What is your perfect summer day?

When I think of a perfect summer day it involves a beautiful sandy beach, a bright sunny day, lime green flip flops, a big straw hat and a tropical drink with a cute magenta umbrella in it!  I love magenta and lime green together!

Sadly, you can’t spend every day like this, but you can sip on some iced tea, grab some of those cute umbrellas in the dollar store and whip up some mojito room spray to bring the scent of a favorite tropical drink inside!

You’ll need:

4 drops lime

2 drops peppermint

2 drops spearmint

1 oz witch hazel

1 oz water

Add essential oils to a 2 oz glass spray bottle. Top with witch hazel & water. Gently shake before spraying and imagine you’re at the beach!

For the love of Peppermint!

Oh, Peppermint!!  When you are diffused, your fresh and minty scent invigorates my mind and body!!  You presence on my feet make me energized during my workouts!  You are the perfect complement to sugar scrubs.    When I diffuse you with Lemon and Lavender, you make seasonal breathing so much easier.  Placing you on the back of my neck is not only cooling in the summer but can simmer down a nagging head. 

And you, Peppermint Vitality, I can always count on you to freshen my breath.  You also soothe my stomach after I add you to a glass of water.  When I bake, you make anything chocolate taste amazing. 

We have just touched the surface of you, dear Peppermint!!

If you would like to be able to have your own Peppermint, contact us using the contact form to the right!

Where to get the good stuff.

The answer isn't very simple.  You really do need to do your own research.  But, there are lots of suggestions that help you find the company that will best fit you.  Is Young Living the ONLY company with awesome pure oils?  Probably not.  It would be foolish for us to say that.  BUT we am confident that Young Living is providing the purest oil to us through their business model called Seed to Seal.  You can read about their sourcing and more HERE.

You can also read how to research on your own through specific questions you can ask the company you are looking at.  A very in-depth process is described here by Dr. Eric Z.  His article gives you the tools to do this yourself.  He does not give you a list nor does he recommend any particular company.    Click HERE to read that article.

Another resource that I would like to point you to is Jen O'Sullivan and her company comparison list.  Not only is it very detailed but helps you on your way to be diligent in your research.  She personally contacted each company on the chart to get the answers listed there.  You can see it HERE!

So......do you want to know why I put in a picture of Peppermint oil here.  Because it is a very telling oil.  It should smell like a freshly crushed peppermint leaf and NOT like a candy cane.  If it does smell like a candy cane, it is because it is over processed.

Then, there is ACTION.  What is action?  That is "how the oil works".  So, if you find that a certain oil really does something good for you, go ahead and try it from different companies.  Monitor how you react to each brand and choose the brand that works the best for you.  This also means that you will want to see how many drops it takes to give you the same reaction.  Just because you used 4 drops of one brand doesn't mean you need 4 drops of another.  Test it out for yourself.

Bug Protection

I got an e-mail the other day about Bug Protection that was chemical and DEET free. They claim to have four different essential oils in their blend.  Their price was $9.95 plus shipping for about 10 oz. With the percentages of essential oils that were in the product I calculated that there was about $4.00 of essential oils in the blend using my cost and estimation of oil drops per type.  So, YOU can make your own Bug Protection and KNOW that you are getting pure essential oils and not oils that have no purity listed on the bottle.   Following are just two of many oil combinations that work well for bugs.

Bug Protection Recipe - ONE
4 oz bottle, add:
3 drops Lavender Essential Oil
4 drops Citronella Essential Oil
4 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
Fill bottle ½ way with water
Fill bottle to top with witch hazel

Bug Protection Recipe -TWO
4 oz blue glass bottle
5 drops each:
     Thieves Essential Oil
     Purification Essential Oil
     Peppermint Essential Oil
Fill bottle ½ way with water
Fill bottle to top with witch hazel

 

Oils going mainstream!

More and more people are talking about and using essential oils.  Want to know why?  It is because they work.  Here is an interesting article about nurses who are using Peppermint Essential Oil in an inhaler to administer to patients to help with post-op nausea.  AND there is lots more that you can use the oil for!!

