"Mulling Spice" Room Spray ~ Autumn Aroma Essential Oil Blend

"The smell rejoiceth the heart of man, for which cause they used to strew {herbs and flowers} in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure, and repose, where feasts and banquets are made."

~ John Gerard (1545-1612)

Ah, the warmth and coziness of autumn is captured and bottled in this aromatic blend! To make this seasonal room spray, place the following ingredients (in order) in a small spritzer bottle:

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 drops of cinnamon essential oil
• 2 drops of clove essential oil
• 2 - 3 drops of sweet orange essential oil
• 1/4 cup water (or until your 2 oz. spray bottle is full) (we purchase our glass spray bottles here)

Let mixture sit for 24 hours and it is ready to use! Simply spritz around your home and soak in the sweet and spicy scent! 

This would also make a lovely hostess gift if paired with our DIY mulling spices and/or simmering potpourri. Happy homemaking, ladies!

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. 

Lavender Lotion Bars DIY ~ Easy to Make {Just Three Steps}

The light filtered in through the glass-paned windows. The morning sun was calling the mother and daughter duo into the kitchen to play...

This easy-to-make lotion bar recipe only requires three steps; measure, melt and pour! We used our homemade lavender infused medicinal oil to prepare it but you could also use your favorite body oil and simply add in some lavender essential oil if you like.

"{Lavender} Being an inhabitant almost in every garden,

it is so well known, that it needs no description."

~ Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal, 1652

Simple Supplies:

• 1/2 cup of shredded beeswax or beadlets (which are easier to work with)

• 1 cup of lavender infused medicinal oil (or olive oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil or a blend of your favorite body oils)

• optional: lavender essential oil

Homemaking Hint:

The packed beeswax comes out of the measuring cup easier if you grease or oil the cup first.

1. Melt together beeswax and your oil of choice on low heat (stir until blended and wax is dissolved).

2. If you want to add additional fragrance or medicinal properties, stir in some essential oils (but do so after letting the mixture cool off a few minutes so that the oils don't evaporate under all that heat).

3. Pour mixture into your molds (but let the mixture cool off for a few minutes or it may melt your mold if using a flimsy plastic one like I did). I now recommend using the silicone molds (you will find out why further down this post) or you could also use cupcake liners in a cupcake pan, tins, ramekins and/or ice cube trays. You could also pour some of this mixture into chap-stick containers for an instant lavender lip balm.

4. Once cool and the bar has set, remove from molds (you could also freeze it to expedite the process).

We interrupt this segment for some "blog bloopers":

#1 ~ I knocked the lavender flowers all over the floor when my skirt caught on the white runner during the "photo shoot". So much for the serene setting.

#2 ~ We poured the hot mixture too quickly (I didn't let it cool enough) into the plastic molds and melted a few of them (hence the un-perfect looking bar). This caused a "lava" trail of hot wax to stream along my kitchen countertop. One of those options shared above would have been a better choice for the mold! The poor plastic one shown in the photo above is no longer with us (R.I.P.).

You could imagine the laughter going on in the kitchen as I was attempting to make some presentable and "dignified pictures" all the while mayhem was actually taking place... I am grateful that more than lotion bars were made this day, memories were created also. {Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!}

To use your lavender lotion bars, simply rub over your skin as needed. These are nice to have for the dry autumn and winter months ahead. I keep my little bar in a pretty dish on my nightstand to moisturize before bedtime. These would also make nice gifts. You can place a bar in a antique saucer or dainty plate (inexpensively found at second-hand stores or yard sales) and tie down with twine or...

"two yards of narrow lavender ribbon..."

~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

You may also be interested in What to Make and Do with All Your Lovely Lavender.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Amaze Me Monday, Monday's Musings, Marriage Monday, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday, Cultivate Nourishing, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.

How to Make Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream {with Essential Oils}

"I have never tasted ice cream.

Diana tried to explain what it was like,

but I guess ice cream is one of those things that are beyond imagination."

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

This mint chocolate chip ice cream is tied for first place in the world of ice cream for our family (I will share our other favorite flavor on another day). It is so deliciously refreshing that it makes the perfect summer splurge! Allow me to share and keep in mind that good quality ingredients are essential.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

• 2 large eggs (make sure they are fresh)
• ¾ cup of sugar (we used organic)
• 2 cups of heavy cream (or whipping cream)
• 1 cup of milk (we prefer raw)
• 3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil (we use doTERRA since it is safe to consume and not all essential oils are) (or you may also use 2 tsp. peppermint extract)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet/dark chocolate bar or 1/2 cup chopped mint dark chocolate bar (which is what we used) or 1/2 cup chopped Andes mints

Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, add in the sugar, a little at a time until completely blended in. Whisk another minute and add in your cream and milk. Stir these ingredients together until completely blended in (if you are using mint extract instead of the essential oils then now is the time to add it-- if using the essential oil, continue reading). Transfer mixture to your ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturers directions. Half way through the ice cream making process, very carefully add your peppermint essential oil (you only need about 3-4 drops per quart, according to taste). During the last five minutes of ice cream making, add in your chocolate of choice.

