a DIY: I made my own non-aluminum deodorant (and I smell so good!)

I'm going to start with the "2 Weeks Later" on this post, because I made my deodorant a couple of weeks ago and I've been using it every day since. So, this is not a brag or anything, but I smell great. Honestly. I've been using store (well Amazon) bought non-aluminum deodorant for a while now (Lavanila is just wonderful) and so I got over the fact that we aren't talking about antiperspirant here a long time ago. But your body is meant to sweat, it's good for you, and the aluminum in antiperspirant has been linked to breast cancer (if you think about it you're shaving your armpit, creating tiny cuts, then smearing a known carcinogen onto the area) as well as other illnesses. No thanks. The funny thing I found is that not too long after going off antiperspirant I wasn't sweating as much. Yep, sweating less! With antiperspirant there was always a point in the day where I'd start mega-sweating and end up with pit stains. That hasn't happened to me in so long. I sweat a little bit, the deodorant soaks up the smelliness, and I end the day smelling good and without aluminum smeared near my boobs. All good things.

I've also come to realize that I'm crunchy as fuck. It's true. I spent a good few years saying things to people like, "I'm kind of weird about food," or, "haha yeah I guess I'm on the crunchy side!" ::adorable shrug:: but the truth is that the more I know about the food I eat, the things I smear all over myself and my kids, the more I'm just like, "to hell with this." I suppose a crunchy lifestyle is among the last things that's it's still OK to just make fun of super openly and we're all supposed to laugh and be cool about it, hello truck and beer commercials! But guys... I am uptight. There, I've said it. I have a hard time being super cool about it. Everything in moderation but come on now. Ok, this commercial is funny.

Welp! Has the talking-too-much crazy-eyed chia seed eating lady scared you away yet?

So! Non-aluminum deodorant, it turns out, is incredibly easy to make and it works! This is based off a recipe I got at Crunchy Betty. Here's what you do...

You need
- wooden spoon & mixing bowl OR mortar & pestle if you have one
- 3 deodorant empties
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 5 TBSP of coconut oil
- vanilla extract (for smell)
- essential oils (for smell)

Here's what you do

1. Melt your coconut oil down so that it's a liquid. This doesn't take much at all. I did 30 seconds in my microwave at half-power. You just need to get it to it's non-solid, oily state.

2. Mix in your baking soda, corn starch, vanilla extract (I am terrible about measuring, but I used about 1/2 tsp) and essential oils (I used honey buckthorn vitamin C serum because it is the only oil I own; it smells super citrussy and like honey which is awesome).

3. Here is where I'll do better next time. Really mix that stuff up until it's as smooth as possible. My deodorants ended up with the occasional little tiny lump in them which hasn't killed me yet, but it feels a little grainy going on which I will improve on next time.

4. Twist your empties down as low as they'll go. I didn't even clean mine first. And then just pour your batter directly into each, stopping when you get to the top.

5. Put in the fridge to set. It takes a couple of hours.

Done! 
Once set, I've been storing mine in the bathroom just like store bought. I suppose in the thick of summer I might store them in the fridge but for now they've been doing great in the medicine cabinet.

I had my husband smell test me the first few days I used my homemade deodorant. What a champ. And he confirmed, I smell really good. Like end-of-the-day, one application in the morning, and I smell GOOD. Not just non-bad, but good. The deodorant smells like citrus scones or something yummy and so do I. Nice!

Finally, I hear you can add shea butter, avocado oil, argan oil, or aloe to these recipes to get a more soothing, skin-smoothing result. I will try the argan oil next time and just add a bit more of the dry ingredients to offset the additional oil.

ps. Thank you, Brandy (from heart and habit) for getting me started on my deodorant journey and inspiring me in so many ways, as well as sending me deod recipes. I love you, lady.

File This One Under Marshmallow Crafts

Here is a cheap and fun and easy craft project for the toddlers. It is amazing.

All you need is a bag of marshmallows (we used Halloween mallows) and a box of toothpicks. Hours, and I am talking hours, of fun and all for about $3. There's no beating it! You will have to be on your guard against sneaky little marshmallow gobblers, but other than that, the bird's the word!

How ready are we all for the weekend?!?! I can't even talk about it. So ready. We are having a little soup gathering slash housewarming thing tomorrow which means we are forced to finally clean up the place enough for guests. I'm hoping to finally take some pictures to share of our new house. It's really great, just still covered in half-unpacked boxes and other daily litter and all of the framed pictures are in stacks on the ground instead of nailed to the walls. Hopefully we can bust out some decorating and cleaning tomorrow morning before I get heavy into soup cooking.

Soup is the best thing on the planet. Especially now that it's chilly outside. Makes me want to bust out into some kind of song about eating soup on a Saturday with a beer in one hand and slippers on my feet! A rap song, obviously.

xo 

we are library fans

i always knew we would be library fans... eventually. but up until pretty recently i wasn't sure we were ready for the responsibility that comes with being card-holding book borrowers. Otto loves him some books (hurray hurray hurray!) but he also loves defacing them. sometimes to the max. like allllll the way to the max. crayons, toddler scissors, stickers, even good, old-fashioned pee (hey, wha? nooooo? but then yeahhhh.). anyways, we decided we're ready to try this library thing and Otto can learn about the importance of taking care of the borrowed books. i made him the cutest little book bag! it's simple and definitely no pin-worthy masterpiece but it's just a great little kid bag with a nice deep pocket on the front for his library card and Otto got to go through my fabric basket and pick out the ones he wanted me to use. eugene has a great library downtown with a great big children's section. i think we will become regulars!

oh. see how poofy his eyes have been lately? luckily using zyrtec just the once, plus eliminating strawberries and tomatoes, plus daily night-showers seems to have fixed him up. poor little allergy dude. stupid overly pollen-y oregon!

unfortunately i failed to bring sufficient proof of address and we were denied a library card this time (because clearly we were a team of grifters) but we still stuck around for a while, read some books, and got the lay of the land. and we are already looking forward to our next visit and getting Otto his own library card and checking out some books and then not peeing on them. yay for childhood milestones! i think getting a library card is a pretty great one!