No Poo Update & Instructions

A few months back, I posted about No Poo (click here for that post) and mentioned I was very interested in trying it. Well, pretty much ever since that day, I haven't used shampoo! I use baking soda and water to wash my hair every day and I love it. To condition it, I use organic apple cider vinegar diluted in water and my hair looks rich and healthy and my hair color has never looked better! 

I've had my moments with it and had quite a few bad hair days trying to find the right balance for my hair, but I really wanted to stick with it because I love the concept of not using weird ingredients on my skin. Plus, bad hair days aren't the end of the world, I just put my hair up, but now I can wear it down and it's not too oily or too dry; in the words of Goldilocks, it's just right ;). Our skin is our body's biggest organ and soaks up things we put on it, so I've been learning more over the past year about what is good for skin and what is not so good for it. Shampoo has chemicals (sulfates being one) that strip hair and the scalp of our natural oils, drying it out. It also, in most cases it has parabens, a preservative that is used in most beauty products. Grab one of your beauty products (lotion, deodorant, makeup, shampoo and so on) and see if you can identify a paraben (may be have methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl along with paraben in the chemical name). I may write more about parabens later - we've been ridding our home of them over the recent months (Google search "paraben dangers" or something similar for more info about them). With the no poo, there are no weird chemicals to worry about and my hair looks better too.

I didn't intentionally take any before after photos, but here's a photo from October (at the Texas State Fair :)):

Here's a photo from November after I began the no poo:

The biggest difference I notice is my hair color, and it even looks less damaged. I had comments over Christmas asking if I had dyed my hair darker! I have not dyed it at all since we've been married, but I think my natural hair color, not influenced by chemicals, is now shining through and I love it.

Here are the steps I follow to no poo my hair:

1. Keep baking soda in a small tupperware in the shower. After hair is wet, scoop out about 1 and 1/2 tbsp into your hand, make a paste by adding some water in the palm of your hand and massage through hair and scalp, especially in oilier areas, for 30-45 seconds. Depending on hair length and type, you may need more or less (I had to troubleshoot the amount I use for awhile to get it right). I allow it to stay on my hair for a few minutes while I wash my face, then I rinse it out. It should feel clean and usually is squeaky clean for me.

2. Keep a squeeze bottle of apple cider vinegar in the shower along with a cheap plastic cup. I squeeze about 1 tsp - 1 tbsp or so and add about 1 cup, maybe a bit more, of water (I use a line on the cup I have to measure :)), tilt my head back and pour over my hair (use caution to not get in your eyes - that would burn!). I leave that in for a few minutes while I wash/shave, etc. and rinse it out.

I've adjusted it many times, adding more or less of each and for a while, trying without the vinegar during the beginning oilier days, but then it makes the hair course and hard to manage. When I don't use enough baking soda, my hair may be static-y and oilier. If you try this method, you want to give yourself patience and troubleshoot/experiment until you find a balance that works for your hair and skin (this website is amazingly helpful for tips to adjust no poo problems (oily/dry/frizzy...). I'm so thankful I gave it a try! We'll save a LOT of money not buying shampoo and conditioner and keep our skin healthier in the process - a win win for me :) Baking soda and apple cider vinegar are cheap and last a long time. If you try it, you should let me know, I'd love to see how it works (or doesn't work) for you. Be brave and give it a shot, you may love it!

Thank the Lord for AAA... Again!

Well you can probably tell how my day went... on my way to work, I heard a loud roaring sound getting louder and soon realized it was my car. Heart beating faster, I pull over one lane and into a gas station (so thankful one was there!) to learn that my steering "went out" and was incredibly hard to steer. Especially for my weak arms ;) then breaking was just as difficult as I pulled into a parking spot. Freaking out a bit, I grab my phone, start calling Nick at work and check my tires, which I assumed was the case since it sounded like last time's incident (click here for that story). Tires were fine! Ugh. It must be a worse problem I thought. 

