Lavender

One of my favorite oils is Lavender. It's easy to know what the uses include by remembering that lavender is all things calming. It can calm a sunburn, pain from an ear infection, a burn in the kitchen, or with a curling iron/flat iron, razor bumps, anxiety, and commonly known to help you sleep.
I keep a bottle if this in the kitchen and in my bag. My kids love the smell and we all have enjoyed the relief it supplies. If it's not already in your medicine cabinet, it should be.

Wild Orange

When I want my house so smell super good I throw some wild orange in the diffuser. It has a fresh happy smell and it never gets old. Wild orange also is a mood oil in that it uplifts you, helps with anxiety and depression. Which means that while I freshen my home I make the mood bright too. I love a two for one don't you?  :)

2012 Garden Plans

    Each Easter I pull out the grid paper and start to plot out this years garden. Our fist attempt at a family garden was small, a couple tomatoes (worked great!), a few pathetic rows of corn (didn't produce at all) , and two watermelon (we got one tiny, super-sweet watermelon). That was 4 years ago and we have been hooked ever since. I did some research and talked to each of our parents (his garden, mine grew up in farming communities) for info and ideas and we have significantly bettered our garden each year.

    We are lucky enough to have a large yard that provides space for a 30 X 50 garden plot. I tend to plant similarly each year occasionally trying something new when possible. If I can't get a very good harvest I research more over the winter and try again the following spring if the harvest still isn't good then I sometimes try again or move on to something new.

     This year I am trying new: potatoes, carrots, radishes, spinach, & lettuce. And I am cutting back a tiny bit on the tomatoes, I have 12 this year instead of the normal 16-20. We eat a lot to tomatoes in this house :) I am also retrying onions and tomatillos. I got a fairly decent amount of tomatillos but I want a larger fruit prior to maturity.

     Tomorrow starts the soil prep and planting. I like the insta-garden look so I purchase the plants I can at an organic nursery unless I can't find them, then I have to fight the quail off while the seeds I plant are germinating.

    Stay tuned for organic pest control, weed free gardening tips, harvest info, and interesting kid friendly cooking ideas. 

So do you garden organically? What tips would you share?

Organic Salves

I recently heard of a company making organic salves. I haven't personally tried them yet, but plan on doing so soon. (I'll post again once I get the chance to try them.) It's called Sierra Sage Herbs based in Idaho. You can look though their site here.

 If you've tried these, what are your favorites?

The DoTERRA Story

Here's a short video about DoTERRA. It talks about how they source the plants to make the oils as well as a couple uses.

Cute Clothes

Most of the time my kids rock Target, Children's Place, or occasionally Gap clothes. But I am always on the look out for something more original, usually for school shopping or pictures. Something that isn't at the mall and on every corner here in Utah.

So while surfing the Internet I found tea.---a clothing store, not the drink :)

I love that I can buy something for each child ages 1, 4, 6 something in a similar style/color palette and even something for myself.

I really like this dress for my oldest and this top for me! 

I also recently discovered Naartjie. It suits our needs for fun and price. This house is all about the look and comfort.  :) Luckily for us there's a store nearby, so it has become a wardrobe staple.

This and This are for sure on the list to buy.

What stores do you like to shop at?

Essential Oils

So what exactly are essential oils and how are they used? Here's what I know:

Essential oils are liquids distilled from plants--from different parts, not just the leaves. It can be from bark, flowers, seeds, roots etc... But you need to know that not all essential oils are the same, there's purity to consider as well as therapeutic value. It depends on the part of the plant that was used, soil condition, organic or not, region/climate/altitude, harvest time/method and distillation process. It's a lot to think about but it's important because you could be paying for something not as potent or even artificial.

DoTERRA is Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG). This means they actively pursue the purest quality and highest grade possible.

Essential oils have been around for thousands of years as mankind's first medicine. Manuscripts from China talk about usages and alabaster jars have been found filled with essential

Now that you know what it is here's why they work:

Essential oils are so small on the molecular level that it's easy for them to aabsorb into your skin. They are lipid soluble which mean they can go through the cellular wall, withing 20 minutes they can be metabolized into every sell in the body, being processed like other nutrients. Essential oils are powerful antioxidants and create a unfriendly environment for free radicals. They can be used topically, aromatically and internally.

All info is from Modern Essentials, A Contemporary Guide To The Therapeutic Use Of Essential Oils, Second Edition