I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I love a good smelling house. There’s something so inviting about walking into a home that smells lovely. I’m not talking overpowering in your face scent but subtle, happy notes that make people want to stay and linger. Candles were my go to until I started reading about the harmful chemicals they emit. One by one, I’ve done away with chemicals in our home and I think we are healthier for it. Those toxic chemicals in our laundry, the air we breathe, what we put on our skin end up having an adverse effect on our hormones and overall health.

There is something about our 40’s that we don’t feel as invincible as we once did. Maybe its watching your parents health decline, maybe its just reaching that halfway mark in life. I’m not sure exactly but hitting my 40’s sure made me more conscious of the everyday choices I was making for myself and my family.

The good news is there are great alternatives now for helping your home smell its best. And even better news is for the next day, new customers get 20% off their first order using code: SHAREYL and 10% in February. Click here to order or on Young Livings site, make sure and enter my member number 4445578 when you checkout. I use oils, especially at night! They have helped us calm down at the days end and promote better sleep. We have diffusers in our bedrooms, bathrooms and main living areas. My favorite oils for sleep are lavender, stress away, purification and peace & calming. I turn them on while my girls are doing their bathroom routines or about 20 minutes before trying to sleep. I have struggled with sleep for years and I’ve always heard that a good routine helps tell your body and mind its bedtime. Oils have helped so much with that!

I like to start the day with a citrus combo that’s energizing and wakes you up! Nesting with Grace has some amazing combos on her blog and Instagram. My personal favorites are her Anthro blend (4 drops grapefruit, 4 drops orange, 3 drops geranium, 2 drops northern lights or other evergreen, 2 lime), Squeaky Clean (4 drops Thieves, 3 drops citrus fresh, 1 drop cinnamon bark), Entry (4 Bergamot, 3 lime and 2 juniper). It gets pricey to do these combos but they smell so good! If you want something more simple, its perfectly fine to pick one oil! Luscious Lemon, Lemon Myrtle and Theives are great ones to do on their own. This kit is a great one to get all of the basic oils for a better price to experiment and see what you like the best!

For wellness and purifying I like to use Theives, Frankinscense, Purification and RC. There is also a kids one called Sniffleease that I use with Theives at night and a little lavender and it’s a great combo for bedtime when you have the stuffies. I like RC and Thieves for adult stuffy nose in combo with the Thieves ointment rub on your chest or under your nose. For general air purification I love Purification and Thieves. So far, we have had a very healthy year and I really am chalking it up to using oils in our home!

 Here are some great starter kit options with my favorite oils and products to start with.

https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/product/thieves-home-cleaning-kit

https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/product/make-a-shift-happy-healthy-home-kit

In January 2023, I decided I wanted to make some changes in our home. I had read all about the toxins in laundry products, cleaning products, skincare and burning candles! That last one was a real bummer to hear considering candles were my favorite thing! I’ve followed Brooke from Nesting with Grace for quite some time and loved what she was doing with Young Living essential oils and pretty much everything she does! When I first looked into purchasing oils, I had some sticker shock and was a little overwhelmed with spending hundreds of dollars. I decided to start small and try one new thing at a time.

Thieves for overall wellness was my first goal! Our immune systems were shot after Covid. We all kept getting dumb viruses again and again now that we weren’t masked up so I wanted to get us to a healthier spot! I purchased a Thieves bundle because bundling is the way to go to save $! It included Thieves oil, laundry detergent, dish soap and Thieves concentrate cleaner. I went in hopeful but also a little skeptical because I have always used antibacterial cleaner, hand sanitizer and bleach, basically all the harsh stuff because as my kids would tell you, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. So how could some natural oils do a better job at killing those yucky bugs? In my heart, I knew the chemicals we were using weren’t good for us.

The other big change in our house was laundry – I realized I was adding so many different products to our laundry – scented beads, soap, fabric softener, dryer sheets etc. and they were all filled with chemicals and different scents which over time mess with our hormones and general optimal function. Thieves detergent seemed pricey at first but when I added up all of the products I was purchasing and realized how concentrated Thieves is, I am actually saving money! I now add ½ capful of Thieves detergent, a scoop of laundry refresher I make and a scoop of Molly suds powder. In the dryer, for stain treatment, I dab a little Thieves dish soap on the stain and in the dryer I use wool dryer balls with a couple drops of my favorite oil. My laundry process feels super simple and clean!

During these cold winter months, we have also loved the Thieves rub. Think Vicks Vapor rub. When you’re stuffy, a little dab under your nose and on your chest makes you feel so much better and it’s natural! The scent is more heavenly than the thick Vicks scent.

TO PLACE AN ORDER – click here or enter my code (4445578) at checkout. First time orders enter SHAREYL for a 20% discount off your total order through January 31. I would definitely join the Young Living Loyalty program. If you have any one item on monthly auto ship, you get deeper discounts on everything! You can always try a few things and then just pick a couple of your favorites to have as loyalty items. If you keep on the auto ship for over 6 months, you get a discount and money back to spend on future purchases. Every month there are also different gifts with purchase depending on how much you spend!

