Saturday, July 5, 2014

I'm Gonna Grow Me an Avocado Tree (or Plant)...

I absolutely LOVE avocados! I was enjoying one today, and was about to throw out the seed when a little light when off in my head about something I read somewhere (probably Pinterest, it's always Pinterest...), stating one could grow a tree (or a houseplant) from the seed. I "googled" it, and sure enough, you can! I felt a bit crestfallen after learning it could take YEARS for it to produce more delicious (free) fruit, but felt the process sounded simple and straightforward enough for me to try anyway. Also, lo and behold, I had the 3 very basic things needed to get this going
1 avocado seed, 3 toothpicks, a glass of water....Besides, it would be fun to watch it grow from a seed and make a pretty plant (if it survives my brown thumb, I have no skills when it comes to plants).
Avocado (seed hidden inside), 3 toothpicks, glass of water...
Cut open and enjoy the avocado deliciousness, but save that seed...
Wash your avocado seed of it's fruit residue under cool water, thoroughly dry with paper towel...
CAREFULLY stick 3 toothpicks into the widest circumference of the seed, like shown...
Place your avocado seed helicopter thing on top of a glass of water, making sure the seed's bottom is immersed in 1 inch of the water, set in a sunny windowsill, or outside (but not in full-on direct sunlight) if weather is warm enough...
  • Within about 2-6 weeks, you should begin to see roots and a stem sprout;
  • When the stem is around 6 inches, cut it to 3 inches;
  • After the stem is around 6 inches again, and the roots are fuller, go ahead and transfer it to rich soil in a pot (between 10"-11" diameter) leaving the top half of the seed above the soil;
  • Water frequently (but don't over-soak it) and make sure it's getting lots of sunlight now;
  • When your avocado stem is at 12 inches, whack 6 inches off again (this is to help it to grow new shoots);
  • Enjoy how pretty your new plant (or tree-ling) looks, but remember that you won't get fruit from it for years (around 7-15 years).
  • For more in-depth directions and great avocado-related information, go to where I found mine for this post: CaliforniaAvocado or @CA_Avocados (Twitter), ca_avocados (Instagram), or on Facebook.
Have you ever grown a plant or tree from an avocado seed? If so, what was your experience with it?



Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe #NYMBeachBabe Shampoo and Conditioner

I had received samples of #NYMBeachBabe Texturizing Shampoo and Conditioner in my #SurfsUpVoxBox from @Influenster @InfluensterVox Influenster.com, and upon opening the caps I was immediately in love with the smell! It smells deliciously coconut-y, absolutely makes me feel like putting on some beach music and wearing bright, summery clothes even if it's raining outside. I love great smells that help put me in a great mood, or transport me to a good vibe like these #NYMBeachBabe products did, getting all "beachy" feeling (except without the sunburn, or sand where it ought not be ;)
With the NYM Beach Babe shampoo, I got terrific suds in my mid-waist length hair, yet it rinsed out well with a clean, soft, healthy feel in the shower. I followed up with the NYM Beach Babe conditioner, and loved the way it moisturized and detangled my hair without leaving a greasy, weighted or oily feel! I had no need of my wide-tooth shower comb to get my fingers through my hair, which was awesome and one less step for me to have to worry about.

Didn't need to use this tired old thing in the shower like I normally do, NYM Beach Babe helped save me time with my shower/hair routine!
After towel-drying my hair, then partially blow-drying, (I left it ever-so-slightly-damp), I began my scrunching and sprunching to get those sweet waves I crave in my now summer-smellin' coconut-y soft and volumized "beach-babed" hair. That's no small feat, because although my hair is long, it's on the thin side, so every bit of lift, texture, volume and wave I can get makes me happy! I did love the way my hair felt, it definitely seemed to have more lift and took well to my scrunching it.
Here's how I scrunch: first, in barely damp hair, I add just a bit of lightweight hairspray, and then in sections, squeezing "fistfuls" of hair, I then spray then scrunch, spray then scrunch until I'm happy with the results. I like "bigger" hair, so I did several sections this way (no curling iron required!) and ended up with this:
I LOVE not having to put a curling iron to my hair, especially in the summertime!

My conclusion is that NYM Beach Babe Texturizing Shampoo and Conditioners are very good quality products that did very well for my hair, adding texture yet softness and manageability, volume and lift and prepared my hair well for scrunching, (as well as having the added bonus of smelling awesome and lifting my mood). I was impressed by how much I liked them!
 
I received these products complimentary from Influenster.com for testing and review purposes, but my opinions/review of these products are based solely on my own experiences and observations.  
Want to have your hair beach-babed NYM Beach Babe Shampoo and Conditioner? Check out: #NYMBeachBabe and @NYMBrands on Twitter and facebook.com/NYMBrands for more information, and check out the great sales #NYMBeachBabe is having as of this writing #contest