesn't like the outside world.}

 The watermelon was actually ripe, by the way! Super delicious. It probably could have been picked a little earlier, but anyone I've ever talked to always tells me their watermelons never turn out well.Well, guess my thumb just got a little greener!

So now that my cucumbers are doing well, I can tell you how it works. Unless you have bees {which I don't think visit my garden} you don't have to worry about pollinating the flowers. Since I do, I'll tell you how it's done. The picture below is a female cucumber flower. The male flowers are identical, except for the little cucumber before the flower. You remove the male flower's petals {sorry, poor guy} and stick the rest of the male stamen on the female stigma. {The stamen/stigma being the middle part that holds the pollen. Hope I got that right...} It is basically the same thing you have to do with watermelons.

Tada! Cucumbers! I've harvested two cucumbers so far, and have at least three more on the way. By the way, it's fine to pollinate the female and male flowers from the same plant. The only time it's not is if you're trying to save seeds. I planted two plants, and only one is doing very well, but I like the security of having two. & my dear sweetheart said the cucumbers were extra tasty.

female cucumber flower

Can you believe I actually grew a watermelon? I wonder if one day I'll actually be able to have a big garden and start a little bit of homesteading. I'm trying to grow some lettuce now, and it's obviously not going to work. Oh well!

I know, so excited!!