Oh hullo there 😀
1. First and foremost, Happy Birthday to my favourite Sprinkle! Make sure you head on over to Sam’s blog and wish her a happy birthday. I had the pleasure of meeting this girl at HLS, and she’s just as wonderful in person as she is on her blog — so go tell her that!
2. My life is complete. Remember my pig and cow mugs? I finally came across the last mug in the series. Say hello to my little sheep:
3. This may go down as the strangest thing I’ve ever had in my purse…
A lemon. Why did I have a lemon in my purse? Because I “borrowed” it [with no plans on giving it back] from my mom when I made a pit stop at my parents’ house the other day for a recipe I wanted to make. Only this isn’t a recipe for your belly — it’s for your face…
4. Using half a lemon, squeeze out the juice into a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, and 1/2 Tbsp. of honey. Mix, mix, mix, and what you’re left with is my favourite DIY face mask/scrub.
I can’t even tell you how amazing this mask is… The lemon helps even out skin tone and tighten pores; the sugar acts as an exfoliator and removes dead skin cells; the honey helps hydrate, heal, and remove impurities; and the olive oil acts as a natural moisturizer. I use this mask about once or twice a week and it’s made a huge difference in my skin. All you do is gently rub it on a freshly cleansed face, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then wash it off with warm water. Your skin will feel amazingly soft afterwards, and you’ll notice a lot of improvements in tone with regular use.
5. While we’re on the topic of recipes, you’ll have to allow me a minute to gloat… Remember my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bars? They’ve officially become my most popular recipe with over 2k pins and a feature on Greatist. Happy dance? You betcha 
6. Oh, and a good handful of people asked about the recipe for the cheesy quinoa dish I showed in yesterday’s WIAW. It’s really simple — I just cooked up a batch of quinoa like normal and stirred in some shredded cheese towards the end when all the water was absorbed. Easy peasy. I’ve also tried mixing in a few wedges of Laughing Cow before, and that works quite nicely as well.
7. There’s been some road construction going on outside my home for the past week or so, and I’ve been having the strangest urge to bake some cookies or muffins and share ’em with the workers. Is that weird? Do people still do that? I have no problem pawning off my baked goods to people I work with, but strangers? That’d feel a bit odd.
8. You know what else feels odd? The fact that it’s late October and we’ve been enjoying temps in the double digits (high 40’s to high 50’s for you Americans). Here. In Edmonton. I’m pretty sure we already had snow at this time last year, so this is kind of a big deal. And now that I’ve said that, watch it snow…
9. Another funny video this week, this time for my fellow Game of Thrones lovers. And even if you’re not a fan of GoT, please, please do yourself a favour and watch this take on bad lip reading — I was literally in tears.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Krz-dyD-UQ&w=560&h=315″]
10. And because no post is complete without a little bit of randomness…
1. I can’t even come up with an idea as to why that would be 😯
2. That sounds both glorious and extremely uncomfortable at the same time…
3. So… if you hold up a picture yourself in the mirror, it’ll look better?
4. Confession: I am sometimes among those 99%… and don’t act like you aren’t!
5. Ohhh The Simpsons. Definitely a teenage favourite.
Have a happy Thursday! 😀
. – . – . – .
What’s your weather like? Warm and fallish, or getting cold?
Do you have any favourite at-home beauty treatments?
Be honest: Do you ever type LOL with a completely straight face?!?
I love homemade face scrub but I’ve never put lemon in. I didn’t realize it naturally tightened! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks so much for a DIY face mask! I’m going to have to try this….oh boy, I guess this means I’ll have to buy some sugar lol!
OMFG i thought my life was complete… BUT CLEARLY IT IS NOT because I NEED THOSE MUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy HOT DAMN! WHEREEEEEEE can I find them?!
I found mine in Homesense, which I guess is Canada’s version of TJ Maxx?
LOVE diy masks like that!! I actually use honey a lot in face masks, especially in the winter. I do coconut oil hair masks probably once a week as well 🙂
And those mugs are seriously so freakin cute! Im such a mug whore, I really don’t need another one, but any time I see one with butterflies or owls I have to snatch it up 🙂
I used to work at a spa so I’m full of weird homemade recipes and random facts. I always get nervous when people use coffee grounds as a face scrub, because they have jagged edges and will actually cause micro-tears in your skin, which is why it’s better to use rounded “beaded” type scrubs, but generally sugar is ok when it’s really fine. I have a good body scrub I’m going to post soon 🙂 And I’m SO guilty of typing LOL when I don’t think something is funny or I’m not laughing. Yep, guess I’m a phony 😉
oh you are funny, borrowing a lemon? now that i have never heard of especially because you thought you could return it. haha. adorable mugs!
