For the Foodie: Degustabox September 2016* Unboxing & Easy Ratatouille

Time for another Degustabox unboxing! In case you haven't seen my previous posts, Degustabox is a monthly food subscription service featuring new brands and products just coming to our market. Each box is $19.99 (but you can get your first one for 50% off) and comes packed full with at least 10 different products. Let's see what I found in my September box!

Again, everything was packaged very securely in lots of bubble wrap, which I removed for the sake of taking photos. The September box came with 11 products - I divided them for the photos into three groups: salty snacks, sweet snacks and cooking ingredients/ condiments:

1 bag of popCORNers, $3.29 each:  air-popped vegan, non-GMO and gluten-free chips that we will enjoy with our homemade guac
2 packets of BustaNUT! peanuts in the Maple Bacon & Bourbon flavors, $1.49 ea: I like snacking on nuts although flavored varieties always contain more sodium and sugar

2 little boxes of Michel et Augustin Shortbread Cookies in the Pure Butter & Sea Salt and Pure Butter & Chocolate Chips flavors, $1.99 ea: shortbread cookies are some of my favorites for a quick sweet treat so I'm excited to give this brand a go!
1 bag of Entenmann's Little Bites mini chocolate chip muffins, $4.69 ea: I'm a little skeptical about pre-packaged muffins but at least these don't contain high fructose corn syrup or trans fat
1 large bag of Zollipops, sugar free & vegan hard fruit candies/ drops, $4.99: Apparently these candies are supposed to keep your teeth clean after meals?! Not sure how that's even possible but I'll give them a go!
1 bar of Toosum oatmeal bar, $1.79 ea (I got the Cranberry & Acai flavor): I don't eat granola bars very often but it's sometimes handy to keep one in your purse for emergency hunger pangs.

1 packet of Hak's One Pot Cooking Sauce in Rustic Ratatouille, $3.99 each: This is basically a ready-made tomato-based sauce to use with veggies or your choice of protein. We don't use premade sauces but this has very straightforward, natural ingredients, and I'll give it a go for a quick dinner!
1 bottle of Sparkling Bitters, $1.99 each: I quite like trying new drinks, and this sounds like it could be a good choice for cocktails (or mocktails) as well.
3 small jars of English Provender condiments in Caramelized Red Onion Chutney, Sweet Tomato & Chili Chutney and Luxury Lemon Curd, $2.45 ea: I love love love trying new condiments and having them on hand to pair with cheese or cold cuts, so I'm quite excited about these!
1 box of Sam Mills Gluten Free Corn Quinoa Fusilli Pasta, $2.39 ea: I've tried gluten-free pasta in the past and didn't like it, but maybe this will be different. We're not gluten-free in this house so it's not a huge selling point for me.
1 bottle of Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce, $3.49 ea: My husband would have loved to try this as a big hot sauce fan but unfortunately it contains garlic :( I'm not into very spicy food at the moment so I may pass this bottle on to a friend.
Value of the September box: $40.93

So far, this was the largest and best value box we have received. Compared to last month, I like the product selection a lot more, and I'm excited to have lots of new snacks to try out. If you'd like to try this subscription for yourself, you can use my affiliate link here for 50% off your first box.


As for the recipe using products from the September box, to be honest I wasn't massively inspired - but being this pregnant has made me a lot less excited to spend time in the kitchen cooking elaborate meals. Which is why I decided to take the simple route and just try the recipe featured on the little description sheet that came in my Degustabox; I made a veggie & chicken version of the Hak's Rustic Ratatouille and served it first over some brown rice and then the Sam Mills Gluten Free pasta.

On the packaging, the cooking suggestion is to combine one packet with one pound of protein or veggies; I think I've had slightly more than that and I do wish there was more sauce in my dish. I diced half a medium onion and one chicken breast, browned them a little in olive oil, and then added 1 chopped zucchini, half of a red bell pepper, and half of a can of drained chickpeas. I poured in the contents of my Hak's sachet and simmered for about 20 minutes. I did enjoy the taste of this dish but the sauce was a bit too liquidy, perhaps because of the moisture from my vegetables. I like how this premade sauce doesn't contain any nasty ingredients or fillers, although to be completely honest, I don't see it as massively easier than just adding some tomato paste into my saucepan along with flavorful herbs de provence, salt and pepper and maybe some garlic. But overall it was tasty and saved me some time in the hot kitchen, so I'm not complaining :)

Just a heads up, I won't be reviewing any more Degustaboxes for a while now - not because I'm not happy with the subscription but for the simple reason of having a lot less time to do so as baby bean is going to be here next month already. If you enjoy food posts from me, please let me know and I'll do my best to feature more snacks and meals on the blog in the future; for now you can always check out my Instagram for food p0rn pics. Have you tried any new snacks this month? I'd love to know what you've been cooking up lately!

