cheap and chic: DIY Scarf Vest (1 minute or less!)

You're one rummage through your own closet and 60-seconds away from a cheap and chic fashion hack that will double your investment on a staple accessory.  YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!


Little rant before I get down to the quick and dirty on this fun and flirty little DIY: I hate Facebook "click-bait."  "Wait until you see what he does with this hammer!" "She takes a paper plate, a garbage bag, and a piece of gum...watch what happens next!!!"  "This guy can make shelves...out of roadkill...you have to see to believe!!!"  UGH!  STAHHHHPPPPPPP. I don't get how to monetize (or whatever is achieved through likes and shares) on social media.  Are people getting rich?!  Are people getting actualized?!  I don't get it.


That being said, I did totally come across this fashion hack on such an FB click-bait.  Guilty.  A fashion-forward and totes fun gal from my graduating high school class posted a video on her wall and I felt as though if she endorsed it, I endorsed it without even seeing it.  But I DID watch it and I learned to use a common closet staple in a completely new way.  And now I'm more than slightly obsessed with blowing peoples' minds when they compliment my "super cute vest" and I tell them, "I made it!"  Stop it.

front

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Watch the below video from momtrends for the tutorial. Once you get the hang of it, you can go from scarf to vest in under a minute. No sewing involved.  If you can tie a knot, you can make a vest. So many practical and fun ways to integrate this cheap and chic trick into your wardrobe!

In my experience, thinner materials work best.  I tried this with a blanket scarf and it did not go well.  I'm personally sticking to knits, jerseys, and voile fabric which most scarves are made of anyway.

If you don't have a scarf large enough to achieve a vest, you can buy like 1.5-2 yards of fabric of your choosing and  just use that!  If the edges fray, who cares?!  Even more "on-trend."



DIY All-Purpose Cleaner

Raise your hand if you haven't gotten the stomach flu this winter.

Bet most of your paws are comfy and cozy in your hoodie pockets, yeah?  Everybody and their dog either had or has the stomach flu around these parts.  

My household got sick December 26th which was actually pretty great timing.  I mean, there's no great time to get the stomach flu, but December 26th is pretty clutch. We didn't miss any Christmas celebrations and got rid of holiday bloat. We started 2016 fresh, leaving behind a lot of literal crap.

I also started 2016 fresh because I had to disinfect and clean three bathrooms, three bedrooms, and oh, EVERYTHING else.  Fortunately, two weeks earlier I came across a DIY All-Purpose (and anti-bacterial) cleaner that is just as useful as it is cheap.  

This DIY AP cleaner takes only 3 ingredients:

*Castile soap

*Rubbing alcohol

*Water (distilled is recommended, but I just use tap)

If you don't have castile soap on hand, consider researching and purchasing it.  Since buying some a year ago, I've stopped having to buy pricey makeup remover and face wash because it's just so ridiculously easy and affordable to make it using castile.  I love castile so much that I gifted it this Christmas.  Look into it.  I like Dr. Bronners. You can get it cheaper on Walgreens.com, especially when the site is running a promotion.  I also see they have 32 oz of Peppermint Dr. Bronners at Costco for $9.99 (which is a ridiculous deal)!

To make your very own AP cleaner, gather your supplies and an empty spray bottle.  You can buy a standard "cleaning" spray bottle at the Dollar Tree if you don't have an empty Windex (or the like) bottle at home.

Take 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and mix in 1-2 TBSP of castile soap in a scent of your choosing. I personally like Tea Tree Oil and Citrus.  Citrus AP smells like you're cleaning with vodka-tonics which is a little bit of sassy fun, IMO.  Dump the rubbing alcohol and castile mixture into your empty cleaning bottle and add either tap or distilled water until full.

*Note: if you don't have rubbing alcohol, you can use vodka.  We don't use drinkable alcohol in this house to clean but you can if you want!  I'll cheers to that...with my vodka.

This AP cleaner doesn't leave a weird residue or even a lingering scent of alcohol.  It's also clean in the sense that it doesn't have harsh chemicals.  I love using this for my toilets, counter tops, even my kids' toys.  I keep a bottle of it on our treadmill also because second only to toilets, that is consistently the grossest thing in our house. 

