I can’t be certain until it’s on my finger, but this heart ring might be perfect in every way.

I’m really bad at giving massages (I’ve been made fun of too many times to count), but receiving them poses few or no problems.

My feet would be right at home inside these crochet slippers.

Vanilla moon and mystic dragon’s blood would be my two picks for Valentine’s Day soap scents.

What would Valentine’s Day be without chocolate-covered strawberries? It’d be the worst; that’s what.

I plan to make and send so many sewn paper valentines, much like the ones above. Maybe I’ll receive or or two as well. ; )

Are you planning ahead for Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear about the special crafts or gifts you’re making!

Sources: Ring, Salve, Slippers, Soap, Cards, Strawberries.

Using two pieces of Danielle’s beautiful Amy Butler scrapbook paper (and following her crafty advice), I recently covered the lids of the glass jars on my bathroom counter. They look just as dreamy as I’d hoped. How is this health and beauty-related, you ask? Well, the jars do contain my hair pins, cotton swabs, and face pads/scrubbies…so there’s that.

The harmless-looking, awful-tasting mixture above is comprised of  3/4 of a cup of warm water, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey, and a little cinnamon. I just gargled with it in an attempt to get rid of my (still) sore throat, and it actually worked! I swallowed it after gargling, which was a suggestion of Danielle’s (because apparently she’s improving my life in all areas lately). You should definitely hit this stuff up if you’re suffering from a sore throat. It’s not an instant cure, but it provided me with a great deal of relief. Translation: I no longer wince when I swallow or feel like my throat is slowly swelling shut.

Danielle and I made homemade bath soak for some of our friends and gave them away as Christmas presents this year. The scents that we ended up with were appropriately named Tangerine Raspberry, Lavender Vanilla, Lemon Jasmine, Lavender Spearmint, and Lavender Peppermint. We used old wine, whiskey, Irish cream, and gin bottles as containers, and the fact that we had ten of those with lids just lying around may make us seem like a bunch of lushes…but, in our defense, we have a lot of parties at our house. For the labels, Kirby modified a set of West Elm holiday tags and cards that Danielle found on How About Orange. I’m really happy with the way that they turned out!

The adorable stamp that I used for the labels on top came from a cute little Etsy shop called cupcaketree. I should’ve taken a closer picture of them, but the birds are wearing Santa hats in case you can’t tell. How adorable, right?!

That’s our friend Robert holding his lavender spearmint bath soak. He’s an alright guy.

This is me with my pretty friend, Allie

Your eyes aren’t playing tricks. That is a fancy Christmas vest that I’m wearing.

Preparing to travel home, Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, Christmas crafting (which I will post about eventually), and fighting off a cold have been keeping me pretty busy lately. I honestly didn’t have much time to throw together anything even kind of original today. Still, I think you guys should check out Care2′s list of 20 Green Gift Ideas. There are some real winners here and there. I love a list that includes animal lovers.

To me, buying health and beauty products is almost as exciting as buying a new dress.

Burt’s Bees Herbal Insect Repellent- I’ve been meaning to try this for a while now.  I always forget about until I’m at a cookout and the only stuff available is Off!  I usually just suck it up and let the bugs bite me.

Living Foods Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil- This is a definite upgrade from the jar that I just finished (which had a picture of shrimp on the label, and was found tucked between the olive and vegetable oils in Walmart).

Burt’s Bees Vitamin E Body and Bath Oil- I already know that I love this body oil.  I’ve almost finished my current bottle.  Btw, I love glass bottles and I can only find this in a glass bottle at the health food store that I frequent when I visit home.

I even snagged Kirby a few treats. I'm a good girlfriend.

Jack Black All-Over Wash- I bought this for Kirby for Christmas, and he loved it.  He just ran out, so I did the right thing and bought him some more.

Anthony Logistics for Men Glycerin Cleansing Bar- I could smell this bar before I even picked up.  It is so citrusy and delicious! I love  walking into the bathroom while Kirby’s showering and smelling good smells.

Badger Organic Healing Balm- Kirby is a manly man, and his hands get pretty beaten up sometimes. I think he’ll enjoy this balm.

I also bought a stamp for making stationery and some fabric flowers for making cooler headbands.

Be sweet to me and I might send you a letter or make you a headband.