Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are full fat and full of sugar but they are gluten free and super delicious. I've had several requests to share this recipe so here it is:

Cream with mixer two cubes of butter (softened).

Add:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter

Cream together. Then Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cream again and add the following ingredients combined:
3 cups teff flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthum gum

Add chocolate chips to taste.

Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. I use a meat mallet to "smash" or you could use a fork and make a criss cross pattern.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Disclaimer: I am not a recipe expert, just a novice sharing ideas that help me provide options for my gluten free family. Enjoy!

Gluten-free Thai Chicken Salad

I really don't know where the original recipe for this salad came from. But I've always remembered the ingredients and when my husband stumbled upon the Gluten Free Thai Peanut Sauce from San-J we were so thrilled to start making this salad again.

Here's how it works:

Grill or stir fry your chicken. Toward the end of cooking baste chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce. Add to any type of lettuce. We use mixed greens or romaine lettuce and put out in individual serving bowls the following: Mandarin Oranges, Cashews, Green Onions, and Cilantro. Since everyone in our family has slightly different preferences they each build their own salad and dress with the Thai Peanut Sauce. Super yummy! And easy! A perfect last minute dinner.

Lavender Harvest - Part II

This timeless quote from William Henry Channing inspired in part the reflections of Lavender Harvest - Part I. Please enjoy the quote and the rest of my harvest photos.

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, to all bravely await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."

Arbak and Robin scurrying through the lavender patch.

Basket of freshly harvested lavender on my deck:

Lavender bundles, all ready to be hung to dry.

The lavender patch ... my favorite row: Royal Velvet Lavender!

Royal Velvet row with garden and blackberry patch in the background.

Lavender on the deck.

Lavender bundles hanging to dry in the showroom.

Lavender harvest - a symphony of sorts - Part I

Yes I'm writing about my July lavender harvest in September! It's apropos really, read on.

This year's harvest, my third, since I began growing my lavender patch "test plot" of fifty graceful and stunning plants was so different than previous harvests. Past harvests were spent scampering around, cutting lavender, dripping with sweat and thinking "why does this smell so lovely and yet I'm not enjoying this?" as I sandwiched time to harvest between camping trips, family outings, and art festivals. This year was different, not because life wasn't as full and busy as usual but because I made a choice to sit and be still; to work unhurried, to let the sweat roll off my brow and appreciate that 95 degrees at nine in the morning on a hot summer day in Idaho is part of the package of living where I love. I took moments to stop and inhale deeply of the intoxicating aroma that beckons me to days gone by where life was unhurried. I listened to the sounds of our little homestead in the city: our chickens clucking nearby, the birds chirping overhead, our dog barking at a passerby, and cars scurrying down the highway nearby. My neighbor dropped by to chat as I worked and she harvested a bouquet to enjoy in her kitchen. My daughter stepped out to ask if I was still making pancakes that day. And my ten year old son dropped by to help bundle and stack lovely little aromatic lavender bouquets. 

What was different exactly? Me. I chose to let time pass me by while I sat still in the lavender patch taking it all in; being quiet, reflective, prayerful. Letting those around me pop in without feeling the need to protect the quiet still moment I was enjoying. 

These moments in the lavender patch are small glimpses of the new skills I am learning in this career we call motherhood. As my children are growing and leaving my nest, there's this intense desire to clutch them, to hold on for dear life. The desire to keep what I have is so intense, I feel it in the depths of my soul. My oldest son's entire senior year I wanted to flash freeze and not let another moment pass our family by. But after eighteen years of holding that babe in my arms, the most difficult of motherhood tasks came: to let go. It's an irony to be sure. Our entire goal as a mom is to grow them up; but then when they've accomplished the goal, it's like really? I'm just supposed to let them fly off? I found myself wanting to create these great family moments where we were all together having a grand time. I quickly discovered that a moment can't be created, it must be caught and reveled in as it passes by. 

