Grow your own Fountain of Youth!

Honey Honey, doodoodoododoodoo

20 Unusual Uses for Honey

1. Put it on your lips
Did you know that making your own lip balm is as easy as tracking down some almond oil, beeswax and honey? Sure is. Makes you feel a little guilty about that $10 version you picked up at the health food store yesterday, doesn't it?

2. Make your own honey moisturizer
If you've got a handful of sweet smelling herbs -- think lavender -- laying around and ready to be used, why not use them for your own homemade honey lotion? Warm honey over a saucepan until it gets to a liquid consistency. Pour honey over herbs and cap tightly; the ratio you want to use is 1 tablespoon of herbs per 8 ounces of honey. Let sit for a week and then mix 1 teaspoon of liquid into an 8 ounce bottle of unscented lotion.

3. Eat it with goat cheese
In need of a classy hors d'oeuvre but lacking in the time department? Try this: put a round of goat cheese in a ramekin, sprinkle honey and chopped walnuts on top and place in oven at 350F until honey and cheese are both soft. Serve with baguette or crackers and you'll be the life of the party.

4. Prepare for the end of the world
You never know what's going to happen, so stock it. Now.

5. Drink it
We all know a drop of honey in tea is good for a sore throat, but you can add it to most drinks for an extra energy boost. And simply because it's a whole lot better than tossing in a few Sweet 'N Lows.

6. Make a salad
One of my favorite and easiest fruit salads uses just a touch of honey to enhance the sugars in the fruit, and it's a perfect late summer dessert.

• 1 cantaloupe, chopped
• 3 nectarines, chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons honey

Mix together and enjoy!

7. Give yourself a facial
Honey is a natural humectant with antimicrobial properties, which means your skin will be happy when you give it some sweet honey love. Try a basic honey wash by mixing a dollop of honey and two tablespoons of warm water and massaging the mixture into your skin. Or you can go all out and try the Cucumber Honey Facial.

8. Go the extra mile
Forget energy bars and shots, just pop a tablespoon of honey before your next workout. Seriously, it has been proven to boost athletic performance.

9. Remove parasites
Got a post-Southeast Asia backpacking trip bug that just won't leave you alone? Mix up a good blend of honey, water and vinegar and you'll quickly be on your way to being parasite free.

10. Clean your cuts and scrapes
Honey can actually be used as an antiseptic, like a natural Neosporin. Because of its many antimicrobial properties, it can be used to treat wounds and even burns.

11. Get rid of your hangover
Forget a morning of popping ibuprofen, spread some honey on your toast or add some to your tea. Because honey is loaded with fructose, it will help speed up the metabolism of alcohol.

12. Clear up your dry elbows
Nothing's worse than scratchy elbows (no really) so next time, after you've washed and scrubbed,rub some honey on to soften the skin. Leave on for 30 minutes then wash off.

13. Soften your skin
Honey is an excellent exfoliant. You can pair it with ground almonds and lemon juice for a killer homemade facial scrub.

14. Mix a drink
After you've been busy reaping all the health benefits that honey has to offer, it's time to celebrate, and what better way than with a good ole cocktail. Honey Gin Cocktail? Bring it.

15. Eat the honeycomb. No really, just do it.
Yes, it can be done! One of our fave food bloggers Clotilde Dusoulier, of Chocolate & Zucchini, put the ingredient to her readers and got some fun responses. The best sounding one? Mix it with crunchy peanut butter on toast.

16. Get an energy boost
Feeling a tad lethargic? Skip the coffee and go for the honey instead. Mix a tablespoon into a cup of tea and you'll be feeling better in no time.

17. Beautify your hair
In the shower, after you wash your, coat the ends with a bit of honey. Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing out and you'll find that your hair is less frizzy and extra conditioned. Or make your hair shiny and bright by adding one teaspoon honey to one quart of water, and after washing your hair, pouring the mixture over your head. Let dry and enjoy your new-found shiny do.

18. Preserve fruit
Jam is so five years ago; show you're truly cutting edge by preserving your fruits in a honey sauce. All it takes is one part honey to ten parts water and then covering your berries. Pretty much the closest you're ever going to get to bottling up a little bit of summer.

19. Relax in the tub
Add a few tablespoons of honey to your bath, for sweeter smelling, softer feeling water. Pure bliss.

