How to Make Fermented Eggplant (And, WOW, Is It Delicious!)

Have too much eggplant? Or some large eggplant you don't know what to do with? How about trying fermentation? Here is a DELICIOUS way to preserve eggplant! You'll be giving your body some probiotic goodness at the same time! :-)

Recipes, FermentationHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 25, 2017how to ferment eggplant, fermentation, how to ferment vegetables, how to preserve eggplant Comments

How to Shop Like a Minimalist: 8 Things to Consider BEFORE You Buy That Thing!

How and Why to Shop Like a Minimalist! So, with fear and trepidation (insert scary music), as I get ready to really go LOOK at the most cluttered place in our home (The Loft) and make a plan to actually follow through to declutter it and make it beautiful, I am sitting here thinking that OBVIOUSLY, if I had been thinking like a Minimalist BEFORE I bought all that "stuff," then I wouldn't be having to spend my time on this project now!

Health RebelHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 20, 2017minimalism, how to be a minimalist, essentialism Comments

10 INSANE Things to Know About Using Lemon Essential Oil (And Why it Should Be in Everyone's Home!)

Lemon Essential Oil has so many uses, not to mention the fact that it smells delicious and joyful! It's one of the most "happy" oils out there! Find out about the INSANE things you need to know about using lemon essential oil!

Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 19, 2017how to use lemon essential oil, what is lemon essential oil used for, lemon essential oil, using lemon essential oil, lemon essential oil for weight loss, lemon essential oil for cleaning, lemon essential oil for mood, lemon essential oil for depressionComment

What to Do With an Egg-Bound Turkey Hen...A Real Life Learning Tale

We had a tragedy the other day. I especially felt the pain of it, because I had allowed myself to become so attached to Little Mama. She is one of our turkey hens, and she became egg-bound---a very dangerous condition. Here is what we did.

PreparednessHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 16, 2017egg bound turkey hen, egg bound hen, egg bound, sick turkey, homesteading with turkeys, animal harvest philosophyComment

How to Clip a Turkey's Feathers...and What to Do if You Mess Up

We didn't want to...BUT we had to clip our turkey's wings to keep them safe from predators. Here's how to clip a turkey's wings...and if you mess up--what to do about it!

PreparednessHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 10, 2017how to clip a bird's wings, how to clip a turkey's wing, why to clip a bird's wing, anatomy of a bird's feathers, how do birds fly, turkeys, turkey wingsComment

Why Do You Rub Essential Oil on the Soles of Your Feet?

Why would anyone rub essential oils into the soles of the feet? Why? Find out the reasons some people think you should rub your essential oils onto your feet!

Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 7, 2017essential oils, why put essential oils on the bottoms of your feet, essential oils on feet, are feet good for essential oils Comments

11 INSANE Things You MUST Know About MARJORAM Essential Oil (Why You Need it in Your Home!)

This past Fall, I was sent a free 10 mL bottle of Marjoram Essential Oil from doTerra. I said, "Marjoram? Why?" I seriously did not know what to do with it! And isn't that the way with essential oils or herbs when your first begin to know a plant? If you are new to a plant (essential oil or herb), you really must get to know it intimately and actually USE it. Then you know how it works on the body and how it specifically works for YOU. This goes for herbs as well as essential oils.

Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistJune 2, 2017what is marjoram essential oil good for, how do use marjoram essential oil, what does marjoram essential oil do, how is marjoram good for your health, How to use marjoram essential oil, cooking with marjoram essential oil, marjoram essential oil Comments

INSANE Things You MUST Know About Tea Tree Essential Oil...And Why You Need It in Your Home

Find out about the benefits and uses of tea tree essential oil right here. It's great for so many things, and I'll explain how to use it for acne, fungal infections (even your toenails), cleaning, lice, and lots more! Everyone needs tea tree essential oil in their home!

Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMay 22, 2017tea tree essential oil, how to use tea tree oil, what are the main essential oils to keep, what are the main essential oils to have, benefits of tea tree oil, where does tea tree oil come from Comments

What is Happiness? And Joy? And How Did I Find Mine?

I love the poem, "Happiness," by Carl Sandburg. Without explanation, he shows us in a few words what happiness is. Although it's different for all of us... Here's how I found mine.

