One of the things that I love the most about living in San Miguel de Allende is that it is beautiful and warm nearly every day of the year. I am a California girl and cold weather and I do not mix. So I am eternally grateful for no snow and warm afternoons. The problem with living in the high desert however, is that as soon as the sun goes down so does the temperature, and we are talking hard and fast! I joke with my family back home that San Miguel weather is so considerate, because the weather waits to get bad when you are tucked away at home. And for the most part this is true. But the harsh changes in climate from day to night wrecks havoc on your skin, regardless if you are tucked inside or not!
My Californian skin is cracked and dried. I am sure this is common for many of you, so I thought I might share some of my natural beauty experiments...don't worry, the successes only! And I know this is a blog about being in the kitchen, but that is the best part about this blog post, nearly all of the ingredients can be found IN your pantry at home!
Now usually I can stick with my St Ives Mineral Therapy at this high altitude and my skin is happy. But then the weather changes and I am itching for something more (pun shamelessly intended).
I do not pretend for a minute to teach you how to make lotion at home. I promised you that I would not share any of my failed experiments. Searches on Youtube and Pinterest will make you dizzy and some recipes are so complex it has you running for the pharmacy counter to buy the store brands. If you want to learn all about the science behind lotions I highly recommend Linda Bostock`s video.
This recipe from a BBC series, Grow Your Own Drugs, with James Wong got me motivated enough to give it a try. Unfortunately I did not have the emulsifying wax and tried to use Borax as a substitute. I ended up having to strain my lotion... But the extra thick cream that remained is super moisturizing and smells absolutely delicious! Hunt out some emulsifying wax and give this recipe a try... it will be worth the effort! Also head on over to Youtube to watch some of the episodes, they are really interesting and fun!
1. In a pan, heat the water until boiling and then add the oats. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Strain the oats, reserving the liquid into a measuring jug - you need 200ml. Put in a pan and keep hot.
2. Heat the beeswax and emulsifying wax together very gently in another pan with the almond oil until the waxes fully dissolve. Take off the heat and immediately whisk a little of the hot oat liquid into the wax mixture. Keep adding the hot oat liquid, a little at a time, making sure it is well mixed between additions, until you have used up all 200ml.
3. Stir in the honey and vitamin C powder and, if desired, add in a few drops of chamomile essential oil - this acts as a preservative, is anti-inflammatory and adds a delicious scent. (Don't worry if you don't have chamomile - you can use any essential oil you have around.) Pour the cream into wide-mouthed pots, and seal at once.
USE: After bathing, pat skin gently dry, then apply the cream as needed. On tough areas of dry skin such as knees, elbows and feet, use twice daily, especially before bed.
I found this crazy recipe in an ancient book about essential oils. I wrote it down because the name made me laugh. I keep it handy now, because it is the most incredible scrub I have ever used! Below is my interpretation of the ancient writing and a few recommendations for substitutions.
The smell of this scrub is beyond incredible. And it mysteriously leaves you feeling extra ready for date night! (If ya know what I mean!) But that must be all in the name. I highly recommend mandarin peel, and you could use lavender in replace of the rose petals for a relaxing pre-bed shower scrub.
Blend all the ingredients until you have a paste. After your bath and dry off, roll the mixture over your body. Massage into dry skin areas. Once dried brush off the dust. Wipe with a dry soft cloth. (these are the original instructions, it also works great as a regular shower scrub.)
For the Ground Citrus Peel, I peel a couple oranges or mandarins and tear the peel into smallish pieces. Lay them out on a plate or tray and let sit in the sun, with good air flow for a day or two. Until completely dried out, they will snap when you break them in your hands. You can also place in a low temperature oven for an hour or so. Toss into the blender on grind, or food processor (same thing for the almonds, oatmeal and petals, each individually). I store the excess in a airtight container and then can easily whip up the scrub as needed.
Believe it or not your hair takes a beating in temperature changes as well. Extra long hot showers, more frequent blow drying, getting tangled in scarves and ear warmers... It needs a little TLC also! Anywhere you look, especially on Pinterest, people are going batty for Coconut Oil! They have come up with millions of uses from head to toe and various household chores as well. One of the most popular recommendations is for hair treatments. In my experience Castor Oil is much better, and I highly recommend it if your skin is having trouble absorbing moisture. The only downside is it does not smell that great and its sticky consistency does not give much desire to lather yourself in it. Thankfully, it is the perfect companion to the many uses of Coconut Oil as Coconut Oil tends to sit on the surface of your skin. I recommend for any Coconut Oil Beauty recipe you want to try add a little Castor Oil as well. You do not need a lot, and it will really make a difference.
Essential Oils-Warm the Coconut, Almond and Castor Oils in a Double Boiler, on low heat, whisk together. Remove from the heat before adding the essential oils. Pour into a clean glass jar.
