Enter to win a $25 Apothica Gift Card! -Giveaway Closed-

I am so excited to share Eminence Organics Skin Care with you all today. It is one of my favorites!

Eminence offers a line of ecologically conscious products for all skin types, tones, ages, and conditions.


The Pear & Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher. It gently removes dead skin calls to reveal a healthy glowing complexion.

Another favorite is the Pumpkin Latte Hydration Masque. It smells so good you want to eat it..but dont ;) If your skin needs a little pick me up this is perfect.

If your skin in need of a little TLC then the Eight Greens Youth Serum is a must have. It firms and tightens the skin, normalizes oil production and reduces hormonal breakouts. I have this serum and I love it!

I am all about a face having a little character..but no one wants to look older than they are. Every woman needs a great eye cream. Eminence Herbal Eye Contour Cream is wonderful!


Apothica carries this amazing line! You can check out the full skincare line here.

Apothica is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one of YOU!

How you can win (one entry for each):

• Visit Apothica.com and leave a comment below telling me what you would like to try

• Write on Apothica’s Facebook wall about what you think of Apothica

• Tweet about Apothica giveaway. Tag with @Apothica and @DelightedMomma

• Mention this giveaway any where else you like and let me know where you mentioned it
  

• Be a follower of Delighted Momma through Google Friend Connect
  

Bonus Entry:

• Opt in to Apothica's newsletter

Good luck! The winner will be chosen via random.org

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

Caprese salad with fresh tomatoes from our garden. This might be my favorite little snack IN THE whole wide world.

Sometimes you have to have chocolate...so make it good chocolate. Dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt did the trick.

Mud run with my three girlfriends! We had SO much fun!

I promise I was running not walking like it looks like I was doing in this picture. On a side note: Do you ever see pictures of yourself and think...NO way my butt is THAT big....def bad camera angle. After looking through all of the mud run pictures I have come to terms that my butt really is that big. I am learning to embrace it :)

The first clouds I have seen in months. Fall is almost here!

Baked Apple Chips

I am totally guilty of snooping in other peoples carts at the grocery store. I want to know what other people are getting. What if I'm missing out on something! Saturday (after my super muddy FUN mud run and 5 showers later) we went to the grocery store and the lady in line ahead of us had a bag of baked apple chips in her cart. YUMMMers.

I thought these would probably not be that complicated to make myself...I also figured they would taste better warm and fresh out of the oven. I was right. Love it when that happens ;) So that is where this inspiration for this recipe came from...an unknown lady's shopping cart.

What you will need:

• 2 apples
• Cinnamon
  

Directions:

• Remove apple core. I most likely did this wrong since half of the apple was missing when I removed it but you get the idea.
• Thinly slice the entire apple.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place apple slices on it.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Bake at 275 degrees for two hours. At the end of hour one flip them over so they bake evenly.

* UPDATE: Check on them at the hour mark and every 30 minutes after that. Once they look nice and crispy take them out. :)

These were SO good!! The perfect healthy treat! I have a feeling these will be a a weekly must have once fall is in full swing...plus they made my house smell delicious...

Skin Care Tip Of The Week *Oil Cleansing Method*

When I first heard of the Oil Cleansing Method I was skeptical. How could cleansing your skin with oil make it clearer?!

I did a ton of research and found claim after claim from people who cleansed their skin with oil saw a visible difference in hydration, healing of acne spots and fewer fine lines.

Hmmmm aren't all of us secretly looking for that fountain of youth product or treatment? I decided to give it a try.

The Oil Cleansing Method:

Let me start by saying if you have never heard of this it might sound like the strangest skin care tip to date...but keep reading :)

It seems like everything is labeled "oil free" and we have all been taught to believe that if you put oil on your skin you will break out into a pimply mess.

Experts are now saying that oil may be the missing link to clear, beautiful youthful skin.

Cleansing your skin with oil completely removes makeup, dirt and sweat. It will not strip your skin of its natural oil like most cleansers tend to do. When you strip your skin of its natural oil you can actually break out MORE because your skin is overcompensating for the dryness. So you wind up with dry skin and acne. NO fun at all.

Oil cleansers target sebum... so essentially you are attaching the oil of your skin to the oil you are cleansing with and this results in the ultimate deep cleanse.

How to make your own oil cleanser:

Oily or acne prone skin- 75% castor oil and 25% jojoba oil (which mimics skins natural sebum) or grapeseed oil.

