How to Make Scented Bath Salts

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/lavender-bath-salts1.jpg" alt="" title="lavender-bath-salts" width="640" height="419" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12446">Hello and welcome. In this post I will describe how to make scented bath salts, using some dried lavender buds and essentials oils. The salts used are Epsom Salts and Baking Soda, both known for their soothing benefits when used in a bath. Did you know that Epsom Salts are not actually salt at all? Rather they are a pure mineral compound of Magnesium and Sulfate.Making a nicely scented version is easy and adds the extra sensory property of aromatherapy to your bathing experience. You want that, right?I made mine with a mix of Lavender Essential Oil, which promotes relaxation, and a blend created by Absolute Aromas. I once had a massage where the masseuse used that particular scented oil and I just had to have some. But these will be your bath salts so I encourage you to use your favourite scent, as long as it is specifically an essential oil that can be used on skin. You could consider rose, jasmine or sandalwood too.And because I had some that I'd grown in my garden this summer, I added dried lavender flowers to my Bath Salts, but they are not necessary.

How to Make Lavender Scented Herbal Bags for your Bath

There's no doubt that when it comes to scented lotions and potions, Lavender is always my first choice. This is why I tried growing the herb in my garden a few years ago, after visiting Nick's aunt in Edinburgh, where she had a huge patch of the glorious substance, that was in full flower while we were there. She had a gorgeous garden overall and was a little confused by my excitement over the homegrown Lavender while her lilies and hydrangeas were bursting. Until then though, the concept of growing it myself had never entered my mind.Fast forward several years, and I now have my own Lavender patch to be proud of. I initially bought one little plant for 99 cents in the herb section one spring and stuck it in the only spot in the garden that gets full sun for most of the day. Anything else I had tried in that same spot had not fared well, shriveling up in no time in the sun-baked dry soil. But the Lavender thrived there, without any extra watering at all, and now it has grown to fill the entire spot.It is situated along the path to our front door, meaning a dreamy aromatic greeting for anyone who comes to call. All in all, it's a really great plant to grow in my opinion and you should try some in that 'hard-to-grow-anything' spot you might have in your yard.Here is a picture of the flowers in June.

Sunrise in the City : Take Tuesday Photography Series

The “Take Tuesday Photography Series” theme for this week was : Sunrise. I am glad that the organizer, Shakti (link removed because she no longer blogs), gave us the list of prompts well in advance because I was able to take these shots on the only sunrise I have seen in quite some time. I’m a night owl versus a morning person!So, knowing that I would 'need' some pictures of a sunrise, I took these when I was out last month for the all-night art show called Nuit Blanche. But truthfully, photography-series or not, I would have taken these shots anyway because the colour of the sky at the moment of sun-up was the most dramatic shade of blue, and the clouds that morning caused a marbled effect that was spectacular.

A Talk About Pranks

On the same morning in the park when I met the cute little dog Georgia, I noticed that someone had pulled a little prank. For some unknown reason they had placed some pastel coloured vintage watering cans randomly in different spots around the park. Upon closer inspection I saw that these had previously been used as decorations rather than to water plants, because each was filled with cement and had a hook anchored in it. Where they had come from and why they were there was quite a mystery, because the heavy cement meant that they weren't carried into the center of the large park by their handles (which would not have borne the weight) ... they would have been brought in on some sort of a cart, or there was actually more than one person involved in the caper.

Caturday Goes to the Dogs!