HOLIDAY SCENTS

One of the things I love most about diffusing essential oils is matching my mood or the season to the oils I decide to use. The holiday season is all about embracing the warmth of cozy moments, the joy of togetherness and the fresh start of a new year to come and I like to capture the magic of the season with essential oils.

Here's how to transform your space with the beauty of essential oils—because the holidays deserve to smell as good as they feel! 

I used to be obsessed with all the holiday candles — the brown sugar cookie, pine tree, Christmas cookie vibes… all of it. But once I found Christmas Spirit, I never looked back. It’s a cozy blend of Cinnamon Bark, Spruce, and Orange, and it smells like walking into a Hallmark movie. Sweet, bright, and a little bit nostalgic — perfect for making your home feel warm and festive without lighting a single candle. 

JOY is my “Christmas Elf” oil. It’s a bright, sweet blend with Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Jasmine, Rose, and citrus oils like Bergamot, Lemon, and Tangerine. The scent is fruity, floral, and happy—like twinkle lights and holiday music in a bottle.

I love diffusing Joy when I want our home to feel like the season I imagined as a kid… cozy, playful, and full of little moments that make me smile. 

Upgrade your citrus blends for the holiday season! 

Bergamot is a soft, dreamy citrus oil that adds a little sparkle to any blend. It’s subtle, cozy, and somehow feels extra magical this time of year.

It pairs beautifully with all your favorites:

• Bergamot + Thieves

• Bergamot + Peppermint

• Bergamot + NLBS

Try it in your diffuser for a sweet, comforting holiday twist. 

The Perfect Christmas Tree Scent! Northern Lights Black Spruce smells like a sweet, magical spruce tree on a snowy winter night — cozy, fresh, and a little bit woodsy. Its crisp, masculine aroma makes any space feel grounded and peaceful, like taking a quiet walk through a winter forest.

Try diffusing it with Frankincense or Lavender for a calm, beautiful atmosphere, or add it to a roller for the perfect winter perfume.

For a stunning personal scent, add 10 drops NLBS + 7 drops Orange + 1 drop Rose (or Palmarosa) to a roller bottle with carrier oil. It smells absolutely dreamy. 

Sacred Mountain is my newest obsession! It smells like a festive version of Valor—deep, woodsy, and a little sweet. It’s a blend of Black Spruce, Ylang Ylang, and Cedarwood, and it is just so, so easy to fall in love with.I love anything with Ylang Ylang—it smells so fruity and fun—but the mix of Spruce and Ylang Ylang together is next-level. It’s like a walk through a snow-dusted forest with twinkle lights overhead. 

Abundance is my holiday magic oil. It has a warm, spicy scent that smells incredible with Joy, Bergamot, Christmas Spirit, or Frankincense—like a cozy, dressed-up holiday blend. I love using it when I’m making my gratitude list or writing out goals. The scent becomes my little reminder of the “law of attraction” idea: what I choose to focus on, I notice more of. Abundance doesn’t do the work for me—but it marks the moment I decide to lean into overflow, possibility, and big dreams. 

The Simplified by Jacob + Kait line features essential oil blends created just for the smell of it. The Winter Collection comes with three limited-time scents for the most wonderful time of year. Between giving gifts, gathering with loved ones and creating all the magic moments in between, make the most of this glowing season with Winter Spa, Pink Champagne and Candy Cane essential oil blends. 

While many holiday-scented candles and air fresheners contain harmful chemicals that can pollute your home, these winter essential oil blends are made exclusively with good, clean, sustainably sourced and naturally derived ingredients. 

• Winter Spa™ essential oil blend, 10 ml 
• Pink Champagne™ essential oil blend, 10 ml 
• Candy Cane™ essential oil blend, 10 ml

Try these fun diffuser blends to get into the holiday spirit! 

Each one brings its own festive vibe—sweet, cozy, bright, or classic. Mix and match to make your home smell magical all season long!

