DIY Dusting Spray With Essential Oils

We finished homeschool last week, so I have two weeks off from school and therapy before summer therapy starts again.  Two entire weeks with no appointments, no school, and no obligations except taking the kids to karate, ju jitsu, and Boy Scouts.   As much as I would love to use that time to get through my DVR and Netflix queue, I'm using it to spring clean my house.  Yes, I know it's almost summer, but I just can't devote the time to deep cleaning while I'm homeschooling and have appointments almost every day. We started cleaning Friday, and I've already taken 3 trash bags and 3 large boxes to donate.  The less we have, the less I have to clean, right?   I was cleaning my room and couldn't find my dusting spray.  I didn't want to have to stop to run into town just for that, so I started experimenting with some DIY dusting spray recipes.  There are a few variations floating around the Internet, so I made three recipes to decide which one I

Homemade Bug Repellent Candle Melt Recipe

Repel mosquitoes and other bugs naturally with these homemade bug repellent candle melts. Put one in your wax melter and let it diffuse the essential oils to keep bugs away. Last weekend, we grilled dinner and spent the evening outside.  We made ribs and grilled garlic Parmesan asparagus.  If you've never grilled asparagus, add it to next week's menu plan.  It is a wonderful summer side dish because it's so easy The kids played with the dogs and jumped on the trampoline while the husband and I played cards on the patio. It was a great evening except for some uninvited guests. Bugs.   We were swatting mosquitoes, gnats, and other bugs away until I lit a bug repellent candle.  Finally, we got some relief from our flying foes. I like burning candles with essential oils to naturally repel bugs, but I always ruin my candles because we don't burn them long enough.  You should burn a candle one hour for each inch of diameter or it will start to tunnel

Best Natural Beauty Balm Recipe for Clear, Beautiful Skin

This best natural beauty balm recipe from guest blogger, Rebecca D. Dillon of Soap Deli News , is a wonderful natural holistic skin care recipe that you can craft at home for clear, beautiful skin. As we learn more about the effects that the ingredients in beauty and skin care products can have on our skin and our health, there's been a shift in the beauty industry toward more holistic skin care products. However, in an effort to make that change to healthy, natural products without potentially toxic or cancer causing side effects, this trend has also led to a rise in costs. Companies spend more to provide natural, healthy beauty options that are ethically sourced, use certified organic ingredients and have zero animal testing free of synthetic ingredients and preservatives. Nonetheless, as beauty companies compete to offer the newest and best in holistic skin care, their marketing costs rise. Then so do the cost of their products. Unfortunately not all of us are able to

Time to Glow Up

This conversation is sponsored by Olay. As always, all opinions are my own. Ten years ago, I had a newborn, a 2 year old who never sat still, and a kindergartener. I was a stay at home mom who was freelancing to help support our income. Did I mention that the two- year-old didn’t sleep through the night until he was five? I don’t think I got more than three hours of sleep at a time for six years. I was exhausted and trying to function on copious amounts of coffee. It was taking its toll. I had bags under my eyes. My skin looked dull, and I looked tired all the time. Thankfully, I’ve grown up in the last 10 years. I dare say that I’ve had a glow up because so much about me has changed.

13 Hot Process and Cold Process Handmade Soap Recipes

One reason that I love making soap is that there are so many ways to customize it and make unique bars.  I normally post melt and pour soap recipes because I just don't have the ingredients and equipment for traditional soap, but it's on my summer bucket list to make more real lye soap.

Great Wolf Lodge Sandusky, Ohio Review

Thank you to Great Wolf Lodge Sandusky for inviting us to play for a day.  I was not compensated for this post.   Friends, it has been a long school year.  This was David's first year of college.  Although we were confident that he would do well, starting college at 15 isn't easy.  Caleb has had a lot of school work to do plus therapy three times a week, so it makes for some long days.  Dakota has worked hard to get all of her work done, but she's needed more help as 5th grade focuses more on writing and harder math concepts. To say that we needed a break was an understatement.  Normally, we celebrate our last day with a trip to get ice cream at a local dairy farm and then do something small but fun the next week.  This year, we were invited to spend the day at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio .  Even though we won't be done with school work until Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, it was a great reward for working hard all year! GREAT WOLF LODGE SAN

Silk'n Infinity Home Hair Removal Review

Friends, let's talk about something that I know is a popular subject but no one wants to talk about:  unwanted body hair.  We all have it, yet we are almost all embarrassed by it.  I don't know why it's so taboo because I don't know too many women who don't struggle with hair removal options.   I was seriously considering getting professional treatments to get rid of my excess body hair.  I have really thick, fast growing hair, so the idea of not having to shave my legs or underarms was appealing too.  I hadn't scheduled any appointments because I know that it will be expensive, and I will have an hour driving time plus treatment time for each session.  I simply don't have the extra time for several appointments right now.   Thankfully, there's a new home hair removal system that works.  The Silk'n Infinity is their newest and best hair removal device for home use.  Keep reading to learn more about it and how it works.

