How To Remove Carpet Stains

I know people with carpeted floors would agree with me when I say that maintenance is no easy job. And with pets at home?? No joke at all! Our ever so hyper puppy once hurt himself while playing and before we can even attend to him, he was running around all crazy. The result of which - Blood stains on carpets!

As luck may have it, I happened to come across a solution to remove carpet stains only recently. I gave it a try and know what, it worked like magic.

I think we are now friends enough for you to trust me when I say, this is the same carpet area as above. Yes it really worked. The difference in carpet color and texture in second picture is because of rubbing the mixture and dabbing it wet.

So here are the things you will need for the magic potion -

1. Baking Soda
2. Dish Washing Liquid
3. Wiping Cloth

Method:

1. Mix baking soda and dish washing liquid to form a thick paste.
2. Dab the washing cloth in the paste and gently massage through the stained area.
3. Using another cloth wet with water, clean away the residue that may be left.

Tips:

1. There can be some white stain left but that goes away after you clean it with a wet cloth (step 3)
2. Test a small section of your carpet area to check if it has a negative reaction which I don't think will be. But as always, precaution is better than cure.
3. Try to do it immediately after stain. I tried it when it was a fresh stain and not later. So I am not sure how effective it is later.

Skinny Girl's Guide To Gain Weight The Healthy Way

When the world is all about size 0 and people so obsessed with losing weight, are you someone who badly want to gain weight? And do you feel so much out of place when researching on the internet where most fitness information is tailored to meet the needs of those who want to lose weight?

I can totally feel ya!

No kidding, but I was this desperate extremely skinny girl couple of years back who wanted to gain weight in any possible way. Friends, family and I even lost hope that I would ever gain weight. But finally to all our shock, I did (although now my scenario is totally different. I am on the reverse gear now :D). Trust me, it is no easy joke.

And there may even be others who are envious of such skinny people and think trying to gain weight is something that is exaggerated.  But for the love of God, it is just the same as over weighed people trying to lose pounds. I am talking about the extremely skinny people here! In the long run, it is all about the balance that all of us are trying to achieve!

So for all my friends who are researching on how to gain weight, here is what I did.  For the rest, I am sure this would make no sense at all!

Please note that I am no certified nutritionist or fitness trainer. These are few things that personally worked for me – Indian Vegetarian girl. So use it to suit your body needs.

5 Home Remedies for Dry Skin

Winter and my skin are not exactly good friends. I am sure those of you with dry skin will agree with me on that. And for people like me who do not have much of a proper skin care routine, it can be a real pain. To be honest, it is not just winters, but my skin is dry all year round and no matter how much water I drink, it still remains a desert.

 One of my New Year’s resolution for 2015 is better personal care routine. So I am trying to get into an easy and simple routine for hair and skin.

It need not be going to a salon for an expensive spa or facial (although, it feels great to be pampered by someone). It need not always be buying expensive beauty products.

But do you know you can have your own facial treatments at the comfort of your home with products readily available in your kitchen?

It is not about skin lightening. It is not about fairness. It is not about skin whitening. But it is all about keeping your skin healthy and giving it the care it deserves. Healthy skin is what that really matters.

So, what are you waiting for? Go to your kitchen right now and get yourself pampered. IT is not only inexpensive but is also a natural and healthier option. These are more suited to dry skin tones although it may work for oily skin tones.You can do these once a week rotating them between weeks.

• Besan/Gram/Chickpea flour: This is the most popular among Indian moms. Be it any big event, my mom would suggest this face pack for me and trust me, it does wonders. Just mix few teaspoons of the flour with milk to form a thick paste. Apply it on your face. Wash it off after 15 minutes or after it is completely dry. This can be used on dry/oily/combination skin

• Olive Oil/Coconut oil: This is more suited for dry skin. Massage your skin with oil before bath. Take bath in warm/cold water after 15 minutes or so. Hot water draws out the oil leaving your skin more dry

•  Almonds: Soak few almonds (around 5 to 6) overnight. Peel the skin and grind, Mix with milk and apply on face. Wash off after 15 minutes. This nourishes your skin and prevents dryness.

•   Carrots: Boil a carrot in little water. Allow it to cool and grind to a paste. Apply on face. Wash off when it is dry.

•  Honey: It can be used as a great moisturizer. Apply honey all over your face. Wash it off with warm water after 15 minutes.

So that is it. 

Quick and easy ways to keep your skin healthy and happy. No complex formulas. No time consuming procedures. I hope it is simple enough to suit any busy women. 

As always, these are few things that works for my skin. All skin types are different and use your judgement to refrain from using what you think may be allergic to your skin.

Happy skin makes every girl look all the more beautiful. Happy pampering!

Let us know if you would like to know more such tips for hair and skin.

6 Ways To Make /Save Money This Holiday Season

The Holiday season is just around the corner! Ready or not, it will soon be time to get the shopping list on. Planning on the gifts for our near and dear ones is always exciting after all it is the ‘SEASON OF SHARING’! But as exciting as it gets, it is already time to keep an eye on all our expenses, save some for the holidays and be prepared for the shopping spree.

Here are few ways you can make/save money for the holidays. I can never promise you quick money or a big chest of treasures, but hey, every little helps!