Disclaimer: Product marked with an asterix (*) is a press sample I received from the brand's PR for review consideration. The post contains an affiliate link, which means I'll earn a commission if you decide to sign up to Degustabox after clicking. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the product featured was purchased with my own money or provided free of charge. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog! 

For the Foodie: August Degustabox* and Homemade Pizza

Time for another Degustabox* unboxing, folks! Honestly, Degustaboxes (together with local produce farmshare boxes) give me a much bigger thrill than beauty subscription boxes ever did in the past - because really, as a hungry preggo with a voracious human bean inside her, getting delivered an awesome box full of ready to eat snacks and ingredients to get creative with is living the dream right now :D I'm sure fellow foodies get me on this.

The size of the actual box is the same as the last one (click here if you want to see what I got!) and again, it was packed to the brim with products neatly tucked into bubble wrap to survive shipping. I received my box about a week ago, so I already had a chance to try out some things and give you mini reviews as well. I got:

ALO Allure Pulp Free (aloe vera, mangosteen and mango juice blend), $1.99 - tasty mango flavor but a bit too sweet
Popchips Ridges snack-sized baggie in the Cheddar & Sour Cream flavor, $1.25 - haven't tried these yet but regular Popchips in the Barbecue flavor are some of my favorite chips to munch on
Goetze's Mini Cow Tales, $3.49 - haven't tried yet but they sound suspiciously similar to a popular Polish candy called krówki, which are sort of like dulce de leche/ soft and chewy caramels...?
White Lily White Grape and Wheat Flour, $5.49 - I've used White Lily Bread flour in the past to bake our sourdough loaf so I was very excited to try this; see below.

Sir Kensington's Chipotle Mayonnaise, $5.99 - haven't tried yet but I can see an awesome BAT (bacon, avocado, tomato sandwich) featuring this mayo in the very near future
Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, $2.83 - had it this morning with greek yogurt and berries instead of my regular homemade granola and while I loved the crunch factor, I found it (like 99% of store-bought cereal) to be way too sweet
Oregon Chai Tea Latte instant powder drink mix, $3.99 - tried once so far as an iced drink and again, too sugary for me

Loacker Rose of the Dolomite x 2, $1.76 each - OMG. If there's one thing to take away from August Degustabox, it's these chocolate pralines. They're creamy and chocolatey with a little crunch from hazelnuts and wafer pieces and they're SO GOOD (that's why there's only one pack in the photo, I just couldn't stop eating once I opened the other one I had). If you like Kinder Bueno candy bars, you NEED to try these.
Goya Maria Cookies, $0.99
Vermont Smoke & Cure Mini Meat Sticks, $4.99 for a 6-pack (we got 4) - I believe that as a Polish person, I know most of what there is to know about good sausage and maybe I'm spoilt as a result. I tried one of these 'sticks' and really did NOT like it. Your experience may vary though.
Approx. value of the August box: $33.04 for $19.99/ month

Now for the recipe, or rather what I was inspired to make with a product from my Degustabox. You guessed it - I went right for that bag of flour and set on making the perfect thin crust pizza for one (or, uhm, one and a half? How should I count the baby bean?) from scratch. I rarely eat pizza, and I almost never make it at home, the chief reason being that my husband is not only allergic to garlic but also cow's dairy (meaning, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago... all the delicious pizza cheese). But, Mr is currently away on a work trip, and that coupled with the arrival of this flour in my Degustabox, and a bulb of porcelain neck garlic in my farmshare box, is what I call the perfect opportunity.

I used the dough recipe from The Kitchn (here). My only note here would be that I suspect the grape seed and wheat flour needs a bit more moisture (water) than just plain wheat/ all-purpose, so I'd adjust that next time I'm baking with it. I let the dough rise a bit for about an hour and fifteen minutes, then halved it, used one half right away and popped the other in the fridge to make another fresh pizza the next day.

For my toppings, I made a classic tomato base using canned tomato paste thinned with a bit of water and olive oil, and added crushed garlic, lots of oregano leaf, fresh thyme, a little bit of onion powder and some salt and pepper. I decided on my favorite childhood flavor combo - ham and pineapple (I realize some people are strongly against pineapple on a pizza but I don't care, I love it), and added some onion slivers and corn kernels as well. I sprinkled a fair amount of shredded mozzarella on top and baked for about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

Was it the world's most Instagrammable pizza? Not really. Was it delicious though? Oh, absolutely. The crust came out nice and thin but not too crunchy (it supported the weight of all the toppings but was still easy to bite through) and I really enjoyed my garlicky base with plentiful ham and pineapple pieces. In fact, I cannot wait for lunchtime now just so I can go ahead and make a second pizza with my refrigerated dough from yesterday. Mmmm.

All in all, I'm happy with the products that came in my August Degustabox, but I guess I wish there was a bit less candy/ sugar-heavy food in it. I have a bit of a sweet tooth in general but even more so now that I'm pregnant, and I try to be careful about it, so I know I shouldn't be having any of those Cow Tales or sugary instant chai lattes :/ If you're interested in this food subscription, you can use my referral link (click on the banner below) to get your first box for 50% off, shipping included.


Are you a pizza lover? Do you like making your own at home or do you have a favorite pizzeria where you live? What are your favorite toppings/ flavor combos? Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: Product marked with an asterix (*) is a press sample I received from the brand's PR for review consideration. The post contains an affiliate link, which means I'll earn a commission if you decide to sign up to Degustabox after clicking. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the product featured was purchased with my own money or provided free of charge. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog! 

Alternative to UD Naked Basics: My DIY Matte Eyeshadow Palette

Oh, the inner turmoil and third-guessing yourself when deciding whether to pull a trigger on another neutral eyeshadow palette... Remember my hesitation over the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette? In the end, I didn't buy it. In fact, apart from the Limited Edition Rouge Bunny Rouge quint, I haven't bought another eyeshadow palette this year, the main reason being that I really, really want to avoid getting repeat shades I may already have as singles or in other compacts. So, I decided to bypass the whole palette issue by way of my handy dandy small Z Palette, and put together my own perfect matte eyeshadow set. Wanna see what's inside?

What we have here is a mix of drugstore, mid-end brands and one lonely MAC eyeshadow in Embark, a warm dark brown. The two largest rectangular pans are Inglot, which makes one of my all time favorite matte eyeshadow formulas - here's another post with other shades and swatches, but I reach for no. 337 and no. 344 the most. Conversely, my least favorite (and second to most expensive) matte formula in this palette is the MAC eyeshadow - I don't know what happened to my Embark, but it's rock hard, patchy and poorly pigmented. I thought that maybe it formed that hard layer on the surface like some older powders sometimes do (although it's been barely used and always stored in a MAC palette), so I tried to scratch it off, but it's pretty much the same underneath. What gives? I'll experiment with it a bit more but if I can't find a way to work with this texture, it's probably going to go in the trash.

The three smaller rectangular pans come from my new drugstore acquisition, the Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eye Shadow Quad in Canyon Classics - I think I paid about $8 for it on Amazon. I bought it precisely with the thought of depotting it into the Z Palette, and while that process wasn't entirely pleasant (see the damage from a pin in the corners? Yeah, spare yourself the trouble and just melt the plastic underneath straight away), I'm very happy with these shadows.

They may not be as creamy or opaque as Inglot, but they're still very, very good for an inexpensive, widely available option. I'm sorry I forgot to include swatches of these, they do however swatch true to pan, and yes, these two medium warm browns are very, very similar indeed - I wish they included something a bit different. Overall, it's a great neutral medium-depth quad that should suit a variety of skintones, and the ivory shade is even light enough to show up on my fair skin.

You may recognize the other, slightly deeper and more yellow ivory eyeshadow in the round pan from my Project Make A Dent - it's an Annabelle Eyeshadow in Vanilla Chilla. I'm a bit over it and actually, the Physicians Formula is way nicer both texture and shade-wise, but I'm still working on it! The last round pan is another new discovery, a Red Apple Lipstick Mineral Eyeshadow in Clean Slate* ($18.75 for 0.055 oz/ 1.5 g), a medium matte grey leaning purple.

