Heather Scent Aromatherapy

It’s Not Good-Bye, It’s See You Later!

2011-04-10T09:06:00.001-04:00

Hello, lovelies!

Quick update on what I’ve been doing: reading, running, cleaning, painting, running, reading, cleaning.

Oh, sometimes I work. Like, only eight hours a day or so.

After having no luck with selling the house last year, we’re putting it back on the market in May and it will stay there until it’s sold.

I’ll be packing up most of my office to make the house look less cluttered and more presentable. This means I’ll need to put the product-making & selling end of Heather Scent Aromatherapy on hold for a little while. Maybe a long while.

As of Monday, April 18, the Etsy shop will be put into semi-permanent vacation mode. My essential oils will not be packed (of course), but most of my bottles, raw materials and shipping supplies will be, therefore I will not be making any new batches of product or doing a lot of shipping. I’ll still be available for advice and consultations, and to make custom inhalers.

The blog will still run – as often as I can update it. I’ll be doing a ton of painting this Easter weekend, and everyone’s a sucker for some before & after photos!

This Is Not So Bad (or Putting It Into Perspective)

2011-03-11T22:14:00.001-05:00

We woke up to several inches of snow this morning.

Again.

Today was scheduled to be one of my running days – I’m exercising now, you know. Doing the Couch to 5K running program, specifically.

Running in the cold does not deter me – you get warmed up enough after five minutes anyway, and 0 degrees Celsius isn’t really “cold” by Canadian standards.

It’s running through four inches of thick, heavy, slushy, slippery snow that deters me.

So when I looked outside and saw this:

I thought, “Great! There goes my run for today! I thought this was suppose to be March! It was 4 degrees yesterday! All the snow melted! I almost had shorts on! Who can I yell at for this?!” (I was thinking in very exclamative terms, wasn’t I?)

Then I turned on the computer and saw this:

(screenshot from cnn.com)

And then I realized that a few inches of snow is not so bad.

It is not going to ruin my life.

It isn’t even going to ruin my day.

And this is true for most of the ‘bad’ things that happen in our lives.

You know, the ‘why me?!” moments:

Your headlight burns out.

Your basement is leaking.

Your kid has an ear infection.

Your cat peed on your brand-new running shoes.

These are all very annoying events that will cause you aggravation (and cost you money), but they are not the end of the world!

{Incidentally they are all very annoying events that have happened to me in the last week!}

Always, always, always remember to put things into perspective. 99% of the time our circumstances are really not so bad. There is always someone who is worse off, someone who is dealing with a much heavier load.

Does this mean you don’t have a right to get angry and maybe let out a bad word or two (or fourteen)?

Of course not!

But don’t let the little things, things that can easily be fixed, ruin your life, or even your day.

Instead, you wait for the sun to come out, melt some of the snow, and then go running on your lunch break at work.

Perspective.

Peace, love & prayers to all in Japan.

Yoga is hard! & other excuses for not exercising.

2011-03-03T11:48:00.001-05:00

There have been some changes in my life recently.

First, I deleted my personal Facebook page.

Don’t worry, my wonderful business page, Heather Scent Aromatherapy, is still there. And you are still a fan, I’m sure.

Facebook can be a huge time suck. I would sit down at the computer to check a few messages, and before you know it, 45 minutes have passed! And I don’t even play any games on there, so where was my time going?

{There I am, sitting at my computer. Which, incidentally, looks like it has one of those plastic monitors you see on office furniture floor models at Staples. I’m also seventeen years old, did you not know that?}

Second change: I’ve started exercising.

Before I got pregnant, I was beginning to practice yoga. Then I had to stop for a bit since it’s not advised to practice yoga in the first trimester if you have a history of miscarriage. Then I had morning sickness well into the second trimester. Then I was really, really, huge and didn’t feel like it. Plus it was hot.

Then I had a baby and leaky boobs, and well, you know how it goes.

Before I knew it, that ‘baby’ was starting kindergarten and I was still carrying around the extra 25 pounds he gave me.

Thanks a lot, kid! I gave you life, and you give me back fat. Not a fair trade.

Anyway. Next year is my non-husband and mine’s 10th anniversary and to celebrate we are taking a tropical vacation, most likely to Cuba.

There is NO WAY I am walking my jiggly belly around the beach in Cuba.

I’ve got a year to lose the jiggle.

I’ve cut back to 1 can of Pepsi a day. (Sadface)

I haven’t been to McDonald’s in weeks. (Double sadface. With cheese.)

And I’m exercising a little bit each day, no matter how much I don’t want to.

I tried yoga again, but I’m too spazzy.

