DIY Winter Lip Scrub

I have spent most of the last couple of days picking at my dry lips and heavily applying chap stick every 10 minutes. The winter weather is never kind to my skin and this year is no exception. Over the weekend I used some sugar lip scrub of my mom's but didn't have anything similar at my house, so I thought, why not make my own? I figured that between Pinterest, my many blog reads, and Google I could find a great recipe for a scrub to heal my desperate lips. 

Not only did I find a quick and easy recipe for lip scrub, but I also found a highly addictive website with recipes (drooling over this), DIYs, and articles on "16 New Ways to Leave Milk and Cookies for Santa". 

This recipe has six different variations using the same simple base of a 1:1 ratio of coconut oil and cane sugar. From there you can add different add-ons for the flavor and scent of your choice. I chose the Orange, Clove, and Honey option and loved it. Not only did it feel great, smell and taste great, but it left my lips feeling great- completely moisturized and smooth. I included the Orange, Clove, and Honey recipe below but check out all of them. Trust me, whoever you meet under the mistletoe this holiday season will thank you. 

Ingredients:

- white sugar

- extra virgin coconut oil

- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed orange juice

-1 teaspoon honey

- a pinch of ground cloves

Instructions:
1. Choose your container, and measure your exfoliant so that the container is just about half full.
2. Measure the coconut oil—you want a 1:1 ratio of oil to sugar.
3. Transfer oil and sugar to a mixing bowl, then add the orange juice and honey, followed by the cloves. Add each of these “to taste.”
4.  Mix gently to combine—over-mixing will make the granules begin to dissolve.To use: gently apply scrub onto lips and massage in a circular motion. Leave on for a few extra minutes and then gently remove with a washcloth and warm water.  

*Add scrub to an air-tight storage container and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Remove from fridge at least five minutes before use so that the mixture can soften.

Pucker up

Guest Post: DIY Polka Dot Jeans

Hello Peony readers, it's Annie, Kathleen's sister! I'm so excited to be guest blogging again. Today I have a really fun and easy DIY to share with you guys. The other day I got adventurous and made my own polka dot jeans. I had seen some AG and Paige polka dot jeans that I loved but wasn't ready to drop $180 on a pair of jeans, that let's be honest won't be in style in a year. Anyway, I found a really easy DIY on Pinterest and got crafting. I followed these simple instructions.

AG polka dot jeans $89

Paige polka dot jeans $189

What you need:
-old pair of dark skinny jeans
-pale blue squeeze bottle fabric paint (i like the pale blue because it isn't as stark as white, but white will do too.)
-push pin
-ruler
-ironing board or long table

1. Lay your jeans out flat, and with your ruler mark a dot every 1.25 inch with the tip of your squeeze bottle. I worked in sections doing one leg and one side at a time letting it completely dry before moving on.

2. Dip the push pin in the paint and go over the small dots. Some dots turned out more perfect than other, but I like the way they aren't all exact.

3. Continuing going over the dots until your jeans are complete!

Finished product!

seeing spots

                                                                       

Everything Good is Gold

It all started with a simple purchase of gold, metallic spray paint.

Bottle in hand, I had the whole day to do whatever I wanted. 

Before I knew it I was convincing myself that everything in my apartment should be gold.

Luckily I came to my senses right before I started painting the refrigerator. 

I actually purchased my spray paint at Wal-Mart but anywhere you can
find non-toxic, gold (or silver) paint is great!

My first project was to jazz up an inexpensive set of stemless wine glasses from Ross (only $4.99). I don't think they look that inexpensive at all anymore.

I followed the directions from my favorite DIY site and it was a relatively easy process that resulted in new glasses that I cannot wait to use!

A few tips!

*Wear plastic gloves if you want to protect your hands or nails, because mine are now covered in gold paint.

*Always spray outside in a well ventilated area!

*Wait until the paint is completely dry before removing the tape!

*Do not put these glasses in the dishwasher. Only hand wash!

Once I had finished the glasses I just walked around my apartment picking up other things that I could paint. You can't go wrong with gold paint-- it makes everything look better!

I bought this hand at Ross as well and used the gold spray to paint the bottom half and cover up the hideous pattern that was there previously. Now I have a chic, two-toned, gold jewelry holder.

