I truly love baking. I rather bake than cook, and I rather bake goodies that are packed with fruits, nuts & berries.
I know there is always that feeling of guilt that creeps to our head when eating desserts, but I believe when we are baking our own cakes and cookies, we are more aware and use better and healthier ingredients.
For example, scones with cranberries and raisins, covered with vanilla glaze are great as dessert, and when served with a mixture of strawberry jelly and cream cheese or butter and honey is a scrumptious breakfast.
And if you love your coffee in the morning, dunking your scone in a hot cup of coffee is a great way to start your morning. 🌞
Click on the video and watch how I serve the scones.😋👍
Healthy looking hair is important at any age. It is true as we get older our skin, and hair can change drastically, and not because we are getting older, but because of poor diet and the side effects of certain medications that we are forced to take.
Changing to a healthier diet can be the easiest solution, and eliminating stress and anxiety maybe the most difficult to achieve.
To start with the easiest changes, we need to wash our hair often to get rid of the oil that can weaken the hair follicles. And with daily brushing we are giving our scalp a message and moving oil from our roots keeping our scalp.
Healthy diet with good sleep habits are also important for healthy hair growth.
Using miniral oils while messaging can help too. Here are 3 DIY recipes :
1- One tablespoon of almond oil, three to four drops of rosemary essential oil and peppermint essential oil. Mix them together and rub it into your scalp to stimulate hair growth.
2- Message your scalp every morning with a mix of three ounces of cayenne pepper and 1/5 of vodka. Rub a small amount to your scalp once every morning to help stimulate hair follicles by helping blood circulation.
3- Use castor oil, mix one ounce of castor oil with four drops of rosemary essential oil and massaging it into your scalp. Rinse out after 30 to 45 minutes. Caster oil Is rich in Omega-9 fatty acids and vitamin E that helps with hair growth.
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Scents can improve our mood and energize us. Citrus smells not only have a positive effect on our mood, they can also reduce stress and anxiety. When peeling an orange, it is hard to avoid the fruity smell dispersing through the air and its oil on your hands.
Beside enjoying a peeled orange, there is also orange marmalade, candied oranges, and orange oil to enjoy.
Making orange oil is easy and a great way to use all the beautiful orange peels. All you need is patience to peel the pith off the skin and leaving it to dry for a few days. Fill a glass jar with the dry peels and add vodka, leaving a small space between the lid and the orange peels.
Keep the jar away from light and shake it twice a day for 2-4 days. Open the lid and cover with a paper towel for the alcohol to evaporate for another day. The next day, drain the oranges using a coffee filter to get rid of sediment, then discard the oranges.
Orange oil can help protect and heal skin, and promote collagen. Add 8-10 drops of orange oil to 1/4 cup of epsom salt to running bath water for a relaxing bath.
You can also substitute the oranges for lemons or grapefruits. Enjoy the fruity smell.
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Grocery shopping is not one of my favorite things on my to do list. But every now and then, it turns out to be a lovely experience.
A few days ago when I was running through isles to pick up some vegetables, I froze when the wonderful sweet smell of peaches hit my senses. To be honest, these are the small things that make summer bearable. Sweet peaches, juicy watermelons, popsicles, grilled corn on the cob, and summer gardening. Yes, they are mostly food related, but any thing else involving the outdoors means facing the heat.
Going back to the sweet peaches, I planned on baking a peach cobbler, a bowl of fruit salad for a cool dessert, grill them as a side dish, and for breakfast mix it with yogurt.
Enjoy the peaches this summer.🍑
Peach cobbler
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A garden lined with flowering plants, carefully lined, and color coordinated makes me admire the gardener who invested time and patience to create it.
How we choose Our flowers, herbs, and even the flower pots in our garden is a reflection of our personality. Colors of our flowering plants, the shape of our garden, choosing perennials or annuals sends a signal of how we think and see the world around us.
When I choose to create a garden I pay attention to how the sun will pour over the space, and how they are placed with the older plants. When I figure that out I start visiting my nurseries and purchase my plants based on what I fall in love with. Color, shape, how rare they are, or replacing an old plant that didn’t survive the winter.
