I think that most of you would agree with me that we are all doing so much on a day in, day out basis  that soaking your tired body in a bath-tub has to become a requirement for 2012!  It is by far one of the best ways to relax your tense muscles and get rid of emotional stress.

Next time you are at your favorite health food store, treat yourself to some essential oils.  Disperse 5 or 10 drops of the oil into your bath and be sure to mix well in the water.  Did you know that essential oils go into the blood-stream through the nose!  The aromatic molecules rise up from the water and also through the skin via the pores.  Sit in the tub for at least 15 minutes and you will actually feel your muscles getting lighter and your worries go away.  So next time your feeling a bit over-whelmed treat yourself to an indulgent bath with essential oils and soak your troubles away:)

Pure Love Grows X0X0X0

The warmer weather has me throwing open my windows, breathing in the crisp, fresh air, and planning my spring cleaning. Even though this past winter was a tad warm, my house was still closed up, and everything could use a good airing out, freshening up, and a sparkling surface.

The way I attack spring cleaning now is totally different than it was a few years ago. In the past, I’d go to the store and throw whatever cleaning products looked the strongest into my basket without thinking about what they were made from or what sort of fumes my family would be breathing in after my whirlwind scrubbing session. Now, I’m aware that harsh chemicals might kill a few germs, but repeated exposure to them could do much more harm to my family than catching a cold from some lingering germs. So, I’m very selective about my cleaning products, and I’ve found a brand I love.

Haven.com  creates home care products that are made from organic ingredients, and their cleaning products have multi-uses. That means I can clean more of my home with fewer products. This spring, I’m excited to use Haven’s Air & Linen Spray. Linen just screams spring, doesn’t it? The spray naturally neutralizes odors, leaves a fresh scent, and it kills germs in the air and on surfaces without nasty, harmful chemicals. Along with a handful of their other products, the Air & Linen Spray is going to make my home smell heavenly, its surfaces sparkle, and any lingering germs from the winter wave bye-bye.

Haven’s products are all refillable so you after your initial investment in the products and their packaging, you’ll save money and reduce your plastic consumption since the refills contain less plastic than the starter bottles (which are made from 100% recycled plastic to start with). Love it! Haven home care products are handcrafted in Brooklyn, New York, and they have some serious sustainability and stewardship cred. You know me. I love to support other small businesses that share my passion for natural, sustainably packaged products, and Haven is a company that definitely shares my passions.

What are you sitting there for? Get spring cleaning, girlfriends!

Pure Love Grows XoXoXo

Earth Day Poem
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass,
Each Honey Tree,

Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone

And just as I
Need every bit
of me to make
A body fit
So Earth needs
Grass and Stone and Tree
And things that grow here
Naturally

That’s why we celebrate
This day
That why across
The world we say:
“As long as life,
As dear as free,
I am Earth
and this is me!”

Pure Love Grows X0XoXo                        Auther – Unknown

How can I give my hair more shine?

We all want to have amazing shiny hair. The obvious way to get it is to stop over processing and blow-drying it, but not everyone (me included) is going to do that. Try this cool trick to help restore some shine to your hair whether you overwork it or not. Take your favorite shine serum for your hair and mix it with some conditioner.  Wash your hair well and apply the mixture to your hair for 15 to 30 minutes.  Then rinse well and style as usual.  (Remember the less heat you add to your hair the better of you are for shine.) After your hair is dry, take some more shine serum and apply to any areas that need a little extra TLC!  Let me know how this works for you, ladies!

Pure Love Grows XoXoXo

Well, Easter almost snuck up on me this year. Fortunately, last weekend I realized it was coming up and jumped at the chance to do a little project with my kids. I’ve always loved doing fun projects with my boys for Easter, but they’re getting older. The day where they say, “No thanks,” to my suggestions of mother/son creative afternoons hasn’t happened yet, but I know it’s not too far away. I need to create these types of memories with them while I still can.

This year, we made cardboard eggs using old scraps of wallpaper that are leftover from past projects. (Reduce, reuse, recycle, baby!) I bought two pieces of white poster board, an egg template, and some colorful string from the hobby store. Then, we set out to work. Here’s what we did.

