Masked

Dry Skin All Purpose Mask:
A great recipe for a face mask, as always, make sure you are not allergic to any ingredients before you apply the mask on your face.

1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. dry black tea
1 tsp. clover honey
1 egg white
1/2 avocado
1 slice fresh peach

Mash and blend all ingredients and apply mask evenly on face. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and rinse with warm water and cloth.

Friends, Beer, Chemistry - Sounds Like a Party!

Ever find yourself in this situation?  Food is all done and out on the buffet table, the music is playing, the grill is hot, friends are ringing the door bell and oh! you forgot to chill the beverages.  Not to worry, science to the rescue. My favorite TV personalities, the Mythbusters, have demonstrated that getting beer to it's perfect drinking temperature takes only 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes. How? you ask...

...by adding a mixture of salt & water to the ice in your cooler. The salt melts the ice and lowers the waters freezing point resulting in water that is as much as 10F colder almost instantly.  Use a generous amount of salt for large coolers, just pour it on. Room temperature beverages will chill to perfection in 5 minutes. 

Cheers!

Girly Girl Nutrition

Looking our best is not just up to the contents of our closets, it predominately based on the contents of our refrigerators and pantry closets. Majority of women find themselves deficient of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, C and B-complex as well as essential fatty acids. Blood work is the key to finding out what your body is missing, but a simple evaluation of your diet can steer you in the right direction. Below is a list of foods that provide the needed nutrients to the femme body.

Iron:
whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, raisins, wheat germ, dried apricots, egg yolks, oysters, red meat [raised with no antibiotics], vegetables and fortified cereals.

Calcium:
almonds, dark greens, dairy

Magnesium:
beans, nuts, whole grains, vegetables

Vitamin D*:
cod liver oil, fish oil, salmon, sardines, egg yolks, beef liver
* "it is difficult to ingest sufficient amounts of vitamin D from food sources alone"

Vitamin B*:
dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds
* vitamin B can be depleted by stress

Vitamin C:
broccoli, peppers, citrus, strawberries, tomatoes

Essential Fatty Acids:
fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, dark leafy greens, omega3s and omega6s


source: Women's Health - Whole Body May 2010 Whole Foods Market, IP, L.P

Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver is a breath of fresh air in the food culture, I write this as I chow down on a toaster oven pizza, ewww! What am I thinking? It is a vice I have to battle, but aside from the frozen-pizza-for-one, the remainder of my diet is excellent. I am a vegetarian, like a real one, most of the food I eat is raw veggies, sea weeds, bread so full of grains that it falls apart, cashews, almonds etc... Once in a while I have to have some dark chocolate and dismally, my childhood addiction - the plain, all cheese, Brooklyn style pizza.

It took me a while to get to this point, I had to educate myself on the level of poisons dumped into the food we eat daily. I ate school lunch everyday for 8 or 9 years; when I think about that I still get sick, that food is disgusting, and I had no clue. No one told me and I didn't ask.

Among the small army of my favorite chefs, health gurus and their books is Jamie Oliver.
Besides having superb vegetarian recipes, Jamie has a higher calling and that is to pass on the delicious, nutritious and healthy way of life.

Listen to Jamies TED talk then check out his petition and what it's all about and if you have some time left, pick a recipe for tonight's dinner. Bon Appétit!

Winter Hats

Finally mustered up the will to post my knit hats on Etsy. Hope you love them! Click here to check them out.

Coffee, not just for drinking.

Baby threw up on the couch? Last night's party got out of hand? Cover the stinky stain area with instant coffee to get rid of the odor. It eliminates it COMPLETELY! Be careful however, coffee might stain certain fabrics, especially the light colored ones, so test beforehand.

Paper Love

I went to B&N to buy a new weekly planner for 2010. For some reason no stores ever sell these things in December or January, so this year I had to make sure I purchased mine at the height of the season, when the selection was at it's prime... but I digress.

I love Molenskie notebooks, I own a few, so I was very happy to see that they also had weekly planners. Fantastic. Then I walked by another brand of notebooks and planners that were just as chic and simple. ECOSYSTEM. Made from 100% post consumer recycled paper. Made is the USA and 25% less in cost. SOLD! I bought a whole bunch of notepads, including my weekly planner.

Molenskie is made in China and costs more, explain that to me please! ECOSYSTEM! Buy it! Love it!

Face Mask

I learned this one, aw... about 12 years ago. It's for tightening pores. The recipe is:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon [fresh squeezed]
3 drops of vitamin E oil

Mix together and apply to face, carefully avoiding the eyes. Keep on for 10 minutes, rinse with warm water.

Good Read...

Sophie Uliano has an 8 "simple step" solution to living your fabulous life a little... greener. Gorgeously Green is an easy read full of great advice about everyday living. Check it out!

Whiter Teeth

Twitter is fantastic for great info, here is an article by Karina Timmel from Health.com:

"The secret to this inexpensive home whitening method is malic acid, which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration. Combined with baking soda, strawberries become a natural tooth-cleanser, buffing away stains from coffee, red wine, and dark sodas. While it’s no replacement for a bleaching treatment at your dentist’s office, “this is a fast, cheap way to brighten your smile,” says Adina Carrel, DMD, a dentist in private practice at Manhattan Dental Arts in New York. “Be careful not to use this too often, though, as the acid could damage the enamel on your teeth.”

You need:
1 ripe strawberry
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions: Crush the strawberry to a pulp, then mix with the baking soda until blended. Use a soft toothbrush to spread the mixture onto your teeth. Leave on for 5 minutes, then brush thoroughly with toothpaste to remove the berry–baking soda mix. Rinse. (A little floss will help get rid of any strawberry seeds.) Carrel says you can apply once a week."

Hand made wonders!

I have been complaining about the lack of diversity in retail market for quite some time now. The brands that we find at the global malls these day like to play it safe... resulting in the same t-shirt being sold under various labels at various prices. If my little heart desires something more innovative, unique or even avant guarde, I have to look to the fashion gods across the pond in EU, and happily fork over my weekly paycheck. Well!!! there is another way... ESTY.com.

It's all handmade by the sellers and well one of a kind, unique, avant guarde, etc... check it out for yourself, contact the artists for more info about the item you love before you buy, or if you're crafty set up an account yourself and start selling! :)

Radon

This is a very important thing to ask your landlord about [if you are renting] or if you own your home, take the appropriate steps to test your home. Radon is a radioactive gas that has no odor, taste or color and it is harmful. The website below provides important information about radon and how to protect yourself and your family.

http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html

Eww! Margarine!

Below is a re-post from an e-mail I received this morning. Checking with a few sources to see if it's legit. DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter? Both have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams. Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Studyeating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added! Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods. Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years. And now, for Margarine.. Very high in Trans fatty acids. Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol). Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold... Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response.. And here's the most disturbing fact..... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING! Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: * no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) * it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?