Saturday, January 28, 2017

My bath time has become a sacred time for me, and so much research suggests many benefits of using salts in the bath, such as detoxifying the body. Mix the salts with some oil, and it moisturizes the skin. I wasn't too happy with the things I found in the store beyond the salt baths for cold and flu, so I created my own.

DIY Bath Salts | Cold Remedies | Muscle Aches Essential Oils

This mixture has the following benefits over the other options:

Helps soothes cold and flu symptoms clearing sinuses and reducing cough (much like Vicks Vapor Rub)
Relieves stress through aromatherapy
Relieves muscle tension and joint pain through homeopathic remedies
Detoxifies
Improves skin health and appearance
Moisturizes

I looked up oodles of recipes for this, but really, your best bet is to just mix the crap up and play trial and error.

Ingredients:

Epsom Salt
Dead Sea Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Vitamin E Oil

Where to find ingredients:

I can save you some time and reduce hesitation to try this by telling you where to find these strange ingredients.

At Walmart, I found Epsom salt in the pharmacy. I found the Himalayan Pink Salt in the baking aisle next to spices. They also had Dead Sea Salt in another aisle at the pharmacy as well as a smaller container of it in the spice section. The Eucalyptus Oil was in the pharmacy. The Tea Tree Oil was somewhere between the pharmacy and skin care products. I saw Vitamin E oil at Walmart, but it was only a dollar for a bottle at Dollar General in their skin care products. Most of these stores stock differently, but I think you can find these ingredients between the spices and pharmacy areas. Essential oils are also often found in craft stores, Amazon.com, organic food stores and Wiccan-ish places.

How to Mix Ingredients:

You can do this any which way you'd like. These are estimates but...

1. Mix about 2 cups of Epsom Salt with 1 cup of Dead Sea Salt and 1 cup of Himalayan Salt.

2. Optional: Add 2 TBSP of Baking Soda to reduce skin irritation

3. Add 15 drops of Eucalyptus Oil and 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil

4. Add about 30 drops of Vitamin E Oil

If salts are too greasy, add more salt and mix. I tend to keep mine a little greasy.

Now go enjoy a relaxing bath, and don't forget to pin this for me.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

DIY | Vintage | Shabby | Chic | Decor | Thanksgiving | Halloween | Autumn Decor | Pumpkins

DIY Shabby Chic Vintage Large Pumpkin

1. Look for a pumpkin that is tall and slender, like a vase. Think about the stem length you want to use.

2. Carve around the top of the pumpkin around the outer edge of the pumpkin. Let it curve inward slightly. Think flower vase top.

3. Gut pumpkin.

4. Spray paint the pumpkin white and let dry.

5. Take a sturdy brush like a stencil brush, and dry paint some brown acrylics in the crevices. By dry paint, you take a dry brush and dip it into the paint. Then you wipe the brush on the palette until you have very little paint on it. Then you lightly brush over the area, adding pressure as you find what you are looking for. Keep going until no paint brushes on it. You can blend it a little bit by continuing to brush an area (like blending makeup) and/or by wiping main areas with your finger or hand while still wet.

6. Add a little water into the pumpkin.

7. Add fresh flowers or fake flowers in pink and white.

8. In this one, I added fresh flowers, but I didn't like the gap between the bottom of the flowers and the tip of the pumpkin. So what I did was take some fake flowers, pulled the flower from the top of the stem, and shoved it in between the stems down into the pumpkin.

9. This lasted about 2 days inside the house before the flowers started to look wilted. Outside in the crisp fall air of West Virginia with an average temperature of 70 degrees, they have lasted over a week before wilting.

DIY Shabby Chic Vintage Small Pumpkin

1. I spray painted it white and dry brushed some brown for a distressed look like mentioned above.

2. I took white silk roses and pulled them off the stem.

3. With a Philips screwdriver (I think it would work better than a flat head), I poked a little hole going in as far as making the x.

4. Then I jammed the flower into that hole.

5, Then I added a string of fake pearls. You could also add a lace bow using staples.

