Christmas in July

Ok, guys. I have a confession. I recently started writing for a humor website full time and I have been putting you guys on the back burner. I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. We’re trying to buy a house, so the added income will hopefully help that. You guys understand, don’t you? I hope so. If you get a chance, check out the site: veemly.com. But, be prepared. It’s not for the weak of heart, and doesn’t necessarily portray my true feelings.

What’s new in my oily world? So much! I recently placed an order with some oils I have never used before like Jade Lemon and Christmas Spirit. I have another order coming with a lot more, so do stay tuned for that.

Christmas Spirit

So. I expected this one to smell more like Christmas trees, but I was not disappointed in any way. The second I opened the bottle, the smell of cinnamon, pine, and orange flooded my nostrils. I was in heaven. I love this oil. It doesn’t really have any purposes that I know of, other than smelling amazing, but that’s ok. It’s well worth it. Actually, it’s super cheap, so you need to add this to your next order, even though it’s only July. I mean, hey, you never know when it could go out of stock. But really, add this oil to your next order. The smell is heavenly. Got sweaty socks in the hamper? Diffuse Christmas Spirit. Got dirty diapers in the pail? Diffuse Christmas Spirit. Got a smoker in the house? Diffuse Christmas Spirit. It is a powerful, yet delightful scent that could cover up just about everything. Think about it like the blanket of snow that covers the ground, your car, the trees, etc.

Jade Lemon

This oil smells similarly to lemon essential oil. It is a bit sweeter smelling, like a cross between a lemon and a lime. It’s very light and refreshing. It’s great to aid in concentration and I like to take a whiff before a big writing spree, which now happens on a daily basis. I also like to dab it on as spot treatment for my acne, but I don’t recommend it if you’re going to be spending time in the sun at any point in the days to follow. Because I am always inside, this is no worry for me. Ha. It’s also a great, quick dinner flavor-er. Add a drop or two to your sauce of choice for salmon or other meal, or mix a drop or two to your drink to add a burst of goodness. This one can be added to pretty much any food to give it a pop.

In the next week or so I should be receiving my next order with oils like Sacred Mountain and black pepper. I will report on those and anything else magnificent that I find over the next few days.

Until next time!

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

How I Balance My Life

Many of you may wonder how the heck I balance my life. With a toddler in the house, working as a barista, taking care of a home, doing direct sales, blogging, and freelance writing, I’m not entirely sure how I do it. I’m not always as calm and collected as it may seem, but I do try. Sometimes things get out of hand and I am overwhelmed with all the things I do, but there are a few things I do to help balance everything.

 

Let’s go back to the article I wrote about relaxation. I wasn’t kidding when I talked about taking time for myself. It’s how I keep myself sane with so much happening in my life. I think everyone needs a little “me” time. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. It’s not always daily, weekly, or even monthly, but I do try to have “me” time once in a while. Sometimes I take a lavender bubble bath, other times I diffuse my orange and write for fun, not work, or read a good book. My chai adventures are also a form of relaxation for me.

Organization is key in my life. I wouldn’t know where to be, or even who to be, without my planner. I have a daily planner, just a plain one from Target, that I write and look at multiple times a day. I write down my daily chores, work schedule, and writing goals. I also like to include a fun quote once in a while to make it a little less daunting. Pick out a cute one and make sure to keep it in a place you look several times throughout the day! There’s no right or wrong way to plan.

I’m not kidding. Sometimes I just cry. It helps a lot. No, I’m not depressed or anything, but sometimes it’s nice to let everything out. Not like everyday, not that that’s bad, but every few weeks. It cleanses my soul a little every time. It clears my mind and helps me focus on the tasks ahead of me.

Without sleep, it’s hard to function. Sleeping might be the most important part of leading a busy life. Sometimes I feel like there’s no time for sleep, but I remind myself that if I don’t have enough good sleep, I won’t be functioning the best that I can, which is important for successfully doing the tasks I need to do on a daily basis. To ensure that I am sleeping to my best potential each night, I like to diffuse lavender and cedarwood, which knock me into a deep sleep in no time.

My life probably won’t always be this busy. I just remind myself why I do the things I do. I like having a clean home because it makes me feel good and I enjoy working because it helps provide an income for my family to eat and do fun things and I write to get myself out there and because I could go big in the the long run. Looking at the big picture helps me see that what I’m doing isn’t pointless and that it takes a little business to go far in life. I am young and I might as well do it while I still can.

