DIY Lavender room/body spray

Ah the dreaded back to work Tuesday.  So so very hard after a super sunny end of summer long weekend.  I am actually beginning to get pumped for fall, as I now have several uber-cute sweaters hanging in my closet that I can't wear until the weather cools down.  I've been finding myself craving pumpkin cookies and spiced cider, and have been creating quite the collection of fantastic fall recipes I can't wait to try out!  I'm gonna stick with my popsicle obsession and attempt some pumpkin frozen yogurt pops I think.  Sound good eh?

Anyways..... on to today's DIY.  The side of my building is completely covered in lavender, which is super fantastic in the spring and early summer.  At this point though, they are dried out and gray and  just screaming for a makeover.  I plucked some handfuls of the leaves that looked salvageable and decided to make some room/body spray.  I got this idea from this DIY on www.honestlywtf.com.  Here's how:

Here is what you'll need:
A perfume spray bottle
Enough lavender to fill half of a large pot (stems and all)
A large pot
water
a small glass bowl
an oblong glass lid, preferably a bit larger than the pot
ice cubes (not totally necessary, but helpful)
some kind of dropper to funnel the spray into the bottle

First, gather your lavender.  No need to be careful here, just take your shears and cut!

Cut the lavender into pieces so it fits in your pot

Place a small glass bowl on top of the lavender.  Make sure that there is a bit of room between the top of the bowl and the top of the pot.

Fill the pot with water, about halfway up the bowl, and place on a burner on high.

Put a glass oblong shaped lid on, upside down, so you have a shallow bowl created with the lid on top of the pot.

When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium, so the water just simmers.

You should start to see condensation forming on the inside of the lid, and dropping water droplets into the glass bowl.  This will be your spray.  To speed up this process, add ice cubes to the lid.

Let this simmer for about a half an hour, replacing the ice cubes.  I used my dropper to suck up the melted cubes that had warmed. 

After half an hour, take off the heat and let cool completely.  At this point your entire house will smell of lavender!  It was pretty delightful. :)

Fill your spray bottle with the water from the bowl.

I actually can't stand perfume, so this is a super great alternative!  I love how it smells like real flowers, but it is mild enough to just create a scent, not a cloud of fragrance.

Hope you try this!  And I hope your Tuesday back to work wasn't too painful. :)

Trish