Infused honey is a delightful gift for the holiday season. There are many possible variations, all of which are fairly easy to prepare. Use it in tea, on toast or muffins, and even as a sore-throat soother (and is some cases, a facial wash—no I'm not kidding about that!).    Below you'll find four infused honey recipes. Each one is lovely on its own, but together they make a fun gift set.    I used a different variety of honey for each recipe, attempting to pair the flavor of the honey with honeys, each with complimentary herbs and spices. Each...

I've already shared my love of Buckaroo's laundry soap and essential oils, but did you know there's a whole line of Buckaroo Organics Skincare items too? Buckaroo sent me a few skincare items to try, and I am excited to share them with you. Especially the body butter! It is amazing! Why I love Buckaroo Organics Skincare  I love this family-owned company because of their dedication to creating safe and natural products that make a difference. They work hard to make products that 100% organic and everything they make is extremely useful in daily life.  It's important we vote with...

With the popularity of Manuka honey on the rise, you may be wondering what all the hype is about it. Some common questions about manuka honey include: What is Manuka honey? What is UMF and non-UMF? How is Manuka different than regular honey?  In this article we take a deep dive into the facts and find the answers to these questions and more.   What is Manuka Honey? Manuka honey is produced by bees who pollinate the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). This tree is native to Australia and New Zealand. It’s distinct flavor makes this honey a delicious addition to many...

Honey is one of the best kept skincare secrets. It helps support skin softness and produces a radiant glow. Learn to use it as the base for this quick and easy, homemade mud mask recipe.  It is one of the easiest ways to DIY facial care as it can be used alone or mixed with one or two simple ingredients to create a high-performing mask, wash, or facial scrub.  Honey truly is one of my favorite skincare ingredients.  Recently, there has been a surge in popularity of “honey mud” products. Most of these are facial cleansers and masks and are...

Hydrosols, also known as flower water, have many uses in home remedies and natural skincare. In this article we discuss what they are, how they are made, the best hydrosols for home remedies and natural skincare, and how to use them.  What are Hydrosols? Before we discuss the uses for hydrosols, let's briefly dig in the the definition. The word, Hydrosol, is a chemistry term which means, “water solution.” (Source: Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy by Suzanne Catty) It is derived from the Latin “Hydro,” which means “water,” and “Sol” which means “solution.” Hydrosols are also referred to as floral water,...

With digital detoxes, “social media breaks”, and inbox overwhelm, it's clear that the digital aspects of our lives have a big impact. The impact is not just personal, it's affecting our families as well. But with small steps, we can find balance.  This post was sponsored by Google in partnership with the Forward Influence Network. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I've often found myself wondering how to effectively teach my children to manage technology. It's a whole new world to navigate… I recently learned about Google's digital wellbeing initiative and discovered their Family Guide. These guides have been...

If you want to learn to make healthy, non-toxic, botanical skincare products at home, the Herbal Academy's Botanical Skincare Recipe Book is for you.  In this post, I review the contents of the book and give you a peek at what's inside. My hope is that this will help decide if it's something you'd like to invest in or not.  The book can be purchased separately but is also part of a larger Botanical Skincare Program (you can choose to include the book with purchase of the online program).  Please note, Herbal Academy gifted the book to me for review...

This French Green Clay and Charcoal Facial Soap recipe makes a delightful soap that cleans deeply, yet gently. It is suitable for most skin types.  If you've tried your hand at making natural skincare products, you may have stuck with the simple things, like body scrubs and facial scrubs, serums, and body butters. After some time, it stands to reason that you may wish to expand into more complicated products such as homemade soap.  Or perhaps you are already a soap maker, but want to venture into facial soaps. Or maybe you already make facial soaps but are looking for...

Want to switch to a natural laundry routine? It’s a great move to make considering the toxins found in many laundry products today. Laundry soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets, are exposing us to a host of chemicals that stay on our clothes and some transfer to our skin (which we know absorbs all kinds of things – so we’re dealing with some of this stuff getting into our bloodstream, not to mention what we're also breathing it in.)  I don’t like to harp on the bad, but before I move on to the good, I would be remiss not...