Honey honey

Over the last few weeks I have been noticing that my skin has really not been happy. I am having a minor bought with 'adult' acne and dry skin (sounds pretty right?). I decided to attack my skin issues with a bit of honey!

Honey is great for the skin. It moisturizes, it exfoliates (natural enzymes) and it is anti-microbial. The best part is that is does all these great things but is super gentle. I like to add herbs to my honey for the added benefits (and the scent!). Lavender is always a good choice because of its wonderful scent and ability to heal, soothe and calm redness (its better for acne than Tea Tree). Other great herbs/plants to add would be dried powdered Lemon or Orange peel (vitamin c, exfoliant), Rose Hips (antioxidants), Chamomile (soothing), Calendula (very healing for skin) - you can actually even eat these if you really wanted to!

I mixed up a batch of Herbal Honey mask. It has been macerating for a few weeks so it smells absolutely divine!!! I applied last night and although I am not completely free and clear of skin issues but my skin looks and feels a whole lot better than it did.

Herbal Honey Mask
1 tbsp finely ground dried lavender flowers
1 tbsp finely ground dried chamomile flowers
2 1/2 tbsp local honey

I used a coffee grinder to grind my herbs, so the particles weren't as small as I would have wanted but it works. Mix ingredients together and store in a clean glass jar. I let my mixture sit for about 2 weeks before I used it but it can be used immediately (no need to refridgerate).

I also like to use Honey as part of my daily cleansing routine (I actually ran out a couple of weeks ago...maybe that is why my skin has been looking so crap).

My Honey Cleanser recipe is super simple (for those who like soap here is another recipe from Supernatural Botanicals blog).

1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Hydrosol (I used Rosemary - other good options are Lavender and Rose)

I actually made this hydrosol (that will be another post)

Mix honey and hydrosol together with a whisk until completely incorporated (will be a bit watery) then put into a clean glass container.

Ta-da--- you now have a gentle cleanser!

Small batches work best - honey is anti-microbial and wont spoil, hydrosols are pretty stable but can be negatively effected by temperature changes (i.e. steamy bathrooms). My cleanser lasted about a month and was totally fine. I like to use this cleanser in the morning and another cleanser at night to get off makeup.

Let me know how these work for you and have fun whipping up your own honey skin treats!

Cravings = eating dinner at 9pm

I got home at 6:20pm and really didnt want what I had planned for dinner tonight (warm shrimp and eggplant salad over brown rice) - what I really wanted was spinach/kale lasagna (Note: I didnt have all the ingredients). Not listening to reason, I prepped everything that I could (white sauce, sauteed spinach and kale, cooked lasgna noodles) and then waited for Mister to get home with the rest of the ingredients. I just put the lasagna in the oven about 10 minutes ago...sigh

If I had made the sensible choice I would have already finished eating, instead I will be eating at 9 (but I will love every bite of that lasagna damnit!).

Peace out debt!

I am sooo thrilled right now cause I just paid off my credit card debt....YIPPEEEE!!!!


A year of school and working part time definitely added to the accumulating credit card bill and it feels amazing to finally have a 0 balance. It took longer than I had anticipated, but I tried to stick to my plan to put money toward the credit card every month and it worked... although it didn't hurt that I sensibly put some of my tax return money toward finishing off the debt. Now I can put all my "extra" cash into the biz!

Perhaps I will also reward myself with a purchase from yesterday's post....JK (sort of).

Some things I want....

Etsy is a dangerous dangerous place - especially when you aren't supposed to be spending any money unless it's on stuff for the biz. Here is a little list of some things I am coveting right now.

Inner mantra - I will not buy anything. I will not buy anything. I will not buy anything.

Eco Friendly Organic Wool Pillow from Felted Style Fabric Collection

Lovely print from Naomi Murrell

I have been eyeing this for a while - Bird Necklace from Imogeen and Annie

And last but not least one of these lovely bags from Valhalla Brooklyn . I have been wanting one of these bags for over a year....sigh. She also has bags made from recycled leather - so cool.