My Weblog

Let The Games Begin!

A few weeks ago I placed the hugest order with an online soap making supplier- the kind of order that is so huge that I expected my credit card to spontaneously combust when I hit "send order". And today, the order arrived! It feels like Christmas at my house today! Check out my loot:

Since my picture taking abilities suck so bad, you can't read any of the labels, but rest assured that I am now an at home chemist in my spare time. Who wants Mango Lotion???

Since I had the camera out already, I decided to take a picture of the shapes that I cut out for my niece’s cloth book. Aren't they pretty? I love the flowers and the cat the most. You can't really see the cloud because it's white and my table is yellow. I don't think that you're missing out on much though- it's a cloud.

I'm off to go mix up a batch of something- I haven't yet decided what to do first. Perhaps my next column? G-d, my job has definitely taken a back seat as of late.... Oh, if you see a massive explosion somewhere in the vicinity of the Detroit suburbs, something went terribly wrong...

Welcome Back Bruno!

I'm feeling better this morning. Bruno will be home in 5 hours and I have a ton of errands to run before picking him up. I'm so happy that he will be back tonight and I can't wait to wrap my arms around him the second that I see him. I'm not letting go either. It will probably be hard to drive, with my arms focused on him instead of the steering wheel, but what else can I do? I'm just warning everyone who might be driving in the area of the Detroit Airport, watch out for the crazy lady in the blue car.

Last night I mixed up a huge batch of soap and realized this morning that I left it in the freezer overnight. I hope that doesn't ruin it in any way. I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks. Woops! Once I was finished pouring it into the molds, I moved on to the cloth book that I'm making for my niece. The sewing machine is still broken, but the first few steps all need to be done by hand so I'm not completely without crafty things to do. The book is going to be called "Nieces Book of Colors" (duh, I'm going to put her actual name) and each page will have a different color. I spent last night cutting out shapes in felt (tree, flower, cloud, bear, cat, etc.) and tonight I will probably start embroidering them on to the pages. I'm also going to embroider the name of each color, which should be interesting. I always start these projects that I have no idea how to do. If it wasn't for the internet and the library I would be a complete moron! I've been studying the pictures in "How to Embroider" for weeks now and think that I'm ready to go to town with the needle and floss. Thank g-d that my niece is a baby and won't judge my craftsmanship! My sister-in-law, however, is not a baby and a damn great crafter so I still want it to look good!

Well, I've got to go do the dishes. The kitchen looks like WWIII hit it. That's what you get for not cleaning up after every project. Who has time to always be cleaning up though? I kind of like living with soap remnants scattered all over my stove and counter. Isn't soap clean by nature????

Gigi's Very Bad Pictures

You've begged and pleaded and now you will be rewarded! Here is the FIRST EVER installment of "Gigi's Very Bad Pictures". Gather around and take a gander... These are some of the projects that I'm working on.

Fabric for Eye Pillows & Cosmetic Bags

Purse that I'm making for my friend's nine year old daughter for Christmas (Before)

The Purse (In Progress)

I'm going to attach a braided rope as the handle. I'm also still working on the coin purse. Can you tell that I pinned it together?

Soap Recipes & Instructions

My cyber-pal, The Infertile Gourmet, has asked me for the recipes that I am using to make my soap, lotion and lip balm. It will take me a while to get them all up here, but I'm going to post them all eventually.

Making Soap:

Ok, let me preface this... I don't have time to make the soap from scratch. That includes some scary things like rendering fat from tallow and using lye. After Christmas I will try doing it, but until then, I'm using recipes that start with a basic soap that I buy from the craft store. The one that I am using is made by Life of the Party and is called "Natural Shea Butter Suspending Soap".Their website is www.soapplace.com. You can buy the soap at Michael's and JoAnn's. I started off with a 2 lb. brick but had to go back for a 5 lb. brick because I'm making so many batches. The good thing about the particular type that I chose (suspending soap) is that the essential oils that you mix in, as well as other ingredients, will be evenly distributed throughout each bar. Otherwise, the ingredients tend to settle at the bottom of the bars.

Getting Started

A few things to know before you start cooking:

**On the packaging of the soap it says that you can stick it in the microwave to melt. I prefer to grate the soap with a cheese greater and then melt it on my stove with water. It's up to you however you choose to do it.

**When preparing your ingredients, you will need to weigh the amounts out. I bought a cheapy food scale at Target. One day I'll upgrade, but for now this works fine (and only cost $6.00).

