Coconut Oil & Lemon Salt Scrub

Tags

body scrub, coconut oil, DIY, DIY beauty, homemade beauty, lemon, moisturizer, salt scrub

A few weeks ago my mother-in-law mentioned that her elbows were dark and dry. She was worried that they always look dirty, and asked what I thought she should do for it. I suggested lemon juice and a sugar or salt scrub. Since she’s too busy taking care of the 6 other people in her house, I knew she’d never actually remember to take time to pamper herself.

This weekend I whipped up a customized batch of salt scrub for her. I chose salt as the exfoliator over sugar, due to the healing properties of epsom salt. I added table salt to create a finer level of texture to the scrub. The lemon juice helps brighten dark spots. You could add any type of essential oil to this mixture. Coconut oil was the perfect moisturizer to replenish her skin during this treatment.

Young Wifey’s Coconut Oil & Lemon Salt Scrub

Coconut Oil & Lemon Salt Scrub Ingredients:
2/3 c. epsom salt, 1/3 c. table salt, 2/3 c. coconut oil, 1/3 c. lemon juice

Coconut Oil & Lemon Salt Scrub Directions:
Mix together ingredients and store in an airtight container.

How to Use Coconut Oil & Lemon Salt Scrub:
In the shower, rub a dab of the scrub on your elbows, knees, or heels. Rinse throughly.
If scrub starts to separate, simply mix before using.

What homemade beauty treatments do you use?

Berry & Feta Salad

Tags

blueberry, feta, food, foodie, fruit salad, mint, raspberry, recipe, salad, side dish, strawberry

I love feta… mmm! Because it’s salty, dry, and crumbly, I love pairing it with fruit.  This is by far my favorite fruit salad.

Young Wifey’s Berry Feta Salad

Berry & Feta Salad Ingredients:
2 c. diced strawberries, 1 c. blueberries, 1 c. red raspberries, 1 c. crumbled feta, 10 mint leaves chopped

Berry & Feta Salad Directions:
Gently toss together ingredients.

*Add walnuts or pecans for a tasty crunch.
*Try this lightly drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Also try my:
Watermelon, Black Bean & Feta Salad

XOXO,
Young Wifey

How do you like your feta?

A Father’s Day Gift

Tags

deciduous, garden, landscaping, tree, weeping cherry

On Mother’s Day, Hubster & I purchased four weeping cherry trees that had finished blooming for the season. We had a 45 minute drive home and wrapped the bottoms to protect the root balls. The day quickly turned windy and chilly and the few sparse leaves on the trees were damaged. Since then, we have had a few scorching hot days, and soaking wet days.

Weeping Cherry Tree

In one month, the trees have shown tremendous new growth, and one tree gave us a very special Father’s Day gift. Our weeping cherry has begun to bloom again!

A Father’s Day Gift

Happy Father’s Day!

XOXO,
Young Wifey

This Week in My Garden

Tags

bloom, blooming, flower, garden, iris, perennials, Star of Bethlehem

Our purple irises are stunning right now!

Young Wifey’s Purple Irises

Young Wifey’s Purple Iris

What a contrast from the soft white small Stars of Bethlehem.

Young Wifey’s Star of Bethlehem

What is blooming in your garden?

French Chic Wall Art for Ensuite Bathroom

Tags

art, bathroom, crafting, crafts, decor, DIY, en suite, ensuite, french chic, home decor, master suite, triptych, wall art, wall prints

Perhaps you remember the French Chic (Monogram) Wall Art I made for our family room. When I created it, I immediately planned to create more pieces in the same style (Mom, I know I still owe you and Dad a monogram one…). I’ve had my plan and materials ready, but kept them pushed aside until now.

Young Wifey’s French Chic Wall Art for Ensuite Bathroom

The Prints:
Of course keeping both poems in their native French, I chose one poem by Baudelaire and another by Apollinaire. The Apollinaire poem was a bit longer, so I split it in half to create two pieces. The text (using a script-like font in grey) created the background image on off-white paper. On each print, I layered Victorian clip art of three perfumes bottles with atomizers from The Graphics Fairy (Thanks Karen!). These images were printed in black ink. Once dry, I sprayed my prints with a layer of clear acrylic sealer.

Framing:
I had thee 8″x10″ bronze frames for my triptych of prints. I layered each print with a white mat that provided a 5″x7″ window for my prints. Once assembled they were ready to hang.

How do you like my wall art project?
What home decor projects do you have in progress?

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Wednesday Farmers’ Market

Tags

farm stand, farmers' market, food, foodie, locally grown, organic, produce

We are lucky enough to live in a rural area with many farmers’ markets and stands, where fresh produce is often in abundance during the summer months. Two years ago, I learned about one particular farmers’ market that is open year-round every Wednesday. The trouble is, during the school year we never make it there before they close for the day, and during the summer months I easily lose track of the days of the week.

Yesterday was the first Wednesday of summer break and I was thrilled to finally make the trip to the Lewisburg Farmers’ Market. We didn’t make it there until 11, and the parking lot and market were PACKED! Next week, I will plan to be there earlier (sans Hubster). There were so many stands from many local farms, and now I know where to get many food items (we did run into one student and her mom who pointed us toward the best tomatoes at the market). From venison and rabbit, to fresh potted herbs and grains, from raw milk and eggs to almost every fruit, vegetable, legume, and nut imaginable. The local strawberries and cherries looked AMAZING this week!

Unfortunately, over the weekend I already stocked up on fruits and vegetables. So we didn’t really need much. 

Farmers’ Market 6/12/13

We purchased:
1 head of red leaf lettuce, 4 yellow tomatoes, 3 large zucchini, 1 bunch of scallions, sugar snap peas, fresh locally baked pretzel rolls, 2 large fresh pretzels (to eat on location), and pecan sticky buns

Guess which item Hubster picked?

Once we got home…
Hubster: What’s for lunch?
Me: Lettuce (I tear off leaf and stuff it in my mouth).
Hubster: What else?
Me: Tomatoes (I pick up a yellow tomato and bite into it)
Hubster: And?
Me: Sugar snap peas (pop one in my mouth).
Hubster: Okay, what’s for dinner? (he seemed to temporarily forget about our dinner plans with friends).
Me: Zucchini (I pick up zucchini and hand it to him).

What is fresh at your local farmers’ market?

Poached Eggs & Bulgur with Bacon Crumbles

Tags

breakfast, brunch, bulgur, bulgur wheat, egg, food, foodie, healthy eating, poached egg, recipe

Blame it on the extra sunshine, warm temperatures, and abundance of fresh produce, but I always feel healthiest in the summer months. With school being on summer break, I actually have time to focus on me.

If I even mention the word “healthy”, Hubster cringes and it becomes a challenge to get him to try something. My healthy breakfast options are usually prepared for myself.  Meanwhile, he’s more content eating cereal or bacon, eggs, and potatoes.

Forgive the dark photo, it wasn’t quite bright enough (plus it’s rainy) yet to get a decent photo.

Poached Egg with Bulgur & Bacon Crumbles

Individual Serving:
Ingredients:
1/3 c. boiling hot water, 1/3 c. quick-cooking bulgur, 1-2 eggs, 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley, 2 Tbsp. (turkey) bacon crumbles, fresh ground sea-salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Mix together boiling water and bulgur and set aside for at least 30 minutes. Mix in parsley and bacon crumbles. Poach egg and place over bulgur, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

What’s in your breakfast bowl?

XOXO,
Young Wifey