Waking Up with Essential Oils…How to Get Essential Oils Into the Air

  By leslie | May 16, 2012 - 5:12 pm | all natural household products, cinnamon, essential oils, essential oils in the home, things that make me happy
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I’ve been told that you can smell my house before you get inside. People have actually said that they were sure they had the right house because it smelled like me as they were walking up. I’ve also been spotted in a crowd because of my essential oil smell! It’s just part of me now, and I love it! So how did this happen? Well, I use essential oils for so many different things. And I never use perfume or scented anything other than what I do with my oils and some incense. Here are some different ways that you can get the oils in the air in your space. Keep in mind that when they are on you, they will also be getting in the air.

Since I work from home, and spend a good bit of time there, I like to really pay attention to the energy. I take time in the morning to “wake my house up”. It’s just kind of a special time for me and my space to start the day in a positive way…like a walking meditation.

I have different “stations” around the house, and at each station, I send love to that space and say “thank you. The more you focus on gratitude and love, the happier and healthier you will be.

First I turn on my stove top smelly goodness…yes that’s it’s proper name.

I just do an old school potpourri where I add all of my scraps of lemon and oranges to a pot, fill it with water and simmer. This is something I add to and take away from daily. When the fruit gets really soft, I put in down the disposal and that always smells nice too! And since I use lemons and oranges constantly, I add new scraps almost daily.

In the morning, I add a few drops of oil like cinnamon or clove or whatever makes you happy and then turn on the burner.

I then spray my counters and windows with one of my homemade cleaners like this one and just quickly wipe them down. This helps with bacteria and gets the smell in the air.

I then drop oils in my toilets and trash cans in the bathrooms. In the toilet, only use oils that are clear, not cinnamon or patchouli. They will stain.

drawing by foster burns

Any will do in the trash. I put 2-3 in the toilet and 3-5 on a tissue in the trash.

 

I then drop oils in my diffuser and turn it on. Click here for suggestions.

Photo by Kristina Phillips

Then it’s my turn! I take a few minutes to choose my oils for the day…browse my dropper bottle blends for ideas. I sit down and focus on the things that I am grateful for, and then put the oils on the bottom of my feet.

While I’m applying the oils, I also take deep breaths as this is the quickest way to get the oils into our systems (bottom of the feet being the 2nd quickest). I focus on what I want my day to look like and all the things that make me happy. Scent is very closely related to memory. So get into the habit of positive thinking when using your oils. Create happy, healthy memories that will come back for you every time you smell essential oils.

I sometimes choose the room where I put the oils on my feet, based on what’s happening that day. For instance, if I’m working on the computer, I’ll put the oils on in the space where I do that work. If I’m seeing massage clients, I put the oils on in my massage room. If I have company coming, I’ll put the oils on in the room where we will gather.

Once this is done, and I’ve filled my house with yummy smells and positive energy, I turn off the stove top goodness and say thank you one more time to the universe.

You can’t always control the things happening around you or even sometimes in your own body. But you can definitely set yourself up to be as strong and healthy as possible to handle all that comes your way. Positive energy can strengthen and heal. Laughter is the best medicine after all!

Mother’s Day Deliciousness

  By leslie | May 14, 2012 - 2:02 pm | things that make me happy
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I truly hope that everyone had a beautiful Mother’s Day. My mother is 8 hours away from me, but I did get to spend it with another great Mom. We started the day with drinks similar to the strawberry and citrus drink I made last week.

This time I juice a pint of strawberries, 2 oranges and one lemon in my juicer. Then I added 2 capfuls of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and stirred well. I put mint sprigs in the bottom of the glass and poured in the drink. Add ice and enjoy! It was the perfect drink this beautiful morning!

I then spent a little time working on more bike food. Still haven’t perfected that. But I did make some pretty cool flaxseed and chocolate chip mini muffins. I’m getting there.

PS, not the easiest thing to make look pretty! But they are really good, I promise! Just not fantastic yet.