**Wear kitchen gloves during the whole process. The essential oils that you will be working with are harmful to your skin. Trust me on this one. I learned from experience.

**A little goes a long way with the essential oils. You don't need to put too much in your recipe to get the desired effects. Keep this in mind: It takes 220 lbs. of rose petals to make just one ounce of rose essential oil. Also, always use essential oils because they are the real deal. Fragrance oils don't have the same properties and are not pure. If you are using your soaps for aromatherapy purposes, they will only work if you use essential oils.

**I had kind of a hard time finding all of the ingredients that I needed. After running all around town, I found a wonderful site online that carries anything and everything you will need. Check out www.glorybeefoods.com. I already compared their prices against several other websites and found that, for most ingredients, they had the lowest prices. (I spent a whole day comparing prices and even made a spreadsheet. Take my word when I say that they have the best prices. I did a lot of footwork to come to that conclusion.) Sidenote: I don't know anyone at GloryBee or own stock in them. I don't get anything out of recommending them. I just prefer them over others...

Let's Begin!

Basic Ingredients:

12 ounces soap (grated)
9 ounces water

The following recipes all start with those two ingredients. For the individual soaps you will use the same procedure, adding the remaining ingredients right before you pour them into their molds.

French Clay Bars
1 to 2 teaspoons French Clay (comes in red, green and beige)
Add any essential oil you would like

Skin Balm Bars
1 tablespoon tea-tree oil
3 ounces calendula flowers
1 teaspoon powdered benzoin

Odor-Eating Soap
3 tablespoons freshly ground coffee
1 teaspoon powdered benzoin

Woodsman's Soap
1 teaspoon citronella oil
1 teaspoon lavender oil
1 teaspoon lemon oil
2 teaspoons cedar leaf oil

Instructions

Using a stainless steal pot (2 to 3 quarts max) heat up the grated soap and water. Do this on the lowest heat setting possible. You don't want it to boil and should refrain from stirring too much as that will cause a "lather" that you don't want. Do stir it enough so that it doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot. Once it has completely melted, turn off the heat and add your remaining ingredients. Using a candy making thermometer ($4 at Target), measure the temp of the mixture. When it has cooled down to between 150 and 160 degrees you are ready to pour it into your molds.* Leave the molds on the counter until they have developed a film along the top. You can test this by tapping the side of the mold or blowing on the surface to see if it moves. If it doesn't then you are ready to put them in the freezer. Leave them in the freezer until they are frozen solid. This usually takes an hour or two. Once they are frozen solid, pop them out of the molds and put them in a dry, dark place to cure, setting them on butcher paper. In a few weeks they should be ready to use.

A few tips/thoughts:

**Anything can be used for a mold. I started off with the kind that you buy at the craft store but didn't like the end result. The soap shrinks up when it cures and I was left with the thinnest little pieces of soap ever. Not really gift material. Since then, I have turned to using cupcake tins and various tupperware containers. They seem to work much better. And they are cheaper.

**Your soap might curl up while curing. You might want to flip them over every few days to avoid this. It may not work though. I haven't quite figured out how to remedy this yet.

Lastly, I am not a master soap maker and I did not create these recipes myself. These 4 particular recipes came from a wonderful book called "The Complete Soapmaker" by Norma Coney. It is VERY detailed and full of great information. She also goes into detail about making soap from scratch and would be useful to anyone first getting started.

Random Side Note: Can you tell that I used to write manuals for a living? You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl...

Weekend Update (Where's Jimmy Fallon When You Need Him?)

I had a wonderful weekend and was so busy that I failed to update my blog yesterday. Can you believe it? A whole day without blogging. And I usually average 2-3 posts a day.... On that subject, for anyone out there who wonders, "Does this girl not have a life? Why does she post so frickin' often???" Well, the answer is: I am home all day, by myself, and like to put off doing my work until the very last minute. So, blogging is my own personal brand of procrastination. Also, as I've mentioned, I live in a state where I only know a few people and really have only two people that I call friends. It's pathetic, I know. Just so you know, back in California I had friends. I wasn't a total loser. I just haven't met anyone in Michigan in the nearly 11 months that I've been here. It's hard when you work from home and all of your clients are out of state. That's the end of my pathetic explanation...

