Heart List 3 ~ 11 ~ 2012

Marina & the Diamonds, Driving With The Windows Down, Minnetonka Moccasins, Downton Abbey! (there'll be more on this Tuesday) 

George Clooney (you deserved the oscar), Bowties (Menswear in general!), Buffalo Springfield, War Horse (the play Not the movie),  Bellinis, Snail Mail

  The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Folk Music in the Morning, Coconut Records, Graham Crackers, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Spring Clothing Sales

Hope you like these! This week is particularly heart-strong for me!

Web Love

I have had a ton of fun findings online this week, and am on overload of cool stuff to share with you guys! So today's free day is a bunch of neato things to try, eat, make, wear, learn & more! Enjoy!!!


*Need Inspiration?*
Piccsy is a great site that contains tons of beautiful and awesome viewer submitted photos. You can scroll through rad shots and get inspired or put a smile on your face. Get more involved by picking your favorites and sharing!

*Mug Cakes*

Cakes. In Mugs. In Minutes. What more need I say?! This list includes everything from pumpkin cake to nutella cake to cookie dough to even a gluten-free recipe! Check it out! ~disclaimer: I haven't tried these myself yet, so if they don't turn out sorry!

*Amazing Ideas*

I stumbled across this list the other day on a blog called "destination unknown." It is 25 helpful ideas for everything from organizing to hostessing to crafts to food and more! It's a little hit & miss, but the cool ones are really neat! I especially loved #23, a memory jar!

*Punch Fork*

This tasty recipe site gathers up all the top rated and top discussed recipes from all over the internet. It collects the best new recipes from major popular food sites and the favored menu items from various social networking sites.

*Beauty Tips*

This website, The Beauty Department, is a cute site that has a bunch of different beauty tips and ideas. Pay particular attention to the tutorial section, and more specifically mani Mondays! So many cute nail tips and ideas!

*I heart Organizing*

This cute and helpful blog is STUFFED with tips on every kind of organization, ways to spruce up the home, fun projects and more! It veers towards being a little family oriented, but has super helpful stuff for anyone interested!

*Fashion Pairings*

This website, Polyvore, takes really cool outfit pairings from all over and tells readers where they can find them! My personal favorite was the section on which Mad Men girl are you? - Find where to get your favorite Betty, Joan or Peggy outfits!

*Drink (and eat) Up!*

I found this website called Serious Eats and it's got a lot of neat stuff, specifically recipes and a bunch of reviews and articles about different eateries across the country. My favorite section is the one on drinks with everything from beer guides to coffee info to a recipe for a delicious jalapeno martini!

*Find New Jams!*!

Gnoosic is a website that helps you find new music you don't know about! By typing in some of your favorite artists, and going through a screening process of likes and dislikes, the site helps you discover new music that you're bound to like! Woo! If that weren't cool enough, it also generates recommendations for books and movies!

*Photo of the Day*

Every day, the Daily Beast has a photo of the day, which is always pretty cool and interesting. I usually look every couple weeks and catch up on a bunch of daily shots. The Daily Beast is also a really fabulous news source!

*Fit Cook*

The Fit Cook, a fabulous blog about making tasty healthy things is fantastic for anyone looking for good and good-for-you meals and snacks! SO many great tips and recipes, and so accessible and easy! Author Luisana Suegart's writing is warm and welcoming, and makes cooking sound fun while understanding the struggle to stay slim! I highly recommend it!

*Thinking Of You*

You've probably seen these funny ecards all over facebook and other places, but they're so much fun I had to check them out. Tell someone you're thinking of them or send a hello with one of these fun, illustrated, cheeky cards!

Whew! Hopefully you find some of these fun or helpful! I know I've certainly been enjoying them!

How To Make Your Own Hair Products (plus a bonus!)

If you're like me, and/or your hair is anything like mine, you are always looking for new great stuff to use on your hair. Today's how-to will teach you how to make a couple super easy, super healthy products for your hair at home! 

Coconut Milk Shampoo

This at-home shampoo satisfies what, to me, are all the essential components of a shampoo: it smells delicious, it creates a lot of lather, and it leaves your hair super soft and less frizzy!

What You Need:
-1/4 cup coconut milk 
-1/3 cup liquid castile (or olive oil based) soap (Dr. Bronner's is an excellent choice - you can find it at a bunch of places, including target!)
-1 tsp vitamin E, olive or almond oil
-10 to 20 drops your choice of essential oils (something like lavender or lemon is perfect!)
*Most of these can be found at anywhere like Whole Foods
- Bottle or Jar to hold it (Think about squeezy bottles from dollar or beauty stores)


How To Make It:
1. Combine all the ingredients together in jar/bottle.
2. Shake well to mix.
3. Use a teaspoon-tablespoon (depending on how much hair you have) every time you wash your hair!
4. Enjoy your freshly soft, luxurious hair!

