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Homemade Lavender London Fog

Use this ridiculously simple homemade lavender syrup recipe to take your London Fog up a notch! This Lavender London Fog recipe is DELISH!

A few months ago, I was at a coffee shop with friends and, on a whim, I ordered a Lavender London Fog. I’ve loved having a London Fog for years but I’d never tried a Lavender London Fog. I loved it — and immediately decided I needed to try recreating it at home!

So when I came across this Lavender Syrup recipe on Dear Mushka, I knew I had to try it. It felt like the perfect little challenge of something fun, cozy, and delicious!

And friends… it was delightful.

Crystal holding cup of Lavender London Fog

Why a London Fog?

If you’ve never had a London Fog, it’s basically a tea latte made with Earl Grey tea, milk, and vanilla. Sometimes people add a little lavender for extra flavor and calm. Think of it as the tea version of a fancy coffee shop latte, but without the $7 price tag or long drive-thru line wait.

Fun fact: Even though it’s called a London Fog, this cozy drink actually came from Canada in the ’90s. A woman created it when she was pregnant and looking for a non-coffee alternative, and the drink took off. Isn’t that such a mom thing to do?

What I Used:

Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey loose leaf tea – If you’ve never had loose tea before, I highly recommend it. The flavor is so much better than bagged tea!
Kate Naturals Organic Lavender Flowers – I’d never bought lavender flowers before. Now I’m thinking of other things to use them for!
Steamed milk – You can use whole milk or half and half (or even non-dairy milk).
Honey – You could also use maple syrup.

Prepping honey to make homemade lavender syrup recipe

Making Lavender London Fog

If you’ve never made your own lavender syrup (I hadn’t either!), don’t be intimidated — it’s simple, affordable, and smells amazing while it simmers on the stove. This is one of those little homemade luxuries that makes a regular day feel a little more special. It was so easy to do — and you could even make extras to give as gifts!

How to Make Lavender Syrup Recipe

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons lavender buds (fresh or dried)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar or honey (you could also sub maple syrup)

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, stir together the lavender buds and water. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.

2. Once it’s boiling, stir in your sugar or honey. Lower the heat slightly and keep it at a gentle boil, stirring until the sugar/honey is fully dissolved.

3. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and let the lavender steep in the syrup as it cools — somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on how strong you want the flavor.

5. Strain out the lavender buds and pour the syrup into an airtight container. (Keep it in the fridge — it lasts about 3 weeks!)

Bonus idea: Pour it into a cute glass bottle, tie on a ribbon and a handwritten tag, and you’ve got a thoughtful gift ready to go!

Recipe from Dear Mushka

How to Make a Cozy London Fog:

This is such a great afternoon pick-me-up. It’s warm, lightly floral, and just sweet enough. It’s also perfect for a slow morning. And, now that you have your lavender syrup made, it’ll be super quick!

Here’s how to make it:

Steep your favorite Earl Grey tea in hot water for about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of your homemade Lavender Syrup. Pour frothed milk or cream into it to taste.

Tips If You Want to Try It:

If you want to make your own London Fog at home (and you should!), here are a few things that helped:

Use loose leaf tea if you can. It gives you a deeper, more flavorful cup. But a good tea bag works fine too!
Don’t skip the lavender. It might sound fancy, but it adds such a lovely, calming touch.
Warm your milk before frothing. You could use a handheld frother or a fancier frothing machine. Either works great!
Adjust the sweetness. Start with less lavender syrup and add more if needed.

It only takes a few minutes to make but feels so fancy! And it’s WAY less than buying it at the coffee shop!

Why I Take Collagen Every Day

Wonder about the benefits of collagen? In this post, I share why I take collagen every day, what collagen I use, and how I take it.

I would love some of your thoughts on collagen. I searched your blog and found lots of posts about different deals to purchase it in powder form or under eye pads, masks, etc. but I was curious how you personally use it.

I’m pretty sure that it was on your weekly habit tracker, so I was just curious how you personally take it and what brand you recommend, and why you value it. I couldn’t find where you talked about why this is important to make your habit tracker list. -Courtney

Why I Take Collagen Every Day

Great question, Courtney! I started taking collagen every day at the strong encouragement of the pelvic floor therapist I went to after Kierstyn was born. She said that she believes every woman should take it, but it’s especially good when recovering from childbirth and as you are getting older.

According to her, it’s not only great for your skin, nails, and hair, but also for your ligaments. (There are a lot of articles on the importance of collagen and how your body’s production of it declines as you age. Here’s one article here.)

I was cynical, but my pelvic floor therapist made such a difference in my recovery from pregnancy and childbirth that I decided to do whatever she told me to do. Plus, I sometimes struggle to get in enough protein every day, so taking collagen is one extra form of protein!

It took a number of months, but I slowly started to see a difference in my hair, skin, and nails. My nails have gotten stronger and grow so fast, my hair and skin also are healthier when I consistently take collagen. And when I stop taking it for a bit, I notice a difference!

What Brand of Collagen I Take

My pelvic floor therapist recommended that I get a tub of Vital Proteins collagen from Costco as she said that’s a good brand and a good price. However, Jesse prefers the Ancient Nutrition or BPN brands.

