Concluding an Exercise in Self-Control

In mid July I posted about a promise to myself that I would use up 8 products before I buy anything new for myself that I cannot reasonably justify. In that post I knew that it might go terribly wrong and I also knew that there are certain things that I was going to repurchase and wouldn’t want to wait for.

So from this attempt I learned a few things. Firstly I noticed that when I am downtown looking for something for someone else I am quickly tempted to treat myself as well. I was buying a birthday present for my cousin when I strayed from the goal to treat myself.

Secondly I noticed that I am impulsive in treating myself to something like a nice bath. And when I am having a bad week and the weather in cold and rainy too boot I am all for “cheating” and allowing myself to have that experience (with the bath salt packet I bought for the occasion) without feeling guilty about it.

Last but not least I think I saved quite a bit of money! Not tons but enough that it caught my attention. Probably also because the whole thing put me in a mindset where I was being far more conscious of my consumption and justifying what I purchase.

I think I learned form this, and putting a number on the situation does give a nice solid goal to work towards and a sense of accomplishment once there. I think that this also worked out really well for me despite my not being very strict about the whole thing. Also if this mindset and general way of looking at the products I use and particularly the things I purchase then I wont be setting this kind of goal too soon. But if I notice things piling up again I probably will try to strictly reduce it, and this is most certainly an effective method.

Clean Cosmetics- Where to Begin?

I've been thinking a lot about synthetic ingredients and natural cosmetics. I once had a rule of thumb to only buy things where I could pronounce the ingredients and avoid everything with long or weird names that only dermatologists and chemists would recognize. This quickly unraveled because there seemed to always be something.
The next option would be to minimize the number of things that cannot be pronounced in one take, but where the line should be drawn is always rather fuzzy. And what if the list is endlessly long?
So like I mentioned, lately this topic has caught my attention several times. And I know it is a bit of a trend to watch out for silicons, sulfates, parabens, mineral oil and aluminum salts. But what does that mean? Why those things? And as if those five things weren't enough once you start looking you find lists of 10, 15, 20 things to avoid. Should I write them down for the next time I'm out shopping? Its a mess!
Maybe focus on what is really bad for me and what is just highly complex. A simple Google search will bring up plenty of of credible sites with great tips that make it seem so easy. But if you are shopping in a plain old drugstore and reading all kinds of labels and trying to remember 15 things to look out for you might wish you had an eidetic memory and the powers to quickly crosscheck all of those pages you had read last weekend.
To get to the point: I really have been making an effort to pay attention to the products I buy and even more so to those that I use on a daily basis and repurchase regularly. It's not easy and it takes more time. These products tend to be more expensive, but that investment is one I personally am willing to make. And most importantly I believe it is doable, and I want to get better at picking out the toxins that I don’t always realize are there.
I'm curious what you think about this. Please leave a comment with experiences or tips! I would much appreciate it!

Bobby Pins to the Rescue

The awkward stage between lengths when you want to grow out your hair can not only look weird, but but be incredibly annoying! This is where bobby pins save my sanity and keep me from seeming like I have a tick because I am constantly trying to get the hair out of my eyes. These are mostly variations on the same thing, but the subtle differences make for cute styles that vary from day to day. I hope you enjoy my series of selfies! If anyone has other ideas for this length hair let me know.
Until next time!

Growing My Hair

I like having a pixie, but it has occurred to me that it is incredibly impractical for my line of work. So last night I decided to let it grow. I have had short hair for about 5 months now, if I am not mistaken, and I had pretty long hair before that. So I have been at both extremes and I do this periodically. I let my hair grow and at some point I just decide to cut it all off. And right now I want my hair just long enough to quickly pull it together into a ponytail for the clinic or on lazy Sundays when I just don't feel like walking around with a bed head but really do not feel like doing anything more with my hair.

At this stage I am almost due for a haircut anyway, which I am just going to skip and allow my hair to grow for a few more weeks. I can only recommend patience, lots of water and exercise. These are simple things that will be crucial to letting your hair grow out along with regular maintenance and care as you would anyway. There is no miracle, no elves, no potion that will make your hair suddenly grow out. And I know that this takes months and the process feels awful, especially in the beginning, but its doable. and I am going to try and document this from time to time with little tips as I go.
So I would like to end this with one little tip: blow drying hair really does help it fall better. This is a step that I don't normally have time for in my busy day to day morning routine, but especially as my bangs get longer I have tried to take the three minuets to at least blow dry my bangs into place so that I am not tempted to shave my head. And it has made a huge difference.
Until next time!

