Weekly Link Roundup - Extravaganza Edition

Goose, Hubs's little sister, and I went to an "Extravaganza" yesterday - no kidding. It's mostly an antique fair with some crafts and other randomness thrown in. I spent somewhere around $20 and came home with three little Care Bears for the honker (she's nuts about them), a couple of books, and a tractor. Goose's antie also bought her a little . . . umm . . . either it's a metal purse or a candy tin with a strap. Either way, it has Care Bears on it and her Care Bears fit in it.

Please note that I'm not huge on buying a bunch of character stuff, but it sure did keep her happy the entire two hours we walked around the place (plus an hour at Wal-Mart, which was past her naptime), and she's played with them several times since. Hey, I'm not a grinch, either. :>)

Oh, and we almost got into a car accident that would've been my fault - I needed to make a left turn on a rather busy road with no stoplight and as I turned, I noticed a van that I hadn't seen before. Praise God and thanks to our guardian angels, the van was able to stop in time. Whew.

Other than that, we've been picking things from the garden and I've been working on canning! So far so good, I think . . . [By the way, I've picked a bunch of gourds and I have a ton of Indian corn from previous years. I was thinking about trying to sell it and make a few bucks, but I don't know where to price it. Any ideas? I definitely want to sell for less than the local garden centers *highway robbery* but I don't want to give it away, either. Thoughts?]

On to happier things! Valerie at Frugal Family Fun Blog is giving away a copy of Absolutely Organized: A Mom's Guide to a No-Stress Schedule and Clutter-Free Home. Head over by clicking on the first link to sign up!

MAKE
I am head over heels for these mini crinkly taggie squares at Chasing Cheerios that Melissa found via baby crinkle squares at Joy's Hope. And, as luck would have it, I have a friend that was kind enough to have given birth to a sweet baby girl a few weeks ago.

Wedding season for this year is almost over, but I'm going to hang onto these ideas at Skip To My Lou for Homemade Wedding Gift Ideas. *cough*could've used that a couple of months ago!*cough* Next year . . .

Now that I see a picture, it's kind of a "well, of course!" idea - apple vases at Craftzine. When I worked for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, we used apples as candle holders for an event. Very cute!

I got a big kick out of this Colorful Forest at No Time For Flashcards. I'm thinking the hole punching would have to take place over a number of sessions so I wouldn't go crazy, or I need to teach Goose how to run the hole punch, which could have some interesting results (i.e. I can see her trying it out on the cat . . . )

DO
She's not blogging anymore, but there are a ton of ideas at She Does Hair for fixing little girls' hair. CUTE! Of course, we'd have to have somewhere to go to make it worth the time, but I digress.

EAT
Valerie at Frugal Family Fun Blog has a hilarious post on Bacon Bowls that are just what they sound like but better.

Katie at Kitchen Stewardship posted a link back to this older post on walnut-oat pie crust as a substitute for a graham cracker crust. Sounds good to me!

TRY
I have been on a quest forever, it seems, to find an insect repellent that I'm comfortable using on myself and my toddler. I hate having to wash off the icky, greasy chemicals. Katie at Kitchen Stewardship posted A Must-Have Supply for Camping in which she sings the praises of Shakalee's H2. It's a soap AND a bug repellent? I gotta check this stuff out! Just as soon as I figure out which distributor is actually close to me . . .

Here is another recipe for homemade fabric softener. Mixing baking soda and vinegar for this purpose never occurred to me, but the reviews are good! (Wonder if I can use Downy instead of essential oils for fragrance? I'm all about the April Fresh!)