Once in an Orange Moon…

October is the month that gives us the Harvest Moon.  The Harvest Moon appears as a ‘darker sun’, like an amber sphere in the evening horizon, adding an enchanting mystique to the holiday month of Halloween.

This special moon is closest to the Autumn Equinox (no…it’s not just a gym!).  So, welcome to the season!

Who knows if the Moon’s….(IV) by: E.E. Cummings

Who knows if the moon’s

a balloon, coming out of a keen city

in the sky–filled with pretty people?

(and if you and I should get into it, if they

should take me and take you into their balloon,

why then we’d go up higher with all the pretty people

than houses and steeples and clouds:

go sailing away and away into the keen

city which nobody ever visited, where

always it’s spring) and everyone’s

in love and flowers pick themselves

Lavender Steam Facial

*Courtesy of Cooking Well: Beautiful Skin

Another avenue for achieving natural beauty is to indulge in your own home spa!  The winter months can leave your skin drier and sometimes the best thing to do is a steam facial to naturally detoxify your skin’s pores.  You will feel refreshed, as though it were spring time.  :)

Instructions:

If your facialist is out of town, fear not!  Over the stove, bring a medium-sized pot of water to a high heat (almost boil).  Use a towel to cover your head and sides of the pot, trapping the steam, allowing it rise to your face and open your pores.  For added relaxation, add a few drops of lavender essential oil.  The calming aroma smells divine.  As you slowly inhale deep, relaxing breaths, the heat and the moisture will open your skin’s pores and release oxidants and toxins.  When you feel as thought your face has a sheath of wetness covering it, gently pat your face with a cool, damp cloth to rinse away the toxins you have just sweated out, and seal your pores.  This is a cleansing, natural way to release your skin of undesirable toxins.  It’s your at-home facial!