My Expanding Oil Collection

I have been using eucalyptus oil for about 4 or 5 years now in replace of VICKS when I feel congested.  However, over the past year I have been exploring in other oils as well.  I made my own bug spray last year, which is pretty costly but it' a lot better than spraying the chemical filled spray onto my skin.

My collection is growing rapidly.  I love using orange and lemon in my diffuser when I'm cleaning as it leaves my house with a clean scent.

Lavender is one of my favorites for relaxation.  Running this essential oil through my diffuser puts me to sleep quickly and peacefully.

I'm looking into getting a few blends including "clear air" which purifies the air.  It's great during this cold season!

I personally like the NOW brand.  It is more affordable than most brands, yet it is made with superb quality.  I have done my research and won't buy the cheaper oil brands, yet I find Young Living extremely expensive.  It is almost triple the cost of NOW and provides you with the same benefits.

Below is a view of my oil collection.  What are your favorite oils and what brand do you prefer?

What are some of your favorite essential oils?

Lemon Honey Throat Drops

I've been sick these last few days with a miserable sore throat and a stuffy nose.  It is awful.  I made my own throat drops instead of relying on Halls and they work fabulous.  They give me relief so I'm not constantly coughing.  You probably know that honey has great medicinal benefits for you, however, in this case it is really not about that.  In this recipe you have to bring the honey to a boiling point and when you do that you take out all the medicinal value of the honey.  It still has great flavor though and is very soothing.

You will need a half cup of honey, 2/3 cup of sugar (I used xylitol to help with my teeth) and 2 tablespoons of water.  You will also need the zest of one lemon.  Be sure when you are skinning the zest off that you only get the yellow lemon skin and not the white part of it because it will be bitter.

Mix the three ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, cover the pan and wait until the mixture reaches about 265 degrees.  If you have a candy thermometer, great!  If not, you can look up how to do the cold water test, which is what I did.  I would recommend a candy thermometer as it is more accurate though.  Once it reaches this degree, remove the cover and allow it to cool down for about five minutes.  This will give the mixture time to thicken.

Drop dab of this mixture onto your wax paper and allow to cool and harden for about 20 minutes.  They turned out great and have a bit of a lemon and honey flavor to them.

Sorry about the poor image quality.  My kitchen lights burnt out so I had to make this under my microwave light and a lantern :)