A Daily/Weekly Beauty Regimen

Like most girls, I have at least a mild interest in keeping my skin clear and soft, my hair clean and shiny, and my hands and feet free of cracks and maybe even my nails painted. For a long time though, I didn't really care about any of that stuff. I think that feeling sad and generally unhappy with my body led me to just say to hell with all of it and do the bare minimum when it came to beauty routines. Now though, with my life going in a direction I'm really pleased with and the weight starting to melt off, I'm finally feeling happy and comfortable in my own skin again. It's wonderful. I think the very BEST part is looking in the mirror and, despite still having quite a few pounds to lose, being happy with the way I look right now and not wishing certain parts of me would change or disappear. That's a perspective I rarely had even at my lowest weight in high school and it feels like such a blessing to have it now... but more on that later.

A new-found interest in maintaining my health and appearance along with my desperate search to remedy my awful snow sunburn from last week has led me to really look into what I should be doing to look and feel my best at all times. I've been rubbing vitamin e oil into my face a few times a day to help relieve/speed the healing process of my burn and I was excited to find out that it can actually be used as a toner and moisturizer AND it prevents wrinkles and fine lines. I'm definitely going to add it to my daily routine even after the burn is gone.

This morning, while deciding there had to be a way to remedy my dry, limp hair, pondering the validity of Tyra Banks' sworn approval of Vaseline, and feeling particularly productive, I typed up a full breakdown of my ideal daily/weekly beauty routine. I'm not the kind of girl who wants to spend her whole Saturday clipping, buffing and filing nails while simultaneously slathering her skin and hair with masks and scrubs and moisturizers and I'm definitely not the kind of girl who will pay someone else a bunch of money to do it for me. Salons make me uncomfortable. That's why I didn't get my hair cut for a year and a half. SO.. I'm hoping maybe I can tackle one or two of the 'weekly' categories  a day, excluding days I have lots of school or work. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hopeful that that way it will be fairly easy to maintain and I won't feel overwhelmed with my beauty routine.

If you are interested in looking over and/or trying some of the things I'm going to try, here are a few things you should know about my beauty routine that may be different from what you are used to:

• I try to minimize my use of store bought products. When I was younger I thought the more product the better, but now it worries me that most lotions, cleansers, etc are full of lots of chemicals and ingredients that I don't recognize or understand. I'd rather use natural, wholesome ingredients so that I know what is getting absorbed into my skin. A lot of my scrubs, masks, etc are homemade.
• I have no problem putting oil and vaseline directly on my face and I do it daily. This weirds some people out, put it doesn't make me break out and it makes my skin feel soft and smooth.
• I don't wash my face, at least not with facewash. I use only a neutrogena makeup removing/cleansing wipe at night (which I will often rinse off afterwards), and merely splash my face with water in the morning. I have a pimple maybe once every 6 months and my skin has been consistent (not oily or dry in any spots)
• I only wash my hair once a week. I used to do the no-poo thing, which I still recommend if it works for you! It worked for me for a while, but with the dryness this winter and Tucson's hard water, my stylist recommended I stop and instead use an all natural, biodegradable moisturizing shampoo. Since I don't use a lot of product, once a week is plenty to remove buildup and cleanse my hair. 

Beauty routine

Hands

Daily

·         Rub hands with Vitamin E oil at morning and night

Weekly

·         Clip and/or file nails

·         Remove nail polish with acetone free remover

·         Buff surface of nails

·         Soak in warm water with a drop of soap. Scrub under nails if necessary

·         Exfoliate hands with a scrub made of sea salt or sugar and natural oil (such as olive). Mash in a strawberry if desired

·         Apply cuticle cream and gently push back cuticles

·         Use a q tip swabbed with nail polish remover to remove oil from nails

·         Apply a base coat to nails

·         Apply 1-2 coats of polish, waiting 15 minutes between each coat

·         Apply designs if desired

·         Apply clear top coat

Feet

Daily

·         Rinse feet, rub with Vaseline or olive oil, and put on socks immediately before bed