I want to run, but it’s too cold right now. That will change soon, and I’ll be doing the Couch-to-5k running program, with the aid of the Get Running iPhone app. It’s on sale for 99 cents right now, so you should check it out.

Today I did the Tone Zone workout from Women’s Health Magazine. {You should sign up with their website. You get access to all sorts of PDF workouts for free.}

I couldn’t get up to a full 15 reps for most of the exercises, but I worked as hard as I could. And then I pushed for one more.

This one, The Plank, is especially difficult. I had to do it on my knees, and could only manage 3 reps on each side.

And now I’m going to go stand in a hot shower for eighty minutes, then crawl into bed and never get out again.

Purex 3 in 1 Laundry Sheets

2011-02-23T12:36:00.001-05:00

I’ve been meaning to tell you about this product for some time.

While spending a week in Vancouver last summer, I needed to buy some laundry supplies.

In Vancouver, we walk or take public transportation for all our errands.

Which means we carry everything.

In our arms.

Bags of groceries for a family of four (three of which are boys who are missing that part of the brain that tells you to stop eating! when you are full) can be pretty heavy.

So there I was at Safeway, all alone (ungrateful boys can’t even carry their own food!), and faced with a dilemma. Even the smallest bottles of detergent and fabric softener are fairly heavy. And the smaller a bottle, the more expensive it is. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $8 for a 16-load bottle, when a bottle twice the size was only a few dollars more.

Plus, I only needed a few loads worth of products and (for reasons I am legally obligated to not divulge), I didn’t want to leave the extra behind for the apartment owner.

My God, I am really making a federal case out of laundry detergent, aren’t I?

That’s how I roll.

Then I saw this on the shelf:

I recalled seeing a commercial for it months earlier. At that time, I thought, “Oh great – another single-use, disposable, ‘convenience’ product! Just what the world needs – more garbage!”

Boy, I was indignant!

{I was also very wrong, and you’ll find out why in a minute.}

BUT (and that is a capital-letter “but”) - I really did have a need for something ‘convenient’ and these babies fit the bill perfectly.

The small package was very light-weight, they were reasonably priced (remember – it replaces 3 products), and whatever I didn’t use could easily be transported home in my suitcase, without adding extra weight or running the risk of spilling.

They are so easy to use, even a kid could do laundry.

Not that my kids would or anything, but if they wanted to, it would be easy.

You just start the water, toss in the sheet and then add your clothes. Then you transport the sheet into the dryer with your clothes.

They smell lovely, and unlike many brands of liquid detergent I’ve used, the scent remains in the clothing (towels especially) after the clothes have dried.

You may be wondering why an Aromatherapist is so partial to having artificially-scented towels.

Well, my friend, I’ll tell you a secret: scent memory is not specific to essential oils and other 100% natural botanicals.

There is nothing like the scent of fresh laundry to bring me back to those days of my early 20s, living in my first apartment and playing grown-up. Doing laundry was an enjoyable pastime for me back then.

As I’m sure it would be now if I had only 2 loads per WEEK instead of per DAY.

And my concern about the single-use, disposable, extra-garbage aspect?

This is what you are left with after the sheet has run through the washer and dryer. A thick, fluffy sheet that has a nap on one side, making it perfect to use as a Swiffer-style dust cloth.

Plus it still smells nice.

I keep them in an old tissue box by the TV and use them to dust the electronics.

We’d always used dryer sheets, so we’re not really creating any more waste than before.

Since I buy the ‘refill’ packages, the only waste ~~is the plastic wrapper.~~ (See Update, below)

No bottles. No caps.

As for cost? It works out to about 25 cents per load.

Remember, that is INCLUDING detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. When you add it all up, it’s no more than I was spending before buying all three products – plus we are looking at a lot less packaging now.

UPDATE: This morning while picking up some refills, I discovered Purex is now packaging its 3-in-1 sheets in a 100% recyclable cardboard box, with no inner plastic liner! Even better!

(The Canadian version has 24 sheets, not 22. But we don’t have the Pure & Clean scent here).

Disclaimer: Purex has no idea who I am, nor do they care. I bought this product with my own money, of my own accord (as evidenced by the lengthy story I just told you all about my adventures in Safeway laundry aisle), and am not being compensated for recommending it.

Valentine’s Day Blend

2011-02-14T00:22:00.000-05:00

Sensual Essential Oil Blend

1 drop Ylang Ylang

2 drops Sandalwood

4 drops Petitgrain

Add to your oil burner, a warm bath, or double the proportions and mix with 2 tablespoons carrier oil for a luxurious massage.

Awesome Geekery on Etsy

2011-02-06T20:50:00.001-05:00

Just a random collection of incredibleness I found on Etsy today. As always, click any photo to be taken to the item’s listing.