So now as my son has headed off to his second year at the university, and my daughter embarks on her senior year, and my youngest son finishes elementary school I stand at this precipice in time, a choice: to hold on to what I am losing or to revel in what I have. I choose to revel. Not that there aren't still many moments where I secretly mourn the passing of family life, but I now see there is still so much family life to be had as it moves and grows and changes. And as I sharpen my skills of letting go, it invites my children to experience a fullness in their own life, to explore uninhibited. And the still watchful mom can continue to revel in and celebrate these moments as they pass by.

More Lavender Harvest Photos coming tomorrow in Part II.

Resist the Daily Dupe

The irony that plays out everyday across our country hit me between the eyes the other day as I was picking up Valentines for my family. "Health/Beauty" is a section of every grocery, drug and general merchandiser across the county. It's an oymoron to be sure, aisles stashed with hair care, make-up, and personal care items loaded with toxic and harmful chemicals are grouped with items that claim "health". Not to mention that so many of the "health" items might not be so good for you either. Consumers are being duped daily by the idea that personal care items are healthy. Resist the daily dupe by getting informed about the harmful chemicals in personal care products and household products that have the potential to cause illness to you and your family. Here are some links that I've found helpful:

Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database has been an exceptional tool.  You can search by product, ingredient, or company to find out what your exposure risk might be of using that particular item.

Here's a great article by the NOW foundation with loads of ideas for protecting yourself from harmful chemicals in cosmetics and household products.

Organic Facts has a list of eight chemicals you should NEVER use.

And here's my personal favorite: Think before you stink! I absolutely love the name and it addresses my daily challenge: people wearing cologne carry toxic chemicals on them that make me sick (quite literally).

I'm hosting a Lavande de Bois giveaway

Massage Bar Three Pack

This month I'm giving away a Massage Bar Three Pack. I know the recipient will just love these Moisture and Massage Bars made with Cocoa Butter and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to soothe and moisturize dry skin with essential oils added for inspiring aroma. A wonderful aromatic treat for winter parched skin.

Enter the giveaway drawing by giving me your feedback on the following topic:

What does the term natural mean to you? This is not a regulated term and it seems to float around there on the web and on product labels with varied meanings. I'd love to know what you think natural means and what you would like a manufacturer to mean when they use the term. Read Lavande de Bois's natural page if you're interested in knowing how we handle the term.

Post your comments here. I'll announce the winner on January 26th so be sure to check back then.

New year, new beginnings, Part II

Becoming a Willow House design consultant is just another way for me to do something I absolutely love, that is, to redecorate! I've talked to more girlfriends this month who have the redecorating itch. I think it just comes with the territory of being January. We've all taken down Christmas and it left some empty spaces that need to be filled up again. Who knows what was there before Christmas, but the itch to redecorate, reorganize, clean out cupboards, redesign our universe, has arrived. I have so enjoyed using Willow House's high quality and innovative products to reinvigorate my living spaces and entertain my friends and business associates; I think it will be loads of fun sharing their products with others.

The new spring inspiration guide is here! And loaded with new products and ideas that are true to Willow House's reputation for bringing fun, beautiful, versatile, and design savvy merchandise to our fingertips. Whether you need an organizational lift in your home office, or a new motif in a corner of your house, or just some fashionable pieces to make entertaining a simply elegant event: Willow House as some seriously good ideas.

I invite you to experiment with a whole new world of innovative decorating and entertaining ideas. For more information visit my new Willow House website at www.boiselavender.willowhouse.com.

New year, new beginnings, Part I

The new year seems to bring a mental readiness for me to try new things. It's also a time for reflection about how the past year has been and what I might consider changing. Last November I celebrated the third anniversary of my business. I've had three awesome years of learning and growing, both personally and professionally. It's been a sweet roller coaster of discovery. I say roller coaster because time spent in the lows of business development tend to produce more productive highs. These three years have been full of learning so many things. How to build a website, how to promote my business in a changing e-commerce marketplace, how to make new products, experimenting with aromas as often as I can, etc. etc. It's been so amazing and fun. Full of everything ... except a paycheck.

