{coconut oil-y hair}

Girl friends are great for more than just gossip and shopping! My group of girl friends and I often trade recipes, decorating, and beauty tips. One day, during one of our long walks, we were talking about how to naturally make our hair grow and ticken faster. Than goodness for my friend Lora or I would have never even tried this trick! 

Now, I've always heard that coconut oil has many benefits for the inside of your body, but who knew you could plaster it all over the outside of your body and reap the benefits too? 

Lora told me to combine a couple spoonfuls of coconut oil {more if you have tick hair} and about 5 drops of lavender--amaazzzinng aromatherapy. Mix it together and start rubbing it all over your head. I start at my scalp and work its way all over the scalp and then gradually work my way down. I use a small comb to comb through my hair to make sure I covered it, then I twist my hair and put it in a clip. You want to use a clip instead of a pony tail holder because clips don't break your hair! 

Make sure you have at least 2 hours to sit around the house and do nothing because you want to let this soak in as long as possible. I suggest making a nice warm bubble bath, turning on a show or reading a good book, lighting some candles, and letting the oil work it's magic. This does wonders for the stress in your life. 

Ingredients: 

Coconut Oil

Essential Oils {I use lavender} 

*Make sure you buy pure 100% organic coconut oil to reap all of the benefits* 

I bought mine at Trader Joes

{christmas cocktail 2012}

This year we hosted our first ever Christmas Cocktail and it was a b.l.a.s.t.! 

As I began to decorate for Christmas this year and unpacked all of my boxes, I  realized how much stuff we actually have. I unpacked boxes and boxes of Christmas serving dishes, hot cocoa mugs, dessert plates, cake platters and so much more. I figured we had to have a get together or else all of this stuff would go to waste yet another year. I quickly texted all of my girl friends and we figured the best date would be December 1st because as soon as our med school hubbies are finished everyone is going every which way. 

Next came the question--tacky Christmas sweater party or classy cocktail? Since we live in a super small town and have no where to go to dress up, we figured we'd take a night to get fancy and wear some heels! Hence the name, Christmas Cocktail 2012 {cleaver, right?} 

We planned to have small appetizers instead of doing a sit down dinner {because my house can't really hold 17 people--more like 6 comfortably}. Each couple came bearing an appetizer or a dessert and man-o-man it was amazing! We had everything from beef dip, spinach fritattas, broccoli bites, and bruchetta to cake balls and pecan pie bars. Drinks consisted of "skinny" champagne punch, vodka tonics, whiskey and diet coke, and wine for the ladies. Everything was so delicious! 

I wanted to plan a fun game since our parties usually go like this--couples arrive, every one says hello, boys go to one side of the room, girls go to the other side of the room and that's that! Everyone arrived at 7pm and I planned a game at 5:45! Talk about pressure! We played the game "Who Am I?" I made up a bunch of different Christmas words, which some people would beg to differ whether their word was, in fact, a Christmas word. Each person chose a name tag and stuck it on their forehead. We stood in an oblong circle in my kitchen and could only ask yes/no questions. We laughed so hard during this game my abs are legitimately sore this morning! I'd definitely recommend this game to anyone hosting a Christmas party! 

This party was everything I wanted it to be and more. Many laughs were shared and it was a great time to get everyone together before we part ways for the Holidays. The boys and Ashlin were able to take a break and forget about studying for a few hours and everyone could relax and have a good time! 

Here are some photos from the evening: