As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Saturday, October 18, 2014

gather. {spicy simmering potpourri}


You're not baking, but you want your house to have a spicy autumn smell? You could light one of your pumpkin candles. Or you could gather ingredients from your pantry to make your own simmering potpourri! 

I have made many pots of simmering potpourri in my day, and it's a little different every time, depending on what ingredients are handy. 

This is what I gathered yesterday...

peel of one orange
one apple, cored and cut into chunks
4 small cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract



Put everything in a small saucepan, add a couple of cups of water, and simmer. Before long, your house will smell wonderful! Your husband will come home from work, walk in the back door, and say, "It smells good in here!" (He did.)



You can simmer for hours, but be sure to add more water as it evaporates! You can use the same mix for several days; just put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Be warned that this is strong and spicy! Many floral scents put me in olfactory overload, but since I love spicy or "food" scents (what does that say about me?), I totally enjoy this simmering potpourri. 

So, if spicy is your thing too, go gather stuff from your pantry, and spice up your house on this autumn Saturday!





This is day 18 in the series gather.  Click ~here~ to see more.

5 comments:

  1. My husband often calls me "hyper nose" because I am particularly sensitive to smells. There are few scents that I can tolerate for long, citrus being one of them, so I think I could do this mixture easily (leaving out the apple). I bet it does smell good. Open up your windows and I do a drive by sniff! haha

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  2. I used to do this but have forgotten about it in the past few years so thank you for the reminder !

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  3. I'm going to do it but not today. Since it is nearly dinner time and we are headed to Lindsay and Joseph's to watch Dr. Who together. I will do this soon though. Love spicy, citrusy goodness!

    Deanna

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  4. I do this every fall/winter. Such a lovely way to welcome people to my home. I've never added apple to mine, though. Will try that this year. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. This is such a perfect way to warm up the atmosphere in your home, and is great for those with chemical sensitivities to candles or airfreshners!! Great encouragement !!

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