This month our Royal Velvet Members are receiving one of our signature Body Mists, our handcrafted Lavender Lotion Bar, now made with unrefined golden Shea Butter, and a bag of dried lavender buds.

ORGANIC BODY MIST Our body mists are made from our very own organic distillate waters and blended with various essential oils for specific uses. Lightly mist yourself or your space for uplifting body & mind. It comes in four fragrances: classic lavender, rose geranium, citrus, and rosemary. Use it often to mist yourself on hot, summer days. So cooling and refreshing! See more information on hydrosols in our Article of Interest.

LOTION BAR Handcrafted from natural unrefined shea butter, organic coconut oil, local southern California beeswax and of course our finest organic lavender oil, our 'rough spot' lotion bar is perfect for treating cracked heels and hands. This is a solid lotion bar meant to be held in the palm of your hand to gently melt the ingredients onto your skin. We recommend using it at night with a light pair of cotton gloves or socks to contain the healing oils with your own body heat. We've been producing this best seller lotion bar for years and have numerous customers who won't use anything else.

DRIED LAVENDER BUDS We are sending you 2 cups of buds. Planning a wedding? Toss lavender rather than rice or seeds. Smells great! Plain and simple in a zip locked bag. Place into a fabric bag, then squeeze to release the fragrance. Our buds are culinary grade, so use them in any of the recipes we have sent you, make tea, jams, put it in breads, steam vegetables. There is no end to the uses of lavender buds.

If you'd like to be a part of our Club and save 15% on all your favorite lavender products, consider joining for $33.00. Go to our Online Products pages and register now for immediate savings!

This is delicious as is or served cold the next day (without the juices) with summer salads.

1 (3- to 4-pound) beef tenderloin roast
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender flowers or 2/3 tablespoon dried buds

Bring roast to room temperature before cooking. Trim the tenderloin of fat and silverskin. Note: Silverskin is a silvery-white connective tissue. It doesn't dissolve when the tenderloin is cooked, so it needs to be trimmed away. If the silverskin is not trimmed off, it will cause the tenderloin to curl up into the shape of a quarter moon.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Lightly oil outside of roast.

In a small spice or coffee grinder, coarsely grind the black peppercorns, white peppercorns, fennel seeds, thyme, and lavender flowers; rub mixture all over the meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (preferably).

Preheat oven to 425°F. Unwrap roast and place onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Place roast onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches desired temperature on a meat thermometer (see below).

Rare - 120° F
Medium Rare - 125°F
Medium - 130°F

Remove from oven and transfer onto a cutting board; let stand 15 minutes before carving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven). Transfer onto a serving platter and serve immediately with any accumulated juices. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Goodwin Creek was introduced by Jim and Dotti Becker from Goodwin Creek Gardens in Oregon.

A chance seedling was discovered by Jim Becker on his property in Williams, Oregon, which was named in 1991 after the stream which runs through his nursery. The spelling of "Grey" in the name is how Goodwin Creek Nursery lists this plant. This plant is also listed as Lavandula x ginginsii. 'Goodwin Creek Grey', a hybrid between Lavandula dentata and Lavandula lanata. This hybrid appears to have occurred only once to date and the single cultivar is Goodwin Creek Grey.

It is easy to grow and withstands heat well. It has beautiful silvery-gray foliage and deep blue-violet flowers over a long period on wand-like stems. 'Goodwin Creek Grey' has a fresh fragrance that can be described as a mixture of rosemary and lavender. Typically a June through July flowering period, it is known to bloom throughout the summer and will even bloom in the winter in mild climates like ours in San Diego. It looks great in the landscape, large containers or trained as topiaries.

'Goodwin Creek Grey' and 'French Dentata' are the best choices for a winter blooming indoor lavender.

Note: The flowers of this lavender are not recommended for human consumption

This month we proudly feature a couple of our favorite Doggie Products as our chosen products of the month.

It's a time of year that we spend outdoors, often with our best canine friends. Like us, a nice cool doggie bath after playing outdoors feels really good. Good grooming also includes an ear examination each week, looking for waxy buildup, foreign matter, and dryness. Sometimes ear mites will grow inside the ear in excess ear wax. Dog's ears are very sensitive so please treat them gently and with extreme care. Never put a Qtip type product into the ear.