I started Lavande de Bois in the fall of my oldest son's junior year. Anticipating college ahead I figured I'd have two years to experiment, and learn, and then return a profit, just in time to pay the looming cost of college. After two years, it wasn't quite there but I thought I'd give it another year. And really, 2010 was amazing. It was sort of a break out year in terms of building my customer base. Things just seemed to grow exponentially as my loyal customer base gave my naturally good soaps and bathing essentials to friends and relatives and then recommended me to the same. I am so grateful for the tremendous support and encouragement I've receive from my customers who continue to love and share my products!

So it begs the question, why is it not this huge success? There's still more to analyze for me to fully answer that questions but here's where I've discovered the most success: direct sales. The people who meet me and listen to me talk about my products for a few minutes or read about them hear my passion and open their mind to trying something that seems in their mind expensive, after all, it's just a bar of soap. But when they discover that it's more than just soap, it's a beautiful package of aromatic and natural goodness that uplifts your spirits and nourishes and cleans your skin, then they appreciate the value of this premium labor intensive handcrafted product. Appreciation translates into sales.

The other area of success and intrigue is in creating custom soaps that are just the right expression for someone else. Whether the soap is for a wedding or an adjunct to a businesses marketing plan or private label soap I love creating custom soaps.

Where I haven't been successful is in retail outlets. My soap just tends to sit on the shelf. It gets dropped, it collects dust. A retailer doesn't have the passion and care that I do for my soap. So they tend to end up with older product that doesn't look so good. And the truth is it takes a lot of time for me to service these accounts and my wholesale pricing leaves little room for profit opportunity, especially when the volume is not there.

So for now I'm going to keep networking and sharing my naturally good handcrafted soaps and bathing essentials with you all and I'm going to be more selective about my retail outlets. In addition to creating new soaps and bathing essentials throughout the year, I've decided to start another new thing! I've decided to become a Willow House Design Consultant. And I can't wait to tell you more about it in Part II of this post.

My tips for feeding your gluten free family

Originally posted on spirochicks, I thought the new year would be a great time to "reshare" my tips for feeding your gluten free family:

It seems that one of the hallmarks of Lyme sufferers is having to struggle with multiple food sensitivities and chief among them is gluten. I've eaten a gluten free diet for well over ten years. But in the past several years I've discovered that my sons are gluten intolerant as well. While feeding myself had been challenging enough, feeding my kids gluten free was even more challenging. With school lunches, birthday parties, and social events, somehow I've had to figure out how to provide options for them that free them up to choose what their body needs while still engaging in everyday social activities. It's been hard! Here I share a few tips that have made this endeavor a little easier.

Breakfast on the go:

This Multi-grain waffle recipe from Ali of Whole Life Nutrition has made on the fly breakfasts possible. On Sunday mornings my husband and I make this recipe for our family. Today I made them while my husband went out and picked our blackberries. So we had waffles with fresh organic blackberries. Yum! And then there's always plenty left over to pop in the freezer for on the fly breakfasts throughout the week.

A sweet treat:

My gluten-free brownie recipe has way too much sugar but it's decadent and way too good for those glutenous eaters to turn their noses up. I make these and wrap them individually and put them in the freezer at school. Next time the birthday treats roll through the classroom there's a super yummy scrumptious treat in the freezer for the teacher to pull out for my son. He doesn't feel quite as deprived, after all their his favorite!

Pizza Pizza:

I think the hardest food for my boys to give up is pizza. Thankfully I found this super easy pizza crust mix from Namaste Foods that tastes soooooo good. For tips and pizza sauce recipe see my pizza blog post. I haven't taken the boys off dairy ... yet. So for now they get Mozarella cheese and I get goat cheese which tastes delightful by the way. But maybe we can get Kim to share her "cheese" recipe made from cashews, another great alternative to make this a dairy free treat as well. I make this usually once per week so I can tuck a pizza in my son's lunch for a little change from the usual.

