Dimmer Switch

After my last super long post about the house, where I admitted I'd been putting off installing the dimmer switch in the kitchen overhead light fixture, I got a Monday off and decided to just go for it. It was really easy! I think anything electrical can be intimidating for a lot of people, but it's not hard. You just need to have access to your breaker switch and make sure it's turned off!

When I first took the cover off the old switch I was most intimidated, as the screws in my new plate would in no way be able to attach to the wall or the current regular switch box. I shouldn't have fretted because the friendly guy at Ace had already been through this with me twice, and because the new light switch box has differently placed screw holes.

The interior of the wall is, as expected in this house, truly horrible. The wires are wrapped in this gross dusty cloth. I ignored that. Basically you unscrew the original switch in it's little plate, which is easy, pull it gently a little out of the wall so you can get at the screws. In my case the screws were on the side of the original switch and the wires that came out of the wall were pretty thick and substantial, and they just bent around screws coming in the side of the switch box and the screws had been tightened over them to make the electric connection. This is much like the inside of a light socket, how the wires connect. The new switch had an easier kind of connection, where you twist a more flexible multi-strand copper wire around the thicker wall wire, making sure they are making a solid connection, and then you place the little orange plastic wire cap on the connected wires and twist it on.

Ours was a little more complex because it was a three-way switch, meaning there is another switch on the other end of the room that also connects to the overhead light. I didn't realize this the first time I bought a dimmer switch so that's why I had to go back to Ace. Basically in the three-way box, there's a black wire that was also labelled "common." This connects to the black wire from your switch box. The two other wires go to either of the two red wires. It doesn't matter which is which. I didn't have a ground wire which made me nervous, but also, whatever. Anyway after all the wires are connected you just shove them all back there in the box, carefully, not tearing out your connections, and then screw the switchplate back into the wall. Then the cover fits nicely with it's tiny little screws.

Here's the finished product! So neat and tidy. I tried taking a photo of the difference when it's dimmed but it's hard to tell, and the kitchen is super messy since I also just rearranged the stuff in the cabinets, so it's not worth showing. But you know what a dimmer does! I'm excited to have a nice dinner with less harsh, more romantic lighting. The whole project cost about $35 including the fancy 100W equivalent dimmable LED bulb. Not all LED or CFL bulbs are dimmable, so you have to make sure everything is going to work together. Old-school incandescents are of course dimmable but this is the 21st century so that wasn't an option for me. LEDs (and CFLs) do have a bit more blue light, which is less mellow, but you can get them pretty warm, just look for a K around 2700-3000K. These pictures are taken with flash so they don't represent the color of light at all, obviously the light was out while I was poking around the live wires.

Dry Shampoo

I use a lot of dry shampoo because I only wash my hair about once a week. It does get pretty greasy by the end, especially when I'm working out, or biking, or it's summer. So by the end of the week it's usually about 50% dry shampoo. I've tried Klorane since it came highly reviewed by every blogger and magazine and website, but to be honest it didn't seem anything special, and the bottle went super fast. I felt I only got a few uses out of it, and for the cost, it was not worth it. 

I got a three-pack of these batiste dry shampoos at Ulta on sale. They have horrible scents, like "sassy and striking mamba." I have no idea what these smelled like besides artificial. However. They soak up oil like a boss and make my hair magically look clean and fluffy again, which is the job of dry shampoo. They also barely leave any white residue and I can just fluff and go rather than rubbing it in a lot and brushing. Despite being tiny, I feel like they lasted longer than the Klorane, and they were super cheap. Batiste in general is cheap and I would buy it again, in an unscented version.

Except, I've been using plain cornstarch and it actually works fine. It's much messier and takes longer to apply, and it doesn't make the hair as fluffy as an aerosol can of dry shampoo does, but it works. I either keep it in an Altoids tin, where I just put my fingers in there and pick some up sticking to my fingers, then work it into my hair and repeat and repeat, or in an old cleaned out spice container with the little holes so I can sprinkle it in my hair. But cornstarch is kinda clumpy and it tends to not come out and then dump a ton out. The cornstarch also tends to really need a lot so it builds up if you are using it a few days in a row. However it is basically free, and it's travel-friendly as it is not a liquid, gel or aerosol. The internet also suggests using arrowroot powder which I also purchased fairly recently, and might try out. I think the same issues would apply. Although it's cool to go DIY, save money, and reduce the waste and chemicals associated with aerosol and packaging, though they no longer destroy the ozone layer, sprays tend to work better for me. I'm still looking though, and might try the Bumble and bumble Prêt-à-Powder.

