Sweet Citrus Essential Oil Spray {& Diffusing Blend}

Living an earthy, natural, organic life is extremely important to me...not only is this way of living good for the earth, it's also hugely beneficial to your own health. I believe that the earth provides many healers. Nature is a bountiful pharmacy created by God and given to us as such a blessed gift right at our fingertips.

My family has been on a journey of living more naturally and healthily for the last few years. It really began in 2015 and we haven't stopped since. We've learned tons and made many switches to earthy, plant-based, natural products, from cleaning to body and beauty and everything in between. We still have a long way to go, but we're sure a heck of a lot further along than we were when we started. We even experiment with vegan cooking from time to time and find that there is such a vast variety of meals to cook when you are "tied-down" to only plants...and the dishes sure are prettier and tasty, too!

Essential oils are just one of the things we have embraced in our home. We love making up different blends to diffuse, both for a pleasant aroma and for health benefits too. I can't tell you the number of times they have saved our back when one of us has gotten a sore throat or head congestion...they're little miracle workers.   

And one of my most favorite things to do with essential oils is to make room sprays...I've come up with a few recipes before and the one I'm sharing today just might be my new favorite. (Though I say that with every new concoction I come up with!) Sometimes I like to do a seasonal blend, but this particular one is a calming, soothing, peaceful blend. I love just going around the house and spraying a few mists of this magic stuff in each room...it's especially nice right after you've cleaned. And if you can't get your nose away from the bottle, don't blame me! It's such a sweet, citrusy scent, and you won't be able to get enough of it!

Before I share the recipe, I'd like to share the benefits of each essential oil I've chosen to use in this particular blend:

Lemon, Orange, Tangerine- 

helps reduce stress and anxiety, enhances moods, reduces anxiety and promotes positivity, fights against depression, promotes feelings of happiness, energizing, uplifting, cleanses and freshens the air

Ylang Ylang-

lessens tension and stress, calming, promotes positivity

Patchouli-

contributes to a grounded, balanced atmosphere and emotions

To make the spray, simply fill a spray bottle half way with witch hazel and half way with water. Then, depending on the size of your bottle, add equal drops of each of the above oils (lemon, orange, tangerine, ylang ylang, and patchouli). I did about three drops of each in my bottle, which was on the small to medium size, but I like a very fragrant aroma.

To diffuse, simply clean your diffuser according to manufacturer's directions and fill with water accordingly. Depending on the size of your diffuser and the room it's in, add equal amounts of the above oils. For my befroom, I added about 4 drops of each oil to my diffuser which runs for about 18 hours intermittently. 

The main thing with either the spray or when diffusing this blend is to add equal amounts of each oil. The scents together really create something calming, peaceful and sweet...and then the oils do their magic!

For my other oily blends, check out these posts below:

 a lovely springtime blend

a warming blend for autumn and winter

Exploring the world of essential oils is something I'm becoming more and more passionate about. I plan on sharing much more about this topic, as well as natural, earthy living in general, in the future.

What are your favorite oil blends? 

A Rambly Friday

It's Friday and I thought I would share a bit of a chatty post today...nothing in particular to share, just some random ponderings... 

August is rolling right on out of here...September will be here in just a matter of days now. The start of September for us always means that we bring out the autumn decorations. We'll go ahead and decorate the inside of the house with collected treasures that we've had forever, as well as a few bargain finds that we come across each year, without fail, to add to our collection. My mom found a few cute new hanging decorations for this year and they've been patiently waiting to be hung up for about two weeks now. We'll also decorate the gardens and yard with some seasonal decorations...however, the pumpkins and mums will have to wait until it gets cooler. Otherwise, the mums will wilt and croak and the pumpkins will get moldy and gross. Once the temps drop enough, we'll stock up on plump pumpkins for the front step and smaller ones for the ledge above our front door. Some will also make their way indoors as well. 

I'm so looking forward to cooler weather now...these last couple of weeks have been so hot and humid. A combination that truly feels less than desirable! I can't wait to get out my favorite pair of boots and be able to wear cozy sweaters and actually need to put on a jacket before walking out the door. Oh, how splendid that will be! The colors and scents and flavors of the season are also high on my list of autumn anticipations! 

This week, I've returned to the story of Downton Abbey. The new movie comes out next month and while I was obsessed with the show during its original run, I'm not as enthusiastic as I once was as I am rewatching the last two seasons. I'm sure we'll see the movie, I'm just not sure if I think it deserves a trip to the theatre...maybe I'll wait and see what others say and make a decision then. Now, I'm finding parts of it to be over-dramatized and quite dark. I also find myself losing patience with the snobbiness of characters...oh, I just want to shake some compassion and kindness into Lady Mary! She never was a favorite of mine, though...that was always Lady Sybil. It's more of a challenge to actually get into an episode, yet, when I do, I simply *must* watch the next to see what happens. I forget so many of the storylines! As a side note, watching Downton does have be wanting to drink tea out of teacups more...and to visit Europe again.

With autumn almost here (31 days!!), I'm also hard at work on a blogging series to, hopefully, be published in October. Writing a month-long blog series in October has become a tradition for me and this will be the fourth or fifth year I've done so. I'm quite excited about this year's theme...but am having some bouts of lack of inspiration. I'm praying for my cup to be filled so that I may pour out in these posts beauty, goodness and wonder. I'm diligently seeking those things and being mindful of choosing to fill my own cup each day. Some days this is easier said than done, but I do have the entire series outlined at least...and I'm excited about what I've chosen to write about. So those two things are a step in the right direction.