Note: If you are curious, super glue does NOT work on pumpkins.

Please feel free to Pin this Post

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Subscribe to my Email and I will give you access to download some of the following pictures as PNGs, JPGs, and some EPS images. There's so much more on my Ultimate Download Pack that I host with Blogging As I Learn it. A lot of this is handy for scrapbooking.

Please feel free to sign up for Free Vintage Graphics

Go ahead and Pin this to you DIY and Vintage Pinterest

Saturday, October 8, 2016

I do a lot of grilling in the summer, and I'm in love with Cheeseburgers, but it gets old quickly to do my default cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise. Here are some ideas to switch up the pace.

5 Super Amazing Restaurant Quality Cheeseburgers | Burgers | Best Cheeseburgers | Beef Recipes

The Hilltalian Burger

Inspired by a little dive bar called The Hill House in Parkersburg, WV, the Hilltalian burger contains the following:

Burger Patty
Mozzarella Cheese
A little pizza sauce
Some Banana Peppers
And Garlic Toast for the bun

The Net Burger

Inspired by a small tavern in Parkersburg, WV, the Net Burger features ingredients such as:

Burger Patty
Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Pickle
Banana Peppers
Hot Mustard

The Cheyenne Burger

Centered in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming sits a small diner who serves these amazing burgers:

Hamburger Patty
Bacon
Cheddar Cheese
Swiss Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Grilled Mushrooms and Onions
Fried Onion Rings
BBQ Sauce
Mayonnaise

Applebees Quesadilla Burger

Applebees has totally switched the game with this bunless burger of awesome:

Hamburger Patty
Bacon
Cheddar Cheese
Pico De Gallo
Lettuce
Mexi-Ranch
Flour Tortillas (instead of a bun)

My Bearnaise Burger

I created this masterpiece burger for those of us who love steak.

Hamburger Patty (season with Worcestershire Sauce)
Swiss Cheese
Bacon
Bearnaise Sauce (Knorr packet; use whipping cream instead of milk)

Tips

At BLT Burger in Las Vegas, chef Laurent Tourondel brushes burgers with butter while they’re on the grill. The natural sugars caramelize, making the meat extra-delicious

Coleslaw makes a great condiment

Other toppings can include French Fries, crispy onions like that in Green Bean Casseroles, and Chinese Food.

You can add and mash bread crumbs and seasoning to the raw meat to almost double the amount of meat and add a little crunch.

These burgers are so less boring than your average burger. Get a restaurant style sandwich in the comfort of your own home.

Please Pin This

Friday, October 7, 2016

These grilled pineapple skewers make a great side dish for any summer meal.

Grilled Pineapple Skewers | Side Dishes | Recipes |

Ingredients

2 lbs. Fresh Pineapple Chunks
1 c. Brown Sugar
2 c. Sugar (1 c. for sugar mixture; 1 cup to sprinkle afterwards)
1 Cup Melted Butter
3 tsp. Cinnamon
8 Skewers (if wooden, soak for 20 minutes)

Instructions

Mix brown sugar, 1 cup of the sugar, butter and cinnamon into a bowl.
Place Pineapple on Skewers
Brush sugar mixture over pineapple
Grill on low heat about 3 - 4 minutes
Turn them over and grill another 3 - 4 minutes
Sprinkle with Sugar

You can also do a Hawaiian Luau with this recipe for Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs and ideas for a luau.

Go ahead and Pin This

It's summer, and it's just too hot to use the oven in my house, so I'm going to try out a lot of grilling recipes. I have tendency to burn everything on the grill, so I am learning to make sure the grill is clean to avoid things catching fire making it too hot and to avoid food sticking to the grill, and cook on lower heats.

Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs | Recipes | Grilled | Dinner

This recipe for Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs is less sweet than it appears. It would probably be more sweet if you omit the Sesame Seed Oil, but my husband hates sweet. The kids favorite part is the chicken and pineapple.

Here's the recipe. It wasn't too bad to make, but I would hardly call it a lazy dinner. It was a little more overachieving than what I'm used to.