Weekly

·         Clip and/or file nails

·         Remove nail polish with acetone free remover

·         Soak feet in a basin of water with ¼ cup lemon peppermint foot soak

·         Dry feet and use pumice stone or ped egg to remove callouses and dead skin

·         Exfoliate feet with a scrub made of sea salt or sugar and natural oil (such as olive). Mash in a strawberry if desired

·         Rinse feet. Use orange stick to gently push back cuticles and remove dead skin if necessary

·         Using Vaseline, olive oil, or vitamin E oil, massage each foot for 5 minutes

·         Use a q tip swabbed with nail polish remover to remove oil from nails

·         Apply a base coat to nails

·         Apply 1-2 coats of polish, waiting 15 minutes between each coat

·         Apply designs if desired

·         Apply top coat

Hair

Daily

·         Brush hair at morning and at night

·         Style hair as desired, applying minimal product as necessary. Minimize heat use

Weekly

·         Heat olive oil in small dish and massage into scalp for 10 minutes

·         Moisten hair with spray bottle. Apply hair mask to entirety of hair, adjusting ingredients for desired effect

·         Put hair in bun, wrap in plastic wrap, and then wrap in a heated towel. Let sit 30 minutes, changing towel as necessary

·         Wash hair, focusing on the scalp and massaging in circular motions to lift build-up. Rinse and repeat, if necessary

·         Condition hair

·         Towel dry hair gently and comb with wide tooth comb

·         Spray with lavender rosemary rinse and let air dry

Face and teeth

Daily

·         Morning

o   Brush teeth well

o   Floss

o   Rinse with a mixture of antiseptic mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds

o   Splash face with warm water

o   Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck

o   Use q tip or tissue to wipe any remaining eye makeup off face

o   After oil has been completely absorbed, splash face with cold water, pat dry

o   Apply a light facial sunscreen

o   Apply makeup

·         Night

o   Remove makeup with cleansing wipe. Rinse with warm water if necessary

o   Brush teeth

o   Floss

o   Rinse with a mixture of antiseptic mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds

o   Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck

o   Apply Vaseline or coconut oil to eyes and lips

Weekly

·         Remove makeup and dirt from face using cleansing wipe and/or water

·         Exfoliate face with a gentle scrub (such as greek yogurt and oatmeal or baking soda and water)

·         Steam face over a bowl of scalding hot water. Add essential oils or citrus slices if desired

·         Apply face mask with varying ingredients for desired results. Leave on for 10-20 minutes Use cucumber slices or wet black tea bags over eyes

·         Rinse face well

·         Rub Vitamin E oil into face and neck. Let absorb completely

·         Splash face with cold water. Dry gently

·         Apply light facial sunscreen. Continue with typical daily routine

Skin

Daily

·         Dry brush skin at morning and night, starting at feet and brushing towards the heart

·         Moisturize skin with Vaseline and/or coconut oil and/or stretch mark removing cream at morning and night

·         In the morning, apply SPF 30 sunscreen to any skin that will be visible

Weekly

·         Dry brush skin, starting and feet and brushing towards the heart

·         Take a shower

o   Cleanse skin completely with a gentle body wash or soap.

o   Shave armpits and legs

o   Exfoliate entire body (concentrating on knees, elbows, and areas with stretch marks) with a scrub, such as one made with sugar, lemon juice, and olive oil

o   Shave legs again

o   Rinse well

·         Pat body dry with a clean towel

·         If necessary, apply Vaseline and/or coconut oil to moisturize, concentrating on knees and elbows

·         Apply sunscreen to skin that will be visible

 

20 in my 20th: Eat a Habanero

1. Eat a habanero. This could be raw, whole, or cooked in some dish. No ditching the seeds though.

For literally months, I would buy one habanero every so often while grocery shopping. For months they would one by one shrivel up, start to get funky dark spots, and get thrown into the garbage. 

