Dandelion Green Smoothie

I went out on a limb today and made a smoothie with dandelion greens. It was actually quite delicious. I may even like it better than the kale. And dandelion greens are just as good for you (if not better!). Here is an article with all the science-y facts. The green smoothies are really growing on me though. I've actually gotten so used to them that when I made a smoothie for Mike and myself the other day it seemed so super sweet (because there is no way he'd let me put green stuff in his). Anyways, here is the concoction I made today:

Dandelion Yogurt Smoothie
~1/2 cup plain yogurt
~1 cup dandelion greens
~1 1/2 orange juice
~1/2 cup frozen strawberries
~1/2 frozen peaches
~1 Tbsp coconut oil

All these measurements are approximate because I just threw things in to get the right consistency and flavor. I had sort of expected to need to add honey to sweeten it, but I found that it was actually okay without any additional sweetener. You could use whatever yogurt you like, I just used what I had. I threw in the coconut oil as it's a good fat and supposed to be good for your skin. One thing I did differently with this smoothie was that I blended the orange juice, yogurt, and dandelion greens really well before I added the frozen fruit. I may do this whenever I make green smoothies as it made the dandelion greens blend into much finer pieces. It was a crazy vivid green before I added the fruit.

Anyways, smoothies are definitely my new favorite breakfast. So darn good for me and very delicious. It was also perfect this morning since I had to run a bunch of errands on my way to work and it was really easy to eat in the car.

Outfit of the Day and Pinterest

Taking advantage of the dance mirrors in the rehearsal room.

I did not intend to do an 80's throw back outfit for today but, when I got to work today, the 80's quality of what I was wearing was the second thing Maggie said to me after she mentioned how much she liked my skirt. It all started with the bandanna. I had decided last night when I was setting out my clothes that I wanted to wear one since I have second day hair today. I then threw an outfit together around it. And it turned out to be very 80's.

I'm wearing my bright pink bandanna from Lush, a St. Christopher's medal (as always), my Give Peace shirt and jean skirt from Lilly, black leggings from Forever 21, my blue boots, blue knock-off ice watch, and several bracelets from the Swap Meet in Maui.

Yesterday when I got home from work I managed to get a few things done from my checklist. Namely, I finally finished the two items I'd knit during These Shining Lives tech and color coded my work keys. I'll do a separate post on the two knitted things later. I did want to show off my keys though. They have always been color coded, as there are several sets of keys all color coded the same way. However, the color coding was an odd combination of rubber key color coders and faded tape. So, I used the oft pinned trick of painting them with nail polish. Lucky for me, I had polish in all the right colors.

Painting each side and waiting for it to dry.

Isn't it so pretty?

Speaking of Pinterest, a friend of mine pinned an article with recipes for four different green smoothies. I don't generally have all the different fruit in the house that they used (honeydew melon, grapes, blackberries, etc.), but it did give me ideas of a greater variety of greens I could be putting in my smoothies. One of the recipes had kale, which I already use, but two others used spinach and dandelion greens. They're not things I ALWAYS have in the house, but I do have them frequently, certainly frequently enough to throw them in a smoothie occasionally. I made a smoothie for breakfast/second breakfast a lot last week and I think I should start doing that again. They're super filling and make me feel so healthy. And really, it doesn't take that much time to make in the morning.

My Henna Hair Dye Adventure

I'm going more natural with many things in life and I decided that I wanted to try and apply that to my hair color. Henna is one way to naturally dye your hair and it is also supposed to condition your hair. Pure henna results in a red/orange color, which is more or less what color I choose anyways, so I figured it was worth trying to dye my hair with something good for it, rather than something bad for it like I normally do. I didn't get quite the same color payoff I do with synthetic dye but, for a natural experiment, it went pretty well. It was certainly more fun than dying my hair the way I usually do.

It took me a while to find henna that wasn't super expensive (either because it was at a specialty store or I was paying a ton for shipping). Finally, I found a company in Portland, Oregon called Henna Color Lab that had nicely put together packages at reasonable prices specifically for dying hair. I went with the Pure Henna Hair Dye as I really just wanted to see the color I'd get from henna alone. However, if I chose to do henna again, I think I'd order the Wine Red Henna to see if I can get more red out of it. The base color I started with on my hair was medium brown at the roots, fading gently to red at the bottom (it was almost a weird red ombre going on). The henna picked up differently on the non-dyed part of the hair versus the parts that had residual dye, which I was expecting. It did add some red into the brown though and brightened up the already red bits. The first couple days it was a brighter, orange-y red that mellowed out to a sort of soft auburn.

The process was in many way similar to the way I usually dye my hair. First, mix up the dye. Second, apply it, starting at the roots then working to the tips. Then, let it sit. Finally wash it out.

Pure henna powder- just add hot water!

Mix it to a "pudding-like" consistency.

 Lilly claimed that it smelled like fish. It definitely smelled...different. I thought it smelled like a dried herby-plant thing. Whenever I condition my hair, I can still smell it slightly. I don't mind the smell at all and it goes away when it dries. In any case, packing the henna mud onto my head was really fun- and messy!

Shower cap over it all. I had to wait a full hour with it in.

The wait time was probably the biggest difference. The synthetic dyes usually need to sit for about 15 minutes, whereas the henna needed to sit for an hour for maximum results. I wiled away the time playing Halo with Sir, Nick, and Thomas.

