DIY Homemade Foaming Soap

Ok, this post is a little silly but I was so EXCITED when I found out how to make my own foaming soap!  If you like foaming soap like we do, this is a great way to save some money and make your own. Over the years, I’ve probably spent a pretty penny on these:

It all started by accident really. The spout on my kitchen soap dispenser broke over a week ago. It was a pretty white bottle with a chrome spout on it. I used to fill it with concentrated antibacterial dish soap. I don’t know why but I only used foaming soap in our bathrooms. Anyhow, my time is limited for shopping these days so on a trip to Target over the weekend, I bought a new kitchen soap dispenser to replace the one that broke. Target didn’t  have many economical options so I went ahead and chose this new stainless steel looking one. On the label, it said it was a “foam dispenser.” Ok, I’ve never used foam soap in my kitchen but whatever, I didn’t have time to really think it through.

I took it home, filled it with my normal concentrated dish soap and thought it would work out perfectly. Well, it didn’t.

It was like it was clogged. It barely gave out any soap. In fact, Morgan (who often does the dishes) said, “This thing doesn’t work.”

That’s when I remembered it said it was a “Foaming Soap Dispenser.”

I figured there HAD to be a way to make the soap foam.

Pinterest to the rescue!

I learned it was so very EASY to make your own foaming soap. Ready for this?

It’s just 1/3 part of your favorite concentrated liquid soap to 2/3 part water. Mix gently and voilà!

See, I told you it was EASY!

And the pièce de résistance…

As I was making the foam soap in the new dispenser, I happened to turn the bottle around and saw this:

That would be the SOAP line on the bottom and the WATER line on top. Duh!!

I tell ya, a college degree doesn’t go too far when you’ve lost all your common sense marbles! :))

Turns out the new FOAM soap dispenser works perfectly now. ;)

I love the idea of saving some money, too! No more buying disposable bottles for the bathroom, either. You can just reuse the ones you have and make your own foam soap!   

(If you’re into essential oils, you can even add those as well!).

Hailey’s Baby Shower

Marilee (Hailey’s mother-in-law), Karen, Hailey, and I. 

 

Morgan, Hai, and Crissy.

 

I love this girl!

 

Homemade pickles for the pregnant woman. She loves pickles so I know she’ll love these. :))

 

The sweetest dress and darling books for her new baby girl.

 

What a joy it was for Karen and I to co-host an intimate baby shower for our dear sweet Hailey. This will be baby no. 5 for the White family and we couldn’t be happier for them! 

The Lord has greatly blessed them with MORE children than they ever thought they’d have! Hailey and Derek have an incredible testimony of surrender and obedience in this area as well.

If you know Hailey, you know she’s a friend to all but to me, she’s a very special sister. I love her dearly and I’m so grateful for her friendship in my life.

Happy happy baby shower, love! We can’t wait to meet your newest little gift from above!

He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, "Who are these with you?" So he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." ~Genesis 33:5

The Garden Food & Prayer Ministry

Morgan’s truck loaded up with boxes of food and delivered to a trailer park community in East Valley.

 

Grace and her friend knock on doors and visit folks who might need food.

 

Serving with friends is always fun.

Morgan and the girls were up early this morning as they had an opportunity to serve the families of the East Valley by packing and delivering food, praying for them, and sharing the gospel. This is a monthly ministry through our church and a great way to physically and spiritually help our local community.

The girls said they had an AWESOME experience. They even made little notes of encouragement and passed those out, too.

I’m always so proud of my girls and their genuine heart for helping others. 

Lord willing, we hope to be serving more regularly as a family in the future.

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” ~1 John 3:17-18

The Iconic Palm Springs Date Shake

So our recent trip to Shield’s Date Garden inspired me to try making my own date shake. After all, we live in the date capital of the world! If you haven’t been to Shield’s, it’s worth a little trip. It’s kitschy and nostalgic. At least for me it is. My family has been coming to Palm Springs for the past 40 years.

