Alcohol-based perfumes never sounded attractive to me. I always thought using them would make me smell like I just came from the bar, which is generally not the vibe I am going for. This aversion persisted until I discovered tonka beans (Dipteryx odorata) and learned that alcohol extraction is the best way to bring out their dreamy aroma! Tonka beans are an excellent alternative to vanilla beans in aromatherapy creations and are roughly five times less expensive than vanilla, so you can save your true vanilla for cooking and use tonka beans to get those highly coveted notes for perfumery.

I have to admit, it was really difficult for me to believe that soap nuts could actually work. My skepticism caused me to walk by them at my local natural grocery store for years. I liked the idea of an all-natural laundry solution, but I figured soap nuts would not be effective enough to take on the heavily soiled laundry from homesteading and an overall active lifestyle. 

When it comes to hair care, a routine of deep conditioning can make a huge difference in the health and appearance of your hair and scalp. Choosing the right oils is one of the key parts of this process, so I have broken down some of my favorite oils for hair care and shared a luscious hot oil treatment that I formulated for weekly use. 

Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with many herbs. Some come and go, others stick with me day after day once they’ve become part of my life. This nourishing infusion blend weaves together four of my long-term herbal allies. As a go-to for drinking daily, it is beloved by many in my extended community.

Many of us experience busy mornings, juggling personal preparations with the needs of our children and other responsibilities. But it’s important to make time for breakfast, to give your body something substantial to solidly start your day. By making blends ahead of time, you can quickly and easily nourish yourself with either a hearty oatmeal blend or a lighter chia blend, topped with nuts. You

can also mix and match my “power powder” herbal blends according to your seasonal needs and individual constitution. Have fun, create something delicious in bulk, and store it in a big jar to easily and quickly satisfy your daily breakfast needs! 

I am not known for my ability to sit still. I am always moving, shaking, and thinking of all of the things that need to get done. This is the main reason that meditation has always been a bit of a struggle for me. I really enjoy it and see its vast benefits, but this act of slowing down does not come easily to me. So, I was delighted to discover that I could reach for some trusted herbal allies to help me slow down, break the cycle of an overactive mind, and sit still for longer than five minutes.

Photos courtesy of Kiva Rose Hardin

Our botanical sanctuary and primitive homestead in the mountains of New Mexico runs on solar power, and during these shortest days of the year, solar can be in short supply. While this can make keeping up with online work more challenging, it also means we’re more likely to take advantage of the quiet and dark to reflect and reset. As I write this, our usually calf-deep river is raging through the narrow mountain canyon, too deep and fast to cross even in a kayak, much less on foot. The clouds are thick overhead and freezing rain pelts the gray skeletons of the cottonwoods.

When throwing a party, the bulk of my planning revolves around three main things: the tasty foods and craft cocktails/mocktails I will be serving; the parts of my home that need deep cleaning before the big day; and how to make the space smell and feel fresh and inviting. On this list, my favorite part is choosing my home fragrance! People often underestimate the power of scent or just don’t know where to start. With that in mind, I'm sharing some of my favorite tricks and recipes for freshening up a space.

Each year around the holidays, I create a new lip balm recipe to share on both the Mountain Rose Herbs blog and with my friends and family. They make a great stocking stuffer and the people in my life enjoy seeing what I’ve come up with for the season. I love that lip balms can be made in bulk for sharing, and I love this fun and useful expression of my craft.

A few months back, our friend Janice Cox shared a luscious bath truffle recipe from her book, Beautiful Flowers. After making it several times, I embarked on a journey to create other fun variations from the base recipe. Historically, I have loved making bath bombs, and they make exceptional gifts, but they can also be finicky, even for the well-trained bath bomber. Bath truffles, on the other hand, are a bit easier to work with and contain more rich and hydrating oils and butters. Like bath bombs, bath truffles still fizz and can be customized with different scents, but they hold their shape easier.

My mother used to tie dried lavender flowers into squares of cloth to make little lavender pouches and then she tucked them into her shoes. Not only did this freshen her footwear, it also meant that every time anyone opened her closet door, the lovely, calming scent of lavender drifted out into the room. This botanical shoe-freshening method was a charming fix for her professional office shoes, but wouldn’t have been enough for the boots and shoes I wear to work in my yard or to go hiking in. At the end of a long winter day outside in the Western Oregon rain and mud, my rubber homestead boots and hearty hiking boots need more than a freshener; they need a deodorizer. That’s where this time-tested, natural boot and shoe deodorizer is a godsend. It works on the same principle as the lovely lavender packets my mother used, but brings the deodorizing power of baking soda, rosemary, and sage to the task.