If you are anything like me, the holiday decorations are broken out the day after Halloween. However, this warm weather is fighting against my holiday spirit! So here are some of the best holiday beverages to get into the holiday spirit, and relax.

Mountain Rose Herbs has wonderful holiday teas, that are sure to promote relaxation in your home! My top pick from them would be the chai, as it brings along the most cozy feelings. Bonus points if you add a little creamer, a shot of espresso, and a lot of cinnamon to make a dirty chai!

Yogi Tea is filled with relaxing blends. Their cold season tea and the cinnamon berry both scream winter. These teas are perfect to fill up your favorite holiday mug with when you pop on a holiday movie.

How do you have a holiday drink on the go? My go to add on to turn a basic drink into a holiday one is peppermint essential oil. Grab a hot coffee or a citrusy tea, then add a drop or two of the essential oil and stir. It is great for alertness, as well as soothing a sore throat.

However you choose to get into the holiday spirit, a warming tea always helps to make it feel just a little more cozy. Teas are wonderful gifts as well, and go perfectly with a jar of local honey and a mug!

As a college student, our lives are jam packed with movement. Most college students move around, and spend enough time outdoors or around other people to create some immune system weakness.

So what vitamins should a college student be taking?

• Probiotics are an important part of the diet. They promote gut health and a healthy immune system
• Vitamin D helps with bone health, as well as fighting against cancer.
• Multivitamins help ensure that all bases are being covered in promoting a healthy lifestyle.

What if you do not know where to start?

Luckily, both Pure Encapsulations and Gaia Herbs provide vitamin mixes to help protect the body from anything harmful!

How do I pick the brand that is right for me?

If you are okay with taking pills or supplements, Pure Encapsulations offers many variations of blends to take. They are easy to use, and just need to be taken once a day.

If you prefer something chewable, Gaia Herbs is the brand for you! They offer multivitamins, elderberry gummies, and even some teas to help build your immune system.

Whichever brand you believe suits you best, it is important to be consuming vitamins as a college student. With constant exposure to people, it is easy to take on any illnesses that they might have. By taking multivitamins and staying hydrated, you will feel much better and have a healthier lifestyle.

If you have sensitive skin like I do, the colder weather takes a large toll on it. From wind to brutal cold, the coming winter weather is not kind to our skin. So, here’s a few ways to protect your skin from the elements.

For the Home

A great way to both hydrate your skin and keep your home smelling good is investing in a humidifier. You can add in your favorite winter inspired essential oils to fill your home with familiar scents.

Limit the temperature of your showers. If you get itchy in the cold winter weather, try making your showers cooler, and pick up some unscented body washes to remove any extra irritants.

Cook foods high in fatty acids and omega 3s. Some of these could include flax seeds or fish like salmon!

For your Face

To protect from harsh weather, hydration is key.

Applying petroleum based lip balms and thick or jelly like moisturizers is key to having healthy and dewy winter skin.

Wearing sunscreen is also incredibly important to protecting skin from the winter weather, and it is important to remember to wear SPF even on cloudy days.

Do not get too close to the heat! As much as we love cozying up to a fire on a cold day, getting too close can dry out our skin. So, enjoy the warmth from a distance and invest in some good blankets.

With the beautiful seasons changing comes a change in weather that can take a toll on our bodies if not kept in check. Hopefully these tips will help keep you happy and healthy in the coming months.

As much as I love fall, I could do without the illness that seems to come alongside it. The changing of the seasons, as beautiful as it is, also presents many opportunities for colds and flus to take root in our bodies. That being said, there are things that we can do to curb the symptoms of cold and flu.

Elle’s Top Tips for Beating Cold and Flu Season:

• Eat lots of spicy soups
  • Find a local Asian restaurant and stock up on hot and spicy soup to kick illness to the curb.
• Bundle Up!
  • Protecting your ears, neck, and hands/feet from being cold is so important!
  • Get a cute set of hat and gloves like these if you plan on being outside!
• Drink hot tea with Manuka honey to coat your throat and get good nutrients in.