Read the article HERE.

Ticks!

Spring is here in the Pacific Northwest and the lovely spring flowers are blooming all around us. Here is one of my favorite species plants in our garden called R. ririei.

With Spring here, there are more things coming your way.

Fleas and ticks!  Along with ticks there may be Lyme disease.

In the Pacific Northwest, our winter was so mild that the fleas and ticks are going to be abundant.  Protecting yourself and your pets will be important as you ward off these little buggers.

Did you know that you can use Essential Oils on your pets*?  Here are two interesting websites that talk about what you can do for your pets!!  The first is the Young Living's Blog that talk about essential oils and animals in general. Click Here to read that article.   The second article talks a little more about ticks and the essential oils that you can use to repel them as well as essential oils that you can use to help with the symptom of Lyme disease.   Click Here to read that article.  

My Sweet Standard, Gabby

Here is a list of essential oils that you can use for your dog to repel fleas.  You can put them directly on your dog's collar or even on a shoelace if you don't want to put it on the collar.  Some people even drop the oil on their hands, rub their hands together and then rub the dog's body and legs with their hands.

• Eucalyptus
• Peppermint
• Cedarwood
• Citronella
• Lavender
• Basil
• Tea Tree
• Clove
• Lemon

Whenever you are ready to get essential oils, remember that Young Living Essential Oils are very pure which will make them very effective!!

* Cats process things differently than dogs.  Do not use Citrus oils on cats.  Avoid Oregano and Thyme oils on any animals.

Oily Christmas - Day 4

Peppermint.  Of all the scents in the world, peppermint could possibly be the favorite, don't you think?  Now, Peppermint Essential oil is overly useful.  Cooking, diffusing, and using to promote a healthy digestion, and freshen your breathe!  Throbbing in your head?  Yup, peppermint! You can even use it layered over oils when you don't care for their smell (like Digize for me).  Probably my most favorite oil!   You have two days until I send in my order......do you want to try a bottle of peppermint for yourself?  Let me know by Monday morning!  Try peppermint for yourself and you will be IN LOVE!  No candy cane smell to this either (that tells you that it has been over processed) only the smell of a fresh crushed leaf of peppermint straight from your garden.

Honey.......

I ran across an article that compared several different kinds of sugar.  Refined, brown, coconut, & honey.  It was so informative that I just had to share it here.

It was interesting that I would find this article when I did because our Oct 16 Make & Take party here at my house features a Homemade Cough Syrup with essential oils.  AND guess what ingredient is in it?  Yup......honey!  So, with all the benefits of the honey itself along with the extra benefits of the essential oils, this syrup will pack an extra powerful punch for those coughs!!

Here is the article that you can read yourself.  Click HERE.

AND since you might be wondering about our recipe....here it is!


Homemade Cough Syrup (1 serving)
INGREDIENTS:
1 drop of lemon Young Living essential oil
1 drop of frankincense Young Living essential oil
1 drop peppermint Young Living essential oil
1 drop lavender Young Living essential oil
1 spoonful of honey
Glass Jar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add the oils to honey to the jar. Mix contents and then
consume and swallow.

This recipe is from Dr. Axe.

Top Five Oils to have - #3 Peppermint

Peppermint is your number three on the list.  I bet you thought it would be #1 but it isn't!!!
Here are just a few of Peppermint's great features:

• Energizing
• Supports gastrointestinal System comfort
• Promotes healthy bowel function
• Enhances healthy gut function
• Maintains efficiency of the digestive tract
• Supports normal digestion
• May support performance during exercise
• Good for boosting energy and focus

• Drop in your water or diffuse during physical activity  
• Good to use in an at home toothpaste recipe or add to water for natural mouthwash or baking soda/coconut oil as the natural toothpaste
• Wakes you up.  
• Did you know that they have been 1,100 studies on the benefits of peppermint oil?!