The end result (photo taken a couple days ago).

The ombre effect is still sort of there, but my hair does blend together better overall. I keep going back and forth as to whether I'll try the henna again or not. We'll see. I think I'm more likely to do it again if I cut my hair soon, because then it will be most of the synthetically dyed hair will be gone. Yeah, I need a haircut.

Oatmeal Spice Body Scrub

I was all set to blog about my experience with henna, but yesterday I whipped up a batch of body scrub and it was just SO AMAZING that I had to gush about it first. Now, I've never bought a body scrub as I didn't quite understand the point of one. Mum never used one, so it just wasn't something I had much exposure to. Recently, though, Lilly mentioned liking a Victoria Secret body scrub, I was really attracted to this Burt's Bees Cranberry and Pomegranite Body Scrub, and I've seen so many fabulous DIY recipes for body scrubs popping up on Pinterst. The other reason why I decided to make one is that my chest and back acne has really been acting up lately and I had the thought that since I use a scrub on my face to help with breakouts, why not use one on my body to the same end? After looking at a bunch of different recipes for body scrubs, a couple of which were supposed to help combat breakouts, I came up with the following scrub. I'll probably continue to experiment and make several different ones as there are endless options to explore.

Oatmeal Spice Body Scrub

1/3 cup ground oatmeal

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1) Measure out the oatmeal and grind it lightly. I used my coffee grinder (clean of any coffee!). I didn't grind it into a fine flour (like when I made the dry shampoo), but just ground it enough for it to no longer be whole oat pieces anymore. 

2) Mix together all the dry ingredients until they are combined completely. Add the oil and mix it well.

3) Put it in a freshly sterilized jar and use it! 

I tried it yesterday and, while I don't know yet if it is helping my acne, it felt positively luxurious. The scent is amazing (and totally natural!) and wherever I put it felt so delightfully exfoliated and moisturized. I put it on my chest, back, and legs, though I'm totally putting it on my arms too next time. The one thing I realized while using it is that I either need to scoop out how much I'm going to use all at once or I need to get something to scoop it out with, because I got a bunch of water in the measuring cup (I used the remnants out of the measuring cup in order to get all the goodness out). It wasn't a problem since it was just the measuring cup, but that much water in the real jar would not be a great plan. So I think I'm gonna steal the jam spoon out of the kitchen drawer for my scrub since I never use it for food things.

The best part is, body scrubs are so easy to make! The magical proportion I found somewhere is that when making a scrub you want two parts sugar (or salt, or oatmeal) to one part oil. You can add whatever extracts or spices you like to scent it or give special benefits. In this one, I used oatmeal instead of just sugar as it is supposed to be good for reducing acne. You can use white sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal, sea salt, or some combination of those things as your dry base. For my oil, I chose grapeseed oil as it is supposed to be a good oil for combination/break-out prone skin. But you could use any carrier oil, even coconut oil, though I'm staying away from coconut oil since it is comedogenetic (aka can clog pores). Tea tree oil is something I thought of putting in for acne fighting purposes, but I wasn't sure what else to add to make it smell good, so I went with the fall spices instead this time. In any case, this is only the first of what I'm sure will be many different body scrub recipes!

Jewel toned eye liner

In playing around with my new NYC eye liners, I started layering some eyeshadow on top of it. The result was that I got a nice vivid blue one day and purple the next day.

Blue day tray of tools

At work, waiting for the show to start.

Electric blue liner and teal shadow

Purple day tray of tools

Purple eyes

Bright purple liner and light purple shadow

I wish I'd had a chance to get better pictures, but what with work I didn't really get a chance. The rest of the week I wore my usual stand-bys when it comes to colors/combinations.

Sour Dough Pancakes: Make them for your father!

Happy Father's Day!

There are probably not any fathers but mine reading this, but happy father's day to any who are! To everyone who has fathers, you should make them sourdough pancakes! They are the most awesome pancakes you will ever have. And they are best served with maple syrup. I made them for Sir (my dad) when I was in Maui. This recipe comes straight out of a vintage bread cookbook.

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough starter:
1 cake yeast (1Tbsp)
2 cups warm water
2 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in water and add the flour. Whisk thoroughly. Leave in a warm place overnight. (The oven works well, but just make sure you take them out before you tur it on for anything!)

Now the idea behind a starter is that you can keep it and continue to use it week after week (or day after day). I have never had great luck in keeping a starter, so I generally just make up a new one the night before anytime I want to make pancakes. If you DO want to make/use a proper starter, in the morning, take out 1/2 cup of the mixture, pour in a scalded jar, cover, and store in the refrigerator for future use.

Either way, the next day, add to your sourdough (with or without the 1/2 cup removed):
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp shortening, melted (or oil)
1 egg, beaten

Mix well. If the batter is too thick (never a problem I've had) you can add some milk to thin it. Make your pancakes on a nice hot griddle and enjoy!

How to Make a Mojito

This is for Mum. ;) A picture filled recipe of my way of making a mojito.

Crush ten mint leaves. If you don't have a muddler, just smash it with the side of a spoon.

Cut half a lime in four and squeeze the juice out of them (and the rind gos in too!).

Add one to two tablespoons of sugar.

Put in three ice cubes.

Pour three ounces of white rum over the mint, lime, sugar, and ice.

Shake well.

Pour all the contents of the shaker into a pint glass, fill with seltzer water, and stir.

Enjoy!