Thoughts for Thursday: Natural Mama & Other Things...

Over the last couple of months, I've made some changes toward the more natural, homeopathic way of life. I got introduced to Young Living essential oils in January and I pretty much dived right in. I now own like 20-something bottles of oil, I've bought roll-on bottles and dropper bottles to mix up regularly-used concoctions...and I'm literally searching Pinterest daily right now for new ways to use them...and any time some sort of ailment comes up for anyone in the family, they are the first thing I turn to. I've actually been witness to them working and it's a bit of relief knowing how much I invested in them! It's good to know that they are the real deal.

I'm turning into a fucking apothecary.

Haha, anyway...I think I may have shared in a post before some of my favorite uses for them so far, but I've gotten a few new oils since then and it's also been a little longer that I've used them, so I wanted to share again some things I am using them for - some may be repeats.

"FOCUS MOM" ROLL-ON (I call it that because I have a separate Focus blend for Tanner):
10 drops Peppermint
10 drops Citrus Fresh (or any citrus oil - lemon, orange, wild orange)
Fill remainder of bottle with carrier oil - I used grapeseed oil

I have been bringing this one to work and I really just love the scent. I roll it on the back of my neck (brain stem) and also rub it into my temples. I do feel a bit uplifted with it and possibly more focused. I would say it mostly helps me not feel tired...I definitely get a boost of energy.

"FOCUS BLEND" (for Tanner)
15 drops Vetiver
15 drops Cedarwood
15 drops Lavender
Fill remainder of bottle with carrier oil - I used grapeseed oil

Tanner puts this on the bottom of his big toes every night before bed - it aids in calming and helping him sleep better, which I think overall greatly affects his mood/behavior the following day. I also drop some on the back of his neck and rub it in...we do this before school. It is shown in studies to help hyperactive/ADD/autistic spectrum children to improve focus and quieter behavior. So far, I have noticed on the days I use it, he usually gets a good report. On days I've forgotten, I kid you not, those are the "bad" days. If I ended up running out of these oils and could only purchase one for the rest of my life, Vetiver would be it...just purely for what it's done and is doing for Tanner. It was the main reason I looking into EOs in the first place.

"STRESS AWAY" ROLL-ON
This is a pre-blended product from Young Living.

I can't say enough about the glorious scent of Stress Away. I love love love it and I really do feel more calm and peaceful after I put it on and breathe it in. I put it on my wrists and back of neck mostly.

"ALLERGY" ROLL-ON
10 drops Peppermint
10 drops Lemon
10 drops Lavender
Fill remainder of bottle with carrier oil - I used grapeseed oil

Y'all, I live in Charleston and right now the pollen is out. I am usually a stuffy-nosed, sneezing mess by now. I have been using this one daily on the back of my neck and I haven't had one hay fever attack yet. Not even one Claritin has been taken.

"SLEEPY TIME" ROLL-ON
10 drops Lavender
10 drops Vetiver
Fill remainder of bottle with carrier oil - I used grapeseed oil

I have been using this every night for a few weeks now and my sleep has been SOLID. I usually toss and turn and wake up to look at the clock a few times a night...I also tend to wake up tired. This stuff knocks me out within 20-30 min of putting it on. I roll it on the bottom of my feet and the back of my neck and it's sweet dreams for me. I also like to diffuse Vetiver and Lavender in the evenings because it calms the entire household down and we all go peacefully to bed.

FRANKINCENSE for the Face

I've been using a very small amount of coconut oil (a carrier oil) with a drop or two of Frankincense rubbed together and put on my face each night as my overnight moisturizer. My skin has never looked or felt so soft. I did find that I have to alternate days and use grapeseed oil instead of coconut because I tend to break out a little when using a lot of the thicker oils...I've found that this rotation resolves that so far. I do have to make sure to wash my hair the next morning or use dry shampoo since often the coconut gets into my hair around the roots by my forehead. The grapeseed doesn't usually do that. But I definitely see a difference in the lovely fine lines that appeared on my forehead like the minute I turned 30. They are definitely fading!

