Evening Bath Time with Aromatherapy

My new favorite addition to an evening bath. Mountain Rose Herbs describes the aroma as dry, musky, bittersweet floral. To me, it smells a lot like lemon iced tea. Some of this oils' properties and benefits include: antibacterial, antispasmodic (good for menstrual cramps), aphrodisiac - yes, certain aromas can get you in the mood!, sedative, muscle aches & pains and nervous fatigue. Remember "Calgon, take me away"? It's ok if you don't - that just means you're much younger than I am!

And who wouldn't want to soak in this beautiful tub? It's hand crafted by my husband - really! It's poured concrete under the tile with hot water tubing connected to our boiler running throughout. The tile is toasty warm when the boiler's running, so the water stays hot for a good, long while.

The perfect prescription for a good nights rest = a hot bath with Clary Sage followed by my Goodnight Tea!
Coming soon, a spreadsheet for Essential Oils - properties, benefits and how to combine.

Sleep Pillows

I've been wanting to make sleep pillows for a while now and finally made a few tonight. I'm anxious to see if it will help, although I'm also drinking my nighttime tea so it won't be a very scientific experiment! I used a blend of equal parts lemon balm, chamomile, rose petals and lavender flowers - except I added more lavender - wanted it to smell really good. Also, half parts each of passionflower and hops. Mixed it up then added a few drops of organic lavender essential oil and mixed again. The pillows are filled loosely and one's already tucked in my pillowcase. Nightie night...

Need Sleep?

For so many, sleep eludes us. We get through the day being groggy, grumpy and not up to our best selves. Looking for a safe, healthy remedy, I purchased a product from the co-op called Calms Forte'. I've used it before with some success and thought I'd give it another try. It does work pretty well, and as usual, my husband asked, "what's in it?" The main four botanicals in Calms Forte' are Passionflower, Oatstraw, Hops and Chamomile. So, my next mission was to learn about the ingredients which led me to Mountain Rose Herbs, and look what I found! A nighttime tea with passionflower and hops!

Try a cup of Mountain Rose Herb's Fidnemed Nighttime Tea, or get creative and play with a different combination of herbs. Here's how mine turned out

The large green flowers are Hops! I substituted chamomile flowers for skullcap and guessed at amounts. The first blend had an overwhelming odor of valerian root (not a pleasant smell) so I added more lemon balm and hibiscus. It brewed to the most lovely red shade and worked like a dream! (pun intended). Here's what I put in mine:

• Lemon Balm, a mint with a lemony scent
• Hibiscus Flowers, also known as red sorrel - has a high level of anti-oxidants
• Chamomile Flowers, used as a medicine by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans 
• Passionflower, popular as a sedative (yay!) See my other posts for more on Passionflower
• Hops Flowers, first mentioned in European literature in 1079 and used as a sleep aid and to reduce libido. Monks used it to help young males remain chaste!
• Valerian Root, reduces anxiety. The root smells horrible! Suprisingly, the flowers don't.
• Lavender Flowers, can't say enough good things here! My favorite herb & essential oil.

Notes of caution: Chamomile is in the ragweed family and may cause a reaction if you're extremely sensitive to ragweed.

Did you know that avoiding excessive hops consumption (beer) can help men retain potency?