Scrub a dub dub

Let's talk about a good scrub- a gingerbread scrub! I'm all about bath/beauty items- who doesn't want to pamper themselves now and again?! A friend of mine gifted me this homemade scrub last week and I fell in love! My skin was never so soft!! Sooooo, I begged  asked her nicely to bring me the recipe. Surprisingly I had all but the sweet almond oil in my pantry- so I was ready to go. You can basically eat this stuff- although with that much salt I wouldn't advise it!

What you'll need:

A jar of some sort (I repurposed a glass peanut butter jar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coarse sea salt (but not too gnarly folks, you don't want to rip your skin up here. get coarse but not rocks, if you know what I mean?)

1/2- 3/4 cup of carrier oil (I recommend, olive, sweet almond or jojoba- or a mix of all or a few.)

2 tsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. ground ginger (I substituted cinnamon, although I have the ginger- I'm a dork and read it wrong! haha)

2 tsp. nutmeg.

Since I used cinnamon instead of ginger, you can't technically call my scrub gingerbread- I like to call it, spiciness in a jar- okay not really- I call it cinnamon spice scrub. :)

the ingredients. (I didn't end up using the metal containers)

my repurposed peanut butter jar- all clean and ready to receive!

after pouring in the brown sugar, I added the sea salt

brown sugar, sea salt and cocoa powder already in the jar- now for heaping teaspoons of cinnamon or ginger)

all dry ingredients added- then stir, stir, stir.....

add the oil. I did an equal mixture of sweet almond and jojoba. Both are good for the skin. I chose a mixture because jojoba is expensive these days !

just before the second round of stirring commenced. 

Et Voila!! Scrub a dub dub! (and then be amazed by your pure smoothness!!)

*a word of caution: when rinsing this off in the shower (which I recommend- I also recommend using it in the shower/tub before you turn the water on- this stuff can be messy!!) watch the slippery tub floor!!! OR you could scrub and then run the bath and have a nice long bath in the salts!

I dare you not to be amazed by the feel and smell of your skin after this!!

*(next up- d.i.y. tile coasters!)

Two For One

These are the only two outfits worth mentioning from last week- so here we go!

First Outfit:

Stripes again! striped 3/4 length sleeves boatneck shirt: Urban Outfitters. Watch: Swiss Army. Pants: BDG Urban Outfitters black skinny jeans rolled up. Shoes: Old Navy peep toe canvas espadrilles. 

Hair with striped shirt. Wearing my teal human hair extensions- a braided bun.  Make Pie Not War, rose gold hoops. (my favorite ever!!)

Second Outfit: 

Black button up short sleeves shirt: Libertine for Target.  Tweed Vest: Gap.  Black Skirt: Old Navy. Tights: Target. Shoes: Schuler and Sons Philadelphia at Anthropologie

Schuler and Sons Philadelphia peep toe heels, Anthropologie

Schuler and Sons Philadelphia peep toe heels, Anthropologie 

We All Need A Little Color Sometimes

Coral over at SLOmygosh, has inspired yet another blog/activity for me! I think I could officially be called a groupie! I'll have to think of a clever name for myself, like a Slomygosher... annnyway- she ordered amazing colored hair extentsions from Etsy (I ordered some too, and when I get them I'll do a post about those as well, please note that the shop is currently closed due to backlog, so when I receive my new extensions I'm sure she'll be up and running again....I should also add that I'm incredibly impatient and that's how this post came about), so I was inspired by that, but I was also inspired by this amazing BLUE Beehive. Since I feel that I'm beyond the crazy colored hair phase, I knew I wasn't going to actually color my whole hair- or my own hair for that matter! Enter, my "natural" colored human hair extensions that I used to use while growing my hair long. My hair is now the same length as the extensions so I don't use them anymore- they were just calling for a new life!!!

Here's their journey from just "meh" to "ooo la la, tres chic!"

Here the are in their natural state. These blend seamlessly into my natural hair, but they were ready for a face lift! I laid them on a piece of household foil. 

using some bleach with 40 volume developer, I completely saturated the extensions. You really want to work it in there. Use any old brand of bleach, who cares if you damage them?!

Next place another piece of foil on top and fold the edges. At this point you just let them process.  I, being a typical hairdresser happen to have an overhead dryer at home, so I cheated and processed this with heat. You could use a blowdryer as well if you don't want to wait. 

with one completed and deep conditioning off to the side I started the second one. So at left is what it looked like after I processed and rinsed the bleach.

The color brand I chose processes FAST so I started at the top since I knew I was going to ombre/color melt these pieces and it was okay if the top was darker than the bottom. 

Dolly (my trusty dollhead) getting in on the action! She was kind enough to hold my pieces while I dried them and then backcombed them for the ombre part of the process.

Backcombed and ready for the application of bleach 40 vol. for the ombre affect.

bleach applied and processing. This honestly processed for about 3 minutes. I didn't want it to turn back blonde- I only wanted a lighter teal.

Dolly modeling the final color. I love the peacock effect of the ombre.

My pup decided to get in on the photo shoot! (and you can see the ombre in this one)

the finished product!!

Keep watching this space. I'll feature my new extensions from Lulus Galaxy on Etsy when they arrive!! I'll probably be doing a quick loofa beehive tutorial when I get them, as well! Yippee!!

Thanks Coral and A Beautiful Mess Blog for the inspiration!!!!!

Socca "pizza" here we come!

