Week 4 Update on Homemade Skincare - Homemade Toner Recipe

After last week, I really, really wanted to give up homemade skincare and go back to commercial products.  I am so glad I didn't because my skin has transformed this week!!!  Now it's clear and glowing!  You will not believe the secret potion that really made the difference this week - apple cider vinegar!!!  For years I've read recipes for homemade toners from apple cider vinegar, but I could not bring myself to use that smelly stuff on my skin.  My skin was so tight and dry last week that I was willing to give anything a try.   There's no denying that the apple cider vinegar smells, but I timed it and the smell only lingers for about 3 minutes.  I cannot tell you why it works - it just does.   I'm willing to bear the smell for these results!

Click through for the recipe!

heart-shaped candy cane pops!

The Salty Girl believes that everything is better when it's heart shaped and on a lollipop stick! Especially candy canes.

These homemade candy cane heart pops are adorable. Just look at them!

Still not convinced? Keep reading!

Marshmallows & Breakups

 

Some people do their best thinking in the shower, or on long jogs.  Me, I come up with the best ideas when I'm brushing my teeth.  On Saturday night, I was getting ready for bed and brushing away with my current favorite toothpaste (I'm a toothpaste addict!  Right now I'm into Tom's new flavor Wicked Mint), when I thought "savory marshmallows!"  EEEP!  How come people don't make savory marshmallows?  Would they taste good?  Would they roast well?  How delicious would a savory flavored marshmallow be on top of a pumpkin soup or on a sweet potato casserole?!  I found a fellow blogger that had already given savory marshmallows a go!  I was so excited to make them I could barely sleep!

Week 3 Update on Homemade Skincare - Homemade Honey Aspirin Mask

Friends, my face feels as tight as pterodactyl skin!  I'm starting to question my dedication to this 4 week experiment!  I'm going to persevere though because, let's face it, I'm pretty stubborn.

This week I've been using the homemade almond cleansing cream in the morning, followed by Weleda Rose Cream and a few drops of jojoba.  If I'm going to be outside a lot, I wear a Yes To Carrots SPF 30 sunscreen.  Then I apply my makeup, which is becoming more difficult due to the dryness.  There are patches of dry skin and flakiness.  At night I remove my eye makeup with a MAC oil cleanser.  Then I remove my foundation and such with Cetaphil.

Earlier this week, disaster struck.  I was chatting with a friend about this routine and she said that Cetaphil does not remove all of her makeup.  I want to make sure I'm removing it all, so I used my Pretika facial brush (which is a Clarisonic dupe).  OH DEAR LORD.  My face was so tight all night that I could barely sleep!  The Pretika stripped off all the remaining moisture I had in my skin!!  It was horrible.  The next day I purchased Desert Essence Organic jojoba oil and started using that.  It has really helped, but the dryness is winning at this point.  Applying the jojoba and moisturizer help to apply my makeup, at least.  It's at nighttime that the dryness is really bothersome.

Last week I talked about how my pores are beginning to empty on their own.  That's still happening to some degree, but now I mostly have impacted blemishes.  They are deep under the skin, and if I want clear skin, I need to figure out how to safely and effectively get rid of them!  That's when I decided to make a homemade mask from these two ingredients:

Reinventing Thanksgiving Leftovers - Sweet Potato Biscuits & Thyme Gravy

To people outside the South biscuits and gravy may seem like an exotic dish, but to Southerners it's commonplace.  Like many people my age, I have moved away from home and find myself craving things that I didn't care much for as a kid (S.O.S.!!!).  When I'm craving something my grandma and mom used to make for me, I now have make it for myself.   I think my grandma would have a heart attack if she knew I paid $8 for a small plate of poblano-cheddar biscuits and country sausage gravy at a local restaurant because I didn't know how to make it myself!

sweet potato biscuits & thyme gravy

Today I put a twist on the classic biscuits and gravy by making sweet potato biscuits and thyme gravy.  This recipe is great for this post-Thanksgiving weekend when you probably have leftover sweet potatoes in the fridge that no one wants to eat since all the marshmallows are gone!  I will admit that my biscuits are delicious but not as good as my mom's!  I'm pretty sure it's because I use whole wheat dough instead.  And because things taste better when your mom makes them!

