Image courtesy of United State of Indiana

I’ve been feeling a ton of Indiana love with Spring in the air, and I recently stumbled across this sweet “Smiling Indiana” poster from a local company called United State of Indiana. It really sums things up nicely, doesn’t it?

Smile. You’re home.

The poster is available here for a very reasonable $15 if you’re feeling the Hoosier love too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Painting by Richard Emil Miller: Reading in the Garden

One of my favorite activities in Spring is to curl up with a book in my garden. After spending so much time inside during winter, it feels so wonderful to have a little sun on your face while you enjoy a good read. Everything is in bloom and I am always compelled to choose books that act not only on my imagination but that fill my senses with beautiful language and inspiring ideas. Here are some of my favorites:

Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the finest American Poets. Her poem “Renascence” is one of the most beautiful meditations on the rebirth of nature and self that I have ever come across. This is a real treat on a Spring afternoon.

The Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermout

A magical tale of generations of women living in the beautiful Spice Islands of Indonesia.

Middlemarch by George Eliot (Marianne Evans)

If you haven’t gotten around to reading this one yet, you should put it at the top of your list. A portrait of provincial life that manages to turn the everyday joys and disappointments of small time life into one of the most beautiful and intelligent novels ever written. Keep your journal close, because this novel is full of quotes that will stay with you long after you finish.

What is at the top of your Spring reading list?

Good things come in our small packages

Linnea’s Lights Mini Votives: 15 hour burn time

With Spring and Summer around the bend, I look forward to some weekend trips out of town. One of the first things I pack are a selection of our smaller candles in my favorite scents like Cashmere, Ocean and Sweetgrass. Petite but as powerful as our traditional size candles, our mini votives come in a variety of classic Linnea’s Lights scents. Without taking up much space at all, they make great hostess gifts if you’re staying with friends or family, or perfect if you just want to make a new space feel like home! They can be lit alone or try combining different scents together and enjoy a unique atmosphere.

Our mini votives are available online at Urban Farmhouse for just $15. Which scents will you bring on your next trip?

Photography by Kessara Dhana, taken at the Linnea's Lights Studio

With Easter prep in full swing, we’ve been dyeing our eggs and decorating the house for our Sunday guests. For the centerpieces, I’ll use a sprinkling of our new Spring candles: Wild Fern and Peony. Gently scented for the season, I love the way the cream-colored candles in our glass votives look against the classic pastel dyed eggs.

We’ll inevitably have eggs leftover and it’s got me craving Deviled Eggs. After some research, the Deviled Egg has a much richer history than I imagined. Long before they were set out at dinner parties by 1950’s hostesses, they enjoyed popularity all over the world. The Deviled Egg has its origins in Ancient Rome, with the first recipes coming from 13th century Andalusia. Originally they were stuffed with things like raisins and sweet herbs. The term “deviled” comes from the 18th century term that referred to foods that used spices or condiments with a lot of heat. There are different versions of Deviled Eggs all over Europe, Romania, Sweden and Russia. Here is a recipe for one of my favorite versions, Russian Stuffed Eggs:

Image courtesy of Pinterest

The Equinox is upon us; the earth is perfectly balanced between darkness and light. As the day and night find their balance on March 20th and 21st, so apparently, does an egg. A friend of mine told me that during the Spring Equinox you can stand an egg on end… incredible right?

It turns out that the tradition goes back to China. The egg, a universal symbol of fertility, was balanced on end during the Equinox to symbolize that all of nature was in harmony. This ritual has been carried over to many traditions, including in part the western tradition of the Easter Egg. But, while the idea of standing an egg on end during the equinox is rich with symbolism and meaning, there’s a catch… With a little patience and persistence one can actually balance an egg on end all year round!

Have you given this a try?

Spring is a time of magic, as the natural world miraculously comes alive after the barren winter. Because this is such a wondrous season, I wanted to create a new scent to pay homage to the enchantment of nature.

Our new Wild Fern candle is a verdant escape, with crisp & fresh leafy greens, stems and herbs blended with sheers woods. I tried to capture the essence of the warming earth, of soft sunlight and intense green. The fern is ancient, older than the dinosaurs and predating flowering plants by two hundred million years. It derives its name from its aesthetic likeness to a feather, and has long been associated with fairy lore for its powers of invisibility and supernatural protection.  It is suggested that the person who breaks the first fern frond of Spring will have good luck all year round. Step inside the fairy ring and become enchanted with redolent primeval forests of vivid green.

And good news! Our friends at Uber Boutique and Design just got some of the new Wild Fern and Peony candles in, so I hope you’ll enjoy!

Each spring the earth comes alive again, blossoms and green abound. To celebrate the season of renewal, we’re thrilled about our newest releases. First up is our new Peony candle, inspired by my favorite flower.

Timeless, lush & creamy peony petals, green stems & wildflowers, Indiana’s state flower takes center stage, with notes inspired by the lush blooms of a perennial favorite. Cultivated in Asia for thousands of years, prized for its vivid beauty and warm floral scent, the peony is regarded as a symbol of happiness and prosperity. In the Middle Ages, Peony seeds were swallowed whole to ward off bad dreams and the flower is still used today in alternative medicine. Awaken your inner healer and allow the spacious aroma of freshly cut peony to soothe the senses.

Keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to be first to know just as soon as this launches in a shop near you!

Image courtesy of terrain

We are thrilled to let you know about our newest creation, a private Linnea’s Lights pour of Hydrangea in two colors of a custom clay pot (blue & purple). We created a letterpressed seeded cover to plant inside the vessel once the candle is finished and this special candle is now available exclusively at terrain.

Inspired by the early summer garden and poured especially for terrain, this candle boasts the scent of hydrangeas in bloom, mingled with fragrant lily of the valley and fresh, green notes. Nestled in a pretty clay pot, each candle includes a paper tag studded with wildflower seeds to plant once the wax has burned through. Combining natural soy wax, lead-free cotton wicks, and pure scents, Linnea’s Lights clean-burning candles are carefully hand-poured in small batches.

Get yours here now!

After hearing the buzz and so many of you talk about your love of Pinterest, we’re thrilled to join the club. What a great way to keep up with our favorite designers, venders, friends and fans, and we hope you’ll enjoy what we share with all of you. Linnea’s Light’s board features our newest spring and summer-inspired scents, exciting news from this here blog, beautiful pictures of our lovely candles, and much, much more. Go check it out for yourself here! Won’t you welcome us to Pinterest with a friendly follow? Find us at http://pinterest.com/linneaslights!

In eager anticipation of relaxing afternoons spent at home gardening, Linnea’s Lights is proud to present its fresh Garden Mint candle. There’s no finer feeling than planting new seeds with love, allowing mother nature to work her magic, and with some  of our own delicate nurturing, seeing what grows.

Garden Mint ~ Known for its therapeutic properties and cooling scent, Garden Mint thrives no matter how green the gardener’s thumb. A perfect aroma to take the edge off summer’s fiery heat, watery notes of garden mint leaves mingle with cucumber, spearmint and hints of citrus. Cooling.

Linnea’s Lights® candles combine natural soy wax, lead-free cotton candle wicks, pure essences and fine fragrances to create clean burning, perfectly scented and highly aromatic candles. Each signature double wicked glass candle provides over 60 hours of illumination and is mindfully packaged in recycled materials, printed with soy inks and hand stamped.

Each 9 oz. candle is $30. Pick yours up now at Oliver’s Twist!