Red Apple Lipstick eyeshadows are gluten-free, paraben-free and vegan, can be used both wet and dry, and already come in a single pan form to save you the trouble of depotting. You can also purchase their two eyeshadow compact called Twosie separately, and they also have small Z-Palettes with their own cute apple pattern available as well. I wasn't really expecting a whole lot from Clean Slate, assuming that lipstick was probably the star of the Red Apple Lipstick product line, but boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

Red Apple Lipstick Mineral Eyeshadow in Clean Slate definitely rivals my favorite Inglot mattes. It's incredibly smooth, buttery and beautifully pigmented, and blends like a dream - but doesn't blend into oblivion like some mattes are wont to do. It does have quite a bit of powder kick-up in the pan, just like the Inglot mattes, but that's probably the only downside to the formula (well, not really. I don't even mind it that much). It looks beautiful on the eyes and wears all day over eyeshadow primer. Yeah, I don't think I'll be buying any more MAC mattes any time in the future; give me Red Apple Lipstick's shadows over MAC any day. You can also catch RAL on their Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram if you have any questions or like silent stalking like me.

L-R: Annabelle Vanilla Chilla, MAC Embark, Red Apple Lipstick Clean Slate, Inglot 344, Inglot 337, Too Faced Velvet Revolver

The last tiny pan in there that's super similar to one of the Canyon Classics shades is Too Faced Velvet Revolver, possibly my favorite shade depotted from the Natural Eye palette. I'm very happy with my Do It Yourself (more like Assemble it Yourself) matte eyeshadow palette, and I think it's an incredibly useful thing to keep on hand when you need some basic neutrals to create a complete eye look. A lot of smaller eyeshadow compacts (duos/ trios/ quads/ quints) often lack these basic highlighting and transitioning shades, so a staple little palette like this is indispensable for everyday usage.

What are your favorite neutral matte eyeshadows you reach for over and over again? Do you have a premade palette, keep your depotted shadows in a freeform palette, or do you use singles? I'd love to know!

Disclaimer: The product marked with an asterix (*) is a press sample I received from Red Apple Lipstick for review consideration. I purchased all the other eyeshadows myself. All links are non-affiliate. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as free press samples. Thank you for reading!

Three Easy Radiant Orchid Nail Art Ideas for Spring

I realize what you may be thinking right now - me and nail art?! But you know, sometimes it is fun to whip out some nail polishes you've had in your collection for a while and combine them into something completely new and different. I'm a total neub when it comes to nail designs, so if I can have a go at these spring-appropriate looks, I'm sure everyone can too; there are minimal tools required, and it's all rather on trend with the Radiant Orchid color theme. Can you tell how proud I am of myself? I am trendy, you guys.

1. Tonal Lavender Gradient with Zoya Julie & Hudson
This was my second time dabbling with a sponge ombre, and I've decided to use two shimmery lilac/lavender shades from Zoya for a subtle tonal gradient. I applied two coats of Julie on my nails, allowed them to dry well, and then dabbed with a sponge painted with a stripe of Hudson (to about 1/3 of my nail length) and a thicker stripe of Julie - I repeated this twice for more coverage. I absolutely loved this look: the ombre effect was delicate but still visible, and I enjoyed the more pronounced warm shimmer running through Hudson.

2. Rose Gold Triangle Accents with China Glaze That's Shore Bright & Champagne Kisses
For these glitter accents, I painted two coats of China Glaze's That's Shore Bright for my base color,  then blocked off the shape of my slim triangles with strips of scotch tape, layered on Champagne Kisses in the triangle area and removed the strips immediately before the polish had a chance to dry. Once I had all the triangles in place, I hand painted more glitter on for greater opacity. I felt that this design was the most interesting texturally: a slightly matte finish of the neon purple played off the sandy grittiness of rose gold glitter rather well (I skipped a top coat to preserve the original finish of these polishes).

3. Easter Egg Polka Dots with Essie Splash of Grenadine & Van D'Go
Happy Easter, my dears! Every year I like to sport a festive manicure for Easter, usually using some fun spring pastel shades. This time I went for a cheerful pastel polka dot look, using two coats of Essie's Splash of Grenadine as a base, and stamping on Van D'Go with a bamboo skewer (I'm not fancy enough to own a set of dotting tools... but I just might one day!). I think this speckled egg 'dotticure' is just perfect for Easter, and I can't wait to play around with other color combinations!

