DIY Himalayan Pink Salt Body Scrub

Using a body scrub is a wonderful way to exfoliate and rejuvenate dull skin.  We are always tempted to buy the expensive ones sold at the mall when in fact we can easily make one ourselves.  Recently I bought Himalayan Pink Salt and found out it's the healthiest salt for your body and great for the skin because of it's rich mineral content that includes over 84 minerals and trace elements.  This salt is considered as the purest form of salt on Earth. The high mineral crystals range in color from sheer white, varying shades of pink, to deep reds, the result of high mineral and iron content.  It is mined from sea salt deposits from ancient sea beds and it does not contain any pollutants and chemicals that are present in today’s sea salt.  

With that being said, Himalayan Pink salt is great for this Body scrub project.  So here it is!

What you need:

• a cupful of Himalayan pink salt
• 3 - 5 drops of your favorite essential oil
• 4 tablespoons of Olive oil or Sweet Almond oil or Virgin Coconut oil
• mixing bowl
• small canning  jars

If the salts are pretty chunky like mine, this needs to be grounded up to make a finer consistency.

In a bowl add the Himalayan salt and 4 tablespoons of your choice of oil ( Sweet Almond, VCO or Olive Oil)  Next add about 3 - 5 drops of essential oil.

Stir well.  Then spoon mixture into your jar.

Use within 2 weeks.

Definitely will make your skin softer and smoother after just one use.

Makes a very nice gift and a great excuse to indulge yourself.  I hope you try this one.  Enjoy!

DIY Christmas Gifts in a Jar!

If you are running out of ideas on what to give this Christmas, here comes another fun project to make - Gifts in a Jar! It's great for everyone, the neighbors, teachers, coworkers, friends and relatives.  They are simply adorable and very easy to make.

After going over many Gifts in a Jar recipes online, here are some of the simplest ideas I found and from here make your own twist on things:

Hot Chocolate in a Jar

Layer the ingredients for homemade cocoa in a jar.  Pack each layer using back of a spoon.
Add your ribbon and a cute tag and voilà you have a simple but stylish gift. 

1 cup powdered milk

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

This mix will fill a 1-quart jar.  At the back of the tag write "Mix contents in a large bowl and stir in 4 cups boiling water.  Makes 4 - 5 cups of delicious hot choco."

Tip:  Feel free to add other ingredients that will make your hot choco extra unique, just remember you can NOT add liquid items here.  Some examples of items you CAN layer are crushed peppermint candies or a few tsps of cinnamon powder or espresso powder or some white chocolate chips .... go ahead experiment!  I even read a recipe for Spicy Choco drink, this is with cayenne pepper! 

If you are giving this to someone who is cutting on the fat and sugar, by all means substitute the refined sugar with the equivalent splenda granulated or Stevia powder ( a better alternative) and use non fat powder milk. 

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

It's the season for giving...

And what better way to share the love?  Make your own home made gifts for the holidays! Not only is it practical, it's also quite fun ( esp for the crafty ones - like me!) and that labor of love really gives it a special touch.

I did some research online and did them myself.  Thus I chose these really simple and very easy to make Christmas gifts.  I hope you'll like them. Here they are:

Room and Linen Spray

Linen sprays are a bit of an indulgence but we all love using them.  I use this for rooms, inside closets, in my workspace and even in my car.

Not everyone knows how easy it is to make requiring only very few ingredients.  So let's begin....

Simply gather the following:

1 tsp. essential oil of your choice ( for this project best bet are lavender, chamomile, peppermint)
1/4 cup unflavored vodka
3 1/2 cups distilled water
an empty spray bottle




Use an empty spray bottle or rinse out an old bottle with hot water. In a small bowl, mix essential oil and vodka together. The alcohol works as an emulsifier, allowing the oil and water to mix evenly. Pour the lavender-vodka mix into the spray bottle, add the water, and shake. Make sure to shake well before each use.  Lastly, put your labels for giveaways.

Some Tips:

• For an alcohol-free mixture omit the vodka, but make sure to shake rigorously before spraying, since the oil and water will separate.
• You can combine 2 essential oils that smell great together like Lavender and Chamomile, or Lavender and Lemmon as long as they are in 50:50 ratio total of 1 tsp.  
• There are essential oils not good for pregnant women.  Please read here for detailed list.

Rose Water Face Spritz

Rose water has cleansing, hydrating and anti-aging benefits.  It was believed Cleopatra would douse her face with rose water to keep a flawless complexion.  And the smell is just refreshing especially for our humid hot summer days.

You can use rose water by itself as a toner (astringent) to tighten pores, rejuvenate stressed skin, or to refresh post-workout skin. It is also great as a soothing under eye treatment to get rid of dark eye circles or puffy eyes, and can even be applied on the scalp to reduce inflammation and promote healthy hair growth.  Which makes this a perfect Holiday gift as well.

Simply gather the following:

a dozen fresh roses
a perfume atomizer or spray bottle
a large stock pot 
 distilled water
Cheesecloth or strainer

Start by plucking the petals off all the roses. The more fragrant the roses are the more fragrant the rosewater will be.    Wash the petals thoroughly with distilled water. Place rose petals in a large pot. Pour in distilled water, just enough to cover the rose petals. Put the pot over low fire and heat (do not boil) until the rose petals lose their color. You'll notice that rose oil (essential oil) is skimming over the water surface. This process should take about 1 hour.  Allow the water to cool completely, then strain and collect your pure rose water.  Add 1 tablespoon alcohol such as vodka as preservative and mix well.
Put water in your atomizer or spritzer bottle and put your labels for giveaways.