Ingredients

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts (cut into 1 - 1.5 inch chunks)
1 Large Can of Pineapple Chunks
5 TBSP Orange Marmalade
1/3 c. Brown Sugar
1/3 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Sesame Seed Oil
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
16-18 Skewers (if wooden, soak in water for 20 minutes)
1 Purple Onion
2 Red Bell Peppers

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the canned pineapple (with juice), orange marmalade, brown sugar, sugar, sesame seed oil, ginger, and garlic salt.
Cut the chicken into 1 to 1.5 inch chunks, and place in bowl. Refrigerate for a few hours if you want.
Cut Onion and Red Pepper: divide in half, cut two ways horizontal and two ways vertical
String the chicken, pineapple chunks, onion and red pepper along skewers.
Grill on low heat turning every 4 minutes for 12 to 16 minutes

Go ahead and Pin this and then read further for fun luau night ideas

Ideas to Turn this into a Fun Hawaiian Luau Night

Side Dish Ideas

Grilled Pineapple Skewers

Rice (replace water with coconut milk and add cilantro)

Hawaiian Beets

Taro Bread (you can purchase poi here)

Fresh Fruits (Pineapple, Papaya Slices, Watermelon, Grapes, Melon, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Mangos, Bananas, Apples, Coconuts)

Jello Cups (pour jello in clear plastic cups and add umbrella)

Some Authentic Hawaiian Recipes

Drinks

Hawaiian Drink recipes

Kid-Friendly Virgin Pina Coladas

Sunny Hawaiian Smoothie

Decorations and Fun

Grab some Hawaiian decorations and cups from the Dollar Store

Tiki Torches

Bonfire

DIY Flower Straw Toppers made from cupcake liners

DIY Fresh Flower or Crepe Paper Leis

Hula Hoops

Memorial Day weekend is a time for BBQ and family, and the first time most pools open for the summer. People remind us this time of year that Memorial Day is not a day for BBQ, but to honor the fallen soldiers. As a military veteran, I can vouch that the military is pretty big about honoring all holidays with a community event and a 3 day weekend. Just make sure you don't forget the soldiers in your prayers and events.

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays

Here is a round up of material to help you plan your Memorial Day Weekend with your loved ones. As usual, I aimed for quick and easy ideas.

Please enjoy this weekend. Our soldiers didn't die for you to grieve. They died for you to embrace your freedom and liberties.

What to Cook?

Full Menu Ideas

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Cookout

Deep South Dish has thought of everything in their collection of southern recipes, from sweet tea to BBQ Chicken.

Whiskey Burger

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Cheeseburgers

BBQ Pit Boys has a BBQ style recipe for almost everything. Check out their site and add some zing to your traditional BBQ. Pictured here, whiskey burgers.

Hawaiian Potato Salad

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Potato Salad

You may not be able to spend Memorial day on an exotic beach of Hawaii, but you can bring Hawaii's flavor to your backyard and imagine a beach. Cooking with Curls's Traditional Hawaiian Potato Salad.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Lemon Tree Dwelling can bring a dish to your cookout just in case the rest of the food isn't something to wake up for.

Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Deviled Eggs

This totally beats the idea of paprika and dill. It has paprika in it, so it's still very traditional. Full recipe here.

Fruit Skewers and Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Fruit Skewers | Chocoalte

The chocolate sauce has rum and whipping cream in it. Get the full recipe here.

Red White and Blue Strawberry Shortcake

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | strawberry shortcake

Two Sisters Crafting came up with this easy idea. Add a little blue food coloring to your cool whip, and serve with strawberries and pound cake or angel food cake. Easy buttons include purchasing cake from the bakery or boxed cake. Festive, but not much effort. AND DELICIOUS.

Red White and Blue Strawberries

Memorial Day Shenanigans | DIY | Recipes | Summer | Holidays | Strawberries

How easy is this? From The Sisters' Cafe. Dip strawberries into white chocolate and then dip the tip into a bowl of sugar mixed with blue food coloring.