Oil Moisturizing

Again on this more natural kick I've been on, I've been trying to get rid of my very un-natural beauty products and go more natural. I already use witch hazel and rose water as a toner, and a natural, handmade soap from Salt Spring Island. However, I didn't have a moisturizer I was happy with, and quite frankly, I wasn't willing to spend big moolah on a natural, brand name product. So, as usual, I did some reading!

My favorite blog, Crunchy Betty, has a couple great articles on oil cleansing (which I plan on trying when I run out of my soap) and oil moisturizing. My mum has been using an olive oil cleanser for years, and while for some strange reason, that worked for me very well when I was pregnant, it now results in serious breakouts. I decided I'm ready to try the method again, after doing more reading and realizing that there are actually better oils than olive oil to use for this. To start of, I thought I'd take a baby step and see how oil moisturizing worked! 

Don't be put off by the oil aspect of this technique like I initially was! Using oil (the right oil, albeit) on your face actually helps your skin balance its oil production, so you can combat dry OR oily skin with this method.

So far, just over two weeks in, I'm absolutely LOVING it! My skin is incredibly smooth and radiant and glowing and blemish-free. More of all the above than I ever remember it! As with all things I've tried since going more natural, I wish I'd done this sooner!

I would recommend reading this article - Simple Homemade 3-Ingredient Facial Oil Moisturizer - on Crunchy Betty if you're interested in trying this. While you're at it, browse through her blog for other great, easy home remedies! She also has a great article on Troubleshooting the Oil Cleansing Method.

For myself, with combination skin, these are the oils I used:

Grape Seed Oil as the base - a lovely, mild scented oil that acts as a wonderful base for normal, oily or acne-prone skin. To start things off, I made a small batch of this, in case I reacted to it, and only used about 2 tbsp of this oil.
Tamanu Oil - I've wanted to try this oil for months and months, but it's expensive, so i've put it off. I decided it was finally time to splurge and bought a small bottle. I only used about a teaspoon and I find that's all I need. It's got a distinctive nutty, curry-ish scent. Sounds odd, I know, but I kind of like it! This oil is incredible! It feels amazing and is really good for scars and acne, both of which I have!
Evening Primrose Oil - Another oil i've been wanting to try for a while, both topically and internally, but it's not safe to take when you're pregnant. It is, however, safe and beneficial to take while breastfeeding (and is safe for baby's skin if your little one has dry skin like mine)! I bought a big bottle of capsules and put just one in my blend to try, and have been taking it daily internally as well.
Lavender Essential Oil - my all-time favourite essential oil. I use this for everything: sunburns, bug bites, added into coconut oil for dry skin or muscle aches or even congestion, put directly blemishes… the list could go on. I added 5 drops of this to my blend.
Lemongrass Essential Oil - I don't use this oil for much except deodorizing, but I decided to add it to my blend because of it's uplifting and brightening scent and how well it blends with lavender oil. I added 2 drops of this to my blend.

After trying this out for two weeks, in conjunction with a thyme infused witch hazel toner (blog post to come), I found that while it worked wonders for my blemishes, and I loved the way it felt, my skin was more dry than I initially thought - my nose was starting to peel a bit. So I decided to add argan oil to the mix too. When I went out to get these oils initially, my mum came with me and bought some of this lovely oil and absolutely loves it. With her testimony and the reading I had done on it, I thought it would be a good addition. Again, this is another expensive oil, so I personally wouldn't use it as the base oil, but as an add-in. It can be used as a base though!

Argan Oil - Another lovely, nutty scented oil that's great for dry skin. I added only about a tsp or two and in a day, the dry skin on my nose was gone! And it's not overly oily, so I feel that this was a perfect addition to my blend! It's also great on it's own to put around your eyes to help with dark circles and lines!

So very much in love with my new moisturizer!

Easy Homemade Shaving Cream… Oil...

I'm slowly getting Adrian involved in my very natural skin care schtuff, and he's being incredibly supportive! Of course he's not as excited as I am, but I can't expect that! Haha

I decided to start off by trying a shaving cream for him, because we read the label on the store brand foam that he's using and it's... well... scary. I looked for a few recipes, and for simplicity's sake, tried this one:

2/3 cup virgin coconut oil
2/3 cup shea butter
1/4 cup olive oil (I used a mix of jojoba and sweet almond oil… decided to add the almond oil after I took the picture below)
10 drops lavender essential oil (I used 12 drops of orange essential oil)
5 drops peppermint essential oil (I used 11 drops of lemongrass essential oil)
2 teaspoons baking soda

source: One Good Thing by Jillee

I didn't have enough shea butter, because I just used what was left of the really expensive stuff I bought for Jaxson, so I topped it up with cocoa butter. I ended up using 2 tbsp of shea and then about 6 tbsp of cocoa butter, so I'm not sure how much that changed the consistency. At Adrian's request, I scented it with orange and lemongrass essential oils. I like it, but it's quite a bit sweeter than I personally prefer, and I found that the cocoa butter made it smell like a Terry's chocolate orange. Makes kissing him more delicious! ;-)

Melting all the ingredients in a double boiler

After it had cooled completely, I added the baking soda and whipped it till it was stiff, slowly adding the essential oils till it smelled how I wanted it to.

