This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning  products.​*

Magic in the mundane.

I don’t know about you, but I prefer a winter clean over the traditional spring cleaning. When you are inside your home for more time rather than out in the garden, you can see what is cluttering your home and spirit a little more clearly. This is our first full year in our new home and we hosted over the holidays. Phew!

Our kitchen in particular is ready for a clean up and reorganization. I'm trying not to feel stuck with how things are organized now as I've realized how we actually utilize space is flexible and ever changing. Along with needing to make space for some of the new gifts that have made their way into our home from Christmas. I feel the urge to organize everything from kitchen cabinets to bookshelves. Where do we need more storage baskets, hooks, etc to make the day to day flow with more ease? Where can we simplify and donate things we no longer use? I’ve also been scouring facebook marketplace for a cabinet for our kitchen to store and display additional items. Fingers crossed.

This time of year I’m compelled to move through our home with an eye for discernment and with intention, making herbal preparations for a deep clean & blessing our space. I’ve used remnants from our christmas tree to infused vinegar for cleaning, below I’m sharing a simple lavender infused vinegar. I use this as a base for an all-purpose cleaner to use on surfaces around the house (not good for use on stone counters). One part water, two parts infused vinegar and a teaspoon of Sal's Suds in an amber bottle, optionally, a few drops of lavender essential oil can be added.

Lavender Cleaning Spray

Ingredients

1 part lavender buds 4 parts vinegar, ie. 1/4 cup lavender buds to 1 cup white vinegar, or 1 cup lavender to 4 cups vinegar).

Ball® glass jar

Ball® Leakproof Lid

Directions

Place the lavender buds in a clean jar and pour vinegar over the top.

Cover jar with a Ball® leak proof lid

Let sit for 2-3 weeks.

Strain the lavender flowers from the vinegar. Save the infused vinegar in a clean jar.

Add to spray bottles for use as cleaner one part vinegar, one part distilled water, 1 tsp of dish soap like sals suds. 

Rooting into nourishment.

After all of the delicious, yummy, often sugary foods served during the holiday season, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, christmas cookies and tins and tins full of your mother in law’s famous chex mix, my body is craving nourishing and wholesome foods. I find this stretch before the new year a good time to get back in touch with the what grounds & makes your body feel good. I’ve found over time, I reconnect to my routines again.

Making large batches of granola, picking up more greens + fresh salads at the market, I start growing microgreens and listen more closely to the needs of my body in winter. Nutrient dense foods with vitamin D as the sunlight is low: eggs, salmon, orange juice, mushrooms, and yogurt. This granola is a favorite & lives on the counter where the children can easily reach for breakfast or a snack in the Ball® stack and store jar.

Simple Granola

3 cups of oats

½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed preferable

¼ dried cranberries

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

¼ cup coconut oil or olive oil

½ cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons hemp seeds

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, and hemp seeds. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, orange juice, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix well to coat. Spread the mixture evenly over a baking sheet. Bake, tossing the mixture every 15 minutes for 45 minutes, or until golden.

Remove from the oven and let the granola cool in the pan. It will crunch up as it cools. Store in an airtight container or Ball® Stack and Store Jar for up to three weeks.

Somatic rituals.

When the new year approaches, it’s important to remember we are still in the midst of winter. It is still a time to move slowly, nourishing our rest + honoring hibernation mode. One of my favorite recipes for winter is this recipe for Evergreen Bath Salts.

It is January, still a time to lean into the magic of Evergreens an enduring symbol of strength, wisdom and light through the darkest months of the year. Epsom salt baths during winter calm the nervous system and provide somatic relief. Clearing our bodies from what we are holding onto from the year before, intentional rituals ready our bodies, minds and hearts for the year ahead, acknowledging all we’ve held and done in the year with gratitude.

Review, reflect + celebrate. 

As I reflect on the year, so many things have happened! From releasing my first book, to moving into our home, as I reflect back on my work, motherhood, family time, relationships, there is so much to process and hold. I am so grateful to have forged meaningful and enduring connections. One such experience was traveling to Italy with my dear friend Whitney on my birthday. I love to review the year in community and with friends, sharing gratitude for those who have provided love and support. Acknowledging we do not journey alone.

This Fall, I made a botanical infused gin with juniper, rose buds, rosemary, orange peel and for our New Year’s celebrations I turned it into a liqueur as a base for a winter version of the Hugo Spritz recipe.

When traveling in Milan, Venice and Lake Como with Whitney, this refreshing and low alcohol Hugo Spritz was our drink of choice. Here I’ve recreated this with a winter inspired twist. Hugo Spritz features an elderflower liqueur called St. Germain, here i’ve turned my Evergreen Infused Vodka, into a liqueur simply by adding simple syrup (one cup of sugar and ½ cup water, boiled down) 

This pine infused vodka is a simple & delicious recipe as well to recreate the Evergreen Spritz.

Ingredients

1-2 cups conifer needles, chopped

1 750 mL bottle of organic vodka

Directions

Place the conifer needles in a Ball® Wide Mouth 32 ounce jar until it’s roughly ⅔ full. Pour the vodka over the needles, covering them completely. Cover the jar with Ball® Leakproof lid. Label with the contents and date, then place in a cool, dark place (like a cupboard) for 3-4 weeks. Shake the jar occasionally to make sure all the plant material stays submerged. Strain the plant material from the vodka using a cheesecloth-lined strainer, reserving the infused vodka. Pour the infused vodka into a glass jar, label, cap, and store at room temperature in a dark cabinet for up to 2 years.

Evergreen Hugo Spritz 

Add one ounce of pine or botanical liquer

One ounce of soda water (I used a lemon seltzer water)

4 ounce prosecco

A sprig of pine or rosemary

a squeeze of lemon or lime juice

Optional: a wedge of lime

Directions

Muddle pine needles or rosemary with pine liquer in a crystal quilted jam jar. Top with sparkling water and prosecco. Serve and enjoy! 

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that is part of an ongoing partnership with the Fresh Preserving Division of Newell Brands. They have provided jars, equipment and monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own.