Isn't it great that you're only ever like 10 seconds away from cleaning with this recipe?!  I knew you'd be thrilled :)

Guilt-free Root Beer Float

I love root beer floats but nothing turns me off more than entering one into My Fitness Pal.  Talk about a real drag, man.  

About 3 years ago, I really got into root beer floats while I was pregnant with my first son.  I had very few cravings but I couldn't shake jonsin' for RBFs.  While I was pregnant last summer with my second son, my RBF craving came back.  

During my first pregnancy, I didn't have a fancy Smart Phone with My Fitness Pal on it so I was blissfully unaware of just how much of my daily allotment of EVERYTHING was consumed by just one, stupid RBF.

I didn't have luxury of naivety last summer when I became a slave to My Fitness Pal.  There I was, just innocently sipping a little RBF on a hill with my husband and my toddler and my little tadpole baby in my belly.  Some free wifi action popped up so I decided to go ahead and just log my little floatie.  AND ALL OF MY DREAMS DIED.

This summer, for whatever reason, my very NON-PREGNANT self is in the mood for an RBF a little too often.  And this summer my very NON-PREGNANT self is also very in the mood for her pre-kid jeans.  These moods cannot coexist. But I'm a problem solver, girl.  Can't we all find a way to get along?  Guess what, Bae, we totally can!  

So if you're in the mood for a feel-good RBF that will satisfy your craving and not make you all bloaty and full of regret, check out this guilt-free RBF!

What you need:

-1 cup of milk. Cow, almond, whatever you want. I use 1% dairy.

-1 scoop of vanilla protein powder.  I use Markey Pantry vanilla whey.

-1 shake of powdered Stevia 

-1/2 to 3/4 tsp root beer extract

-1 cup of ice

-Blender (I use NutriBullet because it's AMAZING)

Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth

Then drink up, buttercup!

*Don't worry, you'll probably look better drinking it than I do in this photo.

#nomakeup #nofilter #aintnobodygottimefordat

This RBF has 33 grams of lean protein and under 13 grams of sugar.  It also makes you feel like you're getting away with something very, very naughty.  Tastes just like a melty, refreshing, creamy, dreamy RBF and you'll still be able to get in your jeans the next day.  Unless you go crazy on some nachos or something (which is totally WORTH IT.)

Cheers!

Eat it: Chickpea Waffles (grain & dairy-free!)

I love traditional waffles.  Traditional waffles do not love me back.

Eating a traditional waffle is like dating a dude who really isn't "good" for you but he's exciting so you keep him in rotation.  You don't want to make him a habit but it's hard not to. He's sweet and he's fun.  He's a decent enough dude but at the end of the day, he lacks ambition. You innocently start out for a chill, a.m. hang with the guy and before you know it you're ass-deep in an all-day lounge session on the couch. After a few weeks, you start asking, "Hey man, are you going to put on actual pants today?" and to your surprise he turns it right back on you, like, "Are YOU going to put on actual pants today?" Whoa. When did this stop being fun?

Traditional waffles stopped being fun for me when I realized that metabolizing them made me feel sleepy and bloated and lazy.  But I can't resist the charm of a waffle.  They have the practical allure of being pretty easy to make with the added benefits of freezing and reheating well. And I cant resist those little pools of maple syrup, with little rafts of butter floating atop.  Stop it.

I set out to find a recipe for a decent waffle that doesn't make me feel like a lazy, self-loathing heap of a person an hour after I eat it.  I found a recipe using chickpea flour (garbanzo if you're proper) that I modified ever so slightly and will now very enthusiastically share with all you fine people.

Did I mention these waffles are grain-free?  Did I mention they are also dairy-free?  

Big deal, right? But maybe it is a big deal for you and if it is, BONUS. 

These beauties are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.   They are more on the savory side than the sweet side which I feel leaves you plenty of room to get crazy with toppings.  I favor syrup and/or fruit.

Also, let's not gloss over the fact that these waffles are packed with protein, fiber, and good carbs that will keep you full and energized all morning.