Finally, one night (apparently last April 10th, according to the time stamp for this photo in my phone), while hanging out watching netflix by myself at my apartment, I convinced myself to just do it.

I grabbed the pepper, sized it up for a moment, and then took a big bite.

crappy phone pic

It was hot.
It made my eyes water.
It had surprisingly nice flavor.
It was really, really hot.
It made my belly hurt.
I wouldn't recommend it.

Yeah, it was pretty much crazy hot. Not anaphylactic-shock-inducing hot, but definitely oh-god-do-we-have-milk-in-the-house?! hot. If you're going to eat a habanero raw I hope you have tastebuds and intestines of steel.

They are pretty nice when used sparingly though, like in salsa or to spice up a marinade or something. They have kind of a fruity, mellow flavor beneath the heat.

I do kind of feel like a badass for having done this though. Way to go, year-ago me!

Thursday Update: March is Here!

This will be a short update since I didn't blog much at all this week due to being out of town :)

This week:

This blog reached (and surpassed!) 25,000 views. That is pretty amazing! I can't believe people were still somehow finding and reading my blog while I was away... but I'm glad they were and still are! Hopefully that number will just continue to go up up up :)

I learned to ski! It was so fun, but exhausting! My legs are STILL sore.

I got my first concept exam for my Screen Artists class back- 90%! 10% deducted for not having a works cited page, but many of my classmates pointed out that it was not stated in the instructions so we can turn one in after spring break.

I kind of explored downtown Flagstaff for the first time, aside from an impromptu rainy day trip Stewie and I took there back in 2009. Apparently holiday lights all over downtown in march are a-ok there.I really enjoyed it though! We did the art walk (very similar to all other art walks) and ate at a cool local brewery.

I'm trying one of the many things on pinterest that may or may not be a complete waste of time (I have a massive love hate relationship with pinterest that recently has been mostly hate). I've been swishing with 50/50 mixture of mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide to see if it helps whiten my teeth. Hydrogen peroxide is supposedly the main ingredient in whitening strips? I read it on the internet so it must be true.

Photos:

Taking a break from skiing for lunch... Green Chili Chicken Soup and a Magic Hat Number 9 pale ale. yeah...I didn't take any pictures of the actual skiing. Just food.

While driving to Tucson from Prescott I passed this truck/bus/contraption and had to snap a picture... I'm not sure what exactly they do, but they're rather confident about it.

Coming up:

Spring break starts today! Hopefully that means some much needed time to focus on sewing/etsy stuff and also plenty of time to cook.

It's getting warmer and warmer in Tucson... it's supposed to dip a little this weekend but maybe sometime later this week we can head out to Tanque Verde Falls, Sabino Canyon, or one of the other Tucson swimming spots. Like the University Heights pool.

With any luck this week I'll hit my first weightloss goal... a 20 lb loss! What an incredible and rewarding feeling that would be.

Happy Weekend!

Love,
Em

Healthy and Delicious Vegetable Soup

So, this past weekend I went up to Prescott and then Flagstaff to spend some time with my parents and to go skiing with my Dad. I hadn't gone skiing since I was very little so it was definitely interesting... I got up at 6 am (which is SO early for me... closer to my usual bedtime than the time I usually wake up!) and we got to the Flagstaff Snowbowl around 8. I was pretty unsure of my abilities and was basically downright terrified for the first bit. I could only go across the slope in an ever-so-slight decline (as opposed to going vertically down the slope) at a snail pace... and I was on the bunny hill (which toddlers were learning on!). BUT, we took a two hour lesson from 10-12 and it helped so much! I fell a few times, but after a couple tries I was able to stop myself, turn, speed up and slow down, and actually go down the slope in the direction intended. After the lesson, I was able to go down the entirety of the hill easily and even rode the ski lift to one of the higher starting points and managed to ski from there as well!

