Best of British: Tea Towel Edition!

Best of British: Tea Towel Edition! by elbonner featuring pink kitchen towels

I've decided to do a little series about my British favorites: food, clothing, home wares, the whole lot of it! I usually spend a lot of time talking about faraway tropical beaches and forget the cold, rocky beaches I played in as a baby. They're as much a part of my love for the ocean as all the other beaches I've been to, so I want to show a little more appreciation for what makes me love Britain so much! It also gives me an opportunity to share with you some cool things I have discovered on my travels that I think the readership (you people!) would enjoy!

This week, we pay homage to the tea towel; not a total British invention, but the ones you find in the UK, whether it be from a home store or a tourist shop, tea towels are anything but just a dish rag! My favorite place to get really cute and clever tea towels are from a website called To Dry For. They stock some of the most adorable, smile-worthy tea towels on the planet and every time I go there I find myself wanting all of them! I have a few from them and they are going on five years of heavy use and show little signs of wear. Some of them are so cute I'd rather frame them than use them!
The designs feature themes like classic British foods like fish'n'chips, biscuits, and cakes. They also have super cute, very British sayings, and fun things to brighten up any kitchen! They are your typical cotton, sort of flour-sack material which makes them super absorbent and easy to clean! They do a great job of drying up your dishes and also hang and iron nicely. They ship worldwide and the prices range from £9-£13, which some would say is a bit much for a tea towel, but they do stay bright and fun after many washes and anything that makes doing the dishes more fun is totally worth it!

The above selection is only a small fraction of what's available on the website, so check it out! Whether you're looking for something fun to add to your kitchen routine, or if you want to frame one and put it on the wall, To Dry For is my ultimate spot for the cutest tea towels either side of the Atlantic! Dry happy, now!


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The Cute Files: Roberts Radio

The Cute Files: Roberts Radio by elbonner on Polyvore

For real, guys. I can't even handle how adorable these lil' radios are! Just look at them, LOOK AT THEM! Unfortunately, these beauties are not readily available in the US as they are a British company. I've been watching a lot of UK beauty bloggers and they ALL have this little radio sitting pretty in the background and a little piece of me dies every time I realize I can't get my hands on one! If you are in the UK, the Roberts DAB Radio lets you listen to your typical FM stations as well as letting you plug in your smartphone/mp3 player to listen to your digital music. Some of the models even have wifi so you can listen to digital (Spotify/Pandora) and satellite radio stations. 

I'm not totally sure if these radios will even work in the states so don't go throwing down over $200 just yet. Even if I can't get one here I can always dream. If I ever someday move back to England then I shall have one of these radios. This post probably wasn't super helpful, but I want the rest of the world to know the cuteness of the Roberts Radio. Hey, maybe they'll even make them available in the US someday! God bless cute radios!

Roberts Radio

Renegades of Funk: Homemade Deodorant

I am a sweater and you better believe. I'll sweat because of anything: putting on lotion, sitting in a chair, carrying groceries, watching a tense movie, taking too hot of a shower. It really doesn't matter what season or what climate I'm in, I'm probably going to be sweating, which has led me to try about every goddamn deodorant under the sun. In the past, I was desperate to find the strongest, beefiest, sweat-annihilating deodorant known to man. It could have made me grow hair on the soles of my feet, but as long as it kept me from having any sort of moisture under my arms, I was prepared to try it. After a while of using store-bought and prescription strength antiperspirants, I noticed something. When I wore these ridiculous antiperspirants, I was sweating profusely everywhere else, and to tell you the truth, the stuff I was using wasn't doing that great of a job. I took a leap of faith, a shunned antiperspirant deodorant all together and took to using crystal deodorant, which was good for keeping me from being smelly. I like crystal deodorant, and if you want a deodorant totally free of antiperspirants, then I highly recommend it. But I needed a little more assurance, and that's when I discovered the magic formula. I found out that if you mix coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, and a few essential oils, that you got a pretty damn good deodorant out of that. Now, I am sharing the secret with you!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Your Favorite Scented Essential Oils (I used lemon, bergamot ,and ginger oils)

Step 1.) Melt your coconut oil in a double broiler, or as I use, a pot with an inch of water in the bottom with a glass bowl fitted over-top. Turn on medium heat and let the oil melt down. The coconut oil melts at 76 degrees Fahrenheit so it won't take long, in fact, you could melt it halfway and let the residual heat do the rest.