I hope you enjoyed these nail art ideas! It was definitely a lot of fun for me to push myself and experiment with something I'm usually too lazy to go for. Are you into nail designs or do you prefer simpler manicures? Would you try any of these looks yourself?

Food Friday: Tricolor Roasted Veggie Pasta

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, and we all know that sometimes food has priority over make-up; especially on one of those windy, drizzly, greyish evenings when you just want to curl under a blanket with a good book, which is mostly what I do come November.

I'm pretty sure most of you have seen/eaten something similar before, but it's sometimes nice to be reminded of a classic, no?


Tricolor Roasted Veggie Pasta (for 1)

1 1/2 cup tricolor pasta (I used fusilli)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 cup diced butternut squash
1 garlic clove
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
feta cheese (as much as you want)
salt and pepper

1. Grease a ceramic baking dish with olive oil and spread the veggies evenly. You can use either fresh or frozen veg, anything you have, really. Drizzle some oil on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, paprika, oregano and a finely chopped/ minced garlic clove. Cover the dish with aluminium foil.

2. Pop in the oven at 350F for 20-25 minutes covered with foil, then remove the cover and roast for 10-15 more minutes.

3. In the meantime, bring water in a medium sized pan to a boil and cook your pasta.

4. Drain the pasta and put it in a bowl. Take the veggies out of the oven (careful!) and put on top of the pasta. Drizzle the dish with the olive oil left over from roasting the veg. Sprinkle liberally with feta. Voila!

Very Mediterranean and summery, I loved the burst of color and the garlicky taste; oh, and did you know that garlic helps to strengthen your immune system?

What's your favorite comfort food for the cold season?

Vegan Blueberry Chocolate Cake

I figured it'd be nice to start August with something scrumptious...


Here's the Blueberry Chocolate Cake I made for the weekend, following Angela's recipe (check out her blog, Oh She Glows, for some amazing vegan recipes!), and I have to say, and I'm writing it on Monday, that between me and my husband we have managed to polish it off entirely in those two days. We went on a hike on Saturday which was quite an exhausting climb to the top, and Mr kept turning to me, flashing a big grin and saying 'There's Chocolate Cake waiting at home! My Chocolate Cake!', and he's not even a fan of desserts. I think you couldn't get a better recommendation.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• Chocolate glaze (1/2 cup dark chocolate chips + 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted in micro for 30 seconds or so)
• Blueberries, for garnish
• Unsweet. shredded coconut, for garnish

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mix spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, chia (or flax), and sea salt. Set aside. In a blender, combine water, 1/2 cup blueberries, and balsamic vinegar and blend until smooth, for about 60 seconds. Add the maple syrup and the blueberry mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until completely mixed, being careful not to overmix. Pour into an oiled 9-inch round cake pan. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes. Prepare the chocolate glaze by taking a small bowl and adding the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Heat in micro on high for about 30 seconds. Stir to get all the clumps out and immediately pour onto cake, spreading evenly with a spoon. Top with blueberries and coconut.

(recipe taken from Oh She Glows)

I subbed half of the maple syrup with 4 table spoons of icing sugar, and sprinkled icing sugar instead of coconut on top - I waited however for the glaze to set in the fridge beforehand, otherwise the sugar would've just melted into chocolate, and I like the contrast between the dark chocolate and snowy sugar. I also added a table spoon of roasted carob powder to the dry mixture, just for the heck of it.

It's very quick and easy and if you like dense, chocolatey, not-too-sweet cakes, you'll love this one. We've become very fond of vegan cake in the house; for the past two weeks I've also been trying different muffin recipes, and they make a great mid-morning/ mid-afternoon snack, nutritious, delicious and portable.

What have you been baking lately? xxx

Sunday lunch: Vegetable tarte

This week's been all rainy and gloomy here, but we did get some sunshine last weekend. I was reading voraciously Peter Mayle's "One Year in Provence" then (loved it!) and after drooling over the French cuisine in the book, I decided to prepare something delicious and summery for myself :) Here's the vegetable tarte I came up with:


Here's how to make it:

Ingredients:
150 grams flour
100 grams unsalted butter
a bit of cold water
400 grams assorted vegetables (I used carrots, cauliflower and broccoli)
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
herbs and spices


Mix flour, butter, a pinch of salt and (if needed) a tad of cold water together and put the finished dough in the fridge for 30 mins. Once cooled, spread it on the bottom of a baking tin, make little marks with a fork to prevent it from rising, and pop it into oven preheated to 200 celsius until it becomes golden. In the meanwhile, steam the veggies and prepare the sauce by whisking an egg with cream and adding your favorite spices (I added some oregano, powdered garlic, salt and pepper).