Santa’s Soda Shop: PanAway + Stress Away

Silent Night: Frankincense + Lavender + Peace & Calming

Winter Wellness: Thieves + Lemon + Frankincense

Candy Cane Lane: Peppermint + Stress Away

Winter Air: Lemon + Citrus Fresh + Peppermint

It’s a Wonderful Life: Valor + Citrus Fresh

Fresh Gingerbread: Thieves + Stress Away

Buddy the Elf: Stress Away + Christmas Spirit + Peppermint

North Pole: Raven + Peppermint

Under the Mistletoe: Stress Away + Citrus Fresh + Frankincense

Family Vacation: Peace & Calming + Christmas Spirit

No More Grinch: Peppermint + Christmas Spirit

Christmas Day: Christmas Spirit + Frankincense

Happy Diffusing and Merry Christmas!

SHOP FESTIVE SCENTS HERE

HOLIDAY DIY

 Gifts made by hand are so special. They are infused with love because you took the time to slow down and MAKE something which is so rare these days. They are also precious because you infused them with your creative talents, and that is priceless. Here are some ideas for your very own DIY Christmas!

Ditch the scented candles this Christmas...

It's natural to want to make your home cozy and inviting over the holiday season. When you're preparing to host a party for family and friends this year, why not go non-toxic, and REALLY make your home healthy and welcoming?

Did you know that there are toxins in your air fresheners and scented candles? Fresh and clean smelling air is always the goal for setting the mood during the holidays, but spraying air fresheners, using plug ins, and lighting those candles can also cause a lot of harm. The synthetic fragrance in these types of products can cause serious respiratory, reproductive, and endocrine problems.

A safer, clean air option is to use pure, therapeutic grade essential oils. Diffusing Young Living Essential Oils in an ultrasonic diffuser combines the advantages of a humidifier, air purifier, atomizer, and aromatherapy diffuser into one by breaking a mixture of essential oils and water into millions of microparticles and diffusing them into the air. Diffusing high quality essential oils provides a safe and effective method for purifying and scenting the air in your home. It is a fantastic alternative to harmful air fresheners, candles, and plug ins.

My favourite Young Living Essential Oil Blend to diffuse during the holidays is Christmas Spirit. 

You can order this and many other therapeutic grade essential oils by becoming a Young Living member (for FREE) ~ for more info visit my website.

You can also find out how to get a sweet Young Living Raindrop diffuser as part of your Premium Starter Kit here.

Another DIY Clean Air Option is to fill a 4 oz spray bottle and fill with water. Add 3-5 drops Young Living essential oil of your choice. Spray the room!

SUPER SIMPLE (and fast) BROTH

I am just about to make a bit pot of turkey soup and wanted to let you in on an amazing tip:  pressure cookers make the BEST broth.  I even amazed myself last night when after Christmas dinner I proceeded to pick all the turkey meat off the bones, put away leftovers, and still have the energy (and desire) to make broth.  The reason for this my friends, is that I was dying to try making broth using my pressure cooker because I knew it would only take 30 minutes.  What?!  That's right, you can make the awesome, nutrient dense bone broth that we all know is so good for us, in as much time as it takes you to watch a sitcom on tv.  I know, I know, I even posted a vlog detailing the 12-24 hour bone broth marathons I used to have - but no longer.  I am a pressure cooker convert.  I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this was the best turkey broth I have ever made.  It even looked beautiful, a lovely golden yellow.  So, if you are out there with a fridge full of turkey and a carcass just begging to be made into soup, try using your pressure cooker - I swear you will thank me.  

TURKEY BROTH (that will raise the dead)

Okay, so just to pre-empt this recipe, my pressure cooker is big, but not huge, so I had to divide the carcass and only put half in my pot.  Don't worry, the other half is tucked in the freezer for another cold winter day when I am in the mood for soup.