Then I got to work on dinner, lunch, whatever. I love to entertain and haven’t really been able to this year. Somebody who shall remain nameless keeps snatching up all the good holidays! But Mother’s Day was a perfect time to pull out the china and break in the newly painted dinning room.

It’s a really light lavender, but it seems to change colors…which I love!

And the black is chalkboard paint which is so fun! I love being an adult…I can actually draw on the wall and not get in trouble!

So back to dinner…first I made a quick appetizer so we could relax and chat while dinner cooked.

So easy! It’s just a log of goat cheese rolled in sunflower seeds and drizzled with honey. Then dress it up with some berries. So good!

The main course was salmon rolled up in these cool cedar wraps we found.

It’s the same idea as cooking on a cedar plank, but they are thin so you can wrap them around your food. And yes, I got the idea for dinner from the picture on the box. I am a marketers dream!

We rolled up a small piece of salmon and 3 pieces of asparagus and steamed them for about 20 min. You can bake or grill them too. I think the steamer really let the cedar sink in.

I also made some crazy delicious lemon and caper mashed potatoes. Got that idea from Martha Stewart…love that woman, and I set out some bread and olive oil, which we could live off if you let us. As for that beautiful pitcher of tea, that was a find at the farmers market this weekend. Lemon Basil Tea from Bru Tea! I did it iced and added some fruit to make it pretty.

Now for dessert! Luckily I have a completely separate stomach for that…or at the very least a separate compartment.

Earlier in the day I made a lemon pound cake…again, thank you Martha Stewart. I sliced it thick and then cut it into chunks. I added some balsamic fruit and ice cream.

Balsamic Fruit Recipe

1/2 cup balsamic vinager (I used a dark chocolate version that I get from this great olive oil store in town, but any good balsamic will do.)
1 tablespoon sugar
Put this in a medium sized tupperware container or something with a lid. Mix well with a whisk.
Add a pint of berries. If I use strawberries, I slice them first. Shake them around to coat and then put in the fridge. I like to flip them every so often. Let them sit for at least an hour, but I usually do this the night before.
When you’re ready to use them, just spoon out the berries with a slotted spoon. Serve over ice cream or pound cake or anything else you can think of!

I put them in a dessert dish, but this would look great in a martini glass or even a wine glass!

It really was a fantastic day. I hope everyone had a equally wonderful Mother’s Day. Let me know what deliciousness happened at your house!

Now, tomorrow, I promise to talk about aromatherapy!

Super Refreshing Strawberry and Citrus Drink

  By leslie | May 11, 2012 - 4:35 pm | things that make me happy
3 Comments

 

I know…this has absolutely nothing to do with aromatherapy. But I couldn’t resist sharing. I was busy making body scrubs and face masks for you, I promise! No slacking here! And I needed some orange and lemon peel. Well I couldn’t just waste the juice could I! I knew you’d understand. So there I was, juicing a lemon and an orange, and then there were these strawberries…fresh picked!

Just sitting there, waiting to be added to my face mask. Well, it couldn’t be helped….

So here’s how it all went down.

I muddled 5 small strawberries in the bottom of a glass. If you don’t have a muddler, then just blend them a bit in a blender or better yet a magic bullet.

 

Then I juiced 1 large orange and half a lemon using a hand juicer. I did it this way because I was specifically trying to keep some pulp on the rind for my body scrub.

 

If you blended the strawberries, pour them into a glass. If you muddled them, they’re already there!
Add the lemon and orange juice to the glass along with
1 capful of apple cider vinegar (I used Braggs)
1 tablespoon of grade b maple syrup (I use this because it actually has some nutritional value. Feel free to use whatever sweetener you like or just omit all together.)
Add a bit of water, I probably added about 1/2 a cup.
And mix well.
Add ice and a mint leaf.

I’m thinking I may have to make this for mother’s day. It’s delicious and oh so pretty!

So now, me and my yummy drink are going to go test out my strawberry face mask…check back next week for that and my citrus and sugar body scrub. I’m also contemplating a strawberry and lavender salt scrub. It’s going to be a good week people! So enjoy this beautiful weekend and prepare for the deliciousness coming your way!