Another similar product I've tried is Sally Hershberger Caffeine for Major Body 3-in-1 Volumnizing Spray. I read this review and went to a bunch of shops until I found it at CVS. At first I really thought it was working, but recently I've noticed if I spray it on hair that maybe already had some dry shampoo in it, it leaves this horrible sticky white residue. So, I no longer recommend. Maybe it's best to add volume to clean hair but that's not why I need dry shampoo.

tl;dr Dry shampoo is a life-changer.

Skincare Empties & Blue Lagoon

Good for me, I have been using up more products! It drives me crazy having four shampoos with half an ounce left in each, but that's where I am, so hopefully I can finish those soon. Here are some that I finished while on vacation in UK & Paris, because I'm fabulous.
Clinique Comforting Cream Cleanser - good but kinda greasy. I have had this for ages, I think it was another product I got from my grandma's house. I have never bought a Clinique product in my life and I don't think I will, I'm too snobby and they come from the mall. Turns out this product has been discontinued, so, it was pretty old. However, for my dry skin this was a pretty good cleanser, but it didn't make my skin feel clean. It is like putting on a thick lotion and then rinsing it off, with the residue you'd expect. The residue wasn't there if I wiped it off with a cloth but I'm not a huge fan of using a cloth, I feel it makes my skin a bit red and irritated. Started to smell funny by the end of the bottle which was probably about 5 years past its expiration date but don't judge me. I really do recommend a cream cleanser for the super dry-skinned like myself, maybe a cold cream?
Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen Lotion: My mom left this at my apartment when she visited, and then she didn't want it back. I realized why later when I was in Target and a nice lady was giving them out for free! So now I have another one. I like travel sizes for my daily products -- SPF face lotion, concealer, mascara -- so I can take them to the gym in the morning and not carry something big around all day, but, it makes my skin sting a little. I have no idea why, even the new one does. I'll finish it off since it's so tiny but, no thank you, lotion shouldn't hurt. I don't really have sensitive skin either, and I put it on in the morning when I don't even wash my face so it's not like it's getting into overly-exfoliated irritated skin or anything. I guess I could use it on my body but it would cover maybe one leg.
Blue Lagoon Algae and Mineral Body Lotion: this lotion was just OK despite the Blue Lagoon's status as the most magical, other-worldly, lunar landscape spa which is simultaneously bizarre, packed with people, relaxing, and good for your skin. Oh and also you can drink booze while in the pool/spa. The Blue Lagoon is a natural hot springs, the likes of which are everywhere in Iceland, and the water and the sediment in it (not sure how to describe this) is full of minerals like silica and algae that are really good for your skin and extra-relaxing. It has been turned into a huge super-modern spa and it is extremely popular. We only got to spend an hour or so in there due to arriving at the same time as about 5 other coach buses, long lines and somewhat poor planning by the travel company we booked with, but it was a magical hour. And then my brand-new-fiancé left his iPhone by the pool and I had to race back through the maze that is their locker rooms, fully clothed in my boots, to retrieve it minutes before the bus to the airport left. Anyway what was I saying... yeah, we got cheap flights to Iceland that included hotel, transport to and from the hotel via the Blue Lagoon, and while that was easy, really, the hotel left a lot to be desired and we didn't even stay there one night as most of the interesting bits of Iceland are more than a (5 hours of daylight in winter) day's drive away. But, I got engaged there! And Iceland is a fantastic, beautiful, near-perfect place. I think our travel package came with a coupon for $10 off something at the Blue Lagoon store so I got a small travel set which was $10.