While my life might be hectic, I love every second of it. You should be loving your life too, so if you’re not, take a look at what’s wrong and see which of these aspects could help you. Tell me in the comments how you make the best of your life!

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Discounted Premium Starter Kit! Young Living Wows Us Again!

So, I know I just posted but I have to share the news I got when I got back from my mini vacation. If you missed that post, just click here.

You guys know how great of a deal the Premium Starter Kit is. It is a complete steal. It’s like 50% off as it is. That’s crazy insane, right? Yeah. Well, Young Living tops us again. They never cease to amaze me. I love how they keep pulling awesome things out of their hat!

Want to know what it is? Of course you do. Who wouldn’t?

There is a HUGE sale going on right now. Now the newly revamped kit is $10 off! How is that possible? I don’t even know, but they did it and it is such an exciting thing. They never go on sale, ever. Everyone needs a kit. I promise. It’s got 11 oils, a diffuser, samples, informational booklets, sharing bottles, and MORE. For a more detailed post on what comes in the kit, check here. This deal is ONLY until the middle of August, so you NEED to get on it ASAP. Chances are, it won’t come back.

Every family needs this kit. It will change your life, I promise.

Do you have any questions? Feel free to email me at younglivinglexi@gmail.com and I would be happy to help.

Back From My Mini Vacay

Guys!

It’s been a week since I last posted and I am SO sorry. Remember how I said summer is a crazy time? I wasn’t wrong! It’s even busier than I thought it would be. This is my first summer with a toddler. I thought the baby stage was hard, but I didn’t know anything back then. If this is your first summer with a baby or toddler, check out this post for help. Or this one. Or even this one for the really hard days. It will get better, I promise.

My family just got back from a super fun mini vacay in Port Townsend, Washington. It is so pretty over there and I love the “old” feel it has. We did some shopping and my daughter spent about a half hour picking out the perfect stuffed animal. It turned out to be a white cat, which isn’t so white anymore. Thank goodness for thieves cleaner. If you’re a momma, you need this cleaner. It’s all natural, safe around kids, and cleans just about any surface. Anyway, we also stopped at a tea and spice store where I purchased… You guessed it! Chai. I got a type called “Mint-Chilla Chai-Nilla” from The Spice and Tea Exchange. I am in LOVE. Want to make your own? First, check out this post. Then, brew some vanilla chai and add a drop of peppermint. For extra punch, throw in some cinnamon powder. Yum! I also purchased some Victorian Rose soap from another little shop down the way. It smells delish! I haven’t gotten to making my own soap yet, but if I ever do, you guys will be the first to know.

I totally forgot to bring my bottle of lavender with me, which was a mistake. My daughter took at least three times as long to get to sleep. She wouldn’t nap at all during the day and night time was the hardest. Won’t be forgetting that again! Luckily we didn’t get a sunburn, or we would have been SOL.

Have you and your family taken a vacation this summer? Or do you have one planned? Tell me about it in the comments!

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Lexi’s Chai Adventures

If you know me, you probably know that I used to hate tea. I was convinced I would never like it. Not any kind I tried came even close to enjoyable to me. Then, I started working at a coffee stand. It is also well known that I can’t stand coffee, plus I’m breastfeeding so I couldn’t handle the caffeine anyway. If you’re wondering how I can “barista” at 4:30 in the morning with no coffee, read this post. Anyway, at the stand I work at, we are offered a free drink with every shift that we work. I don’t like coffee, but how could I turn down free drinks? I started making sugary hot chocolate and steamer drinks and as time wore on, I was looking into healthier options. I decided to try chai. It was worth a shot, right? It turned out to be a great choice. Now I love chai. Chai is my life and chai loves me.

I started buying my own chai at home. I don’t have a favorite brand. They’re all amazing so far. Then, I started playing around with oils. You might remember one of my first posts where I talked about flavoring drinks with oils. It was all downhill from there. I became an oily chai addict.

My favorite chai-oil mix used to be 3 drops lemon, 1 drop thieves, honey, and sugar. I drink that any time I feel a cold coming on or when I feel like I just need an immune system boost. It’s even delicious iced.

