{In college I made bath salts for about 200 women in an audience to which I was speaking. I meant to buy lilac scented oil, but got it confused with lavender. I thought it turned out to be stinky stuff! But over the years I’ve come to love the scent of lavender, and now, I’m jealous of Sara’s hand-picked bunch from Oregon.}

I love lavender. I love the look of it, the smell of it, even the taste of it (yup, that’s right – just read on before you make a judgment!).

So, I jumped at the chance to visit Hood River Lavender Farm on my recent trip to Portland, Oregon with my mom.

This farm is nestled in the Hood River Valley, amongst a slew of tasty wineries (yes, we made a few stops there, as well!) about an hour and a half drive east of Portland.

The farm was a beautiful site to see (and smell!), and for only $5, I was able to cut a huge bundle of lavender – they had over 70 varieties to choose from, so this was no easy task! After spending almost in an hour in purple-fragranced heaven, we enjoyed some delish lavender shortbread cookies made by the farm’s owner. You know you want to make some! Check Hood River’s slew of recipes here.

Traveling home with it wasn’t as tricky as I thought – I wrapped the bunch in newspaper and laid it flat in my suitcase for the flight back to Austin. It arrived perfectly, and I immediately hung it upside down to dry. I placed the dried bouquet in a spaghetti jar near my reading chair – looks cute and I get some sweet whiffs while chilling in my chair. It’s been a month since I’ve been back from Oregon, and my lavender bunch STILL smells amazing! It’s like having a candle burning 24-7 in my room.

Not only does lavender smell wonderful and look great dried, it also has antiseptic properties, calms the nerves, helps with insomnia and can aid in digestion! Read here for more specifics.

Not in the Portland area to grab a bundle of fresh lavender? Not a problem, there’s bound to be one in your neck of the woods! If you’re in Texas, here are a few places to check out: