Every Day Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy should never be your first line of defense when it comes to emergencies but having some of it on hand can be helpful for healing certain ailments.  

Here is a bit of a breakdown of what is nice to have on hand. 

Essential oils are quite effective for muscle pain. You can mix a few drops any peppermint, juniper, clove, pine or balsam oil oils in 8 ounces of a carrier oil such as grapeseed and rub it over the sore spots add them to a bath or rub them directly into the skin.  Just a word of warning though. Never use essential oils directly on the skin without the carrier oil or you could cause an allergic reaction in yourself or your children. 

Use Tea tree oil along with geranium or lavender oil to heal cold sores.  Mixed with chamomile oil, tea tree oil it can be a good remedy eczema.  Keep in mind too that you don't have to mix up this kind of thing yourself.  However you can if you want! Tea tree oil can be bought in commercial preparations or made into an oil by yourself by diluting two or three drops of the essential oil into eight ounces of a carrier oil such as aloe vera. This oil can then used to heal and disinfect small cuts, scrapes, bruises, insect bites and bee stings.

Many aromatherapy oils are extremely effective when it comes to getting rid of headaches or stuffed up noses. Lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, neroli (orange blossom) or linden blossom oil either diffused through a room with a steamer. If the kids have given you one of those tension headaches you can rub these oils on your head or neck.  Headaches that are caused y sinus problems are effectively relieved by diffusions of lemon, lavender basil, clove, eucalyptus, frankincense, juniper, pine or rosemary oils. If the headache is believed to have a hormonal cause, chamomile, jasmine, geranium, clary sage or lavender may relieve it. 

Aromatherapy can also be used to treat nausea, dizziness and nervous conditions. This is effectively done simply by rubbing a blend of peppermint and ginger oils in a circular motion on the stomach and pulse points or by anointing a handkerchief with a few drops so that you can sniff the aroma while on a road trip.  I sometimes give my kids ginger candies to quell queasiness on the road. 

Essential oils can also be used to relieve jet lag and hangovers as wells .Oils that are very effective for both are peppermint, orange, clary sage, geranium, eucalyptus, ginger and basil.  Teas created from these herbs and plants are also very effective if you overdid it the night before! You don't have to be an herbalist to get this stuff. Many herbal remedies already made from these oils are available in stores.  All you need to do is read the list of ingredients in the cream, spray or lotion carefully to see if you are getting the right thing.

Chaek out this candle shop

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Slipcovers are Indispensable

If you have kids, having slipcovers for your furniture is practically mandatory.  There is no easier way to protect your fine furniture until they have all grown up and gone away to University.  

The four biggest trends in slipcovers have to do with color. Solid darker colors are huge.   Perhaps most surprising new color schemes are purple and you can find slipcovers in every fabric from light lavender to a rich royal hue.

A not so surprising trend is desaturated colors that are reminiscent of the 70s and 80s.  You are also more likely to find slipcovers in a bright neon color such as Happy Face Yellow or Bubblegum.   Leopard prints are also still around to suit the sexy minded. Some of the patterns that are out are also kind of wild.  Zebra stripes, big floating bubbles and strange geometric patterns from the seventies are very hip and in.  So are stripes and patterns that look like sixties psychedelic.  You can also just get slipcovers that cheer your children up in general that have pictures of cartoon characters on them or child like themes such as lollipops or goldfish. 

If you like a more formal and adult look and just want to protect your furnitre the one trend in slipcovers that is a hangover from last year is towards the naturals such as taupe, cream and brown.  A good example of a store that is sticking to this trend is the Pottery Barn, which sells classic styles of all types of slipcovers in twill. Target also sells twill and cotton slipcovers in these basic colors. This year slipcovers have also gone from looking less like a cotton drop sheet to fabrics such as tapestry and chenille. 

Chenille looks great in more old-fashioned decors.  They are also good for kids who are little as the softness of the chenille is very easy on their soft skin.  A chenille bedspread makes a great nubbly soft surface for afternoon naps. 

Another trend is for slipcovers to be less fitted than they were in previous years so that they can different styles of sofas. If you think that your contemporary sofa can't be fitted with a slipcover then think again.  Search hard because slipcovers with tie ons that are practically one-size fits all are now on the market. If that fails then you can always have them custom made or sew them yourself. 

If you want your slipcovers to perform a dual function some big designers such as Martha Stewart and Ikea are selling reversible versions so that you can change the look of your furniture from season to season.  Usually these are sold in a two solid color version or with a solid color on one side and a print on the other. This is a great development because you never get bored with your furniture.  These reversible slipcovers for furniture are also quite great because if your kid spills something on them all you have to do is flip it over and voila your furniture is clean again! 

Here is a good store to buy slip covers

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