Anyway, those are just a few...I have so many other great uses to try and discover.

I have started getting some things in order for Farrah's 1st birthday party. I ordered the invitations yesterday and I'm super-stoked about them. Aren't they adorable? I am sooooo happy I get to do a rainbow-themed party!

Those black bars aren't really on the actual invites...just can't have all you stalkers all up in my business. ;-)

I ordered them from Delight Paperie on Etsy, should you be interested in some invites for your own event...she has a lot of cute ones.

In further interest of my obsession of rainbows, I have dressed her like this today:

One day she won't let me do what I want with her clothes and her parties...so I'm taking full advantage of my power while I have it.

I've been keeping good with my clean eating and workout plans this week and I feel great. I am starting to already feel less sugar cravings. I actually did my strength training at home every day this week so far instead of the gym, in interest of time specifically those days, but I will be back in the gym for leg/glute day tonight. My thing is, it doesn't matter where I workout as long as I'm able to do what I planned to do, which I have. My home gym is looking better and better, I added some more bars and weight plates.

I will share my clean eating plan with you soon. It's really not leaving me hungry at all, which is awesome.

Linking Up With: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic

 See where I like to Party.

Become a Fashion Designer

Stylish & Compact Workout DVD Storage

Some of you may know, I used to have a blog called [just had] A Bright Idea where I focused mostly on interior design & decor and some DIY-ing. When I started Style Oyster, I wanted to incorporate those things along with my love of fashion and all things, well, stylish. Unfortunately, leaving that blog for a new url posed it's challenges. I lost the readers I had acccumulated over the 6 months of having the blog as well as the content...but wait, that content is NOT lost! Thanks to Blogger, I was able to move it over to Style Oyster. However, it was a little outdated (the wording in some, etc.) and of course the pictures were all tagged with my JHABI logo (and a few with even older blog logos than that! I had some name change issues...) I am putting this paragraph here as a preface to these posts because even though they are from the past, they are still projects that took a long time and are dear to my heart and I didn't want to lose them when I officially take my old blog off the Internet. So I apologize to those of you who have followed me since [just had] A Bright Idea, as you will be experiencing some deja vu, but I know some of you are new and this may all be new content to you. So bear with me, I plan on posting these once a week until they are all on Style Oyster. Thank you so much, and I do hope you enjoy. xoxo

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 I think it would be safe to say that I own about every fitness DVD put out in the last 10 years:

And quite frankly, I'm attached to the little buggers. But I'm not in love with the amount of space they take up. (I could utilize this drawer for so many other things I currently have "floating" around my house.)

Time for another solution.

I found this cute storage box at Wal-mart for $5.00 made for compact CD/DVD storage. (And it's PINK...perfect!):

I also already had some jewel disc cases in different colors. I decided to try and keep the workout programs separately organized by color of jewel case, i.e. Insanity in pink, P90X in purple, etc...

I kept what pamphlets I needed from the workout programs and tossed anything else.

Once I put them in the box, I realized the separate jewel case colors sort of got lost in the mix - it was hard to differentiate between the colors to quickly grab-n-go with what DVD I needed:

So I pulled out some of my Avery 5366 file folder labels and put them on the jewel case spines:

I then colored the spines with various highlighters to separate each workout program/series:

I still thought it looked a little unfinished, so I went the extra mile and pulled out my label maker:

Now my DVDs look like this:

I put them back in the box...and thought, nope, still hard to know which color is which DVD! So I hopped onto my computer and made a key to paste on the top inside of the box. Now this is what it looks like - all finished:

And since our workout space is also our office space, this little box will have a home on my new desk! I love how the storage this desk provides can help unify the space even though it is utilized for a few different activities.

Thanks for reading! What are your bright ideas for DVD/CD storage?