Today I mixed it up a little and tried something completely new and I am so glad I did. I decided on a fruity mix to enjoy while my daughter took a bath. Momma and baby relaxing time, if you must. I used 2 drops grapefruit and 2 drops orange along with some honey and sugar. Wowza. Can you say yum? My taste buds did a little dance when this beautiful concoction touched my lips.

Here’s your assignment for the week: go buy some chai and make your own chai mix with essential oils. Share below! Remember to only ingest Young Living oils. You can’t trust the purity of other brands. Read your labels to ensure that your oil is safe for consumption.

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Bug Bites and Fireworks

Did you guys have a good 4th? I sure did. I spent mine on a beautiful island in Skagit County. Samish Island is home of some of the best people and firework shows in the world. Well, in my opinion, anyway. With a gorgeous sunset and spectacular firework show, I felt lucky to be an American.

One thing that comes with good outside fun by the water is mosquitos. Normally I would have made my bug spray and brought it with me, but for one, Citronella, which used alone is a great bug repellent, is out of stock, and two, I forgot my other oils because I went straight from work. I’ll share the bug repellent recipe even though I didn’t get a chance to use it last night. Because I didn’t have my spray with me and I refused to wear chemical filled store bought ones, I fought it out. I came home with a few itchy bites. But hey, I didn’t get burned this time. If you did, check out this post.

I am terrible with not itching bites that should be left alone. Terrible. I couldn’t wait to get home to get some relief. When I finally did get home, I applied some purification and poof! No more itch. I also added some lavender because I had irritated my poor skin itching it so much earlier.

Do you have a bug bite? Pop out your purification and get to oilin’.

Tell be about your 4th in the comments below.

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Summer, Summer, Summer! How I’m Using Oils to Get Me Through

I was thinking of ideas for a post this morning when I realized that a recap of my summer posts is past due. It sucks to scroll through and try to find what you need, so here is a little cheat sheet post for you guys! Simply click on the highlighted words to take yourself to the post you desire. You’re welcome.

Sunburn Issues

The most viewed posts for summer topics are my sunburn spray and sunburn cream entries. With these results from my sunburn cream, I can see why! Just one application overnight amazed not only myself, but everyone I showed. I have this obsession with showing EVERYONE. Sorry, friends and family.

Bikinis and Stretch Marks

My stretch mark post was a super popular post too. I used my frankincense and rose scrub for just four days for these results. I am happy to say that this summer I have been able to wear a bikini and feel comfortable in my own skin.

Maintaining/Losing Weight and Kicking Sugar Cravings

My personal sugar addiction story caught people’s attention. This summer, make it your goal to be healthy and happy with your body. Essential oils are a great help and I am so glad I found ones that work for me!

Keeping Bugs Away

Spiders are a big problem in my area come summertime, so I use a peppermint and water combination to shoo them away. So far, we’ve only had one spider enter our house, and that’s because I forgot to spray for a week or two. This post also talks about keeping misquitos away for water and campfire fun.

Hydration

My last post was about the importance of hydration and how I make sure that I am drinking enough water. This is a must read! I cannot stress the importance of water enough. Making it fun is a great way to keep up this summer.

Shaving and Keeping Skin Soft

I am in LOVE with scrubs. They’re super easy to make and my skin is left feeling soft and beautiful, plus my shaves last much longer. I love my rose petal and frankincense scrub, but my newest favorite is my orange and vanilla creamsicle scrub. Can you say yum?!

Berry Stains

Summer is the season of wonderful berries and terrible carpet stains. Thankfully, I have thieves cleaner to save my house.

Those are the summer favorite so far! Keep checking back for more summertime oil posts coming soon.

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Hydration Station: The Oily Way

Are you a scrubaholic now? After the last post, I sure hope so. As my life is slowly mellowing down, I am gathering more and more time to write. Thank goodness!

I want to talk hydration today. It’s summer time and we all know that means hot weather and sweating. I have the hardest time drinking enough water as it is, so this time of the year is especially difficult for me, and I am assuming other people have the same issue. Water is so important to our health. It is the base of what we need and it helps us maintain a health weight and keep everything running right. There are a few things I have been doing recently to help me remember to do the simple task of drinking water.

I like water bottles. Stainless steel, of course. For some reason, when I buy a new one, I feel empowered and want to drink as much water as my body can handle. Anyone else get way too excited for a new water bottle, or am I just crazy? I find one I love and carry it with me wherever possible. I cycle out my collection to ensure that I continue the “new water bottle” feeling.

