Honey & Lemon = Softer & Lighter Hair

 I’m starting out year 3 of my quest to be less chemical. The most recent quest…hair.

I am a girly girl. I crave fashion, makeup and ever changing hair…or at least I did. In my 20’s there was a hair color change every month or so…I didn’t think about all my hair falling out or the constant chemical bombardment to my scalp and lungs. Weaning myself off the box wasn’t easy. I could have quit cold turkey, alas the silver slowly sneaking into my dark blonde hair was not very…well…pretty.  I discovered what the term “mousey” meant when I looked at my reflection. I tried the less chemical options and the natural ones from the health food store. But they still dried the crap out of my hair and scalp. By winter itchy dry scalp was out of control and I started applying Organic Virgin Coconut oil as a scalp and hair mask every 4 days or so. My hair started feeling thinker and shinier…hmmm.

Consulting the all knowing internet I searched for natural ways to highlight my hair or blend the now darker roots to the lighter color of my long hair. Lemon juice was the first experiment. Sure it works great in the summertime…but the overcast skies of winter…not so much. Plus it made my hair feel like straw. It needed moisture, not just highlights. Next concoction…Honey, Cinnamon and lemon juice.

I squeezed one fresh lemon, 2 spoonfuls of raw wildflower honey and a sprinkling of

Cinnamon. It smelled awesome, tasted great…..and eureka…it lightened my hair.

I mix it together in a bowl and brush it on my hair with a medium size paintbrush. I leave it on for an hour while I give myself a manicure. I wash it out with gentle natural shampoo and a tad conditioner on the ends. Shampoo isnt always needed but I'm a creature of habit. 

It wasn’t drastic. But it was noticeably shiny, lighter and softer than my hair has ever been. By the 4^th application on week 2, it was one shade lighter. Raw Honey and Cinnamon have a hydrogen peroxide in them. Honey is also a moisturizer, and the honey and cinnamon are both antibacterial. This concoction eliminated my dandruff…not a flake, not a dry patch to be found. Frizz gone, dandruff gone, shiny hair, less obvious roots…what more could I ask for? Would it do the same for my skin?

I started brushing the mixture on my face, neck and upper chest as well when I did my hair. Hello! Sun spots, freckles, acne scars…all slowing fading with every application. The honey makes it baby smooth. I apply a few drops of Borage oil as an additional moisturizer for my cheeks which is also an anti-inflammatory, and keeps my sensitive skin calm. 

I’ve now done this for a month (about 3 times a week) and dry itchy scalp has not returned. My hair remains very soft and shiny despite winter (and my) attempt to destroy it. 

Gluten Free Nachos and Hawaiian Pizza

I'm Gluten Free. For years I was really good about it, then I started slipping here and there...Pancakes on special occasions, Italian restaurants on my birthday. I justified it thinking a little was okay...everything in moderation right? But when something actually hurts your body, no amount is okay. I started getting sick. I became intolerant and allergic to foods that had never bothered me before like dairy and nuts like peanuts and cashews. My tummy was consistently upset. My intestines were furious at me for injuring them. I had to go cold turkey again. After a year...a very hard and frustrating year, I now know just how careful I have to be. And no food is worth feeling the way I did. I can now tolerant dairy again...as long as I don't have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner that is. =)

I make most of my food at home...and here are two of my favorites when I really want something yummy and filling. I love Avocado so both of these recipes have it but taste good without also.

Sarahs Super Nachos

I started making Nachos with Kettle wrinkle potato chips about 5 years ago and I don't think I've had corn tortillas chips since.

Kettle Potato chips, the ridges NOT the thins, either in sea salt or salt and pepper (once again, not the thin ones, they get soggy)
Sweet Corn, plain or mixed with a little Curry if you are adventurous
Black Beans
Cheese of Choice, I go with Mozzarella
Bake in the oven until cheese is slightly golden on the edges
Then Add..
Avocado slices
Sour Cream 

It's addicting...I think my ass is two sizes bigger because of it. =)




GF Hawaiian Pizza

WHole Foods GF pizza crust (found in the freezer section and comes in a two pack, better than ANY restaurant GF crust I've tried.)
Trader Joe's Arrabiata Sauce (best red sauce in the world, and Gluten Free)
Mozzarella Cheese
Pineapple Slices
Pepperoni

Bake at 350 then raise to 375 for a few minutes to brown the pineapple a little
After its baked, add sliced avocado. YUM!!

Surprise!! You have Potatoes!

I don’t buy all organic always but potatoes, being tubers, are on my organic only list. Organic potatoes root quickly and I don’t always cook them in time. When I have a few past their time, like any other veggie, I give it a final send off by throwing it into the backyard. I’ve needed to mow the back yard for about a week. It’s been muggy or raining so I kept putting it off. Tonight being 75, I had no excuse. I mowed over a few new weeds by the back fence but the others were to close to the fence to annihilate. When I finished up the back, I walked over to pull up the remaining plants and this came up.

