Easy-Peasy Homemade Natural Deodorant

Coconut Oil Deodorant

Good day, and thank you for strolling by Leisure Lane.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been doing more natural things for a healthier me.  This all-natural homemade deodorant is one of those things.

It’s a simple recipe, yet works wonders, and I’ll never use anything else again.  If you’d like to make your own, the recipe is as follows:

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (for thickener)
1 to 2 tablespoon extra virgin, unfiltered, cold-pressed coconut oil
1/8  to 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda**

In a bowl mix the ingredients until smooth, then transfer it into a clean container.  Play with the ingredients to see how much of the arrowroot you need to get it to the right consistency.  I sometimes add more.

The arrowroot powder works as a thickener.  Arrowroot can usually be found in the spice section of the grocery store, but if you can’t find it, you can most likely use cornstarch or tapioca powder.   Coconut oil is absolutely wonderful and has many uses.  In this recipe it helps to keep down the bacteria that causes odors.  So even on its own you get some protection.  The baking soda helps to eliminate or absorb odors, so its an extra addition to the anti-odor solution.

All in all, I am amazed with how wonderful this deodorant works!  And it’s not just for the ladies…it works very well on men, too.

**Though I haven’t had a problem, baking soda can severely irritate some skin types, which is why I added very little.  Some of the recipes on the internet add way too much, and many people complain of a burning reaction.  If you decide to make it, start out with the lower dose, and see how that works for you.  Everyone is different, so do what you think is best for you.  But, I firmly believe that the baking soda should be a minimal ingredient.

You can double the recipe if need be.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this.  Let me know what homemade products you use, if any, and how they work for you.  Thank you, again for visiting.  May your day be filled with blessings.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

 

Pamper Yourself – Naturally!

Rosemary Hair Rinse

Good day, and welcome to Leisure Lane!

Whenever we do something nice for ourselves, we think of it as pampering.  But truthfully, most of what we call pampering ourselves are things we should be doing daily to keep ourselves healthy.  Recently, I’ve been making a most delightful rosemary hair rinse – simple to make, yet glorious to my hair and scalp.

I simmer some fresh sprigs of rosemary in filtered water for a few minutes and then let it cool down a bit.  Then I remove the sprigs and pour the rosemary water through a strainer into a clean container, and I’m ready to use it as my final rinse.  It can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days until I’m ready to use it for my next washing.

After washing and conditioning, I pour it over my hair and gently massage my scalp for a minute or so.  Then I  squeeze out the excess and wrap my hair in a towel before drying.

I made some as a gift along with homemade, all-natural deodorant for my neighbor.  She loved the gesture, as she works very hard during the week and appreciates doing little things that help her to relax when she gets home.  The deodorant is amazing!  I’ll be posting how to make that next time.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post.  What are your favorite ways to ‘pamper’ yourself?  I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne ♥

Happy Card for a Happy Day

Hello everyone, and thank you for strolling by the Lane today!

I’ve been creative today, so I thought I’d share a quick card I made this afternoon. It’s a horizontal card made on some extra card stock I had.  It was so much fun and quite relaxing to do.  Simple line drawings and colored in with some markers.

I’ve been doing lots of swirls in my gratitude journal and drawing lots of cupcakes lately, and thought I’d incorporate some of that in the card.  I’ve been having goodies on my mind a lot lately…LOL!

I hope you all have a delightful day today!  Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne♥

September Rain

Good day, friends…

I’m so happy you’ve come by to visit.  Since it’s September and raining on and off  in my neck of the woods, I thought I’d re-post the following.  I hope you enjoy it.  Autumn has always seemed to me to be a time of introspection and preparation for renewal.  May your day be full of good and happiness.

                                                                               

     September Rain                                                         

     An afternoon, September rain catches my attention, and invites me to sit a while.  The rocking chair seems the best place, and cradles me and my thoughts like a gentle mother, while briefly reminding me of time spent cradling my own child in this very chair.  I look out of the window; the grayness never had so much color.  I smile at that paradoxical thought. 

     A branch of a tree, hidden around the corner of the house, sticks out like a long arm;  it’s leaves still green, still firmly attached, not yet affected by any change in the season.  The rain has saturated the branch.  Drops fall from it one by one, like round, glistening pearls, as if they know each must take a turn as not to upstage the other.  But some seem to lose their timing, and two or three fall at once until the rhythm is once again recovered.  I can’t help but notice that no matter how many droplets fall, more get added on until the poor thing is heavily laden with its tear-like burden. 