A few things:

1. You can make your own chickpea flour.  It's stupid easy if you have a good quality food processor or blender.  I took a bag of dry GOYA chickpeas, threw it in my NutriBullet about a half cup at a time, and pulsed until those little chickpeas were the consistency of whole wheat flour.  One bag yielded about 5 cups of chickpea flour (which I recommend storing in a freezer.)  It's worth the few minutes for the money you'll save.

2. These waffles do taste slightly like chickpeas.  I mean, how could they not as they are MADE OUT OF CHICKPEAS?!  just thought I'd make that clear.  If you don't like chickpeas, you probably won't dig these waffles.

3. Do not underestimate the power of non-stick spray.  Use it.  Love it.  Do not trust your non-stick waffle iron because IT LIES.

Chickpea Waffles (yields 6 waffles)
adapted from Lauren Goslin's Easy Chickpea Flour Waffles here

1 cup of chickpea flour
1 large egg and 1 large egg white
1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
(you can also use dairy milk if you don't care about dairy-free)
1 tsp powdered Stevia extract*
2.5 Tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1.25 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
*feel free to sub sweetener. plain sugar, brown sugar, etc.  note that you should then add 2 tsps instead of one or whatever to your liking

I suggest your first step in making these waffles is pouring a big cup of coffee for yourself.  Circling back to that one shortly.

Standard waffle rules apply: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, beat the egg in another.  Add the egg to the dry bowl and slowly incorporate your almond milk while mixing on medium speed.  At the very end, add your melted coconut oil and vanilla and beat on low until well incorporated.

If you poured a big cup of coffee earlier, take the spoon you used to stir your melted coconut oil and dunk it in your coffee.  Trust me.  It will add a mild and pleasant flavor to your java AND as a bonus, moisturize your lips while you drink it.  Try it.

If you pour a little less than half a cup of batter in each well of your iron, you should end up with 6 hearty waffles (which is what I based the below nutritional info on when I drafted my recipe in My Fitness Pal)

So now my fun little waffle fling is turning into a full-blown relationship. Don't tell my husband.














 

cheap and chic: e.l.f. mineral eyeshadow primer

I am not Beyonce.

I DO NOT WAKE UP LIKE DIS

Makeup, no filter.

I wake up like THIS

No makeup, no filter.

 I need makeup in my life.  I don't feel like a fully-functioning human being without it. True story.  

Here are the products I generally use every day, ranging in price from lowest to highest 

left to right: e.l.f. concealer, e.l.f. primer, rimmel eye/brow liner, blistex deep hydration, covergirl clump crusher mascara, covergirl smoothers powder, covergirl outlast foundation, benefit blush in hervana, and naked pallet by urban decay

Please direct your attention to top row, 2nd in from the left: e.l.f. mineral eye shadow primer because that, my friends, is my secret weapon. 

E.L.F. mineral eye shadow primer is $2 at Target.  TWO DOLLARS.  It works just as great as higher end eye shadow primers.  I swear it's just as good as Urban Decay and did I mention it's a TWO DOLLARS?! 

You can find a ton of blogs out there about makeup dupes who will support my conclusion that e.l.f. makes one fine eye shadow primer that doesn't break the bank and holds its own against high-end competitors.  My "fresh take" on this product is to also use it as an under-eye brightener and a brow highlighter.  This cheap little product is why I "don't even look that tired!" despite the fact that I am.  I am tired ALL THE TIME. #newborn #toddler

Dab underneath your eye and blend by tapping your index finger on your "dabs" until it blends in underneath your eye.  The reflective properties of the mineral primer helps minimize the appearance of under-eye darkness and makes me look more alert. It subtly conceals without being "cakey" on the delicate eye area. Also, apply a little just below your brow line to highlight your arch and open up your eyes. Sometimes I throw a little dab on the inner corners of my eyes just for fun.  I mean, go nuts.  IT'S TWO DOLLARS.

                     

Here's a little side-by-side action.

Same camera on my phone.  Same spot in my kitchen.  Again, no filter.

It's like buying low and selling high.  

I'm a bargain stock in the morning before makeup and by the end of the business day, I'm blue-chip, baby!

I LOVE MAKEUP.