Super Natural Super Deep Cleansing Conditioner

My hair craves conditioner, especially living in dry weather. This deep conditioner requires only 4 ingredients and helps moisturize your hair in a big way. 

What You Need:

- 1 Avocado
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 2 Tablespoons Water

How To Make & Use It:

1. All you need to do is combine all these together!

2. Then comb this through your hair and cover with a shower cap or plastic wrap for roughly 20 minutes and let it get deep into your hair.

3. Rinse it out, and shampoo & rinse as usual!

Homemade Honey Hair Mask

Does your hair need some extra good lovin? You can't give it much more help with much less effort than this easy-peasy at home mask!

What You Need:

- 1 Tablespoon Honey

- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

How To Make & Use It:
1. Spoon ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and pop into the microwave for about 30 seconds. 
2. Remove and mix as thoroughly as you can. 
3. Get hair damp, not soaking, and pour the mask a bit at a time on to the ends of your hair, and work it up to the top. 
4. Once you've used all the mask and your hair is totally covered, wrap it up in a shower cap or warm damp towel and leave in for 30 minutes.
5. Rinse it out, and shampoo & rinse as usual!

**BONUS!!!***

Homemade Hand Lotion!

After finding all of these fun recipes, I was on a tear, so I decided to look into an easy lotion to make for my always-dry hands! 

What You Need:

- 3/4 Cup Oil (You can use Olive, Avocado, or Coconut Oils)

- 3 Tablespoons Grated Beeswax (can find in the candle section of a craft store)

- 1 Cup water slightly warmer than room temp (You can also use Rose Water or Tea)

* Optional: Any choice of essential oil for scent (I love this)

* You will also need a blender, glass measuring cup or jar, rubber spatula, coffee filter(s) and glass jars/bottles to store your lotion in 

How To Make It:

1. Pour the water into the blender. Have your jars/bottles ready nearby. 

2. Put the oil and beeswax in a glass measuring cup, and place the cup in a pan or small pot on the stove.

3. Pour the water to reach about halfway up the sides of the cup, and bring to a gentle boil and keep there until the oil and beeswax have heated and the beeswax has melted. (You'll know when it's melted because you won't see it anymore.)

4. As soon as the wax is melted, remove the cup from the water and let the oil cool for 2 minutes.

5. Turn on the blender and start blending the water at medium speed. 

6. Take the stopper out of the blender lid, and start slowly pour in the oil. The mixture will begin to emulsify. If there's still water on the surface, turn up the blender and blend 30 seconds to a minute longer. (If you're adding essential oil, blend it in now.)

7. With your spatula, transfer the cream into your glass jars, and cover with the coffee filter for an hour or until they've hit room temperature. (Placing the lid on the jar when it's this warm will create bacteria!)

8. When the lotion is cool, screw on the lids! Store at room temperature and use for up to 3 months, or if you keep it in the fridge, use it for up to 6 months!

Hope you enjoy these recipes! Keep in mind that some of these (especially the lotion) make awesome gifts!

The Disintegration of Manners: A Rant

           Howdy Folks! Now, to anyone who has read this blog before, you are aware that in general I am a pretty happy lady. I exude pep the way Penelope Cruz exudes pheromones. However, that being said, sometimes I just need to rant. Every now and then, all that pent up adrenaline needs an outlet. Today is that time. For today's tirade, I am examining something that really steams my carrots and plagues me on a daily basis: the lack of manners in society today.
           What happened to manners? And good service? And overall friendliness?! I know they existed at one time. I know that somewhere, at some point, manners were an important element of society and relationships. Call me old fashioned, but I long for the time when proper manners and friendly attitudes were strongly valued. When a snub or slight or scoff was considered the height of ineptitude. I want to show up at the soda shop and have friendly Bobby-Jo bring me my milk shake with a smile. Or to have kind gentlemen stand when I leave a table (or if not stand, at least acknowledge my absence somehow. Maybe a nod. Maybe a sly little wink upon my return. But something!) Sadly, those days are gone. We live in a world where apparently, certain social graces are slipping further and further away.
           How hard is it to smile back at someone?! Or to NOT honk at a person helplessly stalled by a red light?! Or move your shopping cart out of the MIDDLE of the aisle?! How much can it possibly pain one to give another human being in their realm of existence a slight sign of polite acknowledgement? Are we just getting lazier, or do manners and friendliness really not rank high on the list of priorities any more? Or both?
           Everywhere I go I seem to be barraged with people who either don't know the values of manners and general social consciousness and consideration, or who've chosen to ignore it all. If I get through a whole movie or play without someone in the audience texting or forgetting to turn their cell phone off, it feels like a little victory. That should not be the case. Nor should it be the norm for me to have to gear up before going out in preparation for indifference veering on rudeness from a vast majority of people I encounter. 
           And customer service! Don't EVEN get me started! If I'm correct, you GET PAID to do a service for people! To all you apron-clad employees out there, I get it. Maybe you don't like your job. Maybe you could care less. Maybe you feel like if you have to ring up one more non-fat soy hazelnut latte you're going to dump it on top of the customer's head, but I've got news for you: It's your job. It was literally what you were hired to do. 
           Perhaps I've been watching too much Downton Abbey lately. Maybe I'm setting my standards too high in my hopes that people take their jobs, however slight they think them to be, and put some amount of congenial effort into it. I'm not asking for Pollyanna everywhere I go, but basic civility would be GREATLY appreciated. Am I really asking that much? 
           I get it, we all have bad days. We all have those mornings where we wake up and the LAST thing in the universe we have any desire to do is interact with another human being. But guess what? We ALL have to do it. We all need to understand that interacting with others is part of life, and you know going into not only your job, but into the world of co-existing humans, its part of the deal. If you can't get out of it, get in to it. 
           This symptom of rude ambivalence, however, is not just everyone having bad days. It is a serious epidemic of a lack of civility and decorum that is rapidly spanning across the country. Somewhere out there, Emily Post is rolling over in her grave. HOW HARD IS IT TO SAY THANK YOU?! It's Not. Not hard at all. Say excuse me. Or You're Welcome. Realize that while obviously your cart full of akmaks is clearly the most important thing in the store, there are other people in there besides you, and that maybe they need room also. Hold the door open TWO extra seconds. Wave thanks when someone lets you cut traffic. Little things make all the difference. 
           Now my dear readers, I'm sure that none of you have this problem. I'm sure I am sending this out into the ether to a plethera of kind, well-mannered folk. However, that means that I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. I am crying out for change and hopes that things turn around. I ask you to join me in the mission for manners. The fight for friendliness. The crusade for consideration. The more of us that make it a priority, the better the odds become for spreading better behavior and increased social style. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said "A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait." Let us all aim for beautiful portraits. 

