What's We're Eating This Week!

So, I have this Pinterest board... It's called "What We're Eating This Week". Every week I post all the recipes we're going to be using for the week. I had something similar started on another blog but stopped doing it because it was so. much. work. to post the recipes, directions, pictures, etc... Pinterest does it for me now! :) Here's a sampling of our meals... Follow me and see what our creative menu looks like every week!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Peach Whiskey BBQ Chicken

Cheddar Beer Chicken in the Crockpot

Ammonia and all things clean

Growing up, my mom always used diluted ammonia to clean the bathrooms with. Oddly enough, the smell of it brings back fond childhood memories. Weird, I know. Anyways....

We have a gas stove in our little apartment. It was brand spankin new when we moved in. That's both good and bad. It's nice to know what we've been the only ones to use it but it also means that our deposit will be covering the initiation of said stove. All the stovetop pieces were nasty! I've scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with nothing seeming to work. I even threw all the parts into the dishwasher on the "pots and pans" cycle with HOT water in hopes that maybe it would partially clean it. Nope. Didn't touch it. The only thing that worked...

AMMONIA!

Here's what I did:

4 gallon sized baggies
Ammonia
Green scouring pad

Place the parts of each burner into a gallon baggie. Pour in some ammonia (1 cup or so... I poured until I felt it was enough), seal the baggie, and throw it out on the back porch overnight. The next morning (or afternoon...) grab a bag, cut it open, and use a green scouring pad with a little soap finish up. The burnt on, sticky gunk will come right off! A word to the wise though... You might want to open a window or door because straight vinegar that's been simmering in it's own juices overnight is stiiiiinky!

I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it's not mine. I found it on Pinterest and had to try it! What did I have to loose?! I'm a believer now.

Sadly, I forgot to take a "before" picture. Imagine how incredibly yucky a stove is for someone who loves to cook (me!). It was worse than that. But, I do have an "after":

Now it's your turn! Go clean!

Project New Face, Commence!

For about the last year or so, I've been completely unhappy with the look of my face. As I get older (uh, I'm still in my 20's, for another year at least...), I'm noticing that not everything works the way it used to. My metabolism doesn't mirror that of my 16 year old self, the war-wounds on my belly boast of the 2 crazy boys running around my house, and my skin has become dull, dry, and splotchy--especially on my face. I've bounced from product to product, exfoliator to exfoliator, lotion to lotion, with no success in obtaining vibrant, clean, moist (not oily!) skin. I've used professional brands (read: expensive!), over-the-counter brands, and everything in between. NOTHING has been working! Enter: Oil Cleansing Method.

In my previous cosmetic schooling (I was a white lab coat wearing Clinique girl in my early working years), I have a general idea of HOW to properly clean your face, albeit the Clinique way: Wash, Tone, Moisturize. There is much more to it when you're working at an actual makeup counter, but for all intensive purposes, I'll spare you details and stick with the basics. :) In my search for a good facial cleansing system, I came across the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). There are a bazillion ways to do it. Literally. There's a whole science behind this method that boils down to: oil cleanses oil. It may seem weird to wash an oily, dirty, acne-prone face with oil, but most times acne is caused by hormonal, bacterial, and, well, a dirty face--not oil. Considering nothing else was working, I really had nothing to loose!

This is a direct quote from acne.com:

“Oil dissolves oil. One of the most basic principals of chemistry is that “like dissolves like.” The best way to desolve a non-polar solvent like sebum/oil, is by using another non-polar solvent similar in composition: other oils. By using the right oils, you can cleanse your pores of dirt and bacteria naturally, gently and effectively, while replacing the dirty oil with beneficial ones extracted from natural botanicals, vegetables and fruit that heal, protect and nourish your skin. When done properly and consistently, the OCM can clear the skin from issues like oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, blackheads, whiteheads and other problems caused by mild to moderate acne–while leaving your skin healthy, balanced and properly moisturized.”


Here's what my (new) routine is:

AM: splash of water (usually in the shower) to wake my skin up. I have SERIOUSLY dry skin so I use a dab of pure olive oil on a cotton ball and rub it on.

PM: OCM and I use the Lemon Water Toner (recipe below) every other night. That's IT!

 (NOTE: There are a few ingredients that you won't use in the next few recipes... Those extra ingredients are for a hand lotion that will be in a future blog post!)

The OCM recipe can be tailored to your specific skin needs:

Ingredients-
Olive Oil (the darker the glass bottle and the more expensive it is, the better!)
Castor Oil (can be found in the pharmacy. Walmart has it for like $2).

For normal skin: 1 part olive oil to 1 part castor oil.

For dry skin (ME!): 3 parts olive oil to 1 part castor oil. *EDIT: I actually started using 4/1 because I'm so dry.

For oily/acne-prone skin: 1 part olive oil to 3 parts castor oil.

I suggest doing 1-2 tablespoons of your mixture at a time so you can fine tune what works best on your skin. I used a glass oil/vinegar bottle from Walmart. It was around $2.

Gently massage the mixture into your face for about 60 seconds, finishing with your eyes. DO NOT wet your face first. Rinse a washcloth in warm water (not scalding, but as hot as you can stand), and, after wringing it out, lay it on your face until it feels room-temp, about 60 seconds. The steam helps remove the impurities in your skin and clears out your pores. Rinse the washcloth again and, in a circular motion, gently wipe off the OCM from your face and eyes. Pat dry. This is a fabulous makeup remover for your whole face--eyes included! No raccoon eyes, which is better than any makeup remover I've ever used. :)

The Lemon Toner:

Ingredients-
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is better!)
1 cup water (I use distilled)
2/3 cup witch hazel (also at Walmart for $1 or so...)

Mix all ingredients into a glass bottle (preferably--you can use plastic too, but there's additional chemicals that leak into the toner...). Once you're done with your OCM, moisten a cotton ball and rub onto your face, using an "up and out" swipe. You'll notice that you won't even need a moisturizer after this step. Your skin will feel moist, clean, and refreshed.

This is a picture of my FIRST time using the lemon toner. Yes, that's dry skin (and probably some dirt...). Gross, huh? This week I'll be taking another picture to show how much BETTER they look now!

*One thing to note: do NOT do OCM both morning and night! There's no need to! You will only "gain" breakouts from the massive amounts of oil your skin would have to absorb. Not worth it!


 For the first few days (and up to a week), you'll notice that your skin is "oily". This is a GOOD sign! Your skin needs to re-adjust to how much oil to make so when you do this, you're essentially re-programming your skin. Let it do it's thing! If, after a week or so, you are still having a hard time and/or experiencing breakouts, you're using too much olive oil. And, if you're still experiencing dryness (ME!), up your olive oil in our OCM.

I've been doing this for 6 weeks and will NEVER go back! It's waaaay more economical than an OTC or cosmetic counter system and I'm experiencing changes in my face that I'm sure a $200 cream couldn't match! WORTH. IT.