     How can such seemingly weightless little drops weigh down a branch with such intensity?  That pitiful extremity could be anyone’s life, I think to myself – weighed down by worldly droplets; trials which leave one unable to move.  Often those unmerciful times, like raindrops, come one after the other becoming heavier by the minute until one is so saturated by the downpour, that each subsequent drop feels as if it is landing in slow motion. 

     I look at that branch bending from it’s cumbersome, transparent cloak.  It seems to say, “I have faith this will end soon, the sun will shine, and I will again rise to the height of God’s purpose.”  Faith keeps that branch from breaking under the strain of it’s heavyhearted predicament, and I realize that my faith helps me to bend like that determined branch.  After all, it’s true – rains don’t last forever.  Even the Great Flood came to an end, the sun shone, and man once again rose to the height of God’s purpose.  So was this September rain a reminder of my faith and purpose; my strength and verve. So was this September rain my compass in the storm of life.

 

 Copyright©2003 Marianne Coyne

Hello friends,

As promised here is the first version of an inspired September afternoon in 2003.  On June 25th I posted ‘Out of the Blue“, the second version of this quiet, yet powerful contemplative day.  If you haven’t read it, or wish to read it again, you can click here for the June post.

Thank you all for visiting here on Leisure Lane.  I hope I’ve stirred a little something in you of hope, faith, or at least a quiet deep breath.  You are all very special to me.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne ♥

Note:  The above image is an altered detail from an original oil painting, “Path of Hope”, by Marianne Coyne.  The prose is written by Marianne Coyne, copyright©2003.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

An Awesome Review

Hello Everyone, and thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you are all well.

I recently received an awesome review by Colleen Chesebro.  Colleen is the author of the blog Silver Threading, and will be coming out with her first book, Fairy Whisperer.  Click here to check out her review, and to see what Colleen is up to most recently.

Thank you for visiting Leisure Lane.  Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Ordinary IS Extraordinary by Joanne Cain

Good day readers, and thank you for stopping by today.

If you’ve ever perused my sidebar on Worth Viewing, you may have noticed a blog called, Katherine’s Daughter.  If you’ve never visited Joanne Cain’s blog, I suggest you do.  You will find wonderful posts to lift your day.

She is also the author of her first book, ordinary IS extraordinary, which you can find on Amazon in kindle and paperback format.  I was blessed enough to receive a copy of her paperback book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I had a hard time putting it down.  I started it in the morning, but had to attend to other things.  That afternoon I picked it up again and finished it.  It spoke to me on many levels, and I believe it will do that to every reader in some way or another. I have left a review on Amazon, which I will share with you here.

I kindly received a free copy of Joanne Cain’s book via mail.  I’ve been a follower of Joanne’s blog, Katherine’s Daughter, for some years now, and I’ve always admired the charming way she has of using words to make ordinary life experiences extraordinary.  She repeats her wonderful style in her first book, where her vulnerability is shared with the reader .  She takes you on a journey of inner struggles, as she learns to conquer them, while acquiring the answers to living a simpler and easier life. Her style of writing flows easily, making for a quick read, but I suggest that you take your time with Ordinary IS Extraordinary in order to digest the life lessons, spiritual growth, and self-awakening gems within its covers. I believe everyone who reads this book will relate to something in it and gain something from it.  I did.   I thoroughly enjoyed Joanne’s first book and hope she has plans for a second one.

 

If you haven’t already read Joanne’s book, you can check it out here:  https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Extraordinary-Reframing-Purpose-Gratitude/dp/1497437989

I hope your day is filled with extraordinary blessings!  And until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Popular Valentine Card

Good day everyone,

I’m so glad you dropped by to visit today.  I’ve noticed every February my Blue Mountain Arts valentine card gets a lot of views.  So I thought I’d let you know where you can look for it.  If you like the card look for it in your area wherever Blue Mountain Arts greeting cards are sold.  If you have a Cracker Barrel in your neighborhood be sure to check it out there.  Last year a friend of mine called me to let me know she saw my card at our local Cracker Barrel.  She said there were only two left so she bought one for a friend. I hope to see it there again this year, too.  It really is a beautiful card. Sometimes cards don’t make the same rounds every year, but show up in different places, so if you still can’t find it, you can contact Blue Mountain Arts and see if you can order it.

I hope this helps you find the perfect Valentine’s Day card for a friend.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne ♥