Green Zombies nesting dolls by Shani4d. The smallest one is a brain! Pure win.

Martian cell phone charm by dvrdown. “The Claw!”

Drunk Robot sculpture by sleepyrobot13. Sometimes robots like to tie one on. Who are we to judge?

Buffy pendant by SnarkyAndSweet. Which reminds me…have you seen this yet:

Wordless Wednesday – Snowmageddon?

2011-02-02T15:39:00.001-05:00

Citrus Essential Oils & Phototoxicity

2011-01-19T12:41:00.001-05:00

First of all, my computer is trying to tell me that “phototoxicity” is not a word.

“Photo” is a word.

“Toxicity” is a word.

But together, they do not make a word that is recognized by the spellchecker.

Anyway. Here is what’s important:

Certain essential oils (mainly citrus oils) will increase the skin’s sensitivity to ultra-violet light.

Some aromatherapists also refer to this as “photosensitisation”.

{Those people are also saving themselves the trouble of arguing with their computer over whether or not the word “phototoxicity” exists.}

What This Means For You

If you put a product containing a high concentration of a phototoxic oil on your skin before heading out into the sun (or tanning bed), you are going to burn. Badly.

This won’t be a regular sunburn. It will be much worse. The skin will blister and peel and take an extremely long time to heal.

The chemical responsible for all this trouble is called bergaptene (or bergapten). Bergamot EO has a very high bergaptene content; It is considered the most phototoxic oil. Other oils with elevated levels of bergaptene are: Lemon, Lime, and Bitter Orange.

It use to be that some companies purposely put bergaptene in sun tanning products. They thought it would help you get a darker tan. Then people found out about stuff like,ya know, CANCER, and realized that purposely toasting your skin is a bad, bad, idea.

Bad idea.

“Safe” Citrus Oils

A few citrus EOs, such as Grapefruit, Sweet Orange and Tangerine have not shown conclusively to cause photosensitization. In the interest of safety, however, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

This is why all citrus oils tend to get blanketed with the phototoxic label. Rather than trying to get people to remember which ones are safe and which ones aren’t, it’s easier to simply tell people:

Do not apply citrus oils before exposure to sunlight.

Non-Citrus Phototoxic Oils

According to Patricia Davis in her book, Aromatherapy: An A – Z , the following oils have also been found to have photo-sensitizing properties:

Verbena
Rue
Angelica Root
Cumin
Opoponax
St. John’s Wort (carrier oil)

The good news is, it’s doubtful that you, as a home user, will ever come into contact with those oils. Rue is toxic in all ways, so you just shouldn’t have that anyway. And Opoponax? What the heck is that? I mean, I’m a professional and I’ve never even heard of it.

Remember kids, read your product labels. And:

Do not apply citrus oils before exposure to sunlight.

Aromatherapy? Umm…did I come to the right place?

2011-01-12T05:16:00.000-05:00

Some of you may be asking yourselves that very question right now.

In recent ~~weeks~~ months, there has been a noticeable lack of posts regarding the very subject this blog purports to be about!

Whatever happened to the essential oil Spotlight series? Or Ask An Aromatherapist? Or Tutorial Tuesdays?

{Okay, there never really were ‘Tutorial Tuesdays’. I’ve posted, like, two tutorials and one of them happened to be on a Tuesday.}

Well, what are you asking me for?! I just run the place, I don’t know anything!

{This stock photo may or may not be relevant to the post, but it was just to crazy not to use. I have a fever and congested head so an actual photo of me would look something more like this:}

The Etsy shop has been a bit slow lately.

I could be using the time to design new products, work on a website, take new photos, balance the books, do some promotion.

Nope.

I’ve been using the free time to catch up on all my book readin’

Clearly, I am a very savvy businesswoman.

To keep business and pleasure (somewhat) separated, I created a new blog for all things bookiness – The Book Whore.

The Book Whore is lonely and needs some followers!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Or not, since I may decide next week that I am now into kite-making.

11 Lessons You Should Take Before Having Children

2011-01-05T12:33:00.001-05:00

{I take no credit for this little piece of hilarity – I didn’t write it, and I’m not sure who did. It’s been floating around the Internet since the days of AOL.}

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

{Note added by me – If you plan to breastfeed, you can make the scenario a little more realistic by attaching the pincers of tiny lobsters to your nipples.}

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favourite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle Cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

365 Days of Aromatic Affirmations

2010-12-31T15:59:00.001-05:00

A little over a year ago, I purchased the book Daily Aromatherapy by Joni Keim & Ruah Bull.

In the book, one essential oil is profiled each week. For each week, there is a different type of intention exercise to be performed each day: an affirmation, emotional self-discovery questions, a ceremony, a blessing, an activity, a visualization, and a prayer.

