Natural Face Scrub

As I said in my first post about switching to natural toiletries, as soon as we run out of something our goal is to replace it with a natural (homemade, if possible) substitute.  My first item was face wash, which I substituted with the "oil-cleansing method."  Now I used to use St. Ives apricot facial scrub every day, so after using the oil-cleansing method I loved the way my skin looked and felt (and I got some compliments on how I "glowed," by the way), I still missed that deep-clean feeling from a good face scrub.  So I tried using baking soda.  I added just enough water to make a thin paste, then applied it to my oil-cleansed face and scrubbed gently in circular motions.  I rinsed with water, and my face felt clean but still soft from the oils I'd used prior.  I like it!  You can also use kosher salt or finely ground Celtic sea salt mixed with olive oil as a scrub, but I felt the baking soda was super gentle.  It's also really cheap!  You should definitely try this - and don't worry if it gets in your mouth; baking soda is a base, and since our bodies are growing more and more acidic with this modern world and diet, it's actually good to ingest baking soda.  Some studies have even showed it prevents and cures cancers and fungal infections, so I say it can't hurt!  Leave me some comment love and tell me if you've tried the oil-cleansing method or a baking soda scrub and how you liked it!

Kitchen Shelves Nearly Complete

 My plants are waiting to get back into the kitchen window's light.

 My husband, working late into the night to get this project done.

Primed and dressed in the first coat of paint, early morning.  We're almost done with this phase of the kitchen!

Chair "After"

 So after I repaired this chair (seen in this post last week), I wrapped it in plastic bags and taped the edges of the fabric with masking tape.

Then I used Tulip's new fabric spray paint in a peacock blue color.  It took two full bottles to do two coats, so that's a cost of about $12.

Then I removed the tape and plastic - voila!!  

I was quite pleased with the way the embroidered little bouquet pattern showed through.

  And I think the blue looks lovely next to the weathered old wood, so I shall not paint that after all.

 And here's Autumn in an equally blue outfit modeling the new chair.

Kitchen Update and Chair Repair

 Here's the kitchen with bead board on the cabinet backs.  Jason's outlining the bead board with quarter-round, and it looks super-nice.  He's also adding 1x material on the fronts of the shelves to make them appear thicker and more finished.  Once he's done with that, it'll be time to prime!

In other news, I found this chair on the side of the road just before the baby was born.  It had all the springs and burlap bindings hanging out of the bottom, and the seat was sunken-in.

 Here's a peek at my repair job.  I know it's probably going to rub some of you the wrong way that I used duct tape, but the burlap was so old it was tearing apart in my hands.  And frankly, I believe if people back in the day when this was made had duct tape, they would have used it too.  So there.

And here's the bottom of the chair with the black netting replaced.  Repair complete!

Now to tape off the wood and use fabric paint on the old, nasty fabric!

Natural Toiletries

Lately my husband and I have been wishing to simplify - which, in this post, means "reduce the number of unknown substances we're slathering on ourselves."  So as we run out of toothpaste, shampoo, and the like, our goal is to begin using a homemade, natural, and simple version instead of running to Walmart to restock.

First up was my face wash.  I ran out last week.  I found this article from Simple Mom on ...get this...washing your face with OIL.  The idea is that oil dissolves oil, so it's an effective way to remove dirt and impurities.  And soaps remove the natural oils our skin produces to protect itself, causing us to produce even more oil to make up for it.  I followed the article's recipe for "normal" skin, and it's been working really well.  I use one part olive oil and one part castor oil.  The castor oil helps draw out impurities.  Turns out I don't need to use face lotion anymore now, so that's two items I've replaced with a super-cheap, super-simple homemade mix! And my skin is bright and soft.  Anyways, hop on over there and give it a read - it's pretty interesting!

Gettin' Around

 Can you find the baby?

There she is!!

Small Changes

 After a visit to my friends' beautifully and carefully updated home, I realized there was beauty in what we already had because it was original to our 1950 home.  We had planned to entirely gut the kitchen and put in new appliances, flooring, electrical, and cabinets.  Our dreams involve knocking out doorways to make them larger, knocking out part of a wall to make a peninsula, and so much more.  But until we have the money to make such huge changes, why not use what we already have - sand paper, primer, white glossy paint and light gray-blue paint - to update what we have and celebrate it?  I've been itching for these last 5+ months to do something, ANYTHING to this old home!  So I took off the cabinets last Sunday.  Then we discovered this hole in the top right cabinet:

It was behind some warped, water-damaged cardboard lining the top of the cabinet. Turns out this is probably where all the bugs (we usually see a dead roach every-other morning or so on the floor somewhere) have been coming from.  The roof has been recently replaced, so the water-damage shouldn't continue, and this hole will be repaired.  I moved all our dishes out so Jason could spray insecticide up there, and what do you know? No bugs the last two days! Glory!

 Here's a project I've been hoping to get done for the kitchen - a blackboard menu.  The frame was free from a neighbor's yard sale leftovers, and Jason cut a piece of melamine to fit.  I primed it and painted it with my friend Rachael's left-over black board paint (thanks, Rae!).

Jason repaired a giant hole in the bathroom wall behind the mirror/medicine cabinet that was WAY too big for that unit.  Then he hung this mirror (I think it was $10 or $15 at a yard sale) - which has a lovely frame and is more my ideal size for this space. It feels SO GOOD to have some small things improved!  Bit by bit! :)

So now I want to field a couple of questions:
A.) We plan to paint the open shelves in the kitchen white with putty-colored bead board backing them, and the lower cabinets light blue-gray. What colors do you think we should paint the kitchen walls?

B.) We plan to remove the pink tile in the bathroom and put in white bead board on the bottoms of the walls with a chair rail molding above.  What color do you think we should paint the bathroom walls?

Thanks for your help!