Chocolate Vanilla Soap

Two of my all time favorite flavors combined into one sweet-smelling bar of soap!  Made with cocoa butter and other nourishing oils, this soap will satisfy your senses as you use it.  It's my favorite soap so far!  I made extra batches because I know these won't last long.

Fiddleheads

Working in the flower beds today and discovered some baby ferns I dug up in the woods last year and transplanted to my beds. They are so cute when they are young!

Book Review: The Green Mile by Stephen King

My son is always trying to get me to read Stephen King books.  I think he may possibly be Mr. King's biggest fan.  Although I love the way Stephen King writes, I'm not a big fan of his usual genre.  So when our book club chose The Green Mile to read, I was a bit skeptical.  I never saw the movie, but I had a general idea of what it was about.  I tend to gravitate to uplifting, happy books, and a book about death row inmates seemed very depressing.  I figured I'd read it quickly and get it over with so it wouldn't bring me down for too long.

Shortly into the first chapter I knew I was going to love this book.  King writes in such a suspenseful way, I had a hard time putting it down.  Throughout the chapters he gave little glimpses of what was to come - piquing my interest with every turn of the page.  The characters were endearing enough to make you forget that they were actually death row villains.  He included just enough fantasy to balance the morose.  I was actually sad to get to the end of the book because I enjoyed it so much.  It's my favorite Stephen King book so far.

Of course, after reading the book I had to rent the movie.  I thought the casting was dead on!  The actors looked exactly as I pictured each character in the book.  The movie is never as good as the book, but this one was definitely close.  I'm glad the movie left out the part about the mean employee at the nursing home - that was my least favorite part of the story.  All things considered, I give both the book and the movie 5 stars.

Man Soap

I wanted to formulate a soap recipe that would be especially appealing to men, so I came up with this soap I'm calling "Man Soap".  The scent in this soap is a combination of essential oils that combines woodsy and spicy.  The rich brown and light cream tones even make this bar look manly.  This soap makes a great gift for the man in your life (or for yourself!).

Tooty Fruity Soap

Tooty Fruity is a fun, pleasant-smelling soap made with bright purple colorant.  It smells like jelly beans.  Kids will love this soap!  It's made with all those good oils that make a great bar of soap:  

olive, palm, coconut, and Shea butter.  Make bath time fun and healthy and leave the harsh chemicals out of it by using this natural, kid-friendly soap.

Tea Tree Soap

Tea tree oil has been used for thousands of year for its medicinal properties.  Studies have shown that it can be used to treat all three forms of infectious organisms:  bacterial, fungal and viral.  These qualities are what makes tea tree products good for acne, oily hair/skin, sunburn and a host of other skin ailments.  My tea tree soap also contains spearmint essential oil, which blended with tea tree oil provides an uplifting, fresh scent.  As with all my soaps, other oils such as coconut oil, olive oil and shea butter produce a great lather that nourishes your skin as it cleans.

Vegetarian Chili

People have been asking me to share my recipe for vegetarian chili, and I'm finally getting around to doing so.  This is probably the most often made meal in our home.  Even my carnivore teenage son loves it (but I have to run the blender through it to get rid of the "chunks" before he'll eat it).  When you blend this chili with an immersion blender or food processor it makes a great topping for fries!

Vegetarian Chili

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 can of cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

1 qt. tomatoes w/ juice (I use home canned tomatoes, but store bought is fine)

1 cup water

2 Tbsp. chili powder

salt & pepper to taste 

In a dutch oven or large pot heat oil, then add onions and peppers.  Cook for about 5 minutes, then add garlic.  Cook for about a minute, then add beans, tomatoes, water, chili powder, salt & pepper.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. 

Variations:  add corn, black-eyed peas, hot peppers, hot sauce, 

Optional toppings:  shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, crumbled cornbread 

You can't have chili without cornbread, so plan to make some of that too.  

Maybe I'll share a cornbread recipe next time.

Baby Soap

The most gentle soap for the most sensitive little ones (and grown-ups too for that matter!!) - made from soothing ingredients like organic olive oil, corn starch and oatmeal.  This soap has no essential oils and no colorants, so it's extremely gentle with a light natural scent.  If you suffer from sensitive skin issues, give this soap a try.  As with all my soaps, there are no artificial ingredients and only the best oils make up these luxurious bars that are unlike anything you can find at your typical store.  Don't put commercial soaps full of chemicals on your baby, us all-natural organic soaps like this one.

Charcoal Soap

Activated charcoal has been used in recent years to detoxify your skin by drawing out impurities from beneath the surface.  Using charcoal soap doesn't harm your skin in any way, but it does provide a gentle, deep cleansing which is especially good for people with acne-prone skin types.  Activated charcoal is a safe and amazing ingredient, to learn more about it check out this site.  This soap also has tea tree oil and eucalyptus essential oil which create a wonderful scent together.

