holiday playlist + diy peppermint sugar body scrub + NYC photos

Merry Christmas Eve! For those of you who’ve already finished all of your holiday cooking and baking days ago, I truly commend you. No matter how much I plan, or how hard I try to be ahead of schedule, somehow I am always up all night the day before Christmas Eve.

It was difficult to do anything too far in advance because with being in NYC, then going to Disney, THEN having a Christmas Pajama Party with half of your relatives, it was hard to find time. That left me with one day. One day to grocery shop, execute the plan, and execute it well.

With that being said, I'm happy to say that I am almost finished! Well, with cooking/baking/spending 10 hours in or around the kitchen. Just a few more easy dishes to prepare for dinner, some gift-wrapping, and some last minute gift-buying/making (eek).

I’ve been on a tight budget lately, so I’ve been taking full advantage of awesome homemade gifts. If you still need another gift for a woman in your life, this would be pretty freaking perfect. And you probably already have the two main ingredients in your pantry :)

DIY Peppermint Sugar Body Scrub

I saw this on the free people blog back in August, and being that it looked so easy, I figured I’d be making it for someone soon, if not myself! All you need is:

Sugar
can be raw, organic, large crystals, small crystals, etc

Olive Oil
I’ve also read that you can use different oils, such as coconut oil

Essential Oil
Technically it’s not necessary, but I think it gives it something extra.

Peppermint is extra essential for the holidays ;)

I really liked how the scrub turned out. I made a small batch to test it out and it made my skin so soft! Just as a guide, I used:

4 tablespoons of regular granulated cane sugar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 drops of peppermint essential oil

This amount yielded enough to use the scrub a few times. But of course that will vary person-to-person depending on how much you use at a time. For an 8 ounce jar, I doubled that batch and it was perfect.



To assemble the scrub:

• Find a jar/container that will hold up well when wet. This will most likely be kept in the shower, after all.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and oil in a 2:1 ratio. Two parts sugar, to one part oil. (This allows you to make as big a batch as you’d like).
• As for the essential oil, it can vary depending on your preference. I used 4 drops of peppermint essential oil for 4 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. To me, this was the perfect amount. You may like more or less, so I would start out with 1 drop and add more as you feel. :) 

When I was at the thrift store a few weeks ago, I found these really cute, blank holiday cards. I bought some awesome Christmas stamps on sale at Michael's as well, so I'm going to personalize the cards and hand them out with my homemade gifts!

 Here are some photos from my trip to NYC last week. It was truly a wonderful time (but when it is not??) We saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The Lion King on Broadway (absolutely amazing and HIGHLY recommended), spent a day around the Village (my favorite), did some window shopping, went ice skating at Rockefeller Center, and ate some damn good food.

And last but not least, I've put together a holiday playlist composed of some of my favorite Christmas songs. Get on Spotify/Youtube/Whatever you kids are using now-a-days, and put these on repeat! It'll definitely put you in the best holiday spirit on this fine Christmas Eve :)

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!