We traced the template on the cardboard and cut out many eggs.
Then, we took a hole punch and punched holes in the tops of all the eggs.
We took the colorful string and tied small loops through the punched out holes on the eggs.
Then we went through old scraps of wallpaper that have collected over the years from our past home projects.　We picked out what we liked and cut them out with the egg template.We peeled the wallpaper and attached to both sides of the cardboard cutouts.

Each egg looks beautifully decorated and I hung each one from one end of my kitchen to the other.　It makes me very happy to know that I will have this little piece of my boys’ artwork for many years to come. Someday, I hope to share them with my grandchildren and tell them stories about their dads.

I hope you all enjoy this very cool project. Your children’s faces will light up when they see their masterpieces hanging in your kitchen (and so will your face).   Happy Easter:)

Pure Love Grows XoXoXo

Now that spring has sprung, I’m doing all I can　to get my roses in order. I don’t have the greenest thumb in the world, but I do know an awful lot about roses. One of my secrets to growing healthy, beautiful roses is coffee grounds. Yes, coffee grounds.

Do you know about this trick that’s oh-so easy-peasy and oh-so beneficial to your roses? Feed your roses the leftover grounds from your coffee, and they’ll grow like you won’t believe.  Here’s what you do. You can mix the coffee grounds in with your compost if you have it, and it will enrich the compost that you put on your roses. Or, mix the grounds with some kitchen waste (potato peels, egg shells, broccoli stems, etc.), and then mix that right into the dirt around the base of your rosebushes.

You can also make a super liquid fertilizer by taking the grounds from one full, 10-12 cup coffee maker, and mixing them with five gallons of water. Use it to water your roses and other plants in your garden up to twice a month.

What’s so special about coffee grounds? They contain small amounts of nitrogen, an ingredient found in most chemical plant foods. They also make the dirt surrounding your roses more acidic, and roses love acidic soil.

The grounds also lighten the soil around your rosebushes making it easier for the roots to spread out. Stronger roots mean more growing and blooming at the top of the bush. The coffee grounds even help attract worms, and when those worms wriggle throughout the soil beneath your rosebushes, they loosen the soil and let in oxygen.

If that’s not enough, coffee grounds can help to scare away some garden common pests and keep bacteria away from your bushes naturally.

And you thought you were just going to throw those coffee grounds away, didn’t you? No way. Next time you’re in the garden store looking at fertilizer, put it down. Then head into your own kitchen, grab the coffee grounds left over from this mornings cuppa, and you’ll have what you need to grow beautiful, healthy roses.

Let me know how you made out

Pure Love Grows XoXoXo

What advice can you give for applying makeup?

The #1 question I’m asked about applying makeup is how to make it look natural. My answer: Blend, blend, and when you think you’re done blending, blend a little more, darling. When you blend your makeup it makes everything look super fresh and natural. Nothing ruins your look quicker than a line of makeup on your skin that hasn’t been blended in. A line of makeup will end up being the focus of your face all day – not what you want.

Here are a couple of other tips for getting the much-sough-after natural look. Always put your makeup on in natural light. Find a spot in your house next to a window that lets the sun shine in. If you do your makeup in natural light, there will be no surprises when you go outside. It’s okay to try a different look when you’re applying your makeup, but make sure it accentuates your natural features so it’s not so obvious you’re trying something different. For a different look, try a bronzer that’s designed to look natural, on your eyelids, cheeks, or anywhere you want a natural healthy glow.

My Jing Ai Sierra Glow Duo’s are fabulous for achieving the natural look. Not only are they made with organic yumminess that lets your skin breath, the packaging is Ooooo soooo good for the earth, too. The wildflower seed paper that comes with the packaging is meant to be planted in the earth, given a little TLC, and enjoyed when you see PURE LOVE grow into a bouquet of wildflowers

Like all Jing Ai cosmetics, the Sierra Glow Duo’s are made in the USA, are 100% gluten free, and never tested on our furry friends (the Leaping Bunny seal of approval will attest to that). Give my bronzers a try, and come back and tell me if you love how they bring out your natural beauty!

Pure Love Grows X0X0X0