Lemongrass Soap

Things that are good for your body internally are often good for your body externally as well, which is why I like to use organic teas when making my soaps.  Teas have been used in various medicinal ways for centuries.  My great grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian who cared for sick people by wrapping them in clothes that had been soaked in herbal teas.  I'm told she "healed" many people that way.  Whether or not these practices work, you can't deny the smell of lemongrass tea is lovely - and so is this soap.  With lemongrass leaves throughout this soap, you get a gentle exfoliating effect while you bathe.  This is one of my favorites so far!  

Spearmint Soap

Sweet and fresh, this yummy soap will wake you up and put a smile on your face.  One sniff and you will want to eat it!  But don't.  It's soap after all.  Spearmint essential oils have numerous health benefits.  Like most essential oils, spearmint has anti-bacterial properties and blocks the growth of certain microbes, including Salmonella, E coli and MRSA.  Spearmint is also a mood-lifter.  So brighten your mood while you shower with this delicious smelling soap!

Citrus Soap

This refreshing soap has tiny pieces of orange peel throughout each bar to serve as an exfoliant to your skin.  It also contains grapefruit essential oil, which provides a soft, bright scent.  Citrus oil is a natural antiseptic when used in soap.  It's also antimicrobial and works to disinfect as it cleans.  Orange oil can help prevent inflammation, which makes this a good soap to use for shaving.

Java Soap

Anybody who knows me had to know it was just a matter of time before I found a way to incorporate coffee into my soaps.  I LOVE coffee, but until I started researching healthy, all-natureal ingredients for your skin, I did not know that coffee could be used externally.  Studies have shown that caffeine applied to your skin can actually kill the abnormal cells that cause skin cancer.  It can also help rosacea by constricting blood vessels that cause the skin to flush. 

Perhaps one of the best uses for this soap is for deodorizing your hands after cooking.  Coffee is said to be able to remove odors of garlic and onions from your hands, and the coffee grounds throughout the soap make it excellent scrubbing away dirt.  You'll want to keep a bar of this by your kitchen sink.  

Lavender Soap

I've had many people ask me when I'm going to make lavender soap.....lavender soap is now available!  It's a beautiful bar made with the finest oils for the ultimate skin-nourishing benefits.  Lavender essential oil gives this soap its soft lavender aroma.  Soaps made with lavender essential oils can aid in the healing of skin infections because of its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.  Lavender is said to promote relaxation and stress-relief, making this an excellent soap to use just before bedtime - especially for children.

Ginger/Beer Shampoo Soap

You're gonna love the lather and conditioning this shampoo soap provides!  Yes, it's really made with actual beer, brewed by my friend Laura and her husband in their home using all-natural ingredients. The ginger essential oil gives this shampoo bar a slightly spicy fragrance.  In addition to B vitamins, the proteins in the malt and hops are said to repair damaged hair and boost overall body.  Meanwhile, the maltose and sucrose in beer tighten the hair's cuticles for enhanced shine.  Your hair may actually seem thicker after using Ginger/Beer Shampoo Soap.  This shampoo soap is great for washing your body and lathering your skin for shaving.  So if you happen to be traveling, consider this all-in-one product that won't spill and can be packed in your carry-on luggage for the plane.

Basil Soap

Few smells are as fresh and earthy as basil, which is why I wanted to make a soap utilizing that wonderful aroma.  Basil is a calming herb that has been used in many cultures to treat acne, headaches and stress relief, as well as many other ailments.    

Chamomile Honey Soap

The beautiful thing about making soap is that I get to create my own recipes using ingredients that I enjoy.  This soothing and nourishing bar of chamomile honey soap will soften your skin as it cleans.  The subtle sweet smell is as delightful as a cup of tea.  Chamomile is a long standing medicinal herb that was used by the Egyptians in their beauty rituals.  It has healing properties, which includes toning the skin, is good for rashes, softens skin and acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial.  Honey is a natural moisturizing humectant with anti-microbial qualities.  Together these ingredients create a wonderful soap that is great for sensitive skin.

The China Study

There are very few books that I can say have truly changed my life, but The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II is definitely one that has.  In this book Dr. Campbell explores the relationship between food and disease, specifically cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  The western world is plagued by these health crises and the problem is not getting better, it's getting worse.  After reading this book, I made huge changes in my own diet - I became a vegetarian, drastically reduced the amount of dairy in my diet, started eating more organic foods and started making more food from scratch.  I'm a long way from where I want to be, but this book started me on a journey to healthier eating that has paid off for my family.  My husband's cholesterol dropped 35 points after we made these dietary changes!  My blood pressure came down and I started feeling much better.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to live a healthier life.  It's a bit scientific, but hang in there, as you read it you will be amazed at the findings of The China Study.

Oatmeal Goat's Milk Soap

Made with a variety of nourishing botanical oils and rich goat's milk, this bar of fragrance-free soap cleanses and exfoliates with organic oats.  It's an excellent soap for those with sensitive skin.  

Planting Onions

We eat onions in some form almost every single day at our house, so this year we are planting plenty. It's the first thing to go into the ground in the Spring and hopefully we will have some left to store in the fall. Notice Dora and Bentley supervising the job.