I was flipping through this month’s Real Simple when I came across an article called “Take a Vacation… From Your Beauty Routine.” All about giving you hair, skin and nails a little breather, it explains why less can be more and gives some tips for spa-like treatments at home.

It got me thinking. Why do we put chemicals directly onto our skin–especially if there are simple, natural, inexpensive alternatives? We worry about what’s in our food and the plastics we use, but for some reason when it comes to beauty treatments people often turn a blind eye.

I did a little research and found a few facial recipes I’m willing to try.

Soothing Oatmeal Mask

Cools and calms overheated skin, red skin, and heat rash.

• 1/2 cup full fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• Leave on 10-15 minutes, rinse

via Real Simple (Aug 2011)

Organic Banana Face Mask

Your skin will have a healthy glow after applying this tropical mask to your face. This recipe is designed for all skin types.

• Mash one half of a banana
• Mix in a tablespoon of orange juice and a tablespoon of honey
• Apply to the face and keep the mixture on for fifteen minutes
• Rinse with lukewarm water and then moisturize

via Marie Claire

Heavenly Honey Citrus Mask

This honey-and-orange-based mask is a quick fix to give your face an organic healthy glow.

• Combine three tablespoons of orange juice with half a cup of honey
• Apply to the face and leave on for half an hour
• Rinse with lukewarm followed by cool water, then moisturize

 via Marie Claire

Cup o’ Joe Facial Scrub

The coffee will exfoliate your skin while the olive oil provides a good source of moisture to keep your skin soft and hydrated. You can store your coffee scrub in the refrigerator if you prefer, but it will stay fresh for several weeks at room temperature.

• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 6 tbsp. coffee grounds (note: the coffee grounds should be very fine because you’ll be rubbing them onto your skin. Put them through a coffee grinder twice if you need to)
• Mix the coffee grounds and olive oil. (If you’d like to make more or less, the ratio is 3 tablespoons of coffee for every 2 tablespoons of olive oil.) The scrub should look like a coarse mud when finished.
• To use, simply take a small dollop of the coffee and olive oil mixture and gently scrub it onto your skin. Then rinse completely with water.

via PETA

What do you think? Are you willing to give any of them a try?

In case you’re crunched for time or just plain lazy, I found some organic alternatives to homemade skin care.

Jojoba Buff – Organic Exfoliating Crème Cleanser by Spa Goddess

Organic Micro-Polish Refining Facial Cleanser by Naturallogic

Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Facial Mask

For those of you that don’t know, I’m the blog editor over at Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever!, a wedding blog that focuses on New York’s Hudson Valley. One of my duties is to find awesome real weddings that might be of interest to our readers.

Last week I featured the gorgeous wedding of Allison and Tim. Among the many super pretty details were Allison’s killer shoes (shown below in a photo taken by the incredibly talented Jade of Uplift Photography).

The most amazing part of these pretty sparklers? She embellished them herself!

She bought a pair of Something Bleu flats off of eBay for $60–they’re regularly $240!–and attached the rhinestones by hand. How gorgeous are they?!

It got me thinking. Why don’t more women do that?! There are tons of way to personalize your shoes.

First, there are literally thousands of shoe clips available on Etsy. They can transform an ordinary shoe into a show stopper.chiffon flower shoe clip by Fink Shop

bow shoe clip by the shop at no 144

Looking to really go DIY? Green Wedding Shoes has a pretty easy tutorial on adding a chiffon embellishment to a relatively plain shoe. I have also seen some pretty amazing hand-painted shoes out there (check out norakaren if you like the idea but aren’t that crafty).

If sparkle like Allison’s is more up your alley, these Benjamin Adams beauties may be your dream come true.

Sadly they cost about $400, but The Bride Fairy has a tutorial that will cost you way less (you just need a little time and patience).

So what do you think? Would you embellish a pair of shoes to get a more unique look or would you rather just buy ’em and forget about it?

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of both DIY and repurposing otherwise unwanted things (aka upcycling). Combining the two and saving money in the process is enough to make me salivate.

That’s why I’m sort of obsessing over the idea of shipping pallet furniture right now.

Super cheap (just run over to Home Depot and ask if you can take a few off their hands!) and relatively easy, it’s the perfect way to add a unique piece of eco-friendly furniture–that is sure to be a conversation starter–to the rest of your decor.

The key is adding details that dress up the wood so that your friends and family have to do a double take to realize what it’s made out of. It will make it so much more rewarding!

Here are a few of my favorites:

I love that the pallets have built-in storage space. It makes it that much easier for those of us who weren’t shop class superstars (that would be me) to create something really functional–without pesky trips to the ER.

Related articles from around the web

•  5 Uses for Wood Pallets in the Home
• DIY Vertical Garden From Wood Pallet
• DIY Succulent Pallet Table

Do you ever sit in a room in your house and suddenly decide that just about everything in it must go? Do you feel like you don’t even know the person who decorated it anymore?

I do this all the time.

Usually it’s my open living room/dining room area, but today something in my bedroom needs to change.

I’m thinking a headboard could be exactly the kind of refresher I need. As I’ve mentioned before, my budget is kind of nonexistent at the moment so I’m on the lookout for inexpensive DIY projects–extra props if it’s eco-friendly to boot.

I did a little digging around and found some really cool ideas.

Martha Stewart uses ornate wallpaper to create a really pretty, unique headboard that would look great with simple bedding. While I love this look, my bedroom has painted wood paneling so I don’t think wallpaper would work for me.

Another cute idea is using a shelving unit to define the area behind your bed. I like that it provides storage space but am way less enthused at the idea of having one more thing I’ll forget to dust. Plus, who am I kidding? I’m not about to build a shelving unit.

I need something salvaged!

I love that this one looks so fancy and expensive when all it is is reclaimed corrugated tin cut in an ornate shape. How cool is that?

It doesn’t exactly fit my room, although I would totally consider it if I happened upon some corrugated tin.

My bedroom walls are a light and airy seafoam color so I’d love something either natural or weathered to continue the laidback beachy feel that makes me feel so relaxed.

These next two are my absolute favorites.

I think the rustic doors might be my top pick. They’re so interesting and unique! It’s exactly the kind of kick my bedroom could use.

What do you think? Which one is your favorite? Do you hate them all? Do you have any other ideas for me? Tell me!

I have a sick obsession with mason jars. I honestly don’t even know what it is about them. I just think they’re so cute (don’t worry my husband doesn’t understand it either). Come to think of it, I like jars and containers of any kind–especially when they’ve got a bit of a vintage edge.

If you open up one of the cabinets in my kitchen, you will find an insane amount of mason jars. What do I use them for, you ask? Well, putting flowers in and… um… collecting dust?

I have plenty of wonderful ideas of what to do with them: I could use them at a fabulous dinner party as glasses with cute little striped straws. I could put candles in them. I could make a DIY terrarium using them–the possibilities are endless!

Right now I’m madly in love with Pottery Barn’s mason jar chandelier. My friends Aimee and Kevin have it in their dining room and it’s even cuter in person. Sadly, with a new baby and attempting to work entirely from home, it’s not exactly in my budget. But a girl can still lust over it, no?

There are a bunch of mason jar chandeliers listed on Etsy. There are also some great tutorials out there on making your own, but I am way too much of a spazz to start playing electrician.

For now I’ll just have to settle with attempting simpler DIY projects with my little mason jars (soap dispenser, anyone?) and plotting to smuggle Aimee and Kevin’s out of their house while no one is watching.