It's a very easy recipe, but not really what I was expecting. Though honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, seeing as how it's all oils! So, naturally, it's very oily. It melts almost immediately in your hand, and I was expecting it to be more of a cream. I wonder if using more shea would help with that consistency? So I'm a little disappointed, and I know Adrian is too, though he would never say it outright. I will definitely be trying a different recipe for him next time. On the plus side, when I whipped it, what I thought initially would fit in one jar filled to overflowing two! I gave one to my mum after I tried it out for myself and absolutely loved! It'll be great for the dry winter months too, moisture-rich.

Getting Back on the Yoga Bandwagon

I have to admit, since completing the 40 day challenge, I fell off my yoga routine quite a bit. I've only been doing yoga twice a week since, and I've really been feeling it. I haven't been sleeping well because of it, which is a vicious cycle, because then I feel too exhausted during the day to do yoga, and then because I haven't taken that time for myself, I don't sleep well, ad infinitum. 

There were a couple reasons I stopped, though really they're just poor excuses. Jaxson got pretty sick and was on antibiotics, for which I have very mixed feelings and so was stressed the whole week he was on them. And just recently I realized a big part of it is that I was bored with the DVDs I have. I was needing more variation in my practice, greater options for class length, difficulty, and types of yoga.

Yesterday, I did a 40 minute class from an online website with my yoga buddy and mommy friend, Brittany. She had told me about this website a while ago, but until yesterday, I'm ashamed to say, I never visited it. 

First and foremost, wow! This site is not what I expected. I was skeptical, because yoga is so expensive, I didn't know how good a free website would be. I though it would be a bunch of amateurs posting videos. It's not. This site has given me a whole new drive!

The guy who started it is a Vancouver-based yogi and instructor who wants to make yoga more accessible, so he started this site and runs it purely on donations and DVD sales. So far, it seems to be working. There are hundreds of classes from about 20 different teachers, all levels, all styles. He also has a tab dedicated to instruction on some of the more difficult poses like crow or headstand, as well as the basics like downward dog and child's pose! As well as that, he has a tab with videos teaching yogic breathing as well as one on yoga anatomy, where he talks about muscles of the body and proper yogic posture.

I was flabbergasted by the amount on here, and the professionalism. To be honest, after the class, I spent an hour just sifting through the site! David Procyshyn, the founder, really does make yoga accessible. 

The instructor we followed yesterday, Fiji, is insane! An advanced yogi who explains things very well and runs a beautiful, organized flow!  I loved her class!

The one unfortunate thing about the site, as a busy mum, is most of the classes are an hour long or more (a standard yoga class, so really, not a downside if you can make the time). However, this is something I'm wanting to work up to, and the great thing about yoga is you make the practice your own, so Brittany and I talked and decided that, really, we could either just do as much of the class as we have time for, stop it, and wind down ourselves, or break the class into two 30ish minute halves. Either totally doable, especially because as a mum, you learn to adapt and get whatever flow you can throughout the day and not stress about how it happens or when.

 
So I am once again jazzed for my yoga practice and am so very excited to explore this site more and hope that word and support of it spreads!

The site is Do Yoga With Me Online. Check it out and happy yoga-ing!

Yay for Neti Pots!

I recently, finally, bought a Neti pot. I've heard about them for YEARS, but just haven't been able to bring myself to try one. However, since I'm on more of an all natural spree than ever, and I'm living in the very cold prairies, and having a baby means I don't sleep well (even though he's sleeping through the night), I am therefore frequently congested.

Plus, my mum has been using one for months now and loves it. She originally bought a cheap plastic one and then when I invested in one of the traditional ceramic ones, she did too. She likes it way more than the plastic one. On top of the Neti pot, I bought a box of the saline solution to use with it. If you're cheap, you can make your own using baking soda and Himalayan rock salt (Google for a recipe). This is what my mum does, and it works wonderfully!

I've got to say, I'm completely sold! I love it! I love how clear my nose is after I use it. I love how much better I can smell after I use it - especially awesome when something's cooking! 

I don't love the initial feeling of the water running up one nostril and down and out the other. But once it gets going, it's actually not that bad. The initial feeling is very much like getting water up your nose when you dive into the pool wrong, without the force or as much aching, stinging pain as it's thrust into your sinuses as well, or it rushing down your throat too. It's only the first second or so that's slightly uncomfortable and then it doesn't feel like anything, and when you stop to blow out, it feels amazing! 

The trick is to keep breathing through your mouth, not swallow and not accidentally breath through your nose and ultimately put yourself in a world of hurt as salt water rushes into your sinuses. I realize I'm probably not really selling this thing very well, but trust me, it's incredible; it's worth a tiny bit of minor discomfort. I can't believe I never tried it before.

