Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate anyone?

There's just something about Chai tea ... whether it's hot or cold, it's delicious! Sadly buying the concentrate in the box from the store is expensive so I only used to buy it as a treat once in a while. 

I am an avid reader of The Elliot Homestead blog (which you should all check out!) and Shaye Elliot posted her recipe for Chai tea concentrate. I based my recipe off of hers. 

I haven't done the cost calculation like I did for my Homemade Face Cream but I have to think it is either equivalent or cheaper. Plus it's fun to make, you can tweak it to your taste buds, and you know exactly what's in it! Shaye says hers is about $2 per batch.

My homemade chai tea served chilled with raw milk

Ingredients:

• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 15-20 allspice berries
• 5 cardamom pods
• 15 cloves
• 25 black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoon of dried ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 tea bags of black tea
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or sweetener of choice such as maple syrup, raw sugar, etc.)

Directions:

1. Crack the spices (excluding the cinnamon sticks and ginger). To do so, place the spices between plastic wrap and put a towel over it. Hit gently with a meat smasher/hammer/rolling pin/etc. (Or you can use a mortal and pestal if you have one).
2. Then, combine the cracked spices, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and 6 cups of filtered water in a pot.
3. Bring the water to a boil and allow it to slowly simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. 
5. Strain the tea (use cheese cloth or fine sieve) to remove all the spice and herb sediment. Add the vanilla. Then, mix in your sweetener.
6. Pour into containers. I use quart size mason jars. Store the chai tea concentrate in your refrigerator and enjoy!

I like to have my chai tea about 60% tea and 40% milk, served either warm or chilled over ice! How do you like yours?

The infamous red lipstick

As most of my girl friends could tell you I'm not one for wearing a lot of makeup or really any at all. But recently I have become a fan of red lipstick. There's just something about it. It's fun to make the loud statement and let those lips pop!

And the best part about red lipstick? True red looks great on any skin tone! So you don't have to worry about finding the right shade, just go for RED. But then the problem becomes, which brand and what type of lipstick do you get?

Lucky for you I made the investment and searched high and low for the best lipstick out there! I've found three that are must haves!

Revlon Colorburst (Color: Matte Balm - Striking and Lacquer Balm - Provocatuer)

This is my #1 lip color choice. It combines the best of all worlds. Deep pigment of lipstick with the glossy texture, shine of lip gloss and comfort of chapstick! I have it in two shades listed above. This lip color is easy to put on quickly and is medium-wear. You will need to reapply it after eating a big meal or half way through the day. This is what I like to wear to the office.

CoverGirl Outlast Lipcolor (Color: Ever Red-dy)

This is the best long-wear lipcolor out there. You can put this on in the morning and the pigment stays all day. You can just use the gloss stick to keep your lips feeling soft and glossy. It's a bit hard to get off so I just use some of my homemade lotion (the oil dissolves the pigment) and wipe it off. This also means you need to take your time applying it so you don't go off your lips as it will be hard to fix. This is great for a long day at the office that transitions to an evening out or to an event where you are eating.

Maybelline Color Elixir Lip Color (Color: Scarlet)

This is the one that really POPS. It is definitely a heavy pigmented lipgloss but will come off easily if you eat or drink. It would be good for an evening night out or event but not all day long at the office. 







So ladies, what do you think? Do you like red lipstick? 

New Hope Spaghetti Dinners turn into the Grace Lunch Crew

While in my senior year in college at Clarkson University I attended New Hope Community Church in Potsdam, NY. As a new believer, this wonderful group of people welcomed me in and helped me grow stronger in my faith. Many people from that church had, and still have, a big impact on my life. But there is one family in particular whose impact blossomed into something great with my new church family at Grace Church.

Sean and Andrea opened their home every Sunday night and cooked dinner for the college students. This may seem like not that big of a deal but there were two colleges in the town and at times there could be up to 15-20 people over for dinner. Usually they would cook up a large pot of marinara sauce and spaghetti with homemade bread. It was great to get a free meal of course but the best part was being welcomed into their family. Friendship grew over those spaghetti dinners and faith in Christ deepened. I looked forward to seeing my friends, who I considered family, every Sunday night.

Now I have graduated and moved far away from this great family but their impact on my life is still there. God blessed my best friend Maggie and I with a small house to rent starting in October 2013. Upon moving in we prayed over the house asking God to show us how we can use the new space to bring Him the glory. A few months later we had developed a small group of friends at Grace Church and started going out to lunch after the service on Sundays. Our new friend Amy soon realized we loved having people over our house. Well then the idea came up about inviting everyone over our house for lunch instead of going to restaurants! So we started out 2014 with our new Sunday tradition … Sunday Lunches at Maggie and Caitlin's! We do it a bit differently than Sean and Andrea, with everyone bringing a part of the meal or donating a few dollars if they are able. But the thought is the same … sharing God's love amongst our friends and making new friends! For the past few Sundays we have had about 10-15 people over to share a meal. Usually we end up playing some card and board games after eating and having a great time.

It is exciting to see God's hand so obviously at work in our lives. I look forward to many more Sundays with The Lunch Crew.

I can sell you a rock

It's quite funny when a little kid sets their mind to something, they usually can pull it off. Whether it's climbing up that tall tree or doing a cartwheel, they will do it a hundred times and keep falling until they get it. For me, I wanted to make some money. So I decided to sell rocks.

Genius isn't it?!? I was about 10 years old and spending a week with my grandparent's during the summertime. We were down at the Hudson River at their boat club for the annual Clam Bake and tons of visitors were coming. I thought to myself, there are a bunch of rocks by the river and I have lots of paint. So for no up front cost I started my painted rock selling business! I set up my area in a grassy spot where they would be lots of people walking by and started to paint. I painted flowers, suns, mountains, rainbows and American flags on different sized rocks. As they laid their drying, people started to take notice.

Then people started offering me money for the rocks. Some said they would use them as a door stop or put them in their gardens! The drawings were simple things but apparently I found my niche market. I think I made about $20 that weekend. That is BIG money for a 10 year old.

So what did I do the following summer? Painted more rocks of course! And people that bought them the previous year remembered and my business grew. Who knew, I was such an entrepreneur as a little kid! I wonder if anyone still has one of my painted rocks? :)