If you aren’t a fan of collagen powder, Amazon has these Collagen Gummies, 60-Count for just $12.97 shipped when you clip the 40% off e-coupon and check out through Subscribe & Save!

Each gummy is packed with 200mg of hydrolyzed collagen, biotin, zinc, and vitamins C & E, carefully selected to support your overall health.

My sister, Gretchen, takes these and she says, “These Collagen Gummies are part of my every day vitamins I take. I’ve tried to use collagen powder for years and just cannot handle the taste (yes, I can taste it whether it’s in coffee, tea, smoothies, etc).

“I found these gummies last year and they are the best thing ever. I love the taste and am so impressed with their ingredients. Plus, I’m growing my hair out and these gummies have definitely made a difference. Even my hair stylist has noticed!”

You can also get this Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides Powder, 1 lb for just $13.75 shipped right now when you check out through Subscribe & Save!

This is a great deal on this highly rated collagen powder.

If you want to try out collagen, you can also get a FREE Collagen PM Variety Pack! Just pay $5.95 shipping.

Each pack retails for $16.99 and includes three flavors of Collagen PM powder. Here are some details about this Collagen PM:

Calms your mind and body
Promotes restful sleep
Supports uninterrupted sleep
Maintains healthy hair, skin, and nails
Strengthens bones and joints
Free of sugar and artificial sweeteners

This is a great way to try it out without purchasing a huge container to be sure that it will work for you.

Go here to get your FREE Collagen PM Variety Pack.

(Note: There will be 5-6 offers that pop-up at checkout. Just scroll down on the pages and click “No Thanks” at the bottom of the pages. I also recommend not giving them your phone number at checkout — unless you want to schedule a phone call with one of their coaches. It’s free, but there’s a good chance they will try to sell you something.)

How I Take My Collagen

I have found that the easiest way to take collagen is to put a scoop in my tea every day. I just stick the tea bag and the scoop of collagen in the bottom of the mug/tumbler and pour the hot water over it and stir. It completely dissolves and is totally tasteless — so long as you mix it in enough liquid.

(I also add some honey or Truvia and lots of half and half, so maybe that helps mask the taste? One time, I added collagen to just a little bit of decaf coffee I had left in a cup and it made the coffee taste off since I mixed a full scoop into just a 1/3 cup or so of liquid. So I’d recommend adding it to a full mug!)

Many people also add collagen to their coffee or smoothies and it should be tasteless that way, too!

There you have it! It takes very little effort and it makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my health every day!

Have you taken collagen before? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences and any recommendations you have as far as brands!

P.S. Have a question you’d love for me to answer in a future post? Drop me an email through our contact form here with the subject “Question”.

5 Books I Finished Recently

If you saw my post on my goals for 2025, you’ll know that I’m doing monthly goals instead of yearly goals this year. So I didn’t set an overall reading goal for 2025, but I am planning to set monthly goals.

Each month, I plan to share reviews on the books I finished the month before since many of you have begged for me to bring back my book posts here on the blog. I’ll also be sharing more about what I’m reading in real-time over on Instagram stories, on the podcast, and in my personal email newsletter.

The 5 Books I Finished Recently

Here are the 5 books I finished recently:

Underestimated: The Surprisingly Simple Shift to Quit Playing Small, Name the Fear, and Move Forward Anyway — If you struggle with fear, follow through, insecurity, or feeling like you don’t have what it takes, this book will be the shot in the arm you need! If you want a taste of what the book is about, be sure to listen to my interview with Mary Marantz on the podcast.

The House of My Mother — I’m not even really sure what to say about this book. I read this after watching the Ruby Franke documentary. It’s a bit of “fluffy” writing in parts, but it was heartbreaking to read and also insightful as a parent — especially one who shares some details about our kids online — to help me be really thoughtful about what I post online and also how it can impact my relationship I have with my kids. (Please note that it has some references to predatory behavior as well as child abuse. Some of the content could be triggering.)

Dinner for Vampires — My sister highly recommended this one. I listened to it and it was very well narrated. It was raw and gritty and had lots of language in it, but it is really well narrated and it is a fascinating and sad story — but also a story with redemption and hope mixed in. (Please note that it has a lot of coarse language and discusses cults in depth and church abuse. Some of the content could be very triggering. It is not something you want to listen to with little ears around.)

God, What Do I Do? — This is a Bible Study on Judges 1-5 and I learned a lot about some Bible stories and characters that I hadn’t studied in-depth before. I did a podcast interview with the author and that will be releasing later this summer! Stay tuned.

Jewel of Heaven — This is the story of a mom who gives birth to a daughter given a fatal diagnosis and how it utterly wrecked her… but then how God used it to completely change her life. And then the miraculous journey she’s been on with her daughter. It really helped me to have a better understanding of mamas who have gotten a really life-altering diagnosis for their child. You will not want to miss the episode I recorded with her sharing her story that will launch later this summer!

For those who ask when I read: I always have a few books going at once. I usually read a chapter or two of a Christian inspiration book + a business book every morning, and then my goal is to read a fiction/story-driven book for at least 15 minutes each night.

Want to know 25 of my favorite books ever? Need some motivation to read this summer? Download my free Summer Reading Challenge and I’ll send you a list of 25 Books You Should Read This Summer. You’ll also get fun reading trackers/lists, plus tips on how to read more and where to find cheap books!