Have a Wonderful Holiday!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! I will be taking a few weeks off blogging to relax and celebrate with friends and family. I look forward to seeing you as we start a fresh, New Year!

Love and joy to you all! XOXO

FREE Meditations and Horoscopes from DK Brainard

Now through January 15, my friend DK Brainard will be generously giving away FREE meditation and horoscope downloads at his site, Words for the People.

DK has been an inspiration and spiritual guide to me over the past few years and his meditations are amazing. I'm excited that he is offering his Higher Consciousness System Starter Package for all to try.

What a gift! Thanks, DK! I hope you all enjoy these as much as I have!

Peppermint Lip Butter

Things are winding down here in our house as the Holidays have arrived, but I wanted to leave you with one more recipe this year!

This lip butter takes less than 10 minutes to make from start to finish and is super easy! You should be able to find all of these ingredients at your local natural foods store. 

This makes 10 lip balm tubes, but don't fret if you don't have these. Any clean container will do. One of my favorites to use for balms (especially peppermint) is the Altoids Smalls tin - a great way to reuse after your mints are all gone. :)

Peppermint Lip Butter

3 Tablespoons coconut oil

3 teaspoons shea, cocoa, avocado OR mango butter (or a mix of any of these)
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon beeswax (or Candellila Wax for vegans)
20-30 drops peppermint essential oil 

1. Place oil, butter(s) and wax in a small microwave safe container with a pouring spout.
2. Melt ingredients in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until all ingredients are melted and incorporated.
3. Add essential oil, stir and pour immediately into lip balm tubes or other small container. Let cool, then label, if desired.

Enjoy!!!

Mint Madness!

Mint continues to be a running theme in our holiday crafting this year! This past week, my daughters and I whipped up Candy Cane Bath Salts, Peppermint Lip Butter and handmade Victorian candy canes.

We've never made candy canes before and it was nothing short of hysterical! The recipe was easy enough, but the actual production takes a lot of finesse as the candy cools quickly and you need to work fast pulling and shaping the canes! Our experience was a cross between three monkeys with pans and a bag of sugar and an I Love Lucy episode. I'm still picking bits off candy off the floor! Lets just say I have a new respect for candy makers!

The product of our candy making experiment. Not gonna quit my day job! LOL!

So, on to the Candy Cane Bath Salts - an oldie but a goodie! We made these little jars for our nieces and nephews. They make really fun, affordable handmade gifts and are super easy to make! 

Candy Cane Bath Salts

This recipe makes 6 jars of salts.

3 cups epsom salts (found at your local drug store)

6 teaspoons shelf-stable carrier oil (I used safflower because it is what I had on hand.)

 8 drops Red food-safe coloring (try India Tree Natural Decorating Colors for safe, plant-based 

dyes)

20 drops peppermint essential oil

Crushed candy canes

6 clean, dry 8oz. jelly jars

1. Place 1 1/2 cups of the salts in two medium sized bowls.
2. Mix the oil with the food coloring and add to one of the bowls of salts. Stir gently until the salts turn a pinkish red.
3. Add 10 drops of peppermint essential oil to each bowl of salts (Note: Different essential oil brands and harvests can have different aromatic potency. Use a few more or a few less drops if needed, without ODing on the mint :))
4. Layer the salts, alternating colors like candy cane stripes, into a clean jelly jar. Sprinkle a few bits of crushed candy cane on top before sealing the lid. Decorate with a tag, ribbon and a small candy cane.

Here is the gift label that I made to attach to the lids if you'd like to use it, too! (Please note: This is simply a gift label. It does not follow labeling guidelines for retail items.)

I will share the Peppermint Lip Butter recipe in another post. Until then, may your day be minty and bright!

Mask of the Month: Minted Honey

All this, and you can read your tea leaves, too!

The season has me in the mood for mint! We've been making all sorts of handmade mint holiday goodies here - from candy canes to bath salts. I figured this month's mask would follow suit!

Honey is a superb humectant, helping to draw water into the skin to keep it moist (which winter skin needs for sure!). Peppermint is so lovely and cooling on the skin and a great aromatherapy energy boost for this hectic time of year! This mask will have you feeling refreshed, alive and ready to bake that fruitcake! Plus, you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now! Enjoy! XOXO

Minted Honey

Strong, dried peppermint infusion (you can use a peppermint tea bag or loose, dried)
1 teaspoon honey

1. Make a strong peppermint infusion using peppermint and just boiling water.
2. Mix the honey with a small amount of the infusion and stir well.
3. Apply the warm mixture (it will be runny) to freshly cleansed skin, gently massaging into the skin for a minute.
4. Leave mask on for 15 minutes, rinse with warm water, then apply your favorite toner and moisturizer.

Be sure to save some tea to drink!

Honey - amazing for you inside and out!