These fun, patterned books are actually old Readers Digest that I bought for a dollar each at The Rink in Bethany. Using painters tape and a plastic bag I covered everything but the bind to create a 

display-worthy literary collection. 

Be glad that I didn't paint the cookies I was making gold too!

They will be on the blog tomorrow

Welcome November

via. Hip Hip Gin Gin

Happy November everyone, and happy Friday! I couldn't be more pleased that the weekend is a mere hours away. This week seemed to drag on, despite all the fun things happening. I cannot wait to get some relaxation in, some kitchen-time in, and some much needed Barre.

Here are some lovely links to get you through the day- I know I need it. 

Afternoon Cravings with Anh

Outfits for a rainy day

Anything chai

Tips for a happier house

Some serious pumpkin carvings

I could do this

Newest blog crush and seriously loving the outfit

Favorite pin of the week

This makes me want to stay at home all day

I have to make this sandwich again

And in case you missed it-- A Peony For Your Thoughts has a new Facebook page, where you can enjoy more sweet things. So if you haven't already, please go there and "like" it

Starbucks officially has Christmas cups. Swoon. 

Paper Products

I love love love working at a stationery store, especially one as cute as the one that I get to work at. Everyday that I work I decide that I need to throw a party, or write a million letters on sweet notecards, or decorate my room with sweet whimsies. 

My most recent paper obsession was featured yesterday in one of my pictures from my dinner party.

Paper placemats available at No Regrets in OKC.

I swooned over these gold, chevron paper placemats when I first saw them, and then went totally over the moon when I realized that I could print custom monograms on them! 

They were the perfect addition to my dinner party, and a wonderful way to make your guests feel so special. 

A glimpse of our dinner table, complete with hot pink, snakeskin napkins.

My guests took their placemats home with them, some complete with pasta sauce stains. But this got me thinking that I should try to make a set of placemats more durable for everyday use. Us teachers sure do love our laminating machines!

Another paper product that I love came from a blog that I have been crushing on since last week.

Eat Drink Chic is a lifestyle blog that also offers FREE downloadable images that are fabulous.

I immediately was drawn to these clever "Let's Do Coffee" cards that act as a perfect business cards for those who love to catch up and chat over a steamy vanilla-honey latte.

These cute cards give me just one more reason to meet with friends over my favorite beverage.

Eat, Drink, Chic also has girly business cards for meeting for cocktails and ice cream- just the other two delights that are best shared with company.

Killing trees in the name of cuteness. 

Chalkboard Walls

via. Apartment Therapy

via. Coco+Kelley

via. Jones Design Company

via. SF Girl By Bay

via. Poppy Talk

I have developed a slight obsession with chalkboard walls and seeing the versatility of this pictures makes me love them more. The perfect designs are beautiful and being able to have your friends leave messages seems perfect. If anything it could be a giant to-do list which would be better than all the lists I start and then lose. I am hoping that one day soon I will be able to have a chalkboard wall of my own, and if not an entire wall then a big, framed chalkboard for sweet nothing messages.

Black is the new black.

Light My Sapphire

I normally stick to the same routine when it comes to painting my nails. About every other day I find a new color combination and paint all my nails a color depending on my mood and the weather, all except my two ring fingers which usually get a nice coat of gold shimmer.

My favorite gold nail polish is by Butter London and on a lazy afternoon I wanted to try something new on my nails. I have seen pictures before but I want to try the trend out for myself.

All you need it two contrasting nail polish colors, (I chose Butter's The Full Monty and OPI's Light my Sapphire) a top coat, a quick drying nail coat, and circular office labels.

Paint your nails using one of your chosen colors, this will appear as the color on the bottom of your nail. Drop quick-dryer on each nail so that the stickers do not smudge the polish or pull any off. Cut the labels in half and press a sticker firmly on each nail to create an arch. Be sure to press down very hard on each part of the label so that no nail polish creeps down.

Paint your other color above the label and apply quick-dryer to this color as well. Allow to fully dry!

After your nails are dry, carefully peel the stickers off (I used tweezers) to reveal beautiful two-tone nails!

Expect compliments.

Healthy Hair At Home

Do you want longer, shinier, healthier hair?

Do I sound like a late night infomercial? 

The answer to both questions is "yes".