At the CFA Retreat in September 2009, we used the book daily.

The dates were September 18th, 19th and 20th, and the essential oil was Bay Laurel. At the time it was an oil I had never used. It reminded me of Christmas trees.

On a subtle level, Bay Laurel helps promote good judgment, nurtures your intuition and opens your mind’s eye to prophetic vision.

At the end of the weekend, I felt recharged and re-energized. And maybe I wasn’t completely “at one” with the Universe, but I was getting there.

Then I came home, put the book on my shelf, and never looked at it again.

Until yesterday.

Eureka!

While cleaning my office and trying to pare down my stacks of reference books {which, by the way, I really could not whittle down any further. I have about 83 reference books, which is the exact bare minimum of books about aromatherapy, herbalism, anatomy, reflexology and holistic medicine that a girl needs}, I came across the book and had a really ambitious thought:

“Hey! A new year starts in two days! What if I vowed to perform the exercises in the book every day for all of 2011?”

Clearly I am the first person EVER who has had the idea to vow to change her ways and start a-new at the beginning of a new year.

It’s genius! People should do this all the time!

Then I patted myself on the back for being such a clever girl.

Then I had to get an ice pack because I strained my shoulder a bit whilst patting myself on the back.

{There is a stock photo for everything, isn’t there?}

Serendipitously, the essential oil for the first week of January is Neroli – my favourite. I’m really not a big fan of florals – Rose is lovely, but it’s a too sweet for me. Neroli comes from the blossoms of the orange tree, so it’s the perfect combination of floral, greenery and citrus.

Let’s Do It Together!

If anyone would like to join in my 365 Days of Aromatic Affirmations quest, please comment here or Tweet me or Facebook me. I’ll be updating Twitter and/or Facebook as I perform each exercise.

If a group of you want to get together and take bets on how long I’ll stick with it, that’s fine with me too.

There won’t be any pressure, and the book allows adjustments to practice weekly or monthly rather than daily.

You can pick up the book at any major book retailer, but I’ve included the links here because I’m just awesome like that.

Let’s give ‘er!

21 Book Challenge for 2011

2010-12-28T10:11:00.001-05:00

I am a self-confessed book whore.

Despite having shelves full of books waiting to be read, I keep buying more books.

I can’t stop.

Help.

Due to space limitations, I’ve been forced to practice some restraint. My book storage allotment is only one small section of shelving on one side of our fireplace.

But then I discovered this contraption:

With the Kobo, I do not have to limit myself to only as many books as can fit on my physical bookshelf.

Oh, no.

The Kobo can (theoretically) store an infinite number of books.

And believe me, I plan to test that theory.

So now, in addition to my real books, I’ve got a virtual bookshelf full of books TBR (To Be Read).

{Okay, I know I said I’d never get on board with e-readers, but I’ve discovered it’s a great way to get new releases for about $7 each.}

Now, you all know I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. But if I did, it would be to not buy any more books until I’ve read all the ones currently sitting on shelf (or loaded on my Kobo).

To facilitate my non-resolution resolve to read all my books, I’m participating in a little book challenge. I originally read about this challenge on a message board and have modified it for my purposes.

Feel free to participate with me!

The Challenge:

You will choose 21 books to read – 3 from each category.

You do not have to choose them all up front, and they do not have to be books you already own. Because I realize that most people are normal (unlike me) and do not have eighty million books sitting around the house waiting to be read.

Dust Collectors

These are books that have been sitting (unread) on your shelf for some time. Obviously I’m not going to have a problem filling this category.

I’ll choose these books when it’s time to read them.

An Author That’s New To You.

1. The Bishop’s Man – Linden MacIntyre
2. The Last Days of Ptolmey Gray – Walter Mosley
3. Saving Max – Antoinette Van Heugten

A Trilogy - Read in Order.

I resolve to finally plough my way through the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. These are books that I definitely want to have read before I watch any of the films. Incidentally, I plan to watch the original Swedish films before the American versions.

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
2. The Girl Who Played With Fire
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

A Genre You Would Normally Never Read.

1. The Shack - William P. Young (Christian)
2. Something by Nicholas Sparks (Romance)
3. Something by Tom Clancy (War/Action)

Biographies or Memoirs.

1. Long Walk To Freedom – Nelson Mandela
2. Spoken From The Heart – Laura Bush
3. Last Words – George Carlin

Written More Than a Hundred Years Ago.

1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne
3. The Romance of Tristan & Isolde - Joseph Bédier

Books by Canadian authors that are also set in Canada.

Even if you’re not from Canada, this could be a good opportunity to learn something about our culture. Believe it or not, it’s actually quite different than life in the United States.

