Monday, December 30, 2013

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

I made this sugar scrub for Christmas gifts this year.  Here is the recipe for anyone who would like to try making it themselves.


Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbls. white sugar
2 Tbls. powdered candy canes or starlight mints
1/4 cup grapeseed or almond oil
1 tsp. vegetable glycerin (optional as a preservative)
20 drops essential peppermint oil

Mix the sugar and powdered candy together first.  It works best if you grind up the canes/mints in a food processor until fine.  If you don't get it fine enough it will gum up the scrub.  Add the oil, glycerin (optional), and peppermint oil and mix thoroughly.  I used a high quality peppermint oil.  If you use a lower quality oil you may need to add more than 20 drops to your preference.  One other note - add more or less grapeseed or almond oil if it is too dry or too wet for your taste.

WARNING:  Be careful about using this in the shower or tub where you could slip as it is oily.  You can use it on your face if you are not too sensitive, but is definitely good for hands and feet.

Oh - also here is the link for the jars that were used.  The amount for this recipe fits exactly in a 4 oz. container.  My sister-in-law might suggest you look for a plastic container as unfortunately her glass jar broke. :-)

4 oz Wide Mouth Ball Jars at Target.com

Christmas Day with Puppies

The dogs were happy to have us arrive home on Christmas Day as they were able to get their stockings. ;-)  They each got treats, a new toy and a new collar.  We were certainly glad to see them... although I'm not sure why they didn't have any gifts for us in return. ;-)  I've added a few pics at the bottom taken in the last few days just because they're so cute - in my opinion. :-)










2013 Christmas Travels

This post may be rather long because I just decided to document our Minnesota Christmas trip (after the Mall of America post) all at once.  It was a great trip and we were able to see most of the family and friends that we had hoped to see.  Unfortunately, not all are shown in the pictures below because I kept forgetting to take them!  But it was such a blessing to connect with everyone!

A stop at Culvers on our way from Wisconsin to Minnesota

Santa and his elf making an unexpected appearance at our friends' house




Excited about the present he had requested in a letter to Santa



The pressure to be a Viking fan starts young! ;-)


I'm cute #1

I'm cute #2

One of the best salads ever!  Certainly not low calorie though. :-)


Dad clearing away snow with the ASV





Just like this tree - the snow was coating all of the pine trees so beautifully!
Grilling steak and shrimp for Christmas Eve Eve supper







Wonderful Christmas Eve with cousins!


Merry Christmas from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Modern Family

Mark came upstairs to find me with my mom and dad all looking at our individual laptops/iPads. I suggested he take a picture. :)


We Found Santa in Minnesota


Saturday, December 21, 2013

Mall of America

Mark and I had a great time yesterday (Friday) at the Mall of America with his sister and nephew.  They made the trip up from Iowa to spend most of the day with us and stay overnight at the Radisson Blu Hotel that is connected directly to the mall (got great rates using hotwire.com).

Wow - we had a great time!  We haven't seen each other for three years which is hard to believe.  We did a little shopping, had both a color, and a black and white, caricature portrait done, watched Mark's nephew go on numerous rides, ate some good food and even put together a puzzle.  Of course there was good conversation all mixed up in there.  We were so grateful to have the chance to spend some time with them and are already planning for Christmas next year. :-)

Radisson Blu Hotel

View through a cool window as we walked from the hotel into the  mall

Cool lights!

Interesting chairs - very comfy!!!  The fire burning was neat but gave off no heat.

Happy to see each other!

On the way down!



One of the many gorgeous Christmas trees in the mall

Putting together this 500 piece puzzles was sure a great idea!

Mark's nephew putting the last piece in place

The finished piece of art!


Breakfast smiles

What exactly does "being thrilled" mean?