What I've Done - Cleaning your washer and dryer

Washers and dryers are supposed to be clean, right?  After all, it's the place where you CLEAN your clothes.  Washers and dryers can actually be super grimy and icky.  Here are my tips for keeping your washer and dryer squeaky clean

1. Wipe the outside of your appliances - Wipe off that nasty soap residue from the time your detergent leaked.  Wipe down all the knobs.
2. Clean out your lent trap - Take out the lent.  Wash the screen with soap and water.  You'll know it's clean when the water runs through it instead of beading up on top.  Now get your vacuum attachment and vacuum out the trap area.  I found a few guitar picks and a dime.  Score!
3. Wipe down drum pieces - Did you know that the bleach cup comes out and you can wipe it down?  I had no idea.  There was lots of nice mildew-y stuff where the cup had been.  You can also take off the top piece of the agitator and wipe it down really nice.
4. Run your washer with nothing in it - Use the hottest water setting, put in a cup of vinegar, allow it to fill and then agitate for one minute.  Soak for an hour.  Run through the rest of the cycle.  Now do the same thing but use a cup of bleach this time.  My agitator was totally white again and didn't have grey scummy stuff on it anymore.

I've also heard that you're supposed to clean out your hose, but that sounded a bit complicated to me so I skipped that.  Let me know how it turns out for you!

What I've Done - Coconut Oil

Okay, you guys.  I have a beauty secret to share.  I recently discovered the magic of coconut oil.  I already knew that I liked cooking with it, but now I like using it for pampering myself.  All you have to do is heat up two spoonfuls of coconut oil for 30 seconds in the microwave.  massage the oil into your scalp, hair, and split ends.  Two spoonfuls was the perfect amount for my thick, shoulder length hair, but of course you might need to adjust the amount accordingly.  I pinned up my hair with a clip and headband and went about my business for two hours.  I proceed to wash my hair, cover it in conditioner (usually I just put it on my split ends, but this time I put it everywhere), and washed it again.  It is silky smooth!  Seriously.  I can't stop touching it.  I feel like I have fewer split ends, or at least they're less pronounced now.  My hair is super soft, and it's not nearly as frizzy.  You've got to try it right now!

What I've Done - Peach and Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake

This one was a bit of a bust.  It turned out correct, but it just wasn't all that good.  It wasn't very flavorful, and I left thinking, "I could have just made a white cake from a box and dumped in some peaches."  So here's the recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds (I used vanilla extract)
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cups diced fresh peaches (I used canned peaches)

Mix it all together and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  I don't have a bundt pan so I used two round cake pans instead. 

While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine peach puree, sugar, and orange juice in a small non reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Let the cake cool completely.  THIS WAS A BUST.  It never turned into a syrup for me.  It was more like peaches in sugar water.  Whatever.

Tell me other people have had recipe fails?!?