1. Annabel – Kathleen Winter
2. Oryx & Crake – Margaret Atwood (Technically this is set in a dystopian future which may or may not have once been the Greater Toronto Area.)
3. Unless- Carol Shields (American-born, but considered herself Canadian.)

So what are YOU reading?

Best Letter To Santa Ever Written

2010-12-16T17:31:00.001-05:00

My 9-year-old step-son just mailed off his letter to Santa. Here is what he asked for:

1. 4th Generation iPod Touch {good luck with that one, kid}

2. Bottle of Root beer

3. Two, $50 iTunes gift cards

4. A shot gun

5. A heat-guided missile

6. A girlfriend {I hope this isn’t related to numbers 4 & 5 in any way.}

And in other news, my 4-year-old just tried to download the Zoost online dating app for my iPod Touch (which is only a lowly 3rd generation, by the way).

Christmas Fun On Etsy

2010-12-14T12:21:00.001-05:00

My blog has been languishing for awhile. Many dark things have been churning in my soul and I just have no desire to write. Sorry.

BUT -- as a small Christmas gift to you, my beautiful readers, I will share some cute stuff I’ve discovered on Etsy.

{Click on any picture to go to the item}

Cute Fat Plush Penguins by Sassy Pack Rat Studios. Cute indeed!

A robot nativity scene done in polymer clay. Robot Jesus People! I love it, I love it, I love it! By lubu. You need to check out the whole shop, by the way. Robot Wizard of Oz! I’m going to die.

Macchiato Snowflake soap by Savor. Do I eat this or wash with it?

Printable winter wonderland by Fantastic Toy’s. I loved doing this kind of stuff when I was a kid! Unfortunately, my own kids do not.

More later!

xoxo

Ugly 80s Oak Must Die – Before & After Photos

2010-11-18T11:32:00.001-05:00

I know y’all don’t want eight pages of me explaining how I did this, you just want to see the pictures. So let’s get to it!

First, the BEFORES:

And now….

Presenting…

The AFTERS!

{Sorry for the graininess of a few shots. By the time I was ready to take pictures, the sun was gone and so was my natural lighting}

I’m completely floored by how much brighter it is. We didn’t change the lighting at all, but with the light cabinets and glossy paint, the light now has surfaces to reflect off of instead of being absorbed and lost.

Paint Colours:

Cabinets & Trim – Behr’s Premium Plus Hi-Gloss Acrylic Latex in Hushed White

Walls – Behr’s Premium Plus Ultra (Primer & Paint in one) Semi-Gloss in Sliced Cucumber.

Oh, and look what I added under the sink!

For those that are interesting in taking on a project like this, I’m working on a post with tips and tricks and how to avoid screw-ups.

{If you have a good eye, you’ve noticed that the cabinets doors under the sink aren’t quite lining up. This is do to some hinge issues and will be fixed shortly. More about that in the Screw-Ups post to follow.}

One more thing:

To all those people who said I was crazy for painting wood cabinets, I have two words for you:

BOO-YAH!

Making Infused Rose Oil

2010-11-17T09:37:00.001-05:00

Last week I came into possession of some roses that had a very special meaning.

Rather than dry them out, I thought I’d try to preserve them by making an infused oil. Then I could distribute the oil to the other members of my extended family for whom the roses also had special meaning.

First I removed all the petals from the stems.

Next I slightly macerated the petals to start releasing the essence of the flowers.

I placed the crushed petals in a glass container (just a large Mason jar).

Then I poured a combination of oils over the petals. I didn’t even measure. I used a combination of coconut oil (fractionated), rosehip oil, avocado and jojoba.

Now to let the jar sit on the windowsill for about a week. I’d shake the jar up every time I thought of it.

After a week, I secured a piece of cheese cloth over the mouth of the jar and poured out the oil into another jar.

The oil does not smell at all like I expected it to. It smells fermented – like wine. I’d hope that the oil could be used as-is for a skin oil, but that won’t be possible with it smelling like vino.

My next option will be to mix it with some shea and beeswax and see if I can make a nice body butter or salve.

You will be duly informed about whether or not this is a success!

{Today’s Wednesday post was not exactly Wordless. Sorry!}

Wordless Wednesday – Christmas Shopping For My Boy

2010-11-10T05:16:00.000-05:00

{Okay, just a few words– all those Bruder trucks were found at Winners for only $24.99 each! Insanity!}

Kitchen Revamp – Day 6

2010-11-09T06:59:00.000-05:00

{Day 6 was actually Sunday, two days ago.}

Normally I work on Sundays, so the day was a welcome opportunity to spend some time with my little boy. We went on our favourite outing – first to Chapters bookstore to play with the Thomas the Tank train track, and then a visit to Starbucks for hot chocolate.

