essential oils

Weekend Links & Three Things I’m Doing For My Health

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It’s finally the weekend and I am planning on catching up on  some sleep and enjoying the only date night that Neil and I have all month. This week while good has been exhausting and I can’t wait to relax. Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Three Things For My Health

  1. I am doing barre3 for 10 minutes per day. Also I am attending a free class next week to push me out of my comfort zone (aka home) and to meet some new moms/women! 
  2. I am challenging myself to start my day with a Splendid Spoon Smoothie next week. I am focusing on keeping my breakfast protein rich, full of healthy fats and low in sugar. I’ll be sharing more Monday. My hubby is doing a Splendid Spoon cleanse next week – would you like to have him share his experience in a guest post [not sponsored he purchased his own cleanse]? 
  3. I am taking my vitamins/supplements everyday and committing to turning to my essential oils to boost my immune system, combat feelings of stress and boost my mood. Why essential oils? Because they work. They enhance my quality of life and I notice a distinct difference when I use them myself and with my family. 

Weekend Links

  • You should make this lasagna this weekend because it is amazing!
  • If you need something new to binge watch this weekend I recommend – Manhunt.
  • Ready to green up your home? Marley’s Monsters just released their holiday line. I love the facial rounds and will be stocking up on napkins and un-paper towels soon. 
  • This sweatshirt is my absolute favorite because it’s super soft, easy to nurse in while not being a nursing top and comes in regular women’s sizing and plus size. I may have just ordered two more. I have been wearing it a lot with these jeans which are super soft, the perfect rise for a mom who bends over all the time and they are fun to dress up or down. 
  • I have been hiding the bags under my eyes with this RMS Un-Cover Up and it works like a dream. Would you like to see an update makeup and/or skincare routine?
  • Needing a great red lip? I highly recommend this one from ILIA. 

Share a link to something you are loving or lusting after right now; or something great your have read, watched or ate!  

 

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Coffee Talk | VT & Cross Country Travel with Kids

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Coffee shop dates are some of my favorite and I wish I could sit and have a coffee with all of you. If we were sitting down to a cup of coffee it would likely be something single origin and African. I would also want a bagel with tofutti to go with it. While we are sitting enjoying our coffee I’d ask about your day, what’s been going on in your life and how your family is doing. I would then share with you about our most recent family adventure to Vermont. 

Our last trip to Vermont was nearly three years ago, in April 2014. Edith was 21 months at the time of our last visit so she didn’t remember much of it and this would be Alder’s first trip to Vermont and first plane ride. We don’t often make the trip to Vermont because the cost for all of us to travel there is expensive and trying to coordinate time off for Neil and traveling with kids is always complicated. Plus my parents are both retired and are able to visit us regularly. 

Our flight out to Vermont went really well. I was nervous that Alder’s weak stomach would get the best of him especially after the Blue Star Doughnuts that we had right before our flight but I came prepared with a roller bottle of DigestZen that I applied before the flight and a towel and barf bags ready just in case we did have an accident. We lucked out though and Alder’s stomach was fine and both kids did amazing on our very long day of flying. 

Most of our trip was spent with my grandmother and parents. We spent hours upon hours playing Hand and Foot – a variation of canasta. The kids also got to take advantage of the snowy weather and play outside for a bit – although I will say they weren’t quite as enthusiastic about the snow after all the snow we had here in Portland just before our trip. 

We spent the last few nights of our trip in Burlington where we visited a few of our favorite places and got to spend an evening chatting and laughing with friends. We tried to find some fun activities for the kids and ended up taking Edith and Alder to see their very first big screen movie – Moana. We also took them to ECHO where they had a blast. 

I will say after our visit to Vermont that I still love Vermont and will always be a Vermonter but I right now Portland has my heart. I love the community we have here in Portland, how family friendly Portland is and of course the food and coffee scene is far superior here – with the exception of TOMGIRL Juice which had the best juice and fresh rolls – we need a TOMGIRL in PDX. 

By the end of the trip we were already to get back home and doing so was kind of a big mess. Our flight out of Burlington ended up departing late because they had to defrost the plane before we could leave. Combine our late departure with a far too short layover we ended up finding ourselves running through the Chicago airport to make it to our flight. We made it though and finally arrived home late Monday night. 

Now that we are home we are attempting to catch up on a few weeks worth of laundry and I’m trying to get over the jetlag. So happy to be back home in Portland though. 

Coffee of the Week: Holderness Hunkute -Ethiopian. I have to thank Holderness Coffee for sending over this bag and I am hoping they will make their way out of Corvallis and up to Portland coffee shops and stores because this was one good cup of coffee. 

Night Routine: DIY Cleansing Wipes

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My night time routine has been evolving over the past few months as I transition to cleaner, more natural and as frequently as I can DIY products. This is just the latest in my night time routine – my DIY Cleansing Wipes. They take minutes to make and super inexpensive to make. img_7649

Nightly DIY Cleansing Wipes

  • 2 Tablespoons cleansing oil (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoons fractionated coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon Witch Hazel
  • 5 drops grapefruit essential oil*
  • 5 drops melaleuca essential oil*

Combine all the ingredients in a 4oz glass jar or bottle, top with filtered water and shake to combine.  Soak your cotton pad (cloth or not) in the cleansing solution and wipe. However avoid your eyes. So what about eye makeup? Use fractionated coconut oil or an all natural cleansing oil to first remove your eye makeup and then cleanse your face with one of your DIY wipes.

