Bath products are expensive and most of them are filled with harmful chemical fragrances and skin-irritating detergents.
Well, there is good news! You can make your own from all-natural ingredients and it won't cost much at all! These make EXCELLENT gifts, too!
From Apartment Therapy:
What You Need
Materials: 4 cups of Water 4 oz Castille Soap (like Dr. Bronner's which you can buy scented or unscented and it's totally green and can be used for cleaning around the house and your body) 3 oz of either Glycerin* or Coconut Oil (both lather well and are skin softeners) Essential Oil (use your imagination to come up with fun and exciting combos!) Container for your concoction (non glass is best for near the bath) Bath Tub
(you can also add a couple-- and I really do mean just a couple, because too many could stain the bathtub-- drops of food coloring to the mix to make the bubble bath just a little more fun)
*Glycerin is any pure soap, normally a transparent bar, made without synthetic detergents. You can buy it online or sometimes at the drugstore. Pure vegetable glycerin is usually available at Whole Foods Market. If you buy drugstore or craft store glycerin, be aware that it is likely petroleum based.
Instructions
1. Mix water with castille and glycerin or coconut oil.
2. Add 4-5 drops of your choice of essential oil.
3. Mix well.
4. Pour your bubble bath into the container. It should keep for quite a while.
5. Fill bathtub with water and pour in a couple of ounces of bubble bath.
A friend of my mother's was recently in her homeland of the Netherlands, and she gave her this item upon her return. It really got me thinking about a few things... 1) how in the heck do you use it? (we brainstormed and got it figured out) and 2) wow, it is really time to do something about my bathroom!!
I don't want to do too much... no changing fixtures or anything, because I know someday we will make the bathroom bigger and then I can do a big overhaul. But I need to do something for the interim to spice it up and make it a bit more pleasant. As much as I long for a chic spa-inspired bathroom where I can languish for hours in hot bubbles watching Oprah or reading Jane Austen, I have to come to terms with the fact that my life just isn't like that. I haven't taken a bubble bath in more than four years and it would be a little tough with "Bathtime Buzz" staring me in the face anyway. I share a tiny bathroom with a grown man and two four-year-old boys. So, I've decided I want the bathroom to be a fun place that gets us energized in the morning and won't look silly with a few rubber duckies strewn about.
I could definitely paint the vinyl linoleum in the bathroom to replicate this look:
There is definitely something that is simultaneously fun and classic in this look:
"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head" is a much more pleasant thought when the raindrops are rainbow-colored:
Although I can't fit this in now, someday I would love to have a little toilet nook in the bathroom:
Paint trim for the boys' room Paint stripes in the boys' room Paint chalkboard wainscot in the boys' room Clean and turn on the heater Buy area rug for living room Strip and paint trim in master closet Strip doors Hang succulent baskets on front porch Build compost bin Paint dining room walls Begin door repairs Strip door frames
I managed to complete a fair amount of stuff on my short list before my parents arrived. It is raining in Los Angeles now, and might be for most of the week, so we might not get too much done on this visit, but it is the holidays, so I'm happy to have some relaxed family time!
Here is what we have accomplished in four months of home ownership. I feel like it doesn't look like much has been done since the last update, but I feel like I've been working like crazy!
Here's what I hope to get done before my parents come to visit/work again in 2 weeks:
Paint trim for the boys' room Paint stripes in the boys' room Paint chalkboard wainscot in the boys' room Clean and turn on the heater Buy area rug for living room Strip and paint trim in master closet Strip doors Hang succulent baskets on front porch Build compost bin Paint dining room walls Begin door repairs Strip door frames
And yes, I am laughing at myself as I type this. There is just no way. But one can hope!
So, my original List was woefully inadequate. Thus, I'm making a new one! One section of the house at a time, starting with the backyard because a couple of things back there are currently priority #1. The List is somewhat prioritized... although once I get past the first few things it is hard to know what will feel most important.