I thought I might be able to finish sanding the doors that afternoon while my son played basketball or drove trucks so I could keep an eye on him.

But my boy put the kibosh on that idea when he refused to come down into our Blair Witch Project-esque basement.

Whatevs.

Instead I did some more work cleaning the insides of the cupboards.

I love this new shelf-liner! It’s so cute I want to cover everything with it.

When my husband came home around suppertime, I fully intended to attack my goals for that day, but something stopped me.

The couch.

But after the third episode of House Hunters, I kicked my own ass and got down to business.

Can’t imagine why my boy didn’t want to play down here.

It’s not scary at all!

Once the doors were sanded, I needed to come up with a method to paint them. I started out by leaning them against the wall, but that didn’t work out because the paint could drip and it didn’t allow access to all four edges.

Laying them on the floor was not an option because this girl cannot be trusted.

No sooner would I roll the paint brush than she’d be walking through the wet paint.

I came up with the solution of using anything I could find to elevate the doors off the floor while still keeping them horizontal.

Boxes, bins, baskets, pic nic table. Even a cooler.

I’m doing the backs (insides) of the door first.

Here is why:

Since the doors have to rest on the newly-painted surface while the flip-side is painted, there is potential for scratches or scuffs in the new paint job. If you do the backs first, any dings will be on the insides of the cabinet doors instead of the fronts.

As of Monday morning (Day 7), the backs of the doors have 2 coats of primer on them and are ready to be painted. Painting will likely not happen until Wednesday since I am tied up with family business the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday.

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: Do not paint in your basement if you are using oil-based paints. Oil paint fumes + pilot light on furnace or water heater or dryer (we have all three in our basement) = BOOM! Even if you do not have pilot lights, basements usually do not have enough ventilation to work with oil-based paint.

These Behr acrylic enamel paints I am using have virtually no odour at all.

I love them!

I want to marry them in a small ceremony on the beach.

Aromatherapy & Pregnancy – Safe Essential Oils & Dilutions

2010-11-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

{Click here to read about oils that are not safe for pregnancy.}

There are as many “safe for pregnancy” lists as there are aromatherapists. The oils here are ones that I’ve chosen based on recommendations from well-known aromatherapy authors, my own education, colleagues, and personal experience.

Essential Oils for Pregnancy

Bergamot
Black Pepper (in very small amounts)
Cajuput
Chamomile Roman
Dill
Eucalyptus radiata
Frankincense
Geranium
Ginger
Grapefruit
Jasmine (after 38 weeks gestation) (watch for adulteration)
Lavender
Lemon
Lime
Mandarin
Neroli (watch for adulteration)
Sweet Orange
Patchouli
Petitgrain
Rose – all types (after 38 weeks gestation) (watch for adulteration)
Sandalwood (watch for adulteration)
Spearmint
Tangerine
Tea Tree
Ylang Ylang

Adulteration

To save money, dishonest suppliers and producers will often adulterate expensive essential oils such as Rose, Jasmine & Sandalwood.

This is never okay, as it alters the therapeutic properties of the oils, but it is especially problematic during pregnancy, when you need to be 100% sure of what you are using. Synthetic chemicals, or cheaper essential oils with similar chemical properties may be added to expensive essential oils in an attempt to “stretch” out the batch.

Adulteration is not the same thing as dilution. Rose, Jasmine and Neroli are often sold as 3% or 5% or 10% dilutions. These floral oils are so fragrant that even when diluted the scent is still quite powerful. The dilution is usually done in Jojoba oil, which has an indefinite shelf life. Using dilutions is perfectly acceptable (so long as the bottle is clearly marked with the percentage and the type of base oil used) and it makes these prohibitively expensive oils available for use for everyone.

Hydrosols/Floral Waters

A hydrosol is the by-product of the steam distillation process used to obtain essential oils. After the steam passes through the plant product and condenses, it has become infused with the scent and some properties of the plant.

In pregnancy, hydrosols are a great alternative to the essential oil. Peppermint essential oil may be too strong and stimulating for a pregnant woman, but Peppermint floral water is not. If you are pregnant in the height of summer, it must may become your best friend!

Using Oils

While using essential oils during your pregnancy, you will not blend them at the same strength you would while not pregnant.

My general rule of thumb is to halve the dose. For example – if you’d normally add 5-6 drops of oil to the bath, add three. For massage oils, I do not go above a 1.5% dilution.

Kitchen Revamp – Day 5

2010-11-08T08:06:00.000-05:00

By the end of Day 4, all the drawers were painted. I let them dry for about 14 hours before I put the hardware on.

