Paris

{Mid-week lunch date: a port wine poached pear salad + iced lavender tea latte.}

Editor’s Note: I’ll be taking the next week off for my birthday. I hope you have a great one, and can’t wait to see you back here on May 16, 2023 with new content! x

This week felt like spring. The weather was sunny and warm each day, and I actually turned on the air conditioner for the first time this year. I still can’t believe we’re somehow already a week into May, meaning my birthday is next week. After a week of simple joys – a cloudy sunrise walk where we witnessed dolphins swimming in the distance, writing in a cafe with lavender tea lattes, a delicious lunch with a dear friend {plus strawberry macarons to take home for dessert} – I am feeling extra excited for my favorite month of the year. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, we will be getting tacos and {virgin} margaritas for dinner. I’m thrilled to have zero plans for this weekend – besides afternoon naps and chasing sunsets by the sea. I hope you have a great one as well!

{A cloudy sunrise beach walk. **Not pictured:** The dolphins we saw swimming.}

{Winning my favorite board game on a Friday night: Mrs. Peacock used the rope in the study.}

{Bright pink bougainvillea to brighten my afternoon.}

{Lilac-hued blossoms near the ocean on a late morning walk.}

x Paris

When it comes to making your own homemade beauty products, I’m all for it. I strongly believe that we are not just what we put in our bodies, but also what we put on our bodies. Using fresh, natural, and organic ingredients, I love being able to recreate a spa item at home for a fraction of the cost, and that is customized exactly the way I want it to be. I’ve been making homemade soaps since I was in the single digit age range, but as I get older, I have learned how important a good salt or sugar scrub can be for exfoliating your skin. Since salt scrub is one of those things I use in the morning {to be energized} and at night {to relax}, I decided to combine a salt scrub made with epsom salts, olive oil, fresh lavender and lavender water {lavender blossoms and water boiled down}, and two essential oils – peppermint {refresh} and eucalyptus {relax}. In the jar I used six layers, starting first with the epsom salts with an 1/8 cup olive oil, one drop each of the peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils, one spritz lavender water, and one lavender blossom, repeated. The end result is something that not only looks pretty to display on my bathroom counter, but smells amazing as well.