Gaia Herbs provides many awesome teas that can help get rid of any cold and flu symptoms! They have all natural teas that can cover such a wide range of symptoms. Two of my favorites are the sinus relief and the sleep teas, because I often find it hard to sleep when I do not feel well. In addition to those, there are also many teas meant to help over the course of time, such as ones that emphasize adrenal health.

In a pandemic, it is easy to forget the other illnesses we need to protect ourselves from. Gaia Herbs’ teas make it easy to put protective measures into our daily lives!

Bees are such important parts of our ecosystem. Scientists have discovered the benefits of using bee propolis or “bee glue” for its many health benefits. It has been noted to help with reproductive health, wound healing, and anti-aging effects.

As time has gone on, we have seen bee products being incorporated into both modern and holistic medicinal practices.

So what makes bee propolis so special?

Healthline explains the vast applications of propolis well, stating that “Greeks used it to treat abscesses. Assyrians put it on wounds and tumors to fight infection and help the healing process. Egyptians used it to embalm mummies.”

Propolis contains many antioxidants, making it able to fight against many diseases and promoting health benefits on a wide front.

Bee propolis is not incredibly easy to come by, however, so taking it as a supplement is likely the easiest way to incorporate it into day to day life.

Propolis Supplements

A healthy adult can consume up to 70 milligrams of propolis a day. With this, it can help to reduce inflammation, disease, and increase overall bodily health. It contains over 300 constituents, beeswax, tree buds and sap, essential oil, balsam, and flower pollen. On top of this, it has been said to improve:

• Cellular Health
• Immune System Health
• Oral Health
• Skin Health
• Upper Respiratory Health
• Wound Healing

As always, take careful consideration when deciding to incorporate a new supplement into your lifestyle, and do not take propolis if you have an allergy to bees or their products.

The incorporation of something that has been widely used for centuries is an amazing way to kickstart a healthy lifestyle shift.

In honor of the fall equinox, I decided to compile a list of all the best (and covid-19 friendly!) fall activities that are perfect to do alone, or with your loved ones!

For the activity lovers:

If you like to be kept busy, social distancing has put a damper on a lot of fall activities. However, there are still plenty of great options! Try to find a pumpkin patch that has a corn field maze – bonus points if it’s haunted. Other great options could be attending or hosting a square dance party with a small group of friends. Getting out of your comfort zone could be just what you need to kick fall off to a good start. Or, you could seek out a fun fall themed 5k to get your heart rate up! These are great for covid, as there are many virtual 5k options!

For the outdoorsy folks: 

If adventuring into the outdoors is more your speed, then now is the perfect time to find a local campsite and enjoy the fall breeze. When you get to your campsite, there’s endless possibilities. You could fish or hunt for a meal or for sport. Or, if you are more like me, you can take advantage of less crowded hiking trails and take in the sights of nature before the first snowfall!

For the foodies:

If food is your love language, try hosting a cook off! You could have a chilli cooking competition, followed by one for apple or pumpkin pie! Or, if you would prefer not to cook, look into local vineyards or orchards. Many are hosting live music that you can bring a picnic to!

Whatever you chose to do, getting creative can be the perfect solution to an activity-free fall season!

Everyone knows what flax is, but do they know what it does? Flax seeds are amazing ingredients with complex and beneficial nutrient profiles! Consuming flax seed oil can help to curb appetites, aid in weight control, all while providing protein and fiber!

This miracle nutrient is incredibly high in the healthy fat, Omega-3. This has been known to help in many ways, including cancer prevention.

How do you consume Flax?

While you can consume flax in a pure form, many individuals find it easier to consume flax as a supplement. In addition to selling a flax supplement, Douglas Laboratories offers many natural supplements and alternatives.

The Douglas Laboratories flax seed oil is incredibly easy to use. It contains 100% pure, unrefined, organically grown flax. Each bottle comes with 100 soft gels, meant to be consumed daily.

What does it do?

These flax oil supplements contain:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids 520mg
  —(as alpha-linolenic acid)
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids 110mg
  —(as linoleic acid)
• Omega-9 Fatty Acids 140mg
  —(as oleic acid)

Each of these are essential fatty acids. meaning they are needed in your body.

