The Spa Treatment

I've been tucked away in my little corner of the house working on none other than...lavender crafts, of course!  Everything from more lavender wands, more lavender pomanders, lavender "kitty-kat" sachets and bundling lavender.  Last week, I decided I needed to give myself a break and come up for air by working on lavender in the kitchen rather than down in the basement.  At least the kitchen offers a window to look out upon the lavender beds for even more lavender inspiration beyond the several dozen or so sewing projects and floral arrangements I'm already working on down in my workroom.

Apparently, the fresh, clean scent of lavender has really gone to my head while also making countless batches of lavender soap.  While in the kitchen I've  taken it a few steps further and delved into the making of two new items to add to my lavender repertoire and they are Lavender Mineral Bath Salts and a truly, beautifully textured English Lavender Bath for the bath. 

The kitchen smelled of lavender fields on a warm spring day somewhere in the heart of the English Countryside...either that or, I was in a hallucinogenic state after a couple of long days spent mixing and blending various exotic salts, oat meal, lavender and essential oils together. Lavender owes it's name to the Latin word, "lavare" - to wash - a reference in it's use in scenting water for bathing so, for me, it seems only fitting to honor this ancient herb by making a few bath items with it and offering them here in the Blooming Hill Shop. 

However, I didn't stop there.  My creative juices were flowing at that point so, I got bolder still and blended sugar, whole vanilla beans and lavender to make Lavender Vanilla Sugar, to sprinkle on everything from berries and pancakes to cereal and a good strong cup of tea.  After a good long soak in the tub, anyone could use a little comfort food, right?  You could say I'm on a lavender high--or maybe even a lavender bender, and I'm loving it!  I am beginning to realize, however, that a little lavender can go a long way, so just a little sprinkled on my cereal and berries is quite enough to give them a full-bodied flavor. That, and I don't want to end up in some 12-step program for lavender over-use...although I think that might be a good thing.

And, to keep things simple, I thought I should also have just plain lavender on hand, down in the shop too.  So, now I have jars filled with just plain lavender, great for culinary use, and I even have it to sell loose, by the scoop, as well.    After all, lavender, in it's purest form is probably one of the prettiest things to behold.  At least I think so, anyway...

So, here I am...enveloped in almost all things lavender, once again. There is an old saying that says something about seeing "the world through rose-colored glasses" which I think refers to feeling happy and being positive all of the time.  I think to enhance that feeling, enveloping yourself in at least some lavender can probably make you feel pretty rosy--in a purple haze sort of way--too.