Dana Marie's Country Living Blog

Gardening is one of my favorite things to do. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to plant seeds and watch them grow into pretty flowers and yummy vegetables. When I moved into this home, it was quite a job to make the gardens beautiful. They were overgrown with weeds and just yuk! I worked very hard to make my back yard into a special sanctuary, and now I love to sit out there and just relax. I hope you enjoy the pictures from this journey. ~ Dana Plant stand from a repurposed chair   Sunflower Zinnias Zinnnia Coneflower Galliardia Miss Ellie Veggie sign Watermelon Bell pepper Squash vine Pumpkins White pumpkin Zucchini, peppers, cucumbers   copyright 2025, Dana Meier, My Olde Country Home Dana Meier is a caterer, cookbook author, online content creator and purveyor of historic crafts in Washington state. Her first cookbook was published in 2023. My Olde Country Home cookbook series: Vol. 1 - Olde Fashioned Christmas Desserts Vol. 2 - Vintage Cookie Recipes  av...

I have a story about Babybel ®  cheese. Lately I have been buying the big packs to put in the lunches that I meal-prep for. I got to thinking about the wax. Could you melt the wax into a candle? I often bring Babybel ®  cheese to work with me and share it with the little girl I take care of. One day I said, "You know what? We should try making candles from this wax." Well it turned into a fun project, saving all the wax for a couple of weeks. Her parents even went out and bought some so we could get as many as possible. It helps to have some extras in case you need them for your jar size. On the big day, we melted the wax down in a double boiler and added cinnamon scent to it. Then we set a wick in the jar and poured the melted wax in. We let it set up for about an hour and voila! A pretty red candle that smells good. I thought I'd better look up what was in the wax of Babybel ®  cheese before we burned it. And what do you know - it's actually a thing scientists have ...