Thrifty Thursday: Beauty Products

Almond oil is a miracle product. It smells good and can be used a bunch of different ways. When you’re self-employed, multi-functional items are oh so important. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper than most beauty products. When you factor in the environmental costs of using chemicals and plastic tubs versus all-natural almond oil, it comes out the clear winner. Here are some recipes for home-made beauty products using almond oil.

Almond Sugar Scrub:

Put one-third of a cup of sugar in a bowl. Pour almond oil over the sugar, mixing together. In the shower, scoop some out and rub it on your skin. Presto - exfoliating, moisturizing body scrub. You can do the same thing with salt, if that's what you have.

Almond Mint Shampoo:

Fill a clean jar with a half cup of castile soap (Dr. Bronner's is the most famous, available at Kroger, Publix, and other fine grocers; and Trader Joe's makes a store version). Add a tablespoon of almond oil. Sprinkle in a few drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake like hell. Voila, shampoo. The peppermint adds a cooling tingle and refreshing scent, which makes this shampoo my favorite for the sweltering summer heat. Feel free to leave out the mint or substitute another essential oil for a different fragrance.

Bath Oil:

Pour some almond oil into your bath for a moisturizing dip. You can also put it directly on your skin as a moisturizer, which I usually do in the shower during the winter.

Deep Conditioning Treatment:

Wet your hair but don't wash it. Squeeze out all of the excess water, and pull hair back in a bun or ponytail (or comb back short hair). Starting at the hairline, massage a small amount of almond oil at a time into your scalp, covering the whole head. Then, pour a teaspoon or so into your hands and rub them together. Smooth your oil-covered hands over your hair, paying particular attention to the ends. Wrap in a scarf or towel, and let sit for at least two hours and preferably overnight.

Caution: Keep almond oil in the refrigerator.

Photo by Rune T

Thrifty Thursday: Four Ways to Avoid Spoiled Vacation Food

S and I are headed to points north for a week, and we want to make sure none of our hard-won (some by purchasing, some by being the last people to leave the camp site) food goes to waste. We have devised some fool-proof ways to make sure that doesn't happen.

Way One: Eat it before you leave. We had leftover steak, ground beef, and assorted vegetables. We ate cheese steaks with onions and peppers on day one; ground beef nachos with tomatoes and lettuce on day two; and cheese-steak-nacho-casserole-surprise on day three. Delish.

Way Two: Freeze it. Duh, right? But did you know that you can freeze cheese and cheesecake? About the only thing you can't freeze is sour cream.

Way Three: Cook it down. We have six pears that are getting the Fruit Rescue treatment as we speak. We will then apply Way One (see above).

Way Four: Grind it up. Vegetables that would be weird to freeze, such as asparagus, are fine if you puree them first. Save the puree to make soup or sauce later.

Presto - more food for your belly and less for the compost bin.

Rhythm of the Neighborhood

My office is really hot in the morning, and I face a window through which streams the bright morning sun. The woman across the street is running an informal (illegal?) daycare business. At regular intervals, her customers appear to drop off and pick up little children. Every time she sees me observing this, she glances furtively around and throws me a shy little wave.
There is an elderly lady who walks slowly from her house to the bus stop at odd times. I’m not sure where she’s going. She doesn’t seem to be gone very long. I feel like she is too old to have a job, but I can’t imagine what else would have her taking these small, shuffle-y steps up and down the street in the hot sun.
Our neighbors in the two houses across the street from us are defensively picking the wild blackberries that grow on the edges of their yards, to keep me away from them. Fine by me – I’ve found a huge patch a few streets over that no one pays attention to, anyway. It’s in between two vacant houses that have been for sale for months. I guess the owners can’t get the yard cleaned up.
The mail gets delivered mid-morning during the week and late afternoon on the weekends. I’m wondering if the mail carrier likes to sleep in on Saturdays. I’m always excited when the mail comes these days, and I love putting up the flag when I have some outgoing mail, which is a lot more often than it used to be.
An older man walks a long distance, past our house and down our street and down another street. He is always dressed in white, but it doesn’t look like a uniform. I see him day and night making this treck. Once, our dog chased him down the street at 2am. I can’t figure out what he’s doing, but I know it isn’t something fun. His walk is slow and measured, and he carries a bag that looks really heavy. His back is bent over as he makes his way deliberately up the hills of the streets around my house.
When we walk in the morning, I see the unwanted items people set out on the sidewalk for the trash or trash-picking neighbors. Even when it’s something I don’t want, I find myself itching to take it. I guess some people aren’t feeling the recession as much as others. Or maybe they just don’t know how not to consume – maybe they have to unlearn the idea that everything they have can and should be replaced on a regular basis. I know that I have only recently stopped feeling the overwhelming urge to buy things to fill up the rooms in my house. I started feeling more full when I started working for myself, stopped needing to fill the spaces with the rewards of commerce. I think I’m full from drinking in the rhythm of the people working on my street, these people trying to make their way.

Thrifty Thursday: Fruit Rescue

I feel so guilty when fruit goes bad. Like, how is it even possible that delicious organic and/or locally-grown fruit that costs a million dollars but is totally worth it is allowed to get mushy and gross? How could I be such an a-hole?
But wait! Stop hating yourself! You can save that fruit!!!
Here's what you do:
Take your spoiling fruit and peel/pit/de-stem/etc. it.
Put it in a saucepan on medium heat.
Squeeze in some lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit - whatever you have. If you don't have fresh citrus, try some juice. If you don't have juice, seriously, you may want to consider vitamin. But you can use a little white wine or champagne or even Sprite or gingerale, you scurvy-ridden drunkard.
Add a little sugar or agave syrup if you want. You don't have to. Be sparing because it will be good without much sweetener.
Stir a bunch until it looks and smells good. Pour over ice cream or spread on toast. Or just eat with a spoon.
Presto - fruit rescue!
PS - Not a good plan for bananas.