20. Lose weight
Well, what were you expecting? With a list this long it had to be pretty apparent that honey is in fact a wonder food, and as it turns out, you can even make it part of your next weight loss plan. Honey is an excellent substitute for sugar and it also helps speed up metabolism. Just remember: all things in moderation.

Want more deliciousness? Check out other food articles from EcoSalon.

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I need to learn crochet

 + =

I could probably put it on a headband, but then it'd be a headband slug, not a brain slug!

Knit ALL THE THINGS!

I swear I"m about to jump into the wasteland of started/unfinished projects.  I have a kitty hat that needs final touches, and an annoying headscarf to finish.  BUT now there's going to be a baby...no, no, not me, so now there's a million silly baby things I want to do, and I promised myself I'd make myself something nice, plus I thought making the mom-to-be something nice and...oh dear.

These are from (ulp i forgot) a knitting book for roller derby-ers.
I thought with a lil alteration they'd make cute lil tractors

It's going to be a baby bear so I thought this would be cute
Craftbits

I've made the baby yoda hat before.  This time I'm going to try very thin wire in 
case it needs to be washed.  Also I'll probably felt it less.

DUCK FEET!!!  AAAHHHHH THE CUTENESS!!!!!  This pattern is from Knitty.com.  The designer of this went on to create patterns for felted ones, toddler ones and big people ones!!!

SQUUUEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Now THIS book was a beautiful little find.  I've been wanting some really beautiful pieces of clothing since I usually don't dress like a girl, therefore don't always feel 'pretty'.  Found it at Half Price books for about $7.  There are a lot of things I want to do in here, but I'll post the ones I really love.

This is a knit/sew piece.  The top is knitted out of a silk combo yarn and sewn onto a silk or any silky feeling fabric.  How could you NOT feel sexy in this?

This is from a bed jacket pattern from 1800's when they would wear just chemises to bed.  These were usually for 'lounging' in when it was cold or there were visitors.  Common gift for a new mother.  I'd like to knit this as a gift.  I love the detailing.




The book has socks, camis, a long skirt I want, and even a bra/panty set.
If you see it at a bookstore I DEFINITELY recommend a good look.

Green Beauty Companies

http://teens.readiweb.com/get-educated/greener-alternatives.html

Green Tea Toner

For my next trial I am going to make some Green Tea Toner, which I found in Ecobeauty by Lauren and Janice Cox.
Recipe

• 1/2c distilled water
• 1-2 green tea bags, or 2 tsp leaves

Boil water and put in tea bags/leaves.  Steep 2-3 min then remove bags/leaves. Allow to cool and put in a clean bottle with a tight-fitting lid.  Apply with a cotton ball.
-Green tea is supposedly to calm/refresh your skin and help slow down environmental damage.
-You can also use this as a facial treatment by soaking a washcloth w/mixture and leaving on face for ten minutes.

Screw the rules, I have pink hair.

People tend to ask me about my hair.  Little girls LOVE it.

Pinks and reds tend to fade out fast, but mine tends to stay really well.

Tips and Tricks:

-I use Splat, Pink Fetish found at Wallgreens.  It does NOT look like it says on the box.  It contains a bleaching agent and a semi-permanent stain.

-I use a Roots Only bottle and bleach ONLY my roots.  I mix the bleaching stuff in a bowl then put it in the roots only bottle.  I also use a 1 in paint brush to smooth out the bleach.  I leave it in for an hour.

-I add the stain, put on a shower cap and my black cat hat and leave it in my hair OVERNIGHT.  It is freaking fuchsia!! 

-I tend to wash my hair sparingly.  I switched to the no-poo method and it helps keep the colour in as well as being able to not have to wash it all the time.  When I do I use tepid water, cool enough to keep it from running, but warm enough that it doesn't suck.

-I keep my hair healthy by almost never using heat treatments.

-Baking soda tends to take out the stain, so when I cleanse my hair I use the Roots Only bottle and tip my head upside down.

-The No-poo is interesting.  My hair got really dry during the change-over, anyway some of the ends got really super fried when I went back to pink so they don't hold stain really well.  The parts of the hair that grew since I went no-poo tends to hold the stain really well.  It is also a lot shinier and softer.