Back to my weekend. On Saturday (the one year wedding anniversary) Bruno and I had planned on going to PF Changs for dinner. Unfortunately, so did all of Metro Detroit so the wait would have been a whopping THREE HOURS. No thank you. Our back-up plan, which should have been our original plan all along, was Benihana's. Damn was that an amazing dinner! Of course, we had to sit at a table with a bunch of strangers but it was fun anyways. We had the best food and split some saki. It was fabulous!

When we got home I finally broke out my sewing machine. Gasp! It's been sitting in the box, unopened, since July and I finally decided that it was time. Bruno and I proceeded to spend our anniversary night trying to decipher the HORRIBLE instructions on how to thread the needle. What a frickin' challenge! Bruno and I fancy ourselves to be smarty pantses (I made that word up- see how smart I am!) but it still took us over an hour to figure it all out. I was on the verge of a tantrum the entire time. I couldn't believe myself. I literally wanted to pick up the sewing machine and throw it across the room, like the Incredible Hulk (you know, when he gets pissed-off while sewing...). I really wonder sometimes how Bruno can stand me. I couldn't stand me during the entire needle threading experience. When we finally figured it all out, Bruno hugged me and said, "See what you can do? You did that all by yourself. I am so proud of you." He wasn't being sarcastic. He was serious. I guess if I act like a three year old, I'll get treated like one. Then he got me a cookie. Just kidding...

In honor of my sewing machine, I decided to practice. And what did I make, you ask? Well, I made a bag to keep my chopsticks in. I didn't realize that's what it was until Bruno found the chopsticks and put them in their new handy carrying case. Damn, I am good! I'll create a pattern for the chopstick briefcase (that's what I'm going to trademark it as) and post it up here. That way, you can all have your own... For a small fee, of course. Start saving your pennies, kiddies....

So, on to Sunday. What a beautiful day it was here in Michigan. The wind was blowing a billion miles an hour (a record- really, a BILLION MILES AN HOUR) and so the streets were littered with golden leaves. I have never seen anything like it in my entire life (except on TV). We drove around, without the camera (duh!) and checked everything out. I love fall in Michigan!!!

Sunday afternoon I made my eye pillows. They look beautiful so far. I still have to put the stuffing in them (flax seed and powdered lavender flowers) and then sew them up. But so far, so good. I can't believe how nicely they are turning out. I can't believe that I didn't sew my finger into any of them. I am a regular Martha Stewart! When Bruno and I were driving around I told him that I am a cross between Martha Steward, Betty Crocker and someone hip and modern. I couldn't think of anyone hip and modern who sews. Did you know that I am a writer? Can you believe that I'm not starving?

I'm going to post some pictures tonight of my projects. I asked Bruno to take the pics because I am the worst photographer EVER. He said that I should take the pictures BECAUSE I'm a bad photographer. He said that my site will become legendary. "Anyone can take a good picture," he says. "But not everyone can take the especially bad pictures that you can." He's convinced that people from all over the world will come to my site just to see these bad pictures and laugh. He might be on to something here. So, tune in later for the first installment of "Gigi's Very Bad Pictures".

The Christmas Gift Project

I'm in a much better mood today, thank god! I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of vigour and immediately began planning out my x-mas gift project. Let me tell you that it has gotten completely out of control and I am loving it! What started off as a soap making adventure has turned into so much more. I decided to make my own cosmetic type stuff for all of the women that I'll be gifting this year. Each person will get:

*Bar of French Clay Soap (Because it's luxurious)
*Bar of Odor Eating Soap (Sounds bad but is actually awesome! It gets out the smell of onions, garlic, etc. that get on your hands while cooking. It's got coffee in it and smells edible!)
*Bar of Woodsman's Soap (To repel insects while camping. Neeto and practical!)
*Bar of Calendula Healing Soap (Perfect for healing dry and chapped skin during winter)
*Jar of Mango Body Cream (Moisturizing without being greasy)
*Jar of Mango Lip Balm (Healing and it tastes yummy!)
*Lavender Dream Pillow
*Cosmetic Bag

I'm making the cosmetic bags and the dream pillows in matching fabric that I got tonight. It's soooo pretty! I want to take a picture of the fabric but I can't work our damn camera. I'm going to put Bruno to work as my photographer and then I'll post pictures throughout the process. Did I mention that I love this project?

