Coconut Oil and Coffee

I want to share with you my new favorite kitchen gadgett and one of my new favorite health additions; a coffee frother and extra virgin coconut oil.

I've been doing a lot of reading about the benefits of extra virgin coconut oil.  The benefits include: 

• Improving your heart health
• Boosting your thyroid
• Increasing your metabolism
• Promoting a lean body and weight loss if needed
• Supporting your immune system

Now, I'm not claiming to be a nutritionist but I've spoken with a few of them and I've done some research on my own and everything I've found about it is positive.  Here is a quick link to one article, but don't yell at me if this isn't a good one.  Do the research on your own :)   But I think this is some pretty good stuff and I want to share one of the ways that I use it.

Now, I'm not a big "oil" person per say...but my dad said to try it in my coffee. So I started to put the extra virgin organic (yes, those three words are important) in my morning coffee.  In all honesty, it wasn't the greatest because the oil kind of sits on top of your coffee but I was willing to push through for the health benefits. 

Then, at the beach last week, I was introduced to a simple little frother that you can get at Bed Bath and Beyond. And let me tell you, it has changed my morning joe! So much so I want to share it with you.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (I got mine at Whole Foods) is kind of like Crisco.  Ugh, right? I know, bare with me here..... I take about a tsp of it and add it right into my coffee. Yep, stir that oil right in there!

 You can see how oily the coffee is... it just sits on top. Not pretty.

Here is where the fun comes in.  Take your frother and froth it up! Now make sure you don't have too much coffee in your cup cuz you'll have coffee all over the place.  Try it in the sink first until you get the hang of it.

And then, tadaaa!  The oil mixes with the cream and you have your own coconut cappuccino!  And, it's so yummy.

Now if you drink your coffee black you are out of luck with the frother.  But you will get use to oily coffee if you want to add the benefit of coconut oil to it (it's really not that bad). If you use cream, go get a little frother and whip up the coconut oil into a frothy cup of healthy yum!

As you can see...I find pleasure in the little things these days....and this is one of them.  Let me know what you think.

Have a great Wednesday!

Paula

Wipe On Poly

Yesterday I did a post on clear wax and made the suggestion that if you don't like the look you are getting from your wax, you can use a wipe on poly.  I received several emails asking for more details about this. 

Wipe-On Poly is a wonderful product from Minwax (I'm sure there are other brands, but I've only used this one).  It is super easy to use and it gives your wood a very even finish, without some of the streaks and problems you may be having with wax.  You can get it in different finishes so you can control how much gloss you want.

Basically, you shake it up and put a liberal amount of the poly on a clean, soft, lint-free cloth and rub this into the wood.  Just like painting, stay with the grain of the wood and use even strokes to finish.  Allow 2-3 hours to dry.  If you like it leave it.  If you want another coat, lightly sand with find sandpaper or steel wool and repeat.  

If you are struggling with wax - remember, you don't have to use it.  Try something else.  Everyone has a finish that they like. If the wax isn't working for you.... let it go.  This might be the finish you are looking for.  

Happy painting!

Paula

Back To Home and Back To Wax

After playing around at the beach and visiting with family and friends I have to admit that there is truly, "no place like home."  Right?  Crawling back into your own bed on that first night and waking up to all that is familiar is such a good feeling! I welcome back the routine of our house - how ever crazy it may be. :)

I was so happy to hear from so many of you while I was gone. I love seeing all those messages in my inbox! Your encouragement and support for Locksley Lane has been so much fun.  I was amazed at all of the paint questions and the requests for more healthy recipes!

So let's try to figure out what is going on with all of those questions I received about Annie Sloan's Clear Wax.  The questions are clearly falling into two categories; am I using too much and why is it streaking?

First of all, you don't need a lot of wax. You can use a brush or you can use a lint free rag. After you rub your wax in, you should not be able to drag your finger across the wax and see a finger mark. It should be slightly damp. That's it. Whichever method you prefer you should be pushing your wax into the paint and finishing it just like you do with paint - in one fluid motion from left to right or top to bottom.  Try not to make circles with your wax as you will really notice this once it dries.

Before you wax, you need to understand that furniture wax is not suppose to be a glossy poly finish.  You can get a nice shine with wax, but you will probably see some brush strokes and a little streaking. To me, that's what makes your piece unique.  If you don't want any streaks or it is frustrating you, use a poly finish.  Minwax has a nice rub on poly that works very nicely with chalk paint.

Don't over rub your wax.  Put it on, rub it in and then leave it alone.  Come back and buff it out with either 0000 steel wool or a soft rag after about 24 hours.

I think there are a lot of perfectionists out there looking for the "perfect" finish.  If you want a perfect glossy finish, use a poly.  There is no shame in that!  If you want a truly vintage finish, then use wax.  It's less shiny and gives a nice hard durable finish to your piece.  This is a finished piece below.  You can still see streaks but the wax is even and smooth as glass to the touch.

For the tops of tables that are going to get a lot of sunlight, you can put a little bit of plain mineral spirits mixed into your wax.  This will give you a smoother gloss like finish because it's more like a glaze and you have time to spread it out and play with it.  Try it, if the top is not looking how you want it to.  Not too much.  Use half a tsp of mineral spirits to a half a cup of wax.

Hope this helps.  If not, email me and we can figure it out.

Great being back!

Paula