Super packed on the fly nutrition for mom:

Green smoothies are the best invention ever. I feel so good when I drink these! I use it as a meal replacement or midday snack. It's a super fabulous way to load up on greens without having to eat a salad loaded with dressing.

My favorite green smoothie:

2 cups water

3 large handfuls spinach

1 apple or pear

dash of cinnamon

blend to smooth consistency with blender

Blender tip: after breaking two blenders in the first four months of smoothy making I broke down and purchased a Vitamix. Smoothies made with the Vitimix taste so much better than the ones made with others. It's now a necessity in my kitchen.

Another staple I can't live without:

I shared the recipe for Maple Granola in this blog post about Progurt. But it's worth mentioning again as it's a staple in my home. I make Maple granola usually once per week. It's fabulous to add on top of yogurt or eat for breakfast. I buy the gluten free oatmeal from Bob's Red Mill and get organic coconut shred in large pieces. Super crunchy and good for you too.

I highly recommend this cookbook from Whole Life Nutrition. It is packed with useful information and tried and true recipes. Also Ali's recipe blog is an invaluable resource.

I know we'd all love to hear what other tips you all have for living a gluten free life. So please share.

Enter the drawing to receive a FREE Candy Cane Handcrafted Soap

Readers ... here's an opportunity for you to win a free soap! First, read the feature about me on Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar. Then comment on my booth at the bazaar. You'll be entered in the drawing to receive a FREE bar of awesome good handcrafted Candy Cane soap.

I'm sad to say that I had to mark my Candy Cane Soap out of inventory on the webstore. I took the last 7 bars with me to Sun Valley where I'll be at the Papoose Club Annual Bazaar sharing naturally good soaps and bathing essentials. I have one bar set aside for the give away. So unless you're in Sun Valley this weekend this will be your last chance to get one (until next year that is).

Mint Chocolate Chip Soap, forerunner and close cousin to my Candy Cane soap, is still available! So if you need a mint and chocolate fix ... that's the one to go for!

Susanne's Holiday Gift Guide

One of the things I love about my business is helping people select aroma therapeutic gifts that are just the right expression of their thoughtfulness. With the lingering economic downturn, for many of us shopping this season is more difficult than ever. I've noticed that most people still want to remember friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and family with a small gift of appreciation but may be shopping in a different price point than in years past.

I always encourage my customers to make selections that truly fit within their budget. I put together this short little guide to help with just that. Natural handcrafted soaps and bathing accoutrements make wonderful consumable gifts that aren't food! Consider my chocolate soaps for an indulgent no calorie treat.

Gifts under $5 make great stocking stuffers or a little something to put on a co-workers desk with your holiday card. Consider ...

Handmade Guest Soaps wrapped in cello and tied with raphia. Looks like candy but packed with aroma goodness for the nose and skin. $3.50.

Naturally good Lip Balm - $3.25

Gifts under $10 -sized just right to tuck in a stocking or give your child's teacher with a nice card attached. Consider any of my handmade soaps, or choose a seasonal soap like Candy Cane or Cinnamon Spice.

Hand Salve in Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon Drop. Choose the free gift wrap option and your gift is all ready to tuck in a stocking or give the hands that help you. $5.75

Consider a Moisture & Massage Bar or Massage Oil to tuck in your significant's stocking.

Gifts under $15

A Body Butter or Salt Scrub is a wonderful aroma therapeutic gift to really pamper a girlfriends' skin. Consider festive Candy Cane Salt Scrub!

Who doesn't use soap? All natural handcrafted soaps make great gifts, consider the Two Soaps Gift Set or Guest Soaps Gift Set. Or perhaps a soap and hand salve together.

Gifts $20-35 ...

Really want to pamper a girlfriend? Consider the Body Essentials Gift Sets in small for $19.75 or regular for $35.00. Comes in Coconut Mojito or Lavender. Contains three aroma therapeutic products: a salt scrub, a body butter, and a handmade soap.

