DIY Coconut Oil and Sea Salt hair spray

So I'm taking a bit of a jump away from the norm and delving into uncharted territory here on Words... a beauty post. What, what?!?

I can't help it... I am having a serious love affair with coconut oil and I just have to share one of the little gems I've discovered using this lovely, ah-mazing, miraculous ingredient.

I love to bake and coconut oil has taken my fav chocolate chip cookies to a whole new level of epicness... try it roasting sweet potatoes, too... you will thank me. Yum!

Coconut Oil, once dismissed as a bad, bad thing, is now receiving all sorts of good press for its numerous healthful benefits including skin care, stress relief, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Seriously! 

BUT... you must get the good stuff. I recommend organic and extra-virgin. There are lots to choose from, so do a bit of your own research, but I picked up a big jar at Costco for around $16. 

So I digress... I did say this would be a BEAUTY post...  Here ya go!

Turns out coconut oil is not just a wondrous consumable. It's also fantastic for your skin and hair. Use it as a moisturizer, deodorant, in your hair as a scalp treatment and in this great sea salt spray to keep your locks moisturized and smelling like you just spent a day at the beach (in a good way). 

8 oz *Warm water

1 tsp sea salt

1tsp coconut oil

dab of your fav hair gel

add to a spray bottle and shake it up! Voila! 

*water must be warm to dissolve the salt and oil

You can spray it on your hair damp or dry then scrunch your hair to create beautiful beachy waves. Make sure you shake up the mixture each time before use. 

Words

Is there anyone else under all of this blue like me?
Do you read words on a page discovering amazing thoughts and reread it just to feel the words once again leave your lips, your mouth so full of the rhythm and the meaty, savory, ripeness of each syllable so carefully and intentionally crafted?

Is there anyone else that feels magic when you find the precise word to describe an exact movement, emotion, action? Do you feel immense gratitude for that word that string of letters that cuts through the superfluous to deliver your message without needing to stammer or um and ah or go on and on troubling yourself with long soliloquy just to express what this one word conveys so effortlessly?

Is there anyone else who closes a book in reverence with complete surrender knowing you have been forever changed by another's story? Do you feel the real heroes are authors who find ways to shape us all by spinning their tales and revealing their hearts and unleashing their demons onto blank pages?

Is there anyone else who could spend hours alone in rooms of books and feel that you are in the epicenter of it all forgetting to eat, forgetting your name, forgetting the world exists outside and that you must reenter your life and forsake the lives and places found in the pages and hardcovers around you?

Am I alone?

Morning: a time for gratitude

Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories, and into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety – best preacher that ever was, dear star, that just happens to be where you are in the universe to keep us from ever-darkness, to ease us with warm touching, to hold us in the great hands of light – good morning, good morning, good morning. Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness. | MARY OLIVER

We have an amazing gift each and every day we wake up. We have life. We have breath. And with each breath holds opportunity to learn and grow and love and help and LIVE. I like to wake each day and actually count my blessings. I may not cover them all. It would be impossible to cover them all. But, to have this time of intention and awareness in gratitude sets the tone for my entire day. And collectively, these moments of gratitude, make me a happier more focused and balanced person. 

This life is beautiful. We all have amazing gifts and opportunities for using them. If we don't give pause to reflect and recognize what we are actually doing here on planet earth... then what are we doing? 

Give your smile. Turn away from griping and complaining and moaning and groaning and all the things that steal joy and block our ability to attract the good and wonderful. We all have aches and pains, challenges and obstacles and sadness... but we are all capable of basking in joy anyway! Isn't that powerful? We can even be grateful for the challenges... the closed doors, the hurts and failures and defeats... because they make us stronger. It's all about perspective. We choose how we interpret life. You are in control. 

 Feel the sun's warmth. That is for you. See the beautiful flowers. Those are for you. Breathe in the fresh air. Feel the breeze. Hear the laughter of your loved ones. Taste the sweet juices of life... how can we not be amazed at it all?  

LOVE 

The space I need

Balance

order

simplicity

in a space 

inspires 

and motivates

the words

flow and fill up the void

and bring

warmth 

flooding my spirit

making sense of all 

the feelings

and thoughts 

that clutter

grey matter

a purpose 

for dreaming 

the complete work

I love photographs that inspire me. They usually reflect beauty... whether it is the subject or composition, it is typically a space where I would feel comfortable to write or dream or to just simply be. These two photographs do this for me. The balance I see in the simple stacking of smooth stones encourages me to focus and unclutter and meditate. The writing desk looks like a cozy, bright spot where I would love to write. I have always loved "bookshelf walls"... one day I want a room such as this. To be surrounded by books with a simple desk and chair... this is happiness. These are my dream spaces...