Unfortunately during the first half of the day I stupidly forgot to put on sunscreen... even though it was just a few morning hours, my face got SCORCHED! Having never really skied before I didn't know snow sunburn was such a serious thing. Basically you get double sunburn from the sun reflecting off the bright white snow. Anyways, by the next day my face was bright pink (aside from a few attractive pale sections from my hat... ugh) and blistered! The blisters turned to scabs and now for the past couple days my face has been dry, tight, flaky, and still bright red. I can't WAIT for it to heal and for my face to go back to normal. Working the counter at Brooklyn on Sunday and Monday was NOT fun.

That was really the only low of my weekend... the rest of the (short) time was spent with my aunt and uncle in Flagstaff and my parents in Prescott. I don't have the opportunity to come home all that often, but it's nice when I do because it's kind of like being a teenager again. I can sleep in my old (pink) room with all my old things, sit on an actual couch (not a futon!) and watch an actual tv (not a laptop!), and eat from a fridge full of food I didn't have to pay for (or cook!). The last thing is particularly nice because my parents eat very healthfully... and they have the money and skillz to do it right and make it super delicious!  I try to be very health conscious down here in Tucson, but it's expensive.. and between cooking from scratch every day (on top of school, work, and everything else), researching recipes, and meticulously calculating, counting, and recording calories... it is work. When I can open a fridge and have a ton of fresh, healthy stuff already there ready to eat, it makes me happy.

And that's where this vegetable soup comes in. My mom made some last week from a recipe loosely based on the 7 day diet 'wonder soup' (oh gee, another crash diet that has you eat practically no calories in order to lose 10 pounds in a week- miraculous!). This version bulks up the veggies, adds spices, vegetable broth, and tomatoes (and V8, if you like) for flavoring, and comes with no hyperbolic weight loss claims! At 60 calories a cup though, it doesn't really need to.

I ate this with a simple soup for lunch 2 of the 3 days I was out of town... it probably would have been 3 for 3 but I spent one of the days on the slopes! It is SO yummy and filling. I liked it so much that today, 3 days after being back in Tucson, I whipped up a batch for dinner tonight and lunch for the next few days. It was so easy too. If you're looking for a simple, low calorie, nutritious meal you can eat throughout the week, definitely try this one out! It's the perfect thing alongside a salad or sandwich.

I was going to take pictures while I was making this to go with the recipe... I took a picture of the veggies sauteing... and then put my camera down and forgot about it. Oops. I do have a picture of the finished product before I had it at my parents' house.

Simple Vegetable Soup 
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp  fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you do not like heat)
1 box (4 cups) vegetable broth (I used Safeway O Organics brand)
1 14.5 oz can diced italian stewed tomatoes (regular Safeway brand)
1/2 head cabbage, roughly chopped
2 cups baby spinach
4 cups water (or v8, if desired)

1. Heat olive oil in large pot.
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper. Sautee 5 minutes, or until slightly softened.
3. Add salt, pepper, spices, and garlic. Continue to cook until veggies begin to brown.
4. Add vegetable broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
5. Add cabbage. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
6. Add spinach. Stir to incorporate until spinach has fully wilted.
7. Add water and/or v8 and boil to reach desired broth:veggie ratio. Taste and adjust  seasonings.

That's it!

This recipe (made with water) makes about 9.5 cups with a 1 cup serving equaling about 60 calories.
The total calories for the recipe is only 557! Crazy, right? It will be about 200 more if you use 4 cups of v8 as opposed to water... so then it would be about 80 calories a cup. Still fantastic.

The salad is a mix of spinach, arugula, and kale with cucumber, carrot, cherry tomatoes, onion, celery, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for dressing.

Thursday Update

Thursdays are my last day of school during the week and my last day off before I go back to work (I work Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays) so it's a good day to recap what's been going on and talk about what's in store for the weekend and the next school week. This week I'm going to talk about all of February since it's the first update! I'm going to try to post a short little update like this every Thursday just to keep you filled in regarding my day to day life :)

This past (few) week(s) in photos/instagram:

Celebrating 211 much more quietly than in past years... getting a hot drink at Skybar after work. 