2.) Once your oil is melted, add your baking soda and arrowroot powder

3.) Stir the mixture until it's smooth with no lumps or bumps and remove the bowl from the heat. *IMPORTANT* You need to allow the mixture to cool before adding your oils. Putting essential oils in something that it too hot will destroy all the good stuff in the essential oils! So don't be impatient, or if you are impatient, put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

4.) Once your oils have cooled either on a counter or in the fridge,it's time to add your favorite fragrances. I added 7 drops of lemon oil, 4 drops of bergamot oil, and 3 drops of ginger oil.It ended up smelling like a lemon ginger cookie and it's freaking amazing! Use your favorite scent combo, or just use one!

5.) Transfer your mixture to a clean container, allow mixture to further cool and solidify, and you're finished! Your very own, homemade deodorant that cost you almost nothing that should last you as long, if not longer, than your traditional stick. To apply, just scoop about a half a teaspoons worth of the mixture and rub into your underarms until the oil gently melts into the skin.

I hope you try this cool and stupid-easy recipe that will free you from the shackles of commercial deodorant. Get a little more natural and play around with your favorite scents! One of my favorite places to get essentials oils is From Nature With Love, they've got a ton and also carry arrowroot powder and cute jars for packaging! Have a good weekend everyone!

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Sunday Funday: The Best Time of the Year

There really is no contest; this time of year in my area is simply the best. The tourists aren't here yet, the weather hasn't gotten unbearably hot yet, there's all sorts of stuff going on, and I'm usually spending a lot of time outside.  It's like it went from dark, cold, boring nothingness that was seriously depressing to an almost overwhelming amount of stuff to do! My friends have their pool open, it's great hiking weather, Busch friggin' Gardens is open, the beach is warming up; it's almost too much to do! The past two weekends have been so amazingly perfect that it just kept my mood lifted all week. After my backpacking trip last weekend, this one was a bit more subdued, but still really enjoyable. I spent almost all day outside in my parents backyard on Saturday and the BF and I went on a long walk today. 

Two of the great things about my apartment is the fact that I have sunroom and that my landlord is an A+ gardener and keeps the place so gorgeous! I love having all sorts of plants in my sunroom, I sometimes like to call it my jungle room (like the Walking In Memphis Song!). We also have a tiny, shared backyard with all sorts of plants and flowers that are changed throughout the seasons. It's never the same stuff twice! Even though sitting at home can get boring, it's days like these that I really enjoy being at home just looking at all the pretty stuff around us.

I've been going through cookbooks (one of my very favorite things) looking for new recipes, but mostly just enjoying the pictures. This one in the photo, The Surf Cafe Cookbook, is a great cookbook for food and photo-lovers alike. The sandwich bread recipe in there is amazing, as well as the lemon squares! I highly recommend it to anyone with taste buds. It reminds me of the kinds of things I eat when I visit my relatives in England which puts me in instant vacation mode. 

 No smart-assiness here today; it must be all the sunshine. I've got no complaints and I'm very content just staring out of the window and watching the world go by. Hope you all have a great week!

Spring Cleaning: Self Edition

Even though the weather can't really make up its mind what it wants to do, it's only a few days until the official start of spring. That time of year when we clean out all the cobwebs from our winter hibernation and start anew. Sometimes I need more than just a literal clean-out when spring rolls around; I need a life clear-out. With all the snow days I've had from work, I've missed a lot of work and not getting to do the things I thought I would get done this season. With trying to get in all the little silly things I wanted to do this winter, trying to make up for all the pay I missed whilst snowed in at home, and just dealing with lots of people's craziness has left me in sort of an exhaustive funk. I don't want this to sound like some sort of rant, because I am thankful for everything I have, but to be honest, at the moment I'm just not very happy. Maybe it's because the weather hasn't been cooperating, maybe because I don't have any sort of fun summer plans to look forward to, maybe I'm just becoming a big whiner, but I'm feeling like I'm stuck in a rut. I feel like I accomplished nothing over the past few months. I exercised a lot and lost nothing, I got the awesome sewing machine and have barely had the motivation to turn it on, I've gotten no enjoyment and have gotten frustrated with all the crafty projects I thought would be really fun. It sucks when you feel like you're wheels are spinning and taking you absolutely nowhere and it's time to make a change. Now, instead of wallowing in my own staleness, I'm trying to be proactive and do some new things to get myself back in the swing of life. Here are some of the things that I'm trying to get myself feeling better again!