Homemade Herbal Hairspray

  By leslie | May 8, 2012 - 6:00 pm | all natural hair care, basil, essential oils, hair spray, patchouli, peppermint, rosemary, sage
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Are you ready to be seriously blown away! You can make your own hairspray for pennies and it is completely all-natural and not at all harmful to the environment.

I didn’t believe it either! And here’s the part you’re really going to struggle with…it’s crazy easy and you have what you need in your pantry, possibly minus the essential oils. But that’s what I’m here for! Are you ready for this…sugar water. No, I am not kidding. Think about how sticky sugar can be. Isn’t that the point of hairspray? So not only is it NOT harmful to the environment, but it’s ridiculously cheap and perfectly safe to breathe. I got the idea from one of my favorite herb resources online, www.bulkherbstore.com and Shoshana’s Kitchen. They suggested using dried herbs for the scent and other properties, but of course I’m using essential oils.

Basic Herbal Hairspray

The idea is simple. Melt 4-8 tsp sugar depending on the hold you prefer in 2 cups boiling water. Let this COMPLETELY cool and then add about 20 drops of essential oils. Put this in a spray bottle and mix well.

Here are some examples.

Rosemary and Mint Herbal Hairspray

2 cups water
4 tsp sugar (for a lighter hold)
rosemary and peppermint essential oils

Put 2 cups of water and the sugar in a pot and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour into a container and let cool. I just poured it back in the glass pyrex I used to measure the water originally. Let cool for several hours or overnight.
Once it’s cooled, put 1/2 the water in a spray bottle and add about 10 drops each of peppermint and rosemary essential oils.
Shake well then add the rest of the water and shake again.
The key is to make sure that the water is completely cooled before adding the oils. I do not know why, but when I added the oils to warm sugar water, it got very rank after a few days.
Shoshana suggested a fine mist bottle which I do not have on hand. I used the same spray bottle I use for my cleaners and such.

Earthy Herbal Hairspray

2 cups water
8 tsp sugar (for a super hold)
7 drops each of basil, patchouli and sage

see above for directions.

Use any of your dropper bottle blends for hair. See my herbal hair care page for oils and blends.

Now, promise me you will share your experience with me. It’s only fair!

Homemade Microderm Abrasion…Baking Soda Style!

  By leslie | May 4, 2012 - 12:22 am | all natural face care, baking soda
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Ok, just for the record, I was doing this before I had ever heard of microderm abrasion…which is just the removal of the top layers of skin. Also known as exfoliating! It’s amazing what we will pay other people to do to us.

I saw it becoming trendy online and realized how cool and ahead of my time I was! See! You should listen to me!

1st I remove all makeup and cleanse my face using just olive oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the very complicated and expensive ingredients you will need…

 

 

Baking Soda
and
Water

No joke. Put a little baking soda in the palm of your hand and add a splash of water, just enough to make a paste. The more water you add, the less abrasive it will be. Then rub a small amount into your skin in small, gentle circles. When you’ve covered your whole face, rinse with warm water. Now feel your face and tell me how smart I am!

Baking Soda is a good cleanser and skin softener when dissolved completely in water, but when left a little dry, it is the best exfoliate. And I don’t know if you’ve priced baking soda lately, but I’m betting it’s cheaper than anything else you have purchased to put on your face. I don’t do this more than once a week if that. Just let your face decide. You never want to over-exfoliate.

Now you can get fancy…add a drop of lavender or another of your favorite essential oils to the mix for an even better clean. Look through my lists of essential oils for different skin types.

If you’d like to give this as a gift, here are some thoughts, since yes, it would be rude to give someone a box of baking soda and call it a gift…

Put baking soda in a small jar and add a homemade label and a ribbon. Drop in 4 drops of lavender per 1/2 cup of baking soda and mix well. Keep in mind This will be good for all skin types.

Or put baking soda in a small jar and add a homemade label and a ribbon. Include 2 or 3 different bottles of essential oils depending on their need. Here are some helpful lists.