10 MUST SEE BEAUTY TREATMENTS TO DO AT HOME THAT ARE INEXPENSIVE AND NATURAL by Amy Bowman of New Nostalgia

Most of these I re-blogged from New Nostalgia. However, the last treatment was not all natural. So, I gave a link for four all natural treatments. Enjoy.

The Aspirin Mask via Breaking Down Beauty

 "Works wonders on your face. Salicylic acid helps clean out pores and battle acne. All you need is water & 3 aspirin tablets. You can also add honey if you want a binding agent."

My Favorite 2 Ingredient Homemade Lemon Facial Scrub via New Nostalgia

"Lightens sun damaged areas, exfoliates, helps with blackheads and breakouts. Leaves skin super smooth and soft."

Oatmeal & Baking Soda Exfoliante via Our Best Bites
"Try this exfoliant for super soft skin."

Black-head Remover via Stylebees
"Use half lemon from the fridge (doesn’t matter if some juice is already squeezed from it) and put 3-4 drops of honey on it. Rub the lemon on your face, emphasizing trouble areas. Leave the lemon and honey mixture on your face for 5 minutes and then wash it with cold water. You will be able to see the results immediately. Additionally, lemon juice will also fade other marks/spots on the face and honey will moisturize."

Lavender Facial Toner via New Nostalgia
"Most commercial toners have alcohol and chemicals in them and are too harsh."

Whiten Stained Nails via Shape

"How to get white nails after so much nail polish -- make a paste using 1 tbsp peroxide and 2 1/4 tbsp baking soda. Let this paste sit on your nails for 5 minutes and voila! White nails! REMEMBER THIS AFTER USING Dark NAIL POLISH!"

Best Moisturizing Hair Treatment-- Coconut Oil! via New Nostalgia
"20 minute pre-shampoo treatment REALLY helps dry or brittle hair."

Minimizing Pore Baking Soda Mask via ehow
"After you've washed your face, place 2 tbsp. baking soda in the palm of your hand and add just enough water to form a thick paste. Massage the paste into your face, resisting the urge to scrub, for about 30 seconds. Rinse the paste away with cool water. You should notice that your pores are smaller almost immediately. After a week of this regime you'll see visible results as your skin becomes clearer and less prone to breakouts."

Vinegar Soak for Feet via Buzzle

"Soaking feet in vinegar (apple cider being best) for the softest feet ever!  Also great for tired feet, toe nail fungus, foot fungus & athletes foot."

Natural Teeth Whitening Recipes

"The link below has four recipes for natural teeth whitening."

http://www.diyncrafts.com/277/home/diy-teeth-whitening-4-proven-homemade-remedies-for-whiter-teeth

Good stuff isn't it? Try them and tell me what you think.

http://healthandnaturalliving.com/10-must-see-natural-beauty-cheats/

http://www.amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/10-must-see-beauty-treatments-to-do-at.html

10 Home Remedies for how to cure cracked heels

Even though it's winter and our feet are hidden in socks, shoes and boots now, they still need tender loving care. Harsh cold  weather and drying home heating sources can make our toesies need pedicures now even more than during sandal season.

Here is our list of 10 simple home remedies that will help soothe and makeover your cracked heels, and let you step out in style. Read, on how to heal cracked heels for more!

1. Lemon, salt, glycerine, rose water foot mask:

One of the first steps towards having a pair of beautiful feet is to heal them, and that is why this foot mask is absolutely perfect home remedy for cracked heels.

• Take a basin of warm water in which you’ll be dipping your feet and add raw salt, lemon juice, glycerine and rose water. Soak in your feet for about 15-20 minutes in this water.

• Using a pumice stone or foot scrubber, scrub your heels and sides of the feet.

• Take 1tsp undiluted glycerine, 1 tsp rose water and 1tsp lemon juice and after mixing, apply over your cracked heels. Since this will be a sticky mixture, you can wear a pair of socks and leave on overnight.

• Wash off with lukewarm water in the morning.

• Repeat for a few days till heels are soft and healed.

2. Vegetable oil:

Dry skin on the heels is one of the foremost reasons behind the cracking. This home remedy for dry skin helps combat this problem.

• After washing your feet and cleaning and drying them up completely, apply a layer of vegetable oil on the cracked parts of your feet.
• Wear a pair of thick socks and leave overnight.
• In the morning, wash off and repeat for a few days to get smooth and healed feet.

3. Banana along with banana and avocado foot mask:

• Take the pulp of a ripe banana and apply over cracked parts of the heel and feet.
• Keep on for about 10 minutes and wash off.
• Take a ripe banana and half an avocado, or the flesh of half a coconut (green coconut). Blend everything in a blender together.
• Apply this thick creamy paste over your heels and feet.
As avocados and coconut are rich in several essential oils and vitamins and fats, this paste will help treat cracked heels and keep them soft and moisturized.

4. Vaseline and lemon juice:

• Clean and dry your heels. Once all the dirt is out, soak your feet in warm water for about 15-20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Take 1tsp Vaseline and the juice of a lemon. Rub this mixture over your heels and other cracked parts of the foot. Rub this in nicely, till it gets absorbed in the skin.
• Apply this mixture before going to bed and keep on overnight, wearing a pair of woollen socks, as these socks help trap body heat and increase the effectiveness of the mixture.


• Wash off in the morning.

  5. Paraffin Wax:

• This is an especially good treatment if you have really cracked and painful heels.
  • Take some paraffin wax and mix it with mustard oil or coconut oil.
  • Heat the mixture in a pan till the wax melts properly. Allow this to cool at room temperature and once it’s cool, apply over your feet. To get the best results, apply before going to bed and cover with a pair of socks.
  • Wash off properly in the morning.

  6. Honey:

• Honey is great to moisturise your feet and has great antibacterial properties.
  • Mix one cup of honey to half a bucket of warm water.
  • Soak your feet for about 15-20 minutes.
  • Scrub off gently for soft and supple feet.

  7. Rice Flour:

• Make this scrub that’s great for scrubbing your feet.
  • Take 2-3 tbsps of ground rice and add a few spoons of honey and apple cider vinegar to make a thick paste.
  • If your heels are extremely dry and cracked, add a spoon of olive oil or sweet almond oil.
  • Soak your feet in warm water for 10 minutes and gently scrub it with this paste to remove dead skin from your feet.
  
  

  8. Olive oil:

• Virgin olive oil is one of the most natural ways to get smooth soft healthy heels.
  • Apply some extra virgin olive oil with the help of a cotton ball and gently massage your feet in a circular motion for 10-15 minutes.
  • Wear a pair of thick cotton socks and wash off after an hour.
  • Next, take 1 tbsp olive oil, a few drops of lemon oil or lavender oil in a small bottle and add an equal amount of water to it. mix it properly to get a thick solution.
  • Apply this homemade foot cream on your feet a few times in the day and also overnight.

  9. Oatmeal:

• Take 1 tbsp powdered oatmeal and some jojoba oil to make a thick paste.
  1. Apply this over your feet, especially well over the heels and any cracked parts.
  2. Leave this on your heels for about half an hour and rinse off with cold water.Pat dry.
  3. Do this every alternate day to remove all cracks.

     10. Sesame oil:

  • Apply sesame oil on your heels and any cracked parts each night before going to bed. This is a great cracked heels solution for feet.
  • Massage well till it mixes in the skin.
  • Do this every night to get rid of cracks and have beautiful smooth heels.
  http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/simple-home-remedies-for-cracked-heels/

http://www.herbs-info.com/blog/10-simple-home-remedies-for-cracked-heels/

Our first annual First United Presbyterian Church Tacky Light Tour really turned out to be wonderful. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!!

#TackyLightTour2013RichmondVirginia

Thank you all for all of the Thanksgiving and birthday cards, greetings and gifts. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and happy new year!!!

60 Get to Know You Questions for a New Romance from Lovepanky.com

 

These questions are great. I just sent these to the man that I've started seeing recently since we are still getting to know one another. I will let you know how it went.

#1 Are you an animal lover or would you avoid keeping animals at home?

#2 Do you like summer or winter?

#3 Would you diet or would you work out?

#4 What do you wear to bed? 

#5 What’s your favorite clothing brand?

#6 When was the last time you cried?

#7 Which color reflects your personality and why?

#8 In the animal kingdom, which animal would you be?

#9 Do you like tattoos and body piercing?

#10 How much PDA is acceptable? 

#11 How often do you take a shower?

#12 What are your favorite magazines?

#13 What are your favorite books?

#14 What’s your favorite movie?

#15 What’s your favorite music you’re listening to these days?

#16 What’s your favorite alcoholic drink?

#17 What’s your favorite vacation idea?

#18 What’s your favorite food?

#19 Who’s your favorite actor?

#20 If you found a briefcase of money on the street, would you keep it?

#21 Are you religious?

#22 Are you a gizmo person?

#23 What kind of sport do you like?

#24 Clubbing or candlelight dinner?

#25 Earth Hour or Fourth of July fireworks?

#26 Backpacking or a luxury hotel?

#27 Christmas or Halloween?

#28 Are you a morning person?

#29 What’s your philosophy in life?

#30 When was the last time you were happy you lied?

#31 What comes to your mind when you think of your exes? 

#32 Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

#33 What’s your idea of romance?

#34 Would you like to live in the countryside or in a metropolitan area?

#35 When did you lose your virginity?

#36 What’s your favorite body part of the opposite sex?

#37 What’s the wildest thing you’ve done sexually?

#38 Do you think money can buy happiness?

#39 The world would be a better place if…?

#40 Do you have any social causes that are close to your heart?

#41 What do you do over the weekends?

#42 Would you mind if I had a best friend of the opposite sex? 

#43 Which was the worst phase in your life?

#44 What was the happiest moment in your life?

#45 Do you judge a book by its cover?

#46 What’s your political stance?

#47 Do you watch porn and what’s your view on it?

#48 Do you believe in karma?

#49 Do you plan your life or live for the moment?

#50 Do you think life is fair?

#51 If you were marooned on an island, what are the five things you would take with you? 

#52 Would you sulk or would you confront?

#53 Are you addicted to anything?

#54 Any current news that’s caught your attention?

#55 What are your favorite apps that you use often?

#56 Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

#57 What do you have for breakfast?

#58 How often do you make your bed?

#59 If you knew you were right, would you take a stand even if you know you would make a scene in public or would you let it go?

#60 What’s an absolute no-no in a relationship?

http://www.lovepanky.com/flirting-flings/get-flirty/60-get-to-know-you-questions

Homemade Mouthwash Recipe for Whitening and Remineralizing by Elizabeth Walling

For better or worse, I require a lot out of my mouthwash. All the artificial sweeteners and chemical additives in conventional mouthwash are a no-no in my book, but often “natural” mouthwash brands fall short for me too. Either they aren’t so natural, not really effective, or insanely expensive. So for a couple of years, I’ve been perfecting my own mouthwash recipe and I wanted to share it with you.

What I Look for in a Mouthwash

1. It must be minty. I never went for the whole citrus mouthwash fad–and the herbal ones that taste like a snake oil remedy from 1894 aren’t my cup of tea either.

2. It must be (a little) sweet. No sickeningly sweet flavor is necessary, of course, but a touch of sweetness makes the whole mouthwash experience a little more pleasant.

3. It should remineralize. Ideally, our saliva “bathes” our teeth in minerals to restore what might be lost through eating, drinking, and everyday life. Imbalances can interfere with the process (which is discussed in the bookCure Tooth Decay), so I feel like it doesn’t hurt to use a mouthwash that serves as a sort of backup.

4. It should whiten. Hey, I admit I like a nice bright smile. But I don’t like to use icky whitening kits that burn my gums and contain who-knows-what. I also prefer something that does a little whitening every day, instead of having to worry about something I need to do on a weekly or monthly basis. Because, let’s face it, I’ll just forget!

5. It should protect from cavities. Again, this is just a protective measure. As Weston A. Price reported so thoroughly in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, diet has a tremendous impact on our dental health. But I still don’t mind having a mouthwash that works in my favor, if that makes sense.

So with these five requirements in mind, I fiddled with ingredients until I found a recipe that tastes good and does what I want it to do. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

How to Make Homemade Mouthwash that Whitens and Remineralizes

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons calcium carbonate powder
• 1 teaspoon xylitol crystals
• 10 drops concentrated trace minerals liquid
• 10 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops lemon essential oil
• 5 drops spearmint essential oil
• 2 cups of filtered water

Directions:

1. In a large glass mixing cup, stir together the calcium powder and xylitol crystals.
2. Add liquid minerals and essential oils.
3. Add water and stir.
4. Pour mixture into a glass bottle (I reused an old apple cider vinegar bottle).
5. Close the lid tightly and shake ingredients together for about 30-60 seconds so the xylitol dissolves.
6. Shake well before using.
7. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Why These Ingredients?

Calcium carbonate powder: for remineralizing teeth

Xylitol crystals: for sweetness and cavity protection

Concentrated trace minerals liquid: for remineralizing teeth

Peppermint essential oil: for flavor and fresh breath

Lemon essential oil: for whiter, brighter teeth

Spearmint essential oil: for flavor and fresh breath

Love It? Hate It? Need Some Help?

Have you tried this recipe? Do you have your own tips for making homemade mouthwash? If you have a question or comment, I’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments section below this post.
http://www.livingthenourishedlife.com/2013/09/homemade-mouthwash-recipe-for-whitening-and-remineralizing