Day18:Summer Sundown

“We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say goodbye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can’t turn the hourglass over.”













There it is...the last sundown of summer, well at least the last sundown before we head off for school. Another beautiful summer full of beaches, sandy hair, adventure, and sunkissed skin, but here we are, back to routine once again. Don't get too depressed though, here are some new tunes that kept me going throughout these two months, they'll  help you enjoy those last little bits of summer:) Relaxing and happy, these will always calm me or cheer me no matter what mood I'm in:

1.Belle and Sebastian- I want the world to stop
2.  Jack Johnson-Sitting, waiting,wishing
3.Blonde Redhead- 23
4.Bob Sinclair-Love generation
5.Bon Iver-SKinny Love
6. Matt and Kim-Daylight
5. Sweet Thing-Change of Seasons
8.Little Joy- Next Time Around
9.Lykke Li- I follow Rivers
10. Florence+ The Machine -what the water gave me
11. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes- Home
12. The Love Language- Heart to Tell
13. Mumford and Sons -little Lion Man
14. Fleet Foxes-Mykonos
15. Sea Wolf- You're A Wolf
here's another site if your looking for more music, and one to download the music into mp3 form from youtube:

http://8tracks.com/


Downloading site:
http://www.flvto.com/

Day18:WOOhoo No 'Poo

Your probably thinking...wait what? did I read that right? What I mean is no SHAMPOO, yes I have not used shampoo in my hair for two whole months!! And it is not a massiev grease ball full of insects and dirt:) Actually lots of shampoo has many toxic chemicals, that go through the skin and sit in your blood stream for a very long time, it may make your hair look good from time to time, but after a few days your hair starts to look greasy and dirty, and may need a wash with shampoo again! It's like a whole cycle, and that's what the companies want...for you to buy more and more of their shampoo!! Shampoo cleans your hair but it also strips many of the natural oils your body produces and NEEDS, to keep your hair soft, strong, and healthy. When you strip all the oils in your hair, more start to form in your hair, therefore making your hair even greasier, but when you stop stripping the oils, your body can naturally replenish them, and does not produce as much.
If you want to still clean your hair use
1.Baking soda
2. Apple Cider Vinegar

This is the one we use- it's super good!

In a small container I put in a tsp. of baking soda, dilute with water, then massage the paste in my hair in the shower. In another container I add a bit less than a tsp. of the vinegar, dilute with water, and dump it on my hair, and the ends of my hair. The baking soda gets rid of dirt, dandruff, and sebum, and leaves your hair clean, while the vinegar acts like a kind of conditioner, and makes your hair alot softer, and silky like (almost like shampoo).
TRY it out:D here's a site that helped me out a bit:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2eFRU7/simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo

"Beauty is the Promise of Happiness"

Drink of The day: Vanilla Steamer

-cup milk
-whipped cream
-spoon honey/sugar
-spoon vanilla extract/vanilla bean(taste aloooot better, if you can find it)
-tsp cinnamon
-tsp nutmeg


Heat milk in a pan, and then froth with a wisk, add in sweetner,vanilla, then whipped cream, sprinkle cinnamon, and nutmeg on top!Easy Peasy!

Day17:Rain Shmain!

What to do when it's pouring outside like today:
1.clean
2.Read
3.Bake
4.Make an awsome multi-purpose ointment?
Let's skip the first two for now.... but here is a really amazing recipe that you should try out, that'll take you the whole rainy day, but don't worry it works EVERY time-and it's definately worth it!!!
Cina-mmm buns

Before Oven

MMMmm... yummmy goodness

Ingredients
(yeast mixture)-tsp sugar, tbsp active dry yeast, 1/2cup warm water
(dough mixture)-1/4cup white sugar,tsp. salt, 2 eggs, 4 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter
(filling mixture)- 3/4cup butter, 3/4cup brown sugar, cup chopped pecans/walnuts/raisins, 1/4 cup cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter

1. a small bowl dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm water, and let sit for about 10 minutes
2. Warm milk in saucepan, and mix in the sugar butter, salt, and stir it into the pot.
3. In large bowl combine the yeast mixture, the milk mixture, along with the eggs, and flour, and mix.
4. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead it for about 8 minutes.
5. Lightly oil a big bowl and put the dough in to rise, cover with a damp cloth, for about 1 hour. It will double it's size.
6. (filling Mixture) melt 3/4cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in 3/4cup sugar, and pour some into a a greased pan(not all though, or else the cinnamon buns will burn).
7.Combine the remaing 1/2cup sugar,butter, and melt, then add in the cinnamon, and some more nuts.
8. The dough should be ready by now, and roll it onto a floured surface, into a big rectangle.
9. Brush the rest of the butter mixture onto the dough.
10. Starting at the long side, tightly roll up the cinnamon mixture, and brush the outside with any remaing buttery mixture. Cut into 18 peices, and put down into the greased pan with butter mixture in it.
11. Let the cinnamon buns rise again for about 20 minutes, and then put into an oven, preaheated to 375 degrees F, bake for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown and start to smell!! Good luck!

BeesWax Ointment
Honestly a magic ointment!!! I have used this stuff as after bite for mosquito bites, after a sun burn, skin moisturizer, and hand softener, face cream for night, works as lip balm, healing oil for cuts burns bruises, probably a whole bunch more too!! Live this stuff, and the recipe is so easy you can't mess up:

In a pan heat
-1-2 spoons grated beeswax
-4 spoonfuls of coconut oil
- a bit of honey
- 3 spoons avocado/olive oil
Then pour into a little bowl and mix with peppermint/lavender essential oil, and half a spoon of oats. Add in any other oils you like- jojba oil is good for your skin, and other essential oils work fine too. Pour your concuction into a little spill proof container, and put into the fridge until it's hard and cool:)

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. "


Drink Of the Day: Blueberry Bliss
-cup blueberries
-banana
- black currents
- half peach/nectarine
-coconut water
- frozen mangoes

Day16:Organizing crafty storage

At first this may look useless, and unpractical, but if you think about it, it really comes in handy! I used a tin lid off of a cookie box, and glued on magnets on the bottom of jars, so that the can fit right in the little lid, without falling, or being knocked off very easily. If you don't have room for shelves, or just don't have any of good size this might help:) and it helped me organize my little craft table a bit.

Cut the magnet so it fits  the bottom of the jar

Glue on with SUPER GLUE

For the lid, I glued on fabric. Press it on around the edges, with glue

pretty lid:), I wrote on with fabric paint.

I stuck on pictures and stuff with magnets to the board

"Imperfection is not our personal problem, it is a natural part of existing"

Super food GREEN Smooothie;SOO good it even radiates!

-coconut water

-apple peeled and cored

-tsp.spirulina

-handful mixed greens(spinach,romain lettuce,arugula etc.)

-mango

-banana

-

Day 15:Birdy Stencil

Use card paper, and draw out picture (make sure it's simple, and has thick borders), place on cutting board, and cut out the frame, and detailed areas with X acto knife.

Put stencil on whatever you want and carefully paint(with fabric paint) onto the empty spaces you cut out.

Finished :)

Day14:David Wolfe

My sister dragged me into listening to this guy lecture on about health, her dream husband she was recently obsessed with, and I had nothing better to do! A bit about David Wolfe: 40 year old man, but seems(and looks) in  20, funny, crazy, loud and energetic guy-just because of his diet! David eats raw food...no not like raw fish, but literally just nuts fruit vegetables, seeds, sprouts, mushrooms, which he forms into meals with super high tech quality blender. Coming from a family of mainstream doctors, his idea was totally shut down by his parents, but it paid off after he became a nutrition icon all around the world. The room was filled with like minded healthy hippies, mainly all skinny and radiant and beautiful, who before the arrival of David were talking about : Politics, alien abductions, 2012 theories, and food-the usual! He told us about  his health conditions before and after, and how he only needs to sleep 4 hours a day on account of the energy given to him by this raw food. You get much  more energy when your body is not constantly digesting tough, heavy food (bread,cheese,meat) and your body becomes also lighter, and healthier, because of all the nutrients it is easily getting all of a sudden. In his spare time, this guy goes mushroom hunting with his crazy crew, and girlfriend, for medicinal mushrooms which apparently when crushed can  cure any decease, (if combined with the right foods), and fresh water spring hunting all over the world. He told us there's no need of buying water, you just have to ask the nearest- Czech, Polish, Slovak, or Russian old couple, and they will know the nearest fresh spring that will taste better than any store bought "spring water"!!! Here's a link to his sites:
http://www.davidwolfe.com/