Tuesday night my best friend and I tried out a hot oil treatment that you can make with two (or one) ingredients from your kitchen. Any type of oil will work; coconut, rosemary, or olive oil, the last being the easiest and cheapest to come by. You can even mix oils to create your own solution.

Heat six tablespoons of oil (we used olive and canola oil) in a microwave-safe container for 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully apply the mixture to damp hair, working the oil into the scalp to stimulate the follicles. After applying the oil wrap your hair in a towel and leave in for 30 minutes, rinsing and shampooing afterwards.

Repeat weekly to reveal fabulous hair.

In salons hot oil treatments can cost us to $100, but why not grab a friend and convince them to throw in a head and neck massage to achieve the same experience?

Until next time.

Eat these 10 foods for healthy hair.

Salmon, dark green vegetables, beans, nuts, poultry, eggs, whole grains, oysters (eek, not my favorite), low-fat dairy products, and carrots.

I Made These

I pin and save so many images of things and projects that I want to recreate when scouring through Pinterest and blogs each day. They then proceed to sit on my desktop or other random files on my computer until I forget about them and end up deleting the image to never be seen again. 

This was all true until I came across this picture from {this is glamorous} and literally jumped off the couch, spilled coffee all over myself, and began the scavenger hunt to find all the necessary materials to make these... these beauties that made me finally change my ways...

via. {this is glamorous}

I made these.

It took me about a week to find a pair of boots, but I finally found some at Old Navy (shown here, but I think these would be great too). 

Materials

Boots- new or ones you already have

Fabric glue (I used Tulip Fabric Glitter Bond)

Two different sizes of the same color glitter (I chose a larger flake and small powder to fill in all the holes)

1. Using a paint brush or sponge applicator, cover the area that you wish to glitter.

2. Cover completely with the larger glitter.

Shake off excess glitter.

3. Cover completely with the powder glitter.

Shake off excess glitter.

4. After completely glittering both sides of both shoes, clean up any stray glitter and let sit for a few days (the fabric glue suggests 72 hours). After a day I sprayed mine with a professional crafting substance to set the glitter in place. This substance is also called Herbal Essence Forever Hold hairspray and it worked like a dream. 

5. Swoon.

6. Brag to everyone you know because you just made shoes and they are more legit than just tying fabric strips onto flip-flop straps. (6th Grade style)

Until next time.

Those annoying Old Navy commercials actually got me in the store. 

Fall DIY

After one of the greatest weekends that fall provides me, I was happy to be home where I could curl up on the couch with Starbucks, rain on the window, and the most recent episode of Gossip Girl (guilty, you know you love me). How is it that rain has this effect on people that makes them want to do absolutely nothing productive? Rather than homework and cleaning my room, I will browse Pinterest searching for fall outfits, like this, this, and this.

Other than hours of Pinterest, rainy days, overflowing mugs of hot coffee and football games, my favorite thing about fall is finding that perfect sweater that you know you are going to live in all season. 

This fall, my favorite sweater happens to be in my favorite fall colors as well, crimson and cream. There is just something missing from this perfect sweater that I found out I can add myself.

via. Elsea Chelsea

How easy could this be? Just a pair of brown, leather patches, a perfectly warm striped sweater, a needle and thread and I am trending for fall in no time. 

Until next time.

Caramel Apple Spice warms my soul.

The Real OC

When I first ran across this tutorial from The Beauty Department I knew I had to do it. I don't have a lot of inhibitions when it comes to my hair, dye it brown in my dorm room? Chop off 11 inches? Why not? But I think that this was my most daring and colorful hair adventure.

Lauren Conrad, or as me and her other closest friends refer to as LC, was the inspiration for this hair dare as she had it temporarily done a few months back. Luckily my hair had grown out so much over the summer that I was practically at the same length and color as LC. She might have had a professional do her hair but I had a best friend and that's so much better.

In the process. I am so sad that I have to post a picture in my 1980's style mauve bathroom. The lone room in my parents house that has yet to be redone.

I love the hot pink and blue that look so great separated or blended together to form a purple.

Did I mention that the pink glows under a black light?

Just lounging around, posing like LC to show off my new locks. I am sad to say that they are strictly temporary. I have a hair appointment in one short week to get this long hair cut off and all the color will go too. I just wish that I had a fun black-light party that I could go to with this hair!

Until next time. 

Curl up and dye.