1/2 organic free range turkey carcass

1 large organic carrot, chopped

2 organic leeks or onions, chopped

2 organic celery stalks, chopped

1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

organic black pepper, ground

optional- bay leaf, thyme

Method:  Place all ingredients in a pressure cooker pot, close lid and bring to high pressure, lower heat just enough to sustain pressure (like 1 or 2 your stove dial) and let cook for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the pressure to subside on it's own.  Strain and reserve stock for soup or freeze.  Another tip:  I like to freeze my stock in stainless steel bowls in the freezer and then I either forget about them and the bowls stay in the freezer until I make soup, or I tip the frozen stock chunks out and store them in a freezer container until ready to use - no plastic!)

HOLIDAY BAKING

It's hard to believe three months have passed since I last wrote a post on here.  Life became so FULL with so many important and exciting things that just seemed to overshadow so many other important and exciting things in my life.  But I'm back and happy to be in immersed deeply in the celebration of winter holidays.  I've been up late sanding, painting, and knitting special gifts for my little boys.  Days have been full with cookie baking and playing in the snow.  Speaking of which, today I am sharing a recipe for Spelt Shortbread that I made using coconut sugar.  Coconut sugar is quickly becoming my all time favorite sweetener because:

* it is natural, with no added chemicals or additives used to make it

* it is organic

* it is high in minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron - it also contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6

* it has twice the iron, four times the magnesium and over 10 times the amount of zinc of brown sugar

* it has a low glycemic index

* now readily available and can be used 1:1 for granulated sugar

What's not to like? 

SPELT SHORTBREAD

Makes 2 trays of cookies

2 cups organic spelt flour ( I used white and whole spelt flour)

2/3 cup organic white rice flour

1/2 cup organic coconut sugar (I grinded it to a finer powder in my Vita Mix)

1 cup organic unsalted butter

pinch of sea salt

Method:  Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers.  Turn onto a board sprinkled with flour, roll out and cut.  Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes.

LABOUR OF LOVE

Every year I have good intentions of making one of my mother's favorite confections - Chocolate Covered Orange Peel.  Unfortunately, it never makes it on to my very long To Do lists, well except for this year of course.  To make things a little more exciting, I chose to make Christmas Candy instead of Christmas Cookies because, well, quite frankly, I am bored with making cookies.  I guess my stint at running an organic bakery kind of wore that novelty thin.  So I got busy with the chocolate last week, and I am still reeling from the sugar highs.  First there wast the Chocolate Covered Toffee which was very exciting to make because toffee is one of my favorite foods.  This toffee is so much easier to eat too because it is made with Brown Rice Syrup, so it's not sicky sweet.  Ok, so it is sicky sweet, but not deathly sicky sweet.  After gorging on that, I made a batch of Soule Mama's well loved Chocolate Peppermint Candy, well because she can't stop talking about it, so it must be pretty good.  Well, she's right, it is very good.  I made the mistake of trying to make a second batch using homemade white chocolate, which definitely isn't as good as store bought, so in case you have any inclination of doing this yourself as well, I don't recommend it.  

The grand finale was the chocolate covered orange peel which I adapted from this recipe and then dipped in melted dark organic chocolate (if you make this recipe, be sure to omit the sugaring before you dip!) 

Good thing I was making those for someone I really love, because quite honestly, they are a lot of work.  The whole time I kept thinking " Mom, you are so worth this, that is the only reason I am doing it!"  I really hope she enjoys them because a lot of love went into making them. 

 As I was scraping the extra pith off of each and ever piece of orange peel, I suddenly had a great idea that would make quick work of this grueling task.  How appropriate that my mother recently gave me an Alaskan Ulu the last time she came for a visit.  This very sharp blade is the perfect tool for scraping pith, or anything for that matter.  Maybe she had a premonition I would really need it one day to make her gifts!?

The orange and chocolate theme continued into today, Winter Solstice, when Faegan and I baked a birthday cake for the sun and used one of the leftover peeled oranges to make a sun for decoration.  Lovely and yummy.  Happy Solstice everyone!