Dried Herbs-You will need a small handful of each herb. Remove the wood stems from the herbs and chop, Warm the Coconut, Almond and Castor Oils in a Double Boiler, on low heat, whisk together. Add the chopped herbs to the oil mixture and cover with a lid. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain the oil while still warm and pour into a clean glass jar.
To use-Massage about 2 TBSP of the oil into your hair starting at the scalp, then massaging into the rest of your hair. Let sit for at least an hour, all day if you can. Wash and style per usual.
My sister turned me onto the most incredible Lip Balm. It is completely natural, stays on your lips, is not sticky... absolute perfection. The best part you can make it at home. This is the recipe that she found online. I CANNOT get enough of this stuff!
Basically, mediocre teenagers in their 17 delegates what they called as SWEET 17. I was part of the hype and I can tell you 17 was by far one of the best year in my life, maybe rank first or second.
In my 17, I went to party a lot. I am nurtured as homegirl which is pretty conservative way to raise a girl. Precisely, since my senior high school day, I was liberated more than I had been.
I went to karoke a lot, partying study in friends house, making base, and coming home late. One of my close friends delegated her sweet seventeen next to notorious Jakarta bay. But it was late night, so no one bother to see the color of the water.
This one is the infamous scandalous photo. Well, I'm just making it up because they look good together.
In a tiny two-bed flat above a Turkish café on Neal Street lives Anna Treadway, a young dresser at the Galaxy Theatre.
When the American actress Iolanthe Green disappears after an evening’s performance at the Galaxy, the newspapers are wild with speculation about her fate. But as the news grows old and the case grows colder, it seems Anna is the only person left determined to find out the truth.
Her search for the missing actress will take her into an England she did not know existed: an England of jazz clubs and prison cells, backstreet doctors and seaside ghost towns, where her carefully calibrated existence will be upended by violence but also, perhaps, by love.
Set in London in the 1960s, Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is mostly a mystery novel, with young dresser Anna Treadway taking it upon herself to search for the missing actress Lolanthe Green. It’s quite a clever novel, because it’s actually not just about the disappearance of Lolanthe, but it also an exploration about minorities in London and their experiences in the town.
Through Anna’s detective work, we meet all kinds of characters, including Brennan, Orla and their daughter Gracie. Anna intersects with Leonard, who is gay and is struggling to live with that because it’s illegal. Ottamar is a Turkish cafe owner who is overworked and overly worried about his daughter Samira. She seems to be disconnecting with the family and spending all of her time away from them, and Ottamar worries about what this could mean for the family. Finally, we meet Aloysius, who is well-spoken and is helpful to Anna in her quest to find Lolanthe, but he’s subjected to appalling racism and police brutality because of the colour of his skin.
“Ottmar’s mind drifted free of the assembled group and took him back to Melanippus’ vast living room in Nicosia with its marble floor and long dark leather seats. In a former life he’d written book reviews for a Greek magazine in his native Cyprus. The only Turk on the staff, he’d spent his evenings smoking cigarettes and talking about art and philosophy and life with all the other twenty-somethings who dreamed of flying away to a life of avant-garde delights in Paris or Berlin.”
Miranda has a talent for weaving lots of different characters together and moulding them in the one scene. The reader doesn’t feel confused or unsure of who is talking or who is the focus of the chapter — all the characters blend well together. Miranda has also taken us on a journey through the good and bad parts of history. We’re led through the streets of backdoor abortion and side street racism, but we’re also witnesses to the beautiful familial bond that some of the characters have, and the support that they have for each other. Some of the characters help Anna when she’s in need, and it’s great to see their friendships and relationships form.
“The police had beaten Aloysius and walked away from it. And somehow the overturning of one institution has cast all the rest into doubt. If the police were not what she supposed them to be, were the lawyers, were the priests, were the politicians?”
Miranda has done a wonderful job of capturing 1960s London, with the evocative description of the setting and the cultural relations between the characters. Set in London, we bear witness to the hopes and dreams of people in the arts. Some of them are past their prime and coming to terms with their ageing looks. Some are aware that their skin colour will probably always be a barrier for them in life and that their dreams may be farther than they thought.
“Look out into the darkness,” Lolanthe had told her. “Look out into the darkness and you’ll see them.”
Despite how lyrical and intriguing this story is, I did find my attention waning. I couldn’t help but feel like the story went on tangents and the origin of the novel and the reason we were drawn into the story (the disappearance of ‘Lanny’ Green) got a little lost along the way. Things became a little convoluted, and I got a little bit confused.
Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is a novel about fitting in, in a city that’s not very forgiving to outsiders and is not welcoming for newcomers. It’s a tough decade for the characters, and finding Iolanthe Green has plenty of roadblocks. London is filled with casual racism, police brutality, immigration, loneliness and characters dreaming of more.