Antmageddon 2015

Written by Leah

Every year our house is attacked by these tiny little ants that I now know are Odorous House Ants. For the first few years they only came in our kitchen. My husband can attest that when I see them... alright when I still see them... I go a little nuts... alright, alright, I go flat out ape S*^t when I see them. My opinion is if they are dumb enough to show their shinny, black stinky bodies in my house they are flirting with their own fate. Yes, I do understand that I am judging the intelligence of an ant. I will stalk the area, checking back every few minutes to catch all the stragglers. Even my cat is in tune with my feelings about them and acts as my early warning system. It is probably the smell they emit which drives him nuts, like the smell of bleach. But in my eyes he is my ever faithful warrior. He is also my spider killer.

Each year I would put out those black bait traps, smash all visible bugs and they would retreat for a month or so. We would carry on with this back and forth war all year until winter.

Then a few years ago the ants got smarter. They found a way through the bathroom and laundry to where the cat food was kept. Late last summer I finally threw in the white flag and called a exterminating (poison) company to come take care of them. To my joy it worked like magic, until about 3 months ago.

I was reading through some ideas online for how to use the essential oil (EO) kit I had recently purchased and read came across a post in which someone used peppermint EO to repel ants and spiders with success. Not long after when I saw the first ant in my kitchen I thought, 'what the heck, I'll give it a shot.'  I filled a small spray bottle with water then put 8 drops of essential oil in and gave it a vigorous shake. I sprayed around my kitchen and around my whole foundation, windows etc. The subsequent invasion that was customary didn't happen.

Fast forward a month. After some rains and regular cleaning the peppermint had worn off and I found another ant in the kitchen. This time I decided to use some of my original oils, you know the ones I purchased cheaply online before I knew anything about oil purity. It didn't make sense to use my nice oils to just spray around the house.
I grabbed my trusty spray bottle and put the same mix as before in except with my bargain brand peppermint sprayed my kitchen and thought all was well. About 15 minutes later I went into the kitchen again and found a full invasion. There were ants everywhere!!!!!
It was as if the oils I had sprayed were attracting them. The ants were even congregating around the heavier sprayed areas. I went nuts. Hulk smash. Even after cleaning all the surfaces, the ants were still coming. On the verge of breakdown, I washed out my spray bottle and loaded it with my good oils. (Heavy sigh here. I had really hoped to save it for a different use but I figured it is only 8 drops). I sprayed until I could spray no more. Good bye ants.

I have found some stragglers here and there since then but at this point...

I HAVE WON THIS BATTLE!

I learned a very powerful lesson about cheap oils this day. They are cheap for a reason and not even fit for the health of my house, let alone me or my kids. I poured them out and washed the bottles to use for making blends and sharing with friends.

Have you had success in eliminating bugs or pests? What did you do? I'm interested in knowing.
Do you need to eliminate some from your home currently? Send me a note and I will use my resources to brainstorm for you and help you find a natural and chemical free way. I recently had a Facebook contact mention that her husband used Vetiver EO and it killed ants on contact and completely repelled the rest. I can't say I blame those ants. Vetiver is not high on my list. Others have added Purification EO (a Young Living blend) to the Peppermint EO with good success. Depending on your pest and climate, different oils will work better than others. So please don't give up on your first try if it isn't completely successful.

The super versatile Peppermint

Peppermint is one versatile oil that you just should NOT be without. This is also one piece to the Allergy Trio.  It can be also be used in your cooking!  Try about 15 to 20 drops in your brownie recipe for yummy goodness!

Stay tuned......in a couple of days you won't want to miss Leah's Peppermint ant story.  Her brand comparison will really get your attention!!

Allergy Relief

Written by Leah

Congestion, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, all around ick.

The 2015 allergy season has been pretty brutal in the Pacific Northwest and we are still in full bloom. In the last few years my allergies have gotten increasingly worse. Growing up I never had them so I'm am digging up research to see what the cause may be (chemical overload, diet, etc.) I'm certain there is an answer though I haven't figured it out yet. As soon as do you will be the first to know.