Gaura lindheimeri, is one of my most favorite large flowering plants. They have a free-flowing, angelic personality that my eyes crave to see.
Geraniums are my trustworthy plants; they are bold, resilient, long lasting, and beautiful on their own in any pot. No matter how wilted and unkept they are, I grab them from clearance racks and bring them back to life.
There are many annuals I repeat every year like impatiens for my shady corners. They spread and bloom all summer and their colors add a pop to forgotten corners.
Next time you walk by a garden after you admire the hard work it took to create it, you can try to guess the personality of the gardener behind it.
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Coneflowers, Lilies, Daisies, Petunias are beautiful colorful bunch for your summer garden.
Summer colorful blooms
The blooms of these beautiful summer flowers are large, with mild perfume that bloom through summer. With little attention, moderate watering and some grooming these flowering plants will give you the chance to take beautiful photos of your garden, and capture their color and beautifully shaped blooms.
I love creating a permanent space for perennials in my garden. The excitement, and the chance to see them pop up in spring and come to full bloom in early summer is so gratifying.
By the way petunias are annuals. Enjoy your summer garden. 🌷🌞
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You just watched a disappointed bee : “Waite didn’t you plant lavender for me? I though we were sharing the flowers?!” It seems like you clipped all the flowers ?!”
😩 😤 🥺 🐝
There are 47 known species of lavender plants in the mint family. Lavender requires a well drained soil and a very little moisture. As much as I enjoy my lavender plants, it took me a few years to bring a couple to full bloom. Too much rain leaves them with moldy stems, and they need mild winters
Early summer when lavender blooms start to pop open I use them in flower arrangements and dry them for potpourris. Their beautiful perfume add a crisp freshness to my rooms, and a summer look to flower arrangements.
Use the link below if you would like to see organic lavender products at Amazon.
It is not easy to keep our high traffic rooms at our home clean, and organized. Our kitchen, living room, bathrooms can look rundown and dull, even if they are cleaned and put together at the end of each day. Our home sometimes needs a fresh look, or a touch of color.
Adding a tray or a platter with colorful rocks, and sea shells can help you put together an interesting accent piece for color and a fresh look. If it is the play room and your kids can help you create an accent piece or a tray with candles, to help you relax in a cozy corner with a good book.
You can put together :
1- A deep platter or a tray
2- Cut flowers
3- dry flowers
4- rocks
5- sea shells
6- candles
7- botanical oils
8- herbs
Please watch my video on how to create these accent pieces, just click on the link below:
we decided on what we are cooking for dinner, and for dessert, maybe a cookie, or ice cream, but you can add so much creativity to bunch of everything when you pour, yes pour chocolate sauce on the top.
We can leave our picky eaters to pull their own dessert together but mixing fresh fruits, and nuts or crumbled graham crackers.
Here is a list of our yummy delicious favorites, but this is a chance to get creative:
1- Bananas, peaches, berries..
2- coffee cakes, sponge cake..
3- waffles, pancakes..
4- favorite cereals: graham cereal, mini wheats..
5- walnuts, almonds, raisins…
6- ice cream, whipped cream…
Chocolate sauce recipe:
In a sauce pan
Mix 1/2 cup of unsweetened coco with 1 cup sugar until you don’t see any lumps
Add 1/8 tsp salt
Add 1/2 cup of cold water
Bring to boil over medium high, reduce heat let it simmer constantly stir for 40 seconds. Remove, let it cool add 11/2 tsp of vanilla.
Enjoy it cold or warm.
Just click below to watch the video on how to prepare this chocolaty sauce.
The sound of rain distracts our brain activity and leads us to a state of relaxation. Many of us listen to nature sounds to relax or fall sleep, and listening to thunder storms or falling rain is proven to help with falling sleep and staying sleep. Listening to rain distracts our focus to any other sounds or thoughts, and brings us to a place where all we hear is the falling rain drops.