I spent the evening cutting the fabric so that it's ready for me tomorrow. I also have to place a HUGE order for the remaining ingredients. Once those get here I'll be a creative machine. Bruno is flying back to California next weekend for his Grandmother's funeral so I'll have 3 days to fill up with cooking and sewing. I'm not looking forward to him being gone but I know that I'll be really productive during his trip. I'm a little disappointed that I can't go with him, but the tickets are a FORTUNE, especially when you have to buy them at the last minute. Funny that I spent weeks researching the best airfare for our holiday trip to California only to have to buy another ticket (at a GINORMOUS cost) just a week later.

On a completely different subject, I have an appointment to see the aromatherapist when I go home in December. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she can do for me. She's been practicing for over 20 years and is going to be writing a book very soon. She asked me if I could help her so I'm going to talk to her more about it when I'm out there. Now that is a project that I could get behind. Much more creative than the stuff that I've been working on. Bruno pointed out that I might hate that book as much as the one that I'm already working on (another ghost writing project). He very well might be right, so I'm going to think about it long and hard before I make my decision.

Well, it's 1am and I am beat tired. I'm off to slumberland kiddies...

I Wanted To Be Nora, Not A Pirate!

For Halloween this year I really wanted my husband and I to go as Nick and Nora, the crime-fighting, martini-swilling duo from the Thin Man.

Instead, I think that I'm going to have to go as a pirate. Not because I have some type of affinity for pirates, but rather because I have some type of allergy to my new hobby that has rendered my right eye completely useless. I woke up this morning to find that my eyelid had swollen to nearly three times it's normal size. My eyeball looks like someone colored it in with a red marker and I apparently have something (perhaps a dried lavender flower???) in there or the surface is scratched. Either way, I can't stop blinking and the pain and itchiness is driving me insane! And, I have a lot of research to do today that I cannot put off any longer. So I am forced to read through endless stacks of paper with only one eye. Argghhh! (I'm even starting to sound like a pirate!)

On a good note, my hobby has turned out to be quite fun! This weekend, Bruno and I drove to a gazillion stores looking for all of the ingredients to make my soap. I prepared the first batch of 6 last night and they look lovely! After they had cured in the mold I had to store them in the closet to harden (for a week or more). Every couple of hours Bruno kept checking on them. It was so cute! I think that he was just in complete shock at the fact that I was in the kitchen doing something other than dishes. I'm no great chef and my kitchen skills are somewhat limited (to the aforementioned dishes and boiling water). So this is a major acheivement for me. I think that Bruno was encouraged.

So last night I made a batch of French Clay soap and also a batch of lavender water. They should both be done in about a week. Tonight I am going to make a batch of soap that prevents insects from biting you. It smells really good and will make a great gift for all of my friends who love to camp. In total, I plan on making about a hundred bars and about 12 batches of scented water. I'm also going to make a dozen or so batches of lotion and then finish the gifts off with custom made tea for each person. I love this project so much! I'm dying to get to the part where I can package everything. Truth be told, that is my favorite part! I'm going to design a logo for my products and have it printed on labels with the ingredients for each product. I hope that everyone enjoys their homemade gifts! I will take pictures of each product as I make it and post them up here. I'm really proud of them!

On a sad note, Bruno's grandmother passed away on Saturday. She was quite old, almost 100, but it is a difficult loss none-the-less. His grandmother was the patriarch of the family and this is a tough blow for a lot of people. I only met her once, right before Bruno and I got married. She was already quite frail at the time, but that didn't stop her from grilling me on my upbringing. I was sweating bullets! But, I passed with flying colors.

Bruno has an interesting family that is both Phillipino and Catholic. There is a lot of superstition and belief in spirits in his family. A few months ago I had a dream that his grandmother had come to me and told me that it was almost her time to go. I was weirded out by it but brushed it off because clearly she was going to die soon. She was 98 years old. But Bruno didn't brush it off so easily and felt that there could be something to my dream. So, Saturday night I had another dream that she had come to me. In this dream, Bruno and I were sitting on a couch with his grandmother and she was telling me about Bruno's childhood. The dream was so vivid. I woke up afterwards and had such a strange feeling. I told Bruno about it the next day but couldn't remember too many of the details. She did tell me about a blanket that Bruno had when he was toddler- one that I had never heard about before....

I don't discount this kind of stuff, but I don't necessarily look for it either. Who's to say if it was only a dream or something more. I'm tempted to call Bruno's brother's wife and ask her if she had a similar dream. After all, if grandma came to me, wouldn't she also go to her, too???

Move Over Martha Stewart!