I love these cup pulls and I’m so glad I chose them, but let me tell ya – handles (as opposed to knobs, seen below) are a bitch to install. This is because you must perfectly measure out and drill two holes instead of one.

Of course, these cup pulls were about 1cm off the holes used for the old handles, so I had to drill all new holes. And of course, the machine screws that come with the handles were about 1/4 of an inch too short to properly catch the pull.

I had to make a decision – countersink 10 holes, or go buy new screws.

I chose Door B.

Oh, the drawers look so nice back in place! I can really see the project coming together now.

{And there on the counter you can see two of my favourite things – butter and a frosty mug of Pepsi.}

Remember that long piece of wood from Day 4? Here it is, installed under the sink.

In most houses, the area under the sink is a fake drawer or just a cover piece.

But in my house….

It’s a secret compartment! Perfect for scrubbies, sponges and bottles of essential oil used to freshen the drain.

This was installed using a kit from The Home Depot. The hinges were $9.99 and the plastic holder thingies were $8.99 for both. They easily lift off the screws so they can be removed for cleaning.

While waiting for the drawers to dry, I spent the morning finishing the cleaning of the cabinet doors. Just look at the level of dirt and grime I had to deal with:

This is the view of the bottom of one of the cabinet doors. No, that hole is not from a mouse or termites. All the doors have two holes on either the top or the bottom. I think it had something to do with hanging them to dry when they were originally stained at the shop in which they were made.

This is the bevelled edge along the bottom (front side) of one door. Perfect place for dust to collect! And since the doors were dark, the dirt wasn’t noticeable.

Which may be a good thing.

Stay tuned for Day 6…

Kitchen Revamp – Day 4

2010-11-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

There is no post for Day 3 because not much was done that day since I had to go to work. So I tidied up the kitchen, put in some new shelf liner paper and reorganized the insides of the cupboards.

I didn’t expect to get started on painting the drawers until my next scheduled days off work - next Tuesday & Wednesday, which would be Days 8 & 9 of the project. However, life has other plans, and I found myself with some unexpected time off work this past weekend.

All of Day 4 was dedicated to the drawers. First I washed and scrubbed them with a Scotch Brite pad. The industrial kind, not the kind you use for your dishes or bathtub. The beauty of using Scotch pads is they also provide an initial sanding of the surface.

The old hardware hole were filled in. I didn’t use wood putty – so kill me! I used some all-purpose spackle I found at the Habitat Restore for $1.75.

While I waiting for that to dry, I watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition and cried my eyes out.

Then I sanded all the drawers and when my husband came home I told him it was the sawdust making me cry.

{I actually had a lot of reasons to cry that day, but not all of them I care to share.}

Here are the drawers, all primed and waiting for paint! Yes, I only have 5 drawers in my kitchen. I’ve never been so happy to have a small kitchen. It makes a job like this much less daunting!

{If you are wondering what that long piece of wood is….I’m not going to tell you. It’s a surprise!}

I put the last coat of paint on at 11pm. Then I started watching a DVRed episode of Criminal Minds and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was 4am and Jack Lalanne was trying to sell me a juicer.

Here’s a little preview of the finished drawer with the vintage-looking cup pulls I choose. Purty! This kitchen was my inspiration:

Click the picture to go to the website and see a larger image.

More to come! And I’ll reveal the meaning behind that long piece of wood.

Kitchen Revamp Days 1 & 2

2010-11-07T09:58:00.000-05:00

Remember how I was debating whether or not to paint my hideous 80s oak kitchen?

Well, I gall-darned gone and dunnit!

I officially started the project last Tuesday. In two days I managed to prime & paint all the cabinet bases.

{The cabinet doors were removed several weeks ago and I took off all the hinges and hardware. I have been slowly scrubbing them and filling in the old hardware holes as I watched TV at night.}

Above is one wall of cabinets after priming. I started priming the wall, too, and then I realized I’d be painting it with Behr Primer & Paint in one, so why waste my time?

These are the cabinets above the sink in their finished state. I used Behr high gloss paint in Hushed White. I didn’t use the Premium Plus for the cabinets because it doesn’t come in high gloss. Anyway, a separate primer is really best for painting stained wood.

Since these cabinets will remain as open shelving, I painted the insides as well.

These cabinets use to have glass doors on them, but the glass in one door was broken and the wood frame on the other was crooked so I opted not to re-hang them.

As a bonus, I’ve learned that open shelving for your everyday dishes and glassware is amazingly convenient!

Stay tuned for more updates!

{P.S. The school-bus yellow walls will become Behr’s Premium Plus semi-gloss in Sliced Cucumber. To save money, I’ll also be using that colour to paint the wainscoting in my bathroom.}

Workshop Fun!