When the tarte is ready, put the vegetables on top, pour the sauce over them and pop into oven for additional 20-30 minutes; the sauce should become solid and golden on top and the veggies cook a bit more. A table!

I love all sorts of tartes, both with fruit for dessert and with veg for lunch. Give them a whirl, they're almost fool-proof and sooo tasty! What's your favorite recipe at the moment? xxx

DIY Spot Treatment

Regularly, I suffer from a particularly nasty spot that takes weeks to heal. I've tried tons of different spot treatments, including those containing salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, as well as more natural alternatives such as tea tree oil. Honestly, none of them made a huge difference and DEFINITELY they didn't make my blemishes vanish overnight. Let's face it: there is no product on the face of the earth that could do that. Cosmetics are mostly a mix of chemical substances, not a magic potion.

Anyway, I'm rambling... Recently I was affected by an especially dramatic outburst, and instead of tearing my hair in despair I decided to try dabbing some aspirin on it. The logic behind it is that aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid or ASA) and salicylic acid (or willow bark extract) are both beta-hydroxy acids (BHA) which can penetrate and clear out a clogged pore. They're both oil soluble, so they work best for treating acne, whereas AHAs such as glycolic acid are water soluble and work better for healing scars and diminishing dark spots or wrinkles. I used aspirin as an exfoliator before, but found the granules too harsh for my sensitive skin.

Here's what I did:
1. First, I put half a tablet into a lid and poured 2 drops of tonic (I used Garnier for sensitive skin, but you could also use water or a facial spray) on it and left it to dissolve.


2. I smashed the now soft tablet and added some Burt's Bees Hand Salve; you could use any thick cream that doesn't break you out. The Burt's Bees salve is a universal cure for me, despite the name, it works best on my lips, and is a 100% natural product containing vitamin E, rosemary oil & leaf extract, eucalyptus oil and other great ingredients.


3. I mixed everything together using a clean knife. The amount I got will be enough for at least 10 uses. I put the lid back on the pot it belonged to so that the cream doesn't dry.


The pros of using this aspirin treatment instead of water-based cream is that it stays put on your face and, I think, doesn't dry the skin out as much. I've noticed that my DIY solution brings all the nastiness to the surface and helps clear out those poor clogged pores. It also brings the inflammation down and speeds up the healing process. The downside is that I look like a madwoman when I have it on... Oh well.

Hope it helped some of you, my lovelies, and have a relaxing Sunday evening :) xxx

Storage Tip: Lush Pot Pourri

Certainly the idea of using Lush as a wardrobe perfume isn't very new, but here are my 2 cents on how you could do it. Basically, I decided to make a small string bag from some checkered fabric leftovers and red velvet ribbon I had laying around in the house. Then I popped my Lush 'Waving not drowning' bath bomb inside and buried it in my wardrobe for ylang-ylang smelling clothes. Simples!


The sewing project took me maybe 30 minutes and I was hand stitching it, so with a sewing machine it's probably a 10 minute job. First I just folded and stitched one end of the fabric to weave ribbon through later, folded the piece in half and stitched around 2 edges. Then I turned it inside out, weaved the ribbon into the fold using the old safety pin method (you attach a safety pin to one end of your lace/ribbon/string which makes it much easier to push through the fabric), worked on the little wholes at the ribbon's ends by folding the fabric inside and stitching around. Voila!


Here's the little baggy cosily wrapped up in my scarves. From now on they'll be smelling divine! The bag would also be handy for soaps or bubble bars, but I wouldn't recommend it for neither massage bars (too greasy) nor sugar scrubs (far too messy).


I'm planning on buying some more exciting fabrics and making more of those little bags. They''ll be great as unique reusable gift bags for b-days or Christmas. What do you think?

pot pourri - lit. 'rotten pot'. Originally meant "mixed meats served in a stew", the modern meaning of "mixture of dried flowers and spices" only appeared in the 18th century. The other meaning is that of "miscellaneous collection". From Online Etymology Dictionary.

