Vanilla is both unassuming, yet utterly magical. As a child, I remember believing that vanilla was a plain or even boring flavor. Now as an adult, I realize that nothing could be further from the truth. With its delicate and creamy flavor, vanilla is not only enchanting on its own, but it also has the power to draw out and enhance any other flavor that it is paired with. I find myself adding vanilla extract to matcha, hot cocoa, coffee, moon milk, oatmeal, chia pudding, and, of course, almost all my baking projects. With such a variety of uses, it is no wonder that I like to make sure that vanilla extract is well-stocked in my cupboard, which is why I have taken to crafting my own in larger batches. Vanilla extract is surprisingly easy to make at home—all you need is whole vanilla beans, alcohol, and a jar. It also makes an awesome DIY gift!

As a person who aims to lead a sustainable lifestyle, I often find myself reflecting on the areas of my life where I can make sustainable swaps for common single-use items. While assessing my self-care routines, I noticed that my shower was the place that I had the most single-use plastic bottles. I also realized that I had the infamous “graveyard” of haircare products that I had tried but which, for one reason or another, hadn’t worked for me. Long story short, it was way more plastic than I was comfortable with having in my otherwise green household.

Each year around this time, I create a new wax melt and candle recipe to celebrate the season. I love the smells of fall, but I often yearn for something other than the stereotypical cinnamon or pumpkin spice “flavors” you find most anywhere. Last year, I made an Autumn Breeze Blend, that was meant to bring fresh autumn air into my home. This year, I went all out on a new concept that brought me deeper into the woods to replicate the essence of an autumn hike.

You may be familiar with castor oil for its long-standing reputation within the beauty industry as the secret weapon for maintaining luscious hair and providing deep moisture and protection for the skin. However, you likely aren’t as familiar with this precious oil’s fascinating history and countless additional applications. Along with being an effective humectant for scalp and hair, castor oil has been utilized throughout history in everything from cosmetics to leather tanning. Interestingly enough, castor oil has in recent years even been considered as a desirable substitute for petroleum resources used in the fuel production industry!

This nourishing facial serum is a very special one in my recipe book. Made with four of my favorite skin care oils, this blend is deeply hydrating and yields a lovely bronzing hue that can be tailored to many skin tones. The star of this recipe is sea buckthorn oil, which in my opinion, is an underutilized oil that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. While most skin care oils are pressed from the seeds of a given plant, sea buckthorn oil is pressed from the seeds and berries which yields a vibrant golden hue and contains abundant antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Sea buckthorn oil also contains linoleic acid which has been shown to support the skin’s lipid barrier,  helping to reduce overall moisture loss. For all of these reasons, it remains high on my list of favorite skin care ingredients.

Something that I have loved since childhood is “potion” making—mysterious liquids and substances being mixed together to create something new holds a very particular appeal to me. Of course, as a kid it was both the allure of creating something magical and the allure of creating messes that endured the activity. As an adult the draw has become a bit more practical and ever so slightly neater, however the joy of crafting botanically inspired concoctions has remained. So, when I stumbled across the Queen of Hungary Water recipe, I was immediately enchanted. This recipe is rooted in tradition and folklore and spoke to both to the adult crafter in me and my whimsical inner child who is still searching for that magic.

Skincare is all about balance. This is the basis of each natural skin care class that I teach. We should never be in battle with our skin, but rather, aim to help it maintain the balance it seeks. The cosmetics industry tells us the opposite. It tells us to use this cream for "anti-aging" or that treatment to "fight acne". They also push us into using harsh, drying soaps for our skin, especially oily skin. But did you know that oily skin is most commonly the skin’s natural defense to being too dry skin? In other words, the cleansers used to get rid of oil are actually perpetuating the problem.  
 

When it comes to lip balm, I’m a girl who likes to have options. Different aromas and hydration levels enhance my self-care in different ways. When I am going camping or will be spending a lot of time in the sun, I reach for a summer lip gloss recipe that gives me light coverage, but won’t melt in the sun. When I’m still feeling the summer vibes but want some more hydration than the gloss can offer, I craft ones that are more hydrating and that have longer staying power.

When I’m about to embark on a summer adventure, I always do the final check before walking out the door—keys, wallet, water, and lip balm. Being ill-equipped with any of these staples puts a real damper on my ability to take impromptu diversions on the roads less traveled.

Stumbling upon a pristinely white piece of fabric is an uncommon, likely even nonexistent occurrence around my household. White tea towels, clothes, bed sheets, and just about every milky-toned fabric in between has, somewhere down the line, fallen victim to my highly mess-prone and creativity-hungry hands. Whether it be my unintentionally stained “coffee tie dye” kitchen towels or my most beloved DIY indigo-dyed pants, altering the original hue of fabrics is one of my favorite ways to express myself creatively.