A Love Letter To Stephen Colbert

Welcome back, readers! Thank you for your patience over the last week, my stint away has helped me re-boot and recharge. 

I am SO happy to be blogging again! 

Today's buzz is a letter of love to one of my all time favorites, Stephen Colbert. If you're not familiar with his amazing show, The Colbert Report, and his side projects and spin-offs, read on. And if you are, join me in my Colbert Love-Fest.

Dear Mr. Colbert, 
           While on  a recent trip to the big city, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a filming of your show. If I wasn't already completely in love with you, this sealed the deal.
           You sir, have taken modern satire to an untouchable level. All 1,000 plus episodes of The Colbert Report have been an example of not only your incomparable, biting wit but also your adept skills as a performer to create such a strongly defined character. (Yes, for anyone who's confused - it is a character. An awesome one.)
           A modern Moliere, you have rejuvenated the cultural concept of irony and satire, and taken us with you on a wild ride of hilarity and surprise. You've given truth in America a new lens, and we can't thank you enough.
           Your speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner alone would make you a stand-out master of the verbal rapier. I'm not sure if the rumors are true or not that afterwards Laura Bush told you to go (insert something obscene here) yourself, but if so, it makes it even better. Its an example of your fearlessness and courage to take on the fact-averse Man.
           The Green Screen Challenge, Guitarmageddon, Operation Iraqi Stephen, The Colbert Christmas Special, I Am America (And So Can You!), everything you do is a satirical sucess. The KING of the running bit, you inspire, amuse, and inform with each new endeavor. With a charming wink, a subtle rib-nudge, and your now-famous eyebrow raise, you have taken on some of the biggest moral hypocracies, duplicitous figures, and astounding policies and proposals of the last 6+ years. 
           The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear not only restored my own sanity, but my overall faith in humanity. Joining forces with another intellectu-love of mine, Jon Stewart, your rally in the capitol was an amazing push to examine all sides and unheard voices of the political conversation. 

           More recently, your Super PAC has satirized the way American campaigns are financially conducted. You have shown the country how drastically election financing has changed over the last several years since corporations were given free reign to spend unlimited money for political advertising. The series of events that has ensued since the creation of the PAC have highlighted your point, and put your opposition exactly where you want them.
           At your show, I was filled with renewed hope and vigor for American politics, as well as the power of art and performance. You remind me not only that not all people are crazy, but that there is hope and strength in the form of the writer, the performer, the citizen. You ride the wave of the zeitgeist like Kelly Slater and spearhead change like a gladiator. 
           The flick of your wrist as you adjust your glasses, the way you shuffle your notes on the desk, every minute, measured mannerism sends a smirk up my cheeks and a liberal flutter through my heart. I even like you in turtlenecks... Turtlenecks! What's that about?! 
           All in all, Steve, I love you. I want to geek out with you. Let's freak out for Freedom! Let's stay strong. - Wrist Strong. Let's create truthiness. Let's say The Word. Let's give Barry Manilow a run for his money. I appreciate you and all that you do. Thank you.
           Xoxo, Tarreyn