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A + Essentials

I have always waffled back and forth over the line (is there a line? For the sake of this story, let us pretend that there is a line) of “crunchiness”. I have intervention free births but deliver in a hospital. I exclusively(and extended-ly?) breastfeed but I use disposable diapers. I read ingredient labels but I love Starbucks. You get the idea.


My first memory of exposure to the idea of essential oils was when I was walking through my season of secondary infertility (before Mabel) and perhaps that’s where my first heavy dose of cynicism towards essential oils entered into my brain.I had a number of people suggest to me that I should try them to regulate my hormones and that they would help me get pregnant- except I was working with a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the time…and then with a Naturopath. Neither of which suggested I do such a thing, and so, I didn’t.

Years continued to pass and essential oil suggestions continued to pop up to me. Sooo many women were convinced that I would love them, if I would just try them.

But I wouldn’t!

Until, one day, I did.


I decided on my own that I wanted to start small. I decided that I wanted to replace all of my candles and my cleaning products.My starter kit arrived and let me tell you- I was less than pleased. (truth time!!) I literally hated how every single bottle smelled. Even the lavender!But I had spent the money and here they were, so I really committed to giving them a fair and real chance before discarding them. Annnnnd, you can probably guess what happened next.

I 100% fell in love with them and use them every single day. 

Some of the oils it only took once for me to fall in love with. Some others? It took a little(lot) longer.

Now? I absolutely love to start our days with a fresh, clean, and cheery blend and to wind down our days with a calming and relaxing one.

My girls absolutely love choosing bottles for me to try blending, love to experiment with new smells and concoctions, and together- we’re slowly replacing one more product at a time with a clean, toxic free, alternative to things we have used in the past without a second thought.

One of my favorite memories is shortly after I started regularly diffusing essential oils, Jim mentioned, “I don’t know what you’re using, but I instantly feel relaxed as soon as I walk into the doors of our home.”

So after that, (along with a few other THESE ARE LEGIT light bulb moments…which I will share with you eventually!) I started to expand our collection.

I used the hand me down printers tray from my grandparents to hold all of my little bottles and slowly started integrating more products into our cabinets and additional diffusers into our rooms.

I began to make roller bottle blends to stick in my purse(who even am I??) and knew I would miss them so much that I packed everything up and brought it all on vacation with us(true, true story)!

And now here I am, sharing all of this with you, because if you’re a cynic like I was. I want you to know that I get it. I GET IT. But, whenever you’re ready to finally give essential oils a try, like I did, I’m here to welcome your cynic self into my crew.

I promise not to be crazy and intense, I’m just really excited about natural products that work, smell good, and keep my family healthy.

To get started, all you have to do is this:

  1. Head to the my page to sign up!
  2. Click “SHOP” and select whatever products you would like to begin with!
    Some suggestions from me to you-
    The Desert Mist or Aria Starter Bundle- these each come with 12 beginner oils and a diffuser. Best value and best option for getting started!
    OR
    Thieves All Purpose Cleaner, The Haven Diffuser, & a few oils you have heard about and want to try!
  3. If your order is over 100PV you get free shipping, a 24% discount, and unlock that for the next year!
  4. If your order is below 100PV, make sure you add an item to Subscribe To Save so that you can get the discounted prices!
  5. SELECT YOUR SHIPPING AND PAYMENT OPTIONS
  6. COMPLETE YOUR ORDER.
  7. AND YOU’RE IN! You’ll get a welcome email & package from me with all of the info you will need to access all of the resources from our amazing community.

And I wish that I would have started using them 5 years ago when some wonderful people first suggested to me that I should- but, today is better than never, so onward and upward!

I have a few more blog posts coming soon, sharing more about the Young Living Starter Kit, my very favorite YL products, and my favorite essential oil “swag”- things like, spray bottles, rollers, labels- etc. So be sure to stay tuned for those!

Also, I have started up a separate Instagram account and Facebook page for all things A + Life essential oils- like our daily diffusing recipes and other fun tips and tricks that we’re using every day, so follow along!

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22 Comments

  1. love me some oils!! do they not have joy in the starter anymore?!? that’s their best one, if you ask me!! and haha the line of crunchiness!!! it’s quite a balance, isn’t it!!