Yield: This makes approx. 1 quart of ice cream. You can safely double the recipe if you are using a 2 quart ice cream maker. In fact, I always recommend it!

"And we had ice cream.

Words fail me to described that ice cream.

Marilla, I assure you it was sublime."

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Our printable recipe is shared HERE for your recipe book. Simply download from the link shared, save and print. You may also be interested in our Favorite {No Cook, Raw} Vanilla Ice Cream ~ 4 Variations Recipe.

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Shabbilicious Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

Make Your Own Lavender Infused Medicinal Oil

"An age-old remedy for calming and soothing the nerves, improving mood and relaxing muscles, beautifully scented lavender and its essential oil are commonly used for inducing a restful sleep, relieving depression and anxiety and for other disorders relating to a nervous or tense state..."

~ Reader's Digest, The Complete Illustrated Book of Herbs

If you have lots of lavender, something useful, easy and fun to make is a medicinal oil. You can rub it into tense shoulders to relax those taxed nerves. You can massage it onto tired feet to sooth the "soul" after a long day. It makes a lovely moisturizing body oil after a warm bath. In fact, this lavender infused oil can also be used as a base for making handmade lotions, lotion bars, creams, balms and salves.



Not only is the scent intoxicating, lavender is also very calming, stress-relieving, mood enhancing, is antibacterial, anti-fungal, an antiseptic, disinfectant, antispasmodic, pain reliever, burn healer and more. The Almighty packed a lot of healing power into lavender making it my all time favorite plant, herb and flower! 

To prepare your medicinal oil, simply gather your lavender flowers (fresh or dried, make some or buy some). If using fresh flowers, fresh-wilt them first as shared below and place them in a clean jar. Cover flowers by at least 1-2 inches with olive oil (or coconut oil would be divine) and screw lid on firmly. These oils were chosen for their longer shelf life and medicinal properties. Let the mixture steep in a sunny spot for 2 - 3 weeks. This is called a solar infusion.

"When I make oils from fresh herbs, before adding the herbs to the oil, I usually freshwilt them: I place them on a basket or screen in a single layer, in a warm area out of direct sunlight, and let them wilt for several hours. They’re ready when they look limp. Fresh wilting allows some of the moisture to evaporate, so there’s less chance of spoilage."

~ Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide 

When the time is up, strain the solids through a fine cheesecloth or a piece of thin cotton/muslin to remove all particles. Pour the finished product into a clean, dry jar or bottle (we just reused the brown glass bottle the olive oil came in) and label with the date. Store oil in a cool, dark area (like your pantry) for up to 12 months (or until oil seems "off").

Note: If you notice condensation on the inside of your lid, wipe with a clean and dry cloth immediately (your herbs may have had too much moisture in them when preparing this).

To make this infusion double strength, add another batch of lavender flowers to your finished oil and repeat the process one more time. Or, you can simply add 10 drops of lavender essential oil to every cup of your infused oil to give it a stronger potency (and a longer shelf life).

You may also be interested in What to Make and Do with All Your Lovely Lavender. For other herbal inspired projects, check out Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide which has been a wonderful resource for our family.

Our lavender label is shared above if you would like to use it. Simply right click on the image and save. You may also like to print a copy of this recipe to place in your herbal. You will find it HERE!

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Shabbilicious Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.  Lavender clip art was found here.

About Vacuuming and Ways to Make it Pleasant with Aromatherapy

"When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum."

~ Author Unknown

Housework can be a healer. It removes dust mites and dirt for a healthier home. It keeps your mind busy on useful endeavors that you can actually control.  It creates a sense of peace and order.  Even vacuuming can become a pleasant (and somewhat romantic) task if you implement some of these aromatherapy ideas:

• Prepare an all natural carpet freshener using essential oils. Simply add 15 drops of your favorite scent to 1 - 2 cups of baking soda. Stir well and allow the ingredients to "marinate" for a day. To use, sprinkle the freshener on your carpet, let the mixture sit for at least 10 minutes and then vacuum up. Enjoy the fragrance!