It's the weekend! Yippee Skippy! Bruno will be home for the next couple of days, but working on his thesis so I can't bug him too much. He has recruited me to help him with an art project that I've been forbidden to discuss (Artists! You can't live with them, you can't talk about their work online...) but I am really excited about it! Just a hint: It involves using a sewing machine. I can't wait to jump in because he bought me a sewing machine for my birthday and I have yet to take it out of the box. I really want to use it, but I'm afraid of it. What a dork, huh?

So, on another creative note, I have an idea for Christmas presents that I want to give this year. When I have the time I like to make gifts for people. Not because I'm cheap (even thought I am) but because I like to do creative stuff. Last year Bruno was in Italy for four months and so I passed the time knitting scarfs for everyone I knew. They actually went over quite well. I think... I moved out of the state 2 days after Christmas so I can't say for sure. Perhaps after I left all of my friends and family got together for a "Good Riddance" scarf burning celebration. I'll have to ask about that when I go home in a few months...

Back to my idea... I want to make spa baskets for all of my female friends and family. My plan is to make my own soap (and maybe massage oil) and then stock the baskets with fun spa accesories. I have this Japanese loofah cloth that I got at a local asian market and it is heavenly! When you use it your skin feels like it is waking up for the very first time! I'll buy a ton of those and put them in all of the baskets. Throw in some raffia (sp?) and viola! A gift worthy of the Queen herself. Or another excuse for a fire party.

So, all of you creative readers out there (I'm not sure that I have any readers actually...), do you have any ideas for my baskets? I really want to have an aromatherapy theme and would love any input that you might have. So put on your creative hats and go to town! Also, I don't know how to make soap (I'll be researching that soon...) so if you have a recipe that you're just dying to share, please do so! I might even send you a basket for all of your help!

How To Ruin Laundry

Friday I was being a dutiful wife and so I threw a load of laundry into the machine. Knowing that my husband was out of clothes for school, I put all of his favorite shirts and underwear in with, of course, my own favorite t-shirts and pants. Hours later, when I finally remembered that I hadn't taken the laundry out of the dryer, I went down to the basement and saw the mockery that has become our wardrobe. Our clothes now look like they mated with a pack of dalmations. Spots EVERYWHERE! I single handedly destroyed half of my husbands wardrobe and a good portion of my own. Not to mention the mess that the pen left inside the dryer...

So, this weekend we had to go clothes shopping. Usually this is a task that cheers me up, but not this weekend. While my husband was able to find some nice things, I found NOTHING! I don't know if it was my depressed mood that was still lingering from Friday or just hormones, but I wanted to cry by the end of the day. Tired and frustrated, I spent the evening in the backyard with our landlord splitting a bottle of wine with my hubby.

Now it's Monday and I have a project due to one of my clients. They have been on my "unhappy" list for a while and so I didn't bother to work on their project all weekend. I managed to pull it together today and just sent it off to them. I'm sure that it will be met with much scrutiny, since that's what they love to do- scrutinize. I can't wait to see the hacked up, red marked version that they send back to me! Oh joy! At least 3 times a week I get frustrated and think that if they are so great at writing, why do they hire me to do it? My husband is always quick to point out that we like getting their checks, therefore it would not be a good idea to voice my frustrations to the client. He's right, but one of these day's Alice... Pow! To the moon! That's when I win lotto or am contacted by the lawyer of a long lost wealthy relative who wanted me to have all of their dough.... So actually, never...

Well, husband will be home soon, so I need to eat something and hop in the shower. Truth be told, I'm not in a very upbeat mood today and I want to try to improve it somehow. I woke up with cramps this morning and it was like a sharp reminder of the fact that I am not pregnant. I also had nightmares last night about being a very bad mom. In one dream, I had a baby but didn't know how to feed it, so I put a Ritz cracker in its mouth. The baby was choking and I couldn't figure out why. Then my mom called and said that we needed to go shopping to buy baby food, so I took the baby out to the car and realized that I didn't have a baby seat. I drove to my mom's with the baby on my lap. When I got there she couldn't believe how dirty I had let the baby get and insisted that I give it a bath. Somehow I managed to do that without drowning the baby, but when I was drying it, I just put the towel over its face and it started to choke again because it couldn't get air. Then my brother came over (he's 3 years younger than me) and showed me how to care properly for the baby. In real life, my brother and his wife have 2 kids. I guess that I have issues with that...