Treasury Thanks: Lavender by thedoghouse

I am delighted to be writing this blog today as it features several favorite topics... the color purple, the herb lavender, yummy baked goods, and an etsy EFA team colleague of mine: thedoghouse.

Its hard to know where to begin today's tale... because you see its a chicken and egg thing... but in all fairness, Jane would agree that it all began here:

A snapshot of this year's lavender harvest at Twilight !

What you are looking at is organic dried bulk French Provencal Grosso lavender flower buds... It was harvested and dried earlier this month & then listed into my Etsy shop: brizel4TheAnimals in a variety of weights & formats.

The listing reads: "Create lavender scented aromas to soothe your soul and those you share it with... stuff sachets for your closets & drawers... sprinkle in a bucket for a soothing foot bath... stash in your pillow for an easier nights rest... make tea... mix in with your Herbes de Provence... throw a potpourri... make oils & perfumes... create soap, house cleaners, bug repellent sprays... stuff wedding favors... use for love spells !"

"Organically home grown on my land, far far away from city smog, up in the mountains of Northern California where the air is fresh & clear... where wild hares frolic in the moonlight on the boundaries of my orchards and spiral gardens... I do not use ANY spray on my herbs, either chemical or organic... so what you get is 100% all natural, unsprayed, untreated sun dried organic herbs.

This french lavender of the Grosso persuasion grows in a large scale spiral orchard composed of 18 different varieties of apple trees. Bearded purple irises and lavenders of all kind grow in between the trees and grace us with their lovely blooms all summer long."

That my blog friends, I am told, inspired Jane from thedoghouse to create this absolutely gorgeous treasury collection...

LAVENDER

This divine collection of EFA TEAM products featuring multiple hues of purples- lilac- violet- plum- mauve- rose- LAVENDER is... delicious !!!

Click HERE to visit the actual treasury on Etsy so that you can browse through the individual listings. My personal 3 favorites are... AldanaMica's Capelet Cowl; thefaeriecupboard's Rhinestone Brooch; and layla's wonderful bar of button soap ! But... i have to say that i could easily expand my favorites to include the catnip mouse and the Lavender Days photograph.

- There is something extra special about lavender ! -

I dream about planting more french lavender (especially since I sorrowfully lost a huge 9 yr old Grosso to the wildfire this year) I find myself wistfully thinking about pruning lavender flowers, drying them & making beautiful scented bud. A dreamy visualization of standing in front of a big lavender bush, with gentle sunlight & a small breeze, bending over with my shears & pruning to deposit armfuls of divinely scented flowers in large baskets. Well... I'm enamored :)

Jane, on the other hand, headed to the kitchen to make these:

Lavender infused Cupcakes !

(wistful sigh)

Oh Goddess... my salivary glands get activated just looking at them. lol. Wander over to her website's blog to read an entire post about these delicious treats she made (click HERE to get there). All I can say is... how I wish I had been one of her dogs that day :)

Apart from creating treasuries & baking cupcakes... Jane runs several businesses... one is a dog related affair in which she hikes with dogs all day (lol) and another is selling animal themed products online on venues such as Etsy.com and Folksy.com.

I had hoped to be showing off some of her apparel personally- as in on my body- but I didn't get round to figuring out how to create self portraits that would do them justice ! Instead I will show you her own pictures of my two recent acquisitions...

"Relax... This vintage plum 100% cotton women's T-shirt features a hand printed image in charcoal grey of a greyhound lying upside down along with the caption 'relax'."

What more could a virgo busy-body like me want... than an image of Max, one of Jane's greyhounds, showing me how to rest & relax... on a purple hued organic shirt that is oh-so sooooooooooo soft that I would never want to remove it from my body ? The answer is... a second one !

"Follow The Trail... This aubergine 100% combed cotton women's inside-out sleeveless T-shirt features hand printed pawprints in white on the back & front."

Equally soft and yummy- I feel sure that Molly, the second greyhound in Jane's household, inspired this lovely apparel art. and that was my main birthday present to myself this year. I was a glutton for dog themed shirts...

I highly recommend that you stop by Jane's shop: thedoghouse to see what goodies you might personally enjoy... click HERE to visit thedoghouse !