Product Placement

We are about to move back to Corvallis. There are certain things I will miss about Saint Helens, but for the most part I'm ready to move. Whilst packing up all our possession, It's really given me time to reflect on all the great things we own. And sometimes when you have great things, you just want to praise them. Unfortunately, all of these great things are inanimate objects and have no capacity to appreciate my comments, but hopefully you will. 

Top 10 House Hold Items The Beesleys Recommend

10. One Style Sock- Some people believe there is a laundry monster who eats your socks in the dryer, creating a frustrating black hole of endless unmatched socks. whether real or fictional, it does not matter if you only have one style of sock. All of my socks are from Forever21 and look exactly alike. All of Patrick's socks are from Hanes' Goodwill line of "Slightly Imperfect style Socks" and look exactly alike. I'm not kidding, that is literally what they are called. Although, each sock is slightly imperfect and unique, my 20/20 vision can't tell the difference between any said pair.

9. Quick Dry Towels- We recently bought a whole matching set of towels. They were 50% off at Fred Meyer, so we got them for $4 each. We bought them because they were fluffy and soft, but still felt absorbent. When we got them home, I realized they are quick dry towels. Usually when I'm washing towels they take so long to dry, but these ones dried at the same rate as the other clothes. So great.

We got purple towels. For some reason, the color purple always makes me think of the Marchants.

8. Bulk Spices- Winco sells spices in bulk. Fantastic idea for anyone who doesn't want to spend $6 for a lifetime supply of Coriander. And here's a little fact for you: apparently, ground spices have an average shelf life of 6 months.

7. LA's Totally Awesome Laundry Pre-Wash- It's like Shout, but it's a dollar at the Dollar Tree. I was skeptical about it because it was at the dollar store and because the name is so ridiculous, but it got amazing reviews. In my experience, it works just as well as Shout.

6. Cheese Grater- We recommend a cheese grater with a box to catch all your cheesy goodness. We got one from Kitchen Aid, but we just saw an even bigger one at Ikea that was really neat too. The box helps contain the cheese and it's easier to grate, with less chance of slicing your finger.

5. Safeway Just for U- I'm a die hard Winco fan, but when we moved to St Helens the only shopping options I had were Safeway and Walmart. This Walmart has a very limited selection of food, so I shop at the overpriced Safeway. But here's the thing, Safeway just came out with the Just for U program/ app. They show you all their deals and you get even more coupons for using the app. It makes shopping at Safeway a little less heartbreaking when I get to the check out. Also, I get gas rewards points to Chevron and Safeway gas stations. I'll take it.

4. Silverware- Yes cavemen, I recommend using silverware. Patrick and I both grew up in households with the 5 piece silverware: knife, big fork, big spoon, little fork, and little spoon. Since we don't host elegant  five course meals daily, we decided to cut the frill and just get one size of knife, fork, and spoon. It makes life just a little bit less complicated. Plus, have you noticed that silverware trays can't get their act together? I swear the standard cutlery tray has 4 vertical slots and the weird baby horizontal one in the back. Whose silverware are they catering to, no one likes using the back of their drawer.

3. Powdered Milk- I buy powdered milk from the bulk section of Winco. It's really handy if you run out of milk or if you are using a recipe that uses a lot of milk and you just don't feel like pouring half the jug in the bowl. 1/3 powdered milk + 1 cup warm water = 1 cup milk. Warning, don't use for drinking (tastes gross), just cooking/baking.

2. Oxo Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener- We purchased this can opener shortly after we were married because it is the best can opener I've ever used. It was $21 which is pretty spendy for a can opener, but so worth it. Well, when we used our brand new can opener, it sucked! We were prying off aluminum lids for a good 6 months. Boo. I finally wrote an email to Oxo about how disappointed I was and they gave us a new one! Apparently they will replace any of your Oxo products if you send them the product and your receipt. The new one works like a charm and I'm now a more loyal fan of Oxo.

1. Toaster Oven- By far the best product we own is our toaster oven. It is awesome! I wouldn't know how to survive without it. The one we have is extra special because it is a baby oven, but it also has a purely toaster function on top. I love it because it's like a really fast oven. Just the other day,  Patrick fit an entire Totino's Pizza in the toaster oven.