Why aren’t you taking flax oil right now?

Sadly, many people do not know how important flax can be for your health. In addition to the reasons listed above, it can also help with digestion issues, reduce inflammation, and help to clear up your skin. This magical nutrient can really do it all!

Let me know if you try it, I know that I am going to start incorporating this supplement into my daily life!

After a long, Labor Day weekend, it’s time to get back into the swing of things. So, here’s some great essential oils for your home office! A few options to help with alertness (which we all need after sleeping in all weekend!) are rosemary, grapefruit, and peppermint because they alert your senses! However, there are plenty of essential oils to help you conquer the day alert and focused!

You may be wondering, how do I use essential oils? You can use them in a variety of ways! Some people chose to apply them topically, while others diffuse them. I personally enjoy a drop of peppermint or orange oil in the base of my coffee or hot chocolate for a kickstart to my day!

Oils for Focus

Citrus-based oils are amazing on channeling energy and focus. Some of these oils are orange, lemon, grapefruit, and lemon grass. Not only do these help keep you bright eyed and bushy tailed, they can also help build your immune system!

Oils for Energy

Herb-based oils work wonders for giving us energy. Some great options are peppermint, rosemary, and spearmint oils. These oils have been proven to boost mood, increase energy, and in some cases even improve memory.

Whatever you may need to help get your week off to a good start, there is an essential oil that can help you with that process. These natural oils are very helpful to day to day life, but always make sure to use in small quantities at first in case of an allergy.

Good luck and have a great week!

If you’re like me, and heading back into school or work, you know that life is a whole lot more confusing right about now. There’s so many new rules and regulations to keep ourselves and others healthy and safe. However, with all of these new regulations, it is pretty easy to feel controlled or out of whack when it comes to returning to “normal” life. So, here are a few tips and tricks I’ve found to help me feel more myself in this new normal.

Take walks, lots of them

Fresh air is so so important to our physical and mental health. By taking just an hour a day to walk outside and feel fresh air and sunshine, it can improve our mood greatly. The New York Times reported that warmer weather and UV rays could even impact the effect of the coronavirus, but at the very least, getting out in the sunshine can help us feel more grounded and in tune with the earth.

Personally, I’ve been trying to look for new walking trails nearby, and have even attended a few outdoor yoga classes! Many studios are doing free outdoor classes right now, look into it!

Bring plants into your home

Plants have been known to boost our moods and help keep air clean. So, why wouldn’t you bring some into your workspace? While there are some that are hard to care for, some fool proof plants to have are ferns (which come in all kinds of varieties, I have button and asparagus ferns and love them!) and snake plants!

Bottomline, this time of life we are living in is stressful! Whether you are working from home or returning out into the world, you are likely experiencing a lot of changes. Finding positive, natural ways to channel your energy is a great way to cope with new stressors in your life!

Pets are important parts of our families, and many cats and dogs enjoy being outside. However, there are many risks that come alongside the freedoms of playing outdoors. Two major risks are fleas and ticks.

How do we protect our pets from fleas and ticks?

Sadly, tick bites in dogs are hard to find, since they are typically too small to find in their fur. The only way to identify ticks once they are on your pet is watching for ticks, especially in the areas that are tick hot spots. These include the ears, around the tail, around the eyelids, and even under the toes of your pet.

So, what preventative measures can we take to prevent ticks from finding the hot spots on your pet?

There are many products available for flea and tick prevention, but very few natural ones on the market. If we use natural products on ourselves, why not on our furry family members too?

Pet Naturals of Vermont is a brand that provides many natural products for your pets! They have everything from multivitamins to dog treats. Pet Naturals of Vermont also makes a flea and tick spray for your pets that contains all natural ingredients such as sesame oil, lemongrass, and cinnamon oil. All you do is spray the mixture on your pet, emphasizing legs and stomach. Then, depending on coat length you can rub it in or apply it to pet grooming tools like brushes.

As pet owners, the main goal is to keep your pet happy and healthy. Pet Naturals of Vermont makes that easy to do with their fast applying spray!