The Stinky Conclusion of another 30 Day Challenge

After a month of wearing nothing but homemade deodorant, I have come to the conclusion that it works just as well has the toxic store bought stuff.  It lacks a bit in the convenience department, as most homemade things do, but overall I think it worked out pretty well.  Some recipe refining is necessary to make it less climate sensitive so traveling with it won't be a problem.  It would be nice to know what makes it so damn itchy, as well.  Adam is planning on switching once his store bought stuff is gone.  I will keep the leftovers of my store bought stick for traveling (which being a hermit limits that considerably) and use the homemade stuff the rest of the time.

I am a poo-free, homemade deodorant wearing, clothes-lining, homemade laundry soap using hippie!  

LIFE IS GOOD! 

Mel Smells 3 Week Update

For the last two years, Adam and I have gone on a long weekend camping trip (click the link to see my post about last years trip) to celebrate his birthday.  That's what we did last weekend.  Three glorious days and nights in grungy hippie splendor.  Imagine my excitement to be able to bring along a completely chemical-free earth-friendly deodorant!  

Mel Smells 2 week update

Every time I transition from a store bought version of something to a homemade version of something there is always a period of missing the convenience of the ready-made stuff.  That's pretty much the story with these first two weeks of using my homemade deodorant.

A Happy Hippie Weekend--Fall Garden 2013

We moved into our new home 37 days ago.  I can't believe it's only been just over a month! We have accomplished so much that we've wanted to get done to the place.  The part that we couldn't seem to find time for was the outdoor stuff.  In my move-in post, I posted a picture of the almost completed compost.  That was as far as we got until this weekend.  

Mel Smells: Another 30 Day Challenge

If you've been following me since I started this blog, you know I started the journey of No Poo in June of 2012.  After the initial transition period I have never looked back.  I haven't needed to adjust my formula but I've noticed a change in my hair since we've moved to the new house.  We have well water here, instead of the chlorinated city water my white-girl-Afro has grown accustom to.  Because of that, I've noticed that I don't have to wash my hair as often.  Previously, I was No Pooing three days a week and now I'm down to two.  The well water seems to make my hair drier and more prone to snarls.  Having tangles is a new concept for me because I've always been able to run my fingers through my hair without a problem.  Now, when I comb my hair out in the shower I struggle, even with a wide tooth comb.  I have no idea why well water would cause this, but it's the only explanation I can find.

Green Crafting without having to spend too much $green$

I'm a huge list maker.  My memory isn't great, so I feel a lot less stressed when I have everything written down so I won't forget something I really need, or really want to do.  That being said, I have long since transitioned from post-its and note pads to this awesome iphone app called Paperless.  I started out with the free version and then finally bought the real version so I could have more listing capabilities.  As we speak, I have 8 separate lists going.  One of them is affectionately called the "Someday" list, and until recently I had two craft projects on there that I was just dying to do.  Because of the month-long limbo of moving, subsequently unpacking, and settling in I just now got a chance to sit down and focus on my beloved crafts.

Introducing the NEW Happy Hippie Homestead!

The biggest obstacle I've found in this whole blogging process is finding the time to write about the things I'm passionate about, when I'm really feeling passionate about them.  That and remembering to take photographs to go along with my future blog posts.  This post is a perfect example of me trying to post chronologically even though I have two other posts I'm feeling more passionate about right at this moment.

Anywhooooo...

We have moved!  

A mostly photographic post by a hippie in limbo

Adam and I have been on the verge of a momentous change for the last few weeks.  Living in limbo is no fun at all and my psyche is getting frayed around the edges under the strain.  I will post about it, in a less cryptic fashion, as soon as the ink is dry.

In an attempt to distract myself, I have decided a blog post is in order.  

< A Peck of Pickled Peppers

Before the evil white flies annihilated our jalapeno bushes, we harvested quite a few peppers.  If you've never tried them, fresh jalapenos are HOT. Really HOT.  I like the flavor of them, but don't enjoy pain (while eating at least). My favorite way to eat them is pickled.  You can put them on nachos, tacos, or even pizza like we did in my last post.  With the yield from our bushes I was able to make two jars of pickled peppers.

This idiot's guide to pizza dough

I have a confession to make:

I am flour impaired.  

I'm not too proud to admit it.  

Dining room upgrade: upcycling project from hell

When Adam and I moved in together I brought all the furniture.  He contributed a BBQ grill and a TV and that's about it.  Everything else was mine.  I was living in a one bedroom apartment before we started renting this house so you can imagine that my four-seater bar top table from Walmart wasn't exactly a functional item.  

Wigglers and Squigglers update

One of my first posts was about indoor worm composting.  Adam and I lovingly researched and constructed our own worm compost bin.  Everything went well for about 2 months and then tragedy struck.

Barfday Blogging

I would like to start out by saying thanks to all the well wishes on my birthday (and during my pre-birthday weekend).  I appreciate every single person who took time out of their day to contact me and especially those who ran out and bought me amazon gift cards to support my kindle habit.  Oh wait, no one did that? Eh, maybe next year! ;) Kidding.  Anyway, it allowed me to get in touch with people I haven't spoken to in a while.  

It's that time of year again...

You know the one I mean...

The time when the days get longer, the flowers bloom, the bugs come out in full force, and the scorching heat and instant sweat producing humidity start again.

Oh, and that damn birthday monster rears it's goofy-hat-wearing, noise-making, balloon toting head.  Ugh.  Two weeks and then I can forget it exists for another year.  Anyone else want to sleep through their birthday?  

Christmas Bounty

I haven't been sitting idle between posts, I promise.  Christmas (I know that was months ago!) was an amazingly prosperous one and I received so many awesome and useful gifts.  Let's see.... I got a soap making starter kit, a pressure cooker along with various other canning implements, a ninja food processor, and a food dehydrator.  I am going to focus on the dehydrator in this post.