1. Falling in Love With Food Again

Photo: Pinterest

Now, I never stopped loving ice cream, but that's not the kind of food I'm talking about. I have relied on convenience foods for the past year or so and they are not doing my body and self esteem any favors. I remember when I first started delving into the world of healthy eating, it was so exciting reading about all this new stuff and new ways to try these foods. After a while, it became and every day thing and it really lost it's excitement and I went back to all those bad things that ruined me before. I want to find the fun in making new things like I did before and try new ways of making healthy foods delicious. You keep relationships exciting by doing new things, so why not have the same approach when it comes to food? Pinterest is helping me out a lot, especially MindBodyGreen, which has some really amazing looking recipes that are great for you!

2. Planning Fun Escapes and Financial Planning

Photo:Pinterest

Last summer, I was truly spoiled by all the places I got to go and see. It was probably the best summer of my life and I actually got to live my dreams which is something I don't think a lot of people get to do. I always feel a bit whiny when I get upset that I have no place fun to go because many people never get to travel at all because of various reasons. My own reasons are definitely financial, and I have a hard time saving the little money I have because I feel as though it can be spent on other things (necessary and unnecessary). It can be a bitch being the type of person that just likes stuff, because if I just sucked it up and saved, I could probably fund lots of little trips on my own. Even if my sometimes bad spending habits inhibit me from doing some of the things I want, I can still make some fun plans and learn more about the places I want to go. So far, I have about 3 trips totally planned out (flights, hotels, food, sights, local customs, you name it) and it gives me a good perspective on what I need to save in order to go to these places. I planned the entire trip to Hawaii and it was a good lesson, because it showed me just how much planning goes into creating a fun experience for yourself and others. I had always relied on other to plan and I would just be along for the ride. Planning trips is pretty fun now, and a good motivation to put away some pennies and get down to business.

3. Just Keep Moving

Photo: Pinterest

I try really hard to exercise a lot. I think it's one of the best things you can do to keep your body in good, working condition for as long as it will allow you. I also get frustrated because I'm in the gym 4-5 times a week and I don't see the changes I feel I should have by now. What I don't like to admit to myself is that sometimes I eat for two even though I'm not currently sperminated and I use food as some sort of reward for when bad things happen. Getting snowed in tomorrow? I should make cookies because I won't have anything else to do. Too tired to make a healthy dinner? The burrito the size of a baby should suffice. It's all excuses, and when I give in, the pounds just pack on like crazy. I just can't eat like some of my forever-thin friends can and I have to keep telling myself I'll always be "the fat one" if I don't get this "pointless food rewards" system out of my mind. Losing weight is such an overwhelming task;the last time I really lost a lot it took over my whole life, which is what it's supposed to do. It's a lifestyle and fit people look the way they do because they live the fit-person lifestyle. It may not be full of pizza, ice cream with magic shell, or nutella covered everything, but they don't feel bad changing out in the locker room or trying on bathing suits at Target. What I'm trying to do is not beat myself up, but keep my gym activity up and augmenting my diet back to what it should be. Like #1 up there, I need to get my diet in check in order to get where I want to be!

4. Just Appreciate Life, Dammit!

Photo: JP Benante c/o flickr

It's so easy to be cynical and cranky when things don't work out the way you've planned. Sometimes I look around my apartment at all the things I wanted to do, all the little projects I started and left undone and I just want to get out of there as fast as I can and clear my head. It's not really a bad thing! Everyone should get outside and forget about everything: forget about your spouse/partner, forget about your job, forget about your bills, forget about your parents, forget about your own shortcomings, and just be alone with yourself. It may sound like a bunch of hippy dippy bullshit, but I cannot stay sane without a little me time. I spend all week talking to patients in person and on the phone and sometimes they're not very pleasant. Then, I'm around people when I'm at home too; worrying about things they may want or what I should be doing. And on the weekends I spend Saturdays doing laundry at my parents house and Sunday at home or out with the boyfriend all day. It's not that I don't want these people around me, I love them! But, Emily needs some space sometimes. Usually, after periods of time where I'm by myself, I come to appreciate all those people around me who make my life what it is and appreciate the fact that they want to even be around me!

Well, that was a long one. Call it a rant, call it a clean-out of all the frustrations and sorrows I've packed in over the winter, but it sure feels better to get things off my chest. If the weather is nice where you are, get out and enjoy it. Summer is getting closer and I can't wait! I can feel my cold heart melting just at the thought of it! Happy weekend!

Ease the Winter Blues: Tropicalize Your House!