Keeping track of how many ounces I drink a day helps me see my progress and feel proud of myself. Like a point system, keeping track gets me excited about earning more stars. I think it would be a really good idea to have a goal to work toward in a week to earn a small prize like a new pair of earrings, or better yet, a new oil.

Essential oils can add fun flavor to water, so to help me get through my water goals, I like to mix it up with different flavors. Oddly, peppermint is really good. All citrus oils are also good, including citrus fresh, orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, and lime. Check out one of my first posts about adding oils to beverages for more ideas. Remember that only one to two drops is necessary for about 16-32 ounces of water. A little oil goes a long way. If your water tastes too strong or oily, knock down the amount of oil you are adding.

Young Living oils are the only oils you should ingest, as they truly one hundred percent pure. It is important to remember that oils can leech into plastic so stainless steel is the best bet for holding water with oils in it. Stainless steel is much better than plastic anyway and keeps drinks cooler or warmer longer without nasty chemicals being pushed into our water.

What is your favorite summer drink made with oils?

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Orange Creamsicle Scrub

I’m back on my DIY spree! Be prepared for a swarm of posts on the various stuff I put together right in my kitchen. Wanna be like the cool kids? Try some of the recipes with me! I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Last night I had a really fun Ladies’ Night Out vendor event at a local chiropractic office. We were to bring samples for each of the women who came and I was at a loss on what I should make. I decided on a “sleepy” rub with lavender and stress away, an “achy” rub with panaway and peppermint, and my favorite, a creamsicle scrub. The scrub is divine, spectacular, beautiful, amazing, and outrageously good. Like, I really can’t even begin to describe just how good it smelled. I wish I could waft it under each of your noses as you read this. I am not even kidding. Am I crazy? Nah, this scrub is just that good. Guess you’ll have to try it out to see what I mean!

It was super simple too! Just 1/4 cup of coconut oil (melted for easier mixing), 3/4 cup of sugar (bigger grain is better, but I used smaller grain with a great result), 1 capful of vanilla extract (found at any grocery store) and 10 drops orange. That’s it! Orange is a really cheap oil too, so this scrub is cost effective and yummy smelling! I mean really, how could you go wrong with orange and vanilla? So calming, so aromatically amazing, so wonderful in general.

What are you waiting for? Get to scrubbin’!

Do you have any scrub “flavor” suggestions for me? Tell me in the comments below! I love to hear what’s on your guy’s minds.

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.

Me? Get a Sunburn? Never! Oh, Wait. How Can I fix it?

How is it the middle of June already? I feel like I’m going to blink and winter will be here. Anyone else in the same boat? These last few weeks have been such a blur for me and with the death of a friend and my grandmother. I feel like everything is going at a million miles a minute. My life has kind of turned upside down, but luckily I have essential oils to help keep me at least half sane.

Remember that post recently about the sunburn spray? I didn’t have any of it with me after this weekend’s burns (I know, I know. Sunblock is SO important but I somehow forgot in the midst of everything- but hey, at least I got my daughter smothered in it), so I ended up using coconut oil, tea tree, and lavender. It actually worked really well. I have it stashed in the wee one’s diaper bag because it’s a pretty versatile mix and it comes in handy with skin problem situations like diaper rashes and scrapes, as well as sunburns, apparently.

My skin was slightly, um, super burned in random places like the back of my knees and neck. No where else seemed to get hit though. It hurt so bad to walk around and I needed to get rid of that nasty feeling fast. I figured since I had that mix with me I might as well give it a shot. Thankfully, it helped take away the sting and over the course of the evening, lessened the red tone of the sun’s markings. It no longer hurt to walk and I was back in business!

Remember, sunblock is super important. I can’t stress that enough. Don’t ruin your skin, please. But, if you do end up getting a burn, try either the sunburn spray or this cream to help with the irritations that come along with burns. You will thank me. You’re welcome in advance.

Do you have any new and exciting summer plans? Tell us about them in the comments! Maybe we’ll vote on who has the most exciting plans 🙂 I know I won’t be the winner! Here’s to serving coffee and writing.

This is my personal testimony. Please consult with your physician prior to using any kind of natural remedy or supplement.

To order oils, click here. You can order as a retail member for full price, or sign up as a wholesale member and purchase the premium starter kit to get 24% off any purchase forever. More information on that here.