He picks up and I immediately tell him that something happened with my car and explain everything I heard and noticed. He left to come get me (he works 35 mins away from where I was at) and I called AAA knowing we needed to have it towed. The tow man got there and was impressed again by how nice he was and he let me sit in the truck while he hooked up my car since it was raining outside (of course, it hasn't rained in like a month!). Nick got there shortly after and my car was off and Nick took me to work and went back to work himself. We work so far apart and live far from our work so just our commuting today racked up about 150 miles on his car. 

News from the shop was that my timing belt went out and apparently it may have damaged the engine as well which would be an even bigger problem. They won't know until they would replace the expensive belt and start up the car. So that's the fun we had today along with deciding if we want to fix this and other problems my car may encounter at it's increasingly ripening age or if we'll replace it. Who knows right now. I am yet again so thankful we have AAA which provided us a free tow (for up to 100 miles in TX!) and definitely stress relief so we could go on with our day. Also thankful yet again I was kept safe and didn't affect any other cars when my problem happened while I was driving on the highway.

On a much more fun note, I took a batch of caramel filled chocolate cookies to work today and everyone LOVED them! I got compliments all day (which helped from this morning's craziness :)). If you haven't made them yet... you should. They are... amazing.

I'll leave you with some photos from our walk this past weekend - the weather was perfect!

Aren't these roots CRAZY?!

Enjoy your Friday!

Miracles and Music

1. I have to share a miracle story with you. Grab a tissue and read this story about baby Bennett, a little guy I've talked about here and here and man this post encompasses it all. Amazing story of a family pushing through trials in life reaching out to God through it, and experiencing a real life miracle. Gave me chills. Here is their blog (click the linked word "here" to go to the blog).

Image of Baby Bennett

2. I have to share one of my favorite songs right now. I was completely rocking out to it on my way home and thought you may want to rock out to it too. About the third time you hear it, you'll be belting it out, trust me. It's a very relatable upbeat song and I'm a new Francesca Battistelli fan because of it!

3. Ok so I have to share another of my favorite songs right now. I've been hearing and loving it and just found out today it's by Train! They've had some great songs lately and I love this song right now. Would be a great one for a first dance between the husband and wife at a wedding. This one's for you, my wonderful husband :)

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Simple and Delicious Sugar Cookies

 The cookie recipe is up next. First, a fun new centerpiece for our table! I had a darker look which felt more wintry to me so I wanted to freshen it up a bit to feel more like spring. I found the earthy vine-like mat at Pier 1 on clearance for about $1.50! When I grabbed the vase and fake cherries I had at home (both from Target), I really liked the combo. I added a candle plate under the vase for stability and viola! An updated look.

It feels good to rid the winter looks and rearrange things to look more fresh. We recently rearranged lamps (both floor and table) and moved them all around here to give each room a new fresh feeling. Not quite spring cleaning, but spring arranging ;)

Yes, you may notice our waters on the table above.. we have to stay hydrated :) My dad also fashioned those cup holders for us for Christmas, made out of tiles and added felt pieces underneath! They match perfectly and work very well.

 Sugar Cookies

There are lots of sugar cookie recipes out there so I searched for a simple recipe with ingredients I already had and this was a great recipe! Found on allrecipes.com like usual :) I love reading the reviews for tips and tricks other bakers learned while making them. Nick enjoys simple desserts where I prefer 8 kinds of chocolate in one cookie haha so I wanted to give him a special treat today! We both love them though, it's a keeper recipe and so easy!

 Ingredients:

2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup butter softened (recipe called for 1 cup, I got away with 3/4 :))

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets - like usual, I used parchment paper on the cookie sheets... so much easier to clean up. I also "dipped" the cookie in powdered sugar to be pretty but wouldn't be necessary. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden in preheated 375 degree oven. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire rack.

You can see that the melted powdered sugar made a crackly looking glaze

 They are crisp and a bit crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, just the way we like a good sugar cookie.

 Yum... Enjoy!

**Click HERE for a quick and easy buttercream frosting recipe that tastes great with these cookies!

Homemade Brown Sugar and Honey Facial Scrub

 I'm all about homemade beauty products lately - no chemicals or weird ingredients. This face scrub is edible! :) I found it on this website with other great homemade facial recipes I want to try too. I tried it last night and will use it regularly to keep my skin fresh and exfoliated. I hadn't exfoliated my face in months (when I ran out of my last tube of stuff... maybe even when we lived in MN) and my face seriously looks (and feels) more youthful and refreshed after exfoliating it.

