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Thoughts from my little Orchard on the Slope
You guys…I had a mouse in my house this week!! A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!! I live in a house with 4 cats. FOUR. And I had a mouse infiltrate my laundry room even with those four cats…ugh. Any advice on how to stop this from EVER happening again, clearing any signs of that mouse from my house, and also how to clear all memories of that mouse from my brain would be appreciated. Seriously, I need any and all mouse advice ASAP because I cannot sleep without thinking about his beady little eyes…soooo gross. On a happier note…the mouse is now dead. Not a happier note for the mouse,…
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5 ways to save money on groceries
I think we can allllll agree that spending all of our money on groceries is SOOOO disappointing. We dream of going on fun vacations, buying a boat or a lake house or a new car. We want to fund our kids’ college funds and save for retirement. BUTTT we have to spend money on food. Every. Single. Month. The average American household spends between $550 and $900 each month on food. That is $6,000-$11,000 each year. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something more fun to show for that $11,000 than a chubby tummy??:) So for me, when I am trying to save money and rein in my spending, I…
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Thoughts from my little Orchard on the Slope…
Soooo…the snow is still here…long sigh… Me and spring were starting to make plans, but I just cannot get winter to leave. I mean get the hint already winter…NOBODY likes you!!! ANYWAY… This was a great week on the blog. I shared a simple recipe for Banana Bread that LITERALLY takes 5 minutes and tastes like cake. YUMM!! AND I shared a few of my favorite Jane Austen inspired books. I have been on a major reading kick this past month…something about being trapped inside in a snowstorm with nowhere to go:) Also this week, my baby boy turned TEN years old. My mom ALWAYS used to say that years…
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Easy 3 Ingredient Banana Bread Recipe
If you know me, you know I don’t like ANYTHING difficult or that takes too much time. I am ALL about simple and easy hacks to get stuff done faster. BUT I also really love to bake…or more specifically, I really love to eat baked goods:) Give me all the cheater meals and 3 ingredient recipes please…no shame in the game for me!!! And it seems that there are more of you out there looking for simple recipes too because this is THE MOST requested recipe on my Instagram. I shared it once in stories, and I get asked weekly…NOW HOW DO I MAKE THAT EASY BANANA BREAD?? IS IT…
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Dangerous Alliance Book Review
We got snow this week. Like a ridiculous stupid amount of snow. Basically the entire winter in 2 days. Ugh. Add that to me being sick all week…and you get a LOT more reading time for Jessica. On the plus side, I finally got a chance to read Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen, which then put me in the mood for ALL THINGS JANE AUSTEN!! For some reason I have been holding onto this book for at least a year just waiting for the right time…and I guess the RIGHT TIME is a snow day! Who knew?!? I had 100 percent judged this book by the cover last year and…
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Thoughts from my little Orchard on the Slope…
Soooo I’m about to get me a groundhog this weekend. WE WERE DOING FINE here in Washington and heading RIGHT into spring until he popped his little head out and called for more winter. Now we are in the teens and getting a foot of snow over the weekend. Just for reference, we have not had a foot of snow ALL WINTER!! I am not ok with THAT!! I am ready for cherry blossoms. One of my best friends became a Grandma recently and I honestly cannot stop thinking about it. I am 41 and even though I AM NO WHERE NEAR being a grandma…it makes me feel ancient somehow.…
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Free Valentine Printable
Well it is the 11th hour before Valentine’s Day and so of course I am busy making free Valentine printables. OF COURSE I AM!! Every dang year I swear I am not gonna make ANYTHING for the kid’s Valentine’s parties…but EVERY year I end up staying up late gluing and cutting and eating all of the extra Valentine candy. Ethan found the cutest little bottles of slime (you can find them on Amazon or at Target) and OF COURSE he wanted to give slime to his buddies at homeschool co-op…and OF COURSE his mom wanted to make it cute and punny…because she just CANNOT help herself!! Long story short, I…
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Friday Favorites: multiplication games
This week one of my sweet followers asked me for my recommendation on the best multiplication games to help with learning times tables. How have I never shared that here on the blog?? If there is ONE thing we have been working at for what seems like YEARS…it is our multiplication tables. I know there are kids out there who just focus on some flashcards for a few weeks and BOOM know those facts for life. THAT IS NOT MY KID!! Well…technically that is ONE of my kids. Emmy had zero problems learning her times tables. I don’t even remember her asking for any help and I we RARELY practiced…
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Sugar Cookie Frosting
As long as I can remember, my Granny made us heart shaped sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day. It was a fun tradition and always such a special treat. This year I am TRYING to add in some EXTRA fun for my kiddos since Covid has basically sucked all of the fun out of EVERYTHING. Sooooo I decided to dust off the cookie cutters and whip up a batch of Grandma’s Valentine cookies. I shared my Grandma June’s sugar cookie recipe a few months ago HERE, but since we all know that a cookie is JUST NOT A COOKIE without some yummy frosting…here comes THE BEST BEATER LICKING BUTTERCREAM FROSTING RECIPE…
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Easy Diy Book Page Garland
I have had SOOOOO many of you order book page banners from my Etsy Shop, and I LOVE making them, but I cannot get any more made in time to ship out before Valentine’s Day this year. SOOOO I am passing on the super simple tutorial, so that you can make your own. And the best part…you can switch up your paper and design and create a book page garland for EVERY holiday and season!! Step 1. Rip out some old book pages. I like to use vintage books because the pages have the nice aged yellow color. Cut pages down to 4 inches wide by 6 inches tall. Step…
