bargain of the day

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I snagged this up on sale for $10 today. Over 500 pages of craft inspiration and tutorials. I. am. so. excited!!!

marmalade

 Last week my family and I picked a bunch of plums from the tree outside. Today Laci and I made plum jelly. I think we cut something like 230 plums today and used half for jelly making and froze the other half to use in smoothies over the winter. We're pretty new at canning and making our own treats, but it's so much fun and so rewarding. 

Drizzly goodness

Isn't that color gorgeous? I can't wait to try my hand at more homemade goodies!

so sweet

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Apis mellifera

Breaking news (at least for me): SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEY MONTH!

I had no idea that my most favorite of sweet things in the entire world has an entire month dedicated to it. I'm so happy!

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Making honey, yum!

So. Honey. It's sweet, natural, anti-bacterial, and even contains trace amounts of essential nutrients the human body needs. There are, of course, a ton of other reasons why honey is, quite literally, the bees knees. Here is a fun post I found about the many, many uses of honey, including some awesome tips for DIY projects (fruit preserves, hair care, and skin care, to name a few!)

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Laden with pollen

Since it's National Honey month I'd like to express my concerns about the perilous state the honeybee is in now. Did you know honeybees pollinate $15 billion of produce every year, and that the almond blossom can only be pollinated by the honeybee? It's true. Life as we know it would cease to exist without the help from these noble, beautiful little creatures. Colony Collapse Disorder is real, and if people don't start wising up, pretty soon we'll be facing enormous health and agricultural issues. Please, please, please support local beekeepers, plant flowers that attract honeybees, preserve spots where wildflowers grow in your community, and for the love of almonds don't kill them! A little bit of research will show that there a lot of ways people can help save the honeybee. I mean, we sort of owe it to them to make sure they don't die, since they've been ensuring delicious produce for humans for centuries. You can start here, at the Save the Honeybee Foundation.

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Honeybee pollinating an almond blossom

oatmeal & orange peels

I'm somewhat obsessive over my skin. The generic products grocery stores carry always, always irritated my skin. So I was stuck with the expensive stuff; it was the only thing that somewhat worked for me. The drawback to that, besides the harsh chemicals and high price, was that if I skipped a day of exfoliation or a mask my skin would take 3 steps back... *sigh*

Because of all that I decided to try my own, home-made treatments. I have to say I really enjoy the experimenting and my skin can handle it, too. My problem with home-made is that I'm somewhat lazy and don't plan ahead. But that all stops now.

Today, I was in dire need of exfoliation. I must admit I haven't exfoliated for a while, and I'm planning an epic pamper-spa day, complete with dry brushing, oil bathing, hair treatments, mani/pedi, and a facial mask. But before I do a mask I need to exfoliate, and I don't like to do both on the same day. Laziness aside, I concocted an exfoliating treatment today.

This is what I used:
*2 Tablespoons of Oatmeal- ground up with a mortar and pestle
*2 Tablespoons of dried orange peels- also ground with mortar and pestle
*1 Tablespoon of honey
*1-2 teaspoons of yogurt or milk

After I cleansed my face, I ground the oatmeal and dried orange peel and put them in a small bowl. Then I added the honey and milk and stirred it all together. I applied it with gentle circular motions and let it sit for about 5 minutes. After that, I rinsed it off with lukewarm water, gently dried, and topped it all off with some sesame oil. The result: awesome feeling skin.