DIY Tinted Sunscreen w/ Moisturizer

I admit: conventional sunscreen kinda freaks me out. All of those chemicals... so I stopped using it, and switched to zinc based natural sunscreen. And by switched, I mean I tried several, hated that they turn my already pale skin paler and chalky, and gave up wearing sunscreen.

The other day I was wishing that I could just make a tinted moisturizer/sunscreen like I used to in high school. Then I smacked myself in the forehead for being an idiot, grabbed some supplies out of the bathroom, and made myself some.

Ingredients:
Sunscreen (preferrably a natural one that absorbs well)
Lotion (a fairly thin one that you like to use on your face)
Powdered or liquid foundation slightly darker than your skin tone (bonus points if you use a natural mineral foundation)

Put your sunscreen in a bowl and mix in lotion until it gets to the consistency that you want. Generally the natural sunscreen is pretty thick, hence why I suggested a thinner lotion. Then start adding foundation and mixing until when you rub the concoction on your face it disappears.

This may not work on all skin tones, I'm pretty pale so it worked well on me - I put it on half of my hand, and you can barely tell!

Quick Fix: Booster Seat Cover

Extra fitted crib sheet + not so cute booster seat = free improvement!

Superhero Cape!

sorry so blurry - superheroes seldom stand still!

While chillin' with Max over winter vacation, he decided to be a super hero. Spider-Man was a favorite - and apparently to be Spider-Man you need a cape, boxing gloves, and rubber boots. Now, that's some imagination. :)

I followed the instructions over at The Southern Institute, for a no-sew project, using a snap instead of velcro, and Max picked out a shirt with print already on it so we didn't DIY the artwork. Instead, he's rockin' the '09 Solstice. I suggested something else, but nope. He really likes that design, so we went with it!

Friday Flashback

• Wordless Wednesday: Unattended Cereal + Toddler =
• ANOTHER Birthday Pound Cake
• Birthday Pound Cake

Mason Jar Oil Lantern Redux

As you know, I love me some Pinterest. The inspiration for one of the projects that I've done, an olive oil lantern (genius), came from Pinterest. I added some essential oil for fragrance, and I keep it in the kitchen to deal with cooking smells. I got sick of the wick falling into the oil and of the cat testing the oil (when it wasn't lit, obviously) - so I punched a hole in a canning jar lid with the pointy end of a bottle/can opener and fed the wick through the hole. Done!

Flower Power Hat!

My mom's trying to get rid of her little balls of yarn (so she can buy more yarn) so I've been trying to help her with scrap busting projects. Enter: The flower power hat! I just winged it on the basis of casting on 80 stitches of worsted weight on #6 needles = hat sized, then divided it out into 5 petals... ok, so not super easy to explain. I'll write down the pattern one of these days. In the meantime, didn't it turn out cute? I'm pretending (badly pretending) that I intended for it to be adult size... in reality it was supposed to be for a not-quite-3-year-old. Oh well, I'm hoping her mom will like it. :)

Under the Kitchen Sink

That just sounds like the title to a horror movie. "Under the Kitchen Sink." Blech. (I know, it looks dirty under there - but I swear it's clean!)

Under the sink used to be an awful mess. Plastic bags were the main culprit - and the solution was a simple one. I cut the arm off an old, long sleeved shirt, tied up the wrist end, and put an embroidery hoop in the upper arm to hold it open (a pink one!). I left some overhang on purpose to help hold bags inside, mounted the hoop on a cup hook I put on the side of the cabinet, and shoved the bags in. Success!

Once that was taken care of, it was easy to sort through all of the stuff under there and get it in the right place - whether that was a smaller container, a different cabinet, or the trash. I had a good chat with myself about what cleaners I actually use, and which ones are just there. I used the same mentality as a lot of organizers use - if you haven't used it in 3-6 months, throw it out! Granted, the Costco size thing of dish soap that I never use won't actually be thrown away, I'm bringing it to our local food shelf. (Hubby did the shopping one day and mis-read my "dishwasher detergent" note, so we ended up with a gallon of dish soap.)