Alongside the lack of inspiration to write, I've been terribly behind in my reading. I've wanted to read so much this year and summer in particular, but it just hasn't happened. Stress has been too frequent and I just haven't felt like picking up a book. The thing is, when I actually do, I get so much from it...I just need to do it more often. Reading is such a gift that I am able to give myself anytime I so choose...goodness knows I've got a list ten miles long of all the books I want to read. Hopefully, with autumn coming, I'll have more desire and will to actually do so.

Well, this has been quite the rambly post...sometimes these chatty sorts of things are just nice. I hope I didn't talk your ear off! {{winks}} 

I hope you have a delightful weekend...we've got some fun projects around here to work on this weekend and I'm looking forward to them. Nothing big, but certainly fun. I'd love to hear what you've got planned for this weekend!

Many blessings to you, dear reader! ♥

Gathering In: Late Summer Ramblings

for the beauty of the earth

The photos I chose to include with this post are from our mid-spring holiday to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania...Amish Country! 

As for what's right outside my window at the current moment...

late summer's deep, lush green and full, leafy trees. I'm savouring the greenness of everything because I know that when winter comes it will all be brown and I'll be dreaming of the green once again...I am, however, looking forward to seeing autumn's glorious rich colors return once again. But until then I'm soaking up all the goodness and glories of summertime... it truly has been the most delightful summer!

musical treasures

A couple weekends ago, my mom, sister and I went on a girls' weekend to a music festival and we listened to our most favorite music for two days straight. It was heaven! Oh, I so wish I could just go back and relive those two days again and experience all the fun once more. We danced (which for this introvert translates to subtly swaying from left to right), clapped and tapped our toes so much our hands actually hurt by the end of it all! It wasn't our first festival experience, but it was our first positive one. We loved it so much that we're already planning on going to at least two next summer...that is, if our favorite musicians return!

bookish ramblings

I've returned to an old favorite at the moment, "The Lifegiving Home" by Sally and Sarah Clarkson. This is a book that I return to at least once a year...it feeds my soul and mind so many good, rich, beautiful things and sets me back on my feet to stand firm in my ideals and convictions. I'm going through it slowly as opposed to tearing through it as I've done in the past...I want to really ponder and soak up every bit of wisdom I can. To say this book is lifegiving for me is a huge understatement!

in the world of TV and movies

We've enjoyed two "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries" so far this month, with another coming on this coming weekend. And I've continued on with nightly episodes of some of my favorite shows...however, with promises and small glimpses of autumn, I've pulled out the "Anne" movies which have become a seasonal tradition for me. I'm looking forward to watching them in September with hopes and dreams of autumn and the changing of seasons. If you've never watched them in the autumn, well, you simply must! It's a delightful treat!

a grateful heart

an awesome weekend at the music festival, hearing my favorite songs played live and clapping along to their inviting rhythms, a new cookbook that I found for a great price, a mini collection of autumn mugs that I scored at a bargain, denim jumper dresses coming back in style (all my fashion dreams have come true...I'm a true '90's girl at heart!), lush green summertime glories, reaching trees, time spent washing dishes (yes, I really love this!), cooking meals for my family, quiet Mondays.

from my kitchen

 I've had such fun in the kitchen here lately...last night was my sister's birthday dinner and I made an old favorite of ours. Chicken and kale pot pies (recipe coming to my blog this autumn!). She also enjoys experimenting with vegan baking, so she chose a vegan mint chocolate chip cake for dessert...and my, it was scrummy if I do say so myself! 

I want to begin working on perfecting different sorts of breads...all the kinds you can imagine. I would love to become well-practiced in the art of breadmaking...it's kind of a dream of mine. So if you have any winning bread recipes, do please share. I'd be ever so grateful!

fashionable fun

Seeing as how hot today was (the heat index was 112*F), I'm in a pair of comfy shorts and a favorite light pink t-shirt that I've had for so long...cool, comfy clothes it is for summer days.

home and hearth

One of the best parts of my day has become the time I spend in the evenings after dinner standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes, gazing out the window watching it rain or the neighbor's cat romp around or squirrels frolic in the trees. I find this newfound ritual peaceful and soul-quieting. As much as I love the end result of a clean kitchen and a dishwasher running, there is much more that I love about this rhythm than the end result. I'm constantly being reminded and relearning that there is beauty in the ordinary and purpose in the hidden tasks of our days.

my cup overflows

My cup at the moment is a blue mason jar and it simply has water in it. 

these are a few of my favorite things

blue mason jars, the scent of onions and carrots and celery simmering in olive oil, chocolate cake that is so fudgy it's ridiculous... 

Also, Harney and Son's cranberry tea...it's my go-to at the moment.

for the love of words

When we destroy something created by man, we call it vandalism. When we destroy something created by nature, we call it progress.-Ed Begley Jr.

That quote really encompasses a lot of what I believe in just a few simple words...how we need to cherish nature more instead of destroying it and chopping down trees to build up something "better". I think Mother Earth needs more respect than most give it. All in the name of progress.

creating and crafting

Oh, my knitting needles have been clicking away these last few weeks! I finished one cowl that ended up being too long for me so I gave it to Julia for her to use as an infinity scarf and I've got several other cowls in the works. They are one of my favorite things to make...they're simple and beautiful and I love the idea of having a little collection in different color patterns to use with different outfits. And with autumn just round the bend, my mind is leaning more and more towards cozy things...knitting and cowls and nights spent with both being some of those cozy things!

Thank you for visiting my cozy corner, dear friends! What's going on in your corner of the world? I'd love to hear all about it! ♥