B00AFU6252 EBOK (41 page)

I like to exfoliate with coffee grounds because they’re high in antioxidants and the caffeine reduces puffiness. Finely ground oatmeal is a gentle alternative; baking soda also works if you’re breaking out and need something a bit more aggressive.

Mix a few drops of lavender and chamomile essential oils into a cup of Epsom salts and sprinkle them in your bath for a lovely, relaxing soak. If you need more of a pick-me-up, try a mixture of ginger, peppermint, and lemon.

Mix 1 part olive oil (or Honest Body Oil, or coconut oil!) and 2 parts sugar. I like to use raw cane sugar—brown sugar and sea salt are also nice, or try a combination to achieve your desired level of scrubbiness. Then add a few drops of vanilla extract (you can also use your favorite essential oil) so it smells yummy. Slather this on in the shower to exfoliate all over, then—gently!—slough it off with a washcloth.

When my girls have allergies or a cold, I mix a couple of drops of eucalyptus, ginger, peppermint, and tea tree oil in with our Honest Healing Balm (you could use any balm or body oil) to make a salve that I rub on their chest and back as well as under the nose and on the bottoms of their feet.

Mix 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a cup of water, then pour it over your hair in the shower, comb through, and rinse out. This is great for getting rid of buildup, and it makes your hair crazy soft. You can experiment with adding a few drops of an essential oil to balance out the vinegar smell or follow up with a pretty-smelling conditioning treatment. In my experience, this rinse is best left for an around-the-house day when you don’t mind smelling a little saladlike until your next shampoo.

Mash up 2 avocados with a cup of olive oil. Apply this just to the ends of your hair—not to the roots or you’ll be a grease ball! Wrap your hair in a towel or plastic bag and sit in the sun or under a hair dryer for 5 to 15 minutes; the heat will help all that moisturizing omega-3 fatty acid goodness penetrate more deeply. Rinse out (use cold water for extra shine) and your hair will be silky soft.

I
HAVE SO MUCH FUN
decorating our house—especially our girls’ rooms, which I’m constantly tweaking and updating to suit their changing needs and tastes. I love projects that let kids interact with their rooms and add to it themselves so that they start to develop a sense of personal space.

This is great for teaching responsibility—because if you love your room, you’re a little more likely to want to keep it tidy. At least, that’s the hope! Maybe more important, it fosters kids’ sense of their own identity and creativity: They realize that they have the power to invent their own little worlds within your bigger family world. That is so cool. Here are some ways I’ve infused our family’s personality and spirit into the girls’ rooms from day one.

I found Haven’s dresser and bookcase at the flea market. Originally, they didn’t look anything like each other or like Honor’s old changing table (which we were repurposing) or Haven’s crib. A fresh coat of paint took care of all of that!

Pregnant and allergy-prone people should not be anywhere near this work. Always check a vintage piece for lead before you do any sanding (see
this page
); if you get a positive result on your lead test, head straight for a professional refinisher. If you are doing the work yourself, work outside or in an extremely well-ventilated area.

Materials

Plenty of 100 grit sandpaper

Primer (oil based will be the most durable)

No-VOC latex paint

No-VOC, nontoxic water-based poly finisher like Safecoat Acrylacq

How-To

1
Thoroughly clean and assess the current surfaces of your piece. If they’re painted, varnished, or sealed, you’ll need to gently scuff the surfaces with the sandpaper (then wipe off the excess dust) so paint will adhere. If it’s unfinished wood, you can probably skip the sanding part.

2
Apply a thin and even coat of nontoxic primer with a small foam roller or paintbrush. It won’t look perfect, but as long as the finish isn’t gloppy, you’re good to go once the piece dries. (Check the recommended drying time on the primer can.)

3
Apply at least two coats of paint, again using a small foam roller or paintbrush. Keep each coat super thin and light—about the thickness of a piece of paper—and let the piece dry thoroughly between coats so you can see how the paint is adhering. I know it’s a pain, but you’ll be way happier in the long run if you do three or even four super-thin and even coats rather than one or two messy coats.

4
Optional: Brush on two thin and even coats of a poly finisher like Safecoat—again, making sure the paint is 100 percent dry before you start and letting each coat dry completely before moving on to the next. Applying a finisher will make your piece more durable, scratchproof, and easy to clean, plus it looks more “finished” and less “I painted this my own self!” But steer clear of the conventional polyurethane finishes—they are crazy toxic and will off-gas for ages.

5
Let your piece thoroughly dry (so that it finishes any pesky off-gassing, because even the greenest paints and finishes have some not-so-pleasant stuff in them!) on a back porch or other well-ventilated space for several days before you bring it in to its new home. Take lots of pictures and brag like heck.

Don’t be afraid of color on big pieces, especially for kids’ rooms.