In the mean time I have been searching for relief outside of traditional medications. So where did I turn this year? Oils! Yea, Yea I know I might sound like a broken record but I found personal success using essential oils and now my first question is, 'Is there an essential oil to help with that?' It didn't take much research to find the Allergy Trio. I saw many testimonials where the trio helped others so I mixed myself some and tried it out. The trio did well in helping me cope with my congestion, runny nose and scratchy throat especially while I slept so I want to share it with you.

The first star of the Trio is Peppermint! The second is Lemon and the third is Lavender. The three mixed together are wonderful at soothing your sinuses and making breathing a little easier. I personally liked the 'pick me up' I got from the smell.

There are several ways you can use this trio so here are a few.

Put one drop of each on your palm,
rub your hands together and cup them over your nose.

Breathe in for several minutes (I found this to work well at work)

OR

Put equal drops of each in your diffuser to
fill the room and help everyone at once.

OR

Put in a roll-on bottle with or without a small amount
of carrier oil and apply to your wrists, behind your ears,
and on the back of your neck.  Roller bottles are
a great way to travel with the trio.

  

Oral Health and Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

Do you know your oral health is important to your overall wellness? Good oral health can reduce heart disease and cancer. For these reasons and because 'Who doesn't want a pretty smile?', this post is dedicated to sharing a few ways you can naturally increase your oral health.
risk of serious chronic diseases

Oil Pulling
First stop is oil pulling. This is one of the oldest and most powerful ways of improving oral health. This ancient practice involves swishing vegetable oil in the mouth for 5-15 minutes. Coconut oil is now a common favorite for this practice. It is important to push the oil under the tongue and between the teeth since that is where most of the microorganisms reside. The act of swishing the oil in your mouth 'pulls or extracts' the bacteria and fungi from the crevices of your mouth. After the 5-15 minutes you spit out the oil, don't swallow it, this is because all the bacteria now in the oil. To increase the benefits of oil pulling you can also add an antiseptic essential oil such as clove.  Note: Spit into the garbage, not down the sink.  You don't want to clog up your drain!

Xylitol
Is it good or bad? People fall on both sides of this fence. We're not here to debate this topic. Xylitol while being a sweetener is also a water-soluble antiseptic. It is derived from birch tree sap and commonly found in dental products and chewing gum. We added it to our homemade toothpaste due to these reasons and because we wanted something to take the edge off of the essential oils we added for flavor.

You can read more about Xylitol's roll in oral health by clicking here.

Reducing Use of Abrasive Toothpastes
Many common brand toothpastes contain very large abrasive particles that quickly wear away your tooth enamel. Not having a thick enamel myself I felt it was time to find an alternative. Tooth enamel is not something the body regenerates and once lost, it is permanent. As you lose tooth enamel, it exposes the softer dentin material underneath it. This INCREASES YOUR RISK for tooth decay.
The particles in your toothpaste should be super fine for this reason, and yet be strong enough to scrub away the built up plaque.  Particles in some whitening toothpastes are much bigger and sharp edged than the particles in our recipe.  For those of you with the Essential Oils Desk Reference Guide, look on Page 334 for an excellent example of particle sizes.

Homemade Toothpaste

5 Tablespoons Calcium powder

3 Tablespoons Xylitol Powder

1 tablespoon Baking soda 

4 Tablespoons Coconut oil melted

2 Tablespoons Bentonite Clay

30 drops of essential oils of choice: Peppermint, Cinnamon, Thieves, Orange

20-30 drops of trace minerals
Plastic or glass bowl
Wooden spoon
Small glass container to store product.
Mask (optional) - See note below*
Distilled WATER - about 3 Tablespoons if your mix seems too hard.  We didn't add that when filming and our mix was a little too firm.

Directions:  Combine Calcium powder, Xylitol powder, baking soda and melted coconut oil. Stir until well mixed. Add Bentonite clay, stir until well mixed. Add oils and trace minerals. Mix in well and store in a glass container such as a small mason jar.

*Note: Add your powders slowly to avoid them flying into the air. You do not want the powders to enter your airway.  Using a medical mask is optional.