My Favorite Things

Sometimes I come across beauty products, recipes, exercise tips, books, quotes, etc., etc. that I just want to share with everyone, but there is really no good way to do that. Here is a list of things that I come across that just make me happy that I found them, and they might just make you happy too!

Homemade Beauty Products

I absolutely love doing little things during the week to treat myself in simple ways that help me feel pretty. From face masks to sugar scrubs I love it all. Unfortunately I am very poor and cannot afford to go trying out different products to see which ones work best for my skin and hair. Things that can be made from products around the house make me happy. I love the idea of using homemade beauty products because I know the exact ingredients being used, they are generally things I already have, and I feel natural, healthy, and organic.

1. Oatmeal Face Mask: Just recently I have been using oatmeal to "wash" my face every couple of days. I don't use a face wash; I just rinse my face with water at night if I wore makeup during the day. This has worked for me, but I like to feel like I am doing something to improve the look and feel of my skin. The other day on a morning "mom" TV show there was a guest on who had a bunch of homemade beauty products and oatmeal was one of them. Here is the link to her website because she has a lot of different things to try: www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com For this face wash I grind up a bunch of oatmeal and keep in a container so I have enough to last awhile. Just use a couple of tablespoons of the ground up oatmeal and add whatever natural products you like. I suggest using grapefruit, lemon, or grape juice, baking soda, honey, or any combination of the previous. If you just want to use the oatmeal plain without fruit juice, add enough water so it's like a paste. Apply using circular motions and rinse immediately or leave it on for a few minutes.  It may seem weird, but I promise that it feels wonderful, and it feels like I am doing something extra to treat myself when I don't feel so beautiful sitting at home taking care of a baby all day.
2. Homemade Sugar Scrub: One of my favorite products to use is sugar scrubs. I love how my skin feels so smooth and soft afterwards, and I really feel like my skin is glowing. I don't limit myself to just my hands or legs, but I use it all over my body in the shower about once a week-mainly on date night when I want to go the extra mile to look beautiful for my husband. Sugar scrubs are pretty expensive to buy on a regular basis, so I was so excited to learn that I could make it myself with basic products around the house. Again, this is on the website I linked above. Mix about 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup of baby oil, and pour in a few tablespoons of lemon juice. You can adjust the ingredients to get your desired consistency and any variety of acidic fruit juices or scented oils you want to use can substitute the lemon juice.
3. Baking Soda: Baking soda can basically be used for everything and anything, but I recently saw on the Dr. Oz show an application for hair. You can mix about 2 tsp. with your shampoo to wash out all of the left over residue and build-up. I tried it, and it worked really well, and I like it a lot better than vinegar because it doesn't smell. 

Cooking

www.melskitchencafe.com
My mother told me about this website, and it has reignited my fire to prepare regular meals again. I love to cook, but I can never think of what to cook, and I (having a bachelors in exercise and wellness) know the benefits of using fresh ingredients and preparing homemade meals. This website has a plethora of recipes with detailed descriptions, pictures, and Mel is just a fun person to follow. I just made the BBQ Chicken Salad and Peanut Butter Toffee Pretzel Brownies and both turned out amazing. Seriously, anybody who cooks or who is interested in cooking needs to peruse this website.