Here I am in the Blue Lagoon, with some white silica mud stuff on my face. You can kinda swim/wade up to areas with buckets full of it and you put it on your face, then it just goes back into the water, and you can feel it around your feet all squishy. It's very clean and white so it doesn't feel disgusting like you would think. Afterwards my skin was all soft and smooth and wonderful. However the packaged products do not deliver the same effect. You have to go to Iceland for that.

Gratuitous second picture of the Blue Lagoon lotion, and Jergens Natural Glow lotion: I had an old bottle of this from, you guessed it, my grandma's house. I don't think gma was the fake-bake type so some other female relative must have left it there. I used it up but didn't feel like it actually delivered any color, gradual or otherwise, to my super-pale skin. I chalked it up to an old bottle and irregular use, but I was disappointed. Later I tried Target-brand Up&Up gradual tanning lotion and I was very impressed, but that's a subject for later. I went to Austin for a friend's bachelorette weekend and I wanted to look tan, so all the outdoorsy fit tan Texans would accept me as one of their own. I fake-baked using a serious, all-at-once self-tanner, which turned out horribly splotchy. I had to soak most of it off and scrub some of it off, which led to skin abrasion disasters. I reapplied much more carefully using a lotion instead of a spray, which turned out less dark but more even. I saw this travel size at Walgreens before I left and decided to buy it to use in place of my normal body lotion to keep my tan topped off and keep it from fading too quickly if I was in the pool or shaving frequently. I felt it did a good job for that purpose but in my experience, this won't help you actually get darker over time, even with daily use. 

DIY: potato prints

I was visiting my grandma this past weekend and she wanted to do some crafts. Gma has always been a master crafter. She can sew entire outfits from scratch in a few hours. She has made countless quilts, including one she made for my parents wedding that I now use in the warmer months. She was the one who taught me to sew and instilled my love for DIY.

Gma had a stroke about a year ago and her physical limitations have really frustrated her, she can no longer create and craft and garden and cook the way she used to. I was hoping that a stamping project would be something she could participate in. I thought about a book my mom gave me for Christmas a few years ago, Lotta Jansdotter's Lotta Prints. I think I had done potato printing before, but Lotta makes it an art. Anyway, we got some potatoes and dug up the acrylic paint from the basement where I also found some simple canvas. I drew a mushroom outline on some paper, cut it out, and stuck it to the halved potato, and carved out the negative space with an exacto knife (you could totally use a kitchen knife). Then I put some acrylic paint in a plastic plate and brushed it on the stamp with a paintbrush. I tried dipping it in the paint but that picked up too much paint and produced a messy outline. Then I just went to town stamping the borders of the canvas. I used the shorter length and sewed it up into a simple tote bag, using thick shoelaces for the handle, and used the long length as a table runner. Gma provided technical assistance on using her sewing machine and emotional support. We were all (me, mom, gma) very pleased with the results! 

Post-Christmas Decoration

In my house, Christmas isn't over til it's over, and by over, I mean May. So early in January I made this cute wreath (I think it's cute) out of random evergreen clippings which I likely found on the ground. The wire frame is leftover wire from the IKEA curtain hanging project, and I tied it on with dental floss. The rocks are from Lake Michigan, either the dunes or maybe from the Upper Peninsula, and I learned on a recent trip to the Field Museum that the holes are actually caused by small crustaceans slowly burrowing through! I strung them on library cord when I had that library job where I spent hours in chilly stacks shelving forgotten European dissertations and re-wrapping Indian books from the 70s.

Storage for Rainbow Shoes

This is my room! I've been very excited about this shelf I made-- since it got cold and I took my sweaters out from under the bed, I needed to make room for them. The boxes where the sweaters now live was busy holding my shoe collection. So I found some IKEA brackets I'd squirrelled away and my friend got me a board from Home Depot. I figured that it made sense to put it up high so you don't have a moment of "am I gonna hit my head" fear when you walk in the door. It's too bad that short people can't see the rainbow of shoes unless they stand on my bed.

Also pictured: a print I got at Renegade several years ago, candles from Athenian Candle in Greektown (they're made in the back!), birthday cards, an absurd amount of earrings, random crap. Someone told me once "Wes Anderson would have a field day in your room." I'd be a terrible Quaker, I love clutter too much.