Vanilla Coconut Sugar Scrub

We spent Sunday sun tanning in the backyard at my parent's house. That's what Mother's Day is all about, right? 


I bought my mom a super cute pocket mirror with a little tea bag on it (it runs in the family) from Scientific Culture, and some fleurs. 

I always find it so easy to shop for my Mom, but this year I wanted to add something a little creative to the mix. I found a recipe for Vanilla Coconut Scrub over at Gorgeously Green (a great book, by the way!). I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit, and I'll include my version here. I tried some on my hands, and it's super moisturizing. I found all of the ingredients at a local health food store. 


What You Need:
- A jar to put the finished product in
- 1 1/4 cups coconut palm sugar
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 3 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tsp vanilla extract


Instructions:
Heat the coconut oil to liquify, and combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let the coconut oil cool and solidify. Your scrub will be fairly dry at this point. I added between 1/8 and 1/4 cup coconut oil to make the scrub less thick. If you add too much oil, just add some more coconut palm sugar and shredded coconut. When everything cools, add it to your jar. Voila! You're done. 

Happy Mother's Day! 

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here! 

Green pepper

I know this because I've planted my patio garden outside, and it hasn't died. I went to a local flowershop, Art Knapps, with Odie and my mom. We stocked up. I only plant in containers, and I love it!

Ode not so graciously sitting in a cart so I could be hands free

Our space is really limited, so I had to brainstorm new planter ideas. I was considering building some nifty holders for pots that I could drill into the wall, but instead I found these coco lined wire planters that just seemed easier. 

From top to bottom, left to right: catnip, white garlic,
peppermint, dill, basil, stevia, and chives

It took about 10 minutes to install them, and the best part is that they're fairly narrow and don't take up much room. I LOVE growing food! 

Green leaf lettuce and romaine

Strawberries in a hanging coco lined planter

Last year, I decided to plant a few things in a pot beside our front door. The plants didn't survive very long, because the space only gets first morning sun. This year, I'm trying again, but with new planters, and some plants that are full shade to part sun. Hopefully i'll have better luck this year.

Purple lobelia and white impatiens

I usually choose two colours of flowers and one colour of foliage to fill my planters, but this year I decided to go wild and choose more than one colour of foliage, and three colours of flowers. This year I got crazy. 

Purple Persian shield, silver spike, white petnuia, tukana scarlet star,
lemon licorice, and white asylum

I planted two planters with the above, and I can't wait for everything to fill out. I am not a very patient gardener. GROW ALREADY! That sphere you see is just a clear globe solar lantern. I may add some more lighting in the future. The patio still needs a couple finishing touches. We're going to attach mesh to the entire patio railing, so the cats can enjoy the sun and fresh air, without sneaking through the rails and jumping one storey to the cement below (it's happened twice now). Thank goodness cats land on their feet... most of the time. Once the mesh is up, Odie can fit some much needed sunbathing into her busy schedule. I am also on the lookout for a cute gardening tool box. 

Loki sniffing some sugar snap peas

Mickey looks 100% again after having his arm glued back on after
a horrific moving accident

Happy Spring, and Happy Gardening!