Anyway, the last (and only) time the girls and I tried a date shake, it was extremely rich and sweet. Well of course it was! It’s made with ice cream! I was so glad I only ordered one for the three of us. We couldn’t even finish it! 

Here’s my healthy version. The nice thing about this one… you can enjoy it everyday. :)

Healthy Date Shake 

(makes 2 servings)

1 banana

4 lrg. pitted dates

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 cups ice (depending on how thick you like it)

Blend, blend, blend.

Slurp and enjoy!

Fashion Week 2015

Pretty fancy for a couple of moms on a school night. :)

Here in the desert, it’s Fashion Week on El Paseo. Even though I’ve lived here for almost 9 years, this was my first time attending. I love fashion but the event was never something I had the desire to attend. Until last week when my girlfriend, Melissa told me she had free tickets and asked me if I wanted to go. 

The evening’s show benefitted The Girlfriend Factor, a local organization providing educational grants for women. Plus, it was little black dress night so our attire for the evening was easy to put together. :)

Most of all, we used it as an excuse to catch up on some much needed girl time. In fact, we had so much fun chatting away at dinner, we showed up 40 minutes LATE and almost MISSED the entire fashion show!

We ended up catching a good portion of the end (only because it ran long that night). Turns out, that was the perfect amount of runway fashion for us. ;)

I’m so grateful for the gift of several amazing, gracious, and godly girlfriends in my life. What a treasure they are to me!

And thanks to my beautiful friend, now I can say, “Been there. Done that.”

No. 9

Seriously, how can it already be NINE??

 

On Saturday, we biked over to the new IHOP in our neighborhood for their favorite meal of the day… BREAKFAST!

 

Zachy’s first time in a restaurant highchair.

 

Birthday breakfast is the best!

 

Next, Grandma and Grandpa came over bearing gifts.

 

Faith got this “Princess Grace” doll for her sister.

 

Grace got roller blades for Faith.

 

She loved them.

 

Daddy and the girls spent the rest of Saturday filling up water balloons.

 

The girls requested hot ham and cheese sliders for their birthday so I made 2 large pans to share with friends.

 

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls make these sweet and yummy.

 

The tops are covered in a sauce of Dijon mustard, worcestershire, minced onions, melted butter and poppy seeds before baking. Oohey gooey goodness!

 

 

The water balloons are done and ready for Sunday. Over 200 of them!

 

The beautiful birthday girls are ready for church.

 

After church, we met our friends at the park for a fun day of fellowship and celebrating.

 

Too much cuteness going on here.

 

Let the water balloon toss begin!

 

Careful concentration.

 

Joshua manages with one arm.

 

Trying to figure out which ones might last longer.

 

Sure, I’ll play. As long as I don’t get my sleeping baby wet.

 

Easy does it…

 

Whoa!!

 

SPLAT!!

 

My baby!! It actually didn’t phase him at all. He continued to sleep and probably enjoyed cooling off a bit! :))

 

Next was Tee-ball, using water balloons, of course!

 

Then, the parents lined up and gave the kids a chance to throw balloons at them.

 

Until chaos erupted and it became a free for all.

 

Run, Karen run!

 

Instead of cake, the girls requested Blackberry Cheesecake.

 

Make a wish!

 

Nothing fancy but this is one of the girls’ favorite desserts.

 

Zach practices sitting up and watches the action.

 

Just because my baby is simply adorable!

 

This year, we kept things very simple. I didn’t have the time to plan like I normally would have liked to but ironically, the girls said it was the BEST BIRTHDAY they ever had! It just goes to show you, good times are made by the love of family and friends. (We missed you, Whites!)

The forecast was supposed to be over 90 but the Lord gave us a reprieve by sending cloud cover and temps in the mid 80’s instead.

Needless to say, the kids had a blast with the water balloons!

Happy Birthday to our two NINE year-olds!! We love you so much!

Although it’s sad to see you grow so quickly, we are also incredibly excited to watch you mature and blossom into who God has created you to be. 

You’re the best thing that ever happened to us and we thank God for the blessing of being your parents.