Easiest holiday decoration EVER!

As the seasons started changing and the nights have been getting chilly it was time to bring in the plants that has so happily been living outside this summer. It is starting to look like a jungle in the house and I love it! The problem is, now the house looks naked - even with the creeper cat in the window...

All of a sudden it dawns on me. What I initially wanted was something I could change with the seasons and accompanying holidays. What I got was in Mark's words, "why the hell are there a Christmas trees outside the house? It isn't even Halloween!" I tried without success to explain they were just pretty lighted decorations and the house needed something and that we could totally call them Halloween lights. He wasn't buying it.

So here is my ridiculously easy, super quick holiday tree outdoor (although I am sure you could use it indoor too) lights!

Look out Lowes here I come and this time I didn't buy even one can of spray paint!
What I did buy was tomato cages (surprisingly they were on sale - it seems most people in the Chicago aren't growing tomatoes in October) and string lights suitable for outdoor use. I bought two different sizes of tomato cage and white and gold lights since I couldn't find orange in my three minute search of the light isle.

The tomato cage hides pretty well in the kitchen.

I turned the cage upside down and zip tied the legs together. Then I wrapped that sucker with lights (insert Mary Alice in my head saying it needs more lights, don't go skimpy on the lights). I may have gone overboard on the first on. It was a small cage and I wrapped that bad boy with 500 lights. I actually think it may be visible from space!

BooBoo is judging me with his eyes. I know he thinks there are TOO MANY lights on this one.

I think they turned out pretty cute and they fill the void in the corner of the house. Of course I am not actually allowed to plug them in yet, because clearly they are Christmas trees and not the orange Halloween ones I had envisioned...but if I find them I have one cage waiting to be wrapped...

I may add another string of gold onto the larger cage, but overall I am pleased. So if you have old tomato cages lying around and a few strings of lights...this may be a fun project to try.

One thing I would do differently next time is I would try using two cages stacked together so that the shape would be more round than triangular, but as long as you aren't right on top of them you wouldn't notice.

Smoker Trials - Smoked Applesauce

Look Out Thanksgiving YOU Are About To Be Transformed!

So when we moved to Rolling Meadows into our rental house several items came with the house including a smoker. Not that kind of smoker. That isn't super legal here...yet.

The kind of smoker most people associate with meat, but being a veg head I have been experimenting with smoking other foods. Think tofu, brussel sprouts, corn on the cob, cheeses, and apples. This post is about the apples.

I have more time to think than I care to admit and sometime in between contemplating starting a meditation practice and deciding the exchange rate of the pound versus the dollar I had this brilliant thought about smoking apples and making applesauce. 

I called my mom and asked, 'Does this sound good or gross?' Her reply in typical Mary Alice fashion was, "That sounds gross." So of course I have to make it, because now I have to know.

Mark and I made a quick trip to a local farm market to get some scratch and dent apples. Armed with a mess of random apples I prepare for my culinary experiment. 

Being new to smoking things, but knowing just enough to be dangerous...I start up the charcoal chimney and soak a few maple wood chips.

The actual process started on Monday. Mark works from home if he is in town and in typical Monday morning fashion he had several conference calls so he was holed up in his office while I was getting everything prepped. He walks out stops...looks at me and says, 'It smells like campfire.' It did. I explained the smoker was smoking.

While the smoker was heating up I peeled the apples. Years ago we bought an apple peeler. I have got to say even if you only use it once a year, it is one of the greatest inventions ever!!! Seriously. You need one.

I peeled five apples and saved the peels for my outdoor wild kingdom. The squirrels seemed pleased. I broke the apples in half and put them into the smoker. I turned them over after about 10 minutes or so and left them for a while longer. The smoker stayed in the 100-150 range and I used natural charcoal and a combination of wet and dry maple chips. I was not particularly strict on my timing, but they were in there for a while most likely about 30 minutes total. 

Next I brought them in and put them in my enameled cast iron pot with about 1 cup of water, 1T - ish cinnamon and allspice and a light dusting of cumin. Stir those suckers and let them get fully cooked. This took about 20 minutes. 

I scooped them out and mashed them with a potato masher - I prefer my applesauce chunky, but this is all a matter of personal taste.

So the final verdict? I loved it. The smokiness paired with the sweetness of the apples and the combination of spices was divine. I may try a batch without the cumin to see what that is like too...but overall this surpassed what I was expecting and it is crazy good. I am going to can what I have left and keep it to share. 

Mary Alice was wrong...this is amazing and paired with a Thanksgiving dinner the mashed potatoes and turkey (if you eat that) or stuffing I can't wait!!! 

How natural do you want to go?