Health RebelHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMay 21, 2017how to find joy, how to find your happiness, how do I find my joy, where does joy come from, I love God, How do I get my Joy back? Comments

Why You MUST Keep a Seed Bank---Things to Consider

Given the just-right devastating crisis event, food storage and the ability to grow your own food may become more valuable than precious metals! Every responsible person should be thinking about learning how to garden, getting even a small one started (even if only using containers on a balcony--like I used to do when I rented), and of course, having good seeds set aside for current and future use. Right now! Here's more about what to consider and how to get your seed storage going!

Gardening, PreparednessHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMay 18, 2017seed starting, seed kits for survival, what should a seed kit have, how to buy a seed kit, seeds in shtf, seed saving, being prepared Comment

Our Search for a Forever Homestead & Survival Property: Our Plan to Get Out of Dodge

Mr. V. and I have decided it's time to start searching for a "forever" homestead & survival property. Essentially, it's time to "get out of Dodge," so to speak! Here are the whys and hows of our decision to make this huge life change.

PreparednessHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMay 4, 2017finding a homestead, how to locate property, why to move, survival property, finding survival property, finding a good home for survival, survival home, homestead Comments

Make Your Own "Easy" Hard Cider!

Recently we went to our local orchard, which had just opened for the season. They still had some of their organic, freshly pressed full juice apple cider in frozen jugs! We bought some, so we decided to experiment with making some "EASY" hard cider. It turned out GREAT! Here's how we made Hard Cider!

FermentationHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistApril 26, 2017 Comments

Chamomile Ale (Beer) Recipe---Create Your Own Herbal Home Brew!

Fermentation, Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistApril 18, 2017 Comments

How to Make Your Own Herbal Beer (Part Two)

Here's Part Two of my series on how to make herbal beer (ale) at home! You'll definitely want to check out these pictures--this beer turned out GREAT! For part one, visit this article.

Fermentation, Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistApril 4, 2017how to make beer, how to make home brew, how to make herbal ale, how to make ale, how do I make beer at homeComment

The Beeswax Workshop: A Book Review

Have you ever wondered what to do with beeswax? Wonder no more! The Beeswax Workshop, by Chris Dalziel, is a comprehensive, well-written, and fun book with a huge array of projects for your body, home, and life. It's definitely a book you'll want on your home library shelf!

Natural Body & HomeHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistApril 3, 2017beeswax, things to do with beeswax Comments

The BEST Body Butter for Every Day--MIY, Simple!

Learn how to make your very own effective body butter that amazingly soaks right into your skin for maximum moisturizing and protection!

Natural Body & HomeHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMarch 28, 2017diy body butter, body butter, how to make body butter, shea butter and beeswax body butter, shea butter, beeswax, beeswax workshop body butter Comments

Bringing Home Ducklings and Adding Them to Your Flock!

About a month or so ago, my husband and I were at our local feed store to pick up a few things and hopefully purchase a few more chicks to add to our layers this year. Sadly, they were out of chicks that day---EXCEPT for these four sweet little yellow ducklings peeping away! Oh. My. GOSH! I fell in love! So we ended up bringing all four of them home. Yep! All four! Now, I didn't know a lot about ducklings, and I'm going to share with you the things I wish I had known! Their addition to our little homestead has been successful so far, but things might have been a little easier if we had been aware of a few things!

PreparednessHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMarch 21, 2017how to bring home ducklings, ducklings, how to raise ducks, how to take care of ducklings, what ducklings need Comments

How to Infuse Honey with Lemon---and Why It's Great for You!

You've probably heard how good it is for your body and health to drink a cup of water with honey and lemon every day? Well, after being given bags of beautiful fresh lemons, I thought I'd go ahead and make some lemon infused honey! Not only is this honey absolutely delicious, you can use it for so much! It's great for soothing sore throats and coughs, you can sweeten your herbal tea with it, use it on toast or as a topping....or just take a spoonful because it's just SO good! And of course, you can use it in your lemon-honey water! :-) Here's how to infuse your honey with delicious, great for you lemons!

Recipes, Herbs & Essential OilsHeidi Villegas, MA, CA, HerbalistMarch 21, 2017how to infuse honey, how to infuse honey with lemon, lemon infused honey, why is honey and lemon good for you, make your own infused honey Comments