Mollee Made

Choosing the Best Beard Balm

Having a lot of facial hair may look manly for some, but it does not necessarily mean that you are one. This is especially so if you are looking so unruly or totally unattractive because you just don’t know the proper way to manage it. Maybe you do but the product and tools that you are using fall short of what should give you that perfect-looking beard, mustache, or goatee. Choosing the best beard smelling balm or oil are the best things that you can do to save yourself and your facial follicles.

The hair on your face may look a lot stronger and thicker, but if you look a little closer, you will notice that they are a lot coarser and require more maintenance and special care than the hair on your head and other parts of your body. Even though you may not need to shampoo your facial hair every day, it does require daily conditioning to keep it looking healthy and well-kept. Your options to address such concerns is to use either a beard balm or a beard oil.

Why Should You Use a Beard Balm?

Applying one of the best beard balms can do a lot of wonders for your facial hair, such as the following:

Softens your facial hair

Reduces split ends

Helps prevent beard dandruff

Nourishes the skin

Keeps your facial hair in good condition

Makes your beard to smell good

Gives shape to what could look like an unruly hair formation on your face

Easier to use when on the go since its made to be in its solid form

In essence, applying a beard moisturizer balm , seals the hair, gives it form and desired style that can help any man look way better. If you feel better, you will definitely look better.

Both beard balms and oils are made with a variety of natural oils and butter, such as shea or coconut. However, beard balms usually contain a small amount of wax as well. This added ingredient makes the balm thicker and makes it cling better onto the hairs. This makes it possible for you to give your hair the desired style as well as keep the hair together better. (more…)

Setup Habitat for My Leopard and Crested Gecko

Crested and leopard geckos are species of lizard that have for a long time been kept as pets. Many people prefer them because they are readily available, their food can easily be found in the pet stores and all the relevant information that one needs about them can easily be found. The habitat that these lizards live should be made as good as possible and similar to the natural environment. This should be done to ensure that they are not stressed and that they are always healthy and comfortable. This article gives an insight into a leopard and crested gecko habitat

Cage

These animals like climbing on walls and surfaces which means that you should provide a cage that allows them to climb easily. They are easy to keep in simple conditions. A hatchling can be housed in an aquarium. Research indicates that the eating habits of juvenile crested and leopard geckos are changed and they do not eat comfortably. This in return can result in health problems. When they reach 4 months, you can keep them in an aquarium of at least 20 gallons. If you have three of them, they can comfortably fit in an aquarium of 29 gallons.

However, you should not keep only males in the cage. Having one male and 2 females in the cage is okay. They use their tails to manoeuvre around branches when they climb the tree branches in the wild. This means that they like climbing which makes it necessary to have enough vertical space rather than the horizontal one. Habitats that have more vertical space may be more expensive than tanks. However, if it contributes to the wellbeing and the health of the animal, it is quite relevant and worth the investment.

Substrate

Having a cage is not just enough. You should start investing to achieve a perfect habitat for your pets. The next thing that you should look for is the substrate. The nature of the substrate that you provide to your animal matters a lot. This is because they tend to ingest bits of the substrate during their feeding. Ingesting non-digestible materials might be detrimental to the general health of the animal.

Avoid wood chips and sand as well as other loose substrates. A paper towel is a good substrate for these animals. If a paper towel is accidentally ingested, it does not cause health risks to the animal. A substrate such as coconut fibre, zoo med eco earth, or even slate tiles can be used. These help to maintain the moisture within the cage and at the same time resists odour, mildew and moulds (more…)

Sunshine Tag Blanket

Since we have less than 10 weeks until Mini M&M is due to arrive, I knew I wanted to make something from her board for the winter 2013 Pinterest challenge. I’ve been feeling braver with the sewing machine lately, so this weekend I tackled a tag blanket — you know, one of those mini blankies for a baby that has ribbons all the way around it for little fingers to explore.

I made mine in the shape of a sunshine in yellows, oranges and hot pink to coordinate with her nursery colors. It’s not perfect, but it sure is a happy little toy that I have a feeling she’s going to like.

The two pins that inspired me were this basic ribbon blanket tutorial …

… and this turtle-shaped tag blanket that was recently sold on Etsy.

Here’s exactly what I did, in case anyone wants to sew one for their little sunshine:

materials
sun rays template (PDF)
sun face template (PDF)
1/2 yard fabric for the sun rays (I used this yellow plaid)
1/2 yard fabric for the back (I used yellow minky dot)
1/4 yard fabric for the sun face (I used a quilter’s yellow polka dot)
1/4 yard white fabric to line the sun face
various colors, widths and textures of ribbon
yellow thread (more…)

Our Little Kitchen Makeover

Matt and I have been slowly and steadily renovating our kitchen since August, and on Saturday morning, we finally declared it done! It’s nothing terribly fancy, but it feels that way to us, especially compared to what we were living with before.

Ugh! Right? I’m not sure how I tolerated those cream melamine cabinets and faux-butcher-block countertops with white appliances. And the floor was covered in burgundy-and-peach marbled linoleum. I don’t know how we thought painting the walls sage green would help. [shudder]

So here’s what we have now. When you first walk in, you notice our nickel ceiling light from Ikea, which replaced an old boob light, and my Julia Child quote art over to the left.

As you step in further, you can really appreciate our new white, black, gray and green color scheme.

Our friend Kathrine works for a wood renewal company called NHance, so she helped us get a good deal on these white shaker-style wood cabinets. They built our new Ikea microwave into the cabinets over the stove, which saved us a lot of needed counter space. We went with Kat’s recommendation of Arboleda to do the countertops, and they did a great job on our black marbled Formica. (more…)

Mini M&M’s Nursery (and Name!) Reveal

Yep, I’m still here. And still pregnant. I had every intention of sharing progress updates on the nursery as we went along, but I just didn’t have it in me. And you’d probably rather just see it all done anyway, right?

So, TADA!

(more…)

Best Thing I Ever Made

Meet Julie, everybody:

It’s hard to believe it’s been two weeks since this little bundle made her grand entrance into the world. She already loves to eat, and I have high hopes that she’ll enjoy painting and crafting as well.

She’s keeping me even busier than I’d anticipated, so I’m not sure when or what I’ll be posting next, but I promise I’ll be back.

Salmon Salad Is the New Chicken Salad

See, you guys, I told you I’d be back! Julie and I (and Daddy and the dogs) are doing swell. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen too many photos of the baby, so I won’t bother you with one here. She sure is cute though.

So, as I stated in the title of this post, salmon salad is the new chicken salad in our house. It’s quicker to make, more nutritious for me as a nursing mom, and this Greek-inspired version that we’ve been eating for lunch is really fresh and flavorful. A scoop of it is lovely on a salad or sandwich, or even just on crackers or kettle-cooked potato chips (okay, you got me — those aren’t as nutritious).

ingredients
4 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
1/2 a cucumber, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
zest and juice of half a lemon
1/8 teaspoon dried dill
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

directions
Drizzle the salmon fillets with two tablespoons of the olive oil, season them with salt and pepper, and roast them in a 400° oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until cooked through. Allow them to cool; then flake them apart with a fork in a medium bowl. Add the remaining olive oil and all of the other ingredients (including extra salt and pepper), and stir to combine.