The Body Essentials Gift Basket contains several aroma pampering products in a sweet little basket.

If you don't see exactly what fits in your budget here, contact me to discuss your gift giving needs at susanne@lavandedebois.com.

Body Butter -"lotion" without chemicals

Several years back, when I made a decision to eliminate chemicals from my life (as much as possible, as we have daily exposures that are out of our control) as with all my personal care products I started reading the labels on lotions. And I really couldn't find a lotion didn't have ANY harmful chemicals or preservatives. Lotions contain water and the introduction of water into a recipe requires the addition of preservatives.

Living in a dry climate the search for an alternative moisturizer was on. I started dabbling in making body butters almost from the start of my business. Several trials and pitfalls have led me to a long process of experimentation. I'm thrilled to now offer naturally good aroma therapeutic Body Butters in Grapefruit Twist, Coconut Mojito, and Lavender Mint.

For some, a Body Butter is just "too greasy", and that is an objection I understand, but for me the "greasiness" is worth it to avoid the chemicals. What I've discovered about personal care products is it's really about your threshold for chemical exposure. My threshold is zero. For most it's much higher than that. I've incorporated ingredients that offer wonderful moisturizing benefits for your skin but are easily absorbed by the skin within a few minutes. The best time to apply body butter is after getting out of the bath or shower. The warmth of your skin helps it smooth on. Get a dab out of the jar, warm it between your hands, then massage onto skin. I wait a few minutes for everything to absorb then finish dressing. It takes a little extra time but knowing I'm taking care of my skin without chemicals is worth the extra effort.

My body butter recipe incorporates a large percentage of Shea Butter, known for it's ability to nourish dry and sun damaged skin with Vitamins A, E, and F. It is known to be anti-inflammatory and has been used to heal scars and combat wrinkles. It is easily absorbed by your skin.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil adds soft coconut aroma and antioxidants known to limit damage to skin by free radicals. It is easily absorbed by the skin penetrating deeply into connective tissues to promote healing.

Kukui Nut Oil provides moisture and renewal to aged and dry skin without leaving a greasy feel. Contains Vitamins A, E and C, antioxidants that protect your skin.

Beeswax is commonly added to natural skin care products for a number of functions. It helps to lock in moisture as well as form a natural protective barrier on you skin. It also has a high melting point so the butter is less likely to melt if exposed to warm temperatures. And I just love the soft, warm and subtle sweet aroma it adds to any formulation.

And then I add a bit of Vitamin E and Rosemary Oleoresin Extract to extend the shelf-life of the oils. My butters are made in small batches and I ship only products that have plenty of shelf life left in them.

The finishing touch of any creation that comes from my studio is inspirational aroma. My personal favorite is Grapefruit Twist. Luscious sweet grapefruit essential oils combines gracefully with lavender and just a hint of basil for earthy, fresh, and sweet aroma.

Lavender Mint is a tried and true favorite in my product line. Lavender and mint combine superbly, a hint of cedarwood adds woodsiness to this sweet and herbaceous combination.

In my Coconut Mojito Body Butter, lime and spearmint combine beautifully and bring out the coconut undertones in the butter. Smells fresh and tropical, just picture yourself on that next tropical vacation!

Orders can be made online. For product inquiries contact me at susanne@lavandedebois.com.

Lavande Bleu - it's blue, it's lavender, it's luxury in your shower

When I first started this blog it was in response to my customers interest in knowing the stories behind my soap creations. Soon I began writing about all things natural and life anecdotes here and there and sort of forgot to write the soap stories. Today I'm telling the story of Lavande Bleu. In a way it might be called my signature soap, or rather Lavande Bleu embodies everything I am about.

However I can't talk about all the unique ways this soap embodies the priorities of Lavande de Bois without first giving credit to my mentor, Lori Nova, of the Nova Studio where I learned to make soap. Lori is an amazing teacher and taught me to take very detailed notes of all my creations. She also explained to our class that even though the recipes in her workbook were available to be used as a starting point; it is uncool in the soap community to flat out copy another soap artist. Part of what makes the cottage industry of handcrafted soapmaking so unique is the individual stamp that a soapmaker puts on their soaps in the form of oils, botanicals, aromas, and colors, etc. The realm of possibilities in soap are endless.

