Handmade Gift: Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

I cannot TIE THE KNOT without you by my side.  Will you be my Bridesmaid?

How I popped the question. 

Allow me to impart some history... In early Roman Times, bridesmaids formed a king of bridal infantry as they accompanied the bride to the groom's village.  This "protective shield" of similarly outfitted bridesmaids was supposed to intervene if any wayward thugs or vengeful suitors tried to hurt the bride or steal her dowry. 

However, the Western bridesmaid tradition seems to have originated from later Roman law, which required ten witnesses at a wedding in order to outsmart evil spirits believed to attend marriage ceremonies. The bridesmaids and ushers dressed in identical clothing to the bride and groom, so that the evil spirits wouldn't know who was getting married.

Luckily, I didn’t have to pick my bridal party with any of these factors in mind! I chose the women I wanted to stand by my side on the happiest day of my life.  Ladies that had stood by my side before, and ones that I knew would be by my side in the future.  I knew exactly who my maids were going to be.. to be honest, I probably knew years ago!

Handmade Gifts- Body Scrub

Lavender and Rose Salt Scrub and Orange Dreamsicle Sugar Scrub.

Lots of new things going on around here lately! Mother's Day weekend was over 100 degrees and what did we decide to do?  Sod our front yard and go on a walking tour of old homes in Monrovia, of course!  We survived and as you can see from my photo I just HAD to use our new grass as a backdrop for my homemade body scrubs, which were my gift to my Momma on her special day. 

Each Mother's Day, the town I live in has a tour of old or historical homes.  It was something we used to do with my Grandma many, many years ago we decided to go again this year.  It's really amazing how much pocket windows, crown moulding, roll-up screens, built-in cabinets and picture rails can get me excited.  I guess I was destined to own an older home, and I was excited to see the potential beauty my 1917 Craftsman style house can have in a few years. 

As far as the body scrubs are concerned, they make one of the easiest homemade gifts and most of the ingredients some straight from your pantry at home.  I've made body scrubs with salt, sugar, or coffee.  I've heard that the coffee is good for cellulite, but I cannot atest to any such claims 1 ;) I've made scrubs with coconut oil, almond oil, and olive oil.  Use mild smelling oils and try to avoid mineral oil, as it is not good for your skin and can clog your pores.  When it comes to the scents, one of the easiest ways to get great smelling, good for you scrubs is with essential oils.  Whole Foods and other specialty grocery stores carry essential oils, I especially like peppermint essential oil.  I even grabbed some lavender from the spice and tea man at the Farmer's Market and picked some rose petals from my bush outside to create this salt scrub.