Vanilla Lavender Room Spray

Vanilla is our ingredient of the season. So far we’ve made some vanilla-infused vodka (great for milkshakes!) and a double vanilla cake. Today we’re venturing out of the kitchen and using vanilla essential oil. If you like experimenting with essential oils, check out our archive of posts.

It’s been almost two years since we shared a room spray, which is surprising because these are so easy to make and do a fantastic job of freshening up a room without any of the overbearing artificial fragrances found in many store-bought sprays.

IMG_5946

Whereas the rosemary and peppermint created an energizing combination, the lavender and vanilla combination in this spray provides a calming aroma. I added some fir balsam to this spray because I wanted something a little more complex. The fir balsam essential oil does a great job of bringing some of the outdoors in when it’s still a touch too cold to have the windows open here in the mountains.

To further enhance the vanilla aroma of the spray, I used our vanilla-infused vodka for the alcohol.

Ingredients and Hints :

  • 3 ounces filtered water
  • 8 drops vanilla essential oil
  • 8 drops lavender essential oil
  • 8 drops fir balsam essential oil
  • 1.5 ounces alcohol (I used our vanilla-infused vodka!)
  • spray or misting bottle

Pour everything into the bottle, give it a good shake, and spray away! You will have to shake it before every use. Really, it’s that simple!

And as we mentioned in the previous room spray post:

  • If you don’t have the alcohol, you can use all water, but the aroma won’t linger as long.
  • Of course, you can use any combination of oils, and increase or decrease the number of drops depending upon how intense you want the scent to be

How to : Cultivate a Creative Life

If you like this post, you may want to read Sarah’s post on how to Cultivate a Life of Travel, but be warned that you’ll have the sudden urge to buy a plane ticket or two!

We’re coming up on a year of living in our house, and I’m still organizing things. Unfortunately (for me) one of the last places to get some special treatment has been my office, but I just recently spent a couple of days unpacking the final boxes and during the process I thought about the things I do around the house to encourage creativity (mine, the boys’, and visitors).

Sarah and I grew up in a house that encouraged creativity in all aspects of life, and I’m working to do the same now, whether it’s trying a new recipe, playing musical instruments, working in the garden, knitting or sewing. So even if you aren’t “crafty”, I hope you’ll find some useful advice in this post.

liveseasoned_spring2016_creativelife7

 

Continue reading

How To: Find Flattering Natural Light for Portraits

Sarah is a professional photographer, from time to time she shares general photography tips and specialized tutorials to teach you to take better images.

Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode where Jerry’s girlfriend looks extremely different depending on the lighting? If you haven’t, click the link and get caught up! If you’re a photographer, amateur or professional, you know that lighting is everything in photography, especially when it comes to photographing people and objects.

For the purpose of this post, let’s define flattering natural light as soft, even lighting without hard shadows. Let’s also aim for photos that reflect the true color of the subjects being photographed. We’ll also pretend that these photos are going to be self portraits because everyone is taking selfies these days and really the best way to master a technique is to practice, practice, practice.  You can be sure that you’ll always have yourself and your cell in most situations, so practice looking for flattering light every day that way when you need to find it, you’ll know where to look.

live seasoned spring15 flattering natural light-1

Continue reading

How To : Photograph Pets

Apparently we loooove giving advice. Here’s a whole archive of How To: posts.  Often times we’re chatting about travel or sharing photography tips.

Happy Monday! We’re keeping it light today with How To: Photograph Pets. One of my favorite photography subjects is my dog, actually any dog or cat or bird. I love animals therefore I’m always trying to take stellar images of them. Added bonus? Photos of pets make the best presents.  Read on for ten simple tips to create better pet portraits.

Continue reading

DIY Bath Bombs

 We love mixing and stirring potions around here. Check out the full beauty potion archive here. Click here for our Etsy shop full of lip balms, sunscreens and other natural goodies.

live seasoned winter15 tea bath bombs-3 copy

Today’s post is brought to you Kristin, our middle sister, she’s been known to make a simple craft or two.  She actually makes lots of really neat decor. I think we’ve bugged her enough that she will be contributing here more often. Another thing about Kris? She gives the best gifts! Last year I was gifted the sweetest smelling candles and this year a whole pile of soaps and bath bombs. I’m making a mental note (and a virtual one?!) to get her candle recipe for you too, but we’ll start with what we have and that’s a fiz-tastic recipe for DIY bath bombs. Add that to Webster’s.

Continue reading

Floral Lip Balm

This is just one in a series of essential oil posts. Read this post if you’d like a basic primer on essentials, and this one for more information about carrier oils. Oh, and if you’d like more ideas for your Valentine, look here.

I have to admit, it wasn’t my idea to create a floral-scented lip balm, as I often shy away from flowery smells in favor of something spicy. Our sister Kristin suggested it, and then I smelled the rose essential oil, and well, now I’m hooked. And what perfect timing, because this is yet another way (in addition to our rose tea, cake, and jam) to give someone flowers for Valentine’s Day without actually buying the bouquet.

liveseasoned_winter2016_florallipbalm2 copy

Since this is the first lip balm recipe that we’re sharing on the blog, it’s a little long-winded as I provide some general information about both the ingredients and tools needed to make lip balm at home.

