Odds & Evans

Here's the Latest...

“Snow Dough” Recipe for Winter Play

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils, Homemade Recipes .

Whether you’re snowed indoors or just looking for some fun, white play dough time, this recipe is easy and great to squish while staying warm and cozy. Homemade Snow Dough! Peppermint playdough recipe http://goo.gl/ZmdzeX Click To Tweet I use my favorite play dough recipe all the time as a base and play with a variety of colors (like using kale juice to make this lucky green dough).  With the ingredients for this basic recipe, you can make homemade play dough with practically any color any time of year.  Add some pure, kid-safe essential oils and have yourself a therapeutic, sensory activity together! This general play dough recipe makes a dough similar to a bread or pizza dough…which isn’t perfectly white.  It’s still wonderful though so perfectly fine to just use the ingredients listed in the graphic below.  We are currently snowed inside with 20 inches in Maryland and a full 24

See Full Post…

Chocolate Sugar Scrub (Free Printable Label)

Posted on by Posted in Homemade Recipes, More Crunch .

Get smooth lips and skin with this luscious homemade scrub that is the easiest thing to make! A chocolate sugar scrub is the perfect way to prepare for kissable lips and soft, exfoliated skin. DIY pampering is inexpensive, fun, and better for your health. Below is how you can make just a little bit (which was more than enough for “one serving” on my lips, hands, and face. I get multiple uses out of this amount) or make a bunch (great gifts!). Then print my handy label for free and TA DA…heaven in a jar. Just a little bit (makes about 2-3 ounces): 1/16 cup white sugar 1/16 cup raw cane sugar 1/16 cup liquid coconut oil, more or less to preference 3/4 teaspoon cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (can make your own like me) 1 drop of Vitamin E Oil or contents of Vitamin E capsule (optional; super

See Full Post…

Love Lotion (DIY Massage Oil)

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils, Homemade Recipes, Uncategorized .
Love Lotion DIY Massage Oil - www.OddsandEvans.com

The power of touch can produce incredible effects.  Skin-to-skin contact is important to our entire lives, from baby up.  Massages can relieve stress, aches and pains, improve circulation – tons of physical and mental benefits.  Touch enhances positive emotions, so it is no wonder how vital massage can be to maintaining strong relationships (with ourselves and others). A good massage oil will help reduce friction on the skin while moisturizing it.  Any nourishing nutrients are absorbed into the skin, so infusing a light base oil with 3 or 4 essential oils provides added benefit to really enhance the experience.  Buying a scented massage oil will most likely contain synthetic fragrances and other unnecessary ingredients.  Making your own is so easy, plus will be customized just the way you want it!  Oh, I wish you could smell it through this screen! The Basic Rub You will need a light, easily-spreadable base oil.   Almond (or sweet

See Full Post…

20 Sensual Essential Oils for Love, Romance, and Passion

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils .

Sensual: :  relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite (1) Our senses are hugely important to our experience, feelings, and perception of love.  Sight and touch are perhaps the most easily called upon (and sometimes deceiving) senses.  Taste and pleasure go hand in hand, as our bodies have appetites…in many ways.  Hearing words and sounds has a great impact on the depth of our feelings.  But it is our sense of scent that if often under-appreciated and under-utilized. What we smell triggers extremely powerful messages to and from the brain.  Some aromas bring to mind memories and feelings of another time and place.  Others prompt the release of chemicals that bring emotions and desires to the surface.  The smell of coffee, freshly cut grass, pumpkin pie, certain perfumes of people in our past…this sense is connected to the limbic region of our brain (the emotional

See Full Post…

Homemade Peppermint Patty Recipe

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils, Homemade Recipes, Nourishing Food .
how to make homemade peppermint patties patty recipe essential oil

My all-time favorite candy is the refreshing peppermint patty, hands down, and this recipe tastes EXACTLY like them!  Making them was fun, and they looked so cute, but I was kind of afraid before taking that first bite.  I thought surely they would need some work and I just couldn’t believe it when they were perhaps the best peppermint patties I had ever had.  You can try making these for gifts, but I’m not giving ANY of mine away… Even better is the fact that you can control your ingredients here.  I’m not sure these can be deemed a health food even with the alternatives, but is surely more quality than mass-processed mystery additives and flavors.  I thought about researching what goes into the store-bought peppermint patty to be more specific here, but I just didn’t have the heart.  I don’t want to be mad at them forever. The main gist and process of

See Full Post…

Snowball Bath Bombs for Fizzing Fun

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils, Holidays, Homemade Recipes, Toddler/ Kid Stuff .
Snowball Bath Bombs Bath salt recipe kids fun

A fun twist on bath salts is making fizzy bath bombs, especially for kids. This basic recipe can be moulded into various shapes, sizes, colors, textures, aromas, or even with a toy inside that is fun to discover. My toddler recently fell in love with throwing snowballs so I wanted him to have a fun winter bath.  He decorated craft foam holiday shapes that I cut out (we’ve been playing with new themes monthly), enjoyed a drop of blue food coloring in the water, and loved exploring these bubbly bombs infused with essential oils. You Will Need: 1 1/2 cups sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda [Sometimes I do 1 cup baking soda plus 1/2 cup Epsom salt instead] 1/2 cup citric acid (I use this kind) high-quality essential oil (I only trust this brand) sweet almond oil (I buy at my local natural store or here) glitter (optional) food coloring (optional) mould of choice

See Full Post…

“Good Luck” Pork, Sauerkraut, & Dumpling Recipe

Posted on by Posted in Holidays, Nourishing Food, Personal .
Good Luck Meal New Year Pork Sauerkraut Dumpling Recipe

I did not get to finish writing Part Two of yesterday’s post about New Year’s Intentions (Eventually I did…Check out Part One and Part Two here).  Oops, I missed January 1st!  But that’s OK!  Because I highly doubt anybody is on pins and needles awaiting any of my posts, and because I did lots of other productive things today!  Big Daddy Orange worked (Golf Course Superintendents work almost everyday…except Christmas.  Golfers are hardcore!), but he got home fairly early and brought Dunkin’ Donuts home with him. Me + Caffeine = Insane Productivity + No Sleep For Days…but it’s so delicious! Alright, its been over twelve hours since I had the delicious beverage, but as you can read, I have already used five exclamation points…I’m still going strong. He suggested we take all of the Christmas decorations down and I wholeheartedly agreed.  As much as I love Christmas, it is easier

See Full Post…

February Freebies – Young Living Rewards

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils .
February Love is in the Air Young Living promo freebies free gifts

Love is always in the air…if your diffuser is running. Let February, the month of love, be time to love yourself, partner, kids, and family with these freebies for everyone from Young Living’s promotion! If your single order reaches one of the PV levels in a single order, you’ll get the freebies at that level.🌹 [Please note that these items are only available to those on Essential Rewards (ER) – if you’re not signed up, now may just be the month to do so!! One of the perks of being on ER are the free items available to you that are not available on regular orders. Basically, you get points when you order and they add up super fast and you redeem them for free products of your choice!] 🌹 SclarEssence Vitality 5ml: Get those female hormones balanced with this calming blend of Peppermint, Fennel, Clary Sage, and Spanish Sage. The

See Full Post…

Savvy Minerals Starter Kits – Natural Makeup Makeover

Posted on by Posted in Beauty, Essential Oils .
Savvy Minerals New Premium Starter Kit natural makeup cruelty free

It’s here! Young Living has added a brand new way to become a wholesale member, and also give you everything you need for an all-natural makeup makeover with the Savvy Minerals Starter Kit options! This means not only will you get everything included below, but also 24% off your makeup orders, essential oils purchases, and any Young Living products in the future (once you fall in love with them, which happens immediately). Get yours today with my referral link! The Savvy Minerals makeup line includes a full variety of naturally derived products, including mineral eyeshadow, long-lasting foundation , mineral bronzer, no-smudge eyeliner, mineral blush powder, and more. There are four color options to choose from (based off the top four most popular foundation colors) along with eyeshadows, a lip gloss and blush that are complimentary to the chosen foundation color. The image below shows the four collections that include: 1

See Full Post…

Holiday Questions to Ask Siri – Family-friendly fun!