My dear friend Meagan introduced me to Socca- I had never heard of it before she mentioned it. I can be an adventurous recipe maker (as long as it's vegetarian), so I dove head first into this recipe!! The original recipe can be found HERE

It's made with chickpea/garbanzo bean flour so it's gluten free and had some protein too. 

The ingredients make 1 pizza crust so if you're making it for more than yourself you'll have to increase the quantity. :) Annnnd if you're anything like me the first one will turn out horribly and you'll have to make the "crust" again!

1/2 cup of chickpea/garbanzo bean flour.

add 1/4 cup water (or more if you want a thinner pancake/crust) I find that I do 1/4 cup of water and add 1tsp extra. Add your seasonings. I add Italian seasonings, garlic powder and salt. You want to add the seasonings to taste,  so I won't give measurements, as they are different each and every time. Make a batter similar to pancake batter. 

heat a skillet and add 1-3 tablespoons of olive oil. add batter and spread with a fork. I personally like to keep my crust thin, as I find that if it's too thick it gets chewy. Heat until bubbles form, edges are crispy and the pancake is firm enough to flip. Crisp the other side. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees

Now for toppings!!

My toppings this time around. I change them frequently. You could do literally whatever you want!!!  I used, kalamata olives, yellow bell pepper, mushrooms and little mozzarella balls torn up and spread over the veggies. 

Voila! And it's done!

Lost in the WILD

Okay let's talk about an amazing book I just read by Cheryl Strayed. It's called Wild and it's a nonfiction/memoir, about her time hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, but also the events in her life that lead up to her crazy decision to hike the trail AND hike it alone!

First can I just say that she talks about food in this book, a lot!! I mean, I was snacking while reading this cuz she was making me hungry AND anxious, like I wasn't going to find my next meal (which was all fine and dandy for her- she was hiking MILES every day, I on the other hand was NOT)! I also had the urge to shower all the time. Oh and one last thing- I kept checking my bank account to make sure I had more than 65 cents, and that yes, I could afford a Snapple Lemonade.  Let's just say this- she gave me panic attacks BUT this book was so good. I was so involved and that's why I was having panic attacks, cuz I felt like I was right there with her, with only 65 cents to buy a drink with while hoping and praying that my supply box had arrive at some remote post office, or that my feet too were blistered and dirty!

Let's start at the beginning. My mother brought this book over for me to read- we are both avid readers and tend to read the same things. She handed it to me and basically said, "Kiss your day goodbye." She read it in a 12 hour period, so I knew that I too, would read it in one day. I would have read it in half a day if I didn't actually have to do real things that day!! I became engrossed the moment I read the first page. My husband had to actually ask me to put it down so we could go get lunch, and I had to bargain with myself to put it down so I didn't miss my Zumba class. 

I'm not sure exactly what pulled me in- she's a great writer and the story is a page turner- but was there something I felt I could relate to (no, probably not) or was I just fascinated by her story and the bravado it takes to do what she decided to do (yes. I'm a little bit jealous to be honest, I wish I had that kind of courage!)? I was dying to know who she was going to meet on the trail, how she was going to find water when she ran out, if she gets attacked by animals and did she finally get that darn cheeseburger? Obviously I knew she lived through her experiences, because here we are in 2012 and she did the trail in 1994, but I also know that a lot can happen in a persons life that can be triumphed but still make huge impacts. Also, I was so interested to know what kind of soul searching she did and how it helped her deal with her mother's sudden death and heal from all the other sad mishaps in her life. 

I'm not going to go into the actual story- that's for you to find out for yourself- but I will say she met some angels on that trail, the human kind, and that was so touching. There are good people out there who look out for each other, just out of the goodness of their hearts, wanting nothing in return!

Outfit of the Day- Casual Black

At the end of a work week I like to be a bit more casual and comfortable- the thought of gussy-ing it up on Saturday does not appeal to me. Sooooo, I try to be basic but add accessories to jazz it up to make it work appropriate. OR I use Saturdays to wear uncomfortable but cute shoes, since it's my shortest day of the week. Today was all comfort- but the Starbuck's barista did say I looked "edgy" today, so it must not have looked as comfortable and casual as it felt- score 1 for me!

necklaces: Make Pie Not War and Seiler Designs (links for both below). T-shirt: Target,  Black Jeans: BDG Urban Outfitters rolled up. Shoes: Ecote from Urban Outfitters.

platform sandals from Ecote at Urban Outfitters. I got so lucky to find these guys on clearance last year for $10! Because they are essentially flat, they are quite comfortable.

hair today: ballerina bun yet again. Make Pie Not War rose gold hammered hoops (my favorite)  they can be found HERE

my necklaces from today: coin, charm and key necklace from Make Pie Not War - this is a one of a kind piece but she frequently does similar things and the no so similar things are amazing too!! check out her etsy shop HERE - support those small businesses (Alana also happens to be a doll)!!!!. The second necklace (on left) is a custom bronze disc with a crowned bird with the letter  G from Adrienne Seiler Designs. She does beautiful work and will do custom pieces. Her etsy shop can be found HERE, although she has a non-etsy site too. She's a local gal and really sweet to boot!

Heaven In A Jar

While I wait for Coral at SLOmygosh to tell me how to eat Lychee, I will eat Cookie Butter with a spoon.  I hope it's soon or I'll gain 10 lbs! 

Have you had this stuff from heaven? It's pretty stinking amazing! So far I have just eaten it with a spoon, but the jar gives you ideas for use. I think I want to dip pretzels in it, or just my finger!

YUM!!

Oh my heaven!!