summer: rosemary & lemons

Come Christmastime, my mom and I always put on a pot of "Christmas smells". It's a stovetop combination of all things Christmas, and it wafts through the air and makes the house smell just like it's supposed to at the holidays. My dad makes fun of it, because it looks like garbage soup, but what do boys know anyway?

I love this tradition, so imagine my excitement when I found this recipe at One More Moore. It's a Springtime version of my Christmas air freshener! Now, I know it's July but I'm all about my house smelling fresh like springtime, so here we go! I've never made this before, but the blog's author said this is the same recipe used when she used to work at Williams Sonoma, therefore automatically gaining my trust.

So, grab a lemon and a few sprigs of rosemary. You'll also need vanilla extract and a medium stockpot. Fill your stockpot about 2/3 full and slice your lemon. No need to cut up the rosemary, it goes in whole. Add the sliced lemons and rosemary, then add 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. I also added 1 tablespoon of almond extract, and it smells amazing. I know I should have done the original recipe first, then variations later, but I just couldn't help myself. At least I save my lavender sprigs for next time!


  Start your mixture on a boil to kick start the wafting process, then lower it to a simmer and let it be for the day. You can use this mixture for just a couple days, then you should remake it. Add water as needed, since no one likes the smell of lemons burned to the bottom of a stockpot. One of the comments from One More Moore suggested filling a jelly jar or Mason jar with some of this and putting it on a candle warmer somewhere else in the house. I don't have candle warmers, but I thought that was a fabulous idea, so I'm sharing it with you!

It looks so pretty! It would look prettier if my pots weren't the same ones from my Sophomore year of college, but we have better things to spend our money on. Like crafts. And babies. But that's another post :)