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Valentine’s Gifts from the Heart, Hearth, and Home
If you are looking for a natural way to say “I love you” this year, these recipes for bath soaks will delight the giver and the receiver.
Green Tea and Herb Soak for Sore Muscles
The contents of one green tea bag
1/4 cup rosemary
1/4 cup mint
1 tablespoon chamomile
1 tablespoon lavender
1 tablespoon epsom salts
Place the ingredients into a large tea ball or cheesecloth/muslin square. If you are using the cheesecloth/muslin, tie the cloth together with a beautiful ribbon. To use, simply place over a faucet and let water pour through the tea ball or cheesecloth/muslin square. Add a tablespoon of cider vinegar to the water as you are filling the tub.
Mint and Rose Bath Vinegar
1 cup rose petals or 1/2 cup each of rose petals and rose geranium leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup bottled water
Steep petals and leaves for a couple of weeks in the vinegar. You'll know it is done by the fragrance. Sometimes this takes up to a month. Strain and rebottle, adding water. Use 1/3 cup in each bath.
Bath vinegars can be added to your bath to make the water sweet smelling and refreshing: cider vinegar restores the acid balance of our skin, rose petals are fragrant and mint adds a tingling touch to this vinegar. (You're also welcome to throw in lemon verbena, lemon balm or rose geranium).
Fizzy Bath Soak
1 cup baking soda
1 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons citric acid
1/4 cup of unsweetened concentrated powdered drink mix, like Kool-Aid, for color
Mix the baking soda and the cornstarch. Add two tablespoons citric acid (You can find citric acid in the canning section of your local grocery store). Add the unsweetened concentrated powdered drink mix, like Kool-Aid, for color. Use 1/4 cup for each bath. The combination of citric acid and baking soda makes it fizz up! If you can’t find citric acid, crush a vitamin C tablet up. It's almost as fizzy.
Woe of the Roses
If were lucky enough to receive roses for Valentine’s Day, here are some sweet ideas for recycling the petals and making the love they symbolize last a little longer.
- Incorporating them in homemade soap will leave you smelling like a rose.
- The subtle overlay of fresh rose petals in a glass bowl filled with water will add a romantic touch to any room.
- Add rose petals and a few drops of rose oil to bathwater to create a relaxing aromatic experience.
- Try a Victorian favorite: potpourri sachets can easily be made with lace remnants or handkerchiefs to add a touch of romance in the air.
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