Memory Lane Monday: High Waters

In 1999, I moved to Colorado with my then-boyfriend (and now husband) S. He had been to Denver on vacation and really wanted to move there. I had never been anywhere but really wanted to be with him. Thus: a cross-country journey in the bitch seat of a giant moving truck, pulling two cats in a Kia Sephia.

As we were loading up into the cab to depart, S asked me how much money I had saved up. I said, "$400." He started to cry. Not really, but he was horrified and shocked that I barely had enough to cover the gas. He, meanwhile, had sold his car and done all manner of other things to gather up cash. All of this to say that I was broke as a joke.

As soon as we got to Denver, I started looking for a job and did cater-waiter gigs while I interviewed. I lucked into a director-level position at a modest hotel and swiftly jumped into career-girl mode, pulling together business-appropriate outfits from my 24-year-old's wardrobe of low-cut tops and clearance rack slacks. I had a couple of suits, but I also had a couple of pissed-off cats who had spent a great deal of our first weeks in Denver rolling on and/or peeing on my nicest clothes. As we didn't have the money for dry-cleaning (see $400, above), I decided to hand-wash the soiled garments in the bathtub to prepare them for a day at the office. I soaked and scrubbed and hung up to dry one of my favorites - a navy blue Liz Claiborne pants suit that I thought was the absolute height of sophistication. Said pants suit was cut perfectly and just the right length for my 5'1" self.

Once dry, I proudly donned my fancy suit and went to the office. It felt a little snug, but maybe I just needed to cut back on the M&Ms or something. When I caught my co-workers snickering behind my back, I thought I might need to cut out M&Ms and french fries.

I should probably mention that we didn't have a full-length mirror at this time. I should also mention that the suit was made of linen. So, in my desire to save the $10 dry-cleaning charge, I had created pants just slightly longer than capris, leaving my ankles in full view. As I prepared to leave for the day, someone said, "I hope everything's OK at home." I replied, "What do you mean?" He answered, "I hope the flood is over," and everyone fell all over themselves dying with laughter at my pathetic high-waters. Needless to say, I've never worn Liz Claiborne again.

Thrifty Thursday: Recycle to Save Money

When you are self-employed, you are poor. Whether or not you have money in the bank, you have to live like a hobo, because there's no telling if you'll get a check between now and Christmas. If you, like me, have a healthy methamshopamine habit, you'll understand my almost involuntary desire for something new. [Note: much of my "something new" for the last few months came from thrift stores, so please, no anti-consumerist ranting - don't think I've been out shaking down Saks.] Lucky for us both, the recovery process for this addiction can be completed in three steps, rather than twelve.

Step One: Cut Some Sh*t Up

Take an old dress. Cut off the too-tight bodice. Revel in your new strapless dress/skirt.

Step Two: Ghetto-Rig Your Broken Jewelry

Get some thin wire. Wrap it around the broken parts. Hide said broken parts under your hair. Slap on a gaudy pin. Presto: one-of-a-kind bauble delight.

Step Three: Glorify an Old Mess

Take an ugly old blazer that miraculously still fits you. Conceive of a design in your mind's eye, and begin to create it with safety pins. Realize that you are pinning a different design; adjust accordingly. Run out of safety pins. Hope for the best.

Ways to Save Money

OK, I quit my job, I'm starting a business, and I can sort of foresee a life of Ramen noodles and Colt 45. Well, I'm nothing if not organized, so I put together a list of ways to save money.

1. Change type of checking account to cheap one to get rid of fee.
2. Cancel Netflix.
3. Reduce temp on water heater to two-thirds.
4. Raise deductible on insurance.
5. Cancel long distance on home phone.
6. Use up all food and supplies we have.
7. Get library cards.
8. Sell clothes at consignment store.
9. Sell crap on eBay.
10. Get clothes altered instead of any new outfits.
11. Groceries only every two weeks and make a meal plan we stick to!
12. No more Starbucks. :(
13. Mo more wine. No drinking on weekdays.
14. Cash in our change jars.
15. Bake dog treats/dog food.
16. Make some gifts and cards.
17. Less heat, more blankets.
18. Turn off lights and unplug appliances.
19. Turn off computer monitor.
20. Cancel weird $12.95 thing on credit card.
21. Buy one last batch of cheap wine with coupon.
22. Ask friends to do potluck actovities.
23. Ask family to lower expectations.
24. Weatherstrip doors.
25. Don't throw away food - eat leftovers.
26. Line dry clothes.
27. Water down liquid soaps and shampoo.
28. Bring a flask when appropriate.
29. Don't eat out.
30. Steal gas from rich people.
31. Sell eggs/sperm to poor gay couple.
32. Cash Amex points for groceries.
33. Eat Oodles of Noodles Mon-Fri.
34. Pimp dog out for puppies and sell puppies.
35. Chop down trees in woods and sell as Christmas trees.
36. Drink vanilla and other extracts.
37. Dye old clothes.

Hmm. Cross your fingers that my client meeting in the morning is successful.