Homemade Eczema Relief Salve

Make this homemade eczema relief salve for natural relief.   I didn't have eczema until about five years ago.  After we moved to the farm, my allergies got worse and I got eczema.  I think I'm allergic to some type of tree or plant on the farm, but there are hundreds of trees and plants, so I have no way of knowing which kind without getting an allergy test.  I probably should get one just so I know, so maybe someday when I get fed up with the itching I will. Until that day, I'm using natural ways to treat my eczema because the prescriptions didn't help much.  I've been working on a homemade eczema relief salve, and I think I've got it right. Even if you don't have eczema, this is still a great salve.  I'm also using it on my heels and cuticles with great results.

DIY Liquid Hand Soap Recipe for Eczema

If you have eczema, try this DIY liquid hand soap recipe for eczema.  It's good for the whole family, and you can use it for dry skin even if you don't have eczema. When my kids were babies, I fully expected at least one to battle eczema.  Caleb had several allergies and immune problems, so I was just waiting for a skin rash to pop up as well.  Fortunately, none of them had anything more than dry skin. Unfortunately, the eczema hit me.  I'd rather it be me than them because it's really uncomfortable and so hard to get rid of.   I know that I can't use most hand soaps or I'll have a flare up.  I'm in a flare up right now, but I don't know what, if anything, caused it.  After talking to a few people, eczema seems to flare up worse in the spring when it's allergy season.  My allergies have been awful this year, so this could have some truth to this theory. Regardless of how it started, I need some relief. The first eczema recipe that I

How to Save Money & Energy on Laundry With Tide PODS

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tide at Walmart. The opinions and text are all mine. When we moved to the farm five years ago, we didn't know how much our lives would change. We knew we wanted to get back to a simpler life, and we knew that it would be a lot of work growing our food and tending to animals. There were still are few challenges that we didn't anticipate. We had always had city water. We were thrilled to have a well and thus eliminate one bill. With the well comes the responsibility of using less water. We have three wells on the property, but the expensive of hooking up another well will be high, so we are trying to conserve water when we can. Since we are in the middle of nowhere, we don't have natural gas. Instead, we have propane tank in our backyard. Propane is very expensive compared to natural gas, and we have to budget ourselves to get a refill because it's a fairly big expense. We live within a

DERMA E Advanced Peptipes & Collagen Review

I've been having so much fun posting DIY beauty recipes, bath recipes, and essential oil information that I've fallen behind on my beauty reviews.  DERMA E is one of my favorite skin care brands.  They sent me two boxes of goodies that I'd like to share with you because I just know that you'll love them too. Derma E sent me products from their Advanced Peptides line, which is new to me.  I have used and loved several of their products, so I'm sure I'll love these too once I give them a month or two to test them.  I usually post my favorite products in my Instagram stories, so follow me over there for more information later.  

How to Live More Boldly

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ® and The J.M. Smucker Company , but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #1850Coffee #1850CoffeeatMeijer  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV I'm a creature of habit. I wake up, drink coffee, check my email, and schedule my social media.  Then I start homeschooling the kids, eat dinner, go to our evening activities, work more, and go to bed.  I have the same routine every day, and I don't like it when my routine changes. Although I am comfortable, I know that I need to push myself out of my comfort zone at least a little bit.  After all, I spend my days pushing my son just a little bit out of his comfort zone as part of his autism therapy.  So why wouldn't that apply to my own life?  Now I'm living more boldly, starting with 1850 Brand Coffee each morning. This year, there are a few goals that I have.  One is to live life more boldly. At first, my introverted sel

DIY Star Wars Galaxy Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

This fun DIY Star Wars Galaxy melt and pour soap recipe is so much fun to make! May the 4th be with you!  Yes, I'm a geek girl at heart and the mom of two boys, so we are all about Star Wars.  Well, the original 6 movies.  I won't discuss 7 and 8.  Ahem.   In honor of Star Wars day, we are having a community party at our local community center complete with Yoda Soda, Wookie Cookies, and more fun themed foods.  The kids are going to make light sabers out of pool noodles and then defeat the Storm Troopers. The hubby and I didn't have costumes, and we didn't want to spend a ton of money on them.  I have a heat press, so I made us t-shirts.  We got a lot of chuckles and smiles, so I think they were a hit! I bought the cut file for my Silhouette on Etsy if you'd like to make your own shirts! I also made DIY Star Wars galaxy soap out of melt and pour soap base.  I love melt and pour because it's quick, inexpensive, and I'm not out much t