DIGGIN IT SUNDAY * 12/4/11

Glad to be back on the old blog here sharing with you my current fascinations and obsessions.  We are full swing into the Solstice/Christmas preparations which is keeping us very busy around the homestead.  Yesterday we attended a really lovely gathering with the local Waldorf community to walk the Advent Spiral.  It was so nice to come together with such a loving group of people to prepare ourselves for the darkest night of the year.  

Advent has been the theme around here all week as Faegan and I gathered some spruce boughs and berries to make an Advent wreath to count down the days to Winter Solstice.  After much deliberaton I decided to start the countdown on December 1st and light one more candle each night until the 22nd.  That meant I needed candles, and lots of them.  Ever since I discovered the toxic nature of petroleum wax, I only burn beeswax.  Seeing as I needed 21 candles, I decided to make my own instead of spending $78 on votives.  Making candles is actually very easy once you have the right wicks and moulds.  I am going to make my own wicks one day and make candles from my very own beeswax (once we get bees) but until then I made them this way:

BEESWAX VOTIVE CANDLES

pure local beeswax

very small paper Dixie cups

pre tabbed candle wicks

hot glue

Method:  Melt the beeswax in the bowl of a double boiler (bain marie).  As you wait for it to melt, place a dab of glue onto the tabs of the wicks and press them into the dixie cups.  Steady the wicks with wooden clothespins to prevent them from moving off centre.  Pour melted wax into each cup. ( If you don't like the cracks that may form, simply pour more wax to fill in the gaps once they have hardened. ) Allow the wax to harden and then peel off the cups, being careful not to pull the wicks out when trying to remove the glued on tabs.

We just got back from a trip to Ontario to visit with family.  My mother so sweetly prepared for our visit by buying some bath toys for the boys to play with.  Being the very perceptive and understanding momma that she is, she shopped on Etsy and found a great shop that offers wooden floating bath toys in the shape of a whale, fish, boat, and turtle.  Way to go mom!  I am so delighted with these little toys that I went out and found a scroll saw on Kijijji and bought it so I can make some.  Well actually the main impetus for buying the saw was so I could make some farm animals for Faegan's Christmas present.  While we were away Scott made him a toy barn, and so now it is my job to make the animals to go with it.  I was out there today in the freezing cold workshop cutting them out.  They just need to be sanded and then I am going to pull out my handy woodburner to fill in the details.  I even made a beeswax wood polish for them today while I was making the candles.

BEESWAX WOOD FINISH

1 part beeswax

4 parts jojoba oil

Method:   Melt together in a double boiler and then pour into containers.

So many tools......soo little time to play with them.

CHRISTMAS TOURTIERE AND HOMEGROWN TURKEY

     Wow, am I ever full.  There has been lots of feasting and celebrating going on around here, and I've only now taken a break from stuffing my face to write this post.  It all started with Tourtiere or French-Canadian meat pie on Christmas Eve.  This has been a tradition in my family forever, and I am so happy to have started making this for my family the past couple of years.  I even had enough to make an extra pie to freeze, which will be perfect when I go into labour and need to bring food with us to the birth house.

     While I was busy in the kitchen, my husband Scott had the sombre task of saying goodbye to two of our turkeys so we could feast on Christmas Day.  We were a little worried that wild turkeys would be drier and harder to cook than conventional turkeys.  A night of brining and careful basting did just the trick, and we had the most delicious meal ever.  I've got to admit, Scott and I were pretty proud of ourselves that all the diligence and care of the turkeys paid off.  What a rewarding experience for sure.

I had lots of extra pastry left over after making the tourtiere so on Christmas morning I made some Maple Butter Tarts.  I don't have a picture to share, but I do have the recipe.  They taste so good, especially when they're frozen.

TOURTIERE

Makes 2 thick pies

2 pounds organic pasture raised pork, ground

2 pounds grass fed beef, ground

3 organic onions, chopped
2 organic potatoes, shredded
2 organic carrots, shredded

3-4 tsp sea salt

3/4-1 tsp organic clove, ground

couple of pinches organic allspice, ground

1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped

a few sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

2 organic bay leaves

pastry for 3 pies

1 organic egg yolk, beaten

1 Tbsp organic olive oil

3 cups water or organic beef stock

Method:  In a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat cook the meat for 5-10 minutes or until no longer pink.  Place the meat in a sieve to drain off fat.  Return the meat to the pan and stir in the onions, stock, potato, carrpt, spices, bay leave, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium low and partially cover, simmering and stirring occasionally for 1 hour until the liquid has evaporated.  Remove the bay leaves and let cool and then refrigerate.  Divide pastry into 4 rounds and roll out 2 of the rounds and fit into the bottom of 2 - 9" pie plates.  Spread the meat mixture in pie shells.  Roll out remaining dough and arrange over the meat filling.  Trim and crimp edges to seal; cut steam vents in top of pastry.  Lightly beat the egg yolk and olive oil together and brush onto the top of the pies.  Bake at 425* for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 350* and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.  Cover the pies with foil if they start to get too brown.

MAPLE BUTTER TARTS

Prepare enough pastry to line 2 dozen medium sized tart pans or muffin cups.

1/2 cup local maple syrup

1/2 cup organic brown rice syrup (or more maple syrup)

2 organic eggs

1/2 cup maple or organic coconut sugar

Method:  Preheat oven to 400*.  Stir the syrups together to combine.  Whisk in the egg and then stir in the sugar.  Pour syrup mixture into tart shells, filling them 2/3 full.  Bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

It's been awhile since my last post on gingerbread.  Since then we've completed making and decorating the gingerbread houses.  And yes, I did manage to lay out bowls upon bowls of bright colourful candy around my toddler without him eating any of it.  (Well actually he ate one chocolate snowman because he has developed a fondness for chocolate.) That is the beauty of children, they imitate whatever adults do, so seeing as I don't eat candy, it was pretty easy to show him that the candy was just for gluing onto the gingerbread.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE ICING

4 cups organic icing sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3 organic egg whites

Method:  Sift together the icing sugar and cream of tartar.  Using an electric mixer beat in the egg whites and whisk for 7 minutes or until the icing is thick enough to hold its shape.  Can be kept refrigerated in a covered dish for 3 days.

 Holiday preparations are in full swing over here, and today we visited a local tree farm to cut down an evergreen for our Solstice/Christmas celebrations.  Growing up, this annual tradition always included coming home to chow down on hearty chili and sausage on a bun.  So, my sister came over and that is just what we did.  I make my chili differently from mom, and I make cornbread to go with it even though she never did (ah the beauty of evolution in tradition).  The addition of delicious toppings like shredded cheese, avocado, olives and cilantro are a nice touch too.

CHILI 

5 cups organic cooked kidney, pinto and black beans

2 Tbsp e.v olive oil

1 pound organic/grass fed ground beef

2 organic green peppers, chopped

2 organic onions, chopped

3 cloves organic garlic, minced

1 Tbsp organic ginger, grated

2 tsp organic mustard seeds

1 tsp organic coriander powder

1/4 tsp organic nutmeg, grated

3 Tbsp organic chili powder

2-4 tsp sea salt

organic black pepper, ground

3/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp local honey

2 can organic chopped tomatoes

2 cups water

Toppings:  chopped avocado, green onions, shredded cheese, cilantro, green olives, sour cream

Method:  In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute beef, onion and green pepper for 3-4 minutes.  Add in garlic, ginger and spices, stirring for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, beans, honey, salt, pepper, vinegar, and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low, cooking for about 30-40 minutes or until mixture is nice and thick.  Serve with toppings.

CORNBREAD

1 cup organic cornmeal, finely ground

1 cup organic whole wheat or spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp local honey

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup organic whole milk

2 organic eggs

3 Tbsp organic butter, melted

Method:  Preheat oven to 375*.  Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl.  Add wet to dry, stir.  Pout into a 9" X 9" buttered pan and bake for 25 minutes.