I encourage you to try e.l.f. eye shadow primer.  For the price, you can afford to give it a go.  I will warn you that I am having a hard time finding it on the shelves lately.  Target carries it and even Old Navy has e.l.f. products (by the checkout) but I'm not the first person to find out how great of a bargain this stuff is and it's often sold out.  You can purchase it online through Walgreens and even through e.l.f.'s website but I wouldn't write off finding it "in the wild."  Keep your eyes open for e.l.f. at Target and if you take home the mineral eye shadow primer, it will keep your eyes open for you. See what I did there?

mani monday: gellin'

I've had a few 'Mani Monday' posts in the works since my last one (see here) but I never make my own Monday deadline and 'Mani Tuesday' isn't as catchy or cute.  Good thing there's no shortage of Mondays, right?

If you re-read my first Mani Monday post you'll be reminded that I'm essentially a mani purist. I generally shy away from acryllic, gel, and the Jamberry-esque products not because I'm not adventurous but rather because I'm non-committal when it comes to nail color. I do my manis at home and exclusively use lacquer.  I prefer that medium for nail art because it's relatively easy to apply and remove which means I can switch up my manis/pedis frequently with ease.  If applied with proper product, I can make even cheap lacquer (what up, Wet n Wild) last beyond a week...if I want to.  I usually burn out on even my favorite hues after 5 days.

But in the spirit of embracing something new, I decided to try out an at-home gel manicure.  My sister has a kit and swears by it.  She also is very generous and let me borrow her kit twice to get a feel for the product and the results.

It took me a while to take her up on her many offers for me to give gel a try because of my following pre-conceived notions (some based on factual research, some based on exaggerated guesstimations):

• You have to essentially damage your natural nail to make a rough surface that allows the gel primer, base, and topcoat to adhere for maximum wear and durability.  If you don't rough up your nail, the gel literally slides off your nail after application or peels off days after.  True story.  I put effort into having healthy nails so I wasn't too turned on by the idea of roughing-up my nails.  I WORK TOO HARD!

• Removal of gel polish at home is THE WORST. It's like a thousand times worse than trying to remove glitter.  It also costs monies for you to get it professionally removed.

• Proper application of the gel polish requires several steps.  Though the polish dries super fast, there's like a bajillion steps involved.  Ain't nobody got time for dat.

Last week my sister told me that she started short-cutting her gel sessions by doing the following:

• Paint nails with traditional lacquer
• Apply the fancy gel top coat
• Cure for twice the recommended time for traditional application
• Use cleanser to remove the 'moisture layer' after curing

You know what?  Her results were great with short-cutting.  Her mani stayed flawless for well over a week and her pedi has been going strong for over 2 months.  To be fair, pedis, by nature, last longer than manis but STILL!

I tried her shortcuts and here are my own results:

• Amazing shine.
• Increased strength/durability
• No chips or peeling for a solid 7 days, some minor wear-and-tear and partial peeling starting beyond that (enough to annoy me and want to remove and start over but nothing tragic)
• Did I mention amazing shine?  I'm obsessed with it.  

When I went to remove the gel, it was IMPOSSIBLE.  Like, 100% acetone DID NOT EVEN MAKE A DENT.  I started freaking out at the thought of having to chip or peel or sand-off the product.  Then I remembered this little trick for stubborn nail product removal that perpetually shows up in my "What's Popular" feed on Pinterest.  I tried it immediately and it BLEW MY MIND.

#gross #effective #dryskin

#clean #tryforyourself

I mean, not every Pinterest trick is a home run but that tinfoil trick is GOLD.  So, if you take nothing else away from this post, take this: I endorse the tinfoil removal trick and it definitely is worth the extra few inches to set up.

Back to gellin, though.  Once I realized not only I could short-cut the gel process with similar benefits AND I could remove in less than 5 minutes AT HOME with NO HASSEL, well, I went out and bought one of these babies with my bonus Target gift cards that came with buying diapers, diapers, coffee, diapers, and more coffee.  I am about to be the mother of a toddler AND a newborn, after all.