Finish assembling playset and put in wood chipsMake composterFinish clearing out dead vines, runaway trees Make raised garden bed Plant ornamental landscaping, including privacy screen vines Fill in holes, backfill along play perimeter Reseed grass Build shed Paint clothesline poles Install pavers under clothesline area Prune fig tree Create seating areas Create hanging planters
We actually have a friendly little squirrel who hangs around. Maybe we can get him to pitch in?
A friend asked me to share this recipe, so I decided to do so here! My family and I are not strictly gluten-free. We tried it for a bit and I found that my boys just weren't eating. So we introduced whole wheat bread and the occasional pizza back into our diets. But I try to do everything else gluten-free in order to limit our exposure. Hope you all enjoy this recipe! Even non-gluten-free eaters have complimented these cookies, and it is always great to sneak some extra nutrition into something we KNOW our families will eat.
It is adapted from the Sneaky Chef's Unbelievable Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.
Part 1: White Bean Puree
1 15oz. can of white beans (great northern, cannellini, navy or butter) 2-3 Tbs. water
Rinse and drain the beans. In a blender or food processor, put in some of the water and the beans and blend until very smooth. Add more water as necessary, but not too much. You want a peanut butter consistency.
I put my purees into ice cube trays and freeze them (storing them in a large freezer bag when solid). Each of my cubes is equal to 2 Tbs. It is helpful if you know how much each cube is equivalent to.
Part 2: the Cookies
Please note that I use a kitchen scale for doing my gluten-free conversions because it is better to substitute by weight than by volume. I got my manual scale at Target for 15 bucks and I use it all the time. You can also buy expensive electric scales for exact accuracy, but I have had great success with mine. As of yet, I have not managed to measure my flours by volume, but will update this blog post if I have a chance to do so.
for a grand total of 5 1/3 oz. flour: just over 1 oz coconut flour just over 1 oz quinoa flour 3+ oz all-purpose gluten-free baking mix (I currently use Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix but have also had similar results with Whole Food Market's 365 Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Mix--which I understand is undergoing a label change and is unavailable-- and good texture, but not as good taste, with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats ground fine in the food processor (alternately, you could use gluten-free oat flour) 2 Tbs. almond meal Omit if allergic (alternately, you can finely grind blanched, slivered almonds in the food processor) 1 tsp. xanthan gum 10 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened OR 5 oz coconut oil 1/4 cup sugar OR 2 Tbs. applesauce 1/4 cup brown sugar OR 2 Tbs. molasses 2 lg. eggs (we use Ener-G Gluten-Free Egg Replacer instead) 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup white bean puree (see above, if frozen, thaw out in microwave) 1/3 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips Optional nutrition booster: 1 cup chopped walnuts or dried berries/raisins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients up to and including the xanthan gum. In the bowl of a mixer, mix the butter or coconut oil and sugars/sugar substitutes until creamy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and white bean puree. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Stir in chocolate chips and optional nuts/berries. Take small spoonfuls of dough and lightly form into a ball, then press them down onto a greased baking sheet to lightly flatten them. Space about 1 1/2" apart. Bake for 12-15 mins. Move to rack to cool.
My VERY picky boys love these cookies so much. We make them multiple times a week, they love to help with the measuring and mixing, and they eat them all up very quickly! Enjoy!
When the boys finally have their own room, I already know how I want to paint it. I want to do a high chair rail and paint below it with traditional green chalkboard paint. Then I want to paint stripes above the chair rail in varying widths using red, orange, yellow, off-white and aqua to match the colors in the Map of the Land Of Make Believe print my aunt bought them. They already have a mid-century waterfall dresser that I painted aqua with yellow handles. I also want to paint crown moulding and the chair rail in the same shade of aqua. I'm looking forward to it.
Bath products are expensive and most of them are filled with harmful chemical fragrances and skin-irritating detergents.