Having a Baby Friendly Kitchen

Doing…. well…. pretty much everything with a mobile baby is a challenge. Everything takes longer, because you have to stop and chase after the little bug. I'm trying hard not to say "no", because I don't think a kid should grow up with that being one of the first words he knows…. It's hard, though, to find ways around it…

Every time I go into the kitchen now, whether it's baking, or cleaning or preparing food for Jaxson, he follows me in, very quickly, and goes after everything he's not supposed to, naturally! Luckily, Adrian and I have baby proofed all the drawers he can reach, but we have an open-faced hutch that used to house our blender, my crock pot, the toaster and a couple really big stock pots. I know, I know, not the greatest idea to have in easy access of a baby, but give me a break, baby brain makes me act a LOT slower these days. I feel like I'm in a bit of a haze most of the time. I read recently that it's a really good idea to have a "safe" cupboard for your baby. Finally the other day, I had a light bulb moment for how we could do this in our kitchen. 

Aha! If I move all the Tupperware (of which we have a ton since having a baby) from the sizeable cupboard in which we kept it, to the hutch, and move all the hutch appliances to a cupboard that Jaxson hasn't figured out how to open, then I have to be less worried about Jaxson when my back is turned in the kitchen and wouldn't have to chase him around saying "no". Voila! Ingenious solution! Mommy genius in the house!

Discovering…..

Discovering…..

The mess begins!

Happy baby!!!

So now our hutch is absolutely baby friendly, complete with his sippy cups, some soothers and some awesome silicone funnels Adrian got months ago; basically everything in our kitchen that's baby friendly. All things I've given to Jaxson in the past to keep him occupied he now has without my help! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. This hutch now occupies him for at LEAST 30 minutes. That's plenty of time for me, especially since i've learned how to do things in hyper drive since having him!

:-)

Pecan Toffee Coffee Cake for Gramma's Birthday

Last week was my mum's (Gramma as she'll be known from here on out) birthday, but she went to her parents' to celebrate (yes, you sense a little jealousy) so Adrian suggested we make her dinner this week (what a great, caring husband I have!). Naturally, I kept at the idea, partially because I know she'd appreciate it and she's done so much for us and there's no way I could pay her back, and I love her so very very much, and partially because I really wanted to try out a cake from The Sweet Kitchen that I knew she'd love!

I was right. This cake was amazing. Very sweet, very good.

I have to admit, i've been spoiled with our Kitchenaid mixer. I made this cake at Gramma's house, so that when she came home from work, her place would smell amazing! However, this meant that I had to mix by hand (oh no! the horror!). But seriously, it was harder, a little less enjoyable. Still fun though!

Whew… by this time, I was sweating...

It's a nutmeg-y sour cream toffee pound cake with a toasted pecan, toffee, cinnamon and brown sugar filling in two layers! Yum!!

Ready to start putting it together! The bundt pan is oiled AND floured. I've never seen that before, but it worked really well!

The first layer of filling. You pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan, then make a trough in the middle of it and pour in half the filling, making sure not to let it touch the sides of the pan.

 Ready to bake!

Incredibly easy to make, as are all of her recipes so far, a little tricky to put together. I'm not too familiar with cakes yet, and as you can see, I don't think I cooked it long enough at first - 50 minutes at 350. The other option, after some problem solving, is that I didn't let it cool enough on a rack in the pan, before attempting to remove it from said pan. Luckily, Adrian helped me get it back in the bundt pan so I could bake it for another 10 minutes. It came out much nicer after that, but I have to admit, I was very disappointed it didn't look nice... I'm still really working on presentation... I've got taste down pat…

Looks done, right?

Boo…. It fell apart taking it out of the pan...

Another disappointment with this recipe was having to buy instant coffee powder... I died a little bit, being the coffee nut I am. I don't know if there is any good stuff, but I'm not jazzed with the cheap brand I bought... Worth a bit more research…

There were no complaints from mum or Adrian, and she even brought the left over to a staff meeting the next day and apparently they all liked it too! Haha so I guess it's just me being picky.

Ridiculously Easy Cornbread

I bought cornmeal the other day and have been dying to try out a recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book. Unfortunately, there's no cornbread recipe per say, but there are a couple cornmeal muffin recipes. So I decided to try one of those, and just stick it in a loaf pan instead. I prefer sweeter cornbread, so I tried this one:

I used yellow cornmeal instead.

So easy, another one that can be done on the fly, while chasing a little one around! However, I have to admit, not my favourite. Definitely not bad, and for how easy it was, I love it, but to be honest, I just found it kind of boring... Later this month, I'm going to attempt a sweet potato cornbread recipe from the Sweet Kitchen and see how it stacks up.

It doesn't rise very much at all, but look at that beautiful golden colour!

I love cornbread with warm beef on top and earlier this week, I made a coconut curry beef roast in the crock pot. Piled on the bread and warmed up in the oven, it was awesome! Add a poached egg or two and it makes a bomb breakfast!