Here's to a happy and healthier 2024 for all of us! 

If you have any questions – feel free to shoot me a message or email chelsa@urbanblush.com. I’ll continue to add tips and do giveaways via Instagram @urbanblushdesign.

www.nestingwithgrace.com is also a great resource for Young Living oils

I was completely proven wrong! We’ve been using the Thieves family of products for a year now and I’ve been blown away!

A bottle of Thieves cleaning concentrate lasts us a couple of months and it literally works on everything and it smells so good. It cleans glass, counters, sinks, showers, toilets, and floors. I sprayed it all over our outdoor grill and got it sparkling clean. We clean our car interiors with it. I spray it on a cloth and wipe the dust off my plants. I also used it on my outdoor plants to keep bugs away. My sister is due to have her first baby any day now and I cannot wait to gift it to her for non toxic cleaning. Thieves honestly gets any cleaning job done well without the harsh chemicals. You get a glass spray bottle and fill it with water and add a capful of Thieves. I keep a spray bottle in the kitchen and every bathroom for quick cleanup. I promise once you try it, you’ll be hooked! This is a great bundle to start with!

Yes, the temps are still in the 80’s here in Salt Lake City, but there were stormy clouds in the sky and it was enough for me to crave fall. I put on a sweater in our air conditioned house and started on a roast and homemade rolls for dinner! I turned on some John Mayer and put my new fall cider blend of oils in the diffuser. And although there was still lingering summer heat outside, it felt like fall to me.

I try and do a back to school dinner every year with a little thought for the year. With our two big kiddos out of the house and in different states, I wanted to focus on our girls. Lately, they’ve really been complaining a lot, whining and saying “It’s not Fair”. The word that came to mind was resilience. It’s a big word for a 8 and 10 year old but it was the best word to describe what we needed a little more of! I found a couple of quotes that encompassed that word in a simple way. The girls can hang them in their rooms and look at them as a quick reminder for the year ahead.

THE VERY BEST ROLLS

These are the absolute best rolls! I make them on all the big holidays - Easter & Thanksgiving for sure and apparently Labor Day too! Click here for the recipe from Oh Sweet Basil, enjoy!

POT ROAST - I’ve tried lots of different pot roast recipes over the years as well as different cooking methods but this one from A Bountiful Kitchen is hands down our favorite and its so easy!

We usually do a couple of little gifts like new markers or hair products, something useful for back to school. I’m a gifter at heart so any opportunity for a little gift, I’m in! Here are the cute little quotes to download. Enjoy! Cheers to fall.

A year of taking care of myself and following my heart = VIBRANT

I love the idea of closing out one year, learning from it and moving forward to the next.

The year 2020 and beyond did a real number on my physical and mental health, as it did on most I imagine. I was left feeling a heavier heart than I had in years and was so tired. I felt a loss of control and I didn’t like how I was feeling physically or mentally. I felt like I was along for the ride but no longer controlled my destiny. In 2022, I worked on taking that back little by little and becoming more resilient. I made all the doctor appointments and tried to be more thoughtful and intentional.

For 2023, that journey will continue for me. I’ve made an effort to schedule 3-4 hot yoga sessions a week, 2 strength training sessions at home and in addition to eating more protein, veggies and fruit – I’m taking supplements. I’ve noticed a huge change in my energy levels! I’ll go into more detail on a different post. I’m also seeing a therapist for the first time in my life. I’m committed to doing the work to feel better mind, body and spirit. I want to be VIBRANT in every way and that means following my heart more. I tend to get lost in action and the endless to do lists. This hasn’t all been bad, that monotonous action has kept my mind healthy but also not allowed me to progress much beyond that.

Building this blog is also getting back to my roots on a habit from my childhood. I journaled 3-4 times a week from about 6th grade all through college. Somehow, after getting married and life getting the best of me, I dropped this habit. In looking back, I think it helped my mind to be in a healthier place all those years of this practice. I was able to work through some really tough shit and not let it weigh on my mind or body. In wanting to be VIBRANT, I am getting back to writing through blogging and can’t wait!

1 | BLOCK LETTER NOTEBOOK 2 | PAPERMATE FLAIR 3 | PENTEL TWIST ERASE 4 | HANDS NOTEBOOK 5 | SIMPLE NOTEBOOK

6 | TUL GEL PENS 7 | BOTANICAL NOTEBOOK 8 | GREEN MOLESKIN 9 | LAVENDER MOLESKIN

One of our customers from The Protein Foundry contacted me to remodel his downtown condo! This was such a fun project to work on and I couldn’t have asked for a better client! He gave me free reigns to style everything to the nines. This could be one of the classiest bachelor pads in the Avenues. I love how all of the colors came together. I kept it simple and timeless and it suited my client’s style perfectly! Check out these before and after photos to see the transformation!