It's funny how a blog can make you feel worthless. I've been bogged down with grad school, teaching and studying for my comps (which are more than halfway over now!). I've accomplished a lot in the last two months, but there's this albatros around my neck - I haven't published a blog post; I'm a bad blogger; value judgments from every direction! And by every direction I really mean from myself. I haven't made much in the way of crafting. I've cooked a ton, but I haven't felt the need to blog about it. But boy howdy do I read other peoples' blogs; seriously, I have a blog addiction problem. I've found some really awesome links over the past 2 months, and I'd like to share them with you.
Heart of Light's Homemade Paneer (from today!)
- I've wanted to make cheese for a long time. I love Indian food. All you need is milk, lemon juice, paper towels and cheesecloth. Is there anything bad about this idea?
Free bunting printouts from nonpareil magazine via iDiY
- I'm a sucker for bunting - completely gaga for it. And free things. Again, good idea.
- Speaking of bunting - diy bunting stamp from broccoli rubberbands!!! How ABOUT orange?!
Chevron things
- I dig chevron as well (I'm trendy...god). Design*Sponge posted this awesome chevron wall a few days ago.
- This t-shirt isn't Chevron, but say YES! to hoboken's blog is! It's high time I stop bookmarking these t-shirts and start making them. Seriously.
- Design*Sponge strikes again with this DIY chevron rug by Suzannah over at Adventures in Dressmaking
- Prefer stripes? No problem - there's a tutorial for that. via Apartment Therapy
Refashioned things
- Look at this bag! Don't you want it!? Salt-water kids via Wardrobe refashion
- Sew I thought...this girl NEVER disappoints. Next time you walk into a thrift store you will see haute couture written all over the place!
From the world of actual paper you can touch (but also found online)
- I love Real Simple magazine. I've heard people criticize it, because a lot of the things in it are so expensive and they are often not simple. I. Don't. Care. I love it and I don't care. I bought a 6 month subscription from an office-mate's son. The last issue was their 10th anniversary, and they shared popular tips from over the years.
- My favorite oldie was to use a salad spinner for getting rid of excess water in hand washed sweaters. I had just gotten back from Minnesota and needed to wash some cashmere, but was frustrated by the instructions that say "do not wring or twist"+ "lay flat to dry". Really? What do you want me to do with it then? Obviously, put in in my salad spinner. Amazing.
- This issue also shows you how to dry your hair. I've never known how to really dry my hair. I'm serious. No one taught me...who is supposed to teach you? I don't have sisters. My mom has short hair. Stylists, when I do ask for help, do a terrible job of explaining the process. But there it was. In three steps. For straight hair/for curly hair. Thank you Real Simple. My hair looked GREAT!
Kind of out there
- Anyone do the no-poo thing? As in not using shampoo at all? I've heard of it over the past 5 years or so, maybe longer actually (I used to work at a hippie co-op). I haven't taken the plunge - apparently your hair looks NASTY for 2-6 weeks - and it is supposed to work better with curly hair - I have straight. But I have added some baking soda to my shampoo when I wash. It has made a world of difference. My once greasy-by-4pm locks are now good to go for 2 days. Weird. If you can make it through the transition period - the results are supposed to be AMAZING.
- Finally, a linguistic note. Did you know there's a midline through the states (think Mason-Dixon-ish) that divides how people say "greasy". People in the Midlands and the South tend to go with greazy (/gɹi:zi/) and people in the North and West tend to go greasy (/gɹi:si/). Neat.
Oh, I've tried no-poo. After two weeks it all went horribly wrong and it looked like I was actually just using straight poo!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about blogging or not. The blog is here to serve you, not vice-versa.
hiya! Love your blog, glad you're back. Don't worry about posting all the time! We read anyways.
ReplyDeleteI've no-pooed for a year and a half. Here's my recipe since it's a little different than those you linked to:
1Tbsp baking soda in 1 cup hot hot hot water. Massage in and leave in hair for 1 minute. Rinse out.
Rinse: 1tbsp lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) in 1 cup water. You will need to experiment on how often you need the rinse. I find I need more in the winter (reduces static), but too often in the summer leads to build-up.
I no-poo because it is simple. I never have to buy shampoo, just the odd box of baking soda and lemon juice. Couldn't be simpler.
I didn't have a gross first few weeks. It just worked from the beginning, more or less.
Thanks so much to both of you for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteGina - I'm very impressed with what you're doing - those pear towels caught my eye months ago and I'm still jealous!
Silver - That's so inspiring. I may actually try it before school is out. I'm thinking of waiting until May, but why. It's gets so humid and hot here that maybe it would be better to give the no-poo a fair shot before all the elements are against it!
I made paneer yesterday! It's such a pretty little cheese ball =). A friend is coming over tonight to show me some authentic Indian cooking; I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteOh I know about the no-poo thing! I have some curl in my hair, so I have tried it before. Unfortunately since my hair texture is pretty fine/thin, not using shampoo left my hair too weighed down (even more so than usual). So now I use a sulfate-free shampoo, and that's been really nice good for me. My hair's gotten longer than it has been in a long time because I'm not using the harsh shampoos I used to. It's not frizzy either, and that used to be a problem for me. You mentioned baking soda washing, and I admit I didn't click your link, but have you heard of conditioner-only (CO) washing? It's where you use a cheapo conditioner like Suave or V05 to scrub your hair and head to clean it. It is supposed to clean as well as harsh cleaning agents as long as you don't use hair products with ingredients that stick (and need harsher cleaning). I still do it every once in a while. Makes your hair very soft.
ReplyDelete