Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Inspirations from Nature's Bounty





Yes, I'm writing again about soap! It's now the dog days of summer and we are in the midst of a bounty of delicious fruits and vegetables, grown and harvested by our own hands. What a beautiful way to celebrate nature's bounty than to make soap from it all!

I just finished creating Pumpkin and Flax Seed Bars, Apple and Honey Soap, and Alex's Fresh Cucumber Soap! The honey is from our bees, the apples from our tree, and Alex grew the cucumbers. At almost 8 years old, he is really getting into growing vegetables; he goes out every day and checks to see what is there. And he is quite proud of the fact that they are organic! I'm just glad that he is aware of what that means.

Next it will be carrot and zucchini soap, I think the bars will be very pretty. A woman I know asked if I would create soap with Dill, I'll have to go to the farmer's market and get some to try it out. I just have to come up with ideas of what to combine it with and what recipe to use.

Last week I also made a batch of Margarita Soap! I was at the local liquor store getting a bottle of Port (which will make a very fine soap for Winter!), and spotted a bottle of pre-made Mango Margarita on sale. "Why not try that in soap?" I asked myself. OMG, it is fabulous. It's curing right now, but smells incredible--I added Mango, Pineapple, and Juicy Lime for fragrances. Smells good enough to drink and the bars are absolutely beautiful. (By the way, yes, the guys at the liquor store think I'm crazy!)


I have also finished creating our Autumn Harvest 2009 Collection, which will be released in September. Ooooh, I have some yummy fragrances coming out! Some are dark and sexy, some are light, and oh yes, we have some foodie desserts as always. You just can't go wrong with pumpkin for fall! Here are the names and brief descriptions:



Echoes of Madness, dark, with Sandalwood, sexy

King's Library, very autumn-y (this one is my favorite), named after one of my favorite authors

Sorceress Sculd, a Norsk warrior and sorceress, with Nag Champa, perfume-y

Butter Rum Blondie, a butterscotchy brownie that makes an awesome sugar scrub (you'll want to chew your arm right off)

Tortured Soul, very complex

Bonne Bouche, french for an elegant tidbit (dessert), a decadent, creamy, white chocolate, almond biscotti cookie, very fattening

Arabella, light but with Tamarind Nectar, spices, rum, and baked apples

Pumpkin Honey Spirits, a truly fantastic dessert fragrance with pumpkin, honey, several kinds of cake, vanilla bourbon, and spices. This one makes an awesome soy tart, your entire house smells like an expensive boutique in the fall!

Candy Corn, of course, we offer this every fall, makes an excellent sugar scrub or shampoo

I recently released a new scent called L'Exploratrice Indomptable as a request for our new friend Rachel. Scott loves it on me, told me I should wear it instead of my dessert scents. (I'll add it to my collection, but nobody tells me to get rid of my foodie scents! LOL)

New for fall, we will also be offering a solid shampoo bar for dogs, shaped like a dog bone! It's called the Pampered Pet Shampoo Bar and makes a great gift, stocking stuffer, and it's good for the dogs! No nasty chemicals, it's good for their coat and skin, and it smells wonderful.
That's it for now, back to work!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A Ride in the Moonlight




I had the opportunity last evening to do something I've never done before, which made me feel closer to the land than I've ever been. The moon was full, looking like a giant peach, and hanging low in the sky. I was driving an antique John Deere tractor pulling an even older hay rack through a field, while another pioneer-type loaded small square bales on the rack. By the time we finished, the rack was loaded with over a hundred bales, the sky was black as coal, but that beautiful moon was still watching over us.

It took a long time to perform this task, the old tractor slowly putt-putting through the field, stopping here and there. But I can imagine that 70 years ago, this was an incredible marvel that greatly increased feed production. What excitement it must have caused! Today, combines and tractors cruise through the fields with computers, A/C, stereo systems, and GPS to guide them. I think the farmers are losing their touch with the land with this technological separation.

But I got in touch with it last night on a wonderful, satisfying moonlit ride that I will never forget. I now appreciate those bales of hay more than ever, because a lot of sweat and hard work went into each one. And I got to help.


New Love
My newest love is a handsome guy, a little on the short side, but sweet and a gentleman. I've named him Prince Norbert as he needed a regal name. He's a 4-year-old Hackney and he's broke to ride and drive. He's lean and muscular, almost all black except for the white socks on his rear legs and a white smudge on his nose. It looks like he got all dressed up for a night on the town, but forgot his dress socks.

Next to our Belgians he looks like a toy, but he'll pull the antique buggy and sleigh we have with no problems. He has a fancy gait, it looks like he's dancing when he walks. He'll do very well in the parades next year and I'm very pleased that he found and adopted us.
Welcome to our family, Prince Norbert, we will treat you like royalty. And it will be a pleasure to feed you some of that full-moon-harvested hay.