Posted on by Posted in Holidays .
Holiday Questions to Ask Siri Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa New Year Thanksgiving

Have some fun hanging out this holiday season with loved ones asking these questions to your favorite virtual assistant, Siri. When I “talk to Siri” on my iPhone, my five-year old son is pretty sure we’re talking to a Transformer…which is awesome. And it really is incredible that we have this technology to be so helpful and personalized to our lives. Siri is always there for us, trying her best (Aren’t we all??). So it’s especially fun when we come across little “easter eggs” to ask Siri since she’s been designed with a sense of humor (which unfortunately hasn’t happened with hoomans). We can thankfully use our Apple products to full capacity and discover lots of information, reminders, dictation, and hands-free help…but have some fun with these holiday questions to ask Siri. You may find lots of other entertaining inquiries. Each year, Siri’s funny side responds a bit differently it

See Full Post…

Easy Homemade Stain Remover – (How To Get Stains Out of Baby/Kid Clothes)

Posted on by Posted in Homemade Recipes, Reviews/Giveaways, Toddler/ Kid Stuff .
Easy homemade DIY stain remover baby clothes kid clothes get stains out

*This natural DIY stain remover post contains affiliate links to products that I personally use and recommend.* Where there are cute babies, there are cute baby clothes…and not-so-cute baby stains are sure to follow. I’m talking stains in places you didn’t even know were possible. And as the kids grow and change, so will the stains. Morphing from diaper blow-outs and spit ups, to food fun, art messes, mud, grass, and more. Sometimes there are even stains you cannot even identify, which is likely for the best. This super simple three-ingredient mixture is all you need to keep your baby/kids (or any) clothes stain-free. After having our second baby, I was amazed at how clean and reusable the hand-me-downs we received were. I had saved all of my son’s clothes in case we had another boy (we didn’t), but when I pulled them out of hiding for five years I

See Full Post…

Birthday Party Planning Made Easy (Plus The Little Gym Party Giveaway)

Posted on by Posted in Reviews/Giveaways, Toddler/ Kid Stuff .
Princesses and Pirates Birthday Party Planning Theme at the Little Gym with Hulafrog Themed Birthday Parties

**Thanks to Hulafrog Frederick and The Little Gym of Frederick for hosting us last week in exchange for this post. All cute kid photos and opinions remain my own.** We had some serious fun at The Little Gym of Frederick this past weekend. It’s no wonder The Little Gym was named Best Gym Party by Parents Magazine. The Little Gym of Frederick created a magical ‘Princesses and Pirates’ birthday party experience for Adelyn and her friends. We had The Little Gym completely to ourselves as our qualified instructors lead the fun! The Gym was customized with adventures, activities, and games that coordinated with the princesses and pirates theme. The children were immersed in a wonderful world of make believe. And do you know what’s the icing on the cupcake about this whole event?  Mom and Dad didn’t need to bring a single thing to the party…except for the birthday girl!