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This cleansing oil really works! It removes all the dirt and residue off my face and leaves it feeling soft. It also helps with any blemishes. The fractionated coconut oil is moisturizing, the witch hazel is toning, the melaleuca essential oil has cleansing and rejuvenating effect on the skin and the grapefruit helps to improve the appearance of blemishes. Due to the use of grapefruit it is advisable to avoid sun exposure for at least 12 hours so this cleanser is best used at night. 

What steps are part of your nightly routine? On a night when I am not feeling lazy I use a gel facial cleanser, toner, eye cream and moisturizer. On a lazy night I simple use a few pumps of the above cleanser and wipe my face #lazygirl. 

*When I am speaking of essential oils I am ONLY speaking of those CTPG (certified therapeutic grade oils) – specifically doTERRA. Please note that not all essential oils are created equal.

 

Essentials For Restful Sleep

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As a parent to little ones, a #bosslady and someone who in general hasn’t always been a great sleeper I have spent years perfecting my bedtime routine. While I am still not always great about following my routine when I do I sleep well, wake up feeling rested and I’m ready to take on my day. So what are my essentials for a restful night’s sleep?

Turning off the TV, phone and other electronics. This is probably the one thing that I struggle with the most because I spend my evenings catching up with work which is all based online. However the nights when I unplug are the ones that make me feel amazing. So reminder to myself do this most nights of the week.

Dive into a great book. The nights I spend 10-15 minutes reading are the ones when I all asleep feeling more relaxed and end up feeling more rested. While I am reading my mind is feeling way less stimulated than it does when I am using a screen. Bonus I get to cross more books of my ‘to read’ list. 

Meditation. I’m going to speak more about this in the coming weeks but spending 5-10 minutes (or more) meditating before heading to bed helps to calm the mind and the body. I go to bed feeling peaceful and ready to rest. 

Sweet Dreams Spray. If you know me you know how important essential oils are to my life and of course I couldn’t go to bed without them. This spray has 10 drops each of lavender, cedarwood and juniper berry and is topped with distilled water. I put this all in a 2oz bottle and refill as needed. I spray all over our linens and around the bedroom. It smells AMAZING! I also love straight lavender or calming or restful blends. 

Sweet Dreams Roller Bottle. Similar to the room/linen spray this is a 10mL roller bottle filled with 5 drops of each oil and topped with fractionated coconut oil. I roll it on the bottoms of feet right before bed for a restful nights sleep.

Going to Bed When I am Tired. I would say that this is one of my biggest tips. It’s easy to push ourselves to stay up later to work, watch another episode of a show or to go out and be social but if we feel tired it’s our body telling us it’s time to rest. So listen to your body and it will thank you!  

What are your tips for a restful night’s sleep? 

To learn more about essential oils find me on Instagram or Facebook. 

Currently | 4.14.16 | Sickness, Recovery & Essential Oils

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Doing: Lately I have been spending most of my time trying to get life back on track. We had guests visit us for two weeks which is a really long time to have your routine thrown off when you have two little ones. To top it all off just as we were getting ourselves back to our normal routine Neil had a co-worker who was nice enough to bring the flu to work so that he could bring it home to all of us. Flu hit all of us one after another and it seems that all household chores and non-essential work went right out the window. I tell you people if you’re sick don’t go to work! So here we are about a week later and as it goes life still goes on so we are trying to catch up on work and house work (like the piles of dishes and mountains of laundry) and honestly I just haven’t had time to sit down and really write like I would like to (hence two weeks with no post).

In other news I have been diving into the world on essential oils (for a number of months now actually) and I have become basically obsessed (need evidence go here) so I have been spending a lot of time studying and reading up on them. I also have been focusing on my workouts and I am working on something new and exciting (for me) that I’ll share soon. 

Thinking about: Another thing to hit me this week [probably because #PMS] is the fact that we aren’t pregnant [yet] and how if we hadn’t lost our most recent pregnancy I would be 21ish weeks right now. I don’t know why but it has hit me super hard this week and I’m just emotionally drained. Side note if you want to see what I am diffusing to help with the PMS head on over here. Also if you are interested in a TTC post let me know in the comments and if there is enough interest I will share over on Naturally Family. 

Watching: Since I have been spending a ton of time on the couch cuddling sick babies and being sick myself I have been working my way through Netflix. I just finished Madam Secretary and I am dying for season 2 to get put on Netflix right away. I also bought myself the most recent season of Pretty Little Liars to watch [ONLY] when I do cardio at the gym. What have you been watching? 

Looking forward to: Date night! Neil and I have a date night this weekend and it’s more than necessary. With all the sickness and chaos at home we haven’t really had time to connect so we are making time this weekend. 

Reading: Basically if it’s about essential oils I’m reading it.  

Loving: Regular workouts. Not being sick. Iced tea. A drop of lime essential oil in my water. 

What are you currently doing, thinking about, watching, looking forward to, reading and/or loving?

As always this post is inspired by Sometimes Sweet.