Though short-cutting achieves an elevated look and makes my mani more durable, I have yet to find it goes the full 14 days that the traditional gel application process boasts.  And that is totally expected and not disappointing because I am half-assing it, afterall.  But the look and improved protection against chips has me sold.  I did get my kit at a deep discount but I'm pleased enough that I would pay the whole price to own it.  This particular kit is easy to use and offers a wide array of shades to choose from.  You can also interchange brands of gel polish that require an LED light and still works great.  One thing I do hate is that the top coat/primer is very small so if I use either the gel hack or the full-on application process, it's not going to last super long.

Short-cut gel mani

I do plan on doing a full-on, as-prescribed gel mani start to finish this week.  I am expecting to deliver a baby before the weekend.  I am also expecting to not have a lot of time to keep up my nail game.  So, might as well give the full-on gel a go, right?  Expect a full report on the full mani during an intermission in my soon-to-be gig as a milk truck.

cheap trick: foaming hand soap

I wash my hands A LOT. I was my hands so frequently that no amount of lotion after washing keeps my knucks from cracking and bleeding all the time.   I'm not a germaphobe though I did shutter at the doctor Monday when my kid set his sucker down on the magazine table in the hospital lobby.  I had the impulse of dunking it in Purell but building immunities, right? I fully realize that germs and illness are part of life. Sick happens. After a rough start to the cold and flu season while pregnant I'm just over having extra germs literally on hand 24/7. So I wash my hands, people.

I actually kinda hate washing my hands.  It's annoying to me. It's an annoying but necessary habit that I love to hate.  It's like taking my makeup off before bed. I always feel refreshed and like I really just 'did something with my life' on the occasion I do strip down the old facey-face before beddy-by.  But UGHHH. The monotony. The effort. Just UGHHH.

Sometimes I need more than general hygiene standards to motivate me to wash my hands which is why I am a freak for seasonal soaps, especially of the foaming variety.  This past December, Bath and Body Works had a moment in time where I could combine my coupons with an in store promotion that allowed me to stock up on foaming hand soaps for less than $2 a bottle.  I didn't exactly walk out with a crate of soaps because how embarrassing would that have been.  But after I gifted a good portion of my hoard around the holidays and put the 'wintery scent' soaps away for next year, I realized I should have set my pride aside and just bought ALL THE SOAPS.

I wondered if there was a way I could just make foaming soap using the bottle I cashed on Saturday (RIP Fresh Balsam.)  I thought, "It'd be pretty tight if I could just reuse this bottle and figure out how to turn cheaper soap into foaming soap."  And since there is not an original idea left in the world, several people on the interwebs had already thought the same thing and did all the leg work for me.

Turns out, all you need to make your own foaming hand soap is three things:

1. Empty foaming hand soap bottle (with pump, obvi.)
2. Any non-foaming liquid hand soap
3. Water
   (I used distilled water because I had a jug on hand but tap seems to be what most people use.)

The key to making the soap "foam" has nothing to do with the formula of the soap itself but rater the mechanics of the pump so start saving your empty foaming bottles if you want to try this cheap trick out.

Directions are pretty straightforward.  Pour about a half-inch to a little over an inch of regular liquid hand soap into your empty bottle.  I used an empty Bath and Body Works bottle but most foaming soaps are the standard ounces and base width.  Next, add water until you fill the bottle.  Leave some room at the top because when you screw on the pump, your solution will get displaced and if you are doing it over your counter top and not allowing for overflow like me, this fun little project will just start to get messy and annoy you.  It doesn't have to be that way!

I gave my bottle a vigorous shake because it just felt natural.  If you use warm water, the liquid soap will dissolve quicker into a homogeneous mixture that requires less shaking.  In my experience, neither scent or richness of later is compromised by diluting liquid soap with water.  If you want a more rich lather consistency, add more liquid soap and less water.  Boom.

My exact reaction when I washed my hands for the first time with my DIY foaming hand soap: "Well, I'll be damned.  Actually works."  It required about 40 seconds of actual hands-on time to make and it's going to stretch my liquid hand soaps a lot further and put extra cash in my budget for things like coffee, makeup and beer soon enough.  I'm currently like a million weeks pregnant and I'm not going to lie, I'm getting pretty stoked for a pint.

So start hoarding your foaming soap bottles/dispensers and give this cheap trick a try!  I give it two very clean, very lovely-smelling thumbs up, babes.