Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been wanting to make some homemade laundry detergent for a while now. I got a recipe from my friend - Deanna - and she loved it. I had to wait for my detergent to run out and it finally happened! I don't think I have ever been so excited to run out of detergent before. 

My mom [really mother-in-law, but we don't do 'in-laws' :)] is in town for thanksgiving and was going to make some with me and we decided to split the cost and just half the detergent since it was the first batch for both of us.. Just to make sure we like it.

Here is the recipe. 

1 - 4lb 12oz box of Borax

1 - 4lb. Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

1- 3lb. 7oz. Box of Arm & Hammer super washing soda

1 - 3lb. Container of Oxy Clean

4 bars Fels Naptha bars [grated]

2 [large] containers of Downy Unstopables - choose the scent you'd like. 

Mix all the ingredients together in a 5 gallon bucket and you're ready for your first load! I put mine in a glass jar and added a homemade label. It is easy to split to share or to store for later. 

Use 1-2 Tablespoons full [depending on the size] on each load.

My first load using the laundry soap is in the dryer and I already know I am a huge fan.  It smells so good. I can't wait to fold my towels. [that may be the first time in the History of ever that anyone said that]. 

Enjoy my friends and be sure to thank Deanna for sharing it first. 

Lauren's Bridal Portraits

Let me introduce you to my friend Lauren. She is beautiful. One of the most genuine people i know with a heart bigger than you can dream. I was blessed to get to help share her story. 

Here are a few of our favorite shots. 

we only had about 20 minutes of great lighting because the sun was setting ... fast. but we worked quick and got some great shots.

new found love

What do you get when you try to start a blog at one of the busiest times of the year for you? a blog that waits for a year between posts. sorry about that, y'all. But the plus side to that is.... I have a lot to fill you in on :) 

One thing you should know by now - I like to do a little bit of everything. seriously. David tried to limit me to just 3 hobbies and I just couldn't choose, so I decided to do the only rational thing when you already have too many hobbies, I added another hobby to my list. This time it was photography! 

I have always wanted to be good a photography or get in to it, but never really spent time studying it or learning about it, let alone really trying it. I wasn't really trying to get in to it this time... it kind of just fell into my lap. you see... my friend Lauren was getting married within a month and they weren't going to get engagement pictures taken. Of course, I wasn't going to let that happen [everyone deserves to have pictures of them with their other half and have a chance to share their love story]. David and I received a nice camera for our college graduation present from his parents and I volunteered our time to go and take some pictures of this beautiful couple. I spent some time studying about my camera, the lighting, and found a great place for the couple that seemed to be perfect for them. We did our first engagement photo shoot for about an hour and had a blast.

Lauren and Alassane are seriously the two most genuine people that I know and they make the most beautiful couple. Their love was evident in just the little time we interacted with the two of them and I am so excited to see how God uses them in their marriage to one another.  Here are a few photos from the engagement shoot. 

Needless to say, I feel in love with helping others tell their story. I am enjoying doing more photo shoots and learning more about my camera.

add photography to the list -- or maybe it should be called 'story telling.'