Continue reading

Rose Tea

Tea is our ingredient of the season this winter. We’re using that as an excuse to sit down more often and relax over a cuppa’. If you’re looking for another way to spice up your black tea, check out our masala chai. Click here for our archive of Valentine DIYs.

Hey there, thinking about surprising your Valentine with breakfast in bed and a side of tea? No? How about just surprising him/her with an afternoon cup of tea? Either way, we have an idea for making that Valentine’s Day cup extra special ~ add some dried rose petals.

liveseasoned_winter2015_rosetea1-1024x768 copyDoesn’t that look beautiful? Think about letting your sweetheart add the dried tea and petals to the boiled water themselves, that way they can see the delicate pink petals before they go in the kettle and lose their color. #itsthelittlethings

liveseasoned_winter2015_rosetea3

The rose petals will add a light floral aroma and flavor to any variety of tea. I prefer a black base, but this would also go well with the lighter flavor of a white tea.

All rose petals are edible, but not all are created/tended equally; be sure to purchase dried rose petals that were grown and processed without any pesticides or additional chemicals.

liveseasoned_winter2015_rosetea2

So simple, but so sweet for your special someone on Valentine’s Day.

Knitting WIPs II

Hey there, I’m popping in this afternoon to share some of the knitting projects that I’ve recently finished, am working on, or are on my mind. I’m exciting. You may need an extra cup of coffee.

After I finished up the big sweater project, I immediately cast on a sweater of my own, Wolf River. I love how this turned out and now have a case of sweater fever (there are so many good patterns out there!). I haven’t even worn this one yet and I’m already itching to start another sweater, but as you’ll read below, there are a few other little projects that I’m hoping to get out of the way first.

liveseasoned_winter2016_knittingupdate7

Wolf River is a boxy sweater – no waist shaping at all – and it got me thinking that this is a great characteristic to look for if you’re new to sweater knitting. Of course, this sweater’s lace pattern may not be the easiest thing for a new knitting, but there are other simple boxy designs out there.

liveseasoned_winter2016_knittingupdate6

This sweater was knit with less than two skeins of Cascade Ecological Wool, one of my favorites. I have two more skeins in my stash and am thinking that it would be fun to make a second Aidez since I wear my first all of the time.

Last year I designed and knit a fair isle hat for Alex and realized that it would be fun to knit the boys new hats every year. I made this one over the weekend (after knitting a sweater, little hats are a breeze!).
liveseasoned_winter2016_knittingupdate5

Continue reading

Invigorating Essential Oil Solution for Instant Sinus Pressure Relief

This is just one in a series of essential oil posts.  Check out the rest here.
liveseasoned-winter15-essential-oil-sinus-massage4-1024x759 copy

This! This little concoction has made my days in Colorado a little bit better.  I suffer from chronic sinus pain and pressure.  When I travel to locations that are particularly dry like Colorado, my sinuses swell and create intense pressure in my entire face.  I mixed up this invigorating essential oil solution for instant sinus pressure relief.  On a daily basis, it basically feels like my head weighs fifty pounds and whichever way I move it I feel the pressure shift and it causes pain and irritation.  You know that feeling when your ears pop when you travel up or down in altitude? How about the feeling when you know your ears need to pop, but they won’t?  Like your entire head is full of something? That’s what it feels like too.  It’s kind of a bummer and it puts me in a bit of a fog.  I become irritated easier and instead of enjoying moments of calm, I’m focused on the nagging pain.

Dealing with sinus pressure is really a way of life for me.  Sinus pain interrupts my favorite activities like yoga and hiking so I’m always seeking relief.  At home, I sleep with a humidifier running.  I’m always downing liquids in hopes that I’ll hydrate my system.  Anywhere there is steam, you’ll find me standing over it.  I’m constantly putting wet washcloths in the microwave and then laying them over my face in hopes of a few minutes relief.  Sometimes I even resort to Aleve or some other pain medication.  If it’s really bad, I’ll stand under a scalding hot shower until the water runs cold.  Even with access to a steam room here in Colorado, I was looking for a quick solution that would be easy and safe for multiple uses throughout the day.  I looked in a few homeopathic guides and this invigorating essential oil solution is the best remedy I’ve found for instant sinus pressure relief.output_VKzxSs

Continue reading

Last Minute Gift for Pre-schoolers

liveseasoned_winter2016_sewingbag3
liveseasoned_winter2016_sewingbag5
It’s Christmas week!!! We’ve been having so much fun with Alex this year since he really understands that Christmas is something special, but he’s still asking a lot of questions and trying to make sense of what’s going on around him. “When can we open the presents?” “We get to put the tree in our house?!” “It’s Christmas season, but not Christmas day, right?”

Continue reading