Brown Sugar

In this facial scrub recipe, brown sugar is a mild exfoliate. It's not too abrasive and pairs really well with the texture of the honey leaving your skin smooth and refreshed.

Image Source

 Honey

Honey has many great properties for skin care. It moisturizes skin, has natural antioxidant and anti-microbial properties, helps in the treatment of minor acne and more. 

Image Source

The Recipe:

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp brown sugar (you could also use white sugar)

Blend in a small bowl and apply! Easy as that. I let mine sit for a few minutes as a mask and loved it. Enjoy!

Sun-Kissed Saturday

 It is SO beautiful outside today. An appreciated warm-up after the snow and ice storms the past two weeks leaving us stuck at home for a few days with sub zero wind chills. That's nothing compared to the Midwest, but it was the coldest they've had here in something like 20 years!

Before I show you warm pictures I took today, last night, we went out to our Valentine's Day Dinner at Salt Grass, a well liked Steak House. We had a gift card so this weekend was the perfect time to try this place out. Thankfully, we arrived before the crowds were waiting for tables. A waiter (not even ours) even asked me if I was finished eating when I had food in my mouth and my fork in hand - no, sir, I'm still finishing my dinner, thank you! That's when I turned around to notice the crowds of couples standing around the hostess waiting for a table - oh Valentines Day :) 

Here's a photo I took of an outside wall at Salt Grass :)

 In Lieu of the amazing nearly-70-degree day today, we went on a long walk. It was SO nice to get outside and enjoy the sunshine again! I even got so warm I took off my sweatshirt and soaked up some well needed vitamin D. Oh it was nice :) Here are some photos from the walk:

Aren't these fun and whimsical? They all have curly-cues at the top!

 

Palm trees... LOVE palm trees...

 No-Bake Oatmeal Drop Cookies

Lastly, when we got home from our walk, I whipped up some No-Bake Oatmeal Drop Cookies. I've found there are many different names for these cookies - growing up, we just called them Drop Cookies. Simple enough! And super easy to make. I tweaked the recipe I found a bit.

Ingredients:

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup flaked coconut

3 tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cook sugar, milk and butter in a medium-large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add the vanilla. Add all other ingredients to the pot and stir until well mixed. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool.

They are very tasty! I definitely like the added almonds and coconut. Even after about an hour of sitting/cooling, mine are still gooey though. The ones we made growing up usually hardened into a good cookie by now! I'll have to experiment with recipes or maybe put these in the fridge to be a cookie. They're definitely tasty, just gooey and more like cookie dough than a cookie.

*Update 2/13* The cookies are much better today after sitting out all night, they're not nearly as sticky! I'll still experiment with a different recipe next time, but these do taste good!

Any one have a recipe that makes them harden a bit more? I saw many recipes with peanut butter but I wanted a recipe without since that's how we had it growing up :) Let me know if you have any ideas or similar recipes that work!

Reed Diffuser Makeover and Superbowl Food

I have some yummy (trust me) recipes to share from our Superbowl menu. First, I'll start with a home makeover. Ok just a diffuser makeover but I'm pretty excited about it :) The best part is the makeover was under $3! YES!

 Here's my diffuser. Do you love reed diffusers? I'm a little bit into [ok obsessed] with them right now, just ask my husband... ok maybe don't ask him... it's not pretty lol. What? There are SO many scents I want to try. So I buy them often. Especially when they're on sale. I'm a sucker for a good sale. Moving on to the makeover... So this is the before of my plain "fresh fig" diffuser!

 Here's the after! I added a decorative napkin holder with a ring on the back the perfect size for the diffuser. I got the colors so they match my decor and I love it! Still simple, but is now more decorative as well as practical. I stole the idea at the store as they had some set up like this but I loved it so I did it on my reed diffusers using different styles for my different rooms :) Try it!

 Moving onto the FOOD!!! 
First up: homemade guacamole made by my wonderful hubby.