Tropicalize Your House! by elbonner featuring Zara Home

Most of the Eastern Seaboard, South, Midwest, and Northern states have had it with all this freaking snow. I'm over, you're over it, we are all over it. I've just about finished my week off which would have been a thousand times better if the weather hadn't been a total crapfest. With only one day of sunshine in the past 12, I'm looking to other things to lift my spirits. What better way to brighten your mood than to add some tropical fun to your home?! I'm all about fun prints, bright colors, and beachy accents. You can incorporate these things into most color palettes. Have mostly neutrals? Throw in a neon pillow, throw, or vase to shake things up a bit. I think everyone needs to embrace brights a little more and bring some color into their lives!

1. Pineapple Tealight Holder from Zara Home: super cute and subdued way to get some color and fun into your home decor. Will be great lit up out on your deck for a summertime BBQ too when the weather heats up!

2. Bath and Body Works 3-Wick Candles in "Coconut Leaves" and "Aloha Waikiki": These scents warm up any room and bring beachy clean scents to your house. Coconut leaves is a fresh green fragrances with a hint of coconut, citrus, and vanilla and Aloha Waikiki is straight up plumeria and tiare blossom. Not too sickly sweet and far from all that cinnamon nonsense you get at Christmastime.

3. Sisters of Los Angeles Beaches Glasses: These glasses go from the mornings orange juice to homemade margaritas without skipping a beat. I have all four of these and they are always a fan favorite. It's a great way to brighten up your beverage routine.

4. CWonder Ikat Dinnerware: I love printed plates and bowls. It's little things like these that can really brighten up your life. Your day may have sucked ass, but at least you have the most beautiful dinner plates around!

5. A Funky Rug: Now, a bright orange rug may not be your cup of tea, but the concept of a bright area rug is a great way to bring some life to a room. It's like putting art on your floor! There are so many cool rugs out there at places like Ikea, World Market, and even Target so you have no excuse not to chuck out that boring jute rug and get something with a little more life to it!

6. Beachy Wall Art: If you want to create a beachy haven, what better way to do that than to put beachy pictures on the wall! Everywhere you look can be a tropical paradise. You could even go for some bright, punchy prints of patterns if you don't want just photographs. I like this one from Goldfish Kiss at Society6 because it's part photo, part life inspiration, and totally drool worthy subject matter. Society6 is a great place to find original artwork for a great price and they have plenty of bright prints for any room!

7. Bright Pillows/Poufs: Have a plain, brown sofa? Most of us do, so spruce it up with some fun pillows! If you don't want a bunch of pillows on your sofa or want a cool little accent for your bedroom, invest in a fun pouf that can be used as a seat, footrest, or clothes holder like all of my furniture has eventually turned into! Big plus, most prints on Society6 can be made into a pillow! If you find a beachy print that you don't have the wall space for, you can make it a pillow instead!

Now, a tropical home space may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if sure helps having bright things in the house if you succumb to the winter sadness. Light yourself a delicious candle, snuggle up with a tropical pillow/throw, and enjoy a beach cocktail in a fun glass to take the edge off of this never ending snowpocalypse!

Surviving the Duldrums: Post-Holiday Projects!

I hate to start out this post all gushy-like, but I have the best boyfriend ever. He got me a beautiful sewing machine for Christmas that I can't wait to start making fun stuff with!

Exhibit A: Dope-ass sewing machine

Now that I can get all crafty, I'm thinking of all the ways I can put this thing to use. I always tend to associate the months before spring/summer with the most BORING time of the year: it's friggin' cold, there are no work holidays, no birthdays. It's just that irritatingly long stretch before the real fun begins. Since I don't want three months of the year being wasted on yearning for summer, I'm going to get cracking on some cool DIY sewing projects!

My first endeavor is going to make myself a surfboard bag. I'm sick of trying to coordinate my towels to stay on my seats so that I don't end up with waxy bits on my headrests. I figure I can make a surfboard bag pretty easily out of some stretch terry cloth and a shoe lace for a cinched closure.

I found a bunch of DIY's on Pinterest so I hope once I get all my sewing accessories sorted out, I can get started!

I also want to start making my own swimsuits; just a few simple designs to start with and maybe try and make a cool monokini or fringe top. Because of my gigantic butt, I have a problem finding bottoms that don't dig in or give me enough coverage ( tired of flashing my coinslot), so creating my very own swimwear might be a way to circumvent all of my big-butt problems. 

Love this project from Goldfish Kiss

There are sooooo many fun projects that are just a sewing machine away from filling up a bunch of cold, rainy days. I can't wait to get going and have already been scouring the internet for cool fabrics. Hope you all had a nice Christmas/time off work because of Christmas. Whatever you did over the past week, I hope it was enjoyable. Until next time, adios amigos!