"In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired"
 Healthy Antioxidant Smoothie
-tsp. Spirulina/wheatgrass powder
-cup coconut water
-banana
-tsp honey
-1/2 cup-1 cup black currents
-few frozen mangoes

Day 13:POW WOW

Not native...but our friend invited us to go to his Pow wow, different....but why not? SO here are some pics, it wasn't as weird as it sounds:

                                                                       Sales booths

                                                             performers getting ready

                                                                         Awweee

                                                                         Leather faces

Drink of the Day:mmm Chai Tea Latte

container of whipping cream
-maple syrup
-vanilla
-chai tea
- table cream/half,half cream
-honey

 Whip up the cream, adding in maple syrup and vanilla drops at a time, be patient, the whipping takes a while!!

 Make tea, and half and half cream and sweeten up  with vanilla and honey

add whipped cream on top and top with chocolate!!

Day12: BLUEberry gathering

Went blueberry picking today and there is TONS still growing, and they are in perfect season right now:))(well at least in Ontario) but hurry before they are all gone! Its fairly cheap and you can stuff your face before you even take them home!!!AWESOME

BENEFITS OF BLUEBERRIES:

Contain nutrients which include lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. Similar to the previous nutrients, these nutrients support retinal health, lower LDL cholesterol, boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, fight inflammation, reduce tumor growth, act as an anticarcinogens in the digestive tract, and limit the activity of cancer cells.
Blueberries are a nutritional bonanza of health enhancing compounds ranging from antioxidants, anthocyanins, ellagic acid, to phenolic acids

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity."

DRINK OF THE DAY: Coco-Blueberry MilkShake
-cup of blueberries
-spoon of coconut oil
-peach
-banana
-1/2cup coconut milk
-1/2cup milk
-tsp vanilla

Day11: Baby Bulletin

Found these AWESOME useless cork boards at IKEA, and put them to good use:)! I found this DIY to be very simple, and it ends up being a cute little project as well:

 Materials needed: Cork boards(obviously), plastic circles(got them at the craft store, but I'm sure even cardboard might work), hammer, super glue, nails, fabric, and your good!

 Trace your fabric around your circle, leaving one inch in width all around.

 Glue the fabric down in the back with super glue, or tacky glue, try to flatten it out as much as possible.

 Glue cork ont top of fabric with fabric glue( I used Elmers Carpenter glue), and nail through the plastic circle on too wall.

Tadaa!! Small but cute:), looks even better with a few of them together.


Drink Of Day: Date-Worthy Smoothie

- A few pitted Dates
-peach
-banana
-cup milk
-frozen mango

Day10:Reeeee..laaaax

"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind."
Reading in the summer is one of the best things in all of summer! Who says you need to pay loads of money to entertain yourself? I found this awesome book:

Its really an Eye opening story full of hope, fear, and injustice and love!!! Written in beautiful language both from a sixteen year old Nigerian girl, and a British journalist. Speaks the truth and uncovers a story about a Nigerian refugee escaped to Britain in a strange way, and meets a women that changed her life on a beach, two years ago. I don't want to ruin the story(as it says on the back cover of the book), so read it and find out!!

Drink of The Day:Banana Liñda

 -cup almond milk
-1/4cup coconut milk
-banana
-spoon shredded coconut
-spoon agave nectar
-tsp honey
-cinnamon
-vanilla extract
-frozen mango chunks

Day 4-9: Yoga Ashram

"For those wounded by civilization, yoga is the most healing salve."