Some Tips:

• The rose water will keep up to a month with the preservative.
• Store it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
• So if this will be given as a gift, you can make them a few days before giving and put a tag with an expiration date and storage instructions.  If you choose not to put the preservative, it will last about 10 - 14 days, just make sure to store bottle in ref
• Roses need to be very fresh, in full bloom.  Always choose Roses with no pesticides or chemicals .

I hope these ideas will inspire you to start making your own Holiday gifts.  Not only do they save you on money, your friends and family will surely appreciate the effort.

Will be posting more DIY Christmas gift ideas after I experiment on some blends.  Coming up, All natural Body Butters and All natural Body scrub made of Himalayan Pink salts.

Chelsea Market Cafe Podium

I first heard of this restaurant back in 2009 when my hubby was raving about their Pasta Carbonara dish.  One of his foreigner clients brought him there.  He said it's the most delicious Fetuccine Carbonara he had ever tasted.  Chelsea Market Cafe's first branch was at Serendra and even if it was quite far from where we live, I didn't think twice and planned to go there the next chance we got which was a day or two later. :-) Indeed their dishes deserve all the praise.  Since then, Chelsea is our go to place when we find ourselves in Serendra with the urge to splurge.

After some years they have grown in number and last night hubby and I were at their Podium branch having a late dinner.  

 Bottomless Iced Tea 

 Truffled Green Pea and House-made Mushroom Ravioli  Php280 ++
Not everyone may be a fan of this one.  The truffle oil can be overpowering and masks the subtle flavor of the green peas.

Johnny Air Cargo Retail Padala

I read about Johnny Air Cargo's Retail Padala Service a few months ago and I was quite shocked to find out they have had this service for a number of years now.  Why the heck didn't I know about this sooner? Good thing someone blogged about it.  Now ordering online  is as easy as 1-2-3.

So after some thought I decided to try this out.  

First visit their website Johnny Air and follow the instructions which are simple and easy to understand.

Here it is, the how-to process:

SHIP A PACKAGE

Our service consists of shipping from the United States to any of our offices in the Philippines. When you buy online, we will only charge you the shipping rates from our office in Woodside, New York to any of our offices in the Philippines.  When you order online, please indicate the following when they ask for your shipping info:

Shipping Addresses

New York: Retail Padala / “your name”      69-04 Roosevelt Ave.  Woodside, NY 11377-2934	San Francisco:  Harry Jules Banzon/”your name” 55 Saint Francis Square Daly City, CA 94015 Telephone : (650) 991-7080
New Jersey (1)Retail Padala / “your name” 627 Summit Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07306	Los Angeles Rommel Villafranca/”your name” 153 South Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90004 Telephone : (213) 386-7080

     

After you order, kindly send me an email to let me know that you are expecting a package. This way, we will be able to send you your package without any delays. From experience, it takes about 5 to 8 days for your order to
reach our office in Woodside and 5 to 7 days from Woodside to Manila. When your package arrives in Manila, our branch there will call you to let you know that it is ready for pick up.Shipment fees will be due upon pick up of your package.

If you are still unsure, you can always call any of their branches or visit them and have one of their friendly staff personnel explain the process.

So what I did was basically this:

• Ordered the stuff I wanted online via Amazon.com 
• At the check out portion of Amazon.com, under SHIPPING Address, I used Johnny Air's New York office address.   Also before the address I placed the name of the contact person Analyn ( this I learned after reading blogs and forums which makes tracking and shipping easier)

                      Analyn /  "my name"
                      Johnny Air Retail Padala
                      69-04 Roosevelt Ave. 
                      Woodside, NY 11377-2934   

• Then I sent an email to Analyn Diego, with my personal details and told her of my orders.  I also mentioned that I wanted them picked up at their SM Megamall branch.
• Just to be sure I also called their Headofc in Makati and gave same details.
• At this point you have to monitor and track your package/s.  When I saw online that the packages have been delivered to NY ( which took only 2 days), I emailed Analyn with the tracking #s and confirmed if the packages are with them. She sent me back an email confirmation the next day.  
• Then wait for items to be shipped from New York to Manila.  
• Nov 23 was when I placed my order on Amazon.com, my package arrived at the Megamall branch on Dec. 4 after lunch.  I was informed via email by their Megamall br.

The stuff I ordered

I paid Johnny Air Php 1372 for the shipping and handling of my package.  It's a great service.  They are efficient and the staff is helpful.  Shopping online from US is now easy breezy!

For more details please visit their website or call any of their branches.

Beeswax : Waxing and Nail care from Nature

I was glad to discover BEESWAX Waxing and Nail care salon few days ago while I was doing my  grocery shopping at SM Hypermart in Pasig.  

                                         

This salon uses vegan and organic products to service their waxing and nail care of their customers.

Holiday Bazaars Part 4 @ Christkindlmarket

Christkindlmarket Manila, is inspired by the original Christkindlmarket in Nuremberg Germany.  The goal is to feature European traditions and goods to promote awareness and interest among Filipinos. 

If you are a lover of anything and everything sweet, Christkindlmarket is the place to be.  For an entrance fee of Php200, you can experience the unique taste of world class products that surely will send you to a different level of sugar high. 

Let the pictures speak for themselves.