Unclog Your Sink The Easy Way !!

Each day is a gift ! But excuse me, can someone tell me where I can return 'MONDAY' ?? They are such a pain that they somehow come uninvited, unannounced and without even a slightest warning.Monday by itself a bad news to me.

"Just when you think things cannot get worse, it actually can!"

Like how my kitchen sink got clogged (pretty bad! really bad!) one Monday afternoon.I had no plunger at home and to make things tragic, my apartment maintenance guy just dint respond to my call of need.

"Just when you think things cannot get better, it actually can!"

Like how you google solutions for your problem and surprisingly have the necessary things the solution demands.And to make it so much more better, a solution that actually works !

I am sorry I have no pictures to support the results as it did not qualify for a picture to boast about. I am pretty sure you won't be happy to see them either.But, you seriously got to trust me with this. I mean really serious....

For some, it maybe an old news but for those of you who don't know it yet, here you go !

Vegetable Broth

Got vegetables which are almost  'on their way out' or veggie scraps lying around in your kitchen? I have an idea may be its an old idea but its a good idea, so I thought I would share it with you all. I keep a zip-lock bag in freezer and keep adding the veggie odds and ends to it. Once the bag is full, its vegetable broth time!

Homemade vegetable broth is not only flavorful but very nutritious and much cheaper than the store bought one. It can used as a base for soups, gravies and rice recipes. Make a large portion of broth, cool completely and store it in freezer for later use.

INGREDIENTS

•  1tbsp oil
• 1  cup of onion, tomato and carrot each.(you can add other veggies like beans,cabbage,potato)
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 6 cups of water
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• peppercorn - to taste
• salt - to taste

METHOD

Heat a large pot, add oil and garlic cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns. Add in all the vegetables, salt and allow it to cook for 5-6 min. Add in water & cover, increase the flame to high and wait for it to boil. Once it boils reduce the heat, cover and simmer for at least 45 min.Turn the heat off and allow it to cool completely. Strain the stock/broth from the vegetables and remove the bay leaves. Store in refrigerator then freeze it for later use.

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How to remove unwanted stickers?

Hello folks! It's been quite some time since we posted an interesting tip. Thanks to all you awesome people out there who wrote back that the cilantro storage worked wonders for you just like it did for me. I was recently into re-organizing and that obviously included re-using of old containers for storage. That was when I realized how frustrating it can be when you try to remove the labels/stickers from containers and get your finger nails all chipped.  

And then comes the next headache – price stickers! I don’t understand why few price stickers are hard glued, that it's next to impossible to remove them. I seriously doubt if it is any form of advertising that the companies  has taken up so we don’t remove the stickers and market the price everywhere we take the product. Clueless!

But here is a quick solution for removing any stickers in few seconds with absolutely no scope for frustration.

All you need is a hair dryer!

• Aim your hair dryer at the sticker you may want to remove and blow hot air to it for about 30 seconds.
• Try peeling from a corner of the sticker. If it doesn’t peel off, blow hot air for another 30 seconds and try again.
• You should now be able to peel off the sticker completely.

  You can now have sticker free products! Reuse any old containers for storage and also you need not worry about carrying along with you the price stickers of snack box, lunchbox, water bottles etc.

Note: 

1. On further browsing, I came to know that this method can be used to peel off the bumper stickers as well. I have not personally tried it, though.

2. I went all crazy and removed the stickers from whatever products I could come across.That was when I found out that if you blow very hot air very close to a 'not so good' quality plastic container for a long time,it might actually damage the container. One of my container has a dent in one corner as a result of this. Damage is really minimal but I think I should mention it.So make sure you blow the hot air not too close to the container and not more than 30 seconds initially. If it doesn’t come off, you can always do the next 30 seconds.

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Cilantro/Coriander storage

Cilantro/coriander comes in a much bigger bunch than I intend to use at one time.So whenever I buy them, I end up throwing most of it away as they turn black so quick.But it has never stopped me from getting them every time I hit the grocery store ...and each time, with a firmer resolve to use them wisely.But it has always been a shame to see those lovely fresh cilantro go waste.

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Balayam yoga - solution to hair loss??

Most of the things in life are easy to lose, but hard to gain.And this is so true when it comes to hair loss! I am recently having this problem of severe hair loss. Most of the times I would feel like giving a big scream when I comb my hair and find a whole clump of hair sticking to the comb.I know there are many of you joining my scream everyday in every part of the world.

Tomato Facial Scrub

Do you know that tomatoes can be used as an invigorating scrub for face.It has antioxidants that protects skin from sunlight and UV rays.It also slows down aging of skin. This scrub can be prepared in no time and it gives your skin the life it needs.I am sure tomatoes are used in our kitchen almost everyday. Take 5 mins of your time to attend to your skin's need :)

Stay Healthy.Feel Beautiful

I hope everyone would agree when I say , 'Happy girls are the prettiest' !! A healthy body is the happy one. Is it not necessary to take good care of our skin, hair, nails just like how we take care of our body ? This ensures we stay healthy, be happy and feel beautiful.

We present to you few really simple ways by which you can pamper yourself in the comfort of your house with most of the essentials already available in your  kitchen :)

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