Spring Time Pests- Spiders and Mice!

What is your least favorite sprint time pest?

Mine are probably the spiders! Oh my gosh, and we get some nasty looking spiders here. My husband always tries to convince me to leave them be because they eat the other bugs, but seriously, I'd rather have the flies than spiders. Do you want Hobo spiders and Wolf spiders, and those black furry ones with the red spots wandering around with your kids? No way!

Next to spiders, I just had a mouse in my house! I know mice are probably more irrational to hate then spiders, but I really don't like them, especially scurrying around my house. This one ran into the laundry room, and I'm assuming, behind the washing machine and got into the wall, I haven't seen him since.

But here's the thing, I don't want either in my house. And I don't want dangerous spiders around where my kids play outside. So outside, I know the snakes will take care of the mice, but what about the spiders? I tried having my house sprayed outside for spiders, but I was paying a ton of money, and within weeks of the spraying the spiders were back. So I needed alternatives badly!

Peppermint oil!

Peppermint oil repels spiders and mice! My life saver (especially when I lived in the basement)!

Now, usually I like to back up my claims with scientific research, but so far I haven't found any for peppermint oil repelling spiders and mice. It appears that they just don't like the smell, or for spiders, something in the chemical composition deters them. I've seen a huge difference in the amount of spiders I have inside when I spray my house with peppermint oil.

So here's how you make your peppermint spray:

Spray bottle (I prefer a 32oz)
Half full water
Half full vinegar
30 drops of peppermint essential oil (fill out my contact sheet to find out what I use)
1 tsp. Epsom salt (helps to mix the oil with the water)

Shake really well and you're good to go. Spray on door frames, baseboards, and windows, and anywhere else you might find spiders and love your spider free life :)

What are your pest free hacks?

No Makeup and Beyond Challenge!

Update: The group is all set up for this challenge, you can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005118292910434/ The challenge will officially begin on April 1st, but I'll be adding posts every few days to get us ready :) Hope you all join us!


Why do you wear makeup? Lately, I've been thinking about how I portray myself to my kids and to others. I have 3 girls and they all love to wear makeup, but my 2 year old especially will ask for makeup and then say "Now I look beautiful." Now, I don't wear makeup all the time, and even when I do it's not very much, but the fact that she already feels like she needs makeup or cute clothes or jewelry to look beautiful is really sad to me.

So, April 1st, I'm starting a No Makeup and Beyond Challenge! This challenge is open to everyone, I'll have a monthly challenge where you can earn points in various ways (posting pictures and posts, participating in daily/weekly challenges). I'll also show the different products I'm using for my body and skin, along with posting daily workouts, recipes, and ideas for beauty inside and out! I personally will be posting No Makeup pictures everyday. 

I know this will be an amazing time for me, and all those who join me, to truly love ourselves for who we are! Not for the clothes we wear or the makeup we cover our faces with, but our personalities, and loving our bodies for what they are now.

More information will be coming, along with
a Facebook group/event page for the challenge. I hope you'll join me on the awesome journey!

I'm Back!!!!

Good Morning!

I have been off for a long time as I've been learning how to make sure my posts are compliant with FDA guidelines  for essential oil use. I'm really excited to get back into sharing with you what I love so much! And we're going to go into so much more than just essential oils, we're talking about whole wellness here- from your physical body to your emotions, to your household and your recipes, to your kids and their welfare. I am seriously so excited to get back into writing for you guys, I've truly missed it!

Join us for an Essential Oils Open House on March 24, in Orem, Ut. We'll have tables and displays set up, along with mini classes, and FREE chair massages.

PLUS, let us know that you saw the flyer on my blog and you'll receive a sample of you choice of *essential oil!


**essential oils sample may exclude frankincense, helichrysum, myrrh, melissa, hawaiin sandalwood, sandalwood, immortelle. List is subject to change.

Olaf loves Summer!

I made this adorable (well I think its adorable!) cake for my daughter's birthday, made with essential oils! So super easy and tasted delicious! All I did was take a normal white cake mix and add 10 drops of Lime essential oil to the batter. I chose lime to compliment the strawberry filling I used in the middle, but you could use Lemon, Wild Orange, Grapefruit, or even something a little spicy like Cinnamon (adjust how many drops you use for stronger essential oils). I also added 2 drops of Lime to the frosting (I just used a can of frosting) and viola, an awesome tasting cake that everybody loved!

Note: I started with 3 drops of lime to the batter and worked up from there. Always start with a very small amount of essential oils in ALL your cooking. Each food absorbs the flavor differently, for example, when I make guacamole I use 1-3 drops of lime oil, but for the cake batter I needed 10 drops for the desired flavor.

The magic of Lime

Originally posted 6/16/14

Started off this morning by not wanting to get up, feeling too tired to even want to make breakfast (although I have to anyway), and not really feeling up to all my Monday chores that needed to be done. I put a couple drops of Lime essential oil into my diffuser and went to work making some breakfast for my kids. Within just a few minutes I could feel my energy levels coming up, while feeling happier and calmer than just a few minutes before.

Lime is amazing for its uplifting scent that can literally improve your mood within minutes, if not seconds. While it can be used in food (and I often do), I especially love the fragrance. The Modern Essentials book lists Lime as helping to "overcome exhaustion, depression, and listlessness;" I also use Lime to clean with, just a couple drops on a sponge or rag and clean your stove or counters. Its fresh, all natural, and cleans grease just as well as any soap. Depending on how I'm feeling when I make my cleaners and air fresheners, I might also put some lime oil in them.

Addition 12/8/14
I have been loving lime this winter! In the mornings I diffuse 3 drops of lime with 2 drops of On Guard essential oil blend from doTERRA and I can tell you it makes a huge difference in my attitude and my kids attitude. The mornings I forget, my 6 year old is grumpy and does not want to get ready for school. The mornings I get it going right away we have no fights, no crying or whining. Peace and happiness, and uplifting attitudes :)

Hello Bloggers!

Hi Everyone! I'm so excited to join blogger and share my experiences with you! I've previously written on another blog site so I'll be moving many of my posts over here. If you have any questions or comments about my posts, or about essential oils in general, please feel free to post them. I love to hear everyone's experiences, thoughts, and opinions, and look forward to lots of great conversations!