So when I wanted to create a soap with lavender essential oil and oatmeal that wasn't such a unique idea. Do a search on lavender soap and you'll find plenty. After all, there was a recipe in my workbook for a layered soap, oatmeal on one side and lavender soap on the other. It is a way cool soap, one side full of exfoliating goodness, the other aroma pleasure in a fabulously smooth soap.

But Lavande Bleu is special. Swirls of oatmeal soap are intermingled with lavender blue soap (a technique Lori taught our class). Shea butter adds extra luxurious soft smooth lathery soap bubbles. Right now I have Lavande Bleu by my bathroom sink and it leaves my hands feeling smooth and moisturized. No need to apply lotion! And I walk away with the soothing aroma of lavender still on my hands. Oh and lavender, did you know there are a gazillion varieties of lavender? Hence a variety of lavender essential oils.

Perhaps the most used lavender essential oil is lavender 40/42 which is a blended essential oil. Typically consumers want consistency, that is they want their product to smell the same as the last one they purchased. The 40/42 is comprised of a variety of lavenders blended together to maintain a level of consistency. In terms of cost it is typically low to medium priced among the lavender essential oils. I'm not a big fan of this blended oil. When I started making soap I fell in love with a single essential oil, a Lavandula angustifolium from Bulgaria. It smelled so fresh and it reminded me of the aroma in the air when I walked by my own lavender plants. I built my product line around this essential oil. Then one day my supplier started purchasing the Bulgarian lavender from another farm. To my nose, it smelled like turpentine. So I could no longer use it. That's just how lavenders are, different soil, different, climate, different aroma. I'm happy to say that I settled on Lavender Population, also a Lavandula angustifolium, this time from France. I have to admit all that time I was using lavender from Bulgaria while borrowing from the French language for my business name I felt like a traitor. So now it all feels right, French lavender, borrowed French words, ah symmetry. When I take in a deep inhale of this aroma I can imagine myself walking across fields of lavender in Southern France. It has a beautiful complex and pure aroma. This oil is by far the most expensive essential oil I incorporate in my soaps. It costs almost twice as much as the lavender 40/42, but I LOVE it! So that's what I use.

Another cool thing about this soap is it's color. It's blue, but it's also lavender. It's a very blue lavender. So it goes with so many bathroom decors. I was at a friends house one day, and used the bathroom. It had a very masculine decor, navy blue and hunter green. I was surprised at how well her Lavande Bleu soap coordinated with this masculine theme. It just seemed to bring out the blue in the soap even thought it looks lavender when you put it with soft colors.

Despite the exquisite beauty and aroma of this soap, nothing is as important as the ingredients themselves. I'm trending toward going all organic, but I'm not there yet. I'm happy to say that since January of this year all my soaps have organic palm oil and organic coconut oil in them, making my soaps over 50% organic. I'm heading in a direction that is very important to me and look forward to someday having an organic certification.

So in a nutshell how does Lavande Bleu represent the priorities of Lavande de Bois? My priorities are all about incorporating the aromas, ingredients, botanicals, and things that I love and weaving them into a bathing essential that is visually and aromatically pleasing and full of good for you ingredients. Whether I'm using organic ingredients, or my favorite essential oil, I use them even though they may cost more than the alternative. Of course, I can't keep making them if the consumers don't buy it. But fortunately for Lavande Bleu, consumers are willing to pay for the price of quality. It is by far the most expensive soap I create, it is also consistently my top selling handcrafted soap.

Aroma Inspiration - Part II

One aspect of essential oils I touched on in Aroma Inspiration - Part I is this idea of synergy, that when blended together the different properties of each essential oil work together to create distinctly different influences on mood than each of the single oils might suggest by itself.