We are offering our Doggie Ear Cleaner and Doggie Ear Oil on special for the next 2 months. Normally priced at $7.00 each, now you can get both for $10.50 through October 1, 2007 (that's a 25% discount!). Please use discount code DOG102007.

There are four basic components to a steam distillation system: the steam source, the still pot or retort, the condenser and a separator.

Distillation has been around for a long time. Earliest references are to Maria the Jewess who invented many types of stills and reflux condensers. Common Middle Ages and Renaissance uses of distillation included the manufacture of brandy and other spirits from wine. Another early use was the manufacture of perfumes and essences. Other early users of distillation include the Alchemists. Of course, the history of distillation does not end there. Today we use it for more than just spirits.

Distillate waters have been with man for over 5000 years, possibly longer. The first distilled waters were believed to be the famed rose waters. Rose Petals were boiled in a pot with lamb's wool stretched over the top to catch the rising vapors. These pieces of wool were then periodically wrung out into vessels, resulting in a crude rose water.

In 1975, a terra cotta still was discovered in what is now Pakistan, that dates back to 3000 BCE. There are numerous accounts describing both stills and distillations throughout ancient and modern history. Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" himself is believed to have used floral waters. There are many celebrated waters throughout history. Queen of Hungary water, said to date back to the 14th century, contains rosemary, grape spirits (wine) and up to 5 other ingredients-among them lemon balm, orange flower, rose and mint. Carmelite Water has been traced to the Carmelite Abbey in Paris and dates back to the late 1300's. The nuns of the abbey made this famous floral water for centuries. It includes lemon balm as the main ingredient, angelica root, lemon peel, coriander seed, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Before the invention of the condensing coil, which has been credited to an Arab philosopher named Avicenna around 1100AD, aromatic plants were distilled for the floral waters they produced. Until this invention, condensing was rudimentary. Very little essential oil was produced and the miniscule amount of essential oils found floating on the top of these waters were thought to be impurities and thrown out. With this invention and later the water bath, called the Bain Marie (said to be invented by the alchemist, Maria the Jewess), the essential oil industry was born. Now aromatic plants were distilled for both the floral waters and the "quintessence" or plant essences they produced.

The word hydrosol comes from the Latin root "hydro" and "sol" which means "water solution." When a plant is distilled to obtain an essential oil, many chemical compounds of the plant first build up in the water. A hydrosol is the distillate water that remains under the thin layer of essential oil after the steaming process. When essential oils are extracted by steam distillation, some of the aromatic and healing principles held within the plant are not captured during the process. These important components do not escape into another dimension or disappear into a black hole; fortunately they are absorbed by the steam or water that is used to extract the oil.

This steam eventually condenses back into water, and now contains small quantities of essential oil plus many of the water-soluble (hydrophilic) parts of the plant. Now supercharged with more active principles than the essential oil from the plant, this ready to use product offers a safe and convenient way to deliver a wide range of therapeutic and cosmetic benefits. Once made, they are ready to use and are suited to a wide range of skin types, particularly sensitive ones. They are also safe for use in baby and pet products.

Hydrosols are not just water. They are amazing liquids with taste and smell. For more information on the uses of hydrosols, read Suzanne Catty's book, Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy.

1) To appear more alluring, wear lavender! Want to spice up your marriage? Try a lavender lotion. In a recent study, the scent boosted a man's arousal by up to 40%. Lavender is a proven relaxant, so researchers think the scent eases men's stress.

2) Give your scalp a treatment with olive oil and lavender. Olive oil softens the hair and lavender controls grease. Use ¼ cup olive oil and 10 drops lavender essential oil. Microwave for 45 seconds, and then apply to damp hair and scalp. Leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse. Shampoo and condition as usual.

3) If you stuff keyholes with lavender it keeps ghosts from entering your home. The power of lavender is truly amazing!

What?? I didn't make this up! Scented Treads by Kumho Tires (kumhotire.com) introduced this summer. If this one succeeds they're talking about offering jasmin and orange scented tires too. What???

Ideas for Lavender in your car...beside the tires!

A pretty little Lavender Sachet is great as aromatherapy. Slip one under your seat or in the glove box out of the direct sunlight. Give it a little squeeze when you leave. Return to the lovely scent of lavender.

Lavender Body Mist is great to spray on your upholstery for a fresh lavender scent in the car. Keep it in the glove box for renewing the fragrance daily.