My Current Obsession-Lakewood Organic Juices

I want to let you in on a little secret: I am not a multi-millionaire because of this blog.

Can you believe that? I bet you thought I was rolling around in money while laughing and throwing it up in the air.

Sorry to burst your perception bubble of me. I barely make enough to pay my hosting fees. But, I love this too much that it’s worth all the time and effort spent.

Photo Source
I choose not to do paid reviews, mainly because I’d feel like this guy. If I love a product, I’m going to tell you about. Simple as that. No money is exchanging hands. And, I like to keep my ads to a minimum so that my site is easy to navigate and not cluttered up.

I’d love to make more money (who wouldn’t), but I’m more interested in having loyal readers than dollars. The money will come with time, I hope.

All of that said-there are a few times when blogging has its perks. A reader, who happens to be Lakewood’s eastern regional sales manager, contacted me and corrected my description of their product on my Facial Moisturizer Recipe.

(Thanks, Pamela for catching my mistake!)

Then Pamela sent all of these juices to me-for free, with absolutely no strings attached. She didn’t ask me to talk about them, or even ask for a mention.

Hello.

My frugalness went out the window and I opened them all simultaneously. I couldn’t even wait to get properly cute for the photos or for Biceps to take them. I came straight home from Crossfit and poured myself a glass of the Pomegranate Juice first.

This is Delicious with a capital “D”. I have never had pomegranate juice, but now I may not be able to live without it. And it has a huge amount of Vitamin C and tons of other great minerals and vitamins.

I now like to drink it out of a wine glass and feel fancy.

 

Then, I tried a shot of Aloe Vera. I love that this Aloe Vera has no preservatives, no sodium benzoate, no potassium sorbate and no citric acid and no preservatives.

Biceps and I are feeling a little run down and I noticed that this had 160% of vitamin C. This was so delicious, I drank the entire 8 oz without taking a breather.

Lastly, I tried this and loved it. Plus, with a little splash of vodka, you have a fancy mixed drink. Not that I would know anything about that. But, I bet it would be good that way, too. (Hint, hint eastern regional sales manager for Grey Goose Vodka.)

Thanks again to Pamela and Lakewood Organic Juices for hooking a sister up. I owe you a huge hug and a high five! I highly recommend all of their products-and remember-I’m not getting paid to say this. This is my honest, 100% pure opinion.

And, Grey Goose manager, I’m waiting for my box.

A few of My Favorite Things

If you are a new reader here, it might be a lot for you to comb through all of my back posts looking for juicy tidbits to make your day. I thought I’d make that easy for you and show you a few fun things I’ve done over the past year or so. One of these projects might just become your favorite, too. A girl can dream, right?

Broken Mirror Art from recycled mirror bits and pieces. When the light hits it, the whole room shimmers!

A Springy, Silk Scarf Shirt is the perfect answer for a wintery wardrobe. And, it’s so easy & cheap to make yourself!

If you haven’t seen my DIY Spinning Composter already, here she is. (And here’s the video of it in action.) This composter design speeds up the composting process from months to weeks. And made from recycled/salvaged materials makes it easy on the pocketbook, too.

Make your own Simple, Organic balm quickly, easily and cheaply. I love it better than my Burt’s Bees. I ain’t goin’ back, baby!

In an effort to rid my house of nasty chemicals, I made my own Cheap, Organic Face Wash-made from ground oatmeal. So easy. So lovely. So breakfasty.

Use an old tablecloth or curtain to make this Lace Cape Shirt. Simple, practical and it looks great with a little tank top underneath.

I wanted to replace the cleansers in my house with something more organic and cheap. My Homemade Household Green Cleansers list several recipes to get you ready to boot out nasty chemicals from your house, too!

Hope you’ve found a little something that suits your fancy. If not, I’ll keep trying to get you hooked. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Simple, Organic Lip Balm

My month long challenge of slowly ridding our house of nasty chemicals began more than a month ago. I got on this kick and can’t stop!

I’ve posted a Recipe for Facial Moisturizer, DIY Organic Dishwasher Detergent, Cheap, Organic Face Wash, DIY Household Green Cleaner and last week was my DIY Organic Eye Makeup Remover.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus weeks to make sure it does its job-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Today, I’ll be sharing a tested and loved recipe for  Simple, Organic Lip Balm. (ps-I shared this over at Curbly in January)

My hubby and I go through inordinate amount of lip balm. And at $3 a tube, it was beginning to add up. I wanted to find a way that I could circumvent the cost, the unnecessary added chemicals and the need for store-bought lip balm.
For approximately $.25 a tube, I had my very own lip balm without the chemicals.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Simple, Organic Lip Balm:

2 TBS Beeswax Pearls
2 TBS Pure White Refined Shea Butter (you can use unrefined shea butter, it just has a bit of an odor)
4 TBS Sweet Almond Oil
1/4 tsp “Essential” Peppermint Oil (or use Lavender, Cherry, Lime, Eucalyptus, oil)

Double Boiler (or a heat safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water)
Plastic Measuring Cup with a spout
Paper Towels/Rags
(15-20) .15 oz new or recycled tubes or containers (I bought mine from bulkapothecary.com for $0.14 each)

Prepare the lip balm containers by placing in a bowl or pan, without the lids. Help tubes stay upright by wedging paper towels around them.

If using a Double Boiler, fill the bottom pan with water and bring to a slow boil. Place the second pan on top, and melt the beeswax.

If using a heat safe bowl, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Stir continuously with a wire whisk while the next ingredients are added.

Add the 2 TBS of Shea Butter.

Add the 4 TBS of Sweet Almond Oil.

Once liquified, remove the top pan from the heat while continuing to stir.

Whisk in a 1/4 tsp of essential oil. (I used peppermint in my lip balm).

Working quickly, transfer the hot liquid to a room temperature plastic measuring cup with a spout.

Pour the hot liquid into the lip balm containers.

Let cool for 15-20 minutes. Place the lid on the cooled container and enjoy.

I recommend wiping out all pans, measuring cups and spoons with a rag or with paper towels before attempting to wash them. Trust me, I learned the hard way….

Each tube cost me approximately $.25 or less-I had a bit leftover which I use on my cuticles-it’s great for that tough little skin. Hope you enjoy!

Linking up to this and other parties:
The Thrifty Home

DIY Organic Eye Makeup Remover

I’ve been having a blast this past month finding replacements for every day things I buy and use at home. My month long challenge of slowly ridding our house of nasty chemicals began several weeks ago.

My first item to replace was my face lotion. I created a Recipe for Facial Moisturizer. I moved on to replacing my dishwasher detergent-DIY Organic Dishwasher Detergent, face wash–Cheap, Organic Face Wash  and finally last week I shared several DIY Household Green Cleaner recipes.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus weeks to make sure it does its job-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

Today, I’ll be sharing a tested and loved recipe for Eye Makeup Remover.

This recipe only requires two ingredients. And, it ends up costing $1.13 for 3.5 oz.

I have very delicate skin, and my eyes irritate pretty easily. I was skeptical making my own remover, but was pleased with the simple results.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make your very own Eye Makeup Remover:

(This recipe will make 3.5 oz of remover)
4 TBS Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 TBS Organic Sweet Almond Oil
Container

Use a funnel if needed and measure the 4 TBS of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Next, add the 3 TBS of Sweet Almond Oil. Cap tightly and shake.

Squeeze out a little onto a pure cotton ball and gently wipe across your eyes to remove makeup.

I always wash my face first with my Cheap, Organic Face Wash before removing my eye makeup. This softens up the eyeliner and mascara, which will remove easier and it helps to avoid tugging at the delicate skin around my eyes.

It only takes a little of the Eye Makeup remover to go a long ways.

This recipe was very simple to make and super cheap. There’s no going back for this gal.

Here’s the financial breakdown of this Eye Makeup Remover Recipe (know that 1 oz = 2 TBS):

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is $5 for 16 oz (or $.31 per oz). For this recipe, we needed 2 oz (or 4 TBS)=$.61.
The Sweet Almond Oil is $5.75 for 16 oz (or $.35/oz). For this recipe, we needed 1.5 oz (or 3 TBS)=$.52.

To make 3.5 oz of Eye Makeup Remover the total cost was=$1.13

(This recipe is replacing my 2 oz Physician’s Formula eye makeup remover which is $5.50.)

Linking up to this and other parties:
The Thrifty Home