summer mists

It's Milo, the mist assistant!

All of my complaints about the unseasonably cool summer disappeared over the last couple of weeks when Spokane has made the sudden transition to hot weather. How quickly we forget, or at least I forget, once the temp jumps to 96 degrees. Ughhhhhhh. But while flipping through an old Martha Stewart magazine, as I am wont to do while eating my cereal in the mornings, I came across a simple summer pick-me-up: the all-natural mist. Part of my routine for keeping cool is to put water on every bit of exposed skin and just let it evaporate as nature intended. But this definitely seems a step above splashing over the kitchen sink. Plus, it's so simple and so instantly gratifying, I swear you'll mist the summer away. 

You'll need: an empty mini spray bottle or two. I picked mine up in the travel minis section of Target: 97 cents each. 

Find something that smells phenomenal....like lavender, 

rosemary, 

mint, 

or thyme.

No weird eggs allowed in my mist, even if they do appear to have hatched. 

Now comes the most difficult part: trim a bit of your herb and place it in your bottle. Then fill the bottle with water.

Here's the easy part: mist every bit of exposed skin. The lavender smells especially fragrant if you've picked it

 on a hot day. The heat just seems to enhance the scent of everything. I made a lavender and mint mister,

as well as rosemary and mint. Plus, Martha claims that lavender and mint are natural insects repellents. Bonus! 

If you don't anticipate using the entire concoction within a few days, use only the leaves and stems of the lavender. The first time around, I used the flowers and they turned the water a bit brown after a day or two. So, keep an eye on your greenery. If it starts to get yucky, swap it out for a new batch, and if you go through the water like mad, just add more!

I'm house-sitting this week, so I'm just borrowing Milo, as well as the lovely garden.
Hopefully, you have a cat on hand to act as your very own mist assistant. ♥