Well if you've kept up...

With the main blog "Sagewood Farm" then you know we've been kinda busy around here..specially with a NEW BABY!! Woohoo! Daughter gave birth on Dec 17th to an almost 9lb baby girl and we are thrilled. It's made for a busy month, what with traveling and new births and Christmas..and well you get the drift.

In the meantime..here's a little idea for all those lovely holiday smells we love to smell but can never get to stay around long.

I have one little pot..a small saucepan really that I use for this ONLY. You can use a regular saucepan that you always use..but I need every pot and pan I have to prepare big holiday meals..so go thrifting or yardsale'ing it and find a small saucepan for this purpose only.

Everyone has oranges or tangerines or even grapefruit for the Christmas season it seems. I'm sure if you look in your spice cabinet you'll find cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Any one or maybe all of the above right? RIGHT!

So take your little saucepan and peel that orange (or whatever citrus fruit you have on hand). Toss the peels in the saucepan and now run to the spice cabinet. I prefer to use cinnamon and nutmeg, but you pick the two or three that you like best and add 1 teaspoon of each one to the peels. Now fill the little saucepan 1/2 way with water. Stick this concoction on the back burner of your stove ..preferably the one your oven 'vents' on. (if you have a fireplace insert, you can sit it on top of that too!)
Turn on the burner and bring the mixture to a simmer...add more water if you need to to keep it at 1/2 full. Once it begins to simmer, turn it down to low and let it sit there..all day. Check it often and refill with water as it evaporates.

Your house will smell FABULOUS all day long! Turn it off at night of course and remember to add water the next day and start over again! You can keep this running for about 3 or 4 days before you'll need to 'refresh' it with all new stuff and start over again!

Every time I do this people walk in and ask me "What are you bakin' it smells wonderful!" ..little do they know! LOL

Now..you can always opt to do the 'new fangled' way of making your house smell by using scented candles and such..but hey, why not try and old fashioned 'air freshener' once in a while.

Things you can add to this or do differently to 'spice' it up and make it different are:
Apple peels
Pumpkin pie spice
cinnamon sticks
whole cloves
bay leaves
Vanilla flavoring (or any flavoring..orange, peppermint even maple!)

The possibilities are limitless ..and only curtailed by your imagination, so let it run wild and create your own 'house scent' designed for the season your in!