As a "novice aromatherapy philosopher" I'd like to share a few of my favorite essential oil combinations and why. One quick note though, in the world of aromatherapy, essential oils can be used to treat physical ailments as well as mental ails. As a philosopher about my own experience of essential oils I discuss primarily how the essential oils impact mind and spirit, i.e. well being.

Lavender & Mint

Lavender is obviously a huge favorite of mine. One of the amazing things about lavender is that chemists have discovered over 150 different chemical components in the lavender plant. That explains why there are a HUGE variety of healing applications for lavender. Lavender is known most popularly for it's ability to calm and balance mood. It is also known to refresh and stimulate. So when combined with mint that is also refreshing and stimulating it's a pretty good "refresher". Surprisingly my Lavender Mint soap is a huge favorite with the guys. I think the strengthening component of Spearmint adds just the dose of masculinity needed to strengthen lavender's softer "calming" side. (We all know the guys could use a dose of calming influence now and then.)

Add in a hint of Cedarwood and the Lavender Mint combo becomes more calming. My favorite massage oil is, of course, called "Relaxing" and it contains this combination of essential oils. I often have difficulty falling asleep at night, if unable to use the Relaxing Massage Oil to massage my neck and send me fast asleep, my husband has been know to put a little in his hand and say "Here smell this." He claims it works like a charm, I'm often on my way to sleep within minutes with slow relaxed on my way to sleep breaths.

Orange and Ginger

Once I started experimenting with essential oils, orange quickly became a huge favorite of mine. It is truly the happy essential oil. Also know to be warm, sweet, sensuous, and refreshing. It really is an energy infuser for me. You can read about how making Orange Oatmeal Soap (recently renamed Morning Sunshine) quite literally recharged a gloomy January day while enduring 30 days of no sun in this post Painting My World.

The health benefits of ginger root essential oil are many, however it is widely know to be anti-inflammatory. But did you know it also has aphrodisiac properties? So what do you get when you cross an aphrodisiac with the happy essential oil? Let's just leave it at that. I use this essential oil combination in an aptly named massage oil, Ginger Passion.

Chocolate and ?

One of my favorite ingredients to work with is cocoa butter. Often the chocolate aroma is removed from cocoa butter to add this luxurious ingredient to products without adding the aroma; but I LOVE the chocolate aroma. When added to soap the cocoa butter not only adds a hint of chocolate aroma it also adds extra creamy luxurious moisturizing bubbles to create a treat for your shower to be sure! Chocolate works great with spearmint and peppermint. I regularly carry my Mint Chocolate Chip Handcrafted Soap. But during the holidays I make a Candy Cane soap that could be called White Chocolate Peppermint and a Chocolate Peppermint Body Butter. I've met quite a few people that really don't like chocolate in their body care regime, but I love it and am truly inspired by it. After all, it's no calorie chocolate! What's not to like? Another fun chocolate combination is orange essential oil and cocoa butter found in my Orange Chip Soap and from time to time I make a Chocolate Coconut Massage Bar.

Coconut and ?

Another truly favorite ingredient is Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. You may have read about the health benefits of using this oil in baking and cooking, but it is a fabulous additive for skin care products as well. And not only does this oil add extra moisturizing properties in skin preparations it adds wonderful coconut aroma. Remember using that Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil when you were a teenager? Before we really understood the effects of sun damage we were coating our skin with this stuff and baking to create that sun kissed look. Those were the good old days ... laying around in the sun without a care in the world. Well that's what Extra Virgin Coconut Oil reminds me of ... carefree days. So when I add this ingredient to a body essential it creates for me this memory of care free days and vacation, of course coconuts remind me of Hawaii. Since the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is not a suitable additive for soap, I usually use it in various body essentials. I make two Coconut Salt Scrubs that are the bomb, Coconut Mojito and Island Sunset. The essential oils in both of these scrubs complement the coconut creating an exotic and inspiring aroma.