 So here's to hoping that all our stuff makes it through this move in one piece. And here's also to hoping that Patrick will do a satisfactory job at driving the U-haul. Although, a part of me is also hoping he mildly dings the truck a bit so that the U-haul insurance we bought will be worth it. 

Is that bad?

An actual picture of our stuff in the back of a U-haul.

By the way, we're doing great. We went on a picnic for lunch last week. Hi!

Pinterest Challenge

For the past week, I've been Pinteresting. I picked 7 Pinterest projects to recreate and document. I decided to do this, just for the fun of it. So here are the seven wins and fails of my Pinterest week. The inspiration pictures are on the left and my recreations are on the right.

1. Nail Art- The project was to use tape to make sharp, clean designs on your nails. I didn't have all the same colors as the inspiration, but I picked similar colors, as best I could. Everything went according to plan until I peeled the tape off. I thought I waited long enough, but I guess not because I peeled off half the paint jobs.

Although I consider this a fail, I was inspired to do a much more simple design on my toe nails. I really like how they turned out (no tape was used).

2. Clear Ice Cubes- This one is under the category of life hack. I'd never had a desire to make perfectly clear ice cubes before, but this pin planted a slightly huge desire to make clear ice. The pin said that if I boiled water and then put it in the tray, I could get clear ice. It didn't work. As you can see in the comparison picture, the two ice cubes (the regular cube on the left and one the boiled ice cube on the right) look the same and are both not clear. I did some more research and found out that you need to boil the water twice. So I did. The result was equally as disappointing. Turns out, you need to use distilled water, boil it, let it cool, boil it again, let it cool, and then freeze it. Too much work for me. So I let this one fail. Patrick is still motivated to find an alternative method of developing clear ice.

3. Halloween Wreath- First of all, I get a lot of flak from Patrick because 9 out of 10 times I say wrea-f-th, instead of wreath. This is especially embarrassing, because I sold Christmas wreaths in middle school one year and I'm fairly confident that I wasn't saying it correctly back then either. Anyway, this project actually turned out wonderful (finally a win). I got all the materials for less than two dollars from the local thrift store. It's not exactly the same as the inspiration, but I still love it. 

4. Flag Birthday Card- I really enjoy making greeting cards. My dream job would be to work for Hallmark and make punny greeting cards forever. This card isn't punny at all, but it's darn cute. I liked how the card came out so much that I went on a card making spree! 

5. Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug- I've made the brownie in a mug before. It comes out fine, but nothing great. I've tried macaroni in a mug before. That was just gross. I seemed to choose to not remember these less than spectacular experiences when I decided to make the cookie in a mug. It turned out very pasty. Also, I would like to add that it was probably just as much work to make the one cookie in a mug as making a whole batch of cookies. The only difference is the whole oven thing and the baking time. I won't ever make the cookie in a mug again. 

This was probably my worst attempt at recreating the inspiration picture.

6. Glow In The Dark Bubbles- It sounded like such a cool idea. Even after failing at it, it still sounds like such a cool idea. I flicked the glow stick inners into the bubble solution. I somehow imagined that the glow stick would be more liquid and easily pour into the bubble bath, but it came out in clumps. It stayed in clump form in the bubble solution, but it made the solution glow so well... for like 2 minutes. Even if 2 minutes was actually long enough to enjoy your bubbles, the bubbles don't glow in the dark. All of the glow clumps gathered on the bubble wand and refused to stick to the bubble. 

7. Tin Can Lantern- Oh man, I'm exhausted just thinking about this project. So... this project actually takes us back to ice cubes. The first step is to freeze water in the empty tin can. Fast forward a few hours and I had an ice cube again. Surprisingly, the ice cube was pretty clear. Patrick and I both marveled at it, after failing so poorly at making clear ice intentionally. From there you clamp it down to the table and take a hammer and nail to the tin can to make the holes. It worked so good, until the can started dripping. "PATRICK GET ME A BOWL, STAT!" Bowl was retrieved and was catching the dripping. I kept poking holes and the dripping got more serious. My first thought, "I need a bigger bowl." After more hammering, I finally released the flood gates. It was then that I realized why the ice was so clear... it was water. I hadn't let the water completely freeze. So with about 1/6 of the tin can punctured, I had no more ice. It is imperative to have a solid core, or else you will have no stability for the thin can. But how do you make ice in a container that is scoured in jagged holes? We put a plastic bag in the can and filled that with water. After an hour in the freezer all of the water had drained at into a bowl and froze the can in it. The plastic bag got a hole in it and slowly leaked out all of the water. I thought it was over, but Patrick MacGyvered a water bottle/ tape rung/ hand towel into a support structure. I was able to successfully finish the project. Painting it was also a disaster, but i'll spare you the details. 