Click through for the recipe!

A Thankful Sundae

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  There's food, family, friends, no stress about presents and it has a great message - thankfulness.  I am so thankful for my life. It's full of love and happiness. I am thankful that I passed the bar exam (YAY!) and I have a bright future ahead of me!

Since this holiday is so special to me, I am going to use it to debut the first Salty Girl video!  In this video I show you how to make a Thankful Sundae - pumpkin frozen yogurt topped with cranberry syrup and toasted pecans.  It's a little too  late to make it for your family for Thanksgiving, but any day is great to give thanks, right?  Friends, it is very embarrassing and difficult to record a video.  The sound of my own voice and the things I say are just ridiculous.  Please feel free to laugh.  I hope you enjoy the video!

Click through for the recipe:

Week 2 Update on Homemade Skincare

It's 2 hours and 15 minutes until I find out some very, very important news - whether I passed the California Bar Exam!  I'm shaking in my flats and polka dotted tights, let me tell you.  This stress cannot be good for my skin!  I wanted to peek into the blog and give an update on my homemade skincare regiment before I go take the edge off my anxiety with some hot sake. 

This week has been pretty difficult without and evening moisturizer, but I think it's starting to help my pores shrink.  When I go to bed, my skin is very tight.  But when I wake up in the morning it feels great!  Also, when I wake up now, my pores have shrunk overnight and (ick) sometimes there are bumps on my face where my pores have cleared out some gunk.  Sorry that's gross, but it's pretty cool that my pores are naturally cleaning themselves out. 

I am loving the homemade almond cleansing cream, and I will probably continue to use it even after this experiment is over.  It feels nice and gentle on my skin, and I like that it's very simple and homemade. 

Lastly, while my pores are looking great, the lack of moisturizer was causing some dry patches on my face!  I broke down yesterday and purchased some jojoba oil.  I am raving happy about the jojoba oil!  As soon as I put it on, my skin drank it up and looked amazing.  Last night I didn't use any moisturizer, but I woke up today with amazing skin. 

Good thing, too, because on a day like this, I don't need any extra stress. 

Good luck to all of those who are getting bar results today, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I will be back soon with more recipes for skincare and baked goods alike! 

Please please please please let this picture come trueeeee!

Skillet Pot Pie

Yesterday I needed something to warm my heart.  Life can really get to me sometimes, and I just wanted a little comfort.  Preferably in pie form.  Savory pie, of course!  A friend of mine recently mentioned a restaurant in Apple Hill that sells nothing but pot pies.  What a great idea!  I decided to do my own spin on a pot pie.  So that I had only one dish to clean (and for a pretty presentation), I decided to do it all in my very favorite pan - my cast iron skillet.

This skillet pot pie is delicious, but it does take some time to make.  The hands on time is nominal, but it takes about 40 minutes to cook the chicken and another 50 minutes to bake the pie.  A two hour process, but it's really easy.  Plus, it really does warm your heart. 

Read on for the recipe!

An Experiment in Homemade Skincare Products

 

Friends, that was a tasty hot toddy.  I'd share the recipe, but I didn't do veer too far from the original recipe.  A shot of whiskey, lemon juice, and hot water.  Oh yeah, instead of using honey, I made a quick simple syrup out of spices I found in my cabinet - cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom pods.  Too bad this blog post isn't about hot toddys - it's about skincare.  I'm sorry friends, I didn't have an opening picture for this post so I tricked you with hot toddys.  But if you are interested in making your own fresh almond cleansing cream, or at least seeing if it breaks me out like a teenie bopper, keep reading!