See Full Post…

Fonio Energy Bites (The Whole Grain You’ll Soon Hear About Everywhere)

Posted on by Posted in Homemade Recipes, Nourishing Food, Reviews/Giveaways .
Fonio ancient whole grain gluten-free energy bites

Hold the Fonio! You heard it here first, folks.  Fonio is the tiny seed/ancient grain the whole world is about to fall in love with.   Full disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received the product to review, but only recommend companies and products which my family truly use and appreciate! This post contains affiliate links. Have you heard of fonio yet? If you haven’t, I am calling it now that it will be a foodie favorite quite soon…and it will be for good reason. This ancient grain is probably going to start garnering the attention it deserves as a superfood because of it’s great versatility, taste, and nutritional content. Think of fonio as similar to quinoa or couscous – not just because their pronunciations trip people up (this is pronounced: ‘phone-yo’, by the way).  Fonio is considered a whole-grain and can be used in most recipes in place

See Full Post…

Preschool Tracing Idea on Dry-Erase Folders

Posted on by Posted in Toddler/ Kid Stuff .
preschool tracing activity printable on dry-erase folders rainbox

Full disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received some compensation for writing about the products, but only recommend companies and products which my family truly use and appreciate! This post contains affiliate links. When one hears about clear durable plastic folders, most people think “organization”.  You know, office supplies or school supplies…the usual.  When *I* saw these colorful plastic folders, my mommy brain imagined they’d be perfect to have around little ones.  I’m happy to have ordered and received them to discover I was correct! Of course, you’ll love these lightweight folders to store papers in.  Up to 50 pages fit easily in each one, in fact! With my 6-pack of rainbow colors, I used half for typical folder purposes – bills, recipes (I’m a hard-copy kinda gal), and my essential oils classes resources. But with the other three, the lighter three colors…I found the perfect home for our

See Full Post…

Fall Discount on Essential Oils

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils .
October 2016 Essential Oils Sale

Don’t miss out on this deal! Now is the perfect time to join me on your wellness journey!  If you’ve been on the fence, grabbing this collection to have everything you need on hand for only $144 (instead of the usual $160) is the way to go. This discount on essential oils happens *maybe* one week a year total, so these rare few days are very special! The Premium Starter Kit is 💥 10% off 💥 for a super limited time only! You will get: -Home Diffuser -11 essential oils -Plus October bonus oil (Oregano) -Exclusive online community resources and support -Thank You Gift from me (hint: you wear it!) -Complimentary consult with me (Certified Holistic Life Coach) and support when you need 💧Are you ready?? www.OddsandEvans.com/order or go to www.youngliving.com and use #1756452 This is my necessary disclaimer that this blog is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure. I am only a mom with an education

See Full Post…

My Supportive Yoga Family

Posted on by Posted in Personal, Yoga & Meditation .
my supportive yoga family video

I recently graduated from my 200-hour yoga teacher training and I love, love , LOVED every moment of it.  The good, bad, and ugly. The following video is NOT good yoga instruction, alignment, sequencing or any of that.  It is simply a supportive husband and fun-loving son always up for helping mommy play around with whatever ideas in her head she wants to try out. We always have a blast together.  I wish the ending had recorded because it went a lot more smoothly, but alas…I had no idea the computer was closed following the juice break (and spill). Does your home practice sometimes look like this with little ones around? I do hope to one day not neglect this blog so much and update it with more homemade recipes, practical essential oils tips, plus incorporate yoga and meditation.  After all, it’s a hodge podge of natural living, healthy wellness

See Full Post…

10% off Premium Starter Kits in February

Posted on by Posted in Essential Oils .
Premium Starter Kit Discount all during Frankincense February

Yay, Young Living announced yesterday that for the month of February, all Premium Starter Kits* would be 10% off!  They don’t discount the bundles very often, so this is exciting and helpful for those who have been waiting for just the right time to start their oily journey….or for already-members who would like to “refill” with another kit and extra diffuser! Besides the main kit below (11 oils and diffuser), there are other options as well like the Thieves or Ningxia kits which you can learn about here.  Order any of them here through my referral link. This also works great with my own (essential) “Oil Change” challenge, so you can purchase this collection of eleven oils and diffuser through this referral link for this discounted price AND then have access to my exclusive resources and support groups (that phrase sounds a little funny, but having a place to ask questions and

See Full Post…