2010-11-06T09:35:00.001-04:00

{Let me apologize for the delay in the publication of this post. Right after the workshop, I decided I needed to paint my kitchen. Then we had a death in the family. So here it is, almost two weeks late, but still very relevant!}

I led my very first workshop ~~last Tuesday~~ over a week ago and it was awesome!

Yay me!

The workshop was organized by Made in Windsor and held in The Attic at The House.

I know that looks like I’m being pretentious by capitalizing “attic” and “house”, but those are the official names of the location.

The House is in a really beautiful old house (duh) in downtown Windsor. I stole an image from Google Street View so I could show y’all.

It’s so gorgeous inside. The second level still has its original built-in laundry cupboard and drawers, with original hardware!

{I wanted to take pictures, but a situation arose in which the light on the 2nd floor landing was turned off and refused to turn back on. Hey, old houses have their quirks.}

I set up the tables while waiting for the participants to arrive.

Here is what everyone had waiting for them:

The idea was for everyone to create their own blend of oil in the blending cup (about 25-30 drops of essential oil in about 5mL of base oil) and then add it to the jar of unscented bath salt.

Lots of books were also required. Of course, this is but a smattering from my ridiculous book collection.

Everyone also received a packet of handouts with some basic information about aromatherapy, safety and blending.

To me, “basic information” means ten pages worth.

I like to be thorough.

We didn’t spend a lot of time on the lecturing part. Everyone wanted to get down to the fun stuff.

And by “fun stuff”, I mean drinking three bottles of wine, of course.

Wine helps clear the nasal palette and therefore assists you while you blend.

{There may or may not be any scientific basis to what I just said, but maybe you could test the theory by throwing your own blending party!}

Their palettes are now cleansed and they are ready to blend!

I brought all my oils, except for a few like Birch and Wintergreen because I didn’t want anyone messing with those. Those two are essentially liquid aspirin, and best left in the hands of professionals.

Participants asked me for my opinion on some things, but what I loved was that everyone worked together and gave each other feedback.

We did have one male participant and I can’t believe I didn’t get him in any of the pictures!

It’s really interesting how everyone’s blends turned out. I’d say there was only one blend that really turned everyone’s noses – it had a little too much Geranium and Lemongrass. Two very strong scents both competing for top position does not a good blend make! However, the creator was able to salvage it by adding some citrus oils and some Rosewood.

Overall, the workshop was a big success. Everyone said they had fun and looked forward to doing something similar in the future.

For those that couldn’t make this round, we will be doing other events in 2011.

Apples & Crisps Sammies. YUM!

2010-10-26T13:53:00.001-04:00

When you first hear about this sandwich you think, “Say what?”

{Unless you are weird like me because I immediately thought, “Boy, that sounds delish! I’m a-gonna whip me up one of those right now!”}

I learned about Apples & Crisps sandwiches from Nicole, one of my Internet BFFs. Her husband comes from the mother country and this is one of his favourite comfort foods.

Just try it.

Trust me.

You will need:
Apples (any kind, really)
Bread (again, any kind, but it really does work better with white bread)
Butter (softened)
Salt n Vinegar chips

Now take your apples….

… and slice ‘em up nice and thin.

Now grab your butter. Well, don’t really grab it or it will get all over your hands. Just grab the butter dish. Okay, maybe I should have just said that in the first place. I will next time.

Grab the butter dish.

Spread the butter all over the bread. How many slices of bread will depend on how many sammies you are making. You should be making at least two per person.

Why?

Because they are that good.

Mmmmm…butter. Isn’t it wonderful? I have a cookie bar recipe that calls for 2 pounds of butter. Yes, that’s correct. Two pounds.

While sharing this recipe with a friend, he told me, “You know, if you want to get away from butter, you could use applesauce instead.”

Huh?

Sorry, but you lost me at “get away from butter”.

Why would anyone want to get away from butter? It’s not something you run from. Butter is not a zombie. Butter is something you run towards.

Moving on!

Place your sliced apples on the buttered bread.

Now get that bag of chips. Or what is left of it after your kids found it in the cupboard last night.

Place a layer of chips over the apples.

Cover the whole shebang with the other slice of buttered bread.

Fun part! Get the kids for this step.

Smoosh it down real good.

“Smoosh” is the official chef’s term for this technique.

This is a perfectly smooshed Apples & Crisps sandwich:

And there ya go! Enjoy!

The Winner!

2010-10-19T20:50:00.001-04:00

And the Fur Baby with the most votes is….

George, from Arizona!

Congratulations George – and to your mommy, Sharon, who is the one that will be enjoying the prize you won!

Thank you to all who entered – in my books, all your fur babies are the cutest :)

To see all the other cute Fur Babies, check out the photo album on my Facebook Page.