Absolute Last Minute Gifts: Edibles and DIY!!

If you are still sitting on your ass, stressing about all the shopping you didn't get to do, there are still some things that can be done that will produce gifts that won't look rushed or impersonal. You may even be able to use things around the house, or be able to pick these items up at your local grocery, drug store, or Dollar Store. You really can make a DIY gift that won't disappoint like all those macaroni necklaces your mom threw away decades ago. Here are some Pinterest ideas that people will actually want!

1. Paint-Dipped Bamboo Utensils

This is a pretty cool present for the chef in your family, for new homeowners, college kids, or someone who needs to learn how to feed themselves. Bamboo utensils like the ones above can be bought at your local grocery or dollar store. Just tape off where you want the paint line to end and either use some old house paint or use left over spray paint. Customize to match the utensils to the recipients kitchen. Super cute and easy!

2. Homemade Art Work

Pinterest

Pinterest

It doesn't get much easier than getting a cheap canvas at a local art store, taping off some shapes and painting the whole canvas. Once you lift up the masking tape, you'll be left with some cool, modern-looking, geometric art that can be color-customized to fit your friend of family members home decor. The bottom piece is a canvas that was painted one color, then half was painted over with another and just dry-brushed over the mid-line to create a cool softer edge. I think both projects look really cool and I even have my own tape-off art up in various places in my house. All it needs in the end is a signature!

3. Holiday Food Treats

Photo: Closet Cooking

Photo: Food52

Food is always a crowd pleaser. No matter how much someone tells you they don't want sweets around the holidays, they're just one shitty January workday away from wanting to eat their feelings with reckless abandon! Stick to the basics to make sure it'll go down well. My FVAORITE COOKIES EVER are Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and my favorite non-cookie holiday item is peppermint bark. Both are stupid easy to make and will either make a good gift for a foodie friend or acts as a good last-minute filer gift when you feel like you haven't gotten enough for a certain someone. Put it in a cool reusable tin and you've given a gift that keeps on giving!

4. Homemade Bath Products

Photo: Hey Gorgeous

Photo: idlewife

Bath products don't need to be fancy brand in order to be a good gift. Most people will be blown away and think you're some sort of evil genius if you can handcraft them some sort or bath product. The easiest ones to make a body scrubs and bath fizzies. Body Scrubs only need a few ingredients: Sugar/salt, essential oil of your choice, heavier carrier oil, and a jar. THAT'S IT. Bath fizzies really only need Epsom salts, cornstrarch, baking soda, essential oil and a mold. Click HERE for a good bath fizzy recipe that made the cute little disks above and here are a few of my own body scrub recipes to impress your friends!

Margarita Salt Scrub:

1 1/2 Cup Fine Sea Salt 

1 1/2 tsp. Lime essential oil

3-4 Tablespoons Grapeseed oil*

Warm Lemon Sugar Scrub

1 1/2 Cup Fine Brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp Lemon essential oil

2 Tsp Lemon juice

zest of 1/2 lemon

3-4 Tablespoons grapeseed oil*

I use grapeseed oil because it is light, unscented, and can be found at the grocery store. Sweet almond oil is also a good choice, but steer clear from heavier and scented oils like Olive or vegetable/canola. Avocado would be acceptable too.

 * If you want a sudsy scrub and not an oily one, replace the grapeseed oil with unscented castile soap (Like Dr. Bronner's)

Adjust the grapeseed oil/castile soap to get the desired consistency!

5. Friendship Bracelets

Pinterest

Photo: Henry Happened

You know you cranked out thousands of bracelets at summer camp, so why not jump back on the bandwagon in your time of deep desperation. Friendship/diy-esque bracelets are all the rage now, so capitalize on your craftiness and make your friends some cool jewelry if you're stuck with little resources. Visit your local craft store or repurpose an old fake pearl necklace you haven't worn since your sorority formal and make some cool stackable bracelets. Hemp and black/freshwater pearl bracelets look cool an beachy; you can even use thick cords and hex nuts braided together to make a cool metal- accented piece. The possibilities are endless!

Well I hope this helps some of you super late shoppers that don't feel like killing themeselves at the mall all day tomorrow, or just worrying about the sincerity of your gifts. Homemade stuff may sound lame, but you put your time, creativity, and hard-earned cash into to hand-make a special gift for a special person. Enjoy and get crafty!