Alton Brown’s granola bars are seriously too good, y’all. I made my second batch in three weeks this past Wednesday, and I don’t expect those bad boys to very long at all. After experimenting a little with the recipe,  I think I’ve perfected it by replacing half of the almonds with unsalted peanuts and halving the amount of brown sugar.

Feelin’ snacky? Maybe you should give them a try as well. : )

This weekend is going to be so fun-filled! I can only hope yours is too.

Still, I thought you guys might wanna hit up the following:

• Use the code REPEAT2012 and get $15 off a full size bottle of perfume from A Perfume Organic. Green sounds like my kind of scent.
• Check out this post on caren’s  blog, which includes helpful tips concerning which ingredients to avoid in your sunscreen and which foods may protect your skin from the sun. Sup, dark chocolate?
• Take it from the queen of crusty elbows: this cornmeal scrub is worth trying.
• Who knew coffee filters could be so useful?

I’m off to study, nap, and then repeat. Wish me luck!

A few nights ago, and for no good reason, my skin was looking a little splotchy and a lot dull. I wanted to make a mask that I hadn’t tried before, and I recalled reading a few articles about basil’s ability to combat blemishes. I knew that I also needed a gentle exfoliant , so I got out the old fashioned oatmeal as well. I threw together the following mask, and I was pretty happy with the soft, glowing skin that resulted:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1/4 cup oatmeal

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What did you do?

Oh, the above pictures are from Instagram. Follow me if you like seeing pets, treats, and the occasional self portrait.

Also, you should enter this giveaway!

I’m usually inept when it comes to deviating from recipes, but I did exactly that with this greek yogurt and artichoke dip recipe…and what resulted was the creamiest, tastiest hummus I’ve ever tried.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained (I know, BPA is bad news. I didn’t have the patience to soak them, though, and dealing with me when I’m hungry is also bad news).
• three heaping tablespoons of greek yogurt (for what it’s worth, it was rBGH-free).
• 3 artichoke hearts (also canned…I’m an awful person).
• 3 medium cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of tahini
• 1 teaspoon of sriracha
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Put it all in a food processor and blend until creamy, but don’t blame me when you finish a whole bag of bagels in 3 days and your pants will no longer button.

Seriously though, I’d love to hear your thoughts/suggestions if you make a batch of your own.

Have a great weekend! Don’t forget to check back Monday for an awesome giveaway. : )

*All of the teaspoons/tablespoons are sort of guesses. They’re probably close to accurate, but since I did it to taste I can’t be sure.

Do:

• Moisturize just as frequently and cleanse just as sparingly as you would otherwise (paraben-free moisturizers and soap-free cleansers twice a day are a must for this girl).
• Try a nourishing homemade mask, like this dreamy strawberry and honey one.
• Apply a small amount of tea tree oil to the blemishes no more than twice a day.
• Drink plenty of water and unsweetened green tea.
• Eat a fiber-rich diet. Think beans, berries, greens, and squash.
• Change your pillowcase every couple of days (especially if you’re one of those free spirits who sleeps in her makeup)

Don’t:

• Deprive your skin of the moisture it needs with excessive washing and insane amounts of tea tree oil.
• Pick, prod, or poke. It will always make matters worse. I promise.
• Go overboard with coffee, alcohol, or soft drinks. I try to avoid these altogether when my skin’s at its worst.
• Hang out by the mirror. Seeing your skin in distress will only make you stress.
• Drown your sorrows with milk chocolate and potato chips.
• Sleep on the same pillowcase for several nights in a row (call me crazy, but I swear by this simple change of routine).

How about you guys? Any tips and tricks of your own to share?

I’m not sure if it’s the finals I recently took, the fried food I’ve been eating constantly, or the holiday anticipation I’m still experiencing, but my skin has been acting out in the worst way. Sunday night I made this strawberry and honey face mask, and things seem to be finally looking up!

I hope you guys treat yourself and give this mask a try. If you have some left, and you probably will, you’d be wise to add it to a healthy portion of plain Greek yogurt. Talk about tasty!

There’s still time to enter the mantra perfume giveaway. Tell a friend!

When Clementine and Winston ran out of their latest tube of store bought toothpaste, I decided to try and make their next batch to save a little money. I used a simple recipe that called for only salt, baking soda, and vegetable glycerin. I’ll admit that I was a little worried they wouldn’t like it since I didn’t add any sort of meaty flavor to it, but they loved it just as much as their old expensive stuff! Maybe I’ll treat them next time and pick up some low sodium beef broth, like the recipe suggests. One thing’s for sure, though: my days of paying an arm and a leg for dog toothpaste are over.

Do you have a pet whose teeth you brush? If so, then maybe you should give this stuff a try as well!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the perfume giveaway!

Pumpkin, pomegranate, and cranberries are common ingredients in tasty fall treats, but did you know that they’re also good for our skin? Pumpkin is soothing and moisturizing, and cranberries/pomegranate are known fighters of free radicals. Try the homemade health and beauty recipes below and see for yourself!

• Pumpkin Face Mask- This mask can be modified to suit both oily and dry skin.
• Cranberry, Coconut Oil, and Oatmeal Sugar Scrub-This recipe is the fourth one from the bottom.
• Pomegranate and Lemon Peel-second from the bottom

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After seeing a recipe for homemade makeup remover on the Green Beauty Guide Blog, I decided to make my own version with the ingredients we had on hand. I typically use coconut oil to remove my eye makeup, but I’m almost out of my current stash…so trying something new seemed appropriate.

This makeup remover is super simple, and it gets the job done!  It doesn’t leave quite as much of an oily residue as coconut oil does, which is nice.

To make this product, I used:

• 1 oz of green tea
• 1 oz of grapeseed oil (you could probably use olive oil if you don’t have grapeseed!)
• 1/2 oz of vegetable glycerin

I simply funneled the above ingredients into an empty bottle I had lying around. The bottle has a pump, which is especially convenient for applying only a small amount of the product onto a cloth or cotton ball.

The oil/glycerin and the tea separate, so be sure to shake this product before using it (if you decide to make your own batch)!  I’m keeping my remover in the fridge, as the Green Beauty Guide Blog suggests. : )