Well I was in the neighbourhood and there just happened to be an extra lemon there, so I helped myself. I mean, that’s what parents are for, right? 😉
I can totally see why that recipe has become so popular. They pretty much sound like pure heaven. The month of November is when my major baking urges strike, and those are on my list of things to make!
Eeee! The sheep! But we can’t play favourites here, huh?
Once more congrats on your feature! That’s so awesome – and well deserved.
Handing baked goods to the workers isn’t a strange idea but one of those wonderful random acts of kindness. Just think about how happy they’d be and how much more appreciated for their work they’d feel. I’d say go for it [and report back]! I mean, you’re a Greatist-featured baker now so you should show off and share :).
We’re birthday month twins: January.
Surprisingly enough it’s gotten warmer again after several really chilly days over here so I’d better head out now to still get a nice evening walk in.
Bad Lip Reading is genius. My all time favorite is when they did the NFL. I was in tears!
About sharing treats with strangers…I say go for it! You’ll probably make their day. We do the same thing sometimes (though we’re rarely home during the day when most work goes on anywhere near us).
I am a January baby which I love and hate at the same time. Winter is my least favorite season so I always wished I had a fall birthday! I never do any homemade face masks because my skin is really, REALLY picky. I normally have pretty clear skin so I keep it to Cetaphil and that’s about it. I’m scared to try anything because of my bad experiences with other products growing up. I definitely do not laugh every time I type “LOL” but I am definitely one of those weird-o people who laugh at nothing in public. Embarrassing.
I would make them something FOR SURE. You and I would definitely get along after reading this.
My skin is pretty finicky too and I usually find that the more products I try to use on it, the worse it becomes. And I feel ya on being a January baby — it’s cold, dark, and everyone is grouchy 😕
Congratulations on the recipe success! There’s definitely good reason behind that…those bars do look incredible. Thanks for the DIY face mask recipe. I need to try that out on my icky pesky skin that never behaves!
My birthday is in February.
Congrats on your pumpkin bars!!! They look delicious!! 🙂
Congrats on such a great response to your pumpkin pars! I definitely pinned those for post Whole30 treats 🙂
Congrats on the success of the amazing recipe! I love beauty DIY’s and this one sounds great! I have such an uneven complexion, so hopefully this helps!
Very cool about the recipe!!
My bday is in March. I hope it’s warmer then than it is now… it’s already starting to get down into the low 30s at night, way too chilly for mid-October, if you ask me! Today and tomorrow, the highs will only be around 50. Buh-rrr.
I’d trade you March for January! Not only is it cold and dark, but everyone is grouchy after coming down from the Christmas high 😡
Ah, I can understand your dissatisfaction with January. :/
Everybody lies about “LOL”. It’s just such a common thing to say. When I’m actually laughing, I type “You actually made me LOL”, just so the person receiving it knows that I’m being genuine about my “LOL”.
I definitely want to try your facial scrub recipe! Looks amazing 🙂 You always have great beauty tips!
Congrats on being feature on Greatist. That is so amazing and remembers me that there is one more recipe of yours to make. Btw. I’ve found out how I like your pumpkin cookies best: microwaved for up to 10 seconds. They get warm and gooey and the chocolate chips melt again…. yum!
Oh and that face mask sounds awesome! I am going to try it and probably feature it on the “face care” post coming next in my “pamper yourself” series. Thanks girl.
Love this! I’m glad I’m not the only one who has the urge to bake for strangers. I made a bunch of cookies last year when we had a guy working on our boiler and you should have seen his face, he was SO excited about those little babies. I say DO it! You’ll be the hero of their day 🙂
Okay I’m pretty sure that was all the encouragement I needed — doing it this afternoon 😀
just stumbled across your blog and have to say, that recipe looks amazing. congrats on the pins!
i’m a junebug, and the weather here in NYC has been increeeeedible throughout the entirety of Sept. and Oct. we’ve had truly golden months and i couldn’t ask for anything better. just starting to get a bit chilly this week.
My birthday’s News Years Eve:):) Congrats on your exciting Greatist news!! THAT IS AWESOME!!!:):):) PS- I bake goods for people all the time and use my “It’s Southern hospitality” as my excuse:):):)
Awww.. happy birthday to Sam! My day of birth is in the good ol’ freezing and dark month of January. It’s always freezing and there is always a blizzard. Fun times 😉 And I honestly never “LOL” and don’t mean it – maybe it’s because I can rarely keep a straight face and laugh all of the time regardless!
