Well, here I sit in the thick of winter once again wondering why on Earth I choose to live in a place with next-to-unbearable winters that long out-stay their welcome. Every year, I complain about it and without fail, here I'll be again next year yaking on about the same thing. In a perfect world, I would live in a place thats climate hovers comfortably between 60 and 72 degrees and sunny (with a rainy day tossed in the mix every week or two for baking, cuddling and movie watching) and I'd get to experience all four seasons ... but fall would last 6 months of the year, sweltering summer would come and go in a month or two, winter could stay from Dec. 23rd until Jan. 10th-ish and sloppy spring could have the remainder of the year. Is that too much to ask?
One of my troubles during the winter is dry skin. Not your average dry skin, I'm talking splitting, cracking, bleeding, borderline gator scale skin. This year, my hands took a special beating. It turns out when you welcome a baby into the world, Purell and antibacterial hand soap become your (and forcibly all your baby's guests') best pals. Use after use after use, they really do a number on your hands. I did a bit of Googling and combined a few ideas to come up with a wonderful sugar scrub that will leave your skin incredibly soft and smooth using ingredients that most people already have in their pantry. This recipe makes the perfect amount for a standard 16 oz. mason jar...which makes a great gift!
Vanilla Coconut Mocha Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 c. white sugar
- 1/3 c. coffee grounds
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 c. coconut oil
Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, coffee grounds and cocoa power. Mix thoroughly. Stir in vanilla and coconut oil until well combined. Store in a 16-ounce mason jar or other air tight container. To use: wet hands, use 1 tbsp. of mixture and scrub hands for 1 minute. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry. This can be used for other areas of dry skin as well - simply adjust quantity of mixture used accordingly.
