The No Shampoo Experiment

I've started a new experiment yesterday. I have decided to quit using shampoo. No that doesn't mean I am going to smell and not be clean (at least I hope not!) I have come across quite a few bloggers lately that are trying the no shampoo experiment, mostly because of all the weird ingredients in shampoo, but some to save money. Well, I'm Dutch and saving money is something I am always looking to do, so I was a little interested. I did a little research and found a few helpful websites including this one and this one on making your own shampoo.

Here is what you will need:

Yep, that's it. Pretty cheap, huh? That's what I thought, so I thought it was worth a try. All you need to do is dissolve 1 Tbsp of baking soda in 1 cup of warm water and apply to your scalp. Let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out. Then do the same with the apple cider vinegar. I have to say, I thought the vinegar was kind of a weird one, but it is an amazing detangler. I am going to start using that for Sweetheart as well since it is always so hard to comb through her hair after we wash it. Yesterday was the first day I tried it, so I haven't noticed a huge difference yet. I normally wash my hair every other day, and on the day I don't wash it, it can be kinda flat. Today, however, I think that it still feels and looks fuller. Hopefully that is a good sign that things will keep going well, but I will try to remember to update you all in a few weeks and let you know how it is going! If you are interested in trying for yourself and want to know more about what's in your shampoo (instead of just doing it to be cheap!) you can check out this site to see how your current shampoo and conditioners rate.

Shades of Morning - Review

I recently received Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky for review, and I LOVED it! It is one of those books that make you want to ignore the dirty house, fighting kids, and dinner that needs to be made just to keep reading! (Of course I didn't ignore my kids or not make dinner, but maybe the house didn't get as clean the last few days!) I thought Marlo Schalesky did an excellent job of writing this book. I love Christian romances and this is a good one. The main character Marnie must face the past that she ran away from years ago when her sister dies and leaves Marnie as the guardian of her son. Emmit, who has Down syndrome, helps her face her sorrows and regrets and begin to heal. But the story also has some suspense and a surprise ending, which make you want to read the whole book in one sitting!

Summary:
Marnie doesn’t know much about miracles. Mistakes maybe. Accidents, too. And monstrous mess-ups. She knows a lot about those. But miracles? Those are for other people. But, Marnie is about to discover that God can turn a past full of regrets into a beautiful future.

Marnie Wittier has life just where she wants it. Quiet. Peaceful. No drama. A long way away from her past. In the privacy of her home, she fills a box with slips of paper, scribbled with her regrets, sins, and sorrows. But that’s nobody else’s business. Her bookstore/coffee shop patrons, her employees, her friends from church—they all think she’s the very model of compassion and kindness.

Then Marnie’s past creeps into her present when her estranged sister dies and makes Marnie guardian of her fifteen-year-old son—a boy Marnie never knew existed. And when Emmit arrives, she discovers he has Down syndrome—and that she’s woefully unprepared to care for him. What’s worse, she has to deal with Taylor Cole, her sister’s attorney, a man Marnie once loved—and abandoned. As Emmit (and Taylor) work their way into her heart, Marnie begins to heal. But when pieces of her dismal past surface again, she must at last face the scripts of paper in her box, all the regrets and sorrows. Can she do it? Or will she run again?

Author Bio:
Marlo Schalesky is the author of several books, including Beyond the Night and Empty Womb, Aching Heart. A graduate of Stanford University, Marlo also has a masters of theology with an emphasis in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. Married over twenty years, she lives with her husband, Bryan, and their five children in California.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you can do so here.

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.

Berries, Berries, Berries!

I was beginning to think my little berry patch wouldn't produce anything but mold this year, but the week before we went camping they all started to ripen up! This was my biggest picking, but I have been out there about twice a week and have gotten a ton of berries. It ended up being a good thing we had to post-pone our camping, otherwise they all would have ripened and been moldy by the time we got home. There's probably only about one more picking of my strawberries left, which is good because my freezer is getting really full! It is supposed to be really warm at the end of the week, which should ripen up the raspberries and it will be on to picking those for a few weeks!

Tasty Tuesday - Berry Delicious Tart!

Since the weather hasn't been cooperating, we aren't going camping this week. With all the rain we've had we haven't been able to get in the fields to chop the grass or replant the corn field, so we are post-poning our camping for a week. Hopefully the rain will let up enough for us to get everything done this week. Since we are home I thought I would share another recipe with you. I tried this one a couple weeks ago and Mark says it is his new favorite dessert so I know it is a good one!

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened mixed berries, thawed and drained

Topping:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine flour and 1/3 cup sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Spread jam over crust. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over jam; sprinkle with berries.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 30 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.

Linked to: Smockity Frocks

Tasty Tuesday - Chewy Granola Bars

I love granola bars and have been trying out a few homemade recipes for them, but none have quite turned out the way I want. Until now, that is. I have finally found a recipe that I love as much as store bought chewy granola bars.

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup + 2 Tbsp Sticky Bun Sugar (see note farther down)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup quick oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (I used raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, coconut, sunflower seeds, and pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

Note about Sticky Bun Sugar: You can substitute 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons light corn syrup + 2 tablespoons melted butter for the sticky bun sugar. And yes, you'll still add the additional granulated sugar and butter as called for in the recipe.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, syrup or honey, and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, shaking the pan to evenly cover the bottom and patting down gently. Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're golden brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, loosen the edges, and cool for 5 minutes. Use a knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars while they're still warm in the pan. Carefully remove warm bars from the pan, and cool on a rack. Alternatively, remove from the pan before cutting into bars; it helps to cut in half first, then loosen the bottom of each half with a turner/spatula before turning out onto a sheet of parchment to cut into bars. Wrap bars individually to store; or place in a single layer on a plate, and cover with plastic; or store in layers with parchment in between. In humid weather, it's best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

I found that after letting them cool for 5 minutes, mine were too crumbly to remove from the pan, so I just cut them up and let them cool completely in the pan and they still turned out great.

Enjoy and please let me know your favorite recipe so I can try it out!