• Create a carpet deoderizer using dried lavender and baking soda (our tutorial is shared here). For variation, replace the lavender with your favorite dried herbs such as rose petals or eucalyptus leaves (great option if you have indoor pets since the aroma is a deterrent for fleas and ticks). Enjoy your fragrant but frugal concoction!

• "add 6-8 drops of essential oil on a cotton-wool ball and pop it in the bag. Replace it with a new fragrance, if you wish, each time you change the bag, or empty it out— whichever is applicable to your machine. An even simpler method is to place the drops of essential oil directly onto the bag, just by the air outlet, but this isn’t a good option for non-replaceable bags because you may wish to change the aroma later. Try the essential oils of lemon, orange, lavender, or pine to eradicate that dustiness which so often makes vacuuming the sort of job that you feel you want to take a bath after!" (Valerie Ann Worwood, Inspiration Excerpted from The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy)

• "You can also put lemon peel and baking soda in your vacuum cleaner bag to deodorize it." (Donna Smallin, Inspiration Excerpted from Cleaning Plain & Simple)
  
  

How often should you vacuum? At least once a week. I would suggest more often if someone in your home suffers from allergies, asthma, emphysema and/or if you have indoor pets. Keeping shoes off in the house helps to reduce dust and dirt but this can be a challenge for some of us. It is also recommended that you deep clean your carpets at least once a year to maintain a healthier home environment.

As far as vacuum cleaners go, we love the Oreck Classic Upright (we are on our 2nd one after 16 years)! It is very lightweight (therefore gentle on my back and easy to maneuver), simple to maintenance ourselves (just use a seam ripper to remove all strings and hair from the roller on the bottom of unit once a month), is energy efficient and offers HEPA filters which are highly recommended for removing the unwanted airborne articles and allergens from the air. What kind do you use and why?

And finally, the age-old question (well, not really but...), do you dust or vacuum first? In our household, we do all the cleaning and dusting at the beginning with the assumption that all the particles are making their way down to the dirty floor. At the end of our session, we vacuum everything up and the house is finally clean! What is your thinking on this? If interested, you will find more housecleaning inspiration here.

"There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus."

~ Blaise Pascal

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Clip art image was found here.

Peter Rabbit's Room Spray ~ Bedtime Blend ~ For the Nursery

"I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening.

His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea;

and she gave a dose of it to Peter!

'One table-spoonful to be taken at bed-time.'"

~ The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

If your little rabbit is overtired and needs some rest, here is an aromatic bedtime spray to give him or her some in-scentive to sleep. A few drops of chamomile essential oil is just the dose prescribed by Peter's mother! 

To prepare:

In a clean (travel sized) spray bottle, add the following ingredients in the order they appear:

• 2 drops of chamomile essential oil 

• 2 drops of lavender essential oil

• 1 - 2 drops of orange essential oil 

• 1/4 tsp. vodka, optional (cheap kind is fine) ~ It helps to disperse the oils, acts as a preservative and is also a disinfectant and antibacterial. Some people use rubbing alcohol but it is not as natural a choice as vodka. However, if you have a weakness to alcohol, then I encourage you to skip this ingredient altogether. Being this is only a 1/3-cup recipe, it will keep (meaning the essential oils will not lose their potency) for the time period it takes to use the spray up.

• Approx. 1/3 cup of water (distilled is best but I use tap water) ~ Add to spray bottle after the ingredients mentioned above. 

The chamomile essential oil will be soothing and calming, lavender will further relax the atmosphere while the orange essential oil adds a pleasant citrus touch to keep the aroma fresh.

How to use:

Shake before each use. Spray the nursery before bed or nap-time. You may even mist the bedding for some aromatherapy benefits. This acts as a nice room deodorizer as well.

Printables:

Here is our homemade label for your use. A printable recipe for your herbal is found HERE  Simply follow the link, download and print :)

Notes:

I like to use travel size bottles for our room sprays. Glass is a superior choice when working with essential oils as it doesn't leach but feel free to use what you have. I often use plastic in a pinch. 

"He was so tired that he flopped down upon the nice soft sand

on the floor of the rabbit-hole and shut his eyes."

~ The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

                     

This "bedtime blend" would also make a sweet baby shower gift if packaged with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the Complete Collection of Beatrix Potter Tales or even the coloring book! If you enjoy the illustrations of Beatrix Potter, then you may be interested in "Gardening with Peter Rabbit" as a way of playing with and teaching your little one at the same time.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.  All illustrations by Beatrix Potter.