Well that's it for now from this aroma philosopher. I'd love to know your favorite aroma combinations and how they impact you.

Aroma Inspiration - Part I

I am an aroma nut! Aroma can be so regenerating! And then some aromas can be rather debilitating! Chemical sensitivity has been a driving force behind so many of the handcrafted soaps and body essentials I create. What I've found is the synthetic component of fragrance is what's so disturbing to me. That's why I use all natural, nothing synthetic, essential oils. I use essential oils that are steam distilled from living plants creating plant essences. Steam distillation quite literally puts the essence of the plant in a bottle. Wouldn't you like to capture the aroma of this bouquet? My youngest son, apparently a budding florist, harvested and arranged these bouquets for me. Essential oils do just that, they preserve aroma for years to come.

While I am NOT an expert on aromatherapy I am a novice aromatherapy philosopher, that is I am confident about sharing my own experience and research into how aroma can impact our senses, but I am not a trained aromatherapist. I think I'll put that on the to do list.

In any case, I'm getting ready to post a "Pamper Me" sale on the webstore and I thought this would be a great time to share a few tidbits about some of the essential oils I routinely use and how our sense of smell can impact our well being.

Our sense of smell, one of our earliest developed senses, is amazing! Aroma passes through the nose, past the cerebral cortex right to the limbic system, the innermost control center of the brain. Aroma stimuli in the limbic system release powerful neurotransmitters that provide inspiration, feelings of well being, relaxation, and so on. According to Susanne Fischer-Rizzi "Within the limbic system resides the regulatory mechanism of our highly explosive inner life, the secret core of our being. Here is the seat of our sexuality, the impulse of attraction and aversion, our motivation and our moods, our memory and creativity, as well as our autonomic nervous system." (I highly recommend her book "Complete Aromatherapy Handbook, Essential Oils for Radiant Health")

Following are some highlights about some of the essential oils you will find in my all natural body essentials. Keep in mind that when essential oils are blended together they have synergy that can create distinct influences on mood. More on that in Part II.

Cinnamon Leaf Oil – warm, spicy, sweet fragrance, smells just like cinnamon - stimulates creativity.

Found in Orange Spice & Red Hot Honey Handcrafted Soaps, also Island Sunrise Salt Scrub

Clove Bud– spicy, warm and sweet with antiseptic properties.

You might try Orange Spice or Shaving Spice Handcrafted Soaps

Lavender - lavender essential oil is obviously a favorite at Lavande de Bois (French for Lavender of Boise) – a spicy, sweet, woody aroma with a huge variety of applications for physical healing, however, most widely known for its ability to calm, stimulate, and refresh the mind.

Consider trying Lavande Bleu, TLC Bar, LaVader, or Lavender Mint Handcrafted Soaps or a lavender Salt Scrub or Hand Salve.

Lemon– smells like fresh squeezed lemons – antiseptic and detoxifying for the skin, refreshing and uplifting for the mind

Try Lemon Creme Handcrafted Soap, Lemon Drop Hand Salve, Lemon Poppy Seed Salt Scrub

Lemongrass– refreshing and mentally stimulating – great for those who have trouble getting started in the morning

Found in Lemongrass Poppy Seed and Morning Sunshine Soaps

Lime– a sweet and lively aroma – stimulating and refreshing

Try Coconut Mojito or Lime Basil Handcrafted Soaps

Orange– fragrance is sweet, radiant, and alive – stimulates positive mental energy – awakens creativity, stimulates happiness

Found in Morning Sunshine, Orange Spice, and Orange Chip Soaps

Rosemary - a strong and clear scent – strengthening with antiseptic properties, good for sore muscles

Try Idaho Mossmint or Rain Gentle Facial Cleansing Soap

Spearmint – refreshing and cooling aroma – increases concentration and memory with antiseptic properties – used in aromatherapy for a large variety of ailments

Consider trying Coconut Mojito, Lavender Mint, Mint Chocolate Chip, or Idaho Mossmint Handcrafted Soaps