Brown Thumb Mama

"Why make something when you can buy it?" My husband asks every time I start another "wacky project" in the kitchen. There are lots of good reasons! Making my own stuff helps us avoid harmful chemicals, saves time and money, and I just like experiment...

For most of us, tax season isn't a lot of fun. Maybe you throw your receipts, notes, forms, and papers for the year in a folder--or maybe you throw them in the trash. Either way, you'll end up with a lot of sorting, searching, grumbling, and cursing...

Because I am certifiably slightly insane, I like to grow tomatoes and peppers from seed every year. Seed shopping on a winter evening. In early February, when I desperately need a gardening fix, I assemble my homemade seed starting light and start a...

Have you ever listened to a presentation or gone to a class and figured, "Hey, I could do that!"? Well, that was me after I read Sourdough A to Z. I ordered my sourdough starter, studied the instructions, and started imagining the delicious things I'd...

I've learned something important since Little Peanut started walking. Toddlers and hardwood floors don't mix! After watching her slip and slide for a day or two (even while wearing Carter's no-skid socks), I knew stronger measures were required. But...

The short answer is: soap is natural and detergent isn’t. But there’s more to it than that. Soap is created by mixing fats and oils with an alkali or base. This method has been around for hundreds of years--remember the soft soap Ma used in the...

I’m a baseball girl, so my interest in football is pretty minimal. When it comes to Superbowl, I’d rather talk about what we’re going to eat than rushing yards, Kaepernick’s tattoos, blah blah blah. "What is this Superbowl of which you speak...

Have you seen the latest batch of Febreze ads? Their slogan is "breathe happy." Unfortunately, breathing in these toxic chemicals does not make me happy: BHT ACETALDEHYDE 1,3-DICHLORO-2-PROPANOL LIMONENE METHYL PYRROLIDONE BUTYLPHENYL ME...

You know how sometimes a brand name becomes synonymous with the product it makes? Think Kleenex or Xerox. We love Panda Express, and it automatically means "Orange Chicken" when we hear it. The conversation has become shorthand: "Wanna Panda?" is al...

Happy New Year everybody! Card reads: Happy New Year! Because sometimes Christmas comes and goes and the cards just don't get finished. :o)Love, Papa, Mama, Jackjack, and Little Peanut I've got lots of great new stuff to share with you in 2013. We'l...