Got Goop?

And...the ultimate heavyweight stain fighter champion of the world is Goop! Tested and tested. Tried and true. It's always Goop.

I am all about preserving our clothes around here. We would be spending an unnecessary amount of money on clothes if I couldn't remove stains. My grandma Jay introduced Goop to mom in 1991. It's a family favorite. My husband and son keep Goop in business. It will remove sharpie, blood, ketchup, red wine,  oil and dirt stains, mustard...you name it. But there are tricks.

1. Do not get the product wet before applying Goop.

2. You gotta use a little ganas (desire/effort) when you rub it in. My grandma has been known to use a spoon instead of just her fingernail. Some stains come out with the use of a toothbrush. I always use my fingernails.

3. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

4. The sooner, the better. I, however, have waited a week before getting in the laundry room to deal with stain madness. Most stains struggle after that long. Golf game stains, car oil, dirt and grease always seem to come out no matter how long I wait.

The only thing is the smell. I really dislike the smell. It doesn't bother Hubby. I will inevitably wash the clothes once with Goop and a second time with a new load, including fabric softener. Fabric softener doesn't rid the smell on one wash when using a ton of Goop, and most of our stains require a ton of goop. I have tried other stain fighters and none work like Goop. I recently tested Zout, which got great reviews on Amazon, and it did not get out any of the stains.

These are 3 items that sat for over a week. Frozen blueberries on pajamas, lots of grease and dirt on khaki shorts, and who knows what from Super Bowl Sunday on blue shorts. It's hard to see with the flash, but they're there and they're real. If I had thrown Goop on the pajamas the same day of the stain, it would have come out.

After applying Goop.

The blue shorts came out of the first wash with a Goop looking stain. I didn't dry and washed a second time. They came out perfect. I don't know why it does that sometimes. Goop is gentle enough and has not discolored any of Hubby's short sleeved polo shirts or golf shorts. If I wonder that it will discolor my clothes, or if I need an immediate fix, I will use a TINY bit of liquid hand soap and rub on the spot with my fingernail. Then a little rinse. Always seems to do the trick. This includes blood and olive oil.

Khaki and blue shorts are as good as new! No discoloring or stain left. One tiny blueberry spot remains on the pajamas. I'll just use a q-tip with bleach on the spot next time and wash. You can find Goop in the auto section at Wal-Mart for $1.67/tub, and it will last awhile. Thank you Goop!



Be Wine Challenge

My parents made a big deal out of birthdays and holidays while I was growing up. We do love a party. When I was wanting to do this wine tasting challenge, I thought how great it would be to decorate around Valentine's Day if it fell on a weekend. And it did. So I did. It was the best of both worlds...pink & red hearts and wine tasting with a twist.
Evite is a great tool. I found a valentine evite titled Be Wine. And just like that, the party was named - Be Wine Challenge.

Each person brought a Cabernet of their choice and contributed $5 to the pot. We blind tasted the wines and scored them. The winner took home the pot. This was serious business and optimal temperature was necessary. I picked up the wines from all contestants the night before and chilled them in the wine fridge. We pulled them out to breathe, before everyone arrived, and served them at the optimal 60-65 degrees serving temp. You can also put red wine in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to reach that temperature. Each bottle was labeled A-J and corresponded with the score card.

There were 5 couples, and each couple had their own heart dish full of mini table water crackers to cleanse the palette in between wines and another heart dish full of mini chocolate morsels. Each person had a score card I created in Publisher, a pen, wine tasting glass and water bottle to rinse out their glass. A tub was placed in the middle for all to pour waste into. I used the same 1 oz pourer on each bottle. This was super helpful, especially when you're tasting 10 wines.

I wanted to make use of the entire countertop, so I had a 1/4" thick sanded plywood from Home Depot cut down to cover the entire sink. Then I spray painted it black to blend with the counter color. I stuck rubber grippers from Target to the back to keep it from sliding. It worked like a charm and only cost 15 bucks for everything.

The simple menu consisted of:

Salami and cheese with table water crackers
Homemade chocolate covered strawberries
Heart shaped sugar cookies
Chips and homemade queso (no velveeta here)
Shrimp wrapped in snow peas
The shrimp were a hit. It's a recipe my mom started making for parties in 1990. It's been served at countless baby showers, parties and events.

I was impressed with the salami recommendation from the HEB deli and wanted to share.

Everyone had a blast and wants it to be an annual thing. And I do love traditions. There was a lot of talk about doing it in the summer with Chardonnay. Any excuse for a party!

Wine tasting glasses - FoodServiceWarehouse.com

Black heart stickers - Hobby Lobby
Red letters - Hobby Lobby
XOXO sign - Home Goods
Paper lunch bags on bottles - HEB
String around bottles - Michaels
Ceramic heart dishes - Home Goods
1 oz pourer - FoodServiceWarehouse.com
Be My Valentine sign - Hobby Lobby