Lemon, Lavender & Honey Spa Party with Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

 This honey, lemon & lavender spa party was put together for some of my all time favorite women…
This honey, lemon & lavender spa party was created as a simple and clean getaway for you and your favorite gals. 

If you and your girlfriends need a day off, this honey, lemon & lavender spa party is a great way to enjoy just that. Simple eats and fun spa treatments make for the perfect mini “getaway”.

Growing up I remember hearing the excitement in my mom’s voice when she talked about her annual girls weekend. When I was really lucky, I got to see the excitement on her face and the faces of my aunts as they arrived at our home when it was her turn to host.

Their girls weekend was two days of rest, relaxation and friendship. My mom and her sisters looked forward to this special time all year long. Even as a young girl, I could sense how exciting this get together was and I couldn’t wait to join them. The rule was once you are eighteen, you can join in on girls weekend.

Sadly, the tradition was lost for many years and I didn’t get the chance to experience this much anticipated weekend. Recently, we realized it was time to bring girls weekend back. We decided on a casual weekend at my aunts house with no agenda.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put something special together for some of the most wonderful women in my life. I decided to go with the casual, relaxing vibe we were hoping to set for the weekend and decided on a styled spa party. 

My aunt who was hosting us (along with her husband) own their own honey farm. Their bees make the best local honey around and I couldn’t help but play off of this when putting together the party. I decided to add in lemons for freshness and vibrancy as well as lavender for that relaxing note.

The first thing I did was put together a themed gift basket. I went with a lemon meringue candle, lavender soap and a bath scrubber. My aunt was kind enough to also give everyone a jar of their local honey.

The gift baskets turned out so cute and the gals loved them! I personally loved that each lady was able to take home a piece of the party with them.

For the dessert table, I immediately went to my style muse, Jenny Cookies site for inspiration. Next I headed over to my Pinterest boards to get the creative juices flowing even more.

I decided to start with Glutino lemon wafer cookies or “nail files”. They looked perfect for the spa party and tasted so fresh and delicious. I had to hide them from my kids the few days prior to the party because they are one of their favorite cookies.

On the vintage yellow scale I did another lemon cookie but this one was soft, chewy and made by WOW Baking Company.

Not making everything from scratch with help you keep your head on straight while putting together a party. Find brands you trust and go with them. This entire party was gluten-free and none of the women would have ever known had I not told them.

To keep it dainty and fresh, I served lemon, lavender whipped mousse in single serve china spoons. They were a fresh, sweet dessert shot that kept hands clean.

I decided to also put together a lemon, lavender naked cake. The frosting was scented with lavender oil and the lemon cake recipe is below. For the lavender cake, I used Wholesome Chow brand.

Both were so easy to put together and tasted fantastic! Of course, no spa party would be complete without chocolate. Salted caramel chocolates were the perfect addition.

Desserts are fantastic but we also needed some food. Dainty little chicken salad sandwiches served on white Glutino bread and wrapped in chive couldn’t have been more fitting. Along side the sandwiches we also served fresh cucumbers and strawberries.

Fresh organic lemonade provided guests with a refreshing beverage that also fit our theme.  What is a spa party without treatments? I styled spa stations including a place to do facials and one to do manicures. At the manicure station, I used a vintage tv tray. I displayed nail polish for each gal to choose from to take home as another favor. I used 3 T coconut oil, 1 C sugar, juice from half a lemon and 1-2 drops of lavender oil to make a lovely scrub.

This scrub recipe is very easy to make. I guarantee your guests will love how silky it leaves their hands feeling. At the facial station I provided fresh cucumbers for eyes as well as Redmond clay and a green tea coffee scrub.

My aunt also made honey and baking soda facials for those who wanted them. Since I hate being sticky more than anything, this was a big thing for me to try. I am sure glad I did…my face felt fantastic after it was done! So what exactly would you want at a spa party of your own?

Moist & Easy Lemon Cake {Gluten-Free}

• Author: Chandice Probst
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 16 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Lemon and lavender pair so well together in this cake. You can even leave it “naked” without frosting if you prefer, as it is so moist on its own.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 C gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. Real Salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2/3 C coconut oil
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 2 1/2 T real lemon juice
• 1/2 C whole milk
• 3 large eggs

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Cream together wet ingredients. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Mix 1-2 minutes then pour into greased 9×13 pan. Bake 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(Adapted from mylifeasrobinswife.com)

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This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks to Glutino for providing product for this event. I use their products all the time and love them. All opinions expressed are my own. Check out this post on www.vegetarianmamma.com 

This post was originally published on Mary 23, 2016.