{DIY} How to Make an Orange Sugar Scrub ~ Citrus Series

Making your own "orange sugar scrub" is so easy and fun to give as gifts. All you need are these simple supplies and a few minutes to prepare this cheery body product:

• 3/4 cup sugar (plus 1 to 2 tbsp. more to get desired consistency)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 drops orange essential oil
• 1 tbsp. coarsely ground dried orange peel
• clean container or jar with lid

Four simple steps:

1. Measure out your sugar.
2. Add ground, dried orange peel.
3. Stir in orange, coconut, and olive oils (*see note below).
4. Pour into container and label with love.

*Note: If the mixture is too dry, add a little more oil. If it is too oily, add more sugar until you reach the desired consistency.

Directions for Use: In the shower, massage a small handful of scrub all over wet skin (avoiding sensitive areas, concentrating on dry ones), rinse off and pat dry. Don't wipe away the oil feeling since this will keep you moisturized without applying lotion. Suggested use is once a week. Not recommended for your face. Be careful as the tub may become slippery when using.

Our printable recipe and label (which fits perfectly on top of a regular-mouth mason jar) is shared HERE. You may want to download it and print it out for your herbal. 

"A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange tree would if it could walk up and down in the garden, swinging perfume from every little censer it holds up to the air."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

If you enjoyed this project, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, The Homesteader Hop, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

Raggedy Ann's Room Spray ~ Clean & Sweet ~ For the Nursery

"Then she took Raggedy Ann into the house and showed Marcella and Mamma how clean and sweet she was."

~ Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle

This post is a tribute to the fun usage of essential oils in the home. With a drop of peppermint oil to sweeten up the nursery, this "Raggedy Ann Room Spray" will freshen the room. But remember, this is for the room only and not to be sprayed on baby who is already sweet (essential oils may be too strong on their tender skin).

"When the dear lady put the new white cotton in my body," said Raggedy Ann "she went to the cupboard and came back with a paper bag. And she took from the bag ten or fifteen little candy hearts with mottos on them and she hunted through the candy hearts until she found a beautiful red one which she sewed up in me with the cotton! So that is the secret, and that is why I am so happy! Feel here," said Raggedy Ann. All the dolls could feel Raggedy Ann's beautiful new candy heart and they were very happy for her.

After all had hugged each other good night and had cuddled up for the night, the tin soldier asked, "Did you have a chance to see what the motto on your new candy heart was, Raggedy Ann?"

"Oh yes," replied Raggedy Ann, "I was so happy I forgot to tell you. It had printed upon it in nice blue letters, 'I LOVE YOU.'"

~ Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle

The sweet but subtle scent is inspired by the beautiful red candy heart which was given to Raggedy Ann. Certainly it would smell of peppermint!

  

How to prepare:

In a small travel-size spray bottle, add the following ingredients in the order they appear:

• 1/4 tsp. vodka, optional (cheap kind is fine) ~ It helps to disperse the oils, acts as a preservative and is also a disinfectant and antibacterial. Some people use rubbing alcohol but it is not as natural a choice as vodka. However, if you have a weakness to alcohol, then I encourage you to skip this ingredient altogether. Being this is only a 1/3-cup recipe, it will keep (meaning the essential oils will not lose their potency) for the time period it takes to use the spray up (shake before each use).

• 1 drop of peppermint essential oil 

• 2 drops of lavender essential oil 

• 2 drops of orange essential oil 

• Approx. 1/3 cup of water (distilled is best but I use tap water) ~ Add to spray bottle after the ingredients mentioned above. 

How to Use:

Mist lightly around the room to freshen and deodorize.

Printables and Playtime:

A printable recipe for your herbal is found HERE which also includes the label. Simply follow the link, download and print.

Notes:

I like to use travel size bottles for our room sprays. Glass is a superior choice when working with essential oils as it doesn't leach but feel free to use what you have. I often use plastic in a pinch. You can purchase doTERRA *quality* essential oils from Amazon (which helps to support this site). Thank you!

"So let us all remember and try never again to do anything which might cause those who love us any unhappiness!"

"Let us all remember," chimed all the other dollies.

And Raggedy Ann, with a merry twinkle in her shoe-button eyes, lay back in her little bed, her cotton head filled with thoughts of love and happiness."'

~ Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle

If you love the sweetness of Raggedy Ann, then you may be interested in this post as a way of enjoying your time with your little ones. You may also like these free, printable Raggedy Ann and Andy bookmarks.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Illustrations by Johnny Gruelle.