If you use essential oils at all in your daily life, you are probably pretty familiar with all of the standard uses for lavender essential oils. Its wonderful for relaxing and relieving stress. Well today I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite less known uses for lavender essential oils. 

Did you know you can use lavender essential oil as a mattress refresher? Simply mix about a third of a cup of baking soda with 3 drops of lavender apple essential oil. Then sprinkle the mixture over your mattress. Let this sit for about 30 minutes, then simply vacuum it up with the nozzle of your vacuum. I've noticed my son sleeps so much more soundly when I do this because the lavender smell is left on his mattress and helps soothe him to sleep. Heavens, I probably sleep better too! 

The other unique way you can use lavender essential oil is for your hair! Many essential oils are only good for certain types of hair, but luckily lavender oil works on all hair types. Its great for preventing breakage, soothing a dry scalp, and even has soothing properties for dry hair. 

The last one I want to talk about is using lavender oil to help with nose bleeds. Any moms of toddlers know that these can occasionally spring up. Simply blot a tissue with lavender oil and place it in the nostril. It may sound a little odd, but it certainly works. 

Well there are a few of the lesser widely known uses for lavender essential oils. There are just so many ways to use this powerful elixir. I'd love to hear how you use yours. And if you're running low, you can always order more online here: http://lavenderapple.com 

For those of you out there without access to an outdoor barbecue, summer in the kitchen can be brutal. There are all these wonderful recipes for grilled meats and vegetables, and you fall further and further into a deep pit of depression as you scroll through your Pinterest fee. Well have no fear, The Lavender Apple is here! This is a wonderful receipe for barbecued chicken breasts, no grill required! The flavors are certainly on point for summer, but you could also make this in winter when your grill is buried under 3 feet of snow. Gulp. This chicken is moist and so full of smokey garlicy barbecue flavor. You will love it. We paired this with some delicious almond smoked (also baked) green beans that you will go crazy over. 

Ingredients for BBQ Chicken: 

2 tablespoons butter

3 chicken breasts

lavender salt and pepper 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons peach preserves

16 ounces BBQ sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, diced

Directions: 

Melt your butter in an oven safe skillet. Add your onion, salt and pepper it, and saute on medium until softened. Add your Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 of your barbecue sauce, and your peach preserves. Stir on medium heat until everything is combined. Add your garlic to the sauce at the end. 

Salt and pepper your chicken, then place it in your skillet. Make sure it gets a nice coating of the sauce all over it. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your breasts, until heated to 165 degrees. Serve with the additional 1/2 of your barbecue sauce drizzled over the top of your chicken. 

Ingredients for the beans: 
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup smokey almonds, chopped

Directions: 
Wash and trim your beans. Chop your almonds into small pieces. Coat your beans in lavender salt, peppers, olive oil, and the smokey almonds. Scatter them across a baking sheet and place in your 400 degree oven for the last 15 minutes of so while your chicken cooks. 

These classic barbecue flavors marry so beautifully and come together without the help of a barbecue! Its such a delicious meal. Enjoy!

Well our lavender is in full bloom here on the farm. It is so so beautiful. Its easy to get caught up in the day to day labor and overlook the beauty of your own farm sometimes. But luckily these gorgeous purple plants are an easy reminder! We hope you all have some fun in the sun planned for your weekend. We might head to a lake and soak up some rays. Have a good one! See you Monday. 

Call me crazy but pretty eggs just taste better. #vain #eatwithyoureyes #chickens #freerange #organic #farm #lavenderapple #utah #farmersmarket #eggs #pretty

A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on Jun 10, 2015 at 6:00am PDT

Our lavender farm just wouldn't be complete without our resident wild peacock. #thelavenderapple #wild #wildbird #peacock #wildpeacock #farm #farmlife #utah #utahgram #birdsofinstagram #birds

A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on Jun 8, 2015 at 5:13am PDT

All dogs should have a farm to play at. #dogsofinstagram #dog #dogstagram #tounge #toungeout #farm #farmlife #buddy

A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on Jun 4, 2015 at 12:55pm PDT

When I became a new mom, I realized just how important clean carpets were. I used to be the type of person that was annoyed when friends would ask me to remove my shoes in their homes. It just felt so awkward and actually a little rude sometimes. But then like many other things in my life, when I became a mother, all of that changed. I realized how much time my sweet little baby spent on the carpet. Face first on the carpet, face on the carpet, me laying on the carpet next to him, etc. Then when he became a toddler, the carpet love continued. All of our playing was done on our carpet. When friends came over, I was now the one asking them to remove their shoes. Sometimes maintenance men would come over and as they walked in and out and I couldn't catch them in time to remove their shoes, I would cringe. And those of us with pets know all too well how much of a lovely scent our beloved animals can leave behind. 

Enter Lavender Carpet Freshener. Just a quick sprinkle of this stuff over my carpet and then a quick vacuum and I can rest easy. 

 How does it work? We use natural baking soda to absorb moisture, odors, and oils. It also helps to loosen up any dirt particles left behind from normal carpet use. We also add lavender essential oils and lavender buds, which have antibacterial, antiseptic, anti fungal properties. All of these are wonderful natural ways to take care of all those nasty germs lurking in your carpet. 

Instead of reaching for a potentially harmful and chemical laden carpet cleaner, consider this healthy ecofriendly alternative instead. As a bonus, the lavender smells amazing and will help you feel relaxed when you are sitting or playing on your carpet. This stuff is the greatest. We actually have a hard time keeping it in stock! So if you don't see it in our online store at www.lavenderapple.com just shoot me a quick email at cnelson@thepurpleapple.com and I will see what I can do about getting them restocked on our website.