Our Blog

Over the years, we’ve received questions about taking our DIY Four Thieves Oil Blend internally. The answer, in case you’re wondering, is no—we never recommend ingesting essential oils because they are highly concentrated. Those questions got us thinking though, and we’re excited to share a DIY Four Thieves vinegar formula that can be taken by the spoonful, added to water, or used in place of regular vinegars in a variety of recipes, including vinaigrettes, marinades, sauces, etc. Also, because it is a vinegar base, this delicious, versatile edible makes a very effective, fantastically-scented spray cleaner.

Brassicas—that genus of plants in the mustard family that includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts, among others—have not always been my vegetables of choice. I blame the fact that I was a child of the 70’s: bell bottoms, 8-track tapes, rotary phones…and seriously overcooked vegetables. My father was considered a “health nut” who insisted we eat whole grains and sprouted seeds, and that we take a daily dose of what he called mushroom tea, now commonly known as kombucha. However, outside of our home, it was a weird time for food, an era when a popular party and potluck dish called “Watergate Salad” was made from a horror list of ingredients that included marshmallows, instant pistachio pudding, and a whipped topping of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. But, in my opinion, it was the abused vegetables that were the worst. Bowls of once healthful veggies were commonly presented as limp, cooked-to-death wastelands. No wonder I spent years thinking I didn’t like brassicas.

A fantastic scrub butter like Neroli or Awapuhi leaves the skin feeling moisturized, exfoliated, and loved—these body scrubs are a wonderful way to practice self care! However, for some people (like me), salt- and sugar-based body scrubs aren’t as ideal. No matter how gentle I am, the intensity of salts and sugars rubbed into my skin always leaves me feeling like I lost some epidermis that I actually wanted to keep. This has become truer as I’ve aged. Exfoliation is important for happy skin, but I want a gentler touch these days… which explains my recent quest to perfect a DIY “microderm” body scrub that does a good job, but dials back some of the scrubbing fierceness of sugars and salts.

I just returned from a three-week vacation, and while the trip was fantastic, it's been a challenge getting my body back into a healthy balance since I've gotten home. I’m playing catch-up with work, running late on gardening must-dos, and haven’t taken the time to plan ahead on how I’m eating—all of which have impacted my appetite and digestive health.

Facial toners have come a long way since the 1990s, when the most common commercial varieties (often marketed to teenagers) used high concentrations of alcohol to help remove oil from the skin. Purported to reduce acne, they were purposely drying and too astringent for most skin types. Today’s facial toners with natural ingredients, on the other hand, provide benefits that can help to maintain the normal pH and hydration of our skin, both of which are essential to maintaining the moisture and elasticity that gives our complexions a smooth, healthy appearance. 

Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we understand that the modern commercialization of Mother’s Day sometimes makes it easy to forget that this holiday is rooted in age-old celebrations from around the world. One of the most ancient “mother holidays” was a festival held by the Greeks in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. At dawn, people made offerings of cakes, drinks, and flowers in her honor. Other celebrations, like the sixteenth century “Mothering Sunday,” evolved over the centuries to become a day in which grown children visited home and little ones picked flowers for their mothers. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

My family loves fruity vinegars. We use them multiple times a week in vinaigrettes, marinades, barbecue sauces, sipping vinegars, and shrub cocktails.

As a parent, I found an enormous amount of joy in watching my babies develop and grow. Teething, however, was not one of the happy times. Fussy, cranky, drooling, tearful babies rend a parent’s heart and stretch everyone’s patience. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless while your child suffers.

When I was growing up in the mountains, my father gave me two “winter tips” that were passed down to him from his parents and grandparents. First, keep a pot of water on the wood stove as a sort of rustic humidifier to moisten the dry air that happens in homes shut up tight against the winter cold. This helped avoid the dry mucous membranes and throats that would otherwise plague us. And second, keep a jar of raw, local honey in the cupboard at all times, as this beautiful gift from the bees does wonders to soothe an irritated throat. With the cold weather now upon us here in western Oregon, I’m reminded of that steaming pot of water, stoking the fire against chilly nights, and Papa handing me a spoonful of honey before I brushed my teeth for bed.

If you’ve ever dried herbs in your home, or arranged aromatic resins in an incense dish, or placed a jar of lavender stems on a shelf, you know that herbs and spices—as well as adding compelling flavors to food and providing healthful benefits to our bodies—bring a natural beauty and delicious fragrance to our homes. And when you put those natural ingredients into the hands of a master crafter, you can end up with unique herbal decorations that are simple to do even for those of us who aren’t so “crafty.”