A Liebster from The Life of a Novice!

I am just tickled to have been given my very first Liebster Blog Award from Allison at The Life of a Novice. Thank you so much, Allison!!! I appreciate you and your wonderful blog!

"Liebster," comes from the German word meaning "dearest" and the award is kind of like a warm, fuzzy blog chain letter that is awarded to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 readers. What a great way to spread the love to fellow bloggers who put their hearts and souls into their work! And a great way to foster community among passionate bloggers!

So here are the rules:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. List your top 5 blog picks for this award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and past the award on your blog.
4. Spread the love to 5 other bloggers.
5. Have fun!!!

It was tough picking my top 5 blogs. There are so many amazing blogs out there, so to keep it real, I am listing a few of my fave blogs with varied content from the Midwest region - mainly Michigan since that is my home). But here are my picks in random order (I think these all have less than 200 followers, but my apologies if not! Love!):

Iron Oak Farm (A most delightful blog about daily life on a Michigan farm. You will fall in love!)
Counterpoint (Posts on everyday life that will make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time!)
Queen Bes Altered Needs (A crafty site with mixed media art that I drool over! Another local!)
House of Many Hues (Gorgeous coverage of the most fabulous interior design and decor! Inspiring! Local!)
Musings from the Herb Farm & Soap Shop (A blog from a fellow Herb Companion blogger with great herby content!)

Much "lieb" to you all today! :)

Pets Have Skin, Too!: Peacable Kingdom Essentials Reliever Achiever

Our beautiful girl, Zoe.

I know many of my wonderful readers are animal lovers so I'm really excited to share with you all a unique company called Peacable Kingdom Essentials.

Peacable Kingdom Essentials is run by Cindy Wenger, an herbalist and one of the leading animal communicators, who I had the pleasure of recently talking with. Her Certified Organic herbal pet care products focus on the overall wellness of cats and dogs and cover a wide range of health concerns ranging from joint health to stress/anxiety issues.

I was particularly interested in her products to support pet's skin health. We have an 11 year old Husky, Zoe, who has discoid lupus - the lupus that affects the skin. Discoid lupus does not have a cure, you can only treat the symptoms. We have had her under close doctor care since we became aware of this condition. She has had it for a few years now and it manifests itself as inflammation and skin peeling on her nose (she has actually lost most of the color on her nose due to this :( ). She also has patches of hair loss on her body that become irritated and inflamed.

Zoe's poor little nose.

We have had Zoe on several treatments (including long term antibiotics, which just didn't seem to show much improvement). I have tried handmade calendula salves and other natural antibacterial/anti-inflammatory creams and ointments, but she always licked them off right away, so the improvement never reached its full potential. It is also, at times, painful for her nose to be touched, so it was difficult to even apply anything to it.

I was so excited when I saw Cindy's "Reliever Achiever" topical spray. It is a blend of Calendula, Chamomile, St. John's Wort, Licorice Root, Horsetail and Dandelion Root. The blend is in a base of distilled water and minimal organic grain alcohol (less than 5% as a preservative). This synergistic blend is jam packed with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, detoxifying and healing herbs that can also assist in stopping bleeding and oozing of abrasions and skin irritations.

The Reliever Achiever is the first product that I have been able to use on Zoe that she doesn't lick off (although she did the first few times, just to check it out!). The spray bottle application makes it easy and pain-free, as I don't have to touch her nose at all. I have already seen improvement in the redness and inflammation on her nose, with twice daily applications for just over a week.

I even used Reliever Achiever on myself when I suffered a few clumsy kitchen abrasions (watch out for those cheese graters!).

In talking with Cindy Wenger regarding supporting the health of your pet's skin and hair, she recommends:

• A quality food (without fillers, by-products or added dyes)
• A toxin-free environment (toxins introduced into the body can work their way outward and manifest as skin problems)
• Plenty of rest and exercise
• Vitamins A, C and E
• Digestive enzymes
• Flax oil/fish oil/wheat germ oil (for healthy Omegas)
• Nutritive herbs such as nettle, horsetail, alfalfa and clover
• Detoxifying herbs that support the liver and kidneys, such as grated burdock root (which can help to address chronic skin problems)

Peacable Kingdom Essentials also offers other healthy, Certified Organic products to support pet's skin, such as chemical-free flea powder, brewers yeast and coconut chips (both of which promote healthy skin and coat).

Pets have skin, too! And herbs work just as well on your pet's skin as they do on you. So, happy skin to you and your fuzzy ones!

Winter Arrives

Winter has arrived here in Michigan, covering everything in a beautiful blanket of white, sparkling in the sun. We are so blessed to have the most beautiful changes of season here. Each one, a beauty in its own unique way.

It is now officially time to bust out the hot cocoa! Wishing you a beautiful weekend, full of cozy Winter moments!