When you buy a book in Japan, the checkout person will ask you if you want your book covered. Normally they cover it with a kind of parchment printed with the bookshop’s name. This is done to protect the book (or perhaps hide what you’re reading from everyone on the subway). Here is how you […]
DIY
DIY: How To Make Vanilla Sugar
Once you have a vanilla bean, it is really simple to make your own vanilla sugar. When we lived in Saudi Arabia, it was impossible to buy vanilla extract since it was made with alcohol – and alcohol was illegal. Instead, I would bring Dr. Oetker vanilla sugar from Germany every summer to use in my […]
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DIY: Lavender Sugar + Salt Scrub
Greece. Indonesia. Thailand. Whenever our family would visit a beach during our vacations, our mom would always sit in the shallows and rub sand over her arms and legs. While we kids were playing and messing around, we laughed at how she looked covered in damp sand. But it seems like she had the last laugh, since […]
DIY: Make Your Own Powdered Laundry Soap
This is a great basic laundry soap that gets my clothes as clean as the storebought variety. I also made an unscented batch for my mom, so she can wash our dad’s shirts for the office. The washing soda is, chemically, sodium carbonate (versus baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate). It is included in homemade laundry soap […]
DIY: Knit a Silk Bamboo Scarf
This scarf is perfect for anyone that cannot wear wool. The fibres are so glossy and soft that there is no chance of any wool-related itch. I wanted to make a gift for our mother, who is both sensitive to wool’s scratchiness and is always too warm. Basically, she is never cold and I needed to find […]