I swear he's a pro at making it! He mashed 3 avocados, added 1tbsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp lime and salt to taste. It was the best guac I've ever had! The avocados were very ripe/soft to the touch, perfect for mashing (and they're one of the life saving foods too!)

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

This was our mid-afternoon appetizer for the pre-game action

This stuff was TOO good. Just like the kind you get at restaurants. Cheesy, creamy, and tasty. Spinach is another life saving food too!

 Ingredients:

1/2 of an 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp mayo

2 tbsp grated parmasean cheese

2 tbsp grated Romano cheese (we omitted this)

1/2 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp garlic salt (we used garlic powder + salt... same thing!)

1/2 of a 14 oz can (or 6 oz if you can find it) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking dish. 

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayo, parm cheese, romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, and salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture into the prepares baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Enjoy with your favorite dippers!

We enjoyed ours with whole wheat beer bread (recipe here)

And salt-free tortilla chips. Really, who needs salt on chips anyway, we usually eat them with a dip/salsa with salt in it!

 

Nick loved it too :)

 Texas Chicken Quesadillas

Our halftime dinner! Pre-made before the game to easily warm up in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp honey

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into strips

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup monterey jack cheese (we omitted and used 1 cup cheddar)

8 (10 inch) flour tortillas

 

We got flavored tortillas - yum!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Slowly cook and stir onion until translucent. Mix in honey. Stir until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place remaining oil and chicken in the skillet over medium high heat. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in barbecue sauce and evenly coat chicken. (Once cooled, I shredded our chicken a bit, personal preference).

Layer 4 tortillas individually with chicken, onions, cheddar cheese and monterey jack cheese. Top with remaining tortillas.

One or two at a time, place layered tortillas on a large baking sheet. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and tortillas are not TOO crisp. Remove from heat. Cut into quarters and enjoy! We made two for the game and used the rest of the ingredients to make two more the following night for another easy dinner!

 Mmmmmm 

We also snacked on Black Pepper Sugared Almonds (recipe at the bottom of this post). Always a winner!

Our Superbowl food was so good! The Superbowl was fun too. Too bad they had the seating incident. That may be one of the big memories of this big game in Dallas now. We'll always remember the crazy ice and snow storms the week of the Superbowl here too - they say it contributed to the seating not getting completed. I'm sure we'll here more about that fiasco. It sounds like a lawsuit is already in the works. Glad I'm not part of that committee! :)

Stay warm!

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

 We made these cookies yesterday (the ones we trekked through the snowy mess to get the key ingredient for on Friday) and they may be the best cookies I've ever made. Maybe the best I've eaten?! They're so good and definitely fulfill any chocolate/sweets craving you may have. I got the recipe from Iowa Girl Eats' site.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (I melted my butter)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

24 Rolos OR cut up 24 pieces your fav chocolate/caramel candy - I used 3 caramel Milky Ways sliced into 8 pieces per bar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla then mix until combined.

2. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing well between each batch. Chill dough for 20 minutes in the freezer.

3. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop out ~1 Tablespoon dough and wrap it around your piece of candy. Roll dough in sugar and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Enjoy!

Now for the photos...

Here are my wet ingredients

The dry ingredients

Combined ingredients - the cookie dough

The caramel Milky Way I used - a bit different from the typical Milky Ways

Milky Way bar cut up into 8 pieces

I rolled the dough in my hands, added the caramel piece and formed the dough into a ball around it, making sure it was sealed well.

Roll the cookie ball in sugar and place on cookie sheet - I used parchment on the cookie sheet paper for easy cleanup

After baking - mine split slightly and smelled wonderful!

These cookies are so good. A great recipe for pot lucks/treats for co-workers or just for fun - the end result looks more difficult that the process to make them :) YUM! Enjoy.

Our Superbowl menu for the day:

Black Pepper Sugared Almonds

Texas Chicken Quesadilas

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip with Whole Wheat Beer Bread

And of course these yummy chocolate caramel cookies we made yesterday ;)

Recipes to follow... 

What's on your menu for the Superbowl?