Friday Flashback

• Washing Little Toys
• Me Versus the Head Cold: The Result
• Sinus Warriors
• Ultimate Toddler Present
• I’m BAAAaaaack!

For Love of Cauliflower

So, I'm back on the Atkins bandwagon after having a carb-o-liscious holiday season. I only gained 5 pounds which is commendable, and I'm sure it'll shed quickly.

In my efforts to eat Atkins friendly but still get that carby satisfaction, I'm experimenting with cauliflower. The key seems to be chopping it up finely, then cooking it in a pan with no oil to dry it out. Then you can use it to replace rice or shredded potato. I've found recipes for "pizza" bites, tater tots, "fried" (baked) cauliflower (using coconut flour), and a sweet bbq roasted cauliflower. NOM.

I really need to get some in the garden this year - and not kill it. Last year I planted it as a fall crop, but it was too hot to germinate. Perhaps as a spring crop I'll have better luck.

Framing Pretty Things

I have a nice little collection of pretty pins that have been given to me that belonged to women in my family. I love to look at them, but I never wear pins. So I wrapped black velvet around the glass in a few pretty picture frames and mounted the pins in the middle. I have one silver hand mirror that is an heirloom, and another that I picked up at an estate sale. I added that to the mix and hung it all up with a whole bunch of tiny finishing nails. Pretty, isn't it?

The Winter Garden

before

No, I'm not talking about cold frames. I'm talking about container gardening with my houseplants. Sometimes I just need to get some dirt under my fingernails. So - I repotted my peace lily and potted some pothos ivy cuttings. I ran out of pots... out came the old colanders, the tea tins, and one cookie tin. The peace lily alone split into 7, and could have done more but I had no more containers. They like being a bit root bound, so I'm not concerned. I warned my boss that I'd be bringing in some plants from home, I don't know if she (or I) realized just how many!

check out that root ball!

during

after!

Friday Flashback

• Secret Agent Mom and Other Nicknames
• Breakfast Hash in the Crock Pot (Mostly)
• Beautiful Food
• All Joking Aside...
• Frugal Luxuries: Cleaning Carpets
• The Sniffles and Coughs
• Cool Recycled Envelope
• I'm Dreaming of a White... Thanksgiving?
• Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
• It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Thrift-Mas...

Water Pressure = Bliss

Apparently the bad water pressure in the shower was due to a crappy shower head. I finally installed the shower head that I got at Goodwill a few years ago (new in package for $5.98!). Bliss...

Frugal Luxuries: Banana Hook

We go through a lot of bananas. Well, more specifically, Max goes through a lot of bananas. I didn't like having them laying on the counter, and having a big fruit bowl out just for bananas seemed silly (apples are kept in the cupboard). I thought of getting a banana hook, something like this, but that would be yet one more thing on the counter top.

So, my simple, slap the forehead, that was easy, solution? Install a hardware hook under the cabinet. Obviously! And it costs a quarter of the the price of the one from the container store. Now when we tell Max that we're out of bananas, he can see for himself that we're telling the truth. And, since he's such a smarty-pants, he can count exactly how many bananas we have left. :)

I Was Productive

Hubby picks on me that when I take a vacation I don't do what "normal" people do - which seems to consist of wearing pj's/sweats all day and watching a lot of daytime TV. I countered that I do, in fact, stay in my pj's/sweats all day. I just seldom turn on the TV.

Instead, I:

• Paint the living room
• Wire a light fixture
• Install a new shower head
• Mend clothes
• Do a bunch of clean-out-the-freezer cooking
• Wash enormous amounts of laundry
• Finish random projects that I've been putting off forever... I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't just shove the project to the side to clear room on the counter - I'd finish it!

All while chillin with Max, who is in the midst of potty training. He was so good, he didn't touch the paint once! I can't say the same for the cats, but you can't win them all. lol