Brown Sugar Body Scrub

My SIL got me this brown sugar body scrub from Bath & Body Works a few years ago and ever since then, I've wanted to find something like it, but cheaper. Luckily for me, pintrest to the rescue! I saw a ton of different "recipes" on there and this is the one that looked easiest to me. Lazy to the rescue, again.

To make this, you need:
-brown sugar
-white sugar (note: in this picture is flour. that is not what you want. don't use it!)
-olive oil (I bought a $4 bottle at Ollie's - not great for cooking, fine for slathering on your body)
-grapefruit seed extract (I bought a bottle for about $8 off of amazon.com)
-plastic containers (I found Ziploc containers with twist on lids, which I think are great for this)

The first thing I did was figure out a ratio of grapefruit seed extract to olive oil. The original recipe said to store this into the fridge...but no way would I 1) remember to take it up to the shower with me or 2) use something cold. I found some other information on the internet that said you could use GSE as a natural preservative, so that's what I went with. I did some math - feel free to check it, since Lord knows I am not a math major - but I think it works out to about a teaspoon of GSE per cup of oil. One cup of oil made about six cups of scrub (three containers) so divide that up as you see fit.

The next thing I did was scoop brown sugar and white sugar into the containers until they were as full as I wanted. Then I dumped the containers into a large mixing bowl and mixed the sugar together. I used about a 1:1 ratio of brown to white sugar, but from looking at stuff on the internet, I think you can use whatever ratio you want.

Once all the sugar is mixed together (get rid of the big lumps that are in that picture and combine until it's a sandy texture) I divided the sugar back up into the containers. Then I added the oil/GSE mixture to the containers.


I don't think there's a right or wrong ratio of oil to sugar, but I wanted to have a little more liquidy/oily mixture. I have super dry skin and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra oil on it.

As the oil was still trickling through the sugar, I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I don't think the mixture smelled olive oily, but the vanilla makes it smell SOOOO good!


Once the vanilla and oil had kind of seeped all the way through the containers, I dumped them back into the bowl to mix together. When mixed together, you get a better sense of how wet or dry it is. I think it would be easier to add more sugar, rather than the oil since the oil is mixed with the GSE, but that's just me.


Once everything is mixed together, put back into the individual containers.


I've had mine for about a month now, stored in my shower, and so far, no mold or mildew. Also, it still smells DIVINE! I like to use this scrub as the last thing I do before I get out of the shower and I haven't had to use lotion for a while. It's fabulous. I think it's my new favorite thing that I've made!

Apple pie with cinnamon roll crust

I found a recipe on pintrest for a cinnamon roll crust and was intrigued. I love anything apple cinnamon, so wanted to try this. What better day than Thanksgiving to experiment on the people you love, right? ;)

The best part about this was how EASY it was. I just bought a pie crust and went from there. (I prefer Trader Joe's pre-made crusts - I always get compliments on my pie crust!) I laid it out on the counter and then generously sprinkled with cinnamon.


After you've sprinkled with cinnamon, just roll it up into a log and start slicing at as close to the same thickness as you can get. Don't worry that the crust log kind of flattens out when you cut through it. Also, be sure to cut the slices a little thicker than you want your crust to be - you will roll it with a rolling pin one last time before baking.


When you've finished cutting the log, lay out all the rolls. I just made a square. Also, I went back in and filled in any big holes with some scrap pieces - the ends didn't really cut well enough so those were perfect for this!

Once they were all laid out, I put another piece of wax paper on top and rolled with a rolling pin to get it to all stick together. Take the wax paper off the top and then flip it over into your pie pan. Carefully - CAREFULLY! - pull off the remaining piece of waxed paper and press into your pie pan.


Then fill with your favorite apple pie filling recipe. I forget what recipe I used, but all I know is that I haaaaaaaaaaate having too much crust and not enough filling, so I filled it way, way up. WAY, way up!



Helpful hint: If you overfill your crust like this, bake it on a cookie sheet so that as the goop inside leaks out, you don't flood your oven with goopy syrup that burns black smoke and sets off your smoke detectors. Trust me.


This crust turned out DELICIOUS! We all loved it and went back for seconds. I will definitely be using this as my go-to apple pie crust from now on!