Dry skin- 75% olive oil and 25% castor oil or grapeseed oil.

Normal skin- Equal parts castor oil and grapeseed oil.

You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil if you prone to breakouts for added antibacterial benefits.

What to do and how to cleanse:

• When cleansing your skin with oil it is best to start with a damp face.
• Gently massage the oil into your skin. You can even remove your eye makeup with it.
• Lay a damp warm washcloth onto your skin and let it cool on your face. This will help open your pores.
• Use the washcloth to gently remove the oil. Rinse it out as needed and gently wipe as needed.

After a few weeks of using the OCM your skin will look brighter, more youthful and clear.

I use this method every other night and I love the way it has made my skin feel.

If you want to read a little more you can find some great information on Ance.org and Simple Mom.


If you are hesitant to make your own oil cleanser you can check out these three 5 star cleansers that have it already mixed up for you making it foolproof.

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I would love to hear if any of you have tried the OCM and what your experience was like.

We Will Never Forget

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I was in high school. I remember the day like it happened yesterday. One building was hit. A second building hit....Rumors started swirling. No one knew what was going on. Horror and panic. Teachers were silent as we sat in class and listened to the radio. I remember thinking why did this horrific event take place. It was unreal. A true nightmare.

We will never forget this day.

Where where you on September 11, 2001?

Spinach Feta Cups

We went to a BBQ over the weekend and I wanted to bring something other than chips. Plus I have been eating pretty good lately and I wasn't about to wake up with the ole chip hangover.

We had a ton of frozen spinach in our freezer and it was about time it was put to good use.

What you will need:

• 2 cups of frozen spinach
  
• 1/2 cup of feta cheese
• 1 garlic minced
• 1 egg
• 1 package of organic mini phyllo shells

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  
• Mix egg, feta and garlic in a bowl
• Defrost frozen spinach in a pot of warm water. Squeeze out excess water
  
• Stir spinach into the mixture
  
• Use a spoon to scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture into each phyllo shell
• Bake for 8 minutes.
  

Even though Ian and I ate most of them before they actually made it to the BBQ they were a hit!

On a side note: I cant do anything (blog) without music. I think music can be so inspiring and motivating! I have Pandora on shuffle with Johnny Cash, Mumford and Sons, Jem, Mariah Carey's Holiday Mix (too early for Christmas music? No way) La Roux and Flogging Molly. Does music motivate or distract you?

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

DIY Turquoise Inspired Jewelry

If you follow my jewelry Pinterest boards you may notice it has been filling up with turquoise inspired pieces.

A few weekends ago I went on a little antiquing adventure and I discovered this ammmmazing turquoise jewelry shop.

Everything was stunning. I wanted to see how much this one piece was so I asked the shop owner if he could open the case. I did the whole... let me "inspect" this piece...aka look for the price tag. Ahhh $400! Bummer. Is that how much real turquoise costs? Geeeese Loiuse.

I was determined to recreate it using polymer clay. This site gave me some great direction as far as making it appear more natural.

What you will need:

• Polymer clay. I mixed the two colors above to give it a little bit more of a greenish blue tone.
• Black or brown acrylic paint
• Sand
• A hand sander
• Old tupperware for mixing
• Gloves. Unless you want sand and acrylic paint embedded in your fingers.

Mix the two colors together.

Place sand and a few tiny squirts (hate that word) of paint in the bowl. Mix everything together and really work the sand and paint into the clay. Its going to look like a big ole mess but trust me it comes together. Decide on the shape and mold it.

If you plan on making your piece into a pendant, poke a hole through it with a toothpick.

Bake for 20 min at 270 degrees.

If you are like me you might be asking yourself.."Isn't acrylic paint flammable?!!" After a quick google search I discovered it's not. I wasn't convinced so I had baking soda and a pot ready to go just in case. I learned this is how you put out an oven fire. Good to know.

Using the sander, sand away until you start to see the black veins pop through.

I covered it with a layer of Mod Podge to give it a more finished look. You could also use clear nail polish.

Mr. Opinion (my husband) told me it looked like a pile of mush. Sweet right? I showed him my inspiration and he still didn't get. Haha.

On a side note: a little shout out to one of my best friends who opened up her first Etsy shop! It is full of adorable crochet creations. You can check it out here.