Find me and follow on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram 

Add my RSS Feed to your Reader

Workout Wednesdays: Blending Motherhood & Fitness

Prior to becoming a mommy, keeping into a fitness routine was easy. There were no issues with fitting it into my daily schedule - I had tons of free time back then! I would work out before work, on lunch, after work...and any time I desired on the weekends. I could also spend as much time during a workout as I wanted.

Now I've got to schedule it between changings, feedings, working, playing with my kids and spending quality time with my husband. When it was just Tanner, it wasn't that hard...I could just take him with me in the jogging stroller and get a nice workout down the beach. Most gyms also have childcare, so it wasn't a big deal to pay a little extra to have that perk when I needed it. With two, it's definitely tricky. The only way I can take out the jogging stroller to get a decent workout is if Tanner is at daycare or Jake is home to watch him. Tanner just couldn't handle walking or jogging the distance I go...I'd go for the double stroller, but he's a month shy of turning 5, so definitely a little too big for that. Being that Jake works from 7:30 to 4:30 every day, I've got limited time to be able to take Breckin out for a run. And the price of a gym membership plus TWO childcare fees each month is a bit out of the question right now as I'm trying to build up my cleaning business. Once that gets rolling, I may be able to consider that. So my workouts are limited to at home in the living room with my own equipment. Luckily, lately, I've noticed that Breckin actually likes to sit in front of me in his bouncy seat and watch me workout. Somehow it entertains him. He just smiles, stares and coos at me. Cute. (I'm glad one of us is amused.) As busy as my life can get, I always make time for fitness. It's one of the few things I have these days that is just for me...and it's important for me to take that time to de-stress, rejuvenate and reflect (I get some of my best thinking done while working up a sweat)...and a plus for my family is that it makes for a happy mommy which makes their lives a lot better. Endorphins, anyone?

Anyway, I wanted to compile a list of my personal must-have home workout equipment for you mommies out there that are also struggling to fit fitness into your routine, as well as give you a few of my favorite exercises to use them for. You can also easily Google routines online for any of this equipment.

1. Dumbbells. You'll want to have some 5s, 8s, 10s, and if you're really into it, some 12s and 15s. To save money, try finding a set of dumbbells with interchangeable weights. This will also save space.

2. Yoga Mat. Even if you don't do yoga, this is great to have for ab exercises, etc. so you don't have to be lying on the carpet.

3. Resistance bands - get about 3 different sizes.

4. Stability ball.

5. Medicine ball. I like to have a 6 lb one and a 12-15 lb one.

6. Ankle weights. (At least 2 lbs each - I use these to do stairclimbs in on my staircase.)

7. Jump rope.

My favorite at home exercises:

1. Dumbbell Squats: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Keep dumbbells down to your side. Slowly sit back keeping the weight in your heels, do not let your knees protrude over your toes. Aim to get thighs parallel to floor, hold for 2-3 seconds, then return to starting position by lifting from your hips and rear end. 3 sets of 15 reps.

2. Bridges w/stability ball & leg curl: Lying on your back, place your heels on a stability ball and keep legs straight. Lift from the hips to get your butt of the ground, hold, then slowly roll stability ball toward you using your hamstrings. Roll ball back to beginning position, then lower butt back down to floor. 3 sets of 15-25 reps.

3. Medicine ball twists: Sit up with knees bent and feet flat on floor. Gently lean back until your abs are engaged. Holding a medicine ball, twist slowly from side to side. One rep is going to both sides once. 3 sets of 25 reps.

4. Tricep Dips: find a sturdy surface (strong coffee table or chair) and place hands palm down behind you on it. Slowly bend your elbows to move your body downward, using your arms, push yourself back to starting position. 3 sets 15 reps.

5. Dumbbell Dead Lift: Take a heavier set of dumbbells, and keeping legs just a little wider than shoulder-width apart, straight with knees slightly bent (don't lock), keep back straight and bend forward bringing dumbbells down to your ankles. Using your butt and hips, lift back up to starting position, keeping back straight. 3 sets of 15 reps.

HAPPY WORKOUT!