Wait, what? You don't use store bought deodorant? What?

When you actually stop and think about it when did this start? Why did we as a society decide that all of these extra products were needed?
Here is a brief history provided by Mental Floss...interesting stuff.

And another from Smithsonian Magazine on how advertising has convinced us that what is natural is bad. Advertising. So good. So bad. Advertisers have convinced us super sizing everything was good or that dairy is the best way to get calcium...that dental product with fluoride is how you prevent cavities and so much more.

Sorting it all out can be difficult. What is actually good and needed and what is propaganda and fluff. That is up to you to research and sift through all the mumbo jumbo. What is actually in the deodorant you use? Do you know? Do you know why the ingredients are there? Do you know what happens when these are absorbed into your skin? Maybe nothing. But maybe something.

I am here though to share my experience with making and using my own deodorant. 

I have been making my own deodorant for a few years now and I couldn't be happier. There are rare opportunities that I will use something commercial, but it is few and far between. 

So what happens when you switch?
In the early stages I found myself sweating more than previous, but it was just different and new to me and the longer I left my clogs unplugged the less I noticed extra wetness. Now I hardly notice it at all. 

So the question I am sure you are all asking is do you stink?

Your body changes and you notice a different musk generally at the end of the day or if I forget to reapply for a day or two, but I have not noticed any significant changes in my aroma. 

Do I have any regrets? Nope. Would I go back? Nope. 

Where do you get your hands on some of this awesome all natural (and healthy) pit product? 

You can make your own. It is pretty quick and easy, but I understand you may not want to take the time to do this. 

If you don't want to make your own...Our Company - Bad Hippies - actually sells it and I am more than happy to support your journey toward less gunk on and in your bodies, while you are supporting our small business.

If you are willing to take on the task, here is the basic recipe that I use.

1/3 C beeswax (we buy ours from local beekeepers)

1/3 C coconut oil

1/3 C Shea Butter

1/3 C arrowroot powder (you can use baking soda or any combination of the two - some people find the baking soda too harsh so I stick with arrowroot alone)

2 T Bentonite clay (it latches on to heavy metals and help pull them out of your body)

20ish drops of essential oils of your choice. I most frequently use geranium and tea tree oils.

Melt the wax and coconut oil over low heat.

Remove from heat and stir in the dry ingredients.

Allow to cool slightly and stir in the essential oils.

Dispense into a container for storage. 

Keep in a cool dark space because in high heat it can liquefy again. If that happens just toss it in the fridge and let it harden again.

This recipe is forgiving and you can tweek it to your liking...

Force, movement and direction of travel - Easy arrow wall art

Sometimes you have an empty wall that calls to you and says decorate me, but you are not sure what is meant to be there.
Then it dawns on you. Your wall and decoration can be so much more than just filled with frames and drawings, but it can be given meaning and inspiration.

Enter the simple, but powerful arrow.

Arrows have much lore in Native American Heritage and different tribes looked at them with different eyes and in varying context, but there are several meanings that seem to reoccur...

"The meaning of the above single arrow indicated protection and defense. Arrows also signified direction, force, movement, power and direction of travel. When an arrow pointed to the left it meant warding off evil, pointing to the right meant protection and an arrow pointing down meant peace. Two arrows depicted together were the symbol for war.A bundle of five arrows represented one of the five founding tribes of the Iroquois League. One arrow could easily be broken, while a bundle of five arrows would remain strong. Crossed arrows were symbols of friendship. A broken arrow was a symbol of peace." found here.

So thank you Pinterest for providing me with endless ideas and many hours of time that I will never get back, but thank you also for sending me this easy arrow how to that has begun to fill my wall void with inspiration and color.

A big shout out to Festoon and Frill for providing me with the knowledge!

Luck for me I already had everything on hand I needed to get started (go figure)...

-popsicle sticks (each arrow as shown uses 15 sticks)

-glue gun

-glue gun glue (very important when using a glue gun)

-patience (ugh I am such an instant gratification woman)

-spray paint (duh)

It took a few tries to get the shape I wanted and so that it was mostly symmetrical. I made three (3) before I ran low in sticks, but according to the lore I think I want to have a bundle of five (5). I may shake of the design and add a few super basic ones to the mix, but we will see where the glue gun leads me.

Here is an unpainted arrow just...you know...hanging out in my herbs, because where else would it be?

And here are two spray painted (navy blue and metallic copper) hanging on the wall with you basic clear thumb tack.

I love how they turned out. Quick. Easy. Fun. Colorful. Symbolic. What more cold you ask for? 

What so you think?
Do you have any quick go to crafts you use to decorate?