So we decided to go on a break, and somewhere that was relaxing and cheap, and I remembered a place that I had went to as a kid; Sivananda Yoga Ashram! This place was beautiful, and really great if your loooking for a spiritual retreat, and a place to practise your yoga! These Ashrams are located all around the world, so you might find on nearby, or not so near actually( we drove 8 hours), but it is worth going if you find one. Filled with Lectures on health, balancing mind and body,LOTS of yoga, and also a taste of some Hindu culture. For us it felt like a whole different country situated within our own country, the people were deffinately alot different, and more intelligent, the workers there were volunteers, and lived off of the food, and rented spaces. Karm yoga was very popular as well, instead of hiring cleaners, and cooks, everybody helped around to improve their "karma", and  too be good people, kind of like one big family! Anyways, we stayed in a tent that was located in a forest type deal, and we walked around barefoot, like true Yogis. The diet is strictly vegetarian, and yummy currys, lentils, and other spicy Indian food, so its hard to be a picky eater around there;)!! Definately a good palce for summer vacation, and relaxation:
http://www.sivananda.org/locations/ashrams.html


Drink of the Day: Lemonade With a Twist
-half a lemon/lime
-3tsp Agave
-tsp coconut
-water
-tsp honey
-cup carbonated water

Day 2:Buckwheat Silk Pillow

"Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create"

This was fairly easy to make. For the stem of the tree I braided string with yarn, and added wooden beads, and for the leaves, I cut out circles of silk, and carefully sewed them on with a  ”picnic” stitch, so the ends wouldn’t fray.  The pillow itself is stuffed with buckwheat which I found at Bulkbarn, since regular pillow stuffing is WAYY too much too afford, $13.00 for a pillow? No way!

Drink of the Day:Green Tea Latte

1cup soy/almond milk

1tbsp cream

1cup ice

1tbsp honey

1tsp powdered green tea (just grounded)

whipped cream

Mix all ingredients in blender, and put whipped cream on top! Mmmm this stuff is so easy to make, and lovely because its so frothy, and not too sweet(wayyyy better than Starbucks;)!

Day 1

Summer came rolling along very quickly, and feels like its been here forever! But it will pass just as quickly as it came, so we want to make the most out of it this year. Although no the title isn't referring to the first day of summer, it will be the first day of summer blogging! I've decided to do a day-to day blogging schedule, keeping my fellow bloggers posted with things to do, make, see,read, or create.
So here it is... Day1: Zumba

This funny, and fun activity is a really good way to start off your summer. I took this class this very morning, after my sister dragged me in, we came into a small room with three other old ladies, in their sixties. I was kind of thrown off, and lost hope of this being a fun class. The ladies probably thought we were weird coming into an adult class, and wearing our matching little booty shorts, but we were about to show them up! Basically Zumba is a kind of exercise dance, where the students follow the teacher, as she makes up the moves. The women was a belly-dancing gypsy women, with a curly blond bob, probably around her late 40's, but with the energy of a 16 year old! She loved hip movements, and occasionally would shout "Work it girls!" to pump us up...or make us feel uncomfortable shaking our hips. Latino dancing, Salsa, Belly-dancing, Indian, and African dancing all were made to look very simple...The movements themselves were fairly easy, but it went quick, and made you sweat quickly as well. Without any rhythm in your body this may be hard to do, but it still suits all women who love to do crazy exercises, and it DEFINITELY beats spin classes any day! So anyways, if you have a local gym, try out a Zumba class, but make sure you go with friends or family, so you can share a good laugh about it's ridiculous dance moves;)

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental state"

Drink of the Day: Almond Milk-Shake

-1 cup freshly squeezed almond milk   
-1/2 tsp. coffee
-tsp.cinnamon
-1 tsp. cocoa powder
-vanilla extract
-1tsp. honey
-1 tbsp. coconut

Mix all ingredients in blender, and enjoy! I'm not one to follow recipes, so you can mix and match by putting more or less of each product in!
-CharMar:)