The Zizzler

Living THE life on a shoestring budget. Traveling, DIY projects, general fabulousness.......

Saturday, June 10, 2006

This Must Be Just Like Living in Paradise

The Target $1 section. Sometimes its socks. Sometimes Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper four packs. Often its crappy stationary or weird bath stuff. Today, it was the ultimate Zizzler jackpot- Lobster related crap! In past entries, I've mentioned I like lobsters "in a design aspect." I don't eat them (or any meatstuffs), I just love how they look. And I was overjoyed today to pick up lobster swizzle sticks, appetizer picks, a weird little silver dish (no idea what its supposed to be for), an apron and a platter. The platter depicts how to eat a lobster, but I'm pretending its just a joke. And each item for only $1!!! They also had starfish themed ones. If you're into that sort of thing. On one hand, I can't wait to use them, but I secretly know I'll "save" them in their containers for a "special occasion" (aka NEVER.) P.S. Does anyone actually read this blog? Mom, don't answer this!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

It's WitchCraft

A cutesy title?! Gross. Is this really the Zizzler? Other possible titles were : Bewitched! Witch way is Summer? Witch foot is Witch? er... I'll stop. I'm even annoying myself.

So yea. It is summer now. It's annoyingly hot and humid. I get really cranky from the heat. The moment I form a sweatstache, oh man, you'd better get out of my way. I overheat easily, and am really affected by my footwear. I can't wear sleeves or closed toed shoes, or it overheats my whole body. So that means I walk the dirty cities of the world in sandals (note, NEVER Jesus sandals. Or those horrible velcro dealies. Or anything with a plastic flower on it. And never flip flops in a respected establishment).
So Bath and Body works used to make this really great stuff, part of their anti-bacterial line. It was a purse sized "cooling" foot spray. It was mostly witch hazel, alcohol, fragrance and water. And for real, not only did it make summer city feet smell good, but the witch hazel cooooooled me down. And cleansed. And I went in there to buy it. And the jerks DISCONTINUED it!! Come on! They can sell Henri Bendel Candles and 50000 new types of food flavored lip gloss, but take away the best product they had? So I did what I'd typically do, and I decided to make my own. What you'll need:

  • Witch Hazel (about $2-$3 at drugstores)
  • Essential oil ($5-$10 depending on size). Some places give sample vials- The Body Shop used to, you don't need a lot so a sample size will more than do.
  • Old spray bottle, you might want to use a purse sized one.
  • water!
  • Something to decorate the bottle with if you want to

Mix one part with hazel with 2 parts water. You can vary slightly depending on your preference, but witch hazel has a strong smell so you might want to stick with my dilution. Same goes for the essential oil. I try to choose a stronger smelling one, like a musk, so it will almost cover the witch hazel smell. DON'T use vanilla. SOOOOO gross together. Orange Blossom and Mint worked well too. I use about 20-30 drops. My feet smell. Now decorate your bottle with paint, stickers, or a collage. Or don't.

Get out in the city and SPRITZ! Feel the soothing antiseptic properties of the witch hazel, smell the pleasant aroma of the essential oil. Feel less gross. That's basically all I ever try to do, day in and day out.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Not Really a Beatles Fan

I wanted to write about a project I'm working on, but I ran out of supplies and last night I accidentally gave the rest of my money to a dog wearing a t shirt (and pearls).

So instead we'll venture to Liverpool, where I spent a cheapy weekend once. I was studying in London, and took a 2 hour train ride from Euston Station. Fares range from 22 pounds for advance booking, to 52.10 pounds for day of (roundtrip). A cheaper option which I didn't know about until recently, is http://www.megabus.com/uk. Prices range from 1 pound to 22 pounds, depending how far in advance you book. They are like the Chinatown bus of NYC/Philly, pick up on random corners, and are generally for people in the know. But if you can afford it, I recommend the train- the English country side is beautiful, and trains are spacious and comfortable.
I found Liverpool to be a bit strange, pretty industrial, and kind of angry. But I still liked it. I like the Beatles like most people do, but I'm not a HUGE fan, so I opted out of the "Magical Mystery Tour Bus", which ran about 40 pounds a person. Nooooooo thank you. We did however pick up one of their free maps, and hiked the extremely far walk to Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Really, nothing to see. Strawberry Fields is the gate infront of a home for children, which has since closed. Tons of lame Beatles oriented grafitti. Thats it. Penny Lane is a regular street with regular shops and what not on it. Toward the center of town is the infamous Cavern Club, where the Beatles began. I had a pint of Carling and looked at the memorabilia. Its kind of a dive, just how I like bars to be.
After I got my fill of Beatles' stuff, I headed over to the Liverpool Cathedral. Started in 1904, the cathedral is the largest in Britain. It sits atop a hill and overlooks the city. At the foot of it, almost in a pit below is a really neat cemetary with several mass graves from an orphanage fire of the early 1900s. The cemetary was one of my favorites, very creepy yet serene. The Cathedral itself was very beautiful, but not as impressive to me since it is contemporary, and I'm an agist.
One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Liverpool was to visit the Tate Modern Liverpool Museum http://www.tate.org/uk/liverpool. General admission is free, with a 4 pound fee for special exhibitions. I caught the Peter Blake show (who incidentally is most famous for the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album). They also have a really good gift shop. The Tate is on the waterfront, where I found a cheap hotel for 30 pounds a night nearby. Liverpool's Albert Dock waterfront is really cool, with great architecture. "The Three Graces", which are comprised of the Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building are probably the most recognizable area in Liverpool (free admission). Albert Dock has a lot going on- cafes, pubs, and lots of foot traffic. Very fun to explore.
Liverpool also has the largest Chinatown in Europe, which means tons of good cheap food. There are also many 24 hour bakeries where you can get a spinach pie for 1 pound or something sweet. I think we walked all of Liverpool in 2 short days. I found it interesting that there were so many abandoned houses right next to really nice ones. We also came across several overgrown cemetaries. I love things like that, I love to wonder how they got that way, who forgot about them, andif they will ever get cleaned up.
People in Liverpool were really mean to us. I mean, maybe it was because we have annoying American accents. Maybe not, they seemed to be mean to each other as well?