    1. No, unfortunately! But you know I’ve got that one in my stockpile already 😉

  2. I can relate completely! I’ve had people suggesting I try them for years and just thought they were a gimmick. Until I finally bit the bullet and now I’m about to manage my depression and anxiety only using oils ❤️ plus diffusing lemon and peppermint is keeping most of the ants out of our house! ?

      1. That is AMAZING! Seriously. So, so cool.

        And girl- yes to keeping the ants out of the house. The best!

  3. Thank you for sharing this post! I have been following your blog for years and even though I don’t blog anymore, I still love reading them 🙂 I have a question about the starter kit – are all of these kid safe? I know certain oils you shouldn’t use around younger children, so I’m just curious how you know which ones to use. I’m definitely interested in learning more about oils and starting to incorporate them more into everyday life. Right now, I mostly just use lavender to help my girls sleep 🙂

    1. You are so welcome! I’ve been thinking about sharing about this for a while and since they are running an awesome sale this week I finally figured, what the heck- I’ll go for it! 🙂

      Lavender is an amazing oil for sleep! annnnd pretty much everything. It’s like Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, lol. Not all of the oils within the Premium Starter Kit are kid safe(Panaway comes to mind- it comes with a special lock cap so they can’t get into it easily!) but when you sign up with me, I will plug you in to a few FB groups that have tons of information about safety recommendations for oils with babies + kids. (but also- we don’t think twice about using like, a clorox wipe…so you know)

      Another great resource is this book, “Gentle Babies”. You can find it on Amazon! Here is a link: https://rstyle.me/n/c4uge7bamif

      If you’re wanting to know anything else more specific I’d love to answer it for you- or if I don’t know, I know someone who will! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!

  4. I love, love, love me some oils! I can’t wait to hear all about your journey, recipes and favorites!!

  5. I want to know more about thieves cleaner! I absolutely love PlantTherapy oils but am lazy as all get up about mixing my own cleaner sprays lol. Convenience is king around here.

    1. Oh my gosh the thieves cleaner is SO good. Young Living actually has a Thieves starter kit! You don’t have to do a diffuser and oils- you can do the Thieves line instead. The kit comes with:

      Thieves 15-ml
      Thieves AromaBright™ Toothpaste
      Thieves Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash
      2 Thieves Cleaner
      2 Thieves Foaming Hand Soap
      2 Thieves Spray
      2 Thieves Waterless Hand Purifier
      Stress Away™ 5-ml
      AromaGlide™ Roller Fitment
      Thieves Household Cleaner 1-oz. sample
      10 Love It? Share It! Sample Business Cards
      10 Love It? Share It! Sample Oil Bottles
      2 NingXia Red® 2-oz. samples
      Product Guide and Product Price List
      Essential Oil Magazine
      Essential Edge
      Member Resources
      For $160!! And then you’re a member so you can always order more whenever you need it.

      The cleaner is SO easy to make. Literally a capful + water, in a spray bottle. Lasts forever and costs pennies. I am also loving the hand soap and purifier too!

  6. Im hit and miss. I use several smells and only ever one drop at a time. I am super sensitive to smells and about others sniffers but some people at my office could give two toots about people like me who actively carry an epi-pen. I am actually going to ask to switch offices before our other therapist statrs. I dont want them to stop using stuff but I also cannot hack life or keep my door open. And if my door is closed my a/c wont run in my office and I boil… first world problems.

    1. You know honestly, I’ve never been sensitive to smells and things like that. But I actually am more now! I notice synthetic fragrances that I didn’t use to- and I definitely realize how strong and cloying they can be. I think that means I have officially crossed over now 😉

  7. I see a message about safety and kids…what about oil and pets (specifically dogs?). We don’t have children but our dog IS our child, so want to be sure I wouldn’t be introducing anything that could make his environment unhealthy!

    I think your post might be what finally pushes me to try essential oils out! I am just like you- crunchy but not full crunch. Oils have always been in my “skeptic” pile, except I keep seeing them and how much people love them.

    1. Hi Andrea!

      Thanks so much for commenting and asking about this!

      Yes, you can definitely use oils around and for your dogs(and other pets!) They actually have an entire line specially formulated for pets too! It is called “Animal Scents”

      Here is a link from YL about oils with your pets: https://www.youngliving.com/blog/animals-and-oils-what-you-need-to-know/

      Additionally, if you become a member, there is a FB group specifically for pet owners who use Young Living, filled with all sorts of tips, tricks, and advice too! 🙂

      Hope that helps!

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