Yay for a fellow January baby! <3 Ditto on it always being freezing and blizzardy -- and as an extra kick in the pants, mine was usually on the first day back to school after the holidays 😉
I’m a September baby — there’s a lot of us, since people get reallll bored around December/January time ;).
Congrats on your pumpkin recipe! That’s awesome <3 <3 <3.
oh my goodness – those mugs are the CUTEST things I have ever seen. Where are they from?!
I love it when you share your beauty tips – I’m going to try this mask tonight so I have pretty skin for the weekend. My fav skin care product is this calming facial oil I bought from a herb shop in the Yukon. It makes my skin so glory & even.
I actually found the mugs in Homesense over the course of many, many months and many, many visits.
I always have a million things to write after your Thinking Out Loud posts, but I’ll just leave it with a CONGRATS on your amazing pumpkin bars (that I definitely need to make). Oh, and I am totally going to try your face mask suggestion. I am in the running for a new weekly mask anyway, so I will give this one a whirl before dropping the big bucks.
And no. I once phased LOLs out of my life, but have recently brought them back only when they are well deserved and completely legit!
HOLD THE PHONE. YOU LIVE IN CANADA?! EDMONTON ALBERTA?!?!?! why am i just finding this out NOW?
Yup! Born and raised! Is there something special about E-town?
That is so true about the LOL thing. What’s really annoying is the two students in my class that use the word in everyday language…You’re NOT laughing out loud…CLEARLY…I’m right in-front of you, I can tell!
Congrats on the Greatist feature, well deserved!
I remember last year my pumpkins were covered with snow around this time so let’s keep our fingers crossed for a snow-free Halloween! Can you believe I actually got hot wearing my jacket yesterday!
Right?! I’m trying not to jinx it because it looks like we might be getting snow on Sunday, but at least we’ve been able to enjoy a few more weeks of nice weather.
It’s in the 30’s here right now… YUCK! I am going to have to try that face scrub!! Thanks love!
I love at-home beauty treatments – cheaper than the store and so much better for your skin. I need to try this one you posted. I am big on using avocado on the face. I meant to do a post about it and you just reminded me! It’s been warm here until today – so chilly, I need to adjust!
AWESOME about the feature on Greatist! Congratulations!
I love those mugs – too cute! 😀
Congrats on the Oat-Pumpkin-Recipe Hype!! That is so cool!!
And I love that mask recipe. I always wanted to make one on my own, so thanks for that!
If I would always LOL when I write it, my co-workers would probably send me home cause they think I was drunk or something…..
I can see why those pumpkin pie oatmeal bars are so popular, they look delicious!! A must try. The weather here in Toronto today is not ideal. I almost froze on my way to work this morning. Oh and it was dark… so depressing.
I’m an August baby- Leo traits galore over here.
Congrats on the feature in Greatist. I sometimes wish that I was more of a cook/chef/baker but then I remember I don’t really love it enough at this point in my life and get over it 🙂
That’s okay — you’ve got plenty of other things you’re amazing at 😛
Pinning that face mask!! I can’t wait to try it!! 🙂
Hahaha loved the sloth fact…Those little guys crack me up!
LOVE this facial scrub recipe! I totally need to give that a try!
My birthday is in August. The weather is definitely turning cold in my neck of the woods. There was frost on my car this a.m. and is was 40 degrees. Brrrr!
Congrats on the bars! I definitely will be making those within the next few weeks. They look amazing!
Yayyy congrats on such a successful recipe! I am not surprised that they were featured on Greatist- they definitely look like a winner :)! After a few rainstorms on my last few days in London, I am enjoying the overly hot temperatures in Mumbai. I might be running up a huge electricity bill with my air conditioner buuuut it’s worth it if it means waking up to sunshine :D! And here’s a lil secret: One way to tell if I’m really lolling is by looking at how I type it:
LOL or lollllll = actually laughing
lol = don’t want to be rude and ignore but I’m really not finding it funny at all
That face mask looks amazing! I’ve seen something like it on Pinterest but I think the one I saw was lemon and baking soda?? Can’t remember. Anyway, I’ll have to give it a try. Also–congrats on your recipe making it big!!! That’s so exciting. As always, the WoW Facts got me loling (I know, they said I’m lying but I actually did lol at #2).
Yay for real lols! Hope you’re having a great day, Erin.
Congrats on the Greatist feature beauts!!! Well deserved. Those bars like amaaaazing. Those mugs could not get any cuter!