Sparks and Recreation

Last Saturday we started a new series, where we share some of the great articles and blog posts we read throughout the week. It's just a good opportunity for you to be introduced to some new blogs, or just read something interesting. We're trying to keep some good variety, from home improvement, to self improvement, information that's interesting to bloggers or those who don't spend hours in front of the computer trying to come up with something interesting to write about. 

On Simple Mom this week, Tsh shared recipes for some of the homemade beauty products she uses. Philip has had a ball making fun of this the whole week (coming up with his own "homemade beauty remedies" including tomatoes as deodorant , but I have to admit I was somewhat intrigued. Nothing really to lose in trying it, so once our bathroom is set up I'm going to give a couple of these a go and let you know how it was. My mom already used coconut oil as lip balm/moisturizer like Tsh recommends here, so they can't all be crazy! I'd recommend reading the previous posts she links to where she originally wrote about each beauty regimen in detail, I found them interesting!

For those of you who know us, or who have been reading regularly, you know we don't have a hot clue what we're doing (where does that saying come from anyway??). We had to patch a few holes in the ceiling from where the old air conditioning vents were, and the patching did not turn out great. Here's how we should have done it. 

This is not house related at all, although I guess it is do-it-yourself. Lately we've been buying this salad at Costco that has "7 superfoods", I came across this blog post teaching how to make a variation on it yourself. 

Can you imagine living in 40 sq. feet? This Apartment Therapy post shares photos of homes in Hong Kong where they live in 40 sq foot areas because of the housing crisis. My purging urges would definitely come in handy if I had to live in that small a space.

Until grade nine, I needed my mom to do a ponytail for me. I don't know how quickly I will learn these hair tutorials, but some of them are really cute! I also love having one link to access 20 hairstyles, very handy.

Last but not least, on Project Organize Your Entire Life, I came across this giveaway which links to LearnVest.com. It seems like a great budget tool. I get sucked in by clean graphics and pretty colors, so this is definitely tempting to me. In the coming weeks we're going to be starting a series on finances and budgeting and all that jazz so definitely get excited for that (Philip's a Marketing & Finance major so he knows his stuff). We try and be responsible with our money, plan for the future, and be good stewards of what we're given. Our system works for us, but if you don't have one, a site like this might be a great idea! Otherwise hold out for a couple weeks, and join us in a financial planning series that will help you to get your act together.

That's all for this week! What blog posts/articles did you see this week that were interesting to you? We'd love to be introduced to a new blog or just an interesting piece of information we may not have heard. We don't have cable, so sometimes we're out of the loop on this kind of stuff (although I should speak for myself, Philip weirdly knows everything that's going on all the time while I live in ignorant bliss).