Weekend Arts & Crafts

I'm still hooked on little crafts projects inspired by beautiful creations found on Etsy. Making my own things and this time of year also remind me of my early teens when I didn't have enough money to buy everyone in the family a Christmas gift, so I made them myself; I used to decorate glass with special paints, embroidered little pictures, made jewellery boxes of papier-mache and even made my own wrapping paper! Most of these handmade gifts were far from perfect, but I remember being so proud and happy to have something to give!

Anyway, I moved from beading to sewing this weekend and made this zipper rose brooch today.

I saw one of those on Etsy and decided to make my own. I don't know what method was used to make it originally, but mine is not very complicated and anyone could do it. All you need to make one is a 40 cm zipper with silver rim (I don't know how to call those silver thingies, in Polish I'd say a zipper has 'little teeth'... how's that in English?), a matching color thread, a needle, a brooch pin and some spare time, of course.

This is how it looks from the back...

You can pin it anywhere you like, I think it would look fabulous on a handbag or scarf as well. The flower is quite flexible and the shape of it can be changed to suit the purpose. This navy blue one looks great with darker jeans and a bright top, as in this photo:

Still on the subject of sewing, yesterday I decided to pimp my beloved iPod. I carry my music everywhere with me, often in a purse full of clatter, so I thought I could make a cozy pouch for it so that it won't get any more scratches than it already has.

I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but I like the contrast between red flannel lining inside and polka dot cotton fabric outside. You can't really see the proportions of it in those photos, but the pouch is so dainty!

How have you spent your weekend? xxx

My latest obsession

Yes, it's confession time again, but don't worry, it's nothing embarassing... I'm having a huge crush on Etsy lately, and all this browsing through their listings and admiring the beautiful objects exibited has got me not only to spend some pennies on beautiful jewellery (but I'll post about that once it arrives), but also to get creative myself.

Today I had a day off, so I whipped out my beading box, and made this spiral bracelet.

It's made of light pink, lilac and deep purple glass beads in two different sizes and closes with a silvertone toggle clasp. Unfortunately, artificial light doesn't do its colors justice, they're much more vibrant in day light. The bigger light pink beads have an interesting opalescent effect, making them sparkle with gold, pink, blue and green under different angles. I thought of maybe making matching earrings, but decided they might actually be too heavy to wear.

So, what is your obsession this week? xxx

Seating arrangement

Just a quick post to share with you what I've been working on all day - and I have seriously enough of printing, cutting out and gluing on.

You could probably order something prettier in a printing house, but I decided I prefer to save some money and do it myself. The 'frames' are made of special paper I bought in artists' supplies store and this color is called 'Cinnamon'. Speaking of colors named after food, the font's color on the cards for the tables is called 'Chocolate'. I'm sold.

My fiance arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to see him again. Hope you're all having a fantastic evening, ladies, and something nice is awaiting you tomorrow as well :) xxx

Little something for my girlies

Today is my surprise hen's party. The only thing I know is that I have to be ready to leave the house at 3.30 pm, eat my lunch before that and preferably wear a white bra.

But my girlies are wrong thinking they're the only ones having secrets :) I prepared surpise gifts for them and this is how they look like:

I bought these heart-shaped boxes in a dollar store in Vancouver and filled them with Rafaello pralines, heart-shaped bath bombs and candles in a form of an angel (photo below):

Then I printed little cards saying 'Monika's hen's night', the date and 'Thank you girlies!' on a special pearlescent paper. I used a fabulous font I found online called Covent Garden, I really like the retro feel of it:

I cut the cards out and attached them to the boxes using a double sided tape. Voila!

I had a lot of fun making these, quite relaxing indeed compared to some other wedding-related activities. How do you like my little surpise boxes?

Beady Friday

Remember the post I wrote about my trip to Granville Island? I know it was months ago, but I finally made some progress in my beading projects and wanted to show you the results.

So I got some glass beads from the specialist shop (veeery expensive!) on the island and some simple, smallest bead mixes from my local dollar store. I chose two color themes, teal and lilac. I first worked on the teal necklace, it was actually featured in my Mucha inspired make-up photos. It's more or less 3 meters long and I just wrap it around my neck.

And this morning I made this lilac necklace. It's made of 5 strings of small pink, lilac and violet beads interlaced with bigger lilac glass beads.

I still have lots of beads left from these two projects and I am thinking of doing some more jewellery with these. I already have one idea for a bracelet using the lilac combo, but nothing for the teal. Any suggestions, my creative bloggettes?