I got really into hot toddies in these chilly winter months! Whiskey, honey, lemon juice, hot water, garnished with cinnamon sticks, lemon slices, and cloves.

Valentines day was nice and quiet since my boyfriend Colton and I were taking a trip the following weekend that was kind of a christmas/valentines gift hybrid. I went shopping on my break between classes and bought a couple cute dresses and that night we made a nice Italian dinner at home. We did get each other a few small gifts but nothing crazy.

Spearmint gum (my favy) leek and morel mushroom jack cheese (yesss), some potted flowers, and coconut water. Perfect Vday gifts for this girl.

 That weekend Colton and I went to see one of our FAVORITE comedians, Louis C.K! We drove up to phoenix for the show, stayed in a nice hotel in tempe, went to an only so-so restaurant for dinner, and went to the late show which they were filming for HBO! it was sooooo fun and I'd pay 45$ a ticket to see him again any day. 

Hotel mirror pic! Right before leaving for dinner.

A week ago last Wednesday it snowed in Tucson! I've live in Tucson since Fall of 2010 and I've never seen snow here, other than way up on Mt Lemmon. It was really awesome... big, fluffy flakes were falling all day and night long and the next morning there was a wee bit that actually stuck. Of course it was gone by noon. Still cool to see though!

And of course Clem had her birthday on Sunday but I showed you that pic.

Here's what else has been going on this week:

I turned in my first test for my Screen Artists class, and received my grade for my first Roman Literature test. 96%! Not bad considering I was almost certain I would sound very stupid next to all the Classics majors in the class... I've never taken a Rome-focused classics class and it's actually been about a year since I took a classics class at all. 

I've lost 16.6 lbs total since I started actively trying to lose weight on January 17th. Woo!

I finally made a tumblr but I have no idea how to use it so someone should inform me...

I got my first paycheck since upping my hours at work back to 3 shifts a week. That's what I started with a year and a half ago but after Linn died I went down to 2 shifts and then to one measly 7 hr shift a week. It felt soooo good to have a paycheck over 120$ again! I'm looking forward to hitting up Joanns for some nice fabric and filling out my Etsy store.

Here's what's coming up:

Tonight I'm driving Clem and myself up to Prescott. Tomorrow my Dad and I will be going up to Flagstaff for a little ski vacation. I haven't skied since I was about 7 or so and I remember a lot of falling so... should be interesting. but fun!

Next week is the last school week before spring break! yay!

I have a TON of my own recipes saved on my computer, all with serving sizes and calorie breakdowns. This week I'd like to remake a couple of them and take pictures so I can share them on this blog! Looking forward to another week of healthy eating. 

 That's all for now! Have a great week/month and see you again in a few days!

20 in my 20th: Make Ina Garten's Mac n Cheese

Back in May of 2011, a few days after I turned 20, I had the idea to make a list of 20 things I wanted to do in my 20th year. I did a handful and blogged about them, and then I stopped blogging when life got crazy. I actually still did a few more before my 21st birthday last May though, about half in total. I even have pictures, I just never blogged about it. So, over the next few weeks I'm going to be posting a few 20 in my 20ths that never got their rightful post back when I did them.

#15. Make this mac and cheese

I wanted to make this mac and cheese ever since I saw the Barefoot Contessa episode where Ina Garten makes it. I only have three distinct memories of Ina Garten. An episode of BC where she put a tbsp of butter inside each hamburger patty,  the episode of 30 rock where Liz Lemon fantasizes about Ina inviting over for a bruschetta and a bottle of white wine, and the episode in which she made this macaroni and cheese.

Ina's recipes are always kind of over-the-top decadent, but where Paula Dean's zealous misuse of butter seems startling and unwarranted, Ina is so sweet and soft-spoken that all your calorie woes are easily forgotten.

Enter this mac and cheese.

It has a full pound each of pasta and cheese, a quart of whole milk, sherry, and yeah, a sh*tload of butter. But it also has mushrooms, so.. yeah.