LOVE....

there is greatness in every moment

"I am compelled by some deep hunger of the soul, driven by a desire that will not leave me alone, to live life to the fullest. And I know this does not mean working endlessly, accomplishing the most, or consuming the greatest amount and variety of things and experiences. It means tasting each mouthful, feeling each breath, listening to each song, being awake and aware of each moment as it unfolds.” ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer


If you are anything like me, what you set out to do on any given day, may or may not be what you are checking off your list at the end of the day. For me, I am living my life in the interrupted moments, rather than in the tasks and planned activities. When you have children ... when you have babies... this is just how it is. Sometimes I need a gentle reminder that greatness is not just reserved for the grand. My accomplishments currently are not really interesting, they do not result in a financial windfall. My recognition and praise come in the form of hugs from little arms, smiles from the faces I know best and frequently a piece of artwork that I display with pride in my home gallery (AKA refrigerator). A lot of my time, day and night, is spent breastfeeding my newest little creation. At three and a half weeks old his schedule is quite demanding. But, I alone am sustaining his life. I am so proud when someone comments that he is getting bigger, that his cheeks are looking chubbier. All of the time I spend snuggling with this little guy and nourishing him from my own body is well spent. It may not be very interesting to most, and I battle feeling shut off from the rest of the world, but then I look at his sweet face and marvel at each of his breaths. This is life. This is living. These moments are mine and his and there is nothing more important, nothing I'd rather be doing.


LOVE...

Present

Does the rain make you feel more alive?
Do the wind and fire remind you of your breath?
Does the water's coolness bathe you in the knowledge that you are present and belonging to this moment?

Stopping, breathing deeply, releasing gratitude for life... shouting it. Thank you!
My babies are here with me. Created for purpose. So lovely in their uniqueness. They look out into future with eyes beautiful and pure and open for all that is before them.
I am ablaze with passion for this life. I have gifts as simple as breathing and as complex as thought. My time is now. I am simultaneously placed living beside you, with you. Our partnership in this time is my focus and I am blessed by it. So blessed. Embracing it all in its completeness. A collective intake and exhale... intricate parts weaved to produce this present moment. I spectate in awe and participate gladly. I am honored to have membership in this life.

Home

Home:
a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment; also :the focus of one's domestic attention <home is where the heart is>

"Where do you feel most at home?"

 This was a prompt that I randomly flipped to this afternoon in my bedside thought Q&A a Day journal.  As I searched my mind for the answer, I began to explore what home means to me.  I arrived at this: Home is not a physical place, but more a state of mind. Home is comfort, it is safety, it is where I am the most myself. It is not a room, building or domicile. Structure, walls, windows and doors can not offer me those things. It is the people who I call my loves who make home, home. Wherever I am, if I am with my family-- my most loved people in this world-- then I am home.

My partner in life is home to me. He steadies me. He is where I rest. He is where I re-energize. Wherever he is, is where I want to be. My children are home to me, too. Their smiles, embraces and voices all breathe life into my spirit and make me know where I belong.

But beyond all of that, when I really search for the raw answer, what I know deep down is that home resides within me. I, ultimately am my home. My heart, my soul, my thoughts is where I exist. No matter what happens in my life, or where I am,  I need to tend to and care for myself so that I will always feel at home.

Loving yourself is a good start to feeling at home no matter your circumstance. Knowing who you are... having a good sense of self is imperative. I know that a lot of times women who are mothers experience a loss of self. I certainly did. I poured so much of my focus, energy, love into my children, without regret, that I forgot to do the same for me. I don't think this type of self-sacrifice benefits our little ones. What I have since discovered is that taking care of me is just as important as taking care of them.

When I am well cared for, healthy, strong, I am a better mother. When I have a genuine sense of self, when I reserve time to be involved with my own interests and passions, I model wholeness to my kids who will sooner rather than later be adults themselves. I want them to see me happy, positive, healthy, because this is what I want for them.

For me home is so much more than a clean, organized, perfect house. Home is a well-cared for self. What is home to you?