Final Score:

3 wins- 4 fails

Labor Day Weekend

Stay Tuned

I know it's kind of late to be posting this. I actually wrote most of it on Tuesday. Here's the the thing- I got bored when I was writing it (when I was living it, it was so fun). So I put off finishing it for a... well until now. So, to prevent from getting bored with my own posts, I've decided to mix it up. I'm currently in the middle of doing a Pinterest challenge-- 7 Pinterest projects in 7 days. My next post is entirely dedicated to my Pinterest attempts. I'll tell you right now, some are wins and some are fails. For now, you can read this somewhat boring post about our Labor Day weekend.

Roller Coaster

We built a K'nex roller coaster. We've built this coaster before, but it always surprises me how long it takes to build. We watched two movies in the time it took us to finish the coaster. A few days later we demolished the structure... and that took a full hour to do.

 

Goodwill Outlet

On our way down to Corvallis for Labor Day weekend, we made a little stop by the Goodwill Outlet. This whole adventure started when Patrick did some research into finding out how to get cheap Legos. He came across someone's online comment that said they bought Lego's by the pound at the Goodwill Outlet. 

A Goodwill Outlet?! What is that? It is where donations come to die. Here is what we learned. Normal Goodwill stores will sell donated items for a reasonably low price. But some items obviously don't sell. If items don't sell in a store in 6 weeks they get sent to the Goodwill Outlet. This is their last stop before being sent out to be recycled or donated to like third world countries. Patrick and I got so intrigued, we had to go. 

Our research told us to bring gloves, because you don't know what you'll be touching; I'm glad we did. There is no organization and everything is displayed in large troughs. Troughs are what they use to feed farm animals. People acted like animals in there, so it was rather fitting. The employees continually rotate the troughs in groups of 6. There is only one rule in the Goodwill outlet: Don't touch the new troughs until all 6 have been placed. No one tells you that and there are no signs that state it, but just by watching the regulars, you know. Once that 6th trough is locked and loaded, the scavengers go wild. 

We ended up buying a bunch of ribbon and a 4 cup glass Pyrex measuring cup for $1.02. 

My advice on the Goodwill Outlet:

- Bring Gloves

- I wouldn't buy any of the clothing (no dressing room either)

- Don't go expecting to find anything (we didn't find Legos)

- They have a pretty fair selection of furniture, toys, and kids bikes. 

Camping

We also went camping with the Louderbacks... okay, we actually went camping at the Louderback's. When we got to their apartment, all the lights were off. We only used lanterns and candles the whole night. We even had s'mores. The Louderbacks pulled out their propane powered burner and we had s'mores over a real fire. Yumba. Don't fret, the apartment did not burn down and we did not die of carbon monoxide. I forgot to pack our tent, so the louderback's let us sleep in their tent on their blow up mattress, in their living room. I slept like a baby on the air mattress. Heather broke her collar bone, so she and Spenser were up at all sorts of hours of the night. 

When we woke up, we all got ready and headed to breakfast with the Marchants at the Peacock. For any of you that have not been to the Peacock in Corvallis for breakfast, they serve breakfast for $1.99 until 10am everyday. We actually went twice this weekend. Once with our friends, and again with my family. I never thought I would go to a bar with my grandparents, but they seemed to like it just fine. 

 

Cleaning Bug

I got a bug this Labor Day weekend-- the cleaning bug. I thought it was fun, but isn't that always the case when you're not cleaning your own house. It all started when my mom requested that the coat closet get cleaned out. You're not going to believe me when I say this, but 99% of that closet was my dad's coats. There were probably 30 cots in that closet and we got rid of half of them. From their I just couldn't stop myself. I went on to clean out my childhood artwork and writing from pre k- high school (only kept the good stuff). Then I recruited Patrick to help me reorganize my old bedroom, the nursery, and the garage. The only space we actually had to clean was the garage. We are using it for all of the stuff that won't fit in our new apartment. This was our last trip to Corvallis before the move, so if we didn't prepare it while we were their, it would have been a huge hassle come moving day.