Optimistic Oatmeal: 5 Uses

Oatmeal - the soothing and sensitive spa ingredient provided by Mother Nature herself. Here are 5 surprising uses for it in your daily life!

1. Soften and sooth - grind up or use whole oats in the bath tub! How many of us took oatmeal baths when we had chicken pox? Oatmeal is a great way to sooth irritated skin. Last year my skin was being really annoying and I was itchy all over. It went away after one oatmeal bath! And my skin was baby soft afterwards.

2. Spa masks - oatmeal masks are usually associated with sensitive skin but did you know you can also treat acne with it? Cook up some oatmeal, let it cool for a bit until it's lukewarm, apply to affected areas. Let it dry and get a little crusty and then wash off with lukewarm water.

Also try a DYI face and body scrub! Grind 2 tablespoons of oats into a grainy consistency, add 1 tablespoon of baking soda and a little water until it's in a paste. Spread onto clean and dry face, leave for 10 minutes, and then rinse.

3. Natural odor killer - place an open container of oatmeal in the fridge to absorb unwanted odors. If you smoke, try lining ashtrays with oats to get the cigarette smell out of your room.

4. Sooth your dog's skin - if you see that your dog's skin is itchy, try some of these methods to make the poor little guy feel better.

5. Cook with it - oats can be used for so much more than just oatmeal! It's a natural and yummy way to get your fiber. Try replacing regular flour with oat flour (just grind oats in a food processors). You get more fiber, feel fuller, and cut the calories. It's also a great way to go gluten-free!

Lazy Sunday

I wish I was in New York to get some Magnolia cupcakes. Also, I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia but I think my Lazy Sunday will be just as nice. As I am writing this I am still in my PJs but if I decided to get up and go into the public realm, I would wear something like this.

Roasted Beet, Carrot and Goat Cheese Salad

This one was the result of a toss-in. As in I had a "Oh no I just realized I'm really, really hungry and I haven't planed what to make for dinner yet and I'm too lazy to go to the store and buy anything and I'm too cheap to get take out, I have some stuff in my fridge I hope I can make it go together" moment. I get those kind of often.

So with the two vegetables I had sitting in the fridge I got to work. Beets, carrots, go.

When it comes to vegetables, I don't think you can really go wrong in roasting them. I might even go as far to say as that's my favorite way to have them. A little extra virgin olive oil on a cookie sheet, a little salt, oven on 450 degrees and you're done (Tip: rosemary and thyme are an excellent combination on any root vegetable)! I let them roast, sprinkled some goat cheese on top and ended up with what you see here. The salty cheese and sweet vegetable had a really good balance that made for a satisfying, albeit last minute meal.

Inspired By: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland, the movie that half-delighted half-terrified me as a child. Did the Queen scare anyone else? Alice is wide-eyed, innocent, and curious (sometimes a little too curious). Copy her style without the apron or mushroom tripping.

Cute Cups

So I recently learned something about myself. I may be turning into my mom. For years I've been battling her on her no measurement policy. She says she can't help it, that that's just the way she was taught to cook but a fat load of good that does me when I'm trying to figure out how to make one of my grandma's dishes. I try to explain to her that cooking is all about ratios (i.e. this is why she is a notoriously terrible baker) to no avail. I remember spending 45 minutes on the phone with her once trying to confirm that the ratio to cook rice is 2 parts water to 1 part rice in which she would not give me a straight answer and kept saying "you just put as much rice and water as you need for the amount of people you're trying to feed. I eventually demanded that she put my father on the phone who gave me a simple "yes." 

But as I was posting this "recipe," I realized that I too have begun to cook without measurement. This is all fine and well when experimenting, but seeing my mother's nature come out in my cooking has scared me into vigilance. I must keep an eye on myself, I can't let myself get to the point where I ignore quantities in recipe cards. I have come up with a solution: cute measuring cups.

The Terrific Toothbrush

The toothbrush is more than just an instrument that cleans your teeth. It can be used for so many other things!

1. Groom your eyebrows - don't waste money on an eyebrow brush! Use a toothbrush to brush eyebrows into place and set with a little gel. I like to use Aquaphore.

2. Touch up your roots. Use a toothbrush to attack those colored roots as soon as they start appearing!

3. Exfoliate your lips with a toothbrush and baking soda! See here for directions.

4. Keep down flyaways! Spray toothbrush with hairspray and brush down flyaways. Also use a toothbrush instead of a brush to get subtle volume when teasing.