 

Surprise!! You have baby golden potatoes! If I had known growing potatoes was this damn easy I would have done it a long time ago. Turns out I still have 4 plants…so I didn’t destroy the whole natural spud garden. I was thinking about replanting them in my raised beds but the beds aren’t deep enough so I left them by the fence.

Something else really taking off is my Blackberries. They started as a clearance bush from Lowes I bought 2 years ago. The first year I had a few blackberries but nothing to write home about. The plant continued to get bigger though so I wrapped it around the fence piece I’d planted it in front of.

 

A couple of weeks ago it was covered in blooms and now has over 200 blackberries on it. I’ll have to guard it closely so I get more berries than the birds do.

Update Cheap Furniture: DIY Bookshelf and Furniture Revamp with Fabric

When it comes to furniture I'm extremely picky. I've lived in my house for 3 years before I bought a sofa. It's not because I'm dirt poor, I have saved money for one. It's not because there are no sofas for sale in my town, there are thousands. I just don't like any of them. I hate most traditional items unless its sacasum or painted a bright color. The Southern Country middle class that every furniture store seems to showcase is off putting. And don't get me started on Micro suede. Gross!!! I'd rather wait and slowly buy things I love then have a house full of cheap crap. =P

That being said I have a few pieces of cheap crap bought out of necessity. One being a cabinet from Target to put my CD's in. I've yet to jump on the download bandwagon. I like my music in disc form with a case and a slip of lyrics and pictures that the musicians can autograph.

I think the cabinet was $29.99 on sale and came in a flat box and you put it together yourself. It's pressed board...another cringe worthy phrase for me. It came in Black and Espresso. Espresso is a name given to dark brown furniture to get women to buy it. It's a beautiful marketing ploy. We love the word even if we don't drink coffee.

I went to Joann’s Fabrics with my 20% percent off coupon I printed from the Internet. Always check for these before you go. Most of the Fabric was already 30% to 60% off so double score. I was also covering some bookshelves...more about those a little later. I only found two fabrics I liked in the whole store (there's that pickiness again) so luckily I only needed two for my projects.

The Fabric I choose for the cabinet was in the Upholstery section and a bit thicker than the other. It was a bit loud but I wanted a print with teal and brown in it that wasn't a stripe, polka dot or floral and once you eliminate those there's not a whole lot left. Pink is not in my living room color scheme but it's a lead actress in my kitchen and bedroom. A little pink in the living room never hurt anyone.

I also bought a can of Medium spray adhesive since I was using a coupon. This stuff is amazing. I normally wouldn't blow $9.99 on a can of anything but I splurged when it was 20% off. =P

First I took the doors off the cabinet and measured the fabric to cover the front of the doors and wrap the edges. It's basically like wrapping a giant schoolbook. I heavily sprayed the fabric down and laid it on top of the door. I then quickly smoothed out from edge to edge so there weren't any air bubbles. I made holes where the handles attached simply buy pushing the screw in...then reattached the handles. Easy Peasy.

When I cut the fabric I did have the pattern continuously wrap the doors but somehow I ended up with one piece upside down. I was sure I triple checked this so was quite bummed to see that I'd somehow screwed it up. I lived with the Espresso for awhile before I decided it was too dark. I choose a metallic gold to lighten it up.

In my office I have two $12.99 Target bookshelves that I loathe. They were left here by my old roommate. Since I have so much craft supplies though I need them or else all that stuff would be in a pile in the floor. This was the original reason I thought about covering the furniture. Once again they are the "Espresso" color.

I wanted a Fabric in a graphic print and preferably had turquoise in it. My style preference for the Office keeps shifting from Mad Men to India and back again. I lucked out and found a print that would work for either so I can put off that stressing me out decision again.

Since I was covering exposed edges I decided it would be cleanest to hem the fabric all the way around. This was very time consuming without a sewing machine. I used Fabric glue which has become a staple in my life. (OMG fixed all my work pant hems in about 5 minutes and its washable...genius)

I have my electric outlets on the outside of my walls since my house is cement. It's kind of a cool industrial look but it makes it hard to find a place for the bookshelves as there's only one place in the office that they can be flesh with the wall. That place is very inconvenient for the placement of my other office decor and computer. To solve this problem I removed the backs of the shelves so the outlet could just come through.

I used the fabric glue and the spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the bookshelves just like the cabinet. For now I'm leaving some of the "Espresso" and decided not to cover the whole thing. I haven't decided if I want to paint the exposed "wood" or leave it as is. Next I need to cover some of the shelving accessories. =)