Shampoo

I just wanted to rave about this great shampoo that I use, from a seller on Etsy. Her shop is Goddess Naturals. I first bought a bottle of her Lemongrass shampoo near the end of 2007, because it is so hard to find a sulphate-free shampoo at the store. I had been reading about people going shampoo-free, but felt that I wasn't ready for that leap, so I went in search of a more natural shampoo. I use chemical-free and organic products for my son's bath products (I LOVE Earth Mama Angel Baby), so I thought I should do the same for myself.

For the first week and a half using this new shampoo, my hair still felt slightly greasy at the roots after taking a shower. I had heard that temporary greasiness occurred for people that stopped using shampoo in favor of vinegar rinses and such, so I decided to stick with this shampoo for a little longer. I am definitely glad that I did! I cannot say enough wonderful things about this shampoo (I just got 8 more bottles last week!). I have thin, wavy hair which I flat iron about 3 times a week. I used to color my hair once a month to give it more body since it felt so thin, but not anymore...now it always looks shiny and healthy, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I no longer have the breakage and split ends that my flat iron used to give me.

If you have a spare moment, visit this super-nice Etsy seller's shop; besides wonderful products, there is a wealth of information about the essential oils Carrieann uses in her products. Also, there is information about what harm chemicals (such as the ones in commercial shampoo) can do to your health. In addition to the shampoo, I am also a faithful user of the tooth powder.

The other day, I actually found out that people were talking about me behind my back at work...they had a vote on who had the best hair, and I won.

What I'm Reading Right Now...

Danny got me a bunch of books for our anniversary, but this book, "This Charming Man," by Marian Keyes, wasn't released until June 23rd so I just started reading it last week. I don't read much chick lit anymore, but Marian Keyes is one of the authors that has stuck with me (in addition to Lisa Jewell and Anna Maxted) because I think all of her novels are so good.

I had a little trouble getting into the book at first because one of the narrators, Lola Daly, talks in a sort of shorthand that is awkward to read. But the novel visits several narrators: Lola, a stylist; Marnie, a wife and mother to two little girls; Grace, a journalist; and Alicia, newly engaged to a prominent politician named Paddy de Courcy. And soon I was moving quickly through the pages, at the speed which I used to read books before becoming a mom. ;-) Marian Keyes takes the reader through each of these characters' lives, and I spent much of the book wondering how they were connected. Although this book deals with a serious subject, there were a lot of hilarious things going on to balance it out (such as Lola hosting weekly 'trannie' events). All-in-all it was a great read, and definitely holds its own alongside her other novels, such as Watermelon and Rachel's Holiday.

I had such a good time reading this book that I hesitate to start on the next one too quickly, but know that I must do so soon enough as our daughter is due to be born in about two months and when that time comes there will be no reading of books for some time. :-)

Amy Butler Birdie Sling

I decided to make a bag the other night. I had read some reviews on-line about Amy Butler's Birdie Sling sewing pattern. I liked the look of the bag, but the reviews from other sewers all said that the bag was too big. Since I was just looking for a new purse, and not a diaper bag or beach bag, I decided to make my bag smaller. So I reduced the pattern pieces to 75% on a copy machine before I began.

I appreciated the ease of the directions, and I thought the interlinings that the pattern called for worked well for this type of bag. However, the way the instructions tell you to cut out your fabrics, is a way which wastes a lot of fabric. I used at least half of the amount called for (also taking into consideration that I was working with smaller pattern pieces) by cutting out my pieces differently than instructed.

I used 2 fabrics from Anna Maria Horner's Chocolate Lollipop, and for the inside of the bag I used Alexander Henry's Hot Dot in Ice Blue. The bag took approximately 5 hours to make from start to finish. Initially I began putting a snap closure in, but took it out because I like the way the bag lays without a closure. I'm really happy with how it turned out! What do you think?

Despite the full-sized pattern making a very large bag, I think I will try one next time, that I can use for a diaper bag or day bag!