5. Use with dry shampoo. Spray toothbrush and use on roots to soak up oil.

Dress Up or Down: Rainy Day

Rainy days are upon us and it's easy to fall into a rainy day fashion rut. Here are two ways to switch up your look! I just love the lining the that yellow coat.

Toast

 

Food has had many champions throughout the course of history. The great chefs, the prodigal bakers, the people who just like to eat it. Yes, food-aphelia is nothing new. But never before in this rally to food had such an upsurge of followers, these foodies as they are called (which so many of us are self-proclaimed to be).

Fact.

People like food.

Fact.

If you don't, something is wrong with you.

Facts.

Toast is a biopic about the original foodie, Nigel Slater based on his memoir of the same name. With a love of food that sprung from God knows where, little Nigel lives with his kindhearted mother who is tragically hopeless in the kitchen and his prickly father who he suspects may have grown hard due to malnutrition. Nigel spends his time dreaming of vegetables that don't come in tins and playing make believe store clerk, pulling orders of fresh cheese and produce off the shelves while his father expresses his disappointment and his mother cooks night after night the only thing she can with any sort of success: toast. The three get along as well as they can until Nigel's mother dies. The two men of the house are now left alone to fend for themselves and it is not long before Nigel's father hires a housekeeper, Mrs. Potter played by Helena Bonham Carter, to lend a hand. Unfortunately for our young hero, Mrs. Potter has it in mind to make her position a bit more permanent and through the dirtiest montage of cleaning I've ever seen, earns a place for herself in Mr. Slater's affections. 

Fast-forward a couple years and Nigel's father has relocated the little patchwork family to the country where his son's life is made miserable by the cruel Mrs. Potter. The only positive is that this woman is a fabulous cook. Only there's a catch here too, she uses her cooking as a form of warfare as Nigel (now played by Freddie Highmore) has discovered his own knack for cooking and the two vie for Mr. Slater's love and attention through his stomach. 

This food in this movie was pitched to be "jumping off the screen, you can almost smell it, almost taste it". Unfortunately this is not actually true, excepting perhaps the controversial lemon meringue pie that makes reappearance after reappearance as Nigel tries to perfect and improve upon his rival's secret weapon. But hats off to Oscar Kennedy who plays young Nigel and is the real star of the movie along with his cast of little friends, in particular Warrel played by Frasier Huckle. These young actors deliver with such a wonderfully offhand yet childish air, you can only be amazed by the things they observe and the matter of fact way they put them. Highmore too holds his own as the straight-faced older Nigel who is just laying in wait until the moment arrives where he can break free of Mrs. Potter and Bonham Carter is just so good at being bad, no surprise there.

Overall the movie is worth a watch but if you go and see it in theaters just make sure you sneak yourself in a buttered scone. Believe me, about halfway through you'll be glad you did. 

Versatile Vodka

Who says vodka's just for Friday night? It turns out there are so many more uses for vodka besides getting it on.

1. Treat poison ivy - pour on affected area right away

2. Freshen up laundry - no time to wash the LBD before the big date tomorrow? Pour vodka into spray bottle and spritz. The alcohol dissolves any bacteria and the vodka smell goes away as soon as you spray it.

3. Shiny hair - pour a jigger of vodka into conditioner for extra shine!

4. Toothache - Pour a shot of vodka into your mouth and swish! Swallow for extra side effects.

5. Polish up chrome, glass, and porcelain to get them to shine

6. Natural insect repellant - pour vodka into spray bottle and spray yourself.

7. Keep flowers fresh - pour a little vodka into your vase of flowers to make them last longer

Amazing Applications of Applesauce

Do you know how versatile this sweet treat is? Here's five unique ways to use applesauce in your life!

1. Shampoo - Use in hair and rinse! The slight acidic quality of it will balance your hair's pH and make it shine. Look it up here!

2. Face mask - For oily or acne-prone skin. Find a recipe here.

3. Baking- cut down on sugar in baking by substituting with applesauce! Check out this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

4. Sick Food - Got stomach problems? Applesauce is a tasty but calming food to eat when you're sick, especially if you have the stomach flu.

5. Yum! - It's also good for just plain eating. Here's a super quick recipe to try now!