I made this probably like a year ago and it was a. expensive (10 dollars for 3 oz of truffle butter, not to mention the 12 oz of gruyere....) b. time consuming (shopping for all the obscure ingredients, chopping a pound of mushrooms, etc) and c. one of the best thing's I've EVER cooked or tasted. I seriously remember the night I made it, sitting at home by myself with a plate of it in front of me and marveling at how out of this world amazing it was. It was quite a moment. I haven't made it since... mostly because it's hard for me to ever justify making mac and cheese (even though it's one of my favorite things to cook), let alone one that will set me back 60$. But IF the right time should arise again... say for a holiday, or if I could somehow get people to pay me for it... I would gladly do so.

This recipe is pretty much copied and pasted from foodnetwork.com, just with some of my pictures added. I made no variations to the recipe when I made it.

Also forgive the quality of these photos... they were taken in my old, old apartment complex (Lantana). I have since lived in two different homes, both of which have much better lighting. better pretty much everything actually.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Good olive oil
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms

3 tablespoons cream sherry
Kosher salt
1 pound pasta, such as cavatappi
3 ounces white truffle butter (recommended: D'Artagnan)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, scalded
12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove caps from mushrooms and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. (I sliced mine 1/2 inch but found that some of the bigger shiitake pieces were a little overwhelming and difficult to eat)

that's a lot of mushrooms..

 Heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan, add the mushrooms, and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are tender. Add the sherry and continue to saute for a few more minutes, until the sherry is absorbed. Set aside. (I did this in two batches. seriously, sooo many mushrooms)

doesn't look that appetizing... but just the mushrooms cooked in butter, olive oil, and sherry were so yummy

 Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the truffle butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan and whisk in the flour.

Cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the white sauce is thickened and creamy. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

Combine the pasta, sauce, and mushrooms in a large bowl and pour them into a 10 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until they're minced. Add the bread crumbs and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown. Serve hot. 

I have no idea why I didn't take a picture of it actually served. Hm. Anyways... This was crazy decadent, delicious, and hands down the best mac and cheese I've ever made or eaten. Glad I got the important things done in my 20th year ;)

Love,

Em

Making your own Light Tent for under 25$

When I was considering opening up an Etsy shop, one thing that I thought about was being able to take good, high quality photos of my products. It's so important to have clean, professional looking photos of products for advertising- especially when the customer is expected to purchase the product without ever getting to see it, touch it, or try it on in person! Dark, fuzzy camera-phone pics will just not grab the eye of any potential buyer.

I already have a very nice Nikon D40 DSLR which takes great photographs. However, without proper lighting and backdrop, the photos still wont look like "professional" quality. If you've ever wondered how photos of products with a smooth, bright white background like these pictures are taken...

...It's with a light tent! A light tent is typically a box large enough to hold small-medium sized objects for photographing. It is covered by fabric on the top and three sides, with one side left open. The back wall of the tent can be covered in fabric or paper, and curves smoothly into the floor to create a seamless backdrop with no edges or creases. The tent is the lit anywhere from one to all sides to get the lighting effect desired.

On amazon and photography shops, light tents can cost a pretty penny, sometimes up to a couple hundred dollars. This is not exactly a feasible option for someone starting a small online business! I decided, after a bit of research, to try my hand at making my own light tent for just a few dollars and about 45 minutes of construction time. Turns out it was really easy and the results were awesome!

The tutorial I used can be found here, but here's a basic rundown of the supplies and cost:

You will need
- a large, square-ish box. I got mine from work so that was free.
- 2 yards of white muslin fabric from Joann's or another fabric store. this was $1.25 a yard so only $2.50!
-2 large sheets of white bristol board, found near the yellow bristol drawing pads in the craft store- mine was a dollar a sheet. 2$.
-masking or packing tape, a ruler, a sharpie, exacto knife and/or scissors- assuming you already have these on hand, free.
- lighting fixture. I bought a clamp-on work light at home depot for $8.50. it's sturdy and works perfectly for what I need it for.
-light bulbs. I bought a pack of 4 100 watt "daylight" (provides bright white, rather than yellow light) bulbs for $8, also at home depot. 4 bulbs should last me years!

Total cost: 21$. Note that you can also purchase fewer bulbs, and if you already have an adjustable desk lamp (or any small lamp that can be moved around easily) you can omit the work light cost!

I'm really happy with how my light tent turned out. The quality is great! Here are a few example from when I was testing it out:

And here's the first product photo I took. It really helps the image appear clean and bright!

I'm really looking forward to continuing to use my light tent as I build up my shop. If you're interested in photographing products for a store or otherwise I encourage you to consider making your own light tent before you splurge on something you find online!

Have a lovely week!

Love, Em

New Things, Old Things

I've decided, after nearly a one year hiatus, to try to start blogging again. It's been something I've wanted to do for a very, very long time, but due to life circumstances have not had enough time, motivation, or mental stamina. The past year and a half of my life has been very strenuous and difficult (I might go into it more in future posts but for now all I can say is it was very taxing), but now I finally feel I have reached a point where I am able to once again devote time and healthy, positive energy towards this blog.

Many things have changed over the past year, and I feel I've really grown as a person and learned many things about myself, both pleasant and unpleasant. The past few months, in particular, have been like emerging from a dark cave I hadn't realized I had been trapped in. I feel a fresh, invigorating new appreciation for life and an ability to once again see things clearly! It's been amazing.

Lots of exciting things are happening right now, too, which I feel are really propelling me towards a positive future. In order to reflect all the many things that have happened and are happening, I decided that a new blog design was crucial to my renewed desire to blog. My old blog design, which I lovingly designed and took many hours to perfect, was made when I was 19 and still (relatively) fresh faced and oblivious to the trials and tribulations of life. It was lovely, but also rather gaudy. I feel like this new, muted grey and floral look is a much more accurate representation of myself at this stage in my life.. and I think it's much easier on the eyes! I hope you agree.

While my interests and thus the content of this blog will for the most part stay the same (cooking, fashion, film and television, health and fitness), there will be some new things dominating my time and thus likely playing a part in this blog! For instance:

Over the past year, I have become very interested in sewing. I even have my own craft room at my current house! A couple weeks ago I opened up my own Etsy shop, which specializes in fabric housewares, accessories, apparel, and upcycled vintage clothing. There is a new link for my shop at the top right of my blog and I hope you will visit it as I begin to add more items! On this blog, you can expect to see some DIYs, patterns, and updates on my crafting and shop.

As always, I am very interested in nutrition, healthy eating, fitness, and weight loss. I gained a fair amount of weight over the past year as a result of depression and alcohol abuse and while I am very pleased to no longer have issues with either of these terrible ailments, the weight has stuck around as a bitter reminder. Through menial exercise and daily calorie counting I have already managed to lose 15 pounds in about a month and a half, but I still have quite a few pounds to go. Expect to see low-calorie, delicious recipes and perhaps my thoughts and experiences with various workout regimens that I experiment with as I whittle my way back down to my ideal size. For recipes that already exist on my site click here, and for my current weights workout routine which I supplement with various forms of cardio, click here.

I am going to be graduating with my BA in Film and Televison (formerly known as Media Arts) this December, meaning I am a quarter way through my senior year at the moment. As I near this exciting turning point in my academic career, you may see many things relating to my current school work and film studies on this blog.

And finally... this isn't much of a change and it won't really influence this blog, but my darling Clementine turned TWO today! What a big girl! Here she is the day after I got her, at 5 months:

On her 1st birthday, last year:

And now at 2 years old!:

Hm. Looks like she's gotten scruffier and her dresses have gotten fancier. Don't worry, I'm not one of those people that always has their dog dressed up. Just on her birthday!

Well, I hope to be able to write in here at least a couple days at week. I'm busy with school and work (at Brooklyn, still!), but I am very eager to get back on this train and continue doing and writing about the things I love.

Thank you for being here after all this time!


Love, Em