The IKEA affair

I love ikea! I con to explains why, but apparently I am not alone. For me it is not the food, or even the furniture itself really, it's more going through all of the rooms and getting inspiration for the interior designation of my room and any future apartments I might one day decorate. Also there is something about the little things: there are a few little things from ikea that I own that are not fancy in any way shape or form but I absolutely love them. My big problem with ikea is that much of the furniture in particular, is designed to be cheep. This means it is not expensive to buy now, but won't hold for a very long time. And some of the furniture is really nice, but this is out of my price range although I had to mention it because it really is not all crap and I don't want to make it sound that way. Recently I went to ikea with my roomie, and to be precise we needed two trips before we truly had everything we needed but I am getting off topic. We were successful and I bought new cushion covers of the sofa which look wonderful and I bought an entirely new pillow for my bed, a bookshelf for my room and a kitchen cupboard along with a few nick knacks.

The furniture mentioned is all basic stuff, nothing out of the ordinary or fancy. Almost a little plain. So particularly the white kitchen cupboard needed a little personal touch. 

This is all just acrylic paint on the cheapest fronts we were able to find sealed with a clear acrylic sealer. The results are definitely my style and fit into our eclectic kitchen. I love it! So thank you ikea for the basics that, combined with a little time and effort, allow me to own unique, interesting, and affordable furniture. 

Until next time, Eva Mathilde
P.S. the cupboard still needs to be mounted, I  just got too excited to wait since I had finished painting it. And the bookshelf gets to keep a sleek simplicity as it is the direction I plan to go as I am paining a few other furniture pieces in my bedroom. So stay tuned for some pictures there.

Fermentation takes on a whole new angle with fermented beverages

My kombucha is still being weird and doesn't seem to want to grow an actual SCOBY although it does taste and smell like the right bacteria is having a blast. But my patience comes a little easier since I started trying to make as natural sodas using fermentation.

Left to right: Maracuja, Ginger-Lemon, Ginger-Orange

I did a fair amount of research and started by making a ginger bug. This was the easiest process  and mine was not particularly picky. Once the process started a few days in, it was very clear to see what various bloggers were talking about when they described to process. The post I used from Wellness Mama has very easy to follow instructions that I then changed ever so slightly to accommodate my far smaller scale batch. And all you need is Ginger, Sugar (in my experience white sugar worked best), water and a glass jar. 

To start I combined about 1.5 tablespoons on grated ginger with 1.5 tablespoons sugar and a generous cup of water and cover lightly to allow to ferment. Now, I fed my mixture about once every other day and after about 5 days I had a culture that was probably already ready to use, but I left it out for another day before refrigerating to be safe. This is obviously subject to vary depending on temperature and surrounding conditions. 

Once this was done the actual soda is just tea, juice, infusion or cocktail of your choice plus some sugar for the bacteria and some of the liquid form the ginger bug. This would be the step where I completely disregarded the measurements and eyeballed the whole process. My first try was one with tea made from fresh ginger and lime juice. once that cooled I added about 2 tablespoons of sugar for 1.5L of liquid and then added a hearty swig of the ginger bug juice and let that sit with a coffee filter over the top for about 3 days before covering and letting it carbonate for another two days. This batch was less fizzy that I was hoping for, but the bottles pictured above are round two and they are looking very good. I decided to cover them lightly for about 2 days or until a few small bubbles collected around the top when I was checking them and them covered them. I also bought airtight bottles especially for this project because these release tops are practical and more reliable than regular old bottles. Also glass containers are always recommended for fermentation processes.

I have been having so much fun trying all of these and they are so much tastier than overly sweet store bought alternatives. If you try this let me know how it worked for you!

Why hello there. It's fall!

 It struck me that September is almost over and we are experiencing the first days of fall. Sadly the beautiful crisp days of fall have been spotted with quite a bit or rain here but but candles are out and comfy clothes are not only acceptable but stylishly practical. Watch out Man-sweaters, you are back in high demand! Not to mention that it is almost Friday and although I have a lot